Analysis of 'Long To'Ds Night
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
Daih 's a moughty soothin' feelin'
Hits a dahky man,
'Long to'ds night.
W'en de row is mos' nigh ended,
Den he stops to fan,
'Long to'ds night.
De blue smoke f'om his cabin is a-callin' to him "Come;"
He smell de bacon cookin', an' he hyeah de fiah hum;
An' he 'mence to sing, 'dough wo'kin' putty nigh done made him dumb,
'Long to'ds night.
Wid his hoe erpon his shouldah
Den he goes erlong,
'Long to'ds night.
An' he keepin' time a-steppin'
Wid a little song,
'Long to'ds night.
De restin'-time 's a-comin', an' de time to drink an' eat;
A baby's toddlin' to'ds him on hits little dusty feet,
An' a-goin' to'ds his cabin, an' his suppah 's moughty sweet,
'Long to'ds night.
Daih his Ca'line min' de kettle,
Rufus min' de chile,
'Long to'ds night;
An' de sweat roll down his forred,
Mixin' wid his smile,
'Long to'ds night.
He toss his piccaninny, an' he hum a little chune;
De wokin' all is ovah, an' de suppah comin' soon;
De wo'kin' time 's Decembah, but de restin' time is June,
'Long to'ds night.
Dey 's a kin' o' doleful feelin',
Hits a tendah place,
'Long to'ds night;
Dey 's a moughty glory in him
Shinin' thoo his face,
Long to'ds night.
De cabin 's lak de big house, an' de fiah's lak de sun;
His wife look moughty lakly, an' de chile de puttiest one;
W'y, hit 's blessid, jes' a-livin' w'en a body's wo'k is done.
'Long to'ds night.
Scheme | aaBxaBcccB bdBadBeeeB xxBbxBaaaB afBxfBaaaB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (23%) Etheree (20%) |
Metre | 110111 1011 111 10011111110 11111 111 1111110101111 111101111111 111111111011111 111 111111 1111 111 111101 10101 111 1111011111111 0101111110101 1011110111111 111 11111110 101110 111 1111111 1111 111 11111110101 1111111111 111111111111 111 11011101 1011 111 11011001 1111 111 11011111111111 111111110111 100111110110010101111 111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,314 |
Words | 258 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 10, 10, 10 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 238 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 64 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:24 min read
- 6 Views
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"'Long To'Ds Night" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/56387/%27long-to%27ds-night>.
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