Analysis of Ma Lady's Lips Am Like De Honey
James Weldon Johnson 1871 (Jacksonville) – 1938 (Wiscasset)
(Negro Love Song)
Breeze a-sighin' and a-blowin',
Southern summer night.
Stars a-gleamin' and a-glowin',
Moon jes shinin' right.
Strollin', like all lovers do,
Down de lane wid Lindy Lou;
Honey on her lips to waste;
'Speck I'm gwine to steal a taste.
Oh, ma lady's lips am like de honey,
Ma lady's lips am like de rose;
An' I'm jes like de little bee a-buzzin'
'Round de flower wha' de nectah grows.
Ma lady's lips dey smile so temptin',
Ma lady's teeth so white dey shine,
Oh, ma lady's lips so tantalizin',
Ma lady's lips so close to mine.
Bird a-whistlin' and a-swayin'
In de live-oak tree;
Seems to me he keeps a-sayin',
'Kiss dat gal fo' me.'
Look heah, Mister Mockin' Bird,
Gwine to take you at yo' word;
If I meets ma Waterloo,
Gwine to blame it all on you.
Oh, ma lady's lips am like de honey,
Ma lady's lips am like de rose;
An' I'm jes like de little bee a-buzzin'
'Round de flower wha' de nectah grows.
Ma lady's lips dey smile so temptin',
Ma lady's teeth so white dey shine,
Oh, ma lady's lips so tantalizin',
Ma lady's lips so close to mine.
Honey in de rose, I spose, is
Put der fo' de bee;
Honey on her lips, I knows, is
Put der jes fo' me.
Seen a sparkle in her eye,
Heard her heave a little sigh;
Felt her kinder squeeze ma han',
'Nuff to make me understan'.
Scheme | x abab ccdd AEAE AAAA afaf ggcc AEAE AAAA hfhf iiaa |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011 101001 10101 101001 1111 111101 1111101 1010111 1111101 1110111110 11011111 1111110101 11101111 11011111 11011111 1110111 11011111 101001 01111 1111101 11111 111011 1111111 111110 1111111 1110111110 11011111 1111110101 11101111 11011111 11011111 1110111 11011111 10011111 11111 10101111 11111 1010001 1010101 1010111 11111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,246 |
Words | 249 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 41 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 84 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 03, 2023
- 1:18 min read
- 271 Views
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