Analysis of A Barefoot Boy
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
A barefoot boy! I mark him at his play --
For May is here once more, and so is he, --
His dusty trousers, rolled half to the knee,
And his bare ankles grimy, too, as they:
Cross-hatchings of the nettle, in array
Of feverish stripes, hint vividly to me
Of woody pathways winding endlessly
Along the creek, where even yesterday
He plunged his shrinking body -- gasped and shook --
Yet called the water 'warm,' with never lack
Of joy. And so, half enviously I look
Upon this graceless barefoot and his track, --
His toe stubbed -- ay, his big toe-nail knocked back
Like unto the clasp of an old pocketbook.
Scheme | ABBAABBACDCDDC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 011111111 1111110111 1101011101 0111010111 111010001 11001110011 110110100 010111010 1111010101 1101011101 11011100011 011101011 1111111111 1100111110 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 611 |
Words | 116 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 458 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 113 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 34 sec read
- 192 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"A Barefoot Boy" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20753/a-barefoot-boy>.
Discuss this James Whitcomb Riley poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In