Analysis of Elmer Brown

James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)



Awf'lest boy in this-here town
Er anywheres is Elmer Brown!
He'll mock you--yes, an' strangers, too,
An' make a face an' yell at you,--
'_Here's_ the way _you_ look!'

Yes, an' wunst in School one day,
An' Teacher's lookin' wite that way,
He helt his slate, an' hide his head,
An' maked a face at _her_, an' said,--
'_Here's_ the way _you_ look!'

An' sir! when Rosie Wheeler smile
One morning at him 'crosst the aisle,
He twist his face all up, an' black
His nose wiv ink, an' whisper back,--
'_Here's_ the way _you_ look!'

Wunst when his Aunt's all dressed to call,
An' kiss him good-bye in the hall,
An' latch the gate an' start away,
He holler out to her an' say,--
'_Here's_ the way _you_ look!'

An' when his Pa he read out loud
The speech he maked, an' feel so proud
It's in the paper--Elmer's Ma
She ketched him--wite behind his Pa,--
'_Here's_ the way _you_ look!'

Nen when his Ma she slip an' take
Him in the other room an' shake
Him good! w'y, he don't care--no-_sir_!--
He ist look up an' laugh at her,--
'_Here's_ the way _you_ look!'


Scheme aabbC ddeeC ffggC hhddC iijjC kkllC
Poetic Form Etheree  (33%)
Metre 110111 011101 11111101 11011111 10111 1110111 1101111 11111111 11011111 10111 11110101 11011101 11111111 11111101 10111 11111111 11111001 11011101 11011011 10111 11111111 01111111 1001011 11110111 10111 11111111 10010111 11100111111 11111110 10111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,023
Words 211
Sentences 11
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
Lines Amount 30
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 124
Words per stanza (avg) 33
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:05 min read
124

James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively. more…

All James Whitcomb Riley poems | James Whitcomb Riley Books

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