Analysis of The Old Home By The Mill
James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)
This is 'The old Home by the Mill'--far we still call it so,
Although the old mill, roof and sill, is all gone long ago.
The old home, though, and old folks, and the old spring, and a few
Old cat-tails, weeds and hartychokes, is left to welcome you!
Here, Marg'et, fetch the man a tin to drink out of' Our spring
Keeps kindo-sorto cavin' in, but don't 'taste' anything!
She's kindo agein', Marg'et is--'the old process,' like me,
All ham-stringed up with rheumatiz, and on in seventy-three.
Jes' me and Marg'et lives alone here--like in long ago;
The childern all put off and gone, and married, don't you know?
One's millin' way out West somewhere; two other miller-boys
In Minnyopolis they air; and one's in Illinoise.
The oldest gyrl--the first that went--married and died right here;
The next lives in Winn's Settlement--for purt' nigh thirty year!
And youngest one--was allus far the old home here--but no!--
Her man turns in and he packs her 'way off to Idyho!
I don't miss them like _Marg'et_ does--'cause I got _her_, you see;
And when she pines for them--that's 'cause _she's_ only jes' got
_me_!
I laugh, and joke her 'bout it all.--But talkin' sense, I'll say,
When she was tuk so bad last Fall, I laughed the t'other way!
I haint so favorble impressed 'bout dyin'; but ef I
Found I was only second-best when _us two_ come to die,
I'd 'dopt the 'new process' in full, ef _Marg'et_ died, you see,--
I'd jes' crawl in my grave and pull the green grass over me!
Scheme | AABB CCDD AAXA XXAX DXDEE FFDD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011101111111 1011101111101 01110110011001 111101111101 11101011111101 11110011110 1111111111 1111110101001 1101101110101 0111101010111 1101111110101 01110101 01010111100111 01101100111101 0101111011111 011001101111 1111111011111 0111111111011 1 11010111110111 111111111101101 11110111111 11110101111111 110110111111 11101101011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 1,452 |
Words | 270 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 4 |
Lines Amount | 25 |
Letters per line (avg) | 43 |
Words per line (avg) | 11 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 181 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 44 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 08, 2023
- 1:27 min read
- 40 Views
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