Analysis of When The Frost Is On The Punkin

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



When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock
And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey cock
And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence
O, it's then's the times a feller is a-feelin' at his best
With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock

They's something kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere
When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here
Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossums on the trees
And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees
But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days
Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,
And the raspin' of the tangled leaves, as golden as the morn;
The stubble in the furries kindo' lonesome-like, but still
A-preachin' sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill;
The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;
The hosses in theyr stalls below the clover over-head!
O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock!

Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps
Is poured around the celler-floor in red and yeller heaps;
And your cider-makin' 's over, and your wimmern-folks is through
With their mince and apple butter, and theyr souse and saussage, too!
I don't know how to tell it but ef sich a thing could be
As the Angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on me
I'd want to 'commodate 'em all the whole-indurin' flock
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock!


Scheme AaxxbbaA ccddeeaA ffgghhaA iicxjjaA
Poetic Form
Metre 10111010001001 01101010101101 001101001101 0011111101 11101010101111 101011111011101 1110110111101 10111010001001 11011010101 10111010001111 1111010001101 0010101101101 10111001101 10101010101101 101111010111 10111010001001 0101010101101 00110101110101 010001110111 011111011111 010010010001 0101101010101 1111101101101 10111010001001 11101110010101 110101101011 011010110011111 11101010011011 11111111110111 1010110110111 1111110111 10111010001001
Closest metre Iambic octameter
Characters 1,924
Words 366
Sentences 6
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 47
Words per line (avg) 11
Letters per stanza (avg) 372
Words per stanza (avg) 91
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:54 min read
301

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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