Analysis of A Confidence
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
UNCLE JOHN, he makes me tired;
Thinks 'at he's jest so all-fired
Smart, 'at he kin pick up, so,
Ever'thing he wants to know.
Tried to ketch me up last night,
But you bet I wouldn't bite.
I jest kep' the smoothes' face,
But I led him sich a chase,
Couldn't corner me, you bet —
I skipped all the traps he set.
Makin' out he wan'ed to know
Who was this an' that girl's beau;
So's he'd find out, don't you see,
Who was goin' 'long with me.
But I answers jest ez sly,
An' I never winks my eye,
Tell he hollers with a whirl,
'Look here, ain't you got a girl?'
Y' ought 'o seen me spread my eyes,
Like he'd took me by surprise,
An' I said, 'Oh, Uncle John,
Never thought o' havin' one.'
An' somehow that seemed to tickle
Him an' he shelled out a nickel.
Then you ought to seen me leave
Jest a-laffin' in my sleeve.
Fool him — well, I guess I did;
He ain't on to this here kid.
Got a girl! well, I guess yes,
Got a dozen more or less,
But I got one reely one,
Not no foolin' ner no fun;
Fur I'm sweet on her, you see,
An' I ruther guess 'at she
Must be kinder sweet on me,
So we're keepin' company.
Honest Injun! this is true,
Ever' word I'm tellin' you!
But you won't be sich a scab
Ez to run aroun' an' blab.
Mebbe 't ain't the way with you,
But you know some fellers do.
Spoils a girl to let her know
'At you talk about her so.
Don't you know her? her name's Liz,
Nicest girl in town she is.
Purty? oh, git out, you gilly —
Liz 'ud purt 'nigh knock you silly.
Y' ought 'o see her when she's dressed
All up in her Sunday best,
All the fellers nudgin' me,
An' a-whisperin', gemunee!
Betcher life 'at I feel proud
When she passes by the crowd.
'T's kinder nice to be a-goin'
With a girl 'at makes some showin' —
One you know 'at hain't no snide,
Makes you feel so satisfied.
An' I'll tell you she's a trump,
Never even seen her jump
Like some silly girls 'ud do,
When I'd hide and holier 'Boo!'
She'd jest laff an' say 'Git out!
What you hollerin' about?'
When some girls 'ud have a fit
That 'un don't git skeered a bit,
Never makes a bit o' row
When she sees a worm er cow.
Them kind's few an' far between;
Bravest girl I ever seen.
Tell you 'nuther thing she'll do,
Mebbe you won't think it's true,
But if she's jest got a dime
She 'll go halvers ever' time.
Ah, you goose, you needn't laff;
That's the kinder girl to have.
If you knowed her like I do,
Guess you'd kinder like her too.
Tell you somep'n' if you'll swear
You won't tell it anywhere.
Oh, you got to cross yer heart
Earnest, truly, 'fore I start.
Well, one day I kissed her cheek;
Gee, but I felt cheap an' weak,
'Cause at first she kinder flared,
'N', gracious goodness! I was scared.
But I needn't been, fer la!
Why, she never told her ma.
That's what I call grit, don't you?
Sich a girl's worth stickin' to.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEBBFFGGHHIIJKLLMMNNOOKKFFFFPPQQPPBBRRFFSSFJTTUJVVWWPPXXYYBZ1 1 PP2 2 3 4 PP5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 PP |
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Poetic Form | Etheree (31%) |
Metre | 10111110 11111110 1111111 1011111 1111111 1111101 111011 1111101 1010111 1110111 10111111 1111111 1111111 111111 1110111 1110111 1110101 1111101 11111111 1111101 1111101 101111 1111110 11111010 1111111 1010011 1111111 1111111 1011111 1010111 111111 111111 1111011 1110111 1110111 111100 101111 101111 1111101 111111 1110111 1111101 1011101 1110101 1110011 1010111 1111110 11111110 11110111 110011 101011 1011 1011111 1110101 11011101 1011111 11111111 111110 1111101 1010101 1110111 11101001 1111111 11101 1111101 1111101 1010111 1110101 1111101 1011101 111111 111111 1111101 1111101 1111101 1010111 1110111 1110101 111111 111110 1111111 1010111 1111101 1111111 1111101 11010111 1110111 1110101 1111111 101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,700 |
Words | 566 |
Sentences | 40 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 90 |
Lines Amount | 90 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,992 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 560 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 15, 2023
- 3:01 min read
- 99 Views
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"A Confidence" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28602/a-confidence>.
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