Analysis of A Death Song
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
Lay me down beneaf de willers in de grass,
Whah de branch 'll go a-singin' as it pass.
An' w'en I's a-layin' low,
I kin hyeah it as it go
Singin', 'Sleep, my honey, tek yo' res' at las'.'
Lay me nigh to whah hit meks a little pool,
An' de watah stan's so quiet lak an' cool,
Whah de little birds in spring,
Ust to come an' drink an' sing,
An' de chillen waded on dey way to school.
Let me settle w'en my shouldahs draps dey load
Nigh enough to hyeah de noises in de road;
Fu' I t'ink de las' long res'
Gwine to soothe my sperrit bes'
Ef I's layin' 'mong de t'ings I's allus knowed.
Scheme | AABBX CCDDC EEXXE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1111110011 1111101111 110011011 1111111 1111011111 11111110101 1111110111 1110101 1111111 1111011111 1110100111111 10111110011 11111111 111111 111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 575 |
Words | 123 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 15 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 139 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 40 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 39 sec read
- 89 Views
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"A Death Song" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28605/a-death-song>.
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