Analysis of A Florida Night
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
Win' a-blowin' gentle so de san' lay low,
San' a little heavy f'om de rain,
All de pa'ms a-wavin' an' a-weavin' slow,
Sighin' lak a sinnah-soul in pain.
Alligator grinnin' by de ol' lagoon,
Mockin'-bird a-singin' to be big full moon.
'Skeeter go a-skimmin' to his fightin' chune
(Lizy Ann's a-waitin' in de lane!).
Moccasin a-sleepin' in de cyprus swamp;
Need n't wake de gent'man, not fu' me.
Mule, you need n't wake him w'en you switch an' stomp,
Fightin' off a 'skeeter er a flea.
Florida is lovely, she's de fines' lan'
Evah seed de sunlight f'om de Mastah's han',
'Ceptin' fu' de varmints an' huh fleas an' san'
An' de nights w'en Lizy Ann ain' free.
Moon 's a-kinder shaddered on de melon patch;
No one ain't a-watchin' ez I go.
Climbin' of de fence so 's not to click de latch
Meks my gittin' in a little slow.
Watermelon smilin' as it say, 'I' s free;'
Alligator boomin', but I let him be,
Florida, oh, Florida 's de lan' fu' me--
(Lizy Ann a-singin' sweet an' low).
Scheme | ABABCCBB DEDEFXFE GAGAEEEA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011011111 101010111 1111011011 1101101 100111101 110111111 101011111 1101011 1000101101 1111111111 111111110011111 11010001 1001101111 11111111 111111111 11110011111 11010111101 11101111 11111111111 11100101 1001111111 100111111 100110011111 1101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 959 |
Words | 184 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 230 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 60 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 21, 2023
- 58 sec read
- 135 Views
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"A Florida Night" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28608/a-florida-night>.
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