Analysis of A Little Christmas Basket
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
De win' is hollahin' 'Daih you' to de shuttahs an' de fiah,
De snow's a-sayin' 'Got you' to de groun',
Fu' de wintah weathah 's come widout a-askin' ouah desiah,
An' he 's laughin' in his sleeve at whut he foun';
Fu' dey ain't nobody ready wid dey fuel er dey food,
An' de money bag look timid lak, fu' sho',
So we want ouah Chrismus sermon, but we 'd lak it ef you could
Leave a little Chrismus basket at de do'.
Wha 's de use o' tellin' chillen 'bout a Santy er a Nick,
An' de sto'ies dat a body allus tol'?
When de harf is gray wid ashes an' you has n't got a stick
Fu' to warm dem when dey little toes is col'?
Wha 's de use o' preachin' 'ligion to a man dat's sta'ved to def,
An' a-tellin' him de Mastah will pu'vide?
Ef you want to tech his feelin's, save yo' sermons an' yo' bref,
Tek a little Chrismus basket by yo' side.
'T ain't de time to open Bibles an' to lock yo' cellah do',
'T ain't de time to talk o' bein' good to men;
Ef you want to preach a sermon ez you nevah preached befo',
Preach dat sermon wid a shoat er wid er hen;
Bein' good is heap sight bettah den a-dallyin' wid sin,
An' dey ain't nobody roun' dat knows it mo',
But I t'ink dat 'ligion 's sweeter w'en it kind o' mixes in
Wid a little Chrismus basket at de do'.
Scheme | ABCBXCXD EFEFAGAG DBABBXBD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111111111111 110111111 111111100111 11110111111 1111101110011 11101110111 111111011111111 1010110111 11111111010001 111101011 1111111011111101 11111110111 11111111011111 101111111 11111111110111 1010110111 111111010111111 11111111111 1111101011111 11101010101 11111110111 111111111 1111111101001111100 1010110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 1,227 |
Words | 258 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 37 |
Words per line (avg) | 11 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 296 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 85 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:21 min read
- 27 Views
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"A Little Christmas Basket" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28615/a-little-christmas-basket>.
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