Analysis of A Plantation Melody
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
De trees is bendin' in de sto'm,
De rain done hid de mountain's fo'm,
I 's 'lone an' in distress.
But listen, dah 's a voice I hyeah,
A-sayin' to me, loud an' cleah,
'Lay low in de wildaness.'
De lightnin' flash, de bough sway low,
My po' sick hea't is trimblin' so,
It hu'ts my very breas'.
But him dat give de lightnin' powah
Jes' bids me in de tryin' howah
'Lay low in de wildaness.'
O brothah, w'en de tempes' beat,
An' w'en yo' weary head an' feet
Can't fin' no place to res',
Jes' 'membah dat de Mastah 's nigh,
An' putty soon you 'll hyeah de cry,
'Lay low in de wildaness.'
O sistah, w'en de rain come down,
An' all yo' hopes is 'bout to drown,
Don't trus' de Mastah less.
He smilin' w'en you t'ink he frown,
He ain' gwine let yo' soul sink down--
Lay low in de wildaness.
Scheme | aabxxB ccbddB eexffB ggbggB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111011 11111101 1111001 110110111 01111110 11011 1111111 1111111 11111101 1111111 1110111 11011 111001111 11001110111 111111 1111111 110111111 11011 1110011111 11111111 11111 11100111111 11111111 11011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 765 |
Words | 161 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 137 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 39 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 51 sec read
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"A Plantation Melody" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28624/a-plantation-melody>.
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