Analysis of Angelina
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
When de fiddle gits to singin' out a ol' Vahginny reel,
An' you 'mence to feel a ticklin' in yo' toe an' in yo' heel;
Ef you t'ink you got 'uligion an' you wants to keep it, too,
You jes' bettah tek a hint an' git yo'self clean out o' view.
Case de time is mighty temptin' when de chune is in de swing,
Fu' a darky, saint or sinner man, to cut de pigeon-wing.
An' you could n't he'p f'om dancin' ef yo' feet was boun' wif twine,
When Angelina Johnson comes a-swingin' down de line.
Don't you know Miss Angelina? She 's de da'lin' of de place.
W'y, dey ain't no high-toned lady wif sich mannahs an' sich grace.
She kin move across de cabin, wif its planks all rough an' wo';
Jes' de same 's ef she was dancin' on ol' mistus' ball-room flo'.
Fact is, you do' see no cabin--evaht'ing you see look grand,
An' dat one ol' squeaky fiddle soun' to you jes' lak a ban';
Cotton britches look lak broadclof an' a linsey dress look fine,
When Angelina Johnson comes a-swingin' down de line.
Some folks say dat dancin 's sinful, an' de blessed Lawd, dey say,
Gwine to punish us fu' steppin' w'en we hyeah de music play.
But I tell you I don' b'lieve it, fu' de Lawd is wise and good,
An' he made de banjo's metal an' he made de fiddle's wood,
An' he made de music in dem, so I don' quite t'ink he 'll keer
Ef our feet keeps time a little to de melodies we hyeah.
W'y, dey's somep'n' downright holy in de way our faces shine,
When Angelina Johnson comes a-swingin' down de line.
Angelina steps so gentle, Angelina bows so low,
An' she lif huh sku't so dainty dat huh shoetop skacely show:
An' dem teef o' huh'n a-shinin', ez she tek you by de han'--
Go 'way, people, d' ain't anothah sich a lady in de lan'!
When she 's movin' thoo de figgers er a-dancin' by huhse'f,
Folks jes' stan' stock-still a-sta'in', an' dey mos' nigh hol's dey bref;
An' de young mens, dey 's a-sayin', 'I 's gwine mek dat damsel mine,'
When Angelina Johnson comes a-swingin' down de line.
Scheme | aabbccdD eeffxgdD hhiixxdD ffxgjjdD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111011110111 11111010111011 11111111111111 11110111111111 11111011111011 10111101111101 1111111111111111 1001010101111 1111001011111111 10011111110111111 111011101111111 11111111111111 1111111011111 111110101111101 10101111010111 1001010101111 11111110111111 11101111001111101 111111111111101 1111110111111 11111001111111111 1101110101110011 10011111001110101 1001010101111 001011100010111 1111111011111 111111011111111 11101111010011 111111100111 111110101111111 1111110111111101 1001010101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 1,928 |
Words | 381 |
Sentences | 14 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 44 |
Words per line (avg) | 12 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 353 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 95 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 18, 2023
- 2:01 min read
- 47 Views
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"Angelina" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28657/angelina>.
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