Analysis of Faith
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
I'S a-gittin' weary of de way dat people do,
De folks dat's got dey 'ligion in dey fiahplace an' flue;
Dey's allus somep'n comin' so de spit'll have to turn,
An' hit tain't no p'oposition fu' to mek de hickory bu'n.
Ef de sweet pertater fails us an' de go'geous yallah yam,
We kin tek a bit o' comfo't f'om ouah sto' o' summah jam.
W'en de snow hit git to flyin', dat's de Mastah's own desiah,
De Lawd'll run de wintah an' yo' mammy'll run de fiah.
I ain' skeered because de win' hit staht to rain and blow,
I ain't bothahed w'en he come er rattlin' at de do',
Let him taih hisse'f an' shout, let him blow an' bawl,
Dat's de time de branches shek an' bresh-wood 'mence to fall.
W'en de sto'm er railin' an' de shettahs blowin' 'bout,
Dat de time de fiah-place crack hits welcome out.
Tain' my livin' business fu' to trouble ner enquiah
De Lawd'll min' de wintah an' my mammy'll min' de fiah.
Ash-cake allus gits ez brown w'en February's hyeah
Ez it does in bakin' any othah time o' yeah.
De bacon smell ez callin'-like, de kittle rock an' sing,
De same way in de wintah dat dey do it in de spring;
Dey ain't no use in mopin' 'round an' lookin' mad an' glum
Erbout de wintah season, fu' hit's des plumb boun' to come;
An' ef it comes to runnin' t'ings I's willin' to retiah,
De Lawd'll min' de wintah an' my mammy'll min' de fiah.
Scheme | aabbccdefagghhiEjjiikkdE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101101111101 11111101111 1111111111 1111111111001 11111111111 1110111111111 100111111111111 11111111111 1110111111101 11110011101111 11111111111 1111101111111 1001110111111 11111111101 11110111011 11111111111 11111110011001 11101101111 1101111110111 1110111111011 111101111111 111101111111 11111111111 11111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 1,316 |
Words | 260 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 24 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 40 |
Words per line (avg) | 11 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 962 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 258 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 16, 2023
- 1:27 min read
- 42 Views
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"Faith" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28724/faith>.
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