Analysis of Just Whistle A Bit
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
Just whistle a bit, if the day be dark,
And the sky be overcast:
If mute be the voice of the piping lark,
Why, pipe your own small blast.
And it's wonderful how o'er the gray sky-track
The truant warbler comes stealing back.
But why need he come? for your soul's at rest,
And the song in the heart,--ah, that is best.
Just whistle a bit, if the night be drear
And the stars refuse to shine:
And a gleam that mocks the starlight clear
Within you glows benign.
Till the dearth of light in the glooming skies
Is lost to the sight of your soul-lit eyes.
What matters the absence of moon or star?
The light within is the best by far.
Just whistle a bit, if there 's work to do,
With the mind or in the soil.
And your note will turn out a talisman true
To exorcise grim Toil.
It will lighten your burden and make you feel
That there 's nothing like work as a sauce for a meal.
And with song in your heart and the meal in--its place,
There 'll be joy in your bosom and light in your face.
Just whistle a bit, if your heart be sore;
'Tis a wonderful balm for pain.
Just pipe some old melody o'er and o'er
Till it soothes like summer rain.
And perhaps 't would be best in a later day,
When Death comes stalking down the way,
To knock at your bosom and see if you 're fit,
Then, as you wait calmly, just whistle a bit.
Scheme | ABAB CCDD EFEF GGEE XHEH IIJJ EKEK LLMM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 1100110111 001110 1110110101 111111 011001100111 010101101 1111111111 0010011111 1100110111 0010111 00111011 011101 101110011 1110111111 1100101111 010110111 11001111111 1011001 01111101001 1111 11101100111 1111011101101 011011001011 1111011001011 1100111111 10100111 111110010010 1111101 001111100101 11110101 111110011111 11111011001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,285 |
Words | 266 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 124 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:21 min read
- 37 Views
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"Just Whistle A Bit" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28762/just-whistle-a-bit>.
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