Analysis of My Sweet Brown Gal
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
W'EN de clouds is hangin' heavy in de sky,
An' de win's 's a-taihin' moughty vig'rous by,
I don' go a-sighin' all erlong de way;
I des' wo'k a-waitin' fu' de close o' day.
Case I knows w'en evenin' draps huh shadders down,
I won' care a smidgeon fu' de weathah's frown;
Let de rain go splashin', let de thundah raih,
Dey's a happy sheltah, an' I's goin' daih.
Down in my ol' cabin wa'm ez mammy's toas',
'Taters in de fiah layin' daih to roas';
No one daih to cross me, got no talkin' pal
But I's got de comp'ny o' my sweet brown gal.
So I spen's my evenin' listenin' to huh sing,
Lak a blessid angel; how huh voice do ring!
Sweetah den a bluebird flutterin' erroun',
W'en he sees de steamin' o' de new ploughed groun'.
Den I hugs huh closah, closah to my breas'.
Need n't sing, my da'lin', tek you' hones' res'.
Does I mean Malindy, Mandy, Lize er Sal?
No, I means my fiddle—dat's my sweet brown gal!
Scheme | AABBCCDEFFGGHHCCFFGG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1001111110011 111101111 111011111 11110111111 111100111111 111011111 111111111 101011111 10111011111 10111111 11111111101 1111111111 111111111 1011011111 110111 1001111111111 111111111 11111111111 111110101 11111011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 892 |
Words | 177 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 20 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 642 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 175 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 58 sec read
- 52 Views
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"My Sweet Brown Gal" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28803/my-sweet-brown-gal>.
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