Analysis of Temptation
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
I done got 'uligion, honey, an' I 's happy ez a king;
Evahthing I see erbout me 's jes' lak sunshine in de spring;
An' it seems lak I do' want to do anothah blessid thing
But jes' run an' tell de neighbours, an' to shout an' pray an' sing.
I done shuk my fis' at Satan, an' I 's gin de worl' my back;
I do' want no hendrin' causes now a-both'rin' in my track;
Fu' I 's on my way to glory, an' I feels too sho' to miss.
Wy, dey ain't no use in sinnin' when 'uligion 's sweet ez dis.
Talk erbout a man backslidin' w'en he 's on de gospel way;
No, suh, I done beat de debbil, an' Temptation 's los' de day.
Gwine to keep my eyes right straight up, gwine to shet my eahs, an' see
Whut ole projick Mistah Satan 's gwine to try to wuk on me.
Listen, whut dat soun' I hyeah dah? 'tain't no one commence to sing;
It 's a fiddle; git erway dah! don' you hyeah dat blessid thing?
W'y, dat's sweet ez drippin' honey, 'cause, you knows, I draws de bow,
An' when music's sho' 'nough music, I 's de one dat's sho' to know.
W'y, I 's done de double shuffle, twell a body could n't res',
Jes' a-hyeahin' Sam de fiddlah play dat chune his level bes';
I could cut a mighty caper, I could gin a mighty fling
Jes' right now, I 's mo' dan suttain I could cut de pigeon wing.
Look hyeah, whut 's dis I 's been sayin'? whut on urf 's tuk holt o' me?
Dat ole music come nigh runnin' my 'uligion up a tree!
Cleah out wif dat dah ole fiddle, don' you try dat trick agin;
Did n't think I could be tempted, but you lak to made me sin!
Scheme | AAAA BBCC DDEE AAXX XXAA EEXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (50%) |
Metre | 11111011110101 111111111011 111111111111 11111111111111 1111111011111111 1111110101011 1111111101111111 1111101111111 1101110011111101 111111110101111 111111111111111 11111011111111 101111111110111 11010111111111 10011111101111111 1110111011111111 10011111101010101111 1011111111101 111010101110101 111111111111101 11111111111111111 111011111101 1011111101111101 1111111101111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 1,491 |
Words | 317 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 45 |
Words per line (avg) | 13 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 178 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 53 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 17, 2023
- 1:38 min read
- 91 Views
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"Temptation" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28874/temptation>.
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