Analysis of Wadin' In De Crick

Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906



DAYS git wa'm and wa'mah,
School gits mighty dull,
Seems lak dese hyeah teachahs
Mus' feel mussiful.
Hookey's wrong, I know it
Ain't no gent'man's trick;
But de aih's a-callin',
'Come on to de crick.'
Dah de watah's gu'glin'
Ovah shiny stones,
Des hit's ve'y singin'
Seems to soothe yo' bones.
W'at's de use o' waitin',
Go on good an' quick:
Dain't no fun lak dis hyeah
Wadin' in de crick.
W'at dat jay-b'ud sayin'?
Bettah shet yo' haid,
Fus' t'ing dat you fin' out,
You'll be layin' daid.
Jay-bu'ds sich a tattlah,
Des seem lak his trick
Fu' to tell on folkses
Wadin' in de crick.
Willer boughs a-bendin',
Hidin' of de sky,
Wavin' kin' o' frien'ly
Ez de win' go by,
Elum trees a-shinin',
Dahk an' green an' thick,
Seem to say, 'I see yo'
Wadin' in de crick.'
But de trees don' chattah,
Dey des look an' sigh
Lak hit's kin' o' peaceful
Des a-bein' nigh,
An' yo' t'ank yo' Mastah
Dat dey trunks is thick
W'en yo' mammy fin's you
Wadin' in de crick.
Den yo' run behin' dem
Lak yo' scaihed to def,
Mammy come a-flyin',
Mos' nigh out o' bref;
But she set down gentle
An' she drap huh stick, —
An, fus' t'ing, dey's mammy
Wadin' in de crick.


Scheme abcbdefefcfcfegEfhidbecEfjbjfegEdjbjdegEakfkbeaE
Poetic Form
Metre 1111011 11101 11111 111 11111 1111 11101 11111 1111 1101 11111 11111 11111 11111 1111111 1011 10011111 1111 1111111 1111 11101 11111 11111 1011 10101 1111 1111 11111 1101 11111 111111 1011 11111 11111 111110 1011 11111 11111 10011111 1011 11111 11111 1101 11111 111110 11111 111111 1011
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,101
Words 220
Sentences 11
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 48
Lines Amount 48
Letters per line (avg) 17
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 802
Words per stanza (avg) 216
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 25, 2023

1:13 min read
224

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar was a seminal American poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries Dunbar gained national recognition for his 1896 Lyrics of a Lowly Life one poem in the collection being Ode to Ethiopia more…

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