Analysis of A Plantation Portrait
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
HAIN'T you see my Mandy Lou,
Is it true?
Whaih you been f'om day to day,
Whaih, I say?
Dat you say you nevah seen
Dis hyeah queen
Walkin' roun' f'om fiel' to street
Smilin' sweet?
Slendah ez a saplin' tree;
Seems to me
W'en de win' blow f'om de bay
She jes' sway
Lak de reg'lar saplin' do
Ef hit's grew
Straight an' graceful, 'dout a limb,
Sweet an' slim.
Browner den de frush's wing,
An' she sing
Lak he mek his wa'ble ring
In de spring;
But she sholy beat de frush,
Hyeah me, hush:
W'en she sing, huh teef kin show
White ez snow.
Eyes ez big an' roun' an' bright
Ez de light
Whut de moon gives in de prime
Harvest time.
An' huh haih a woolly skein,
Black an' plain,
Hol's you wid a natchul twis'
Close to bliss.
Tendah han's dat mek yo' own
Feel lak stone;
Easy steppin', blessid feet,
Small an' sweet.
Hain't you seen my Mandy Lou,
Is it true?
Look at huh befo' she's gone,
Den pass on!
Scheme | aAbbccddeebbaaffgggghhiijjkkllmmnnddaAop |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (48%) Etheree (28%) |
Metre | 11111101 111 1111111 111 111111 111 111111 11 11011 111 1001111111 111 111111 111 1110101 111 101111 111 111111 011 111111 111 1001111111 111 1111111 111 1111011 101 1110101 111 111011 111 111111 111 10111 111 11111101 111 111111 111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 861 |
Words | 180 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 40 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 16 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 647 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 178 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 58 sec read
- 106 Views
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"A Plantation Portrait" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28625/a-plantation-portrait>.
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