Analysis of Joggin' Erlong
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
De da'kest hour, dey allus say,
Is des' befo' de dawn,
But it's moughty ha'd a-waitin'
W'ere de night goes frownin' on;
An' it's moughty ha'd a-hopin'
W'en de clouds is big an' black,
An' all de t'ings you 's waited fu'
Has failed, er gone to wrack--
But des' keep on a-joggin' wid a little bit o' song,
De mo'n is allus brightah w'en de night's been long.
Dey 's lots o' knocks you 's got to tek
Befo' yo' journey 's done,
An' dey 's times w'en you 'll be wishin'
Dat de weary race was run;
W'en you want to give up tryin'
An' des' float erpon de wave,
W'en you don't feel no mo' sorrer
Ez you t'ink erbout de grave--
Den, des' keep on a-joggin' wid a little bit o' song,
De mo'n is allus brightah w'en de night's been long.
De whup-lash sting a good deal mo'
De back hit 's knowed befo',
An' de burden 's allus heavies'
Whaih hits weight has made a so';
Dey is times w'en tribulation
Seems to git de uppah han'
An' to whip de weary trav'lah
'Twell he ain't got stren'th to stan'--
But des' keep on a-joggin' wid a little bit o' song,
De mo'n is allus brightah w'en de night's been long.
Scheme | xaabacdcEE xfafagxgeE hdxhfbxxEE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (20%) |
Metre | 1110111 11111 111101 100111111 111101 1001111111 111111101 110111 1111011010111 11111110011111 1111111111 111011 111110011111 1110111 1001111111 111111 1001111111 1111111 1111011010111 11111110011111 11110111 111111 11101110 1111101 1111001010 111111 1111101 1111111 1111011010111 11111110011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,067 |
Words | 219 |
Sentences | 4 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 10, 10 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 257 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 72 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:13 min read
- 110 Views
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"Joggin' Erlong" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28760/joggin%27-erlong>.
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