Analysis of The Boogah Man
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
W'EN de evenin' shadders
Come a-glidin' down,
Fallin' black an' heavy
Ovah hill an' town,
Ef you listen keerful,
Keerful ez you kin,
So's you boun' to notice
Des a drappin' pin;
Den you'll hyeah a funny
Soun' ercross de lan';
Lay low; dat's de callin'
Of de Boogah Man!
Woo-oo, woo-oo!
Hyeah him ez he go erlong de way;
Woo-oo, woo-o!
Don' you wish de night' ud tu'n to day?
Woo-oo, woo-oo!
Hide yo' little peepers 'hind yo' han';
Woo-oo,woo-oo!
Callin' of de Boogah Man.
W'en de win's a-shiverin'
Thoo de gloomy lane,
An' dey comes de patterin'
Of de evenin' rain,
W'en de owl's a-hootin',
Out daih in de wood,
Don' you wish, my honey,
Dat you had been good?
'T ain't no use to try to
Snuggle up to Dan;
Bless you, dat's de callin'
Of de Boogah Man!
Ef you loves yo' mammy,
An' you min's yo' pap,
Ef you nevah wriggles
Outen Sukey's lap;
Ef you says yo' 'Lay me'
Evah single night
'Fo' dey tucks de kivers
An' puts out de light,
Den de rain kin pattah,
Win' blow lak a fan,
But you need n' bothah
'Bout de Boogah Man!
Scheme | abcbdeaecfbFGhghGigfbjbjbkcklfbFmnancoaokfpf |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1001111 1011 101110 1111 11101 1111 111110 1011 111010 1111 11111 1111 1111 11111111 1111 1111111111 1111 11101111 111 11111 10011101 11101 11111 1111 10011101 11011 111110 11111 1111111 10111 11111 1111 11111 11111 1111 1011 111111 1101 11111 11111 11111 11101 11111 1111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 983 |
Words | 200 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 44 |
Lines Amount | 44 |
Letters per line (avg) | 16 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 724 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 197 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:03 min read
- 53 Views
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"The Boogah Man" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28878/the-boogah-man>.
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