Analysis of The Real Question
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
Folks is talkin' 'bout de money, 'bout de silvah an' de gold;
All de time de season 's changin' an' de days is gittin' cold.
An' dey 's wond'rin' 'bout de metals, whethah we'll have one er two.
While de price o' coal is risin' an' dey 's two months' rent dat 's due.
Some folks says dat gold 's de only money dat is wuff de name,
Den de othahs rise an' tell 'em dat dey ought to be ashame,
An' dat silvah is de only thing to save us f'om de powah
Of de gold-bug ragin' 'roun' an' seekin' who he may devowah.
Well, you folks kin keep on shoutin' wif yo' gold er silvah cry,
But I tell you people hams is sceerce an' fowls is roostin' high.
An' hit ain't de so't o' money dat is pesterin' my min',
But de question I want answehed 's how to get at any kin'!
Scheme | AABB CCBB DDEE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 11101110111111 11111011111111 11111110111101 11111110111111111 1111111101011111 11111111111101 11111101111111 1111101111111 1111111111011 11111011111111 11111111011111 111011111111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 751 |
Words | 158 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 12 |
Letters per line (avg) | 45 |
Words per line (avg) | 13 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 181 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 52 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 11, 2023
- 48 sec read
- 55 Views
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"The Real Question" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28941/the-real-question>.
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