Analysis of When A Feller's Itching To Be Spanked
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
W'EN us fellers stomp around, makin' lots o' noise,
Gramma says, 'There's certain times comes to little boys
W'en they need a shingle or the soft side of a plank;'
She says 'we're a-itchin' for a right good spank.'
An' she says, 'Now thes you wait,
It's a-comin' — soon or late,
W'en a fellers itchin' fer a spank.'
W'en a feller's out o' school, you know how he feels,
Gramma says we wriggle 'roun like a lot o' eels.
W'y it's like a man that's thes home from out o' jail.
What's the use o' scoldin' if we pull Tray's tail?
Gramma says, tho', 'thes you wait,
It's a-comin' — soon or late,
You'se the boys that's itchin' to be spanked.'
Cats is funny creatures an' I like to make 'em yowl,
Gramma alwus looks at me with a awful scowl
An' she says, 'Young gentlemen, mamma should be thanked
Ef you'd get your knickerbockers right well spanked.'
An' she says, 'Now thes you wait,
It's a-comin' — soon or late,'
W'en a feller's itchin' to be spanked.
Ef you fin' the days is gettin' awful hot in school
An' you know a swimmin' place where it's nice and cool,
Er you know a cat-fish hole brimmin' full o' fish,
Whose a-goin' to set around school and wish?
'Tain't no use to hide your bait,
It's a-comin' — soon or late,
W'en a feller's itchin' to be spanked.
Ol' folks know most ever'thing 'bout the world, I guess,
Gramma does, we wish she knowed thes a little less,
But I alwus kind o' think it 'ud be as well
Ef they wouldn't alwus have to up an' tell;
We kids wish 'at they'd thes wait,
It's a-comin' — soon or late,
W'en a feller's itchin' to be spanked.
Scheme | aabbCCbddeecCfegffCCFhhiicCFjjkkcCF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 100111010110111 11110111101 1001110101011101 1110110111 1111111 101111 10010101101 10010111111111 11110110111 100111011111111 1011111111 111111 101111 110111111 1110101111111 1111110101 111110010111 1111100111 1111111 101111 1001011111 111011110101 11101111101 01101111111 1011101101 1111111 101111 1001011111 111110110111 11111110101 11111111111 1110111111 1111111 101111 1001011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,541 |
Words | 307 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 35 |
Lines Amount | 35 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,121 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 299 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:39 min read
- 95 Views
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"When A Feller's Itching To Be Spanked" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/29000/when-a-feller%27s-itching-to-be-spanked>.
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