An Ante-Bellum Sermon
We is gathahed hyeah, my brothahs,In dis howlin' wildaness,Fu' to speak some words of comfo'tTo each othah in distress.An' we chooses fu' ouah subjic'Dis--we'll 'splain it by an' by;"An' de Lawd said, 'Moses, Moses,'An' de man said, 'Hyeah am I.'"
Now ole Pher'oh, down in Egypt,Was de wuss man evah bo'n,An' he had de Hebrew chillunDown dah wukin' in his co'n;'T well de Lawd got tiahed o' his foolin',An' sez he: "I' ll let him know--Look hyeah, Moses, go tell Pher'ohFu' to let dem chillun go."
"An' ef he refuse to do it,I will make him rue de houah,Fu' I'll empty down on EgyptAll de vials of my powah."Yes, he did--an' Pher'oh's ahmyWasn't wuth a ha'f a dime;Fu' de Lawd will he'p his chillun,You kin trust him evah time.
An' yo' enemies may 'sail youIn de back an' in de front;But de Lawd is all aroun' you,Fu' to ba' de battle's brunt.Dey kin fo'ge yo' chains an' shacklesF'om de mountains to de sea;But de Lawd will sen' some MosesFu' to set his chillun free.
An' de lan' shall hyeah his thundah,Lak a blas' f'om Gab'el's ho'n,Fu' de Lawd of hosts is mightyWhen he girds his ahmor on.But fu' feah some one mistakes me,I will pause right hyeah to say,Dat I 'm still a-preachin' ancient,I ain't talkin' 'bout to-day.
But I tell you, fellah christuns,Things'll happen mighty strange;Now, de Lawd done dis fu' Isrul,An' his ways don't nevah change,An' de love he showed to IsrulWas n't all on Isrul spent;Now don't run an' tell yo' mastahsDat I's preachin' discontent.
'Cause I isn't; I'se a-judgin'Bible people by deir ac's;I 'se a-givin' you de Scriptuah,I 'se a-handin' you de fac's.Cose ole Pher'oh b'lieved in slav'ry,But de Lawd he let him see,Dat de people he put bref in,--Evah mothah's son was free.
An' dahs othahs thinks lak Pher'oh,But dey calls de Scriptuah liar,Fu' de Bible says "a servantIs a-worthy of his hire."An' you cain't git roun' nor thoo dat,An' you cain't git ovah it,Fu' whatevah place you git in,Dis hyeah Bible too 'll fit.
So you see de Lawd's intention,Evah sence de worl' began,Was dat His almighty freedomShould belong to evah man,But I think it would be bettah,Ef I'd pause agin to say,Dat I'm talkin' 'bout ouah freedomIn a Bibleistic way.
But de Moses is a-comin',An' he's comin', suah and fas'We kin hyeah his feet a-trompin',We kin hyeah his trumpit blas'.But I want to wa'n you people,Don't you git too brigity;An' don't you git to braggin''Bout dese things, you wait an' see.
But when Moses wif his powahComes an' sets us chillun free,We will praise de gracious Mastah.Dat has gin us liberty;An' we 'll shout ouah halleluyahs,On dat mighty reck'nin' day,When we 'se reco'nised ez citiz'--Huh uh! Chillun, let us pray!
Words in this poem
- dime n.
- A silver coin of the United States, of the value of ten cents; the tenth of a dollar. Dime novel, a novel, commonly sensational and trashy, which is sold for a dime, or ten cents. [F. dîme tithe, OF. disme, fr. L. decimus the tenth, fr. decem ten. See Decimal.]
- brunt n.
- The heat, or utmost violence, of an onset; the strength or greatest fury of any contention; as, the brunt of a battle. [OE. brunt, bront, fr. Icel. bruna to rush; cf. Icel. brenna to burn. Cf. Burn, v. t.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- fellah n.
- A peasant or cultivator of the soil among the Egyptians, Syrians, etc. W. M. Thomson. [Ar.]
- liar n.
- A person who knowingly utters falsehood; one who lies. [OE. liere. See Lie to falsify.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
An Ante-Bellum Sermon is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar, Project Gutenberg ebook #18338; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Paul Laurence Dunbar, An Ante-Bellum Sermon, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/an-ante-bellum-sermon.html, id L00497.
Form and metre
An Ante-Bellum Sermon is 88 lines in 11 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 16 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -A-A-BAB brothahs · wildanessA · comfo't · distressA · subjic · byB · mosesA · iB
- 2 -A-A-BBB egypt · bo'nA · chillun · co'nA · foolin · knowB · pher'ohB · goB
- 3 -----A-A it · houah · egypt · powah · ahmy · dimeA · chillun · timeA
- 4 ABAB-C-C youA · frontB · youA · bruntB · shackles · seaC · moses · freeC
- 5 -A-A-B-B thundah · ho'nA · mighty · onA · me · sayB · ancient · dayB
- 6 -ABABC-C christuns · strangeA · isrulB · changeA · isrulB · spentC · mastahs · discontentC
- 7 -A-A-B-B judgin · ac'sA · scriptuah · fac'sA · slav'ry · seeB · in · freeB
- 8 -A-A-B-B pher'oh · liarA · servant · hireA · dat · itB · in · fitB
- 9 AABA-CBC intentionA · beganA · freedomB · manA · bettah · sayC · freedomB · wayC
- 10 A-A---A- cominA · fas · trompinA · blas · people · brigity · bragginA · see
- 11 A-A--B-B powahA · free · mastahA · liberty · halleluyahs · dayB · citiz · prayB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| We is gathahed hyeah, my brothahs, | 8 | ········ |
| In dis howlin' wildaness, | 7 | ······· |
| Fu' to speak some words of comfo't | 8 | ········ |
| To each othah in distress. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| An' we chooses fu' ouah subjic' | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Dis--we'll 'splain it by an' by; | 7 | ······· |
| "An' de Lawd said, 'Moses, Moses,' | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| An' de man said, 'Hyeah am I.'" | 7 | ······· |
| Now ole Pher'oh, down in Egypt, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Was de wuss man evah bo'n, | 7 | ······· |
| An' he had de Hebrew chillun | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Down dah wukin' in his co'n; | 7 | ······· |
| 'T well de Lawd got tiahed o' his foolin', | 10 | ·········· |
| An' sez he: "I' ll let him know-- | 8 | ········ |
| Look hyeah, Moses, go tell Pher'oh | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Fu' to let dem chillun go." | 7 | ······· |
| "An' ef he refuse to do it, | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| I will make him rue de houah, | 7 | ······· |
| Fu' I'll empty down on Egypt | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| All de vials of my powah." | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Yes, he did--an' Pher'oh's ahmy | 8 | ········ |
| Wasn't wuth a ha'f a dime; | 7 | /˘····· |
| Fu' de Lawd will he'p his chillun, | 8 | ········ |
| You kin trust him evah time. | 7 | ······· |
| An' yo' enemies may 'sail you | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| In de back an' in de front; | 7 | ······· |
| But de Lawd is all aroun' you, | 8 | ········ |
| Fu' to ba' de battle's brunt. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Dey kin fo'ge yo' chains an' shackles | 8 | ······/˘ |
| F'om de mountains to de sea; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| But de Lawd will sen' some Moses | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Fu' to set his chillun free. | 7 | ······· |
| An' de lan' shall hyeah his thundah, | 8 | ········ |
| Lak a blas' f'om Gab'el's ho'n, | 7 | ····˘/· |
| Fu' de Lawd of hosts is mighty | 8 | ······/˘ |
| When he girds his ahmor on. | 7 | ······· |
| But fu' feah some one mistakes me, | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| I will pause right hyeah to say, | 7 | ······· |
| Dat I 'm still a-preachin' ancient, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| I ain't talkin' 'bout to-day. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| But I tell you, fellah christuns, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Things'll happen mighty strange; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Now, de Lawd done dis fu' Isrul, | 8 | ········ |
| An' his ways don't nevah change, | 7 | ······· |
| An' de love he showed to Isrul | 8 | ········ |
| Was n't all on Isrul spent; | 7 | ······· |
| Now don't run an' tell yo' mastahs | 8 | ········ |
| Dat I's preachin' discontent. | 7 | ····˘˘/ |
| 'Cause I isn't; I'se a-judgin' | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Bible people by deir ac's; | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| I 'se a-givin' you de Scriptuah, | 10 | ··/·/˘···· |
| I 'se a-handin' you de fac's. | 9 | ··/······ |
| Cose ole Pher'oh b'lieved in slav'ry, | 8 | ········ |
| But de Lawd he let him see, | 7 | ······· |
| Dat de people he put bref in,-- | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Evah mothah's son was free. | 7 | ······· |
| An' dahs othahs thinks lak Pher'oh, | 8 | ········ |
| But dey calls de Scriptuah liar, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Fu' de Bible says "a servant | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Is a-worthy of his hire." | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| An' you cain't git roun' nor thoo dat, | 8 | ········ |
| An' you cain't git ovah it, | 7 | ······· |
| Fu' whatevah place you git in, | 8 | ········ |
| Dis hyeah Bible too 'll fit. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| So you see de Lawd's intention, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Evah sence de worl' began, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Was dat His almighty freedom | 8 | ···˘/˘/˘ |
| Should belong to evah man, | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| But I think it would be bettah, | 8 | ········ |
| Ef I'd pause agin to say, | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| Dat I'm talkin' 'bout ouah freedom | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| In a Bibleistic way. | 6 | ······ |
| But de Moses is a-comin', | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| An' he's comin', suah and fas' | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| We kin hyeah his feet a-trompin', | 8 | ········ |
| We kin hyeah his trumpit blas'. | 7 | ······· |
| But I want to wa'n you people, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Don't you git too brigity; | 7 | ······· |
| An' don't you git to braggin' | 7 | ······· |
| 'Bout dese things, you wait an' see. | 7 | ······· |
| But when Moses wif his powah | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Comes an' sets us chillun free, | 7 | ······· |
| We will praise de gracious Mastah. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Dat has gin us liberty; | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| An' we 'll shout ouah halleluyahs, | 8 | ········ |
| On dat mighty reck'nin' day, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| When we 'se reco'nised ez citiz'-- | 10 | ···/······ |
| Huh uh! Chillun, let us pray! | 7 | ······· |
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