An Easy-Goin' Feller
Ther' ain't no use in all this strife,An' hurryin', pell-mell, right thro' life.I don't believe in goin' too fastTo see what kind o' road you 've passed.It ain't no mortal kind o' good,'N' I would n't hurry ef I could.I like to jest go joggin' 'long,To limber up my soul with song;To stop awhile 'n' chat the men,'N' drink some cider now an' then.Do' want no boss a-standin' byTo see me work; I allus tryTo do my dooty right straight up,An' earn what fills my plate an' cup.An' ez fur boss, I 'll be my own,I like to jest be let alone;To plough my strip an' tend my bees,An' do jest like I doggoned please.My head's all right, an' my heart's meller,But I 'm a easy-goin' feller.
Words in this poem
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- jest n.
- A deed; an action; a gest. [OE. jeste, geste, deed, action, story, tale, OF. geste, LL. gesta, orig., exploits, neut. pl. from L. gestus, p. p. of gerere to bear, carry, accomplish, perfor]
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- feller n.
- One who, or that which, fells, knocks or cuts down; a machine for felling trees.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
An Easy-Goin' Feller 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 Easy-Goin' Feller, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/an-easy-goin-feller.html, id L00534.
Form and metre
An Easy-Goin' Feller is 20 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ strifeA · lifeA · fastB · passedB · goodC · couldC · longD · songD · menE · thenE · byF · tryF · upG · cupG · ownH · aloneH · beesI · pleaseI · mellerJ · fellerJ
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 iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Ther' ain't no use in all this strife, | 8 | ········ |
| An' hurryin', pell-mell, right thro' life. | 8 | ········ |
| I don't believe in goin' too fast | 9 | ··˘/·/˘·· |
| To see what kind o' road you 've passed. | 9 | ········· |
| It ain't no mortal kind o' good, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'N' I would n't hurry ef I could. | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| I like to jest go joggin' 'long, | 8 | ········ |
| To limber up my soul with song; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To stop awhile 'n' chat the men, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| 'N' drink some cider now an' then. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Do' want no boss a-standin' by | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To see me work; I allus try | 8 | ········ |
| To do my dooty right straight up, | 8 | ········ |
| An' earn what fills my plate an' cup. | 8 | ········ |
| An' ez fur boss, I 'll be my own, | 9 | ········· |
| I like to jest be let alone; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To plough my strip an' tend my bees, | 8 | ········ |
| An' do jest like I doggoned please. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My head's all right, an' my heart's meller, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| But I 'm a easy-goin' feller. | 10 | ····/˘/˘/˘ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.