Scamp
Ain't it nice to have a mammyW'en you kin' o' tiahed outWid a-playin' in de meddah,An' a-runnin' roun' aboutTill hit's made you mighty hongry,An' yo' nose hit gits to knowWhat de smell means dat 's a-comin'F'om de open cabin do'?She wash yo' face,An' mek yo' place,You's hongry as a tramp;Den hit's eat you suppah right away,You sta'vin' little scamp.
W'en you's full o' braid an' bacon,An' dey ain't no mo' to eat,An' de lasses dat's a-stickin'On yo' face ta'se kin' o' sweet,Don' you t'ink hit's kin' o' pleasin'Fu' to have som'body neahDat'll wipe yo' han's an' kiss youFo' dey lif' you f'om you' cheah?To smile so sweet,An' wash yo' feet,An' leave 'em co'l an' damp;Den hit's come let me undress you, nowYou lazy little scamp.
Don' yo' eyes git awful heavy,An' yo' lip git awful slack,Ain't dey som'p'n' kin' o' weaknin'In de backbone of yo' back?Don' yo' knees feel kin' o' trimbly,An' yo' head go bobbin' roun',W'en you says yo' "Now I lay me,"An' is sno'in on de "down"?She kiss yo' nose,She kiss yo' toes,An' den tu'n out de lamp,Den hit's creep into yo' trunnel baid,You sleepy little scamp.
Words in this poem
- mammy n.
- A child's name for mamma, mother.
- scamp n.
- A rascal; a swindler; a rogue. De Quincey. [OF. escamper to run away, to make one's escape. originally, one who runs away, a fugitive, a vagabond. See Scamper.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Scamp 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, Scamp, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/scamp.html, id L00812.
Form and metre
Scamp is 39 lines in 3 stanzas of 13 lines each. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.8 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% 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----BBC-C mammy · outA · meddah · aboutA · hongry · know · comin · do · faceB · placeB · trampC · away · scampC
- 2 -ABABC-CAAD-D bacon · eatA · stickinB · sweetA · pleasinB · neahC · you · cheahC · sweetA · feetA · dampD · now · scampD
- 3 -A-A----BBC-C heavy · slackA · weaknin · backA · trimbly · roun · me · down · noseB · toesB · lampC · baid · scampC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ain't it nice to have a mammy | 8 | ······/˘ |
| W'en you kin' o' tiahed out | 7 | ·····˘· |
| Wid a-playin' in de meddah, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| An' a-runnin' roun' about | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Till hit's made you mighty hongry, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| An' yo' nose hit gits to know | 7 | ······· |
| What de smell means dat 's a-comin' | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| F'om de open cabin do'? | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| She wash yo' face, | 4 | ···· |
| An' mek yo' place, | 4 | ···· |
| You's hongry as a tramp; | 6 | ······ |
| Den hit's eat you suppah right away, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| You sta'vin' little scamp. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| W'en you's full o' braid an' bacon, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| An' dey ain't no mo' to eat, | 7 | ······· |
| An' de lasses dat's a-stickin' | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| On yo' face ta'se kin' o' sweet, | 7 | ······· |
| Don' you t'ink hit's kin' o' pleasin' | 8 | ········ |
| Fu' to have som'body neah | 7 | ······· |
| Dat'll wipe yo' han's an' kiss you | 7 | ······· |
| Fo' dey lif' you f'om you' cheah? | 7 | ······· |
| To smile so sweet, | 4 | ···· |
| An' wash yo' feet, | 4 | ···· |
| An' leave 'em co'l an' damp; | 6 | ······ |
| Den hit's come let me undress you, now | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| You lazy little scamp. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Don' yo' eyes git awful heavy, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| An' yo' lip git awful slack, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Ain't dey som'p'n' kin' o' weaknin' | 7 | ······· |
| In de backbone of yo' back? | 7 | ··/···· |
| Don' yo' knees feel kin' o' trimbly, | 8 | ········ |
| An' yo' head go bobbin' roun', | 7 | ····/˘· |
| W'en you says yo' "Now I lay me," | 8 | ········ |
| An' is sno'in on de "down"? | 6 | ······ |
| She kiss yo' nose, | 4 | ···· |
| She kiss yo' toes, | 4 | ···· |
| An' den tu'n out de lamp, | 6 | ······ |
| Den hit's creep into yo' trunnel baid, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| You sleepy little scamp. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
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.