Signs of the Times
Air a-gittin' cool an' coolah,Frost a-comin' in de night,Hicka' nuts an' wa'nuts fallin',Possum keepin' out o' sight.Tu'key struttin' in de ba'nya'd,Nary step so proud ez his;Keep on struttin', Mistah Tu'key,Yo' do' know whut time it is.
Cidah press commence a-squeakin'Eatin' apples sto'ed away,Chillun swa'min' 'roun' lak ho'nets,Huntin' aigs ermung de hay.Mistah Tu'key keep on gobblin'At de geese a-flyin' souf,Oomph! dat bird do' know whut's comin';Ef he did he 'd shet his mouf.
Pumpkin gittin' good an' yallahMek me open up my eyes;Seems lak it's a-lookin' at meJes' a-la'in' dah sayin' "Pies."Tu'key gobbler gwine 'roun' blowin',Gwine 'roun' gibbin' sass an' slack;Keep on talkin', Mistah Tu'key,You ain't seed no almanac.
Fa'mer walkin' th'oo de ba'nya'dSeein' how things is comin' on,Sees ef all de fowls is fatt'nin'--Good times comin' sho 's you bo'n.Hyeahs dat tu'key gobbler braggin',Den his face break in a smile--Nebbah min', you sassy rascal,He 's gwine nab you atter while.
Choppin' suet in de kitchen,Stonin' raisins in de hall,Beef a-cookin' fu' de mince meat,Spices groun'--I smell 'em all.Look hyeah, Tu'key, stop dat gobblin',You ain' luned de sense ob feah,You ol' fool, yo' naik 's in dangah,Do' you know Thanksgibbin 's hyeah?
Words in this poem
- gobbler n.
- A turkey cock; a bubbling Jock.
- atter n.
- Poison; venom; corrupt matter from a sore. Holland. [AS. ætter.]
- mince v. t.
- To cut into very small pieces; to chop fine; to hash; as, to mince meat. [AS. minsian to grow less, dwindle, fr. min small; akin to G. minder less, Goth. minniza less, mins less, adv., L. minor, adj. (cf. Minor); or more likely fr. F.]
- naik n.
- A chief; a leader; a Sepoy corporal. Balfour (Cyc. of India). [Hind. nayak.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Signs of the Times 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, Signs of the Times, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/signs-of-the-times.html, id L00579.
Form and metre
Signs of the Times is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 8% 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-B-B coolah · nightA · fallin · sightA · ba'nya'd · hisB · tu'key · isB
- 2 AB-BACAC squeakinA · awayB · ho'nets · hayB · gobblinA · soufC · cominA · moufC
- 3 -A-A-B-B yallah · eyesA · me · piesA · blowin · slackB · tu'key · almanacB
- 4 -ABABCCC ba'nya'd · onA · fatt'ninB · bo'nA · bragginB · smileC · rascalC · whileC
- 5 -A-A-B-B kitchen · hallA · meat · allA · gobblin · feahB · dangah · hyeahB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Air a-gittin' cool an' coolah, | 8 | ········ |
| Frost a-comin' in de night, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Hicka' nuts an' wa'nuts fallin', | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Possum keepin' out o' sight. | 7 | /˘····· |
| Tu'key struttin' in de ba'nya'd, | 8 | ········ |
| Nary step so proud ez his; | 7 | /˘····· |
| Keep on struttin', Mistah Tu'key, | 8 | ········ |
| Yo' do' know whut time it is. | 7 | ······· |
| Cidah press commence a-squeakin' | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| Eatin' apples sto'ed away, | 8 | ··/˘·˘˘/ |
| Chillun swa'min' 'roun' lak ho'nets, | 8 | ········ |
| Huntin' aigs ermung de hay. | 7 | ······· |
| Mistah Tu'key keep on gobblin' | 8 | ········ |
| At de geese a-flyin' souf, | 6 | ······ |
| Oomph! dat bird do' know whut's comin'; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Ef he did he 'd shet his mouf. | 8 | ········ |
| Pumpkin gittin' good an' yallah | 8 | /˘······ |
| Mek me open up my eyes; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Seems lak it's a-lookin' at me | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Jes' a-la'in' dah sayin' "Pies." | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Tu'key gobbler gwine 'roun' blowin', | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Gwine 'roun' gibbin' sass an' slack; | 7 | ······· |
| Keep on talkin', Mistah Tu'key, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| You ain't seed no almanac. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Fa'mer walkin' th'oo de ba'nya'd | 8 | /˘/˘···· |
| Seein' how things is comin' on, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Sees ef all de fowls is fatt'nin'-- | 8 | ········ |
| Good times comin' sho 's you bo'n. | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Hyeahs dat tu'key gobbler braggin', | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Den his face break in a smile-- | 7 | ······· |
| Nebbah min', you sassy rascal, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| He 's gwine nab you atter while. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Choppin' suet in de kitchen, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Stonin' raisins in de hall, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Beef a-cookin' fu' de mince meat, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Spices groun'--I smell 'em all. | 7 | /˘····· |
| Look hyeah, Tu'key, stop dat gobblin', | 8 | ········ |
| You ain' luned de sense ob feah, | 8 | ···˘···· |
| You ol' fool, yo' naik 's in dangah, | 9 | ········· |
| Do' you know Thanksgibbin 's hyeah? | 8 | ········ |
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.