Temptation
I done got 'uligion, honey, an' I 's happy ez a king;Evahthing I see erbout me 's jes' lak sunshine in de spring;An' it seems lak I do' want to do anothah blessid thingBut jes' run an' tell de neighbours, an' to shout an' pray an' sing.
I done shuk my fis' at Satan, an' I 's gin de worl' my back;I do' want no hendrin' causes now a-both'rin' in my track;Fu' I 's on my way to glory, an' I feels too sho' to miss.Wy, dey ain't no use in sinnin' when 'uligion 's sweet ez dis.
Talk erbout a man backslidin' w'en he 's on de gospel way;No, suh, I done beat de debbil, an' Temptation 's los' de day.Gwine to keep my eyes right straight up, gwine to shet my eahs, an' seeWhut ole projick Mistah Satan 's gwine to try to wuk on me.
Listen, whut dat soun' I hyeah dah? 'tain't no one commence to sing;It 's a fiddle; git erway dah! don' you hyeah dat blessid thing?W'y, dat's sweet ez drippin' honey, 'cause, you knows, I draws de bow,An' when music's sho' 'nough music, I 's de one dat's sho' to know.
W'y, I 's done de double shuffle, twell a body could n't res',Jes' a-hyeahin' Sam de fiddlah play dat chune his level bes';I could cut a mighty caper, I could gin a mighty flingJes' right now, I 's mo' dan suttain I could cut de pigeon wing.
Look hyeah, whut 's dis I 's been sayin'? whut on urf 's tuk holt o' me?Dat ole music come nigh runnin' my 'uligion up a tree!Cleah out wif dat dah ole fiddle, don' you try dat trick agin;Did n't think I could be tempted, but you lak to made me sin!
Words in this poem
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- holt
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Hold, contr. from holdeth.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Temptation 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, Temptation, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/temptation.html, id L00689.
Form and metre
Temptation is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 3 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is trochaic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 15.7 syllables. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic octameter.
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 AAAA kingA · springA · thingA · singA
- 2 AABB backA · trackA · missB · disB
- 3 AABB wayA · dayA · seeB · meB
- 4 AABB singA · thingA · bowB · knowB
- 5 --AA res · bes · flingA · wingA
- 6 AA-- meA · treeA · agin · sin
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 octameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I done got 'uligion, honey, an' I 's happy ez a king; | 16 | ······/˘···/˘··· |
| Evahthing I see erbout me 's jes' lak sunshine in de spring; | 16 | ···········/···· |
| An' it seems lak I do' want to do anothah blessid thing | 15 | ··············· |
| But jes' run an' tell de neighbours, an' to shout an' pray an' sing. | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| I done shuk my fis' at Satan, an' I 's gin de worl' my back; | 16 | ······/˘········ |
| I do' want no hendrin' causes now a-both'rin' in my track; | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| Fu' I 's on my way to glory, an' I feels too sho' to miss. | 16 | ·······/˘······· |
| Wy, dey ain't no use in sinnin' when 'uligion 's sweet ez dis. | 16 | ················ |
| Talk erbout a man backslidin' w'en he 's on de gospel way; | 16 | ·············/˘· |
| No, suh, I done beat de debbil, an' Temptation 's los' de day. | 16 | ·········˘/˘···· |
| Gwine to keep my eyes right straight up, gwine to shet my eahs, an' see | 15 | ··············· |
| Whut ole projick Mistah Satan 's gwine to try to wuk on me. | 16 | ······/˘········ |
| Listen, whut dat soun' I hyeah dah? 'tain't no one commence to sing; | 15 | /˘·········˘/·· |
| It 's a fiddle; git erway dah! don' you hyeah dat blessid thing? | 16 | ···/˘·/˘········ |
| W'y, dat's sweet ez drippin' honey, 'cause, you knows, I draws de bow, | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| An' when music's sho' 'nough music, I 's de one dat's sho' to know. | 16 | ··/˘··/˘········ |
| W'y, I 's done de double shuffle, twell a body could n't res', | 16 | ·····/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Jes' a-hyeahin' Sam de fiddlah play dat chune his level bes'; | 15 | ············/˘· |
| I could cut a mighty caper, I could gin a mighty fling | 15 | ····/˘/˘····/˘· |
| Jes' right now, I 's mo' dan suttain I could cut de pigeon wing. | 16 | ·············/˘· |
| Look hyeah, whut 's dis I 's been sayin'? whut on urf 's tuk holt o' me? | 18 | ········/˘········ |
| Dat ole music come nigh runnin' my 'uligion up a tree! | 15 | ··/˘··/˘······· |
| Cleah out wif dat dah ole fiddle, don' you try dat trick agin; | 16 | /˘·····/˘·····˘/ |
| Did n't think I could be tempted, but you lak to made me sin! | 15 | ······/˘······· |
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.