Winter's Approach
De sun hit shine an' de win' hit blow,Ol' Brer Rabbit be a-layin' low,He know dat de wintah time a-comin',De huntah man he walk an' wait,He walk right by Brer Rabbit's gate--He know--
De dog he lick his sliverin' chop,An' he tongue 'gin' his mouf go flop, flop--He--He rub his nose fu' to clah his scentSo's to tell w'ich way dat cottontail went,He--
De huntah's wife she set an' spinA good wahm coat fu' to wrop him inShe--She look at de skillet an' she smile, oh my!An' ol' Brer Rabbit got to sholy fly.Dey know.
Words in this poem
- flop v. t.
- To clap or strike, as a bird its wings, a fish its tail, etc.; to flap. [A variant of flap.]
- cottontail n.
- The American wood rabbit (Lepus sylvaticus); -- also called Molly cottontail.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- skillet n.
- A small vessel of iron, copper, or other metal, with a handle, used for culinary purpose, as for stewing meat. [OF. escuelette, dim. of escuelle a porringer, F. ecuelle, fr. L. scutella, dim. of scutra, scuta, a dish. Cf. Scuttle a basket.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Winter's Approach 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, Winter's Approach, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/winter-s-approach.html, id L00848.
Form and metre
Winter's Approach is 18 lines in 3 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 71%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 AA-BBA blowA · lowA · comin · waitB · gateB · knowA
- 2 AABCCB chopA · flopA · heB · scentC · wentC · heB
- 3 AABBB- spinA · inA · sheB · myB · flyB · know
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| De sun hit shine an' de win' hit blow, | 9 | ········· |
| Ol' Brer Rabbit be a-layin' low, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| He know dat de wintah time a-comin', | 10 | ········/˘ |
| De huntah man he walk an' wait, | 8 | ········ |
| He walk right by Brer Rabbit's gate-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| He know-- | 2 | ·· |
| De dog he lick his sliverin' chop, | 9 | ········· |
| An' he tongue 'gin' his mouf go flop, flop-- | 9 | ········· |
| He-- | 1 | · |
| He rub his nose fu' to clah his scent | 9 | ········· |
| So's to tell w'ich way dat cottontail went, | 10 | ······/˘˘· |
| He-- | 1 | · |
| De huntah's wife she set an' spin | 8 | ········ |
| A good wahm coat fu' to wrop him in | 9 | ········· |
| She-- | 1 | · |
| She look at de skillet an' she smile, oh my! | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| An' ol' Brer Rabbit got to sholy fly. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Dey know. | 2 | ·· |
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.