At Aunty's House
One time, when we'z at Aunty's house--'Way in the country!--whereThey's ist but woods--an' pigs, an' cows--An' all's out-doors an' air!--An' orchurd-swing; an' churry-trees--An' churries in 'em!--Yes, an' these--Here red-head birds steals all they please,An' tetch 'em ef you dare!--W'y, wunst, one time, when we wuz there,We et out on the porch!
Wite where the cellar-door wuz shutThe table wuz; an' ILet Aunty set by me an' cutMy vittuls up--an' pie.'Tuz awful funny!--I could seeThe red-heads in the churry-tree;An' bee-hives, where you got to beSo keerful, goin' by;--An' "Comp'ny" there an' all!--an' we--We et out on the porch!
An' I ist et p'surves an' things'At Ma don't 'low me to--An' chickun-gizzurds--(don't like wingsLike Parunts does! do you?)An' all the time, the wind blowed there,An' I could feel it in my hair,An' ist smell clover ever'where!--An' a' old red-head flewPurt' nigh wite over my high-chair,When we et on the porch!
Words in this poem
- wite n.
- Blame; reproach. [AS. wite punishment. Wite, v.]
- aunty n.
- A familiar name for an aunt. In the southern United States a familiar term applied to aged negro women.
- funny a.
- Droll; comical; amusing; laughable. Funny bone. See crazy bone, under Crazy. [From Fun.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
At Aunty's House is in the public domain. This text is taken from Riley Child-Rhymes, Project Gutenberg ebook #9777; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: James Whitcomb Riley, At Aunty's House, in Riley Child-Rhymes (1890), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9777, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/riley-child-rhymes/at-aunty-s-house.html, id L25040.
Form and metre
At Aunty's House is 30 lines in 3 stanzas of 10 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%).
See 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 -A-ABBBAA- house · whereA · cows · airA · treesB · theseB · pleaseB · dareA · thereA · porch
- 2 ABABCCCBC- shutA · iB · cutA · pieB · seeC · treeC · beC · byB · weC · porch
- 3 ABABCCCBC- thingsA · toB · wingsA · youB · thereC · hairC · ever'whereC · flewB · chairC · porch
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 |
|---|---|---|
| One time, when we'z at Aunty's house-- | 8 | ········ |
| 'Way in the country!--where | 6 | ···/˘· |
| They's ist but woods--an' pigs, an' cows-- | 8 | ········ |
| An' all's out-doors an' air!-- | 6 | ······ |
| An' orchurd-swing; an' churry-trees-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' churries in 'em!--Yes, an' these-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Here red-head birds steals all they please, | 8 | ········ |
| An' tetch 'em ef you dare!-- | 6 | ······ |
| W'y, wunst, one time, when we wuz there, | 8 | ········ |
| We et out on the porch! | 6 | ······ |
| Wite where the cellar-door wuz shut | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The table wuz; an' I | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Let Aunty set by me an' cut | 8 | ········ |
| My vittuls up--an' pie. | 6 | ······ |
| 'Tuz awful funny!--I could see | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The red-heads in the churry-tree; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' bee-hives, where you got to be | 8 | ········ |
| So keerful, goin' by;-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| An' "Comp'ny" there an' all!--an' we-- | 8 | ········ |
| We et out on the porch! | 6 | ······ |
| An' I ist et p'surves an' things | 7 | ······· |
| 'At Ma don't 'low me to-- | 6 | ······ |
| An' chickun-gizzurds--(don't like wings | 8 | ········ |
| Like Parunts does! do you?) | 6 | ······ |
| An' all the time, the wind blowed there, | 8 | ········ |
| An' I could feel it in my hair, | 8 | ········ |
| An' ist smell clover ever'where!-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' a' old red-head flew | 6 | ······ |
| Purt' nigh wite over my high-chair, | 8 | ········ |
| When we et on the porch! | 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.