Analysis of The Debt
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
This is the debt I pay
Just for one riotous day,
Years of regret and grief,
Sorrow without relief.
Pay it I will to the end --
Until the grave, my friend,
Gives me a true release --
Gives me the clasp of peace.
Slight was the thing I bought,
Small was the debt I thought,
Poor was the loan at best --
God! but the interest!
| Scheme | AABBCCDDEFGH |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 110111 1111001 110101 100101 1111101 010111 110101 110111 110111 110111 110111 11010 |
| Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
| Characters | 341 |
| Words | 69 |
| Sentences | 5 |
| Stanzas | 1 |
| Stanza Lengths | 12 |
| Lines Amount | 12 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 20 |
| Words per line (avg) | 6 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 241 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 67 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 11, 2023
- 20 sec read
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"The Debt" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28890/the-debt>.
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