Analysis of The Bumblebee

James Whitcomb Riley 1849 (Greenfield) – 1916 (Indianapolis)



1     You better not fool with a Bumblebee! --
2     Ef you don't think they can sting -- you'll see!
3     They're lazy to look at, an' kind o' go
4     Buzzin' an' bummin' aroun' so slow,
5     An' ac' so slouchy an' all fagged out,
6     Danglin' their legs as they drone about
7     The hollyhawks 'at they can't climb in
8     'Ithout ist a-tumble-un out ag'in!
9     Wunst I watched one climb clean 'way
10   In a jimson-blossom, I did, one day, --
11   An' I ist grabbed it -- an' nen let go --
12   An' "Ooh-ooh! Honey! I told ye so!"
13   Says The Raggedy Man; an' he ist run
14   An' pullt out the stinger, an' don't laugh none,
15   An' says: "They has be'n folks, I guess,
16   'At thought I wuz predjudust, more er less, --
17   Yit I still muntain 'at a Bumblebee
18   Wears out his welcome too quick fer me!"


Scheme ABCCDDEEFFCCGGHHAB
Poetic Form
Metre 11011101 111111111 1101111111 111111 111111111 11111101 0111110 110101110 1111111 001101111 111111111 111101111 1010011111 1110101111 111111111 11111101 1111101 111101111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 831
Words 164
Sentences 8
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 18
Lines Amount 18
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 12
Letters per stanza (avg) 540
Words per stanza (avg) 214
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

50 sec read
98

James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively. more…

All James Whitcomb Riley poems | James Whitcomb Riley Books

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