Analysis of A Feel In The Chris'mas-Air

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



They's a kind o' _feel_ in the air, to me.
When the Chris'mas-times sets in.
That's about as much of a mystery
As ever I've run ag'in!--
Fer instunce, now, whilse I gain in weight
And gineral health, I swear
They's a _goneness_ somers I can't quite state--
A kind o' _feel_ in the air.

They's a feel in the Chris'mas-air goes right
To the spot where a man _lives_ at!--
It gives a feller a' appetite--
They ain't no doubt about _that_!--
And yit they's _somepin_'--I don't know what--
That follers me, here and there,
And ha'nts and worries and spares me not--
A kind o' feel in the air!

They's a _feel_, as I say, in the air that's jest
As blame-don sad as sweet!--
In the same ra-sho as I feel the best
And am spryest on my feet,
They's allus a kind o' sort of a' _ache_
That I can't lo-cate no-where;--
But it comes with _Chris'mas_, and no mistake!--
A kind o' feel in the air.

Is it the racket the childern raise?--
W'y, _no_!--God bless 'em!--_no_!--
Is it the eyes and the cheeks ablaze--
Like my _own_ wuz, long ago?--
Is it the bleat o' the whistle and beat
O' the little toy-drum and blare
O' the horn?--_No! no!_--it is jest the sweet--
The sad-sweet feel in the air.


Scheme ababcdcd execxdxD fgfgxdxD hbhxgdgd
Poetic Form
Metre 1011100111 1011110 1011110100 1101110 11111101 01111 101101111 0111001 1010011111 10110111 11010010 1111011 01111111 111101 010100111 0111001 10111100111 111111 0011111101 011111 110111101 1111111 111110101 0111001 11010011 100111111 110100101 1111101 1101101001 10101101 1011111101 0111001
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,155
Words 240
Sentences 20
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 211
Words per stanza (avg) 56
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:18 min read
85

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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