Poem- "A Negro Love Song" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

[Ms. Knarr]

A Negro Love Song By Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872–1906



Seen my lady home las' night,

Jump back, honey, jump back.

Hel' huh han' an' sque'z it tight,

Jump back, honey, jump back.

Hyeahd huh sigh a little sigh,

Seen a light gleam f'om huh eye,

An' a smile go flittin' by —

Jump back, honey, jump back.



Hyeahd de win' blow thoo de pine,

Jump back, honey, jump back.

Mockin'-bird was singin' fine,

Jump back, honey, jump back.

An' my hea't was beatin' so,

When I reached my lady's do',

Dat I could n't ba' to go —

Jump back, honey, jump back.



Put my ahm aroun' huh wais',

Jump back, honey, jump back.

Raised huh lips an' took a tase,

Jump back, honey, jump back.

Love me, honey, love me true?

Love me well ez I love you?

An' she answe'd, "'Cose I do"—

Jump back, honey, jump back.

[stephhsieh]

First Post-

1. I believe the overall meaning of this poem is about a man's love toward his wife or someone he adores. I also believe that poem isn't just about a man trying to gain affection from another, but trying to get her physically as well. In a sense, the poem is about teasing each other and telling each other how much they adore one another. It could be about a man trying to woo a woman he knows, or a husband telling his wife how much he loves her and what he loves about her.

2. I neither liked nor disliked this poem. At first, the poem was kind of confusing to understand but when I tried to make sense of it in "normal" words, it made a little more sense. However, I do like the fact that if you read it out loud, it really does sound like a song! I didn't really particularly like this poem because it's sort of boring and I, personally, didn't a mean to this poem. I thought it was interesting, because if you think about many song in our time period are also about being in love and having love and all sorts of loving emotions.

3.
Q1. Why do you think Dunbar chose to title "A Negro Love Song" and not just "A Love Song"?
Q2. What do you think Dunbar means when he says, "jump back, honey, jump back"?
Q3. Why does he write like the way he did? (is that just his style of writing?)
Q4. Do you really consider this a "love song"?

[anniepirone]

1. After reading this poem, I would have to completely agree with you Steph. As soon as you read the first stanza of this poem it is clear that the author is attempting to create the story of a man yearning for the love of a special woman; whether she's his wife, or an ordinary woman. You can also decipher that this man is "heels over head" for this woman and will do anything to just hold her in his arms. I would also have to agree with Steph that a key theme in this poem is allowing two people in a relationship to express their love for each other in ways other than physically ( i.e. teasing each other or just telling one another how much you love them).
2. Overall, I had really enjoyed reading this poem. I will say though, when I had first read this poem I had found it difficult to fully understand the dialect that Dunbar had used. Regardless, I always enjoy reading about anything involving love and positive emotions which is why I ultimately enjoyed this particular poem. Also, I didn't realize it at first, but Steph you're right about this poem also being a song! Very catchy!
3. To answer your first question, Dunbar had chosen the title, "A Negro Love Song" and not just, "A Love Song" for probably two reasons. To begin, not only was Dunbar African American himself, but he was a popular writer during African American's rise in the literary world. Dunbar had most likely chosen to give this poem the title he did to show "power" and uprising to the African American race. By giving the poem such a title, Dunbar could had been implying that African Americans have emotions as well, they aren't known only for slavery.
Q: Why do you think Dunbar had used the dialect he had for this poem?

[clareaker]

1. I completely agree with both Steph and Annie. I think the poem is about a man that is infatuated with another woman, whether it's his wife, girlfriend, or just another girl that he knows. He clearly finds this woman attractive and wants to be with her physically. I think the poem is emphasizing this man being nervous when he was approaching the woman he was longing for. For example, he repeats the phrase "jump back" which i think is expressing him trying to hold back his feelings, although in the end he doesn't hold them back at all. I think the man does love the woman in this poem, but i would have to say he seems very focused on the act of being with her physically.
2. I really liked this poem because it was short and sweet and kept my intrest. I liked how the poem was a story line and you get to see what happens between the two charcters. I enjoy reading about anything involving love stories, so that is just another reason i liked this poem! I thought this poem was simple and clear, and i agree with both Steph and Annie that it was very catchy.
3. Steph, to answer your second question, I think Dunbar means that the character is trying to hold back his feelings for this woman or at least restrain himself at first when he says "jump back" several times in this poem.
Q: Where do you think this poem takes place? Where is this woman that the man in the poem is trying to reach?

[stephhsieh]

1. I'm happy to hear that both peers agreed with my analysis of the poem. I, too, still believe this poem is about the affection a man feels for a woman. I completely agree with Annie and Clare's thought process and analysis of the poem.

2. (answering Annie's question) I believe that Dunbar used the dialect, "Cose I do", to emphasize to love between the two people. Also to have the reader understand that the love isn't an "one way" love, but both have companionship for one another.

(my question) Do you believe the man Dunbar talks about in his poem is relating to himself or another man? Or possible it could be about his wife or girlfriend that cheated on him with another man, and the poem could be for that mans point of view. What your thought process about this?

[caileighidell]

1. I agree, as well, with all of my peers' analyses. This poem is a merely a simple love poem that a man wrote for the woman he genuinely adores. The phrase "jump back" is used here as a way for this man to back away from his feelings when he feels intimidated by this said woman. In the end of this poem the man learns that this woman does indeed love him as he loves her. This, however, does not hold him back from staying intimidated by her.

2. I thoroughly enjoyed this poem because I found it to be an adorable way for a man to express his true feelings for a woman. It was nice to see such a true perspective on love that was not overdrawn out but still interesting. I did, however, sometimes find this poem hard to understand because of the author's use of dialect.

3.(answer to Steph's final question) Dunbar gave me an inkling that this poem was his perspective on the woman that he loves or at least had loved at some point. I never felt as though there was any sort of infidelity behind Dunbar's writing at all. What I took from this poem was a sincere outlet for the author to profess his love with a slight insecurity of his own self.

4.(my question) *How exactly does this said woman feel about the man who loves her?

[chrismarrie]

1. I agree in that the meaning of the poem is clearly about a man and his love for some other woman. However, I think it is in more of a physical sense, since in the poem he talks about kissing her lips and putting his arm around her. The man seems to be unsure if her feelings are mutual through almost the entire poem, where he does different things to try to get close to her. At the very end he gets this reasurance when he finally asks her if she loves him as much as he feels for her, and she responds with a yes.

2. I did not really enjoy this poem. From the start, I think his styling of writing made the poem very difficult to understand when reading some lines. There wasn't that much too it and with the lack of description it made it hard to picture what was happening. However, I did sort of like how as Steph said, it does sound like a song and shows how much this guy adores his wife or woman.

3.(Steph's question 3) I think he wrote this way because he was trying to make this story of the two lovers take place during a time of slavery. To make it really get the affect, he wrote this way to portray how it was back then when Africans Americans were not highly educated.
(My question) When in the poem it says "An' my hea't was beatin' so," is that saying the man was nervous?

[dannyreilly]

I think the overal meaning of the song is what a lot of others said. It is about a man and his love for some woman. It talks about all his emotions he feels when he sees her, is with her and when he isn't with her. At the very end he builds up the courage to ask her if she loves him and she does.

I overall liked the song. It is kind of hard to read and follow (like Chris said) because of the dialect but I like the story it told. I like how it went through each step of the man's feelings up until he could ask her if she loved him.

(Answering Chris) I don't think it means he was nervous as much as the girl gets his heart racing, meaning she makes him feel happy and excited.

(My question) Because it is technically a song, is there a tune or background music that goes with it?

[karlpreisner]

1. I agree with Steph. This poem is about a man loving a woman. The language dialect resembles a black in a wooing voice directed at his wife. The misspelled words in the dialect aid in the pronunciation in the song.
2.I liked this poem/song. It makes me think of other love songs too.In my opinion, love is the most powerful emotion and should be treated as such. This song displays the sensual side of love.
3. To answer Danny's question. I did a quick search of the song and found this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxGahFxBnGY. It appears that there are versions to the song out there, you just have to start looking.
Q:The last time Paul Dun says "Jump back honey, jump back" Does it have a different meaning from the other times he said it?

[maureen]

1. I agree with Steph's comment on how this poem shows a sweet adoration for a woman from h man's point of view. This poem is exactly what it states and there is no underlying meaning. This shows more of a playful, sensitive, sweet side to a relationship.

2. I really enjoyed the simplicity of this poem and how it seemed to be much more positive than the other poems. I read it with a more happy tone than the others and I like how it shows that the sweet side to life and how someones companionship can make you light up.

3. I don't think the last line is different from the others. Instead I think they are all the same and I think it is the authors way to tell the reader to pull memories from their own past about a person that made them feel this way.

Q: Do you think that the author wants the readers to have a very specific image in their mind or more of what they make of it?