The Souls of Black Folk
Chapter 14: Of the Sorrow Songs
by W. E. B. Du Bois
Du Bois explains and presents the Sorrow Songs of the olden days.
Du Bois explains and presents the Sorrow Songs of the olden days.
Curly and Flop look for adventures and come upon a school. They find they can’t spell or cut paper, but they can do tricks and, after scaring away a bear, are invited to join the class.
So bashful when I spied her
She died, — this was the way she died;
Some say thy fault is youth, some wantonness
A child’s nursery rhyme involving multiplication.
A child observes the many sites that adorn the Indian River.
The author gives the reader some insight to into the purpose of his book.
The author admires the nature along the banks of the Oklawaha River.
"Yes, my ha’t ’s ez ha’d ez stone—"
Mary and Dickon take Colin to see the garden. At once, his pale skin becomes rosey again. Mary and Colin both comment about this being their first time seeing springtime.
A man and woman wish for a child. One winter they decide to create a snow child, and are shocked to see their creation miraculously come to life. They treat the child, Snowflake, as their own and shower her with love and affection. Unfortunately the arrival of spring brings changes that cause unhappiness.
"Wen I git up in de mo’nin’ an’ de clouds is big an’ black,"
A short story about a robin who flies north in the springtime, builds a nest for his mate, and migrates south for the winter.
One dignity delays for all
The natural beauty of the Tamiami Trail is described.
A poem about the ringing of the bells in a Flemish belfry
A poem about violence and war.
The author imagines the life and hardships experienced by the deceased.
There came a day at summer's full
"My muvver’s ist the nicest one"
"Thou wouldst be loved?—then let thy heart"
"The whole question of choosing one’s next working hypothesis has been fogged, owing to people’s neglect of a very simple principle..."
The grass so little has to do, —