I have a lurking suspicion by Mark Twain — Analysis & Translation

Original Poem

I have a lurking suspicion That this man is a myth And should I ever ask about him Wheeler may recollect old man Jim Regardless I let him go his own way And never interrupted him Once Sure enough he starts on about old Jim Smiley I do not find buttonholing beguiling I heard all about how He’d bet if he could get anyone to bet on the other side And if he couldn’t He’d change sides Dog fight? Bet on it. Cat fight? Bet on it. CHICKEN fight? Bet on it. He’d foller a doggone straddle bug to Mexico If he could bet on Where he was bound for and how long He’d be on the road Thish-yer Smiley had a Mare And thish-yer Smiley had a cow And thish-yer Smiley had a little bull pup And thish-yer Smiley had rat terriers And Chicken cocks, and Tomcats And E-I-E-I-O he had the whole darn Farm To bet on. The bull pup would freeze to the hind legs Of the other fighting dog Till he harnessed a dog that didn’t have no hind legs … Then he looked sort of discouraged like He didn’t try no more to win the fight He limped off a piece And laid down And died. And thish-yer Smiley had a frog Dan’l Webster was the name of the frog And Smiley was dead set on learning that frog to jump He’d sit him down and give him a little punch on the rump And up goes Dan’l “flies, Dan’l, Flies” If you were to ask old man Smiley “What might it be that you've got in the box?” He’d respond “It might be a canary, maybe, but it ain’t, it’s only just a frog … Well Thish-yer Smiley had a yaller one-eyed cow-” I did not wait to hear about the afflicted cow.

Translation (English)

I have a feeling That this man might not be real And if I ever ask about him Wheeler might remember old Jim Anyway I let him do his own thing And never stopped him Once Sure enough, he starts talking about old Jim Smiley I don't find being cornered interesting I heard all about how He’d bet if he could get someone to bet against him And if he couldn’t He’d switch sides Dog fight? Bet on it. Cat fight? Bet on it. CHICKEN fight? Bet on it. He’d follow a bug to Mexico If he could bet on Where it was going and how long It would take This Smiley had a horse And this Smiley had a cow And this Smiley had a little bull dog And this Smiley had rat terriers And roosters, and Tomcats And E-I-E-I-O he had the whole farm To bet on. The bull dog would hold onto the back legs Of the other fighting dog Until he faced a dog without back legs … Then he looked kind of discouraged He didn’t try to win the fight anymore He limped away And laid down And died. And this Smiley had a frog Dan’l Webster was the frog’s name And Smiley was determined to teach that frog to jump He’d sit him down and give him a little push on the backside And up goes Dan’l “flies, Dan’l, Flies” If you asked old man Smiley “What do you have in the box?” He’d say “It might be a canary, maybe, but it’s not, it’s just a frog … Well, this Smiley had a yellow one-eyed cow-” I didn’t wait to hear about the sick cow.

About the Poet

Mark Twain (19th Century)

Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was an American writer and humorist known for his novels 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer' and 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'. He is celebrated for his wit and social commentary.

Historical Context

Literary Form: Narrative Poem
When Written: 1865
Background: The poem is part of Mark Twain's short story 'The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County', which was written to capture the local color and humor of the American frontier. It reflects Twain's interest in the eccentricities of human nature and the culture of gambling.

Sources: https://www.classicshorts.com/stories/frog.html, https://genius.com/Mark-twain-the-celebrated-jumping-frog-of-calaveras-county-annotated

Detailed Explanation

This poem is a humorous narrative that reflects the storytelling style of Mark Twain. It centers around a character named Jim Smiley, who is known for his compulsive gambling on anything and everything. The narrator expresses skepticism about Smiley's existence, suggesting he might be a myth. The poem humorously recounts Smiley's betting habits, including his willingness to bet on animal fights and even on a bug's journey. Smiley's collection of animals, including a mare, cow, bull pup, and frog named Dan'l Webster, serves as subjects for his bets. The poem captures the eccentricity and humor of Smiley's character, as well as the absurdity of his gambling obsession. Twain's use of dialect and colloquial language adds to the authenticity and charm of the narrative, making it a classic example of American humor and local color writing.

Themes

Literary Devices

Word Dictionary

Word	Meaning	Translation	Transliteration
lurking	hidden	a hidden or sneaky presence	lur-king
suspicion	doubt	a feeling that something might be true	sus-pi-cion
myth	legend	a widely held but false belief	mith
recollect	remember	to bring back to mind	re-col-lect
beguiling	charming	pleasantly attractive	be-guil-ing
buttonholing	cornering	to stop someone and engage them in conversation	but-ton-hol-ing
foller	follow	to go after someone or something	fol-ler
straddle bug	a type of bug	a bug that straddles or spreads its legs	strad-dle bug
yaller	yellow	the color yellow	yal-ler
afflicted	suffering	suffering or affected by something	af-flict-ed