About poet
Born in Indianapolis in 1853 James Whitcomb Riley's popularity is largely based on his poetic portrayal of the common man and his hardships whether he is working on the farm or in the workshop.
Riley was born in the little country town of Greenfield, twenty miles east of Indianapolis in 1853. He dabbled with being a painter first painting advertisements for patent medicines and then for the many local business firms. Later on he tried his hand at writing for newspapers. Eventually he broadened his worksphere to and became a travelling lecturer, and reader of his penned poems.
Much of his poetry charms us with its presentation of rural life. The Old Swimmin'-Hole and 'Leven More Poems (1883), is a purely delightful poem collection. Our Hired Girl is one from this collection.
About poem
Although Riley also wrote on important subjects, he is best remembered as the poet of Indiana’s ordinary people. Two such people are the Raggedy Man and ‘Lizabuth Ann, the hired girl. Unlike Little Orphan Annie, who is working for her keep, the hired hand and the hired girl are working for a busy farm family and receiving wages. The Raggedy Man was a real person that Riley knew as a boy. As in many of Riley’s poems, we see the hired hand and ‘Lizabuth Ann from the perspective of the child who narrates the poems. Both The Raggedy Man and Our Hired Girl offer insight to the type of work done on farms and in farm households during Riley’s youth. Although they are humble people, it is clear that they are kind, good humored, and willing to take time out from their work to pay attention to children. They are people who will shake a crunchy apple down from the apple tree or offer a child a slice of warm custard pie.
Entire poem can be found at -
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44954/our-hired-girl
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