Analysis of I’m an Older Man Than You
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
WHEN you’ve managed with the tailor for a rig-out of a sort
And you find the coat or trousers are an inch or so too short,
Do not fret and swear and worry, make the tailor see you through—
I have been through many new suits, I’m an older man than you.
When your girl is interfering with your appetite and work,
With your sleep and time and reason till the jealous demons lurk;
When your girl is playing with you, leave her for a week or two:
If in vain, then quit for ever!—I’m an older man than you.
When your wife deceives or leaves you for a “blackguard”, “brute”, and “sot”,
And when not a soul believes you when you say that you were not;
Do not rave or brood and weaken, and the years will prove you true,
Let your own self be the beacon!—I’m an older man than you.
Do not take a silly mistress in your vanity accursed,
And a second wife (or husband) but reminds you of the first;
Banish mutual friends, and pity (kill or cure relations, too),
Shun false “reconciliation”—I’m an older man than you.
Be the cause however worthy, and your case however strong,
Be your wrong however cruel, drink will put you in the wrong.
Drink will neutralize and murder all the good that time can do
(Though our birthdays come together, I’m an older man than you).
But for ever and for ever, over seas and through the lands,
Go the hand laid on the shoulder and the silent grip of hands
With a world of human feeling—men who know and men who knew:
Clear your soul of pessimism—I’m an older man than you.
Scheme | AABB CCBB XXBB AXBB DDBB EEBB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (67%) |
Metre | 111010101011101 011011101111111 111010101010111 111110111110111 1111010111001 111010101010101 111110111010111 101111101110111 1111111101101 011010111111101 111110100011111 111110101110111 11101010011001 001011101011101 1010010101110101 1100101110111 1011010011101 11110101111001 11100101011111 110110101110111 111001101010101 101110100010111 101110101110111 11111001110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 1,519 |
Words | 289 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 48 |
Words per line (avg) | 12 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 191 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 48 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:26 min read
- 87 Views
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"I’m an Older Man Than You" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17818/i%E2%80%99m-an-older-man-than-you>.
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