Analysis of Trouble on the Selection
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
You lazy boy, you’re here at last,
You must be wooden-legged;
Now, are you sure the gate is fast
And all the sliprails pegged
And all the milkers at the yard,
The calves all in the pen?
We don’t want Poley’s calf to suck
His mother dry again.
And did you mend the broken rail
And make it firm and neat?
I s’pose you want that brindle steer
All night among the wheat.
And if he finds the lucerne patch,
He’ll stuff his belly full;
He’ll eat till he gets ‘blown’ on that
And busts like Ryan’s bull.
Old Spot is lost? You’ll drive me mad,
You will, upon my soul!
She might be in the boggy swamps
Or down a digger’s hole.
You needn’t talk, you never looked
You’d find her if you’d choose,
Instead of poking ’possum logs
And hunting kangaroos.
How came your boots as wet as muck?
You tried to drown the ants!
Why don’t you take your bluchers off,
Good Lord, he’s tore his pants!
Your father’s coming home to-night;
You’ll catch it hot, you’ll see.
Now go and wash your filthy face
And come and get your tea.
Scheme | AXAXXBCBXDXDXEXE XFXFXGXG CHXHXIXI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011111 1111010 11110111 01011 0101101 011001 1111111 110101 01110101 011101 11111101 110101 01110101 111101 11111111 011101 11111111 110111 1110011 110101 1111101 110111 01110101 01001 11111111 111101 1111111 111111 11010111 111111 11011101 010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,022 |
Words | 196 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 16, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 253 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 65 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 21, 2023
- 58 sec read
- 37 Views
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"Trouble on the Selection" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18165/trouble-on-the-selection>.
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