Analysis of Will Yer Write It Down for Me?
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
In the parlour of the shanty where the lives have all gone wrong,
When a singer or reciter gives a story or a song,
Where the poet’s heart is speaking to their hearts in every line,
Till the hardest curse and blubber at the thoughts of Auld Lang Syne;
Then a boozer lurches forward with an oath for all disguise—
Prayers and curses in his soul, and tears and liquor in his eyes—
Grasps the singer or reciter with a death-grip by the hand:
‘That’s the truth, bloke! Sling it at ’em! Oh! Gorbli’me, that was grand!
‘Don’t mind me; I’ve got ’em. You know! What’s yer name, bloke! Don’t yer see?
‘Who’s the bloke what wrote the po’try? Will yer write it down fer me?’
And the backblocks’ bard goes through it, ever seeking as he goes
For the line of least resistance to the hearts of men he knows;
And he tracks their hearts in mateship, and he tracks them out alone—
Seeking for the power to sway them, till he finds it in his own,
Feels what they feel, loves what they love, learns to hate what they condemn,
Takes his pen in tears and triumph, and he writes it down for them.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEE FFGGHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 001010101011111 1010111010101 1010111011101001 101010101011111 101010101111101 101001101010011 1010111011101 1011111111111 111111110111111 10111011111111 00111111010111 101110101011111 01111010111101 1010101111111011 111111111111101 111010100111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 1,106 |
Words | 209 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 6 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 51 |
Words per line (avg) | 13 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 410 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 103 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:02 min read
- 30 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Will Yer Write It Down for Me?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18191/will-yer-write-it-down-for-me%3F>.
Discuss this Henry Lawson poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In