Analysis of William Street
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
’Tis William Street, the link street,
That seems to stand alone;
’Tis William Street, the vague street,
With terraces of stone:
That starts with clean, cool pockets,
And ancient stable ways,
And built by solid landlords
And in more solid days.
Beginning where the shadow streets
Of vacant wealth begin,
Street William runs down sadly
Across the vale of sin.
’Tis William Street, the haggard,
Where all the streets are mean
That’s trying to be honest,
That’s trying to keep clean.
’Tis William Street with method,
And nought of show or pride,
That tries to keep its business
Upon the right-hand side.
No pavement exhibition
Of carcases and slops;
But old-established principles
In old-established shops.
’Tis William Street the highway—
Whichever way it be—
To business and the theatres,
Or empty luxury.
’Tis William Street (the East-end)—
The world-wise and exempt—
That sells Potts Point its purgatives
With something of contempt.
With fronts that hint of England,
As England used to be,
Old houses once in gardens,
And signs of Italy.
With hints of the forgotten,
Strange Sydney of the past,
When bricks were burnt for all time,
And walls were built to last.
’Tis William Street that rises
From stagnant dust and heat,
(Old trees by the Museum
Hold back with hands and feet)—
And where the blind are plying
Deft fingers, supple wrists—
’Tis William Street, exclusive,
Where pray the Methodists.
The blind courts see the clearer,
Side lanes grow trim and neat,
The wretched streets are cleaner
That run from William Street.
The sick streets’ lonely matron
Seems stern, as matrons do—
’Tis William Street, redeeming,
Regenerating “Loo.”
Scheme | ABABCDXDXEFEXGXG XHXHICXX XFXFXJCJ XFXFIKXK XAXALXXC MAMAINLN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101011 111101 1101011 110011 1111110 010101 011101 001101 0101011 110101 1101110 010111 1101010 110111 1101110 110111 1101110 011111 1111110 010111 110010 1101 11010100 010101 110101 010111 11000100 110100 1101011 011001 111111 110101 1111110 110111 1101010 011100 1110010 110101 1101111 010111 1101110 110101 1110010 111101 0101110 110101 1101010 1101 0111010 111101 0101110 111101 0111010 111101 1101010 01001 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,638 |
Words | 274 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 16, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 216 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 45 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:22 min read
- 115 Views
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"William Street" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 Sep. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18192/william-street>.
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