Analysis of Young Kings and Old
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
The Young King fights in the trenches and the Old King fights in the rear—
Because he is old and feeble, and not for a thought of fear.
The Young King fights for the Future, and the Old King fights for the Past—
The Young King is fighting his first fight and the Old King is fighting his last.
It is ever the same old battle, be the end of it Beer or Blood—
Or whether the rifles rattle, or whether a friend flings mud;
Or a foe to the rescue dashes, and the touch of a stranger thrills—
Or the Truth—or the bayonet flashes; or the Lie—or a bullet kills.
The young man strives to determine which are the truths or lies,
And the old man preaches his sermon—and he takes to his bed and dies;
And the parson is there, and the nurse is (or the bread is there and the wine)—
And the son of the minister curses as he dies in the firing line.
And ever, and ever, and ever, as it was in ages untold,
The women grow still more “clever,” and the young know more than the old;
Till the seer on the hill cries “Treason!” and the witch grins out of her hole—
And a clarion voice shouts “Reason”!—and the Drums of Destruction roll.
The young bard bounds to the office, with eyes and with cheeks a-glow,
And he meets the old on the stairway, with tottering knees and slow.
And ever the Cowards of Conscience, or Envy, or Greed—or Trade
Are forcing us back from Antwerp, or forcing us from Belgrade.
But courage! By hut or steeple!—and courage for old and young!
No song for the sullen people has ever been left unsung!
And the crudest note that was worthy has never gone by unfelt—
I shall die in peace by the Danube, while you shall sing by the Scheldt!
Scheme | AABBCCDD EEFF GGHH IIJJ KKBB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0111001000111001 011110100110111 0111101000111101 011110111001111011 11100111010111111 110010101100111 10110101000110101 10110101010110101 01111010110111 00111011001111101 001011001110111001 001101001011100101 01001001011101001 0101111000111101 10110111000111101 00100111000110101 011110101101101 011011011100101 0100101101101111 110111101101110 110111100101101 111010101101101 00111110110111 1110110101111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 1,667 |
Words | 324 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 53 |
Words per line (avg) | 13 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 253 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 64 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:37 min read
- 59 Views
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"Young Kings and Old" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18198/young-kings-and-old>.
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