Analysis of Every Man Should have a Rifle
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
So I sit and write and ponder, while the house is deaf and dumb,
Seeing visions "over yonder" of the war I know must come.
In the corner - not a vision - but a sign for coming days
Stand a box of ammunition and a rifle in green baize.
And in this, the living present, let the word go through the land,
Every tradesman, clerk and peasant should have these two things at hand.
No - no ranting song is needed, and no meeting, flag or fuss -
In the future, still unheeded, shall the spirit come to us!
Without feathers, drum or riot on the day that is to be,
We shall march down, very quiet, to our stations by the sea.
While the bitter parties stifle every voice that warns of war,
Every man should own a rifle and have cartridges in store!
Scheme | AABBCC DDEEFF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111010101011101 101010101011111 001010101011101 10110100010011 001010101011101 100110101111111 111011100110111 001010101010111 011011101011111 1111101011010101 1010101010011111 1001110100110001 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 746 |
Words | 148 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 12 |
Letters per line (avg) | 47 |
Words per line (avg) | 12 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 283 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 73 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 44 sec read
- 95 Views
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"Every Man Should have a Rifle" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17785/every-man-should-have-a-rifle>.
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