Analysis of Mary Called Him 'Mister'
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
They'd parted but a year before—she never thought he’d come,
She stammer’d, blushed, held out her hand, and called him ‘Mister Gum.’
How could he know that all the while she longed to murmur ‘John.’
He called her ‘Miss le Brook,’ and asked how she was getting on.
They’d parted but a year before; they’d loved each other well,
But he’d been to the city, and he came back such a swell.
They longed to meet in fond embrace, they hungered for a kiss—
But Mary called him ‘Mister,’ and the idiot called her ‘Miss.’
He stood and lean’d against the door—a stupid chap was he—
And, when she asked if he’d come in and have a cup of tea,
He looked to left, he looked to right, and then he glanced behind,
And slowly doffed his cabbage-tree, and said he ‘didn’t mind.’
She made a shy apology because the meat was tough,
And then she asked if he was sure his tea was sweet enough;
He stirred the tea and sipped it twice, and answer’d ‘plenty, quite;’
And cut the smallest piece of beef and said that it was ‘right.’
She glanced at him at times and cough’d an awkward little cough;
He stared at anything but her and said, ‘I must be off.’
That evening he went riding north—a sad and lonely ride—
She locked herself inside her room, and there sat down and cried.
They’d parted but a year before, they loved each other well—
But she was such a country girl and he was such a swell ;
They longed to meet in fond embrace, they hungered for a kiss—
But Mary called him ‘Mister’ and the idiot called her ‘Miss.
Scheme | aabb ccDD eeff gghh xxii ccDD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (83%) |
Metre | 11010101110111 1111101011101 11111101111101 11010101111101 11010101111101 11110100111101 1111010111101 110111000100101 11010101010111 01111110010111 11111111011101 0101110101111 11010100010111 01111111111101 1101011101101 01010111011111 11111101110101 1111010011111 11011101010101 11010101011101 11010101111101 11110101011101 1111010111101 110111000100101 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 1,557 |
Words | 295 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 47 |
Words per line (avg) | 12 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 188 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 48 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:28 min read
- 64 Views
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"Mary Called Him 'Mister'" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17851/mary-called-him-%27mister%27>.
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