Analysis of The Tragedy
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
Oh, I never felt so wretched, and things never looked so blue
Since the days I gulped the physic that my Granny used to brew;
For a friend in whom I trusted, entering my room last night,
Stole a bottleful of Heenzo from the desk whereon I write.
I am certain sure he did it (though he never would let on),
For all last week he had a cold and to-day his cough is gone;
Now I'm sick and sore and sorry, and I'm sad for friendship's sake
(It was better than the cough-cure that our Granny used to make).
Oh, he might have pinched my whisky, and he might have pinched my beer,
Or all the fame or money that I make while writing here –
Oh, he might have shook the blankets and I'd not have made a row,
If he'd only left my Heenzo till the morning, anyhow.
So I've lost my faith in Mateship, which was all I had to lose
Since I lost my faith in Russia and myself and got the blues;
And so trust turns to suspicion, and so friendship turns to hate,
Even Kaiser Bill would never pinch his Heenzo from a mate.
Scheme | AABB XXCC XXXX DDEE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (50%) |
Metre | 111011100110111 10111011110111 101011101001111 10111101111 111011111110111 111111010111111 11101010011111 1110101111010111 111111100111111 11011101111101 111110100111101 1110111101010 11111011111111 11111010010101 011110100110111 10101110111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 1,010 |
Words | 203 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 48 |
Words per line (avg) | 13 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 191 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 50 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:02 min read
- 117 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Tragedy" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18122/the-tragedy>.
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