Analysis of They Can Only Drag You Down
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
Leader, poet, singer, artist, who have struggled long and won,
Though the climbing is behind you, now the battle has begun,
Shut your ears unto the empty parrot phrases of the town,
Shun the hand-grips of your rivals, they can only drag you down.
See the bush or quiet chamber, work – for you have work to do,
Though the city shall be lighted and the table spread for you –
Work through ease and pleasure call you, work when you have care to drown,
Shun the wine-cup like a serpent, it can only drag you down.
And the star eyes and the red lips, luring ever to a wreck,
And the beauty of the white arms clinging closely round your neck!
Golden head thrown back and white arms clinging closer when you frown,
Tear them from your neck if need be – they can only drag you down.
Scheme | AABB CCBB DDBB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 101010101110101 101010111010101 111100101010101 101111101110111 101110101111111 101011100010111 111010111111111 101110101110111 001100111010101 001010111010111 101110111010111 111111111110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 778 |
Words | 151 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 12 |
Letters per line (avg) | 50 |
Words per line (avg) | 12 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 200 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 50 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 117 Views
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"They Can Only Drag You Down" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18147/they-can-only-drag-you-down>.
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