Analysis of Ballad of Bopard Defied
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)
As I came to a playing-field on happy summer day
Two strudy youths I did espy; at cricket they did play.
One had the ball, one had the bat, and, with a right good smack,
As one tossed up the crimson sphere, the other smote it back.
Now, as I reached the bowler's end, I saw the young man quail;
His hand they shook, his knees went crook, his face was ashen pale;
Then, with a gulty kind of look, he cast the ball away,
And in a weak and trembling voice these words to me did say:
(In a tearful, pleading voice, with plenty of temolo and shivering grass.)
'Don't tell them that you saw me,
Or that I misbehaved.
Their methods over-aw me;
But I would not be enslaved.
I love my freeders, msiter, as much as any man;
But, oh, I love my bit of cricket, too.
And I dearly love to bowl,
But the great Board of Control,
They would chain me to their chariot if they knoo.'
(Adopt severe judicial manner, frowning darkly.)
'Young man,' I said, 'it grieves me this state of things to find,
For it is all too clear to me you have the crim'nal mind.
Thus to play without a licence and the noble Board defy
Is very reprehensible. 'Tut, tut!' I said, 'Fie, fie!'
With salt tears streaming from his eyes, he bowed his head in shame.
'Come, come,' I said, 'there's hope for you. Buck up and play the game.'
Then I eyed the other stripling; but, much to my dismay,
In tones most ungrammatical these words I heard him say: -
(In ringing, defiant accents, full of roughneck pride.)
'Go tell them that you seen me;
Go bowl it in their ear.
But no Board won't come between me
An' the game I 'old so dear,
I don't want to go to Indier or England with no team,
Fair Ostral-i-ar is good enough fur me!
I will never sell me soul
To no crool Board of Control;
For me favorite game is ping-pong, an' I'm free!'
Scheme | AABBCCAAX DEDEFXGGFD HHIIJJAAX DXDXXDGGD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110101110101 1111110110111 11011101010111 11110101010111 1111011110111 11111111111101 1101111110101 000101001111111 00101011101101001 1111111 11101 1101011 1111101 11111111101 1111111101 0110111 1011101 111111100111 0101010101010 1111111111111 1111111111011 111010100010101 1100100111111 11110111111101 11111111110101 11101010111101 0111111111 010010101111 1111111 111011 11111011 1011111 1111111110111 1111110111 1110111 1111101 111001111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,762 |
Words | 360 |
Sentences | 20 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 10, 9, 9 |
Lines Amount | 37 |
Letters per line (avg) | 36 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 333 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 88 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:48 min read
- 78 Views
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"Ballad of Bopard Defied" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6208/ballad-of-bopard-defied>.
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