Analysis of The Handicap
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)
I think I should suit, for I've knowledge minute
Of all tickets, time-tables, and trains;
All speedings and slowings and comings and goings
Are deeply impressed on my brains.
I know just how long the express to Geelong
Stops outside certain stations; and where
All the footwarmers go when the winter winds blow.
So I think I am qualified there.
I can find you a porter, or see that your daughter
Leaves safely for Sydney. My list
Of refreshment-room fare is exclusive and rare
I can tell you what trains you have missed.
I can find little Willie, or mind little Millie
While Mother, with no time to spare,
Goes to buy her a bun. I can tell you what won
All the races. I'm competent there.
I have knowledge unique of what days in the week
Trains stop at your station - or not.
I can tell ('Sat. excepted') what trains are connected
With which. I am au fait with the lot.
On 'Mon. only' or 'Tues.' I have accurate views.
I can tell you on 'Suns.' when and where
You can gather mushrooms or the gold wattle blooms;
So I feel I am competent there.
And, with all this assortment of facts, my deportment,
Impressive, yet friendly, is right.
At my resonant voice all the ladies rejoice;
And fools flock to me, dribbling delight.
My garments I wear with an air debonair;
But one handicap stands in my way:
Tho' in all else I'm 'It,' those who know me admit
That I look simply awful in grey.
Scheme | XAXABCXC XDCDXCXC BEXEXCXC XFXFCGXG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111111010 111011001 1101010010 11001111 1111100111 111101001 1011101011 11111101 1111010111110 11011011 101011101001 111111111 1111010111010 11011111 111001111111 101011001 111001111001 11111011 11111111010 111111101 111011111001 111111101 111010101101 111111001 0111010111010 01011011 111001101001 0111110001 1101111101 11101011 101111111101 111101001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,363 |
Words | 264 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 266 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 66 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:19 min read
- 125 Views
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"The Handicap" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6665/the-handicap>.
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