Analysis of A Mate can do no Wrong

Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)



We learnt the creed at Hungerford,
We learnt the creed at Bourke;
We learnt it in the good times
And learnt it out of work.
We learnt it by the harbour-side
And on the billabong:
'No matter what a mate may do,
A mate can do no wrong!'
He’s like a king in this respect
(No matter what they do),
And, king-like, shares in storm and shine
The Throne of Life with you.
We learnt it when we were in gaol
And put it in a song:
' No matter what a mate may do,
A mate can do no wrong!'
They’ll say he said a bitter word
When he’s away or dead.
We’re loyal to his memory,
No matter what he said.
And we should never hesitate,
But strike out good and strong,
And jolt the slanderer on the jaw –
A mate can do no wrong !


Scheme abcbdbEFgeheifEFajkjlfmF
Poetic Form
Metre 11011100 110111 1110011 011111 11110101 0101 11010111 011111 11010101 110111 01110101 011111 11111001 011001 11010111 011111 11110101 110111 01011100 110111 0111010 111101 010100101 011111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 706
Words 152
Sentences 8
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 24
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 529
Words per stanza (avg) 149
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

44 sec read
123

Henry Lawson

Henry Lawson 17 June 1867 - 2 September 1922 was an Australian writer and poet Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period more…

All Henry Lawson poems | Henry Lawson Books

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