Analysis of Peddling Round the World
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
When at first in foreign parts
Was her flag unfurled,
England was a Gipsy lass
Peddling round the world.
Sailing on the Spanish Main—
Everywhere you roam—
Peddling in the Persian Gulf
Things she’d made at home.
Peddling round the world,
Peddling round the world—
England was a Gipsy lass
Peddling round the world.
England never wanted war,
Not on land or sea—
Other nations rising up
Couldn’t let her be.
England only wanted peace,
And the ocean’s breath;
So there came, in course of time,
Queen Elizabeth.
Queen Elizabeth—
Queen Elizabeth—
Came a plain, bad-tempered queen,
Called Elizabeth.
Queen Elizabeth, she called
Drake, and Raleigh too—
Essex, Howard, and the rest
Of the pirate crew;
“See what you can do,” she said.
“England’s feeling sick—
If you don’t, I’ll hang you all!
Better do it quick.”
“Better do it quick,” she said—
“Better do it quick”;
And they knew she’d keep her word,
So they did it quick.
Drake and Raleigh sailed away—
(Only Bess they feared)
Cleared the Spanish Main and singed
The King of Spain his beard—
Singed the King of Spain his beard,
And his hair they curled.
England was a Gipsy’s love
Peddling round the world.
Peddling round the world,
Peddling round the world.
England was a Gipsy’s love
Peddling round the world.
Once again, when Cromwell came,
England wanted room;
So he lowered Holland’s tone,
Smashed the Dutchman’s broom.
Sent a message to Algiers;
Made its meaning plain—
On the way they called once more
On the King of Spain.
On the King of Spain—
On the King of Spain:
Called, to jog his memory,
On the King of Spain.
So the years went round and round,
Over hills and flats—
England was a Gipsy wife—
England had her brats;
Peddling in the China Sea,
Far from English ground;
Doing biz with Mrs. Jap—
Peddling all around.
Peddling all around—
Peddling all around;
Making friends with Mrs. Jap—
Peddling all around.
When the war is past and gone,
With its blood and tears;
And the world may count upon
Peace for fifty years—
When the gory battle-flags
Round their sticks are furled—
Then you’ll see a Gipsy crone
Peddling round the world.
Peddling round the world—
Peddling round the world.
Then you’ll see a Gipsy crone
A-peddling round the world!
Shawl as old as Joseph’s coat,
Hair as white as snow,
Mind as bright as Seventeen—
Eyes still like the sloe—
Peddling in the Southern Seas—
Everywhere you roam—
And she’ll fill her baskets here
With things we’ll make at home.
Things we’ll make at home—
Things we’ll make at home—
Call to fill her baskets here
With things we’ll make at HOME.
Scheme | xaBAcDxdAABAefxfxxxGGGhg xixijkxKjKxk xlxllaMAAAMA xnonpceCCCfC qrxrfqsQQQsQ xxxpxaOAAAOaxthtxDuDDDuD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1110101 10101 101011 100101 1010101 1011 10000101 11111 100101 100101 101011 100101 1010101 11111 1010101 1101 1010101 00101 1110111 10100 10100 10100 1011101 10100 1010011 10101 1010001 10101 1111111 10101 1111111 10111 1011111 10111 0111101 11111 1010101 10111 1010101 011111 1011111 01111 101011 100101 100101 100101 101011 100101 1011101 10101 1110101 1011 1010101 11101 1011111 10111 10111 10111 1111100 10111 1011101 10101 101011 10101 10000101 11101 1011101 100101 100101 100101 1011101 100101 1011101 11101 0011101 11101 1010101 11111 111011 100101 100101 100101 111011 0100101 1111101 11111 1111101 11101 10000101 1011 0110101 111111 11111 11111 1110101 111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 2,567 |
Words | 454 |
Sentences | 27 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 24, 12, 12, 12, 12, 24 |
Lines Amount | 96 |
Letters per line (avg) | 21 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 328 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 75 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:16 min read
- 66 Views
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"Peddling Round the World" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17888/peddling-round-the-world>.
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