Analysis of The Loveable Characters

Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)



I long for the streets but the Lord knoweth best,
For there I am never a saint;
There are lovable characters out in the West,
With humour heroic and quaint;
And, be it Up Country, or be it Out Back,
When I shall have gone to my Home,
I trust to be buried 'twixt River and Track
Where my lovable characters roam.

There are lovable characters drag through the scrub,
Where the Optimist ever prevails;
There are lovable characters hang round the pub,
There are lovable jokers at sales
Where the auctioneer's one of the lovable wags
(Maybe from his "order" estranged),
And the beer is on tap, and the pigs in the bags
Of the purchasing cockies are changed.

There were lovable characters out in the West,
Of fifty hot summers, or more,
Who could not be proved, when it came to the test,
Too old to be sent to the war;
They were all forty-five and were orphans, they said,
With no one to keep them, or keep;
And mostly in France, with the world's bravest dead,
Those lovable characters sleep.

I long for the streets, but the Lord knoweth best,
For there I am never a saint;
There are lovable characters out in the West,
With humour heroic and quaint;
And, be it Up Country, or be it Out Back,
When I shall have gone to my Home,
I trust to be buried 'twixt River and Track
Where my lovable characters roam.


Scheme ABABCDCD efefghgh aiaijkjk ABABCDCD
Poetic Form
Metre 1110110111 11111001 111001001001 1101001 01111011111 11111111 11111011001 111001001 111001001101 101001001 111001001101 111001011 1011101001 10111001 001111001001 10100111 101001001001 11011011 11111111101 11111101 101101001011 11111111 01001101101 11001001 1110110111 11111001 111001001001 1101001 01111011111 11111111 11111011001 111001001
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,307
Words 247
Sentences 5
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 252
Words per stanza (avg) 61
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:14 min read
47

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

3 fans

Discuss this Henry Lawson poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Loveable Characters" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18037/the-loveable-characters>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    13
    hours
    2
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem “Funeral Blues"?
    A Victor Hugo
    B Pablo Neruda
    C W. H. Auden
    D Amy Clampitt