Analysis of The Teams
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
A cloud of dust on the long white road,
And the teams go creeping on
Inch by inch with the weary load;
And by the power of the green-hide goad
The distant goal is won.
With eyes half-shut to the blinding dust,
And necks to the yokes bent low,
The beasts are pulling as bullocks must;
And the shining tires might almost rust
While the spokes are turning slow.
With face half-hid 'neath a broad-brimmed hat
That shades from the heat's white waves,
And shouldered whip with its green-hide plait,
The driver plods with a gait like that
Of his weary, patient slaves.
He wipes his brow, for the day is hot,
And spits to the left with spite;
He shouts at `Bally', and flicks at `Scot',
And raises dust from the back of `Spot',
And spits to the dusty right.
He'll sometimes pause as a thing of form
In front of a settler's door,
And ask for a drink, and remark `It's warm,
Or say `There's signs of a thunder-storm';
But he seldom utters more.
But the rains are heavy on roads like these;
And, fronting his lonely home,
For weeks together the settler sees
The teams bogged down to the axletrees,
Or ploughing the sodden loam.
And then when the roads are at their worst,
The bushman's children hear
The cruel blows of the whips reversed
While bullocks pull as their hearts would burst,
And bellow with pain and fear.
And thus with little of joy or rest
Are the long, long journeys done;
And thus -- 'tis a cruel war at the best --
Is distance fought in the mighty West,
And the lonely battles won.
Scheme | AXAAB CDCCD EFXEF XGAAG HIHHI JKJFK LXLLX MBMMB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (25%) |
Metre | 011110111 0011101 11110101 0101010111 010111 111110101 0110111 011101101 001010111 1011101 111110111 1110111 010111111 010110111 1110101 111110111 0110111 11110111 010110111 0110101 101110111 011011 0110100111 111110101 1110101 1011101111 0101101 1101001001 0111101 110101 011011111 01101 010110101 110111111 0101101 011101111 1011101 0110101101 110100101 0010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,518 |
Words | 281 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 144 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:26 min read
- 94 Views
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"The Teams" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18117/the-teams>.
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