Analysis of To An Old Mate
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
Old Mate! In the gusty old weather,
When our hopes and our troubles were new,
In the years spent in wearing out leather,
I found you unselfish and true --
I have gathered these verses together
For the sake of our friendship and you.
You may think for awhile, and with reason,
Though still with a kindly regret,
That I've left it full late in the season
To prove I remember you yet;
But you'll never judge me by their treason
Who profit by friends -- and forget.
I remember, Old Man, I remember --
The tracks that we followed are clear --
The jovial last nights of December,
The solemn first days of the year,
Long tramps through the clearings and timber,
Short partings on platform and pier.
I can still feel the spirit that bore us,
And often the old stars will shine --
I remember the last spree in chorus
For the sake of that other Lang Syne,
When the tracks lay divided before us,
Your path through the future and mine.
Through the frost-wind that cut like whip-lashes,
Through the ever-blind haze of the drought --
And in fancy at times by the flashes
Of light in the darkness of doubt --
I have followed the tent poles and ashes
Of camps that we moved further out.
You will find in these pages a trace of
That side of our past which was bright,
And recognise sometimes the face of
A friend who has dropped out of sight --
I send them along in the place of
The letters I promised to write.
Scheme | ABABAB CDCDCD AEAEAE FGFBFG HIHIXI JKJKJK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110010110 11010101001 0011010110 111101 1110110010 1011101001 1111010110 11101001 1111110010 11101011 1110111110 11011001 1010111010 01111011 0100111010 01011101 11101010 111101 1111010111 01001111 1010011010 101111011 1011010011 11101001 1011111110 101011101 0010111010 11001011 1110011010 11111101 1110110011 111101111 0101011 01111111 111010011 01011011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,588 |
Words | 269 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 181 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 45 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:21 min read
- 122 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"To An Old Mate" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18152/to-an-old-mate>.
Discuss this Henry Lawson poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In