Analysis of A Psalm Of Patience

Joseph Furphy 1843 (Yering, Victoria) – 1912 (Claremont)



O kid! with face of healthy tan,
With lunch-bag, books and slate;
You needn't long to be a man,
Self-confident and great;
For ever since the world began
Each boy must spring to Nature's plan,
Must worry through as best he can —
Make up your mind to Wait.

O young galoot! you find it rough —
This iron hand of Fate!
Your confidence is mostly bluff,
And doubts preponderate —
Are you the genuine all-wool stuff?
Are you a daisy or a muff? —
Patience! you'll find out soon enough,
If you can only Wait.

O baffled bloke! with no resource!
Whose knowledge comes too late;
Whose prospects change from bad to worse,
Till Hope gives place to Hate!
Sick of existence, and perforce
Impatient for the long divorce —
You'll get your call in proper course,
Take my advice, and Wait.

O geezer! drawing near the test
That none may obviate;
Don't waste your time in fruitless quest
Re man's post-mortem state.
That doubt will soon be set at rest —
You'll be extinguish'd, grill'd, or blest,
Or spook the world from east to west.
Meanwhile, you have to Wait.


Scheme ABABAAAB CBCBCCCB DBXBDDDB EBEBEEEB
Poetic Form
Metre 11111101 111101 11011101 110001 11010101 11111101 11011111 111111 1111111 110111 11001101 011 110100111 11010101 10111101 111101 11011110 110111 11011111 111111 11010001 01010101 11110101 110101 1110101 11110 11110101 111101 11111111 11010111 11011111 11111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,061
Words 194
Sentences 17
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 199
Words per stanza (avg) 48
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:00 min read
63

Joseph Furphy

Joseph Furphy is widely regarded as the "Father of the Australian novel". He mostly wrote under the pseudonym Tom Collins and is best known for his novel Such Is Life (1903), regarded as an Australian classic. more…

All Joseph Furphy poems | Joseph Furphy Books

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