Analysis of That V.C.
Andrew Barton Paterson 1864 (Orange, New South Wales) – 1941 (Sydney, New South Wales)
'Twas in the days of front attack;
This glorious truth we'd yet to learn it --
That every "front" has got a back.
And French was just the man to turn it.
A wounded soldier on the ground
Was lying hid behind a hummock;
He proved the good old proverb sound --
An army travels on its stomach.
He lay as flat as any fish;
His nose had worn a little furrow;
He only had one frantic wish,
That like an ant-bear he could burrow.
The bullets whistled into space,
The pom-pom gun kept up its braying,
The fout-point-seven supplied the bass --
You'd think the devil's band was playing.
A valiant comrade crawling near
Observed his most supine behaviour,
And crept towards him; "Hey! what cheer?
Buck up," said he, "I've come to save yer.
"You get up on my shoulders, mate,
And, if we live beyond the firing,
I'll get the V.C. sure as fate,
Because our blokes is all retiring.
"It's fifty pound a year," says he,
"I'll stand you lots of beer and whisky."
"No," says the wounded man, "not me,
I'll not be saved -- it's far too risky.
"I'm fairly safe behind this mound,
I've worn a hole that seems to fit me;
But if you lift me off the ground
It's fifty pounds to one they'll hit me."
So back towards the firing-line
Our friend crept slowly to the rear-oh!
Remarking "What a selfish swine!
He might have let me be a hero."
Scheme | ABABCACX DEDE XAXF GEGX HFHF IIII CICI JEJE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10011101 1100111111 110011101 011101111 01010101 11010101 11011101 110101110 11111101 111101010 11011101 111111110 01010011 01111111 011100101 110101110 0101101 0111011 01011111 111111111 11111101 011101010 1101111 0110111010 11010111 111111010 11010111 111111110 11010111 110111111 11111101 110111111 11010101 1011101011 01010101 111111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,318 |
Words | 259 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 122 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 31 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:19 min read
- 95 Views
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"That V.C." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2612/that-v.c.>.
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