Analysis of A Deep Sea Chantey
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)
We didn't like the bo'sun's mate
(Yo, 'eave ho! an' a bottle o' lemonade or somethin' soft, Miss).
Becos 'is dile filled us wiv 'ate
(Yo, 'eave ho! An' a bottle o' near-beer, or somethin' that's real easy scoffed,
Miss).
We ain't the crowd for gettin' shick
Becos we've joined the Bolshevik.
An' we reckon Jack's as good as - Hic!
(Schuse me! 'Tain't the likker. I'ah the sense of injush-tish an' wash the right
thing to be dealt out ter seamen's sorter sent me aloft, Miss).
We didn't like 'is kind o' face
(Yo, 'eave ho! An' a bot'l Soviet Sarsparliler - or anythin' the comrades drink,
Miss).
Ses 'e, 'Yeh lubbers! Splice mai brace!'
(Yo, 'eave, Hic! . . . . Sheems ter me these Bolsh'vik ..... make yeh skicker'n yeh
think, Miss).
'E wash a reel two-fisted bloke.
One o' them coves 'oo made a joke
O' swillin' rum - like the ole sea folk.
(You know shailors? - Ole shilly shellbacks - .... - dis'plin - all that short 'er
ole fash'n talk? Makes the service stink, Miss).
Eh? Wash at, Miss? It's af'er six?
An' yeh won't sherve drinksh?
We've done our tricks?
A'right! (Yo, 'eave ho, for a bot'ler) . . . Blast!
Bill, cut that song! It 'urts! Avast!
She's goin' out?? Hey, jump abroad!
Struth! Nearly missed! 'Eave up! Oh, Lord! . . .
(Later)
Ah! Gimme a ship as a ship should be,
An' a sailor man as loves the sea!
Gimme a sight o' the sheelin' gull,
An' the wash a widenin' aft 'er hull.
An' - 'ere's a sign I'm findin' grace
I LIKES the look o' that bos'un's face!
Ah! Smell them breezes! Come on, Bill!
'Twas longshore dope. We're sailors still!
Scheme | abaxBcccxb dxBdxbeeefbgxgxaxx fhhiiddjj |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101011 111101011011111 1111111 11110101111111101 1 1101111 111010 111011111 1110111011111101 111111101011011 11011111 111101100111011 1 11110111 111111111111 11 11011101 11111101 11110111 11111111110 111101011 1111111 11111 11101 011111011 1111111 1111101 11011111 10 1100110111 101011101 10011011 10101101 1101111 11011111 11110111 1111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,562 |
Words | 285 |
Sentences | 58 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 18, 9 |
Lines Amount | 37 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 357 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 104 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:33 min read
- 92 Views
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"A Deep Sea Chantey" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6125/a-deep-sea-chantey>.
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