Analysis of Blokes



Blokes ~ 'Erb
Do you know 'Erb?  Now, there's a dinkum sport.
If football's on your mind, why, 'Erb's the sort
To put you wise.  It's his whole end and' aim.
Keen?  He's as keen as mustard on the game.
Football is in his blood.  He thinks an' schemes
All through the season; talks of it an' dreams
An' eats an' sleeps with football on his mind.
Yes: 'Erb's a sport - the reel whole-hearted kind.

'A healthy, manly sport.' That's wot 'Erb says.
You ought to see his form on football days:
Keyed up, reel eager, eyes alight with joy,
Full of wise schemes for his team to employ.
Knows all about it - how to kick a goal,
An' wot to do if they get in a hole.
Enthusiasm?  Why, when 'Erb gets set
He is a sight you couldn't well forget.

There ain't a point about it he don't know
All of the teams and players, top to toe.
The rules, the tricks - it's marvellous the way
He follers - Wot?  Good Lord, no, he don't play.
'Erb?  Playin' football?  Blimey!  have a heart!
Aw, don't be silly.  'Erb don't have to play;
He knows more than them players any day.

He's never had a football in his hand,
'Cept once, when it was kicked up in the stand.
No, 'Erb ain't never played; he only sits
An' watches 'em, an' yells, an' hoots and splits
His sides with givin' mugs some sound advice
An' tellin' umpires things wot ain't too nice.
Aw, look; your ejication ain't complete
Till you know 'Erb.  You reely ought to meet.
~~
Blokes ~ Fred
Do you know Fred?  Now there's a man to know
These days when politics are in the air,
An' argument is bargin' to an' fro
Without a feller gittin' anywhere.
Fred never argues; he's too shrewd for that.  
He's wise.  He knows the game from A to Z.
All politics is talkin' thro' the hat;
An' everyone is wrong - exceptin' Fred.  

Fred says there ain't no sense in politics;
Says he can't waste his time on all that rot.  
Trust him.  He's up to all their little tricks,
You'd be surprised the cunnin' schemes he's got.  
Fred says compulsory voting is a cow.
He has to vote, or else he would be fined,
But he just spoils his paper anyhow,
An' laughs at' em with his superior mind.

But when a law comes in that hits Fred's purse,
You ought to hear him then.  Say, he does rouse;
Kicks up an awful row an' hurls his curse
On every bloomin' member in the House.
He gives 'em nothin'; says they all are crook,
All waitin' for a chance to turn their coats;
Says they are traitors; proves it by the book.
An' can you wonder that he never votes?

Aw, say, you must know Fred.  You'll hear his skite
Upon street corners all about the place.
An' if you up an' say it serves him right,
He answers that it only proves his case:
Them politicians wouldn't tax him so
Unless they were all crooked, like he said,
Where is the sense in votin' when they go
An' rob a man like that.  Hurray for Fred!
~~
Blokes ~ Gus
Do you know Gus?  Now, he should interest you.
The girls adore him - or he thinks they do.
He owns a motor bike, not of the sort
That merely cough a little bit, or snort.
His is a fiery, detonating steed
That makes the town sit up and take some heed
A thunderous thing, that booms and roars a treat,
With repercussions that awake the street.

That's Gus. Dead flash. One of the rorty boys,
Whose urge is to express themselves with noise,
He wakes the midnight echoes, when to sleep
We vainly strive, with detonations deep.
And Gus has visions, as he thunders by,
Of maidens who sit up in bed, and sigh,
'It's Gus! It's Gus, the he-man. What a thrill!
'Mid Jovian thunders riding up the hill!'

You can't blame Gus. He has to make a row.
He's got to get publicity somehow.
How else could he stir consciousness in us
That in this world there really is a Gus?
You can't blame Gus.  But oft I long, in bed,
That some kind man would bash him on the head -
A hard, swift blow to give him pain for pain.
It would be quite safe.  It couldn't hurt his brain.
~~
Blokes ~ Bert
Did you ever meet Bert? 'E's all over the town,
In offices, shops an' in various places,
Cocky an' all; an' you can't keep 'im down.
I never seen no one so lucky at races.  
Backs all the winners or very near all;
Tells you nex' day when the races are over.  
'E makes quite a pot, for 'is wagers ain't small;
An' by rights 'e 'ad ought to be livin' in clover.

But, some'ow or other - aw, well, I dunno.
You got to admit that some fellers is funny.  
'E don't dress too well an' 'is spendin' is low.
I can't understand wot 'e do


Scheme Text too long
Poetic Form
Metre 11 111111011 111111101 1111111101 1111110101 110111111 1101011111 111111111 1101011101 0101011111 111111111 1111010111 1111111101 1101111101 1111111001 010011111 1101110101 1101011111 1101010111 01011101 111111111 1111101 1111011111 1111110101 110101011 1111111001 1111011101 1101111101 111111101 111011111 1111101 111111111 1 11 1111110111 111101001 110011111 01010110 1101011111 1111011011 110110101 1101111 111111010 1111111111 1111111101 110101111 11010010101 1111111111 111111010 11111101001 1101101111 1111111111 1111011111 1100110001 1111011111 111011111 1111011101 1111011101 1111111111 0111010101 1111111111 1101110111 101010111 0110110111 110101111 1101110111 1 11 1111111101 0101111111 1101011101 1101010111 1101001001 1101110111 01001110101 101010101 111111011 1111010111 110110111 110110101 0111011101 1101110101 1111011101 11001010101 1111111101 111101001 1111110001 1011110101 1111111101 1111111101 0111111111 11111110111 1 11 111011111001 010011010010 1011111111 110111110110 1101011011 11111010110 11101111011 111111111010 11111011101 111011110110 1111111111 1101111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 4,316
Words 864
Sentences 76
Stanzas 10
Stanza Lengths 9, 8, 7, 18, 8, 8, 18, 8, 18, 4
Lines Amount 106
Letters per line (avg) 31
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 324
Words per stanza (avg) 88
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

4:31 min read
126

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis, better known as C. J. Dennis, was an Australian poet known for his humorous poems, especially "The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke", published in the early 20th century. Though Dennis's work is less well known today, his 1915 publication of The Sentimental Bloke sold 65,000 copies in its first year, and by 1917 he was the most prosperous poet in Australian history. Together with Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson, both of whom he had collaborated with, he is often considered among Australia's three most famous poets. While attributed to Lawson by 1911, Dennis later claimed he himself was the 'laureate of the larrikin'. When he died at the age of 61, the Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons suggested he was destined to be remembered as the 'Australian Robert Burns'. more…

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