Analysis of Brown's Tram
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)
A city clerk was Henry Brown,
Whose suburb knew nor tram nor train;
And ev'ry morn he walked to town.
From nine till five, with busy brain,
He labored in an office dim.
Each eve he walked out home again.
And all this tramping seemed to him
A waste of time, for, 'mid the strife,
He could not keep his lawn in trim.
It clouded his domestic life -
This going early, coming late -
And much distressed his little wife.
Then some wise man declared the State
Should put in trams, and for this scheme
Brown was a red-hot advocate.
At last he realised his dream;
And daily in and out of town
He trammed it with content supreme.
For, though it cost him half-a-crown
A week in fares, the time he saved
Meant much to him and Mrs. Brown.
And so they lived and pinched and slaved
And their suburban happiness
Seemed all that they had ever craved.
The little wife began to bless
The trams; nor grieved their meagre dole
Was weekly two and sixpence less.
Then Brown's employer, kindly soul,
Learned of this tram-car luxury,
And promptly rose to take his toll.
He sent for Brown and said that he
Should now contrive to come at eight
Since trams blessed his vicinity.
He also deemed it wise to state
That idleness begat much ill,
And it was wrong to sleep in late.
Yet Brown contrived to tram it still,
And trim his lawn with tender care,
And pay his rent and baker's bill.
His little wife vowed it unfair;
But bowed to stern, relentless fate,
And smiled and sewed and worked her share.
Just here, the landlord wrote to state,
Since trams improved his property,
He'd raise the rent as from that date.
'Three shillings weekly will not be
Too much - an equitable rise,
Considering the trams,' wrote he.
What profit oaths or women's sighs?
His 'sacred rights,' of wealth the fount,
A landlord has to recognise.
To what do poor clerks' lives amount?
An extra hour of slavery
Swells an employer's bank account.
The wealthy boss thanks God that he
Has saved some money out of Brown.
The landlord smiles contentedly.
The trams run gaily up and down,
A sight Brown sadly notes as he
Plods daily in and out of town.
Scheme | ABA BCX CDC DED EFX FAF AGA EHG IJI JKJ KEK ELE LML MEM EKE KNK NEH OKO KAK AKA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 01011101 11011111 0111111 11111101 11001101 11111101 01110111 01111101 11111101 11010101 11010101 01011101 11110101 11010111 11011100 111111 01000111 11111001 11111101 01010111 11110101 01110101 01010100 11111101 01010111 0111111 1101011 11010101 11111100 01011111 11110111 11011111 11110100 11011111 11000111 01111101 11011111 01111101 01110101 11011101 11110101 01010101 1101111 11011100 11011111 11010111 11110001 01000111 11011101 11011101 01111 11111101 110101100 11010101 01011111 11110111 0110100 01110101 01110111 11000111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,038 |
Words | 392 |
Sentences | 26 |
Stanzas | 20 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 |
Lines Amount | 60 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 81 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 19 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:58 min read
- 66 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Brown's Tram" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6244/brown%27s-tram>.
Discuss this Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 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