Analysis of For The Defence

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)



'This Cen-TEEN-ary,' sez 'e
Sez I, 'You'll pardon me.'
(Perlite, like that, first off, and 'arf in laughter).
'You'll pardon me, I'm sure,'
I sez: 'but, speakin' pure,
Cen-TEN-ary, I think's, the word you're after.'

'Cen-TEEN-ary!' sez 'e;
An' looks fair, bang at me
All sort of snakey-eyed an' irritated.
Sez I, 'Don't be absurd,
For the dictionary word
Is Cen-TEN-ary.  It's much more edjacated.'

'Cen-TEEN-ary!!' sez 'e.
Some'ow, 'e seemed to be
The sorta bloke wot gits me back up proper.
'Aw, brush yer brains!' sez I,
Gettin' 'ot.  (I dunno why.)
'Cen-TEN-ary!' I sez.  'You darn clod-'opper!'

'Cen-TEEN-ary!!!' sez 'e,
As snarky as could be.
You know the sorta bloke I mean - pig-'eaded).
'Cen-TEN-ary, you fool!
Ain't you never been to school?'
Sez I.  An' then things 'appened - like I dreaded.

'Cen-TEEN-ary!!!' sez 'e.
An' 'e swings a left at me
That would 'a' knocked me cold, if it 'ad landed.
'Ho!  A gentleman!' I sneers;
'Full of nice, perlite idears.'
 Then I ups an' tears right into 'im, two-'anded.

'Cen-TEEN-ary,' squeaks 'e.
(Still obstinit, yeh see).
Well, it weren't no time for bein' tender-'arted,
So I spreads 'im on the floor,
An' 'e never sez no more ....
So, please yer Worship, that was 'ow it started.


Scheme aabccb Aadeed Aabffb Aadggx Aadhhd aadiid
Poetic Form
Metre 1111011 111101 10111101010 110111 11111 11101101110 111011 111111 111111100 111101 101001 111101111 111011 111111 0111111110 111111 111011 1110111111 111011 11111 110111111 111011 1110111 1111111110 111011 1110111 11011111110 1010011 111101 11111101111 111011 1111 11101111101 1111101 1110111 11110111110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,207
Words 230
Sentences 35
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 36
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 139
Words per stanza (avg) 36
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:08 min read
59

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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