Analysis of Heigh, Ho!

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



Heigh, ho!  But they're talking, talking,
As the cold, hard streets we're walking
Seeking work at any wage,
While the talkers rant and rage.

Says the judge: 'Let's look up section
Ninety-eight in this connection.'
'Right,' replied the advocate.
'But I submit that's out of date.'
'Sir!' the judge says, 'such things border
On contempt.  You're out of order!'

Heigh, ho!  But a man grows weary,
Time flies; and the outlook's dreary,
What care we for argument
When bread alone can bring content?'

'What,' enquires the advocate,
'Happened in the Roman State,
Back in forty-two B.C.?
Let me read some history -
Fifty pages.  'Tis but just.'
'Well,' the judge sighs, 'if you must.

Heigh, ho!  When life is over
Must we rest in fields of clover,
Listening to long, endless chater
On some point that does not matter?
Heigh, ho!  I'd rather be
Where they'll find some work for me.


Scheme AABB CCDEFF GGXX DEAGHH FFFFGG
Poetic Form
Metre 11111010 10111110 1011101 1010101 10111110 10101010 1010100 11011111 10111110 10111110 11101110 1100110 1111100 11011110 110100 1000101 101011 1111100 1010111 1011111 1111110 11101110 10011101 11111110 111101 1111111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 855
Words 163
Sentences 20
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 6, 4, 6, 6
Lines Amount 26
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 129
Words per stanza (avg) 31
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

48 sec read
47

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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