Analysis of Old Town Types No. 16 - Mr Tank
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)
'Twice one are two; twice two are four.'
I can still hear it floating thro' the old school door:
Those childish voices falling, rising in rhythmic chant,
In a room where heat is prevalent and ventilation scant.
'Twice nine are eight-teen.' And, presiding o'er the scene,
Like a demon in a 'panto,' blackavised and racked with pain,
Urging on the chorus faster, towers Mr Tank, the master,
With his mutton-chop whiskers and his cane
His cruel, thrice-accursed rattan cane.
Some incurable affliction soured his spirit, it was said;
For, above his brow, an ever-present plaster decked his head.
'Twice one are two; twice two are four -'
And suddenly the master disappeared behind the door.
For 'twas said, too, his affection had instilled a predilection
For too-frequent nips of liquor on the sly now and again.
And they boded fell disaster for gaunt Mr Tank, our master,
With his mutton-chop whiskers and his cane
His ever-swinging, torture-bringing cane.
He 'kept us in' one afternoon till summer dusk came down,
While, as the elder scholars knew, he liquored in the town,
And a dozen big boys rushed him as he swayed in at the door,
And they poured ink on his whiskers as he grovelled on the floor.
And we small kiddies stood about, mouths agape, eyes popping out,
To see our dreaded teacher branded with this shameful stain.
For no idol could loom vaster than grim Mr Tank, the master,
With his mutton-chop whiskers and his cane.
But they broke to bits his terrifying cane.
'Twice one are two, twice two are four'
The chant arose next morning, while, across the ink-stained floor,
Mr Tank, ashamed but savage, glowered at the trembling class . . .
But my thoughts of him grow gentle as the mellowing seasons pass.
Now, when hard-won knowledge fails me, straight an olden dread assails me,
And, a phantom cane, descending sharply stirs my wits again,
And I bless stern Tank, the master, with his strip of sticking-plaster,
And his mutton-chop whiskers, and his cane
Most especially, his wisdom-waking cane.
Scheme | AabbxcdCc eeAaxfdCc ggaaxcdCc Aahhxfdcc |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111111 111111010111 1101010100101 00111110000101 1111100101001 101000110111 1010101010101010 1110110011 11011011 1010001010110111 101111101010111 11111111 0100010010101 111110101010010 111011101011001 0111010111011010 1110110011 1101010101 1110101110111 1101010111001 001011111110101 01111110111101 011101011011101 111010101011101 111011111101010 1110110011 1111111001 11111111 01011101010111 1010111010101001 1111111010100101 1111101111101011 001010101011101 0111101011111010 0110110011 1010110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 1,987 |
Words | 346 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 9, 9, 9 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 44 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 392 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 86 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:43 min read
- 97 Views
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"Old Town Types No. 16 - Mr Tank" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6484/old-town-types-no.-16---mr-tank>.
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