Analysis of Old Town Types No27 - Sergeant Mat McGillicuddy
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)
King of all the old town, gaoler, censor, too,
Bane of heavy sinners doing things they shouldn't do,
Terror of the cattle-duffers in the northern scrubs,
Keeping watch on criminals, cautioning the pubs
On those brief hours, in old days, when laws forbade their beer,
Looming forth on court-days, a Nemesis severe
Of a martinet and master in the art of keeping peace
Was Matthew Mark McGillicuddy, Sergeant of Police.
How the gleaming metal jingled, how the polished leather shone
When Sergeant Mat. McGillicuddy put his war-paint on:
Skin-tight corded riding breeches, spur and soldier-strap,
Cartridge case, revolver, and a smart, peaked cap,
A black 'imperial' that wagged beneath his stiff moustache
Authority personified - he cut a heavy dash
With his boots and buttons shining and his coat without a crease
Matthew Mark McGillicuddy, Sergeant of Police.
On race-days and show-days, when strangers sought the town,
The Sergeant was a stern man, and terrible his frown.
But he had scant use on off-days for his little goal of tin,
Save when, to keep the town's repute, he ran some roysterer in;
To come the 'morning after' with a foaming pot of beer:
''Tis agin the regulations; but I want no corpses here.
You perishing with heat an' thirst to but a spot of grease.
An' me firewood there needs splittin',' said the Sergeant of Police.
Then they made him an inspector in the city one sad day;
But he had a glorious 'send off' before he went away
One night of wild carousal that gave scandal for a week,
But the man sent to replace him was a truckler and a sneak,
A plague to petty sinners, a peeping Tom in pubs;
But a jest among the cattle-duffers in the northern scrubs.
So we missed the human touch that lurked beneath the bluster
Scheme | AABBCCBB XXDDEEBB FFGGCXBB HHIIBBX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1110111101 1110101011101 101010100101 101110010001 11110011110111 101111010001 1010100011101 11010100010101 10101011010101 11010100011111 111010110101 10101000111 0101001101111 0100010110101 111010100110101 1010100010101 111011110101 0101011010011 111111111110111 1111010111110 11010101010111 10100101111101 11001111110111 11101111010101 111110100010111 111010011011101 111111110101 1011111101001 0111010010101 10101010100101 11101011101010 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 1,720 |
Words | 307 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 7 |
Lines Amount | 31 |
Letters per line (avg) | 44 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 341 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 76 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:32 min read
- 49 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Old Town Types No27 - Sergeant Mat McGillicuddy" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6503/old-town-types-no27---sergeant-mat-mcgillicuddy>.
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