Analysis of Spots Through the Ages
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)
Romance goes out of everything in these days of ill grace,
And even old John Barleycorn grows 'standardised' apace;
Once henchman of gay gallantry, a kindlier part he played.
Scene: Tavern door. A saucy wench. A merry, ruffling blade.
He stops. She smiles. Arm round her waist. 'Could Eve be more divine?
See, a kiss, my pretty sweetling. Then, I pray, a stoup of wine.'
'Twas in a 'silver' tassie' that Rab Burns pledged his lass
(The current one, 'tis understood). But days grows drab, alas.
Scene: London pub. Tiles. Glittering glass: and there, behind the bar,
A brass-haired goddess, proud, aloof from this meek gutter child.
'A pot o' four-'arf, thank yeh, miss. An' please to dror it ild.'
The scene shifts to Australia, 'where a man can raise a thirst.'
(See Kipling). From 'long-sleevers' now they drained the stuff acurst.
Back of beyond, by Clancy's run they've a had a six months' drought.
Scene: Old bush shanty. Summer. Flies. Six shearers 'cutting out.'
A shirt-sleeved, whiskered barman. Says Bill: 'By gum, it's 'ot!
Breast up, blokes. Name yer gargle. Rybuck, boss; mine's a pot.'
But mass-production now debunks old John, for olden sins;
They've 'synthesised' him, 'standardised' him, soldered him in tins.
Grog goes no more with gallantry, nor wine with poesy.
Scene: Chain store-grocer's. Pickles, clothes-pegs, jam, tinned salmon, tea.
Smug grocer (strict abstainer). enter cove in working duds.
He slings a sprat across the joint: 'Hoy! Gissa tinna suds!'
Scheme | AABBCC DDXXB XBEEXX FFAXGG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0111110011111 0101111101 1101110001111 110101010101001 11111101111101 10111011110111 100101111111 0101101111101 110111001010101 01110101111101 01111111111111 01110101011101 110111111011 110111011010111 1111010111101 011110111111 11111111101 11010101111101 111111101 111111001111 11110101111101 110111010101 110101011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 1,484 |
Words | 251 |
Sentences | 39 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 5, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 23 |
Letters per line (avg) | 48 |
Words per line (avg) | 11 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 278 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 66 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:15 min read
- 75 Views
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"Spots Through the Ages" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6542/spots-through-the-ages>.
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