Analysis of The Call

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



Don't yeh hear them callin, to yeh, callin' to yeh, lad?
Where the skyline's smeared an' grey with cannon smoke,
There's a crowd o' chaps that knew yeh;
Don't yeh hear them callin' to yeh
Mates o' yours with 'oom yeh used to drink an' joke?
An' they trust yeh, lad; they trust yeh for the friendship that yeh had.
Don't yeh bear them callin',
Callin' to yeh, lad?

Can't you see them beck'nin' to yeh, beck'nin' to yeh, boy ?
There's a pal o' yours that fell at Sari Bair;
An' yeh cheered 'im when yeh parted,
An' yeh felt a bit down-'earted;
Now 'e's passed the game to you, to do yer share.
Oh, the job is reel dead earnest, an' a gun is not a toy;
Can't yeh see them beck'nin',
Beck'nin' to yeh, boy?

Don't yeh know they're waitin' for yeh, waltin' for yeh, mate,
Hopin', prayin' that their countrymen are game;
All that brave an' battlin' crowd of
Men that In yer 'eart yer proud of -
Mates o' yours that 'elped to make yer country's name?
Do yeh mean to dodge the trouble till the foe is at the gate?
 'Oh, it's weary waltin',
Waitin' for yeh, mate!'

Can't yeh see them lookin' at yeh, lookin' at yeh, lad
Women-folk of mates o' yours that fought and fell?
Are yeh grumblin' an' protestin'?
Will yer mateship stand the testin'?
Have yeh read the message that those wide eyes tell?
Have yeh heard grey mothers weepin'?  Have yeh seen young wives grow sad?....
Won't yeh have them prayin',
Prayin' for yeh, lad?


Scheme ABCCBADA EFXAFEDE GHIIHGDG AJDDJADA
Poetic Form
Metre 11111111111 1011111101 10111111 1111111 11111111111 111111111010111 11111 1111 11111111111 10111111101 11111110 1110111 11101111111 101111101011101 11111 1111 11111111111 111110011 1111111 11011111 11111111101 111110101011101 11101 1111 11111111111 10111111101 11111 111101 11101011111 11111011111111 11111 1111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,392
Words 269
Sentences 18
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 257
Words per stanza (avg) 67
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:26 min read
60

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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