Analysis of The Dinkum Aussie Block

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



What have we missed?  Now he returns no more
We are left with but our blindness to deplore,
But, concentrating on his spats instead,
Missed all the lure of that impressive head.
Caricaturists, gazing at his feet,
Drew little else, and deemed the sketch complete;
Likewise cartoonists, whose gaunt fingers crept
Unconsciously to limn him as they slept.

And we poor Aussies of the rough hewn 'dile,'
Think to salve our vanity the while,
Who said: 'Though we've a gargoyle for a face,
At least 'tis typical of our strong race'
Where are we now?  Where is our last excuse
For owning features so unlike a Bruce?
The Bruce, round whom admiring artists flock
Because he owns the dinkum Aussie block.

He kept his block; and keeping it became
A classic type to spread his country's fame.
While we poor groundlings, with our eyes cast down,
Saw only feet to bolster his renown.
Could we not raise our eyes?  And now, bereft
Of pride, we've but this consolation left;
Still humble members we - plain as we are
Of that proud race that claims him avatar.


Scheme AABBCCDD EEFFGGHH IIJJKKLL
Poetic Form
Metre 1111110111 111111010101 110011101 1101110101 110111 1101010101 101011101 100111111 011110111 1111010001 111101101 11110011011 11111110101 1101010101 0111010101 011101101 1111010101 0101111101 1111110111 1101110101 11111010101 111110101 1101011111 111111110
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,028
Words 189
Sentences 11
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 272
Words per stanza (avg) 63
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

57 sec read
79

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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