Analysis of Hard Luck
Andrew Barton Paterson 1864 (Orange, New South Wales) – 1941 (Sydney, New South Wales)
I left the course, and by my side
There walked a ruined tout --
A hungry creature, evil-eyed,
Who poured this story out.
"You see," he said, "there came a swell
To Kensington today,
And, if I picked the winners well,
A crown at least he's pay.
"I picked three winners straight, I did;
I filled his purse with pelf,
And then he gave me half-a-quid
To back one for myself.
"A half-a-quid to me he cast --
I wanted it indeed;
So help me Bob, for two days past
I haven't had a feed.
"But still I thought my luck was in,
I couldn't go astray --
I put it all on Little Min,
And lost it straightaway.
"I haven't got a bite or bed,
I'm absolutely stuck;
So keep this lesson in your head:
Don't over-trust your luck!"
The folks went homeward, near and far,
The tout, oh! where is he?
Ask where the empty boilers are
Beside the Circular Quay.
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEF GHGH IDID JKJK LMLM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010111 110101 01010101 111101 11111101 110001 01110101 011111 11110111 111111 01111101 11111 01011111 110101 11111111 110101 11111110 110101 11111101 01110 11010111 10101 11110011 110111 01110101 011111 11010101 0101001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 840 |
Words | 167 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 102 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 51 sec read
- 85 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Hard Luck" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2527/hard-luck>.
Discuss this Andrew Barton Paterson 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