Analysis of The Seven Ages of Wise
Andrew Barton Paterson 1864 (Orange, New South Wales) – 1941 (Sydney, New South Wales)
Parliament's a stage,
And all the Politicians merely players!
They have their exits and entrances,
And Wise doth in his time play many parts,
His acts being seven changes.
First the Runner,
With spiked shoe he spurns the cinder track,
And just for once runs straight.
The next the Student,
Burning the midnight oil with Adam Smith
For Cobden Medals.
Next the youthful member,
With shining morning face, creeping between
Two seasoned leaders into place and power
Before his whiskers grow.
The next the bravo.
Jealous of greater men, he cries, "Ha, Ha!
Beware Bernardo's dagger!" -- and would strike
His friend i' th' back.
Then come a sudden change.
Once more a child, he comes with quick-turned coat,
New friends, new doctrines, and new principles,
Lets Friedman loose, and wrecks the Government.
Then leads the horny-handed sons of toil
By many a specious promise to their doom
In Arbitration Courts.
Last scene of all,
That ends this strange, disastrous history.
He aims at Judgeships and Commissionerships,
But, failing, passes on to mere oblivion.
Sans place, sans power, sans pay, sans everything.
Scheme | XABXBCDX EXF CXCG GXXD XXFEXXX XXAXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10001 0100101010 111100100 0110111101 11101010 1010 111110101 011111 01010 100111101 1110 101010 1101011001 11010011010 011101 01010 1011011111 0101010011 111111 110101 1101111111 1111001100 1101010100 1101010111 11001010111 00101 1111 1111010100 111101 110101110100 1111011110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,110 |
Words | 185 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 3, 4, 4, 7, 5 |
Lines Amount | 31 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 145 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 30 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 55 sec read
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