Analysis of I'd Back Again the World
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
She's not like an empress,
And crowned with raven hair,
She is not “pert an’ bonny,”
Nor “winsome, wee, an’ fair.”
But when a man’s in trouble,
And darkest shadows fall,
She’s just a little woman
I’d back against them all.
I’d back against them all,
When friends on rocks are hurled—
Oh, she’s the little woman
I’d back against the world.
She has her little temper
(As all the world can know)
When things are running smoothly,
She sometimes lets it go;
But when the sea is stormy,
And clouds are like a pall,
Oh, she’s the little woman
I’d back against them all.
I’d back against the world,
When darkest shadows fall—
Oh, she’s the little woman
I’d back against them all.
She’s had to stand at business
Till she was fit to drop;
She has to count the pennies
When she goes to the shop.
She has no land or terrace,
Nor money in the bank,
And, save what’s in her ownself,
No influence nor rank.
No influence nor rank
While darker shadows fall—
Oh, she’s a little woman
I’d back against them all.
It will not last for ever,
As old time goes his rounds,
Where now she counts the pennies
She yet shall count the pounds.
And those who laugh to see her,
Or pass her unawares,
Shall stand beside her motor car,
And bow her up the stairs.
And bow her up the stairs,
When foes on rocks are hurled—
For she’s the little woman
I’ll back against the world.
Or may I slave in prisons,
In mental misery,
And no one write a letter,
And no one visit me!
And may I rot with paupers,
A ditch without a stone,
My work be never quoted,
And my grave be never known.
My work be never quoted,
When friends on rocks are hurled—
Ah! she’s a little woman
I’d back against the world.
Scheme | xabaxcdCCEDE fgbgbxDC EcDC hijihkxK KcdC fljlfmxM Mede xbfbxnOn OEdE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) |
Metre | 111110 011101 1111110 110111 1101010 01011 1101010 110111 110111 111111 1101010 110101 1101010 110111 1111010 101111 1101110 011101 1101010 110111 110101 11011 1101010 110111 1111110 111111 1111010 111101 1111110 110001 010001 110011 110011 11011 1101010 110111 1111110 111111 1111010 111101 0111110 11001 11010101 010101 010101 111111 1101010 110101 1111010 010100 0111010 011101 0111110 010101 1111010 0111101 1111010 111111 1101010 110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,672 |
Words | 323 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 8, 4, 8, 4, 8, 4, 8, 4 |
Lines Amount | 60 |
Letters per line (avg) | 21 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 139 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:37 min read
- 56 Views
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"I'd Back Again the World" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17819/i%27d-back-again-the-world>.
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