Analysis of Knocked Up

Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)




I'm lyin' on the barren ground that's baked and cracked with drought,
And dunno if my legs or back or heart is most wore out;
I've got no spirits left to rise and smooth me achin' brow --
I'm too knocked up to light a fire and bile the billy now.

Oh it's trampin', trampin', tra-a-mpin', in flies an' dust an' heat,
     Or it's trampin' trampin' tra-a-a-mpin'
       through mud and slush 'n sleet;
     It's tramp an' tramp for tucker -- one everlastin' strife,
     An' wearin' out yer boots an' heart in the wastin' of yer life.

They whine o' lost an' wasted lives in idleness and crime --
I've wasted mine for twenty years, and grafted all the time
And never drunk the stuff I earned, nor gambled when I shore --
But somehow when yer on the track yer life seems wasted more.

A long dry stretch of thirty miles I've tramped this broilin' day,
All for the off-chance of a job a hundred miles away;
There's twenty hungry beggars wild for any job this year,
An' fifty might be at the shed while I am lyin' here.

The sinews in my legs seem drawn, red-hot -- 'n that's the truth;
I seem to weigh a ton, and ache like one tremendous tooth;
I'm stung between my shoulder-blades -- my blessed back seems broke;
I'm too knocked out to eat a bite -- I'm too knocked up to smoke.

The blessed rain is comin' too -- there's oceans in the sky,
An' I suppose I must get up and rig the blessed fly;
The heat is bad, the water's bad, the flies a crimson curse,
The grub is bad, mosquitoes damned -- but rheumatism's worse.

I wonder why poor blokes like me will stick so fast ter breath,
Though Shakespeare says it is the fear of somethin' after death;
But though Eternity be cursed with God's almighty curse --
What ever that same somethin' is I swear it can't be worse.

For it's trampin', trampin', tra-a-mpin' thro' hell across the plain,
     And it's trampin' trampin' tra-a-mpin' thro' slush 'n mud 'n rain --
     A livin' worse than any dog -- without a home 'n wife,
     A-wearin' out yer heart 'n soul in the wastin' of yer life.


Scheme AABB CDCEE FFGG HHXX IIJJ KKLL MMLL DDEE
Poetic Form
Metre 1110101110111 00111111111111 1111011101111 111111010010101 1111101011111 11111001 110111 1111110111 1111111001111 11111101010001 11011101010101 01010111110111 1111101111101 0111110111111 11011101010101 11010101110111 1101110111111 0101111111101 11110101110101 1101110111111 11111101111111 011111110001 1101111101011 01110101010101 01110101111 11011111111111 111110111101 11010011110101 1101111111111 1111101110101 0111101111111 0111101010111 0111111001111
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 2,051
Words 380
Sentences 9
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 4, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 33
Letters per line (avg) 45
Words per line (avg) 11
Letters per stanza (avg) 184
Words per stanza (avg) 47
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 30, 2023

2:00 min read
101

Henry Lawson

Henry Lawson 17 June 1867 - 2 September 1922 was an Australian writer and poet Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period more…

All Henry Lawson poems | Henry Lawson Books

3 fans

Discuss this Henry Lawson poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Knocked Up" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17841/knocked-up>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    13
    hours
    5
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "Still I Rise"?
    A Robert Burns
    B Dylan Thomas
    C Elizabeth Barrett Browning
    D Maya Angelou