Analysis of Policeman G.

Andrew Barton Paterson 1864 (Orange, New South Wales) – 1941 (Sydney, New South Wales)



To Policeman G. the Inspector said:
"When you pass the 'shops' you must turn your head;
If you took a wager, that would be a sin;
So you'll earn no stripes if you run them in."
Mush-a-ring-tiy-ah,
Fol-de-diddle-doh!
To the House Committee, the Inspector said:
"'Tis a terrible thing how the gamblers spread,
For they bet on the steeple, and they bet on the Cup,
And the magistrates won't lock them up."
Mush-a-ring-tiy-ah,
Fol-de-diddle-doh!

But Policeman G., as he walks his beat,
Where ghe gamblers are -- up and down the street --
Says he: "What's the use to be talkin' rot --
If they'd make me a sergeant, I could cop the lot!"
With my ring-tiy-ah,
Fol-de-diddle-doh!

"But, begad if you start to suppress the 'shop',
Then the divil only knows where you're going to stop;
For the rich and the poor, they would raise a din,
If at Randwick I ran fifty thousand in."
Mush-a-ring-tiy-ah,
Fol-de-diddle-doh!

"Though ye must not box -- nor shpit -- nor bet,
I'll find my way out to Randwick yet;
For I'm shtandin' a pound -- and it's no disgrace --
On Paddy Nolan's horse -- for the Steeplechase!"
Mush-a-ring-tiy-ah,
Fol-de-diddle-doh!


Scheme aabbCDaaeeCD ffggcD hhbbCD iijjCD
Poetic Form Tetractys  (27%)
Metre 1010100101 1110111111 11101011101 1111111110 10111 1111 10101000101 10100110101 1111010011101 00101111 10111 1111 1010111111 1110110101 1110111101 111101011101 11111 1111 1111110101 101101111011 10100111101 1111110100 10111 1111 111111111 11111111 1110101101 110111010 10111 1111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,141
Words 205
Sentences 13
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 12, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 30
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 206
Words per stanza (avg) 50
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:02 min read
83

Andrew Barton Paterson

Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales, where he spent much of his childhood. Paterson's more notable poems include "Clancy of the Overflow" (1889), "The Man from Snowy River" (1890) and "Waltzing Matilda" (1895), regarded widely as Australia's unofficial national anthem. more…

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