Analysis of Old Town Types No. 22 - The Baker
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)
Our baker, Mr Brackenby, toiler in the night,
Was a lean, tall, glum man whose face was very white;
A brooding man 'twas said of him, and mannerisms odd;
For a grunt of recognition and a rather surly nod
Were all he granted any who came strolling by his shop
In the cool of summer even, when a man might wish to stop
For a bit of neighbor's gossip. But our baker chose to mope
Like one who nursed grave illness or deep grief beyond all hope.
His chirping little 'missus' had the old town's sympathy;
For she loved to hold a customer and let her tongue run free
On stay bits of tittle-tattle; and we said, 'Poor thing,
With a dumb man for a husband, well, she has to have her fling.'
For silent Mr Brackenby, he never seemed to speak
To wife or child or anyone from week to dreary week.
There he sat upon his doorstop, and he stared and stared ahead
Like a being sore afflicted. But he baked good bread.
Yet once a year, on Show Day, some urge removed his gag,
And gloomy Mr Brackenby went out upon a 'jag.'
He visited the taverns from the morn till deepest night
Getting gradually garrulous and gradually 'tight.'
He laughed, he sang, he spent, to talked to any who would hear:
A merry man for just one day and night in all the year.
He sang of 'Champagne Charlie' and 'Where Did You Get That Hat?'
'Belle Mahone,' 'Tarpaulin Jacket,' and a score of songs like that.
Thro' the night he roared and revelled till the daylight broke the spell;
Then our baker, Mr Brackenby, crept back into his shell.
Stale the bread we got that morning; but, for twelve months after that,
In the loaves that came at dawning folk found nought to grumble at.
For he shunned the noisy taverns in the cool of summer eves,
And he squatted on his doorstep in the pose of one who grieves,
With his hand cupped in his white palm, he just stared and stared ahead
Like a man remorse had ravaged. But he baked good bread.
Scheme | AABBCCDD EEFFGGHH XFAAXXII JJIIKKHH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10101011001 101111111101 0101111101001 10110100010101 01110101110111 001110101011111 1011101011010111 11111101110111 11010101011100 111110100010111 1111101001111 101110101111101 110101110111 1111110111101 11101110110101 1010101011111 1101111110111 010101110101 11000101011101 101000100010001 11111111110111 01011111010101 11101100111111 1101100011111 1011101101101 11010101110111 101111101111101 001111101111101 111010100011101 0111110011111 111101111110101 1010111011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 1,872 |
Words | 368 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 46 |
Words per line (avg) | 11 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 365 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 91 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:49 min read
- 93 Views
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"Old Town Types No. 22 - The Baker" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6487/old-town-types-no.-22---the-baker>.
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