Analysis of A Psalm Of Fortitude
Joseph Furphy 1843 (Yering, Victoria) – 1912 (Claremont)
Are you, like me, a peevish brat,
With feelings extra-fine?
Are you disposed to whip the cat
When misadventure lays your flat?
Then paste this memo in your hat —
A Man Should Never Whine.
The axiom is no safeguard rare,
Nor talisman divine;
For, deaf to bounce as well as prayer,
Grim Fate will never turn a hair.
But still the principle is there —
A Man Should Never Whine.
When 'Answers' spurns your doggerel lay
(He often baskets mine)
And balks you of renown and pay,
Squirm not, but laugh, and darkly say,
'Ha! tyrant! there will come a day!'
A Bard Should Never Whine.
Should Gladys freeze you from her sight,
Don't languish or repine;
But let her know, in terms polite,
That she has made your future bright;
Then marry Ermyntrude for spite —
A Bloque Should Never Whine.
A killing frost may nip your buds
(There's Wolsey as a sign);
You may forego your stylish duds,
And trade away your pin and studs,
To live on bandicooted spuds;
But you Must Never Whine.
Religiously, your cake is dough —
You haven't walk'd the line.
Peter won't know you from a crow;
So your address must be 'Below,'
Where Socialists and such-like go;
Still You Must Never Whine.
But even should Repentance come,
Don't supplicate and pine.
Seek out the corybantic scrum,
And caper round the mighty drum,
And make Salvation fairly hum —
A Saint Should Never Whine.
Beneath such petty details lies
Calm Nature's great design,
That we on stepping-stones should rise;
And any decent chap who tries
To score some points before he dies
Can Surely Never Whine.
Things standing thus, it is not nice
To rate yourself a swine;
Just let this argument suffice:
An abject whimper cuts no ice,
But only tends to lower your price —
A Man Should Never Whine.
Scheme | abaaaB cbcccB dbdddb ebeeeb fbfffb gbgggb hbhhhb ibiiib jbjjjB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110101 110101 11011101 10010111 1111011 011101 01001111 110001 11111111 11110101 11010011 011101 110111001 110101 01110101 11110101 11011101 011101 11011101 11011 11010101 11111101 110111 011101 01011111 110101 11011101 01011101 11111 111101 01001111 110101 10111101 1111101 11000111 111101 11010101 1101 11011 01010101 01010101 011101 01110011 110101 11110111 01010111 11110111 110101 11011111 110101 11110001 11010111 110111011 011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,739 |
Words | 315 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 54 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 148 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 24, 2023
- 1:36 min read
- 96 Views
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"A Psalm Of Fortitude" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/24512/a-psalm-of-fortitude>.
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