The Outside Track by Henry Lawson: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem The Outside Track that begins with:

There were ten of us there on the moonlit quay,
And one on the for’ard hatch;... full text

Elements of the verse: questions and answers

The information we provided is prepared by means of a special computer program. Use the criteria sheet to understand greatest poems or improve your poetry analysis essay.

  • Rhyme scheme: ababcXcdcaca efefgdgd heheifif gfgfdhXh cjcj
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 12,8,8,8,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic tetrameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: ballad stanza
  • Metre: 10101110111 1110101 110100111 1101101 1011111101 10111111 11110110101 1011111 11101110111 11011011 11101110111 1110011 011100101 1100101 1100101101 1011101 110101101 1111101 110111100 10111101 111110111 1111101 110100111 10101101 110110101 1011111 111100101 1100101 11111111 11100111 1110100111 0100101 1111110111 0011101 1110100101 1100111 1111110111 10101001 1110110111 10100101
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 300
  • Average number of words per stanza: 62
  • Amount of lines: 40
  • Average number of symbols per line: 37 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 8

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; and, as, cheered are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words we, and are repeated.

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of The Outside Track;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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