Analysis of The Swagman and His Mate
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
FROM north to south throughout the year
The shearing seasons run,
The Queensland stations start to shear
When Maoriland has done;
But labour’s cheap and runs are wide,
And some the track must tread
From New Year’s Day till Christmastide
And never get a shed!
North, west, and south—south, west and north—
They lead and follow Fate—
The stoutest hearts that venture forth—
The swagman and his mate.
A restless, homeless class they are
Who tramp in Borderland.
They take their rest ’neath moon and star—
Their bed the desert sand,
On sunset tracks they ride and tramp,
Till speech has almost died,
And still they drift from camp to camp
In silence side by side.
They think and dream, as all men do;
Perchance their dreams are great—
Each other’s thoughts are sacred to
The swagman and his mate.
With scrubs beneath the stifling skies
Unstirred by heaven’s breath;
Beyond the Darling Timber lies
The land of living death!
A land that wrong-born poets brave
Till dulled minds cease to grope——
A land where all things perish, save
The memories of Hope.
When daylight’s fingers point out back
(And seem to hesitate)
The far faint dust cloud marks their track—
The swagman and his mate.
And one who followed through the scrub
And out across the plain,
And only in a bitter mood
Would seek those tracks again,
Can only write what he has seen—
Can only give his hand—
And greet those mates in words that mean
“I know”, “I understand.”
I hope they’ll find the squatter “white”,
The cook and shearers “straight”,
When they have reached the shed to-night—
The swagman and his mate.
Scheme | ababcdcdefeF gcghicicjfjF klklmnmnofoF xxxxphph qfqF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110101 010101 0110111 1111 1110111 010111 111111 010101 11011101 110101 0111101 01011 01010111 1101 11111101 110101 1111101 11111 01111111 010111 11011111 011111 11011101 01011 11010101 11101 01010101 011101 01111101 111111 01111101 010011 1110111 01110 01111111 01011 01110101 010101 01000101 111101 11011111 110111 01110111 11101 11110101 01011 11110111 01011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,584 |
Words | 280 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 12, 12, 8, 4 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 247 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 55 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 21, 2023
- 1:24 min read
- 123 Views
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"The Swagman and His Mate" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18116/the-swagman-and-his-mate>.
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