Analysis of The Diggers
Andrew Barton Paterson 1864 (Orange, New South Wales) – 1941 (Sydney, New South Wales)
Bristling Billy the porcupine,
A person that nobody liked,
Sinking a shaft on an ant-bed mine,
Came on a burrowing lizard's line,
And the lizard was badly spiked.
'You're a blundering fool,' said the snake's half-brother,
And that was how one thing led to another.
Weary Willie the wombat king
Said he was champion excavator;
But the Bristler said, 'You ain't no such thing;
You couldn't dig up a new pertater!'
So a match was made on their mining skill,
Bristling Billy and Weary Will.
Both of the creatures were stout as steel,
With knife-like claws that could dig for ever.
The wombat dug with the greater zeal,
But he hadn't the style or the action clever
Of Bristling Billy, who looked a winner
Till he struck some ants, and he stopped for dinner.
Down where the ants had hid their young
Underground in a secret tunnel,
Scooping them up with his sticky tongue
Into his mouth that was like a funnel:
'Why should I dig for your wagers scanty,'
Said he, 'when I'm feeling so full and ant-y?'
A kangaroo who has lost his cash
Was wild at this most absurd come-uppance.
'Now listen, you poor ant-eating trash,
I'd give you a kick in the ribs for twopence!'
'Well, when I've finished with this here diet,'
Said Bristling Billy, 'you come and try it.'
Bristling Billy the porcupine,
A person that nobody likes,
Wanders away on his lonely line,
Rattles his fearful spikes.
Says he, 'There's none of you long-haired squibs
Is game to give me a kick in the ribs.'
Scheme | Abaabcc dcdcee fcfccc ghghxx ijijxx Ajajjj |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10010010 010111 100111111 110100101 00101101 101001101110 01111111010 1010011 111100100 101111111 11011011 1011111101 100100101 110100111 1111111110 01110101 111001101010 11001011010 11111011110 11011111 10001010 101111101 0111111010 1111111010 11111011011 00111111 111110111 110111101 1110100111 1111011110 11001011011 10010010 010111 100111101 101101 111111111 1111101001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,430 |
Words | 272 |
Sentences | 13 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 37 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 188 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 44 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:22 min read
- 96 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Diggers" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2636/the-diggers>.
Discuss this Andrew Barton Paterson poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In