Analysis of The Scottish Engineer
Andrew Barton Paterson 1864 (Orange, New South Wales) – 1941 (Sydney, New South Wales)
With eyes that searched in the dark,
Peering along the line,
Stood the grim Scotsman, Hector Clark,
Driver of "Forty-nine".
And the veldt-fire flamed on the hills ahead,
Like a blood-red beacon sign.
There was word of a fight to the north,
And a column too hardly pressed,
So they started the Highlanders forth.
Heedless of food or rest.
But the pipers gaily played,
Chanting their fierce delight,
And the armoured carriages rocked and swayed.
Laden with men of the Scots Brigade,
Hurrying up to the fight,
And the grim, grey Highland engineer
Driving them into the night.
Then a signal light glowed red,
And a picket came to the track.
"Enemy holding the line ahead;
Three of our mates we have left for dead,
Only we two got back."
And far to the north through the still night air
They heard the rifles crack.
And the boom of a gun rang out,
Like the sound of a deep appeal,
And the picket stood in doubt
By the side of the driving-wheel.
But the engineer looked down,
With his hand on the starting-bar,
"Ride ye back to the town,
Ye know what my orders are,
Maybe they're wanting the Scots Brigade
Up on those hills afar.
"I am no soldier at all,
Only an engineer;
But I could not bear that the folk should say
Over in Scotland -- Glasgow way --
That Hector Clark stayed here
With the Scots Brigade till the foe was gone,
With ever a rail to run her on.
Ready behind! Stand clear!
"Fireman, get you gone
Into the armoured train --
I will drive her alone;
One more trip -- and perhaps the last --
With a well-raked fire and an open blast;
Hark to the rifles again!"
On through the choking dark,
Never a lamp nor a light,
Never an engine spark
Showing her hurried flight,
Over the lonely plain
Rushed the great armoured train,
Hurrying up to the fight.
Then with her living freight
On to the foe she came,
And the rides snapped their hate.
And the darkness spouted flame.
Over the roar of the fray
The hungry bullets whined,
As she dashed through the foe that lay
Loading and firing blind,
Till the glare of the furnace, burning clear,
Showed them the form of the engineer
Sharply and well defined.
Through! They are safely through!
Hark to the column's cheer!
Surely the driver knew
He was to halt her here;
But he took no heed of the signals red,
And the fireman found, when he climbed ahead,
There on the door of his engine -- dead --
The Scottish Engineer!
Scheme | ababcb dede fgffGhg ciccixi jkjk lmlmfm xhnnopxh pqxrrx agagqqG stst ncnuhh uvhvoccch |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111001 100101 10110101 101101 00110110101 1011101 111101101 00101101 11100101 11111 1010101 101101 001100101 101110101 1001101 001110101 1010101 1010111 00101101 100100101 1110111111 101111 0110110111 110101 00110111 10110101 0010101 10110101 1010111 11110101 111101 1111101 101100101 111101 1111011 101101 1111110111 1001011 110111 1010110111 110011101 100111 10111 01011 111001 11100101 10111001101 1101001 110101 1001101 101101 100101 100101 10111 1001101 110101 110111 001111 0010101 1001101 010101 11110111 100101 1011010101 110110101 100101 111101 11011 100101 111101 1111110101 0010111101 110111101 010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,368 |
Words | 444 |
Sentences | 24 |
Stanzas | 12 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 4, 7, 7, 4, 6, 8, 6, 7, 4, 6, 9 |
Lines Amount | 74 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 152 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 37 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 12, 2023
- 2:13 min read
- 128 Views
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"The Scottish Engineer" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2699/the-scottish-engineer>.
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