Analysis of The Road to Gundagai
Andrew Barton Paterson 1864 (Orange, New South Wales) – 1941 (Sydney, New South Wales)
The mountain road goes up and down
From Gundagai to Tumut Town
And, branching off, there runs a track
Across the foothills grim and black,
Across the plains and ranges grey
To Sydney city far away.
It came by chance one day that I
From Tumut rode to Gundagai,
And reached about the evening tide
The crossing where the roads divide;
And, waiting at the crossing place,
I saw a maiden fair of face,
With eyes of deepest violet blue,
And cheeks to match the rose in hue --
The fairest maids Australia knows
Are bred among the mountain snows.
Then, fearing I might go astray,
I asked if she could show the way.
Her voice might well a man bewitch --
Its tones so supple, deep, and rich.
"The tracks are clear," she made reply,
"And this goes down to Sydney Town,
And that one goes to Gundagai."
Then slowly, looking coyly back,
She went along the Sydney track
And I for one was well content
To go the road the lady went;
But round the turn a swain she met --
The kiss she gave him haunts me yet!
I turned and travelled with a sigh
The lonely road to Gundagai.
Scheme | AABB CC DB EE FF GG HH CC II DAB BB JJ KK DB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01011101 11111 01011101 0101101 01010101 11010101 11111111 11111 01010101 01010101 01010101 11010111 111101001 01110101 01010101 11010101 11011101 11111101 01110101 11110101 01111101 01111101 011111 11010101 11010101 01111110 11010101 11010111 01111111 11010101 010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,062 |
Words | 207 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 14 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
Lines Amount | 31 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 58 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 15 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 23, 2023
- 1:01 min read
- 123 Views
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"The Road to Gundagai" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2691/the-road-to-gundagai>.
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