Analysis of The Shepherd
Andrew Barton Paterson 1864 (Orange, New South Wales) – 1941 (Sydney, New South Wales)
He wore an old blue shirt the night that first we met,
An old and tattered cabbage-tree concealed his locks of jet;
His footsteps had a languor, his voice a husky tone;
Both man and dog were spent with toil as they slowly wandered home.
I saw him but a moment—yet methinks I see him now
While his sheep were gently feeding 'neath the rugged mountain brow.
When next we met, the old blue shirt and cabbage-tree were gone;
A brand new suit of tweed and "Doctor Dod" he had put on;
Arm in arm with him was one who strove, and not in vain,
To ease his pockets of their load by drinking real champagne.
I saw him but a moment, and he was going a pace,
Shouting nobbler after nobbler, with a smile upon his face.
When next again I saw that man his suit of tweed was gone,
The old blue shirt and cabbage-tree once more he had put on;
Slowly he trudged along the road and took the well-known track
From the station he so lately left with a swag upon his back.
I saw him but a moment as he was walking by
With two black eyes and broken nose and a tear-dropp in his eye.
Scheme | AAXX BBCDEE FFCDGG HH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111111011111 11010101011111 11101110101 110101111110101 1111010111111 111010101010101 11110111010101 01111101011111 1011111110101 11110111110101 11110100111001 1011011010111 11011111111111 01110101111111 10110101010111 1010111011010111 1111010111101 111101010011011 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 1,053 |
Words | 213 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 6, 6, 2 |
Lines Amount | 18 |
Letters per line (avg) | 46 |
Words per line (avg) | 12 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 205 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 53 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:03 min read
- 95 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Shepherd" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2702/the-shepherd>.
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