Analysis of Song of the Old Boundary Rider

Vance Palmer 1885 (Bundaberg) – 1959 (Kew)



Fat and full of health are the valleys of the Condamine,
There the yellow maize and the green tobacco grow,
Through the little gardens runs the trailing passion-vine,
And softly to the North the white downs flow.

Here nothing changes, seed-time or harvest-time,
Mulga on the skyline, mulga round the place,
Riding round the fences I hear the bells of bullocks chime,
But homely sounds come rarer than a woman's face.

Lonely is the day and lonely is the firelight,
Lonely is the heart when the trees come creeping near,
When the bobock calls the very dogs are dumb with fright,
And when a voice starts singing it's my own voice that I hear.

Back let me ride to the valley of the Condamine,
There the little homesteads nestle in their green,
Opal where the mists rise, amber where the paddocks shine,
My own things round me and none to come between.


Scheme ABAB CDCD EXEX AAAA
Poetic Form Quatrain  (75%)
Metre 101111010101 10101001011 1010101010101 0101010111 11010111101 11011101 10101011011101 110111010101 10101010101 101011011101 101101011111 01011101111111 11111010101 1010110011 101011101011 11111011101
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 855
Words 154
Sentences 5
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 42
Words per line (avg) 10
Letters per stanza (avg) 168
Words per stanza (avg) 38
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

46 sec read
98

Vance Palmer

Edward Vivian "Vance" Palmer was an Australian novelist, dramatist, essayist and critic. more…

All Vance Palmer poems | Vance Palmer Books

0 fans

Discuss this Vance Palmer poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Song of the Old Boundary Rider" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/37456/song-of-the-old-boundary-rider>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    22
    hours
    8
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "A Fairy Song"?
    A Emily Dickinson
    B William Shakespeare
    C Geoffrey Chaucer
    D William Blake