Analysis of Oxford Cheese Ode

James McIntyre 1828 (Forres) – 1906



The ancient poets ne'er did dream
That Canada was land of cream,
They ne'er imagined it could flow
In this cold land of ice and snow,
Where everything did solid freeze,
They ne'er hoped or looked for cheese.

A few years since our Oxford farms
Were nearly robbed of all their charms,
O'er cropped the weary land grew poor
And nearly barren as a moor,
But now the owners live at ease
Rejoicing in their crop of cheese.

And since they justly treat the soil,
Are well rewarded for their toil,
The land enriched by goodly cows,
Yie'ds plenty now to fill their mows,
Both wheat and barley, oats and peas
But still their greatest boast is cheese.

And you must careful fill your mows
With good provender for your cows,
And in the winter keep them warm,
Protect them safe all time from harm,
For cows do dearly love their ease,
Which doth insure best grade of cheese.

To us it is a glorious theme
To sing of milk and curds and cream,
Were it collected it could float
On its bosom, small steam boat,
Cows numerous as swarm of bees
Are milked in Oxford to make cheese.


Scheme AABBCC DDXXCC EEFFCC FFXXCC AAGGCC
Poetic Form Etheree  (30%)
Metre 01010111 11001111 11010111 01111101 1101101 1111111 011110101 01011111 101010111 01010101 11010111 01001111 01110101 11010111 01011101 11011111 11010101 11110111 01110111 111111 00010111 01111111 11110111 11011111 111101001 11110101 01010111 1110111 11001111 11010111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,036
Words 201
Sentences 6
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 30
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 166
Words per stanza (avg) 40
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 15, 2023

1:01 min read
131

James McIntyre

James McIntyre, minstrel performer, vaudeville and theatrical actor, and a partner in the famous blackface tramp comedy duo act McIntyre and Heath. more…

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