Analysis of T.y.s.o.n.

Andrew Barton Paterson 1864 (Orange, New South Wales) – 1941 (Sydney, New South Wales)



Across the Queensland border line
The mobs of cattle go;
They travel down in sun and shine
On dusty stage, and slow.
The drovers, riding slowly on
To let the cattle spread,
Will say: "Here's one old landmark gone,
For old man Tyson's dead."
What tales there'll be in every camp
By men that Tyson knew!
The swagmen, meeting on the tramp,
Will yarn the long day through,
And tell of how he passed as "Brown",
And fooled the local men:
"But not for me -- I struck the town,
And passed the message further down;
That's T.Y.S.O.N.!"

There stands a little country town
Beyond the border line,
Where dusty roads go up and down,
And banks with pubs combine.
A stranger came to cash a cheque --
Few were the words he said --
A handkerchief about his neck,
An old hat on his head.

A long grey stranger, eagle-eyed --
"Know me? Of course you do?"
"It's not my work," the boss replied,
"To know such tramps as you."
"Well, look here, Mister, don't be flash,"
Replied the stranger then,
"I never care to make a splash,
I'm simple, but I've got the cash;
I'm T.Y.S.O.N."

But in that last great drafting-yard,
Where Peter keeps the gate,
And souls of sinners find it barred,
And go to meet their fate,
There's one who ought to enter in
For good deeds done on earth,
One who from Peter's self must win
That meed of sterling worth.

Not to the strait and narrow gate
Reserved for wealthy men,
But to the big gate, opened wide,
The grizzled figure, eagle-eyed,
Will saunter up -- and then
Old Peter'll say: "Let's pass him through;
There's many a thing he used to do,
Good-hearted things that no one knew;
That's T.Y.S.O.N."


Scheme ababxcxcdedefgffH fafabcxc ieiejgjjh klklmnmn lgiigeeeH
Poetic Form
Metre 0101101 011101 11010101 110101 0110101 110101 1111111 111101 1110101001 111101 0110101 110111 01111111 010101 11111101 01010101 110 11010101 010101 11011101 011110 01011101 100111 01000111 111111 01110101 111111 11110101 111111 11110111 010101 11011101 11011101 110 10111101 110101 01110111 011111 11111100 111111 11110111 111101 11010101 011101 11011101 01010101 110101 1111111 110011111 11011111 110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,563
Words 320
Sentences 25
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 17, 8, 9, 8, 9
Lines Amount 51
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 239
Words per stanza (avg) 60
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:38 min read
220

Andrew Barton Paterson

Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales, where he spent much of his childhood. Paterson's more notable poems include "Clancy of the Overflow" (1889), "The Man from Snowy River" (1890) and "Waltzing Matilda" (1895), regarded widely as Australia's unofficial national anthem. more…

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    "T.y.s.o.n." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2609/t.y.s.o.n.>.

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