Analysis of The Old Survey
Andrew Barton Paterson 1864 (Orange, New South Wales) – 1941 (Sydney, New South Wales)
Our money's all spent, to the deuce went it!
The landlord, he looks glum,
On the tap-room wall, in a very bad scrawl,
He has chalked to us a sum.
But a glass we'll take, ere the grey dawn break,
And then saddle up and away
Theodolite-tum, theodolite-ti, theodolite-too-ral-ay.
With a measured beat fall our horses' feet,
Galloping side by side;
When the money's done, and we've had our fun,
We all are bound to ride.
O'er the far-off plain we'll drag the chain,
And mark the settler's way
Theodolite-tum, theodolite-ti, theodolite-too-ral-ay.
We'll range from the creeks to the mountain peaks,
And traverse far below;
Where foot never trod, we'll mark with a rod
The limits of endless snow;
Each lofty crag we'll plant with a flag,
To flash in the sun's bright ray
Theodolite-tum, theodolite-ti, theodolite-too-ral-ay.
Till with cash hard-earned once more returned,
At "The Beaver" bars we'll shout;
And the very bad scrawl that's against the wall
Ourselves shall see wiped out.
Such were the ways in the good old days!
The days of the old survey!
Theodolite-tum, theodolite-ti, theodolite-too-ral-ay.
Scheme | xabaxcC xdxdxcC xexe xcC xfbfxcC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10101110111 01111 10111001011 1111101 1011110111 01101001 11111111 10101110101 100111 10101011101 111111 1001111101 01011 11111111 1110110101 010101 1110111101 0101101 110111101 1100111 11111111 111111101 1010111 00101110101 0011111 100100111 0110101 11111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,082 |
Words | 184 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 7, 4, 3, 7 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 169 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 59 sec read
- 137 Views
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"The Old Survey" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/2674/the-old-survey>.
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