Banjo Patterson Poetic Techniques

Which literary techniques are employed to communicate the message/theme/central idea?

There are multiple language techniques that have been used to communicate the message and theme. A few of these techniques are similes, metaphors and personification. An example of a simile in the poem is in Stanza 13, Line 3-5, “Where the air is clear as crystal, and the white stars fairly blaze. At midnight in the cold and frosty sky, And where around the Overflow the reed-beds sweep and sway”. Another simile is “He followed like a bloodhound on their track” (Stanza 12, Line 2). Having similes and metaphors like those play an important role as they’re an essential devices in poetry to create an interest in the text as without them poetry would be bland.

“For the wild hop scrub grew thickly, and the hidden ground was full. Of wombat holes, and any slip was death.” (Stanza 9, Line 3-4) is a perfect example of Imagery as Banjo Paterson is explaining what the mountains were like were the men rode. Having imagery shows the audience what the scenery and setting would look like by using words. In this case Paterson used imagery to explain the looks of Australian outback and the dangerous components to it.

He also added rhyming couplets e.g. “And Clancy of the Overflow came down to lend a hand, No better horseman ever held the reins; For never horse could throw him while the saddle girths would stand, He learnt to ride while droving on the plains.” (Stanza 2, Line 5-8).

The structure of the poem is 13 stanzas, with 8 lines in each, the poem is not compacted but instead is spread out and easier for the reader to read and In each stanza they contain a language technique. Having all these literary techniques ties in to how it engages the audience and shows them what it’d be like by reading the poem, wouldn’t it be boring if it