Andrew Barton, better known as Banjo Patterson is a high profile Australian poet who was a present public figure during the Federation at the turn of the 20th century. Patterson’s poems referencing the Australian bush have become a huge part of the Australian culture. His poems also fascinatingly provide valuable evidence of 19th and early 20th century Australian English. Paterson’s work and influence as a poet has helped in solidifying him as a nationally recognised Australian icon with his work having had exposure overseas. Arguably his two most famous poems are Waltzing Matilda and The Man from Snowy River.
The Man from Snowy River is a well-known, highly renowned and generally loved Australian bush ballad written by Banjo Patterson. The…show more content… The title is very important as its meaning has a lot of significance. Waltzing refers to the swagman's travels and the second word Matilda is another name for a swag and by putting two and two together the meaning of the title is that he is wandering, or ‘waltzing’ aimlessly through the outback with his swag and that is a big hint worth noting. Waltzing Matilda tells the story of an Australian swagman who stops by a billabong, which is a waterhole cut off from the main river or creek. He waits for his water to boil in his billy, presumably to make some tea. While doing so, he notices a jumbuck, or male sheep, come to the water. He springs up, grabs the sheep, and stuffs it into his tucker bag. The troopers come after him, so he jumps into the billabong and drowns, preferring to die than to be prosecuted. A common thing I am noticing when carefully analysing poems written by Banjo Patterson is his vast use of typical Australian slang and how often he makes reference to the Australian landscape and culture. In the poem he uses imagery like ‘Under the shade of a Coolabah tree’ (The Bulletin, 1890) and ‘Down came a jumbuck to drink at the water-hole’ (The Bulletin, 1890) which is an effectively efficient way of describing the Australian culture and referencing it in his writing and it gives a real in-depth insight into the setting of the poem and helps the story-telling be perceived better by the
