Poems That Tell a Story
Copyright Sandy Fussell 2010-11
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Poet of the day
Banjo Patterson
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Banjo the poet
Born in 1864 on a farm near Yass,
he came to Sydney for school when
he was 10
 His real name was Andrew Barton
Patterson but he wrote as Banjo or
AB
 His first book, The Man from Snowy
River and Other verses sold out in a
week
 Most famous poem is Waltzing
Matilda
 He is on the $10 note

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Waltzing Matilda
Oh there once was a swagman camped in the
billabongs
Under the shade of a Coolibah tree
And he sang as he looked at the old billy boiling
Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda my darling
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me
Waltzing Matilda and leading a waterbag
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me
Up came the jumbuck to drink at the waterhole
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him in glee
And he sang as he put him away in the tuckerbag
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda my darling
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me
Waltzing Matilda and leading a waterbag
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me
Up came the squatter a-riding his thoroughbred
Up came policemen one two three
Whose is the jumbuck you've got in the tuckerbag?
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda my darling
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me
Waltzing Matilda and leading a waterbag
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me
Up sprang the swagman and jumped in the
waterhole
Drowning himself by the Coolibah
And his voice can be heard as it sings in the
billabongs
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.
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The Man from
Snowy River
There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around
That the colt from Old Regret had got away,
And had joined the wild bush horses --- he was worth a thousand pound,
So all the cracks had gathered to the fray.
All the tried and noted riders from the stations near and far
Had mustered at the homestead overnight,
For the bushmen love hard riding where the wild bush horses are,
And the stock-horse snuffs the battle with delight.
There was Harrison, who made his pile when Pardon won the cup,
The old man with his hair as white as snow;
But few could ride beside him when his blood was fairly up --He would go wherever horse and man could go.
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.
And one was there, a stripling on a small and weedy beast,
He was something like a racehorse undersized,
With a touch of Timor pony --- three parts thoroughbred at least -And such as are by mountain horsemen prized.
He was hard and tough and wiry --- just the sort that won't say die --There was courage in his quick impatient tread;
And he bore the badge of gameness in his bright and fiery eye,
And the proud and lofty carriage of his head.
But still so slight and weedy, one would doubt his power to stay,
And the old man said, "That horse will never do
For a long and tiring gallop --- lad, you'd better stop away,
Those hills are far too rough for such as you".
So he waited sad and wistful --- only Clancy stood his friend -"I think we ought to let him come," he said;
"I warrant he'll be with us when he's wanted at the end,
For both his horse and he are mountain bred".
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The Highwayman
I
THE wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding—
Riding—riding—
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.
II
He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin,
A coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin;
They fitted with never a wrinkle: his boots were up to the thigh!
And he rode with a jewelled twinkle,
His pistol butts a-twinkle,
His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky.
III
Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred;
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
Adjectives
Alliteration
Metaphor
Onomatopoeia
Refrain
Simile
Stanza
End rhyme
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Waltzing Matilda: Narrative Poem  Comic Strip
Swagman asleep
under the tree
Squatter and
police arrive
Individual Activity
Shoves sheep in a
bag
Swagman jumps
into billabong
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Man from Snowy River: Narrative Poem  Comic Strip
A horse escaped
He raced until he
caught up with the
horses
Nobody thought the
Man from Snowy River
could catch it
He caught the
horse
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The Highwayman: Narrative Poem  Comic Strip
The highwayman
loved Bess
She called out to
warn him and was
shot
Soldiers tied her
up waiting for him
He returned to
avenge her and
was shot
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Narrative Poem  Comic Strip
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Group Activity
Writing a short Narrative Poem
One ___________________________________________________ (when)
I heard _______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________ (what)
____________________________________________________(what next)
______________________________________________________ (the end)
_____________________________________________________
One Wednesday afternoon
I heard a dog bark
It had chased a cat up a tree
I climbed up to rescue the cat
But it jumped down.
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Individual Activity
Writing a short Narrative Poem
One ___________________________________________________ (when)
I heard _______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________ (what)
____________________________________________________(what next)
______________________________________________________ (the end)
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
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Individual Activity
Improving our poem using our
toolbox Editing
• add a new line
• change the line order
• delete something – a line or a word
• add some adjectives
• add a sound (onomatopoeia)
• add alliteration
• add a simile or metaphor or personification
• add repetition
• add a rhyme (end rhyme, last line, internal rhyme)
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Group Activity
Writing a short Narrative Poem
One wet Wednesday afternoon
I heard a dog bark “woof”
It had chased a kitten up a tree
I climbed up to rescue the scared kitten
But it jumped down
And ran away like the wind.
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Copyright
© Sandy Fussell 2011
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