Name
Date
Period
Llano Vaqueros TPS-FASTT
Title: You type your 2-3 sentences here from Wednesday’s class.
Paraphrase: Padilla is a vaquero (cowboy) who is moving cattle. This particular cattle looks like
cattle of the past. Today’s cows are pampered and spoiled. They are bred to show at State Fairs
and to look pretty. Another cowboy describes his ride on Sunshine and how the cattle treat her with
disrespect. The mare does not appreciate today’s cattle because of the attitude that comes with
them. The speaker lists the things he likes about his ancestors—all of them macho attributes. The
poem ends with a description of the cowboys of yesterday.
Speaker:
At the beginning of the poem, Padilla (a vaquero) is describing moving cattle. The
poem’s speaker changes to the point of view of a cowboy who is not Padilla. He states, “I admire my
ancestors, llano vaqueros” to show he honors the lives of the past (21). He needs to believe he is not
like the cowboys of today and he longs to be like the true llano vaquero.
Figurative Language:
Alliteration: The alliteration of the cattle emphasizes the past generations of cattle. The “horns long
and sharp/for bloody battle” shows the complexity of this particular herd (3, 4). The repetition of the
‘b’ sound mimics the sound of cow hooves. The clopping shows strength in numbers and the word
bloody exaggerates the behavior of the cattle. The cows and/or bulls do not necessarily fight to the
death, but they do experience chaos on the field.
Catalogue Verse: Today’s herd is inferior to the herds of the past. The catalogue verse shows the
spoiled cattle as “hooves manicured/and polished, hide-hair blow-dried, lips/and lashes waxed” (1214). The speaker lists a variety of ways in which today’s cattle have changed drastically from the
cattle of the past. They are inferior to the Mexican cows and the speaker is frustrated by the new
generation.
Personification: The personification of the horse shows the personality of the animal and the
cowboy. While the vaquero is riding his horse “she [the horse] smarts/away from their [cows’]
disdainful glare— (19). His horse is ashamed of the way she looks so she does not want to make
any contact with the “stall-salon dolls” (12). She looks the other way so the cows will not taunt or
criticize her appearance. The horse’s purpose has changed and she is no longer of use to the
vaquero.
Attitude/Tone: The overall tone for this poem is nostalgic. The speaker reminisces a time where
vaqueros and the cattle the raised were tougher. His ancestors the, “llano vaqueros” who, “wrestled
[a cow] down,/ …with the same pleasure they enjoyed in a bunk-house brawl” were very macho,
which he admired (23-26). He sees the cattle of today and is disgusted, he wishes he could go back
to the past to be the vaqueros he admired.
Shifts: The tone goes from condescending to admiring, when the speaker shifts from talking about
the cattle of the present to the cowboys of the past. While he calls the stalled cows “sluggish,
pampered globs,” he voices the admiration he has for his “ancestors, llano vaqueros” (9, 21). Clearly
ashamed of how much of a contrast there is between the cattle of the past and the ones of the
present, the speaker nostalgically thinks of the times when the past vaqueros lived a truly wild
lifestyle. Back then, the cowboys were more likely to encounter the wild bulls on the llano, but now,
most of the cattle are pampered and used for show. The speaker wishes that the cattle today were
like the cattle of past generations, seeking the pleasure that his ancestors had.
Title:
Theme:
Theme #1:
Theme #2: