Poetry in motion | Telling tales | Two poets, two poems | Learning activities | Activity 1: A rhyme in time |
Option 1: Mulga Bill’s Bicycle | Mulga Bill’s Bicycle – Rhyme
Mulga Bill’s Bicycle – Rhyme
Now we are going to look more closely at the rhyming patterns of this poem.
To complete this activity
1. Identify the rhyming patterns in the verses below.
2. Answer some questions about these rhyming patterns in the space
provided.
Hint: You might have a great idea about how to present your work
differently. Check with your teacher first to decide how this will be
presented.
Remember! Save your completed worksheet in your portfolio.
Identify the rhyming patterns
1.
Read the two verses from Mulga Bill’s Bicycle, then highlight the rhyming words
in verse two. Use a different colour for each pair, as per the verse one example.
‘Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that caught the cycling craze;
He turned away the good old horse that served him many days;
He dressed himself in cycling clothes, resplendent to be seen;
He hurried off to town and bought a shining new machine;
And as he wheeled it through the door, with air of lordly pride,
The grinning shop assistant said, ‘Excuse me, can you ride?’
A
A
B
B
C
C
rhyming pair
rhyming pair
rhyming pair
‘See, here, young man,’ said Mulga Bill, ‘from Walgett to the sea,
From Conroy’s Gap to Castlereagh, there’s none can ride like me.
I’m good all round at everything, as everybody knows,
Although I’m not the one to talk  I hate a man that blows.
But riding is my special gift, my chiefest, sole delight;
Just ask a wild duck can it swim, a wild cat can it fight.
There’s nothing clothed in hair or hide, or built of flesh or steel,
There’s nothing walks or jumps, or runs, on axle, hoof, or wheel,
But what I’ll sit, while hide will hold and girths and straps are tight:
I'll ride this here two-wheeled concern right straight away at sight.’
© WestOne Services 2010
INTEGRATED1531
Page 1 of 3
Poetry in motion | Telling tales | Two poets, two poems | Learning activities | Activity 1: A rhyme in time |
Option 1: Mulga Bill’s Bicycle | Mulga Bill’s Bicycle – Rhyme
Investigate the rhyming patterns
Look at the colours used in both verses. The rhyming pattern for verse one is AA BB
CC. In verse one each rhyming pair has a different colour and a letter that
corresponds to that colour.
1.
What is the rhyming pattern for verse two? Write letters to correspond to your
rhyming colours beside verse two, as done for verse one.
2.
Does the rhyming pattern repeat itself throughout both verses or does it change?
Explain your answer.
3.
In verse one the paired rhyming divides the content of the verse into the smaller
events. This pairing works like paragraphs in a book, combining together to
make up the key focus of the whole verse, and helping you to understand the
story.
For example, in verse one each pair of rhyming lines describes the following
events.
Rhyming pairs
Event described
Lines 1 and 2
Mulga Bill decides to take up cycling and gets rid of his
horse.
Lines 3 and 4
Mulga Bill buys the clothes and bicycle.
Lines 5 and 6
The assistant asks Mulga Bill if he can ride. This sets up
what will happen in the next verse.
© WestOne Services 2010
INTEGRATED1531
Page 2 of 3
Poetry in motion | Telling tales | Two poets, two poems | Learning activities | Activity 1: A rhyme in time |
Option 1: Mulga Bill’s Bicycle | Mulga Bill’s Bicycle – Rhyme
Read through verse two and decide how the rhyming pairs have divided the
content. Complete the lines below to show this.
Rhyming pairs
Event described
Lines 1 and 2
Lines 3 and 4
Lines 5 and 6
Lines 7 and 8
Lines 9 and 10
4.
Why do you think poets use rhyme? Read the two verses again then write your
opinion.
© WestOne Services 2010
INTEGRATED1531
Page 3 of 3