Clancy Of The Overflow

458 Words2 Pages

The Author Banjo Paterson creates a persona that has a passion to live a free, effortless life as a drover. The poem is illustrated to be set in the late 1800s and is set in a pallid, dirty city. Patterson’s purpose in authoring this poem is using the persona story to indicate his passion towards the outback and it’s carefree lifestyle. Patterson intends for the reader to understand his passion towards the outback. Clancy of the Overflow is a poem about Patterson's wish to life a free life. The poem portrays the comparison between country life and city life. Paterson wishes for the peaceful and simple life that he imagines Clancy, the drover, must be experiencing. The poem ends with a sense of regret as the narrator realizes that he is …show more content…

The persona, situated in his office, receives the news that his former acquaintance Clancy has gone droving in Queensland. The poem depicts Clancy's life on the road as a drover, amongst the natural beauty of the outback, surrounded by the "murmur of the breezes" and "the wondrous glory of the everlasting stars". The use of metaphor’s in describing Clancy's experience highlights his easy going life. "The foetid air and gritty of the dusty, dirty city", "the tramways and the buses making hurry down the street." Paterson uses brief descriptions of both rural and urban landscapes to anchor the poem's central concern- the desire for a life that allows us to grow and flourish, amidst natural beauty and good company. In conclusion, Paterson's "Clancy of the Overflow" is an ode to the timeless values of simplicity, freedom, and nature. The poem contrasts urban and rural life, using poetic devices to emphasize the superiority of natural living as metaphors and similes. Through the narrator's regretful reflections, the poem presents a yearning for a simpler, more meaningful existence, one that can be found in the outback, amidst the "vision splendid of the sunlit plains," and the warm company of friends and loved ones. The enduring popularity of this poem speaks to the fundamental human desire for a life suffused with natural

Open Document