The Bushman by Thomas Pringle
The bushman sleeps within his Black-browned den,
In the lone wilderness. Around him lie
His wife and little ones unfearingly -
For they are far away from 'Christian-Men'.
No herds, loud lowing, call him down the glen:
He fears no foe but famine; and may try
To wear away the hot noon slumberingly;
Then rise to search for roots - and dance again.
But he shall dance no more! His secret lair,
Surrounded, echoes to the thundering gun,
And the wild shriek of anguish and despair!
He dies - yet, ere life's ebbing sands are run,
Leaves to his sons a curse, should they be friends
With the proud 'Christian-Men' - for they are fiends!
Questions
- Give the rhyme scheme of the poem.
- What kind of sonnet is this poem?
- Give synonyms for the following words in the poem.
- den
- glen
- foe
- famine
- lair
- ebbing
- Identify the figures of speech in:
- line 1
- line 12
- Explain the irony in line 4
- Quote two words which make the bushman seem like an animal.
- What word would you use to describe the bushman's lifestyle?
- Why is 'Christian-Men' in quotation marks? What does this
suggest about them?
- Explain how the last word, 'fiends' changes the tone
of the poem?
