Bullocky
By Judith Wright
Beside his heavy-shouldered team
thirsty with drought and chilled with rain,
he weathered all the striding years
till they ran widdershins in his brain:Till the long solitary tracks
etched deeper with each lurching load
were populous before his eyes,
and fiends and angels used his road.All the long straining journey grew
a mad apocalyptic dream,
and he old Moses, and the slaves
his suffering and stubborn team.Then in his evening camp beneath
the half-light pillars of the trees
he filled the steepled cone of night
with shouted prayers and prophecies.While past the campfire’s crimson ring
the star struck darkness cupped him round.
and centuries of cattle-bells
rang with their sweet uneasy sound.Grass is across the wagon-tracks,
and plough strikes bone beneath the grass,
and vineyards cover all the slopes
where the dead teams were used to pass.O vine, grow close upon that bone
and hold it with your rooted hand.
The prophet Moses feeds the grape,
and fruitful is the Promised Land.
Summary of Bullocky
- Popularity of “Bullocky”: The poem “Bullocky” by Judith Wright, an Australian poet and writer, is a wonderfully poetic piece. The poem first appeared in 1946 in The Moving Image. It immediately won a textbook status and has been included in several anthologies and textbooks. The unique quality of the poetic output lies in its comparison as well as the contrast of the bullocky with a sacred profession of Moses. The objective is to show that every profession is a sacred profession.
- “Bullocky” As a Representative of Sacredness of Farming and Cattle Rearing: Using the indigenous slang of “bullocky,” the poet, Judith Wright opens the poem, saying that the cattle herder or the shepherd does not care about the weather, or the people, or the crowd, or the companionship. All he sees is a long journey before his eyes that has been covered by every type of person “fiends and angels.” The poet, then, compares him to old Moses and calls his herd his team. Exactly like the old prophet, he also prays and shouts at the herd near the campfire at night. He has laid his camp near the grass already plowed and the slopes covered with vineyards. His acts of calling vine and then catching its root seem as if these are prophetic acts like that of Moses to feed his people with the grapes. Judith Wright wants to say that he is similar to Moses and his duty is a sacred duty to feed the people of his homeland.
- Major Themes in “Bullocky”: Hard work, the sacredness of the profession and indigenousness are major themes of the poem. The indigenous hard work and professional sacredness lie in the very first stanza as he tolerates all weather conditions with stoicism and forbearance. His devotion to his profession is clear from his campfire, his tilling of the land, and his shouts at the cattle despite his prayers to God. Also, this shows that his work is a sacred as Moses’s because he feeds the people and keeps the motherland as if it is a “Promised Land” of Moses.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Bullocky”
literary devices are unique tools the writers use to make their writings beautiful and meaningful. The analysis of these devices in “Bullocky” by Judith Wright as given below shows this fact.
- Allusion: It is a device that shows the use of some historical, social, religious or spiritual event, or persona alluded to in a literary piece. Here the poet has alluded to Moses as given in the third stanza and Palestine in the last stanza.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /o/ in “O vine, grow close upon that bone”, /a/ and /i/ in “While past the campfire’s crimson ring” and the sound of /e/ in “where the dead teams were used to pass.”
- Alliteration: The poem shows the use of alliteration that means to use words have same consonant initial sounds such as the sound of /b/ in “bone beneath.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /t/ and /l/ in “thirsty with drought and chilled with rain”, /s/ and /r/ in “his suffering and stubborn team” and the sound of /n/ in “Then in his evening camp beneath.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
While past the campfire’s crimson ring
the star struck darkness cupped him round.
and centuries of cattle-bells
rang with their sweet uneasy sound.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “All the long straining journey grew”, “Then in his evening camp beneath / beneath the half-light pillars of the trees” and “the stark struck darkness cupped him round.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the use cattle herding as a metaphor of doing a sacred job.
- Personification: The poem shows several things personified such as the “journey” that grew into a dream.” This shows as if the journey has a life of its own.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poet has used the symbols of grass, plough and vineyard for food as well as sustenance.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Bullocky”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows the ABCB rhyme scheme throughout the poem.
- Quatrain: The poem shows the use of quatrain, a Persian stanza type, having four verses with the same rhyming pattern in all.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are seven stanzas with each having four verses.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “Bullocky” are relevant to use when teaching Romanticism to the students of literature.
While past the campfire’s crimson ring
the star struck darkness cupped him round.
and centuries of cattle-bells
rang with their sweet uneasy sound.
