The Farmhand Essay

Baxter presents a familiar view of a farmhand relaxing after work with his friends at a local dance hall.
Baxter lived this life

himself and there are certain parallels between the writer and character which allow a depth of personality to be explored.
Baxter enjoyed representing working class people and everyday situations with his almost-prosaic style.
From the opening line, the reader is directly addressed, impelled to visualise the scene, ‘You will see him’ and then Baxter draws
on a rapid succession of descriptive detail which build a somewhat stereotypical impression. The smoking and location show his
commonplace interests and the body language of ‘leaning back’ and ‘telling some new joke’ give an impression of confidence, an
entertaining nature, perhaps not a deep thinker, yet in the fourth line the conjunction ‘or’ indicated for the first time that there
is something beyond the outer show of bravado and masculinity, indicated by the personification of the ‘secret night’ which
intrigues him. It shows an interest in a life beyond the norms of society, an appreciation of nature, even when others might be
frightened. There are only half-rhymes in this stanza. The lines grow progressively longer as the complex sentence unfurls. The
choice of words is airy with aspirants such as ‘h’ and lulling ‘l’ sounds as well as sibilance.
The second stanza opens with another conjunction, the plosive ‘But’ indicating a significant shift. The significance of the shift in
the farmhand’s attention is underscored by the use of a simile to describe the dancing women as ‘drifting like flowers’. This
beautiful imagery suggests something poetic and romantic in the farmhand. He appreciates their delicacy and the gentle swirling
movement. By comparing them to something natural we are reminded of his occupation and his love of nature. Juxtaposed
against this line is the revelation that our farmhand who we may have thought was happy and enjoying the evening is actually in
great pain and emotion anguish. The ‘music… tears… old wound open’ is a metaphor used to express more fully the misery of,
we assume, a failed relationship and heartbreak. The assonance of o in this line is hollow sound which signifies a loss, a
nothingness. It shows both the wound itself opening and the absence of love from life.
The third stanza moves back to the farmhand’s ‘red, sunburnt’ outer appearance. These adjectives suggest a rugged and painful
condition caused by prolonged time outdoors. The occupation has perhaps kept him from attaining what he seems to want. The
reader is told that his body is not one suited to romance, ‘dancing or love making’ and there is the first true rhyme with that line
and following metaphor ‘the earth wave breaking’. This sense of completion reiterates the farmhands love and joy in his work.
The earth being ploughed is compared to the sea’s wave, creating an impression of majesty and power. Once more, however,
the last line shifts our impression again. The simile comparing the farmhands mind to ‘crops slow-growing’ remind the reader
that he is not witty or clever, more of a ruminator. This poet’s choice of natural simile in ‘crops’ might suggest that this is a man
capable of great thought, but perhaps cut off as crops are. He is not required to thin in a romantic and creative way, just to be
practical.
The fourth stanza opens with returning to the concept of romance and the simple pleasures of being with someone, showing
affection and being happy in each other’s company. The imagery of his daydream is thwarted by the ‘no’. The choice of ‘Sunday’
to describe the couples walking creates an impression of a relaxed and very civilised and cultured relationship, perhaps returning
from church. It is after impression that the only caesura of the poem occurs. The perfect world is punctured by the reminder that
all the farmhand has are ‘awkward hopes’ and ‘envious dreams’. The adjective ‘awkward’ makes the reader realise that the
farmhand feels these dreams of simply walking happily down a street with a happy partner on a Sunday is wildly unattainable
‘dreams’ which he can only wish for and look at other having.
The final stanza, like the second, opens with another ‘But’ signifying a last chance in direction. Typically, the last impression a
writer leaves us with is the one he wants us to remember, and the reader is primed further by the narrative voice becoming
almost speech-like with the aspirant ‘ah’ which shows the narrator’s admiration for the farmhands strength when performing his
tasks at work like ‘forking’ the haybales. If this slight innuendo is accidental, it is certainly thematic. The farmhand seems to have
been at ‘fork’ of indecision – does he want to follow his romantic dreams or return to his farm work which makes him so unlikely
to be married? The following simile ‘listening like a lover’ draws us to the actual decision which has been made, not consciously
by the farmhand, but one which we have been invited to explore by Baxter’s language. His true ‘lover’ is his tractor. The engine’s
rumbling is a metaphorical ‘song’ to him. The music of the ‘dance floor’ and the ‘girls’ has wounded him, hurt him.
He has turned to his passion, his work. This brings him joy which seems, like the new engine, ‘clear, without fault’. This suggests
Baxter may think that all relationships have complications and that there is always a risk of being hurt. He shows us the reliance
that this character has on ordering nature in his job as farmhand and controlling the power of an engine. It is a thoroughly
masculine impression which converts all romantic love into one based on machinery and work. There is something hollow about
his to some readers, but Baxter ends the poem on a happy, uplifting not with three positive adjective, suggesting a ‘new’ start
for the farmhand.

The Farmhand Essay

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Farmhand Essay

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Farmhand Essay

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Baxter presents a familiar view of a farmhand relaxing after work with his friends at a local dance hall.

Baxter lived this life

You might also like