Simple language, no
“you” draws the reader in,
making them the onlooker
and more involved in what
is going to be told
Structure The first stanza ends
on “secret night – the space
between the stanzas being the
expanse of darkness
Tears and old wound –
violent imagery. The long O
in slowly increases this
effect. Something he
regrets - a girl he never
asked out? Or one who
dumped him?
Structure All the stanzas are
the same length, all (except
the 4th) a single sentence.
Each makes a self-contained
point
Language awkward hopes,
envious dreams – no
alliteration, consonance or
rhyme emphasises the
awkwardness here, the bitter
expectation of failure
Language – forking /
fucking – one he is good
at, one he longs for
The song of the tractor is clear and without fault – a
contrast to the music that tears at him. The simile like a
lover – the tractor is what he loves and understands
alliteration, consonance,
metaphors etc Words he
You will see him light a cigarette
might use to a friend,
careless and leaning
At the hall door careless, leaning his back
suggesting relaxed, chilled-
Against the wall, or telling some new joke out. But “secret night”
suggests he has an inner life
To a friend, or looking out into the secret night. that is more rich.
He may want to look out to
But always his eyes turn the wide world where he is
at ease, but “always” he is
To the dance floor and the girls drifting like flowers drawn back to the girls and
music.
Before the music that tears
Simile drifting like flowers – trite –
Slowly in his mind an old wound open. he looks at them as ‘girls’ not
individuals, doesn’t understand them.
His red sunburnt face and hairy hands “hairy hands” alliteration –
also sounds like panting, ie
Were not made for dancing or love-making hard physical work
consonance of Rs sounds
But rather the earth wave breaking rough
To the plough, and crops slow-growing as his mind.
The long Os and the
consonance in slow
growing emphasis the
He has no girl to run her fingers through
slowness
His sandy hair, and giggle at his side
When Sunday couples walk. Instead
He has his awkward hopes, his envious dreams to yarn to.
But ah in harvest watch him
Assonance (ah / harvest /
watch) and Rhymes
Forking stooks, effortless and strong –
(strong / song) and half
rhymes (him / engine) and
Or listening like a lover to the song
alliteration (listening lover)
Clear, without fault, of a new tractor engine. suggest that this is his
natural world where things
are right. Contrast to the
language in previous stanza
Analysing James Baxter - Farmhand

You will see him light a cigarette

At the hall door careless, leaning his back

Against the wall, or telling some new joke

To a friend, or looking out into the secret night.

But always his eyes turn 5

To the dance floor and the girls drifting like flowers

Before the music that tears

Slowly in his mind an old wound open.

His red sunburnt face and hairy hands

Were not made for dancing or love-making 10

But rather the earth wave breaking

To the plough, and crops slow-growing as his mind.

He has no girl to run her fingers through

His sandy hair, and giggle at his side

When Sunday couples walk. Instead 15

He has his awkward hopes, his envious dreams to yarn to.

But ah in harvest watch him

Forking stooks, effortless and strong –

Or listening like a lover to the song

Clear, without fault, of a new tractor engine. 20

Using 'You' involves the reader as it pulls the reader into the poem,
making them part of the poem, hence enhancing the effect of all the
descriptions in the poem.
The first stanza of 'Farmhand' consists in majority of matter of fact,
conversational language, unblemished by the lack of use of adjectives.
specific example of such language use are present in 'leaning his back',
'light a cigarette'. However the last line does consist of some depth
implying that the 'him' refferred to here is not as relaxed as he is, as is
evident in the language use above, in situations with 'a friend'. The use
of the word 'secret' in the last line consists of a sense of mystique. In
addition, 'secret night', implies that this is an unknown for the persona
in the poem, as it implies an expanse of darkness.
The end of the stanza at this point creates space that emulates the
space of this unknown.

With the use of the long-sounding words, 'careless' and 'leaning', the
only two words in excess of one syllable in the line, implies that there
is a relaxed motion taking place, with ease and without restriction as is
suggested with the word 'careless'. Here the character is easy &
relaxed.

'But always his eyes turn': This has the effect of narrowing this
unknown to '
the dance floor and the girls drifting like flowers'. The simile with
flowers serves two purpose. Firstly it shows us that he thinks deeply of
matters relating to women. It also shows that his understanding of
women is distorted to be the idea that all women are comparable to
feminine ideas like flowers in this case.
Therefore we can assume that this is his 'secret night', a metaphor for a
place where he will not see him 'at the hall door careless, leaning his
back'.
The use of the word 'drifting' to describe the motion of the girls creates
an association with fairy tale language, perhaps implying that his
perception of women is as something supernatural or greater than him.

Baxter uses the word 'tears', to describe the effect of the music on him.
Through its sexual connotations with the 'tearing' of the female vaginal
tissue, this word invokes in the reader associations with blood and
gore, and is slightly disturbing even when abetted by the reference to a
'wound'.
This may imply that the persona has experienced some negative
experience with a woman that caused that ''old wound', that the music
seems to re-open.
In addition to this, describing it as being done 'slowly', emphasises the
pain of the process through sound, ie. the long vowel O sound and
meaning.

The consonance of R sounds in the next line serves to emphasise the

hard and rough nature of the Farmhand as in 'red', 'sunburnt' and
'hairy'.
An alliteration of H sounds in 'hairy hands', has the effect of creating
the idea of a hard-working, untiring man who heaves and reaps all day.
this is created as the alliteration emulates a tired panting.

The growth that the farmhand wishes to acheive as expressed in,

'crops, slow growing as his mind' is in the mind as opposed to the
common perception of the growth herein reffered to as being rooted in
the heart. This again shows the lack of understanding of matters of
love.
His comparison to crops stands further testament to his comfort in the
world of cumbersome work of ' the earth wave breaking'.

In the final stanza, we see him at ease in the farm - 'Forking stooks',
the word forking creating an association with the derogatory term
describing intercourse.
The coarseness of the expression further indicates that this is his only
means of expression and not the smooth, Casanova-like expression
that is commonly accepted as attractive and not repulsive as ***.

His clarity when it comes to works of a 'tractor engine', in the

association of the sound produced by it with a song. His perception of
music and art is therefore more relating to precision than to beauty. He
is therefore stuck in contrast between his perception of physical beauty
and his understanding of the humanity in music and art.
He finds solace in his work as he 'yarns' to his dreams, implying an
effort and with the long sound of the A, that it is a long effort filled
process.