An Old Master

{{short description|1910 poem by C. J. Dennis}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}} {{Infobox poem |name = "An Old Master" |image = Backblock Ballads and Later Verses (Dennis, 1918) - Frontispiece.jpg |image_size = |caption = Frontispiece to ''Backblock Ballads and Later Verses'' (1918) illustrating the poem |subtitle = |author = C. J. Dennis |original_title = |original_title_lang = |translator = |written = 1910 |first = ''The Bulletin'' |illustrator = Hal Gye |cover_artist = |country = Australia |language = English |series = |subject = |genre = |form = |meter = |rhyme = |publisher = |publication_date = {{Start date|1910|08|04|df=y}} |publication_date_en = |media_type = |lines = |pages = |size_weight = |isbn = |oclc = |preceded_by = |followed_by = |wikisource = Backblock Ballads and Later Verses/An Old Master|An Old Master }}

"'''An Old Master'''" is a poem by Australian poet C. J. Dennis. It was first published in ''The Bulletin'' magazine on 4 August 1910,<ref>{{cite web|title="An Old Master" |publisher= The Bulletin, 4 August 1910, p13|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-654129055 |access-date= 5 May 2026}}</ref> and later in the poet's poetry collection ''Backblock Ballads and Other Verses'' (1913).<ref name=austlit>[http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C24996 Austlit - "An Old Master" by C. J. Dennis]</ref> The poem depicts the problem faced by a bullocky when his team gets stuck in thick mud.

==Outline== In a review of the poet's collection, ''Backblock Ballads and Later Verses'', the reviewer in ''Young Witness'' described the poem as follows: ".. [it] conveys to the reader the power wielded by the old bullock driver, who, by his eloquence in hard swearing, could get more work out of a team than any of the gentle Annie variety of puncher of the present day. The team, on this occasion, was hopelessly bogged, bogged over the axles down to the bed. Bullock whip had no effect on the team, and they stood there chewing their cud, refusing to budge. An old pensioner, who lived in a hut on the roadside, seeing the dilemma, took the whip, and for a while the atmosphere in the vicinity went blue from the oaths that flew from the old fellow, who had not exhausted his vocabulary when the bullocks bent to their yoke, and lifted the waggon from the gluepot. He was 'An Old Master'."<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122428569 "Backblock Ballads and Verses", ''Young Witness'', 27 September 1918, p1]</ref>

==Analysis== A reviewer in ''The Telegraph'' (Brisbane) noted: " Mr. Dennis's work is not confined to the rhyming in slang, which were the sole attraction of some of his earlier and lucrative efforts. "An Old Master," with which the volume opens, stands out as one of Mr. Dennis's best."<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article175506736 "New Books, &c.", ''The Telegraph'', 28 September 1918, p13]</ref>

==Further publications== * ''Backblock Ballads and Other Verses'' by C. J. Dennis (1913) * ''Backblock Ballads and Later Verses'' by C. J. Dennis (1918) * ''Old Ballads from the Bush'' edited by Bill Scott (1987) * ''Selected Works of C. J. Dennis'' by C. J. Dennis (1988) * ''Favourite Poems of C. J. Dennis'' by C. J. Dennis (1989) * ''Anthology of Bullock Poetry'' edited by Janice Downes (2006) * ''Australian Poetry Since 1788'' edited by Geoffrey Lehmann and Robert Gray (2011)

== References == {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Master, An}} Category:1910 poems Category:Works originally published in The Bulletin (Australian periodical) Category:Poetry by C. J. Dennis