Is Waltzing Matilda a narrative poem?
Waltzing Matilda is a narrative poem. It tells the story of a swagman, or itinerant worker, named Matilda who camps by a billabong (a waterhole) in the Australian outback. The poem describes the swagman's encounter with a jumbuck (a sheep) and a squatter (a landowner) and his eventual fate. The poem is notable for its use of Australian slang and its evocative imagery of the Australian landscape.