Poetry · Chapter
Oxford Cheese Ode explained
A poetic celebration of Oxford County's booming cheese industry, describing how Canadian cheesemaking has transformed the land from barren to bountiful, culminating in the creation of a massive eight-thousand-pound cheese that was shipped t
What happens
A poetic celebration of Oxford County's booming cheese industry, describing how Canadian cheesemaking has transformed the land from barren to bountiful, culminating in the creation of a massive eight-thousand-pound cheese that was shipped triumphantly across the seas.
Themes in this chapter
Agriculture and Rural Economy
The poem details the transformation of Oxford farms through dairy farming and cheese production, emphasizing economic prosperity and the importance of treating cows well.
Local Patriotism and Regional Pride
The poet boasts of Oxford County's cheese as a 'glorious theme' and a source of wealth, celebrating the region's unique contribution to Canadian industry.
Progress and Technology
The poem highlights modern cheesemaking techniques, such as soiling cows with green feed and using scale boards for large-scale cheese production.
Key passages
“The ancient poets ne’er did dream That Canada was land of cream, They ne’er imagined it could flow In this cold land of ice and snow, Where everything did solid freeze, They ne’er hoped or looked for cheese.”
Old poets never imagined that Canada, a cold and snowy land, could produce cream and cheese.
Introduces the surprising success of cheesemaking in a cold climate.
“A few years since our Oxford farms Were nearly robbed of all their charms, O’er cropped the weary land grew poor And nearly barren as a moor, But now their owners live at ease Rejoicing in their crop of cheese.”
Not long ago, Oxford farms were exhausted from over-cropping, but now farmers prosper by making cheese.
Describes the agricultural revival brought by the cheese industry.
“To prove the wealth that here abounds, One cheese weighed eight thousand pounds, Had it been hung in air at noon Folks would have thought it was the moon, It sailed with triumph o’er the seas, ’Twas hailed with welcome, queen of cheese.”
As a sign of local prosperity, a single cheese weighing 8,000 pounds was made; it was so large it looked like the moon, and it was shipped overseas and celebrated as the queen of cheeses.
Highlights the famous mammoth cheese as a symbol of Oxford's success.