Again the effect is to create a sense of mystery and wonder. Related to this is Kavanagh's habit of combining existing words to form a new one. Words like these reflect the creativity not just of Kavanagh, but of the uninhabited mind of the child. He suggests that the canal boats are Parnassian islands. Colloquial language is an intrinsic element of Kavanagh's style.
Stanzaic pattern reflects the Patriarchal subdivision of a sonnet to an octet and sestet.
In the octet a picture is painted by the poet and the problems are posed. The poets own personal response is contained in the sestet. The opening stanza can be subdivided into two quatrains each containing a separate picture of Monaghan life. The sestet also can be divided into a quatrain and couplet, therefore mirroring the Shakespearean division into three quatrains followed by a rhyming couplet. The poem is an amalgam of two sonnets.