‘Drifters’ by Bruce Dawe Donald Bruce Dawe was born in 1930 in Geelong, Victoria, Melbourne, he is one of the most successful and prolific contemporary poets of Australia. He struggled with his studies, leaving school when he was sixteen, working as a gardener and postman. In 1954 he entered the University of Melbourne. He grew up in a household where his father, a farm labourer, was often unemployed and absent from home. The poem ‘Drifters’ by Bruce Dawe should be selected for the prestigious honour of ‘Best Contemporary Australian Poem’ as it is a realism poem, describes Australian lifestyle felicitously, which lead the Australian contemporary audiences easily fall in the poem and deeply engraved in their mind. Bruce Dawe drifted …show more content…
As the poem explained, the family members do not agree with the idea of leaving just for the sake of leaving. Bruce Dawe uses symbols to create moods showing sadness and the loss of hope. Dawe’s line ‘and when the loaded ute bumps down the drive past the blackberry canes with their last shriveled fruit’, the blackberries were used as an indicator of time, on their arrival the berries were the 'first of the season' but by the time when they drove past the blackberry cane was they're saw only 'their last shrivelled fruit'. This tells us that they perhaps only stayed for about two or three months. ‘The brown kelpie pup will start dashing about, tripping everyone up’ The dog run around barking, shows the scene of a chaotic house, it also conveys a sense of bad luck to the family. A “kelpie” is an Australian sheepdog, in Scottish it refers to an evil water spirit that takes the form of a horse and drowns travellers. This cross-meaning gives the poem a sense of danger, implying that the family is not only traveling with a puppy for the children but is also an omen of bad luck. The unexpectedness of the move is conveyed by the fact that the tomatoes are still green on the vine. They never live in the one place long enough for the tomatoes to ripen. This could be the same for other aspects of their lives, making new friends could be an example. They started to become friendly with the
With consumerism overtaking society, religious expression is also one of the key aspects that Dawe comments on in Australian society. Bruce Dawe demonstrates this through figurative language and the use of religious connotations through his poem, “Life Cycle”. Dawe shows his readers that sport in Australian has an impact on society; he simply suggests this through the use of archaic language, “beribboned cots,” as it formalises and elevates the tone of the poem. In this poem Dawe communicates to the responder that the religion of Victoria is football. He demonstrates that even in infancy football is infused into life, “Carn… Carn…” as the readers would read this as, “Come on.” Dawe also utilises simile and oxymoronic language through, “they
Would you notice if the block next to you was cleared and a carpark grew on it? Joni Mitchell and Bruce Dawe both discuss the environmental issues about the world. Bruce Dawe has been considered as one of the most influential Australian poets of all time with his warmth and sadness for humanities follies and Joni Mitchell’s song, Big Yellow Taxi, has been known for its environmental concern and has been recorded by many other artists later on such as The Counting Crows. Protest Poetry is highly effective at raising awareness of issues such as the environment due to its accessibility to a wide general audience, conveying a simple but poignant and memorable message.
Good Morning and Welcome Year 11 students to the Poetry Seminar. My name is Will and I am here to present to you an Australian poem which represents belonging. The poem that I have chosen to analyse is Drifters by Bruce Dawe. Today I will be discussing how the poem relates to belonging, two important figurative devices within the poem and an extrapolation of the taught poem migrant hostel which also explores the idea of belonging.
A great deal of Kath Walker's poetry is about the social conditions in which the Aboriginal people lived, the political movements at the time, the sense of country and of the Aboriginal culture. Her work has received some very harsh criticism for the style in which she worked and the the fact that her writing did not follow the poetic techniques and structures of what was said to be good poetry. She has been criticised for clumsy rhyming and uneven rhythms. But as time has passed the poety of Kath Walker has received international interest and attention. Her poetry is studied for the pride she has in her Aboriginal people and for the protest she had for their situation in white
I believe poetry both holds a mirror to society and is a catalyst for change, and the anthology “Perspectives on Australia” a crucial documentation of our country’s social evolution.
Alec Derwent Hope, aka A.D Hope, is an Australian poet known for his satirical slant. Written in an ABAB rhyme scheme, “Australia” by A.D Hope is a controversial poem that criticizes the current Australian society and culture, in insulting way of ultimately expressing love. “darkens her hills, those endless, outstretched paws, of sphinx demolished or stone lion worn away”, it is evident that the metaphor used here depicts a negative sombre image describing Australia’s landscape a monotonous land, like that of a demolished sphinx or stone
These bush ballads, and many others, are full of different stories and experiences portaying this bushlife in many different ways. From The Man From Snowy River, telling thestory of thrilling adventrues, to more common bush ballads that reflect the harships of the bush and emphasise the isolation. Its both of these perspectives that I believe truly capture the life, character and scenery of the Australian bush. While this land can be beautiful and rich as seen in Kendall’s poem Bell Birds, it can also bring misfortune and suffering. A combination that in my opinion creates a deserving respect for this land, and in turn making me proud to be part of it.
Australia is a country that prides itself on being acknowledgment and multicultural of all societies, backgrounds and beliefs. Be that as it may, this was not always the situation, and tragically right up 'til the present time, treatment of Aboriginal Australians is still sad and demoralizing. Regardless of our claim to be multicultural, the voice of the migrant through writing is frequently one of alienation and isolation. The focuses of this speech will be examined using Australian text ,poem and picture going from the very first australians to the current australians today. First a poem, lyric composed by Antigone Kefala, a notorious Australian poet. Secondly, the use of text for The Secret River, by Kate Grenville. Once more, in conclusion a photo, plainly showing the alienation and isolation of the immigrant that relocate to
As they compare prices on tomatoes, pick grapes, and greet people they haven’t seen in awhile, they wonder how their son who has been away for seven years is doing in America. They do not know if he has married and has had children. They think maybe he doesn’t come home because he is busy at work and he doesn’t have any days off. Maybe he just travels around the world rather than return to back home every summer. They also think that maybe he is just barely getting by and is ashamed of coming home, or he has no money for the plane ticket, is swamped with bills, appointments, and job interviews. After thinking long and hard the couple goes back to shopping wondering what it is the son is doing. When there is no contact with loved ones you have been apart from for some time. They start worrying about how you are doing and think about every single outcome possible. The same has happened with my family. We didn’t completely lose contact with my relatives from Mexico but it got more uncommon and difficult to talk on a regular basis. We tend to lose communication with our loves ones when we leave our home and I think that is what the author in this poem was trying to explain.
Cross-Country: A Book Of Australian Verse second edition was published in 1988. Edited by John Barnes and Brian McFarlane. It contains a comprehensible and thought-provoking selection of Australian poetry from the early years of European settlement to the present. A common thread that connects numerous poems in the Cross Country anthology is the contrast between what the past was and what it is now. This is shown through the loss of aboriginal culture and past times. Each poem expresses a different scenario or memory about the loss of indigenous culture and how the past was a noble past, as compared to the present.
Australia is a vast land comprised of boundless deserts. The name Australia derives from Latin australis meaning southern, and dates back to the legend of an "unknown southern land”. One of Australia’s greatest poet, John Kinsella, who is drawn to the natural world, vividly depicts western Australian landscape in his poem, Pump/Drought, a poem that highlights Australia’s marvellous desert scenery through a single stanza. Utilizing an effective use of structure, theme and poetic devices, Kinsella successfully defines Australia’s ‘identity’ and portrays it as a region of mighty survival strength. This poem contradicts the foreigner’s ideal image of Australia – a stereotypical country with venomous snakes and vegemite.
In Williams’ “Red Wheelbarrow,” we find that the poem is short with words, but powerful in the images that he tries to convey. Admittedly, it does not seem there is much to the poem at face value. The author wants the reader to go beyond the words, reaching into their definitions, and use imagery to translate what the true message is.
For example, Shire advises parents to give their daughters difficult names within the first two sentences of this poem. She is encouraging parents to help their daughters shape a meaningful, strong identity for themselves, which fuels a healthy bond. This reflects the allegory of Shire's relationship with her parents, as they gave her a difficult name she is thankful for. Although she despised such a name as a child, she appreciates the thoughtfulness of her parents' decision to embrace it.
The stories that make up Behind the Boomgate are set in a caravan park in Tasmania. The stories focus on the lives of the occupants and the owners and their interactions. The work highlights some of the issues and challenges facing caravan occupants especially those who are permanent residents and have very few other housing options. The exegesis which documents the writing and research involved in the creative work from
From an initial reading of the poem, ‘The Caravan’ by Clare Pollard appears to be a light-hearted love poem about a married couple in which the poet conveys the ideas of passion, freedom and carefreeness. This may be evident from the title itself as a caravan has connotations of travel and also of freedom. However, as the poem progresses, the tone and language of the poem change dramatically, implying that there could be more than one theme in the poem. In this essay, I will give a close reading of the poem by commenting on Pollard’s use of language, form, sound and tone; and I will explore the different themes that may be present.