Judith Wright Poetry Essay

As evident by the title of this poem, imagery is a strong technique used in this poem as the author describes with great detail his journey through a sawmill town. This technique is used most in the following phrases: “...down a tilting road, into a distant valley.” And “The sawmill towns, bare hamlets built of boards with perhaps a store”. This has the effect of creating an image in the reader’s mind and making the poem even more real.

She was born in New England in Regional New South Wales and came to Brisbane as a young woman. She lived in New Farm as a statistician at the University of Queensland while she wrote the first of her poems that were to make her famous, among them “Bullocky” and “The Moving image.” In Brisbane, she met and fell in love with Philosopher Jack McKinney, after years of a scandalous affair (Since Jack was married with 4 children at the time, and was unable to obtain a divorce) in 1945 they brought a tiny cottage on Mount Tamborine. They shared 20 happy years together and gave birth to a baby girl called Meredith, until Jack’s death in 1966. Wright is from Queensland, so her interpretation of the Australian Stereotype plays to the Gold Coast stereotype of the tanned, muscular surfers. Most significantly it reflects the careless nature that Australia possesses in response to consequences. We are carefree, happy and sometimes drunk. We aren’t a risk-calculating society. She utilizes this stereotype without making it offensive or mocking. By doing this she is critiquing our insouciant attitude and that this may be dangerous. Due to our laidback attitude, it may mean we are unable to deal with significant issues. Another reason Wright may have used this stereotype is that it connects the poem using a familiar image to make it more relatable to Australians and a warning is one both familiar and relevant to our

Each of the poems relies heavily on imagery to convey their respective messages. Often throughout each of the poems, the imagery is that of people. However, each uses similar imagery to very different, yet effective ways to explore the same

Kath makes the poem very personal by the use of words like I and we for example, she begins the poem by saying, “Look up, my people”. This makes it feel more tailored for whomever the poem is directed to. The poem also has a rhyming pattern of ‘not rhyme line’, B, B, C. Also, there is intertextual referencing to the ‘Dream Time’.

Imagery is a strong element that helps portray a lot of internal feelings for the audience to fathom with, thus creating an experience that the audience can enjoy. Imagery is the language represented by sense experience and a literary device that helps create a mental picture for the reader to understand what the writer is trying to say to the audience (Johnson, Arp 779). The following is the poem by Langston Hughes: “The calm,/Cool face of the river/Asked me for a kiss.” (Hughes 1-3) When examining the poem, “Suicide’s Note”, it is full of imagery with only three lines present. The

The use of imagery allows the reader to picture the long-lasting emotions gripping the narrator. Being a concrete representation of an object or sensory experience (myLearning), imagery permits the reader to visualize what the narrator is experiencing. One example of imagery is used in line 5 “I'm stone. I'm flesh.” The narrator is using metaphoric and literal imagery describing his body. The reader can visualize the attempt to harden the body against the onslaught of emotion, and the reflection of the vulnerable flesh body in the granite wall. Another example of imagery can be found in lines 22 through 24 “Brushstrokes flash, a red bird's / wings cutting across my stare. / The sky. A plane in the sky." Here the realistic memories of war involuntarily flash through the narrator’s mind.

The use of imagery can be seen throughout the poem. The title of the poem itself is an example of imagery. “Natural Bridge/Rogue River Canyon” gives an image to our brain of some bridge formed naturally from rocks and sparks off our sense of sight. Similarly, “And my reflection is dominated by water” arouses sense of sight and touch too. There are other several examples of imagery in the poems like “hard stone”, “dark”, “high hills”, “mark”, “asunder”, “pressed”, etc. All of these words in the poem ignites at least one of our senses. All of these imagery contributes to the poem by creating images in our head that let us interpret the poem in same way as writer does. These imageries

Whether you realise it or not, the act of representation is a constant and significant aspect of our lives. It defines and influences our perceptions of things in either a positive or negative way. One poem that I particularly admire from Harwood’s collection is ‘The violets’ , as it recognises the inevitable act of evolving without our childhood memories. The art of growing up and moving forward is only fully accomplished when we recognise and accept the experiences and explorations of our childhood. Harwood’s poetic style reflects her conservative, traditional and religious upbringing, as well as her interests in literature, philosophy and music. As one of Australia’s finest poets, and it is an honour to introduce Harwood’s latest poem anthology.

This text response will be looking the comparison of the two poems, ‘Drifters’ by Bruce Dawe, And ‘In the park’ by Gwen Harwood under the name of Walter Lehmann. Drifters is about a seemingly constantly moving family, it describes the process the family will go through leaving their newest home. In the park is about a seemingly single mother raising her children, it describes the mother sitting in the park with her children when a previous lover comes by and talks about the children. With in each poem, the form and structure, language techniques and the tone and message will be analysed and compared with the other to gather a grater understanding of the Australian voice.

values, assumptions and voice of the poem and of Australia at that time, one that shows courage and

Childhood is portrayed as a time of safety that is often looked back upon with nostalgia from an adult perspective. Monosyllabic words are used to show the simplicity of childhood life, for example in the line “the thing I could not grasp or name”. The ‘spring violets’ are ‘in their loamy bed’ and are no longer frail and melancholy, and the memory takes place on a ‘hot afternoon’ in contrast to the ‘cold dusk’ that represents the present. Childhood is represented as a joyful, vivacious time in one’s life, and the value of a stable family life is conveyed. The unexpected integration of Australian vernacular in the line ‘it will soon be night, you goose’, adds a sense of freedom and relaxation to the otherwise formal discourse and more rigid structure of the poem, once again reflects the simplicity and innocence that is associated with childhood. The use of

The author uses imagery in the poem to enable the reader to see what the speaker sees. For example, in lines 4-11 the speaker describes to us the

In the two forms of art, imagery is used to provide an audience with an insight to multiple senses. Carla Starrett illustrates, “Both poems and lyrics

The use of visual imagery in each poem immensely contributed to conveying the theme. In the poem