Bruce Dawe Poem Analysis

Australian poets Bruce Dawe and Gwen Harwood explore ideas and emotions in their poems through vivid and aural poetic techniques, the poets also use symbolism to allow the readers to relate to the text. In Dawes “Homecoming”, the poet explores the ideas in the text using language techniques such as irony, paradox and visual imagery to construct his attitude towards war and the effect. While in Gwen Harwood’s, “The violets”, she uses prevailing imagery and mood to emphasize fertility and growth. Contrastingly, In Bruce daws, “Life cycle”, the poet uses the idea of sport to symbolise and represent religion with the use of clichés and juxtaposition to convey his ideas of religion, myths and Christianity in the language use, similarly Harwood poem

“The glass jar”, demonstrates religious connotation and metaphorical imagery and ambiguous meaning. The final example of use of literary techniques to create imagery is explored in Bruce Daws “homo suburbiensis” through the use of ambiguous meanings, onomatopoeic and connotations to describe nature and connect it to the story of the protagonist, whereas Gwen Harwood’s “At Mornington” similarly uses the idea of nature to connect the story to the protagonist through the use of imagery and symbolism.
As Dawe explores the idea of death from the perspective of an adult who understands death; Harwood looks at death from a persona of an adult who has not yet fully come to terms with death. In ‘Homecoming” Dawe uses vivid visual and poetic techniques to construct his attitude towards death and uses the text to speak “for those who have no means of speaking”, he speaks on behalf of soldiers who’s time was stolen from them and had gone through events; similarly Harwood’s “The violets” speaks of stolen time and past events through the use of imagery of violets. Dawe emphasizes the mental effect war has on the soldiers families and friends and explores the idea of emotional damage through the experience of loss; while Harwood metaphorically uses violets to represent both change and permanence as time fades; she uses them to explains that though the violets may look the same they have changed as time goes by and due to experience. Dawe uses a paradox in his final line, “They’re bringing them home now, too late” to clarify the meaningless loss of life during war. This connects to a monosyllabic line from Harwood’s poem where she says “the thing I could not grasp or name” which like Dawes shows the simplicity of childhood which leads to ignorance towards life and the meaning of life. With the aid of visual and poetic techniques such as metaphors, monosyllables and paradoxes both Gwen Harwood and Bruce Dawe are able to arouse sympathy, allowing the audience to reflect on the effects certain events have on people.
Both Bruce Dawe and Gwen Harwood use religious connotations to explore ideas and emphasize the message they want the audience to convey.

In “Life Cycle” Dawe uses the mixtures of Juxoposition and slang to explain the idea of sport being like a religion, similarly Harwood’s “The glass jar” uses multiple techniques including metaphorical imagery, religious connotations and ambiguous meanings which support her idea of the transition from childhood to adulthood. Dawe connects religious connotations to the poem when he describes the sports players being “In the pure flood of sound, they are scarfed with light, a voice, like the voice of God booms from the stands” using the “voice of God” metaphorically, likewise, Harwood uses the sun ambiguously as light- symbolising security and having the characteristics of the Son or the Saviour. Contrastingly, Through the use of clichés Dawe has been able to connect sport terms with religious connotations when he describes the winning team “going up the ladder into Heaven”, correspondingly Harwood uses imagery such as “disciples” to express the child’s belief in the “pulse of light beside his bed”. Both poets used forms Juxoposition and religious connotations to emphasize the tone of the poem as Dawe connects a sports to religion, Harwood uses fear and relates it to good and

evil.

Both Bruce Dawe and Gwen Harwood have used literary techniques including imagery, ambiguous meanings, symbolism and connotations to help emphasise their theme of nature. Dawes “homo suburbiensis” Is written through the perspective of the protagonist a man who appears to be lost in his thoughts, whereas “At Mornington” describes the role of middle age to reflect upon the past and contemplate death. Through the use of expressive connotation to describe the “hoarse rasping tendrils” Dawe is able to describe the surroundings of the man, whereas Harwood uses biblical allusions in the theme of nature where she reflects “As a child I (she) could walk on water-/ the next wave, the next wave-“. “all the things he (the protagonist) takes down with him” is an ambiguous meaning by Bruce Dawe when “all the things” could be the protagonists aspirations, fears, implements or materials. We see an emphasis of the man’s thoughts and feelings in daws poem as “the green confusion” being the natural noises of the garden whereas uses nature to accept the “waters that bear me (her) away for ever”. Bruce Dawe and Gwen Harwood have used the theme of nature to convey the ideas of the protagonists and connect those allowing readers to contrast the environment the protagonists are in.
Bruce Dawe and Gwen Harwood have used multiple language techniques including to explore ideas and emotions of the poem. Though Dawe and Gwen use vivid imagery to allow the reader to relate to the ideas of the poems Dawe uses more language techniques whereas Harwood relies on symbolism and metaphoric imagery to convey her ideas. Dawe and Harwood both explored the same themes in a presentable manner connecting the ideas to ambiguous meanings. Bruce Dawe and Gwen Harwood were able to use the imagery in their poetry to arouse sympathy, allowing the audience to reflect and connect to the ideas the poets explored.