The Use of Language, Images and Themes in Australian Poetry - Examining poems by Judith Wright and Kenneth Slessor (ePub)

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1 (A), The University of Sydney (Anglistics), course: Australian Literature 1920-1960, language: English, abstract: When reading poetry I as a reader want to imagine a picture, conveyed to me by the language
used in the poem. I want to be drawn into the poem, want to feel part of what is written and
want to be able to see the images of the words in my own thoughts. The question therefore
must be how a poet achieves such an effect in the reader. This paper will examine closely
some of the means used by the two poets, Kenneth Slessor and Judith Wright, to make their
language embody the image they are trying to convey. The paper will at first focus especially
on short, individual passages to examine the use of stylistic devices and use of sound. The
second part will focus on the bigger picture and look at the poem as a whole, examining the
use of recurring images and themes.
Judith Wright's poem Woman to Man reaches its climax in the last line of the poem in which
a mother confesses the fear that comes alongside the birth of her child. The two lines before
this confession seem to intensify the feeling of danger and threat that ultimately leads to the
mother's fear. [...]