John Shaw Neilson’s “No Pauper Was I”

Within John Shaw Neilson’s poem “The Poor, Poor Country”, there is a repeated line that juxtaposes the idea of the poor Australia, “no pauper was I”. The definition of a pauper is a poor person, and throughout the poem, it continually reminds us that Australia during the time of this poem was a poor and desolate country. So, when John Shaw Neilson repeats “no pauper was I”, its to display that although Australia may have been the poor country it was, he was not. The idea of his wealth is not the ordinary idea of wealth and money due to it not leading to the idea that he was in the country with nothing. What John Shaw Neilson meant is that although financially he was not a rich man, with the spiritual connection that he has with the land and himself, he became rich within the spirit. The relationship that the speaker holds the land is a strong connection with the plants due to the familiarity that he has, “the thin what and the brown oats were never two foot high”, the word never adds this familiarity as it creates the idea that he is certain of the length. His relationship with the wildlife is not missing as he constantly seems to hang around with different bird-like cranes, swan’s, pelicans and ducks as well as including the mythological creature the Bunyip, which creates a bigger emphasis on how connected he is. This is due to the large array of animals that he could point out and having a relationship with aboriginal myth. The speaker is “no pauper” due to his deep spiritual connection Sith the land.


Robert Frost’s Belief of Poetry

“A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom…it runs a course of lucky events, and ends in a clarification of life.” “The Figure a Poem Makes”.

I agree with what Robert Frost says in the above quote. When I read poetry, I find that there is a flow that each poet displays in a different form. Although, each poem wants to convey an idea and express a feeling towards a particular topic or just generally tell a story. From Robert Frost’s words, I find that his idea is present in many forms of poetry. With the first stanza, the words are there to bring you into the poem and enclose you within the hidden meaning, by the end of the poem it leaves the reader with words of wisdom that provoke thought and emotion. Throughout the poem, the poet tells their story and events which are there purposely and almost by chance which is where the phrase “runs a course of lucky events”, from Robert Frost gets the idea. Within a poem, there is an aspect of meaning behind a different part of life which a poet hopes to portray as well and when the poem ends is usually the best point due to how the last line can provoke thought and leave the reader lingering. A poem that displays this idea is “Road to Gundagai” by Banjo Patterson. Within the short poem, it starts of adventurous as the man the audience follows goes along the road to Gundagai from Tumut town. Now the start is full of delight as the events play out, the environment and trip have a joyful tone as the man walks along it. The poem than introduces a woman and the theme of the poem becomes an adventure with love. But the tone swiftly changes when the man sees the girl he was walking behind kiss an unknown man and the poem ends with a depressing tone. The poem ends with the lingering words, “The lonely road to Gundagai”, which creates the idea about how much failed love can ruin a trip that seemed joyful and the start and then change to a lonely trip.

Du Bois “The Problem with the Twentieth Century.

“The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the colour-line”, Du Bois has stated, and he raises an important idea that has not only caused problems in the twentieth century but, caused problems within a lot of history, racism. Du Bois brings racism into the highlight due to his reference of the colour-line, which is the line that defines the differences between men and women of European descent and the men and women of African descent as well as including Asian and oceanic heritage. What I believe Du Bois is explaining is that the reason why he believes that the twentieth century has issues is that as humankind we still divide each other with meaningless characteristics. Du Bois was a writer and speaker that continued to speak against the ideas of racism due to the fact that it served no purpose and halted the development. As an African American writer and speaker Du Bois faced racism and understood more than most about the ugliness of racism, and I stand by what he states. Racism can not be continued in the Twentieth century due to it causing trouble with the relationships between humans.

Peer Review (Mark Twain-environment)

I found your ideas very agreeable. During my read of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. I found the childish description of the environment an element that reminded the reader of the mind of a child and how it could be bright and immersive as well. Twain is a writer that utilises this aspect of a child’s innocence to dive into the environment and its effects on people.

Mark Twain- Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twaine is an author who continually gives life to the nature and environment around each of his characters. Within the first chapter of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the scene is almost alive with all the description that Mark Twaine gives the reader. The first skill Mark Twaine performs the ability to provide the visual imagery of the scene and within the small part of the chapter is the fact that the character Huck having no visual aids. The only thing that was made clear to Huck was the stars shining up in the sky. The lack of description for the visual side of the environment brings the reader into a feeling of mystery and lack of information. For the audience, it also creates the same fear that Huck is feeling in the moment of the book waiting for his friend. The next point is the auditory imagery that Mark Twaine gives through his words. Due to lack of a visual situation, Huck listens to the whole environment that surrounds, including the leaves, owls, dogs and wind. Each is giving an addition in describing the world around Huck and adding a tone to the night. The tone is solemn, and it expresses no joy in the dark world around the reader and Huck. The audio also mirrors Huck’s own emotions at the moment due to him not liking being forced into his position and waiting for his friend. Mark Twaine uses Huck’s own emotions to manipulate how the environment is reacting which is why Mark Twaine uses the descriptive language of mournful and whispers as well as two instances where death is mentioned. The final element that adds to the world that Huck is in is the personification of the environment. The personification includes the wind and leaves adding a creepiness to the scene as well as the dog, whip-por-will and owl seeming to have their own emotions as well. Mark Twaine creates a living environment that almost is as busy as the day time within the chapter but with a darker tone.

Australian Literature: Peer Review

When I first looked at the painting I didn’t notice the lack of shoes. It’s an interesting detail that serves to strengthen the Aboriginal relationship to the land. I agree with the lack of features that the Aboriginal people due to how dark their faces are and it could serve as a vessel to present the loss of identity that the Aboriginal people would have faced in their time.

Sydney Art Museum

Brett Whitely “The balcony 2” presents a un-detailed picture of the harbour. The main feature of the artwork is the ocean that takes up the most space with its dark blue that makes the water appear to have no depth and feels all consuming. The painting presented a cooler representation of the environment and added the white makes it look as a Sydney summer day. It is a single shot of the moving world capturing the movement of the environment from his eyes in a single moment. It creates the bright day that Brett Whitely is experiencing and displays an intense admiration for the Sydney harbour including different points in which Brett Whitely creates a detailed picture of a single point while the rest blends the point into the greater picture. It is clear that Brett Whitely has a good relationship with the environment around him and creates a mixture of urban and floral environment where they communicate with each other and never giving off a tone of terror to the audience. The surroundings from his balcony are almost absurd with the form of painting where buildings and the land outside the water have a generic form instead of highly detailed. Brett Whitely highlights the beauty of Sydney harbour with “The balcony 2” and respects the nature that surrounds it as well as takes form, within Sydney.

“First-class marksman” by the Australian painter Sydney Nolan presents Ned Kelly shooting a rifle within the Australian Outback. Within the painting, there is a clear relationship between Sydney Nolan and Ned Kelly as he paints the outlaw within a position that is heroic. This creates the idea that Sydney Nolan admired the Australian outlaw as an anti hero and didn’t think negatively of what the man performed. Sydney Nolan paints the man in his iconic black armour while holding a rifle towards the outback with his finger already on the trigger. The landscape around Ned Kelly is detailed with the warm Australian colours presenting the harsh conditions of the outback and increasing the toughness of Ned Kelly as he stands out in his black armour. The only clear shapes within the artwork are Ned Kelly as well as the far back ground while the forest in between takes a wild look. It is a realistic piece of artwork that presents Ned Kelly integrated into the rough environment and unfazed by what would be considered the harsh Australian outback. Ned Kelly admired the marksman, and it is presented within “First-class marksman”.