Spoiler
Poets Judith Wright, Gwen Harwood and Oodgeroo Noonuccal all explore similar ideas throughout their poems, focussed heavily on the aspect of equality and the feeling of lamentation throughout many of their texts. By addressing key issues which were relevant to the time of publication, all authors were able to connect with their audiences to explore the experiences and feelings which were common throughout all human beings.
Facing injustices throughout one’s life is a common experience which is felt throughout human beings. Through Dichterliebe, The Dispossed and Niggers Leap, New England by Harwood, Noonuccal and Wright respectively, all poets examine the inequalities present throughout the world. The Dispossed and Niggers Leap, New England both scrutinize the treatment of Aborigines in Australia whereas Harwood aims to target her poem towards the role of women in relationships and the overbearing power of which men think that they personally possess. However, all highlight the fact that differences in opinion can lead to certain inequalities being present throughout a human’s life. Throughout Niggers Leap, New England the ethicality of the 1788 migration onto Australian soil, highlighting that the Aboriginal people of the time were the custodians of the land. The use of obscene images such as “screaming falling in flesh from the lipped cliff” shows that Wright is criticising the actions of the English upon their arrival. The fundamental tone of the text reflects this perspective, for the text recognises the hardship of the Aboriginal people throughout the 228 years of settlement on this land. This approach allows the audiences to sympathise with these Aborigines, especially through the use of rhetorical questions “… and the black dust our crops ate was their dust?” The audience truly now begins to recognise that this experience was felt by all aboriginals throughout Australia, not just the group that were present in 1788, but the hatred and discriminative actions towards the Aboriginal people stemmed throughout generations. Wright makes the presence of Aboriginal people explicit, “think black children dancing like the shadows of saplings in the wind.” This makes her vision overt, the Aboriginal people can never be removed from the land, as their existence and spirituality still remains present in the Earth. The fact that this racial inequality was present is reinforced through Oodgeroo’s poem, The Dispossessed, which clearly shows the effect of colonialization of Aboriginal Australia, and the hardship which was and is faced by the Aboriginal community, as she said “Till white Colonials stole your peace / with rape and murder raid”. The structure of Oodgeroo’s text shows the frustration and other emotions which she was facing while creating this poem. The open flow allows the reader to follow the lifestyle in Australia prior and subsequent to the colonisation, used to emphasise the injustice which the Aboriginals faced, and making it obvious that the actions of the present may be in good spirit, but no action will be able to change what has occurred in the past. Dichterliebe is yet another poem that although does not focus on a racial aspect, still challenges the inequality present in another situation in a human’s life, the relationship between male and female partners. Harwood withstands by her feminist viewpoint throughout this poem, as it recognises the fact that women around the world are taken advantage of by men due to their standing in society. She demonstrates the fact that the male partner in her life has sucked “my sap and vigour down the crude mouth of his private hell”, she’s had her energy by forcefully extracting it from her. Harwood also makes note of the differences in actions and roles in the relationship, “I’ll wash the floors. He’ll wash the stars” noting that the male figure has the easy role and expects his female partner to do all the work for him. Through these poems, the poets successfully explored the idea of inequality and injustice being present throughout numerous different lives of human beings throughout this world.
The feeling of lamentation and solemness is one that is shown as being a common feeling that is felt by all human beings. Oodgeroo focuses heavily on the feeling of lamentation throughout her poems regarding the colonialisation of Australia, including in Last of his Tribe, where she reminisces over her Uncle, Willie Mackenzie. Oodgeroo explains that “The new must oust told”, explaining that white Australia had taken over the land forcefully from the Aboriginal elders. She shows the solemnness through her messages conveying the fact that Willie Mackenzie has now been reduced to nothing due to white Australia. The fact that an entire tribe’s memories and traditions now long with him only, show that once Willie passes, the tribes heritage does too. “Displaced person in your own country” is a segment which carries significant meaning, further demonstrating that Australia belongs to the Aborigines, Oodgeroo recognises this throughout her writing, and reflected quite heavily on this aspect throughout Last of his Tribe. However, not only is the feeling of lamentation discussed by Oodgeroo, Harwood also discusses this in slight detail throughout Suburban Sonnet, where the life of a mother is describe, hampered by her children . This poem describes the fact that the woman is constantly being pulled away from her passion, music by suburban life, and the woman recognises her life as nothing more than “stale bread”. The use of the draining of the soapy water symbolises her life, which has gone “down the drain”, as now she is not able to make anything good from it. This feeling of sorrow and sadness is also exhibited through Wright’s The Old Prison, who highlights the nature of an inmates life inside the Port Arthur prison. The text describes prison as a nest, but not a nest consisting of warmth or safety, but more of a nest that is nest that is in imminent danger, forever teetering on the edge of a cliff. The inmates are deprived of basic human needs such as love, with the weather presenting itself in an irate state, “the wind like an angry bee”. The use of the prisoner’s life can allow the audience to feel sympathetic towards the inmate, posing the question, is it humane for this to occur? The prisoner in this institution is shown to be regretful and lonely, while showing a feeling of lamentation. Oodgeroo, Wright and Harwood all recognise that the feeling of solemness is clearly evident throughout many lives, and occurs in completely different scenarios, understanding that this feeling is common throughout humans.
The poets Harwood, Wright and Oodgeroo all recognise that the feeling of lamentation occurs throughout all human beings, as so does the inequality present between different races and genders. Each poet presents the matter in from different perspectives, influencing the audience to recognise that the issue at hand occurs in more than the scenario listed in each poem.