What is the first thing you picture when you hear the words “Australian nature”? I’m sure most of you instantly think of the green-filled plains or the sunburnt land and shimmering blue water we are surrounded by. And yes, the majority of us, take pride in our sun flared lifestyle and the adventure and cheerfulness nature brings to us all. Consequently, it is no surprise that many Australian poems are based around the idea of the Australian environment, landscape and nature, whether it is with respect to the untouched and pristine environment or our carelessly treated, but once pure environment. Two of our current poets who explicitly portray very different ideas about the environmental circumstances we are living in are: Les Murray, a typical…show more content… By observing Murray’s poem, Spring Hail, we can see that he focuses on describing the unbreakable connection humans have with nature. He is noticeably avoiding the unnatural features of the environment around him, and can be noted in the allusion to the European settlement in the late 1700’s by subtly hinting the introduction of sheep in “sheep trotted and propped”, and the accompanying visual imagery of human civilisation through “the hard blue highway”. These lines then juxtapose the natural grasslands that are illustrated and used to convey passion and awe for the landscape in this stanza such through the words,…show more content… The title itself, reveals that there is a battle between humans and the environment as an imagery of war and conflict is alluded in the words Search and Destroy uncovering the path of Dawe’s protest. As we dig into the poem, an unpleasant and almost frightening sound of “a diminished third” is then sung in “poison heaven” – a metaphor and a connotation to how we believe heaven lies in the sky where birds fly, which creates an eerie mood due to the auditory imagery of “diminished”. This unnerving sound alludes to the cries of birds who live and suffer in the greenhouse gas filled sky, which is a form of disapproval Dawe is intending to portray. Therefore, this allows us, as readers to reflect on Australia’s recklessness and the danger we putting our innocent animals through for our own sake of a comfortable living style. His dispute is then strengthened by the use of assonance in “nature grinds her basic gears”. The harsh assonant sound in “nature” and “basic” then leads to a trace of juxtaposition between nature and industrialisation and finally an added personification of “grinds her basic gears”, expressing that we are crushing and destroying natures natural cycle. These combined poetic features allow Dawe to criticise the Australian public for interloping with natures chain of flora and fauna. The harsh tone Dawe uses, in
