This is the beginning of a test on Australian Literature
Author: saxonmarketo
Summative Entry
Australian Literature has been a very interesting and eye-opening subject for my first semester doing my course. I have learnt much about literature in general and different types of literature and techniques used to portray different idea’s, views and perspectives. What interests me more is that these literature types weren’t just Australian texts/pieces made by Australian’s or about Australia but they delved deep into the furthermost deepest darkest and changing parts of our countries history. When I started this subject I knew there would be a lot of critical thinking and analysing as it was literature and I related it to English I took in high school. I have gained a new found appreciation and respect for different literary types and art having the ability to tell a thousand words.
Each piece that was studied throughout the semester and in each blog post focused on a different area of expertise. Australian landscape, people, Indigenous Australian’s, relationship with Britain and colonisation, post-modernism and much much more. I gained the ability to holistically look at different perspectives to see a bigger picture. Although literature aims to either show an unbias approach to a topic or tries to convince you of a particular idea or see things from a certain view, if you look at multiple pieces and compare and contrast, you get a much better understanding of the overall picture. I gained much insight from studying and thinking about each topic we covered in class and as homework.
My experience whilst participating in the blogging aspect of this subject really got me to understand the way I think and feel. It challenged me and pushed me to think outside the box and not only realistically but creatively too. I was able to learn much about the world I lived in and a few talented people in it. It also intrigued me to read my classmates thoughts on each post they wrote and I would pick up things I myself had missed which added to my own understanding once the light was shone on that part of the story. This activity has taught me to value others perspectives and take them on board rather than thinking only my opinion mattered. Blogging has been a great experience in getting to know myself, others and the world I live in. I have been introduced to new minds and influential people whether they be writers or painters, who have and shaped understanding of our history and other aspects of Australian Literature. One of these great moments was making the link between art and literature when visiting the NSW Art Gallery. Overall, this has been a lovely learning curve that has allowed its students to get personal with their thought processes and discuss in an open and encouraging way ideas and topics while appreciating and participating in a critical discussion. The blogging has really appealed to me as it’s something I am quite familiar with allowing people to study the past using modern means.
Thanks Michael for this experience.
Peer Review 8
Bonham,
Your writing on ‘Fly Away Peter’ was great to read. It was really personal and felt comforting reading it as though we were friends or something. The inviting nature you wrote it with kept me intrigued to see what you were going to say next. This as well as the way you related ‘Fly Away Peter’ with your everyday life and journey to and from University was entertaining. The personal touch you exposed to your audience created the same effect as it had for you with Imogen. Somehow it felt as though you were Jim and I was Imogen. Although you believe to not have found yourself yet, I as a spectator, can see many of your traits and factors that add to the sum of you. The fact you personalised this post really hit me and was refreshing after many other blogs I have read. May I suggest that your blog could have used a bit more colour and excitement as the design of it is a bit one dimensional. Thank you for your writing keep up the good work and don’t lose that close connection you gather with your audience, it’s a great trait.
Review on:
David Malouf – Fly Away Peter
Best Critical Entry
My best critical entry would have to be Entry 5 where I analysed the poem ‘Australia’ by Bernard O’Dowd. Throughout this semester, we have looked at novels, artworks, poems and many other pieces of Australian documents or items that link closely to literature or are literature. Understanding what these creative pieces mean was a huge part of our learning experience of this subject. By analysing this poem, I had to really understand the language and meaning behind the words. This required critical thinking and research into the Old English words that were more common in the early 1900’s.
By understanding the metaphors, imagery, repetition and many other literary techniques, I was able to come to the conclusion that the poem was reflecting the relationship between Britain and Australia predicting it’s possible future. This blog post allowed me to understand the importance of language, imagery and other literary techniques to describe or explain thought processes. Similes and metaphors can help to get across an idea touching on the writer’s thoughts and feelings to best connect with the reader and try to support what they are telling. I gained a great appreciation for poetry throughout this course when analysing and critically thinking.
Review on:
Entry 5
Best Creative Entry
I feel my most creative entry was Entry 4 based off the topic ‘Mid-Nineteenth Century Australian Poetry’. This entry was based on two very fascinating and interesting poems that really caught my eye. Due to this, I felt a stronger connection with this piece compared to others. Charles Harpur’s ‘A Midsummer Noon in the Australian Forest’ and Henry Kendall’s poem ‘Bellbirds’ were fun to analyse while also being difficult to get and understand right away. I feel this contributed to my creative writing about the two poems and comparing and contrasting them. Furthermore, my adding of the birds and colour scheme added to the feeling I was getting while reading the poem which collectively makes the piece more whole.
Through discussion of nature, animals and the extensive use of descriptive imagery in the poems I felt as though I could see and feel every part of the poem as I read it. This inevitably led me to my decision to choose the two pictures at the end of the post. One picture being a realistic Dragon Hornet that shows up close detail and colour expressing the intrinsic beauty of such an insect while the other being a drawing of a Bellbird. The Bellbird picture full of colour reflected my thoughts of nature as it reflected its surroundings. In a way, I felt I could see where the Bellbird had been and what it was seeing.
The extensive analysis of these poems pushed me to be creative in the way i wrote and explained things. My attempt to deeper understand each poem and the meanings enforced by their respective poet’s makes me love this piece. The fact that I engaged with the thought process of each artist and elaborated on the work made me feel part of their work in a way this making my writings more intertwined and creative. Ultimately I loved working with both poems and writing about them allowing me to enjoy my own working ending in me believing it was my most creative work.
Review on:
Entry 4
Entry 8
Week 10, we are nearing the end of this amazing journey of literacy and art but we are not yet finished. For this weeks topic, I have selected the first line from one of Les Murray poems, more specifically, ‘The Cool Green’.
“Money just a means to our ends?”
(First line from Les Murray’s ‘The Cool Green’)
What has more power over us than self-will?
What has fooled man to make us believe it determines us?
Have we as a species classified our existence,
only to how much plastic or paper we can bury in our yard.
With tricks and claws, we morphed out of humanity,
we have replaced the creatures and monsters we warn our kids about.
The horror stories of killers and ghouls with mal-intentions,
but have become those very definitions?
But only man can destroy what is man made,
If there is any man left within the world.
Grim future escaping the Grim Reaper,
will we dodge Death’s powerful green scythe?
When I wrote this poem it was after our tutorial where we explored the possibilities of what Les Murray could have meant in his poem. I drew inspiration from the great ideas expressed in that tutorial but imposed my own ideologies into the poem, I hope you enjoyed reading it.
Peer Review 7
Gabrielle,
Your 7th entry shows great passion for the topic being ‘Patrick White’ and your letter to him offered some great views and interpretations. Firstly, the way you started the blog was so smooth and a joy to read, this made the piece much more interesting and easy to get into, I credit you for that. Secondly, the editing and letter font you used was quite creative and really appealing to the eye, however, I recommend you use a bit more colour or photos to enhance the creative look and feel of your entries, it would go a long way to spicing up your blog. Though that is just personal preference there’s not much else I can say about your content as I found it great and can’t wait to read more of your work! Thanks for the enjoying read!
Review on:
Dear Patrick White…
Entry 7
Write a letter to Patrick White telling him what you think of any one of the texts you have read this week.
We are now just finishing week 9 of Oz Lit and I have found a new interest in Patrick White, Australia’s only noble prize winner. Many of his novels and writings are long and very artistically written which I suppose is why they are held in such high regard by scholars. This being said I found particular interest in one of his writings which was ‘The Prodigal Son’.
Dear Patrick White,
I write this letter to you to further understand your writing about ‘The Prodigal Son’ and what journey of thought you went through to write such an opening and personal piece. To say “writing novels was the only thing I (Patrick White) could do with any degree of success”, must have taken a lot of guts and courage to confess to Australian critics and your readers as it shows you restricting your own ability to write in a variety of formats. Was this simply just alluding to your success in that particular field? Furthermore, you make reference to living in Australia then after a 22-year gap returning home to live here once again. I feel like this period away had a major impact on your progression in writing and your up-frontness in your writings such as ‘The Prodigal Son’ which ultimately made it such a raw and powerful piece to connect with. What really struck me was the fact your a Noble prize winner who still has self-doubts about your work even though you have achieved such praise and greatness for your creativity and brilliance. Finally, I’d like to say I found the piece rather relieving as to show even the most brilliant men still have periods in their life that questions their choices and sense of worth in one’s accomplishments. Thank you very much for your persistence in writing, I hope this letter finds you well.
Yours sincerely,
Saxon Marketo
Peer Review 6
Emily,
Your 6th blog entry had great analysis in it as you went into deep thoughts about many of the topics discussed this week. This is depicted when you make reference to the Indigenous Australian people being ‘supernatural’ from the poem ‘End of The Picnic’. Furthermore, I really liked your ability to pull apart certain areas of the poem making it very apparent what you were thinking and feeling about the poem. This gave me great insight into what the poet Francis Webb was trying to portray to his readers. However, though your blog entry is very educational and informative I feel as though it lacks entertaining components. All in all, I really enjoyed reading your entry and look forward to checking on your future posts.
Review on:
Blog #6
Entry 6
This week we delved deeper into a sad part of Australian history which forced us to reflect on events such as the ‘Appin Massacred’. I have written a poem reflecting on this event that left many Aboriginal Australian’s and European settlers massacred and traumatised over stolen crops in the area we now call Campbelltown. The remaining Aboriginal Australian’s were rounded up, shot or driven off cliffs to their death.
A Student’s Reflection
By Saxon Marketo
Reflection makes the emotions flow
Heart pounding from the horror stories told.
These are not just bad memories but history
Man against man who is the victor?
Surrounding faces mirror my expressions
“a few men of my men? heard a child cry”.
the realisation our ancestors may have contributed,
reconciliation from my part is a must.
I wrote this short poem/prose reflecting on how I felt when I heard about the tragedy in the classroom and witnessing my fellow classmates hearing the same horror stories alongside me.
Australian Literature 