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Analysis of "Homecoming" by Bruce Dawe

2. In speaking for those who have no means of speaking, Dawe has succeeded in writing poetry
that has universal appeal.

In Homecoming, poet Bruce Dawe uses vivid visual and aural poetic techniques to construct his
attitudes towards war. He creates a specifically Australian cultural context where soldiers have
been fighting in a war in Vietnam, and the dead bodies flown home. However the poem has
universal appeal in that the insensitivity and anonymity accorded to Precious lives reduced to body
bags are common attitudes towards soldiers in all historical conflicts. Although Dawe makes
several references to the Vietnam War, the sense of moral outrage at the futile, dehumanising
aspects of war is a universal theme. He also speaks on behalf of the mute, dead soldiers who have
no way of expressing their suffering and loss of hope. By speaking for those who have no means
of speaking, Dawe ultimately exposes the brutal hopelessness of soldiers caught up in foreign
conflicts and the shocking impact on families.

The title Homecoming is used effectively to contrast the traditional universal implications of the
word with the shocking reality of dead soldiers flown home from Vietnam to grieving families.
The word homecoming usually implies a celebration or Heroic reception for a great
achievement, with a return to roots and family. It would further invoke a sense of anticipation for
the return of a loved one whom has a real identity and a place in the hearts of those awaiting his
arrival. However, the title operates ironically because the homecoming described in the poem is
related to death, mourning and loss and the arrival of a nameless body is quite different from the
heartfelt joy extended to a loved one. By establishing Irony through the globally understood ritual
of homecoming celebration, Dawe generates universal appeal.
Through the use of Repetition, Dawe establishes the inhuman, machine-like processing of human
bodies, a ghastly reality common to all conflicts that use innocent soldiers as cannon fodder. These
soldiers will never have an opportunity to voice their protests or their sense of loss, hence Dawe
offers a shocking expose of the futility of war and is able to voice his concerns of those who
cannot articulate their views. Repeated use of the pronoun theyre, hints at the impersonal
relationship between the bodies and their handlers. Repetition of the suffix
-ing in bringing, zipping, picking, tagging, and giving, describing the actions of the
body processors, establishes irony. These verbs imply life and vitality, in stark contrast to the limp,
lifeless, cold body that they handle each day. Repetition is used effectively to highlight the
shocking brutality that has manifested in all wars throughout history.

Word choice in Homecoming further underpins the poems universal appeal where Dawe
foregrounds the lack of identity and indiscriminate slaughter of young men in the Vietnam War.
References to green bodies in green plastic bags, shows the lack of individuality. Soldiers are
being categorised as curly-heads, kinky-hairs, crew-cuts, balding non-coms, a detached and
anonymous image, establishing the idea that class, race or background is no favour in war, further
reinforcing the loss of identity. It is shocking that theyre giving them names since a name is one
of the few identifying features left on the plethora of otherwise anonymous, mutilated bodies, the
mash, the splendour. The separation of soldiers and their identity is a worldwide concept,
successfully illustrated through word choice.

Dawe uses vivid visual imagery to emphasise the emotional damage caused to friends a family
through the loss of a loved one, a deep suffering that is often left unrecorded in the annals of
history. Telegrams tremble like leaves from a wintering tree and the spider swings in his bitter
geometry, exemplify the arbitrary grief that affects those who receive notices. Personification of
the telegrams shows them as trembling under the burden of the news they must deliver, ending
any hope for families wishing their loved ones shall return alive. The relation of telegrams to
leaves falling from a wintering tree is a powerful image, providing the reader with some idea of
the immense number of dead soldiers. Dawe further suggests that a wide web joins all countries,
with none able to escape the spider grief associated with war. By exposing the destructive and
dehumanising aspects of war, Dawe appeals to the masses, removing it from its falsely glorified
position.

Through the further use of imagery, Dawe succeeds in writing poetry that has universal appeal by
underscoring the savage nature of war. The Simile whining like hounds emphasizes the
destructive characteristics of war, also depicting dogs as sympathetic feelers of human emotion.
For these dead soldiers, there is no big parade and music, only the howl of their homecoming.
The world famous twenty-one gun salute is also mocked, mute salute, further establishing the
worldwide notion of dogs as mans best friend, who unfortunately cannot voice their grief in words.
Although these men have made the ultimate sacrifice by giving up their lives, the fact that they get
no recognition for this act except from their dogs, emphasizes the global concept of war as
dehumanising.

The setting Dawe describes in Homecoming is characteristically Australian but the issues related
to the horrors and futility of war are universal in their implication regardless of the cultural
context. References to the knuckled hills and desert emptiness of the Australian landscape
underscores the irony of the homecoming since soldiers are unable to appreciate or comprehend
the unique beauty of their land. Personification further foregrounds the human qualities ascribed to
hill and the landscape, whereas the soldiers are ironically devoid of all life and humanity. The
desert emptiness not only refers to the vastness of the Australian interior, but also to the empty
futility of war. With the aid of imagery, Dawe establishes the pointlessness of war, in that of all the
men who have ever died in battles shall never see their homelands again.

The final line of the poem creates the idea of Paradox, further endorsing the notion of senseless
life loss, a universal theme. Theyre bringing them home now, to late because the chance to save
their lives has now past. However, it is also too early since all these soldiers are too young,
leaving behind an unfulfilled life. Unfortunately these soldiers will also never receive the true
recognition they deserve for their efforts that would have been given at the end of the war. By
using the technique of paradox, Dawe makes a final attempt at clarifying international
misconception of war as beneficial.

Bruce Dawe successfully establishes the uselessness of war is his poem Homecoming. He can
be said to be speaking for those who have no means of speaking in the way he presents the
attitudes of the silent, dead soldiers being flown home from Vietnam. With the aid of aural and
visual poetic techniques he arouses sympathy, carefully manipulating the audience to reflect upon
his own views towards war. In this way, Dawe has created a poem that is uniquely Australian,
presenting issues of global concern and generating universal appeal.

Bibliography

Dawe, B. (2000). Homecoming. In Bernard, V. (Ed.), Sometimes Gladness (p. 95). South
Melbourne: Pearson Education Australia.
Smith, G. (1997). An appreciation of Homecoming by Bruce Dawe. [WWW document]. URL
http://home.pacific.net.au/~greg.hub/lifecycle.html
Salmon, K. (2000). Poetry of Bruce Dawe. [WWW document]. URL
http://www.ozseek.com.au/English2UGen/PracticePapers/00301a.shtml.

http://lardcave.net/hsc/english.2ug.dawe.weaponstraining.html

Weapons Training

And when I say eyes right I want to hear

those eyeballs click and the gentle pitter-patter
of falling dandruff you there what's the matter
why are you looking at me are you a queer?
look to your front if you had one more brain
it'd be lonely what are you laughing at
you in the back row with the unsightly fat
between your elephant ears open that drain
you call a mind and listen remember first
the cockpit drill when you go down be sure
the old crown-jewels are safely tucked away what could be more
distressing than to hold off with a burst
from your trusty weapon a mob of the little yellows
only to find back home because of your position
your chances of turning the key in the ignition
considerably reduced? allright now suppose
for the sake of argument you've got
a number-one blockage and a brand-new pack
of Charlies are coming at you you can smell their rotten
fish-sauce breath hot on the back
of your stupid neck allright now what
are you going to do about it? that's right grab and check
the magazine man it's not a woman's tit
worse luck or you'd be set too late you nit
they're on you and your tripes are round your neck
you've copped the bloody lot just like I said
and you know what you are? You're dead, dead, dead

Notes per line

The poem starts in the middle of a sentence, giving the impression that we might have fallen
asleep like one of the young recruits being shouted at. It serves to catch our attention.
Note the use of spaces and pauses: these indicate a dramatic monologue, because they are
natural spaces to take breath. Dramatic monologues give insight into the speaker, their
situation, and the people around the speaker and their reactions.
pitter-patter is generally a gentle sound, but in this context it is made to sound harsh.
are you a queer? - this question reflects the tone of the whole poem: to be called a "queer" is
obviously insulting to these men. Also is the start of a whole string of insults littered through
the monologue, delivered in a blunt, confronting tone. The question mark is also the first use
of punctuation, as the speaker pauses for impact - and breath.
Eventually we get to the heart of the matter - the instructions the sergeant is giving:
"Cockpit drill" where soldiers drop to the ground and return fire, and the weapon checks.
The poem is full of crude sexual references: "Cockpit drill" and "crown jewels", for
example.
mob of the little yellows - the sergeant dehumanises the enemy by making a racist comment,
thus making it easier for the soldiers to kill them (if they're not really people, it doesn't
matter if they die).
turning the key in the ignition, apart from being an obvious reference to sex, serves to give
the soldiers hope by reminding them of coming back home.
The sergeant has drifed slightly, with alright now he gets back on track, and throws a
problem at the soldiers, to make them feel uncomfortable. They are conscript soldiers and
unusued to the strict discipline of the Army; the sergeant must show his authority to impress
into them the necessity of listening to him: it's the only hope they've got of staying alive.
He drops back into dramatic monologue, using "you" all the way because in the end it will
be up to the individual soldiers to determine what happens to them.
a number-one blockage refers to a certain technical problem. The sargeant is teaching his
soldiers to learn by terrorising them.
Charlies is a racist name given to the Viet Cong. At every opportunity he degrades the
enemy: rotten fish-sauce breath; they are ugly, etc.
it's not a woman's tit - back to sex references, reinforced with worse luck - because in this
case, it's bad luck it's not a woman!
tripes is slang for "guts" (which I guess is slang for "stomach and intestines"!) Here Dawe
shows how bloody war is - this is a vivid image that brings to mind images of battle.
Like I said ... you're dead dead dead : the message of this poem; leaves us with a sense of
foreboding, that most people in this group will end up "dead dead dead".

General Notes

Dawe shows the realities of war: alive one moment, dead the next.
too late ... your tripes are round your neck ...
you know what you are? You're dead dead dead.
 Here we see the explicit crudity of the sargeant, and the reptition of "dead" emphasises the
message the officer wants to drill into his soldiers. They are taught to hate, fear, and listen to
authority, so they won't just go out and die needlessly. The officer does this by asserting his
authority and convincing them that war is real, not a game: they are sent out not only with a
weapon, but as a weapon.
The soldiers need to be numbed of all emotion when on the field. Crude, racist jargon is
used so they will view the enemy as subhuman and feel no emotion for them.
The officer is not malicious: he is doing his job, and he will do anything he has to to keep
the boys alive.
There is no clear structure and the rhyme scheme is unobtrusive, which emphasises the
monologue form of the poem: despite the rhymes, the poem still sounds like human speech.
The repetition of "T" and "I" sounds in words like "click" and "pitter-patter" are
onomatopoeic and sound like weaponry. The soldiers are being turned into weapons
themselves (so that their gun is merely an extension of themselves).
This poem is not ironic; the use of voice is almost a parody of a sargeant, but the edge to the
tone gives away his fear that these soldiers will just go and die.

Questions

What initial impression do we get of the instructor?

What is our attitude to him and what he represents?
How do we know it is the voice of somebody who has power or control in this situation?
Why does the instructor raise the issue of protecting the genetalia?
Why does he speak about the enemy in the way he does?
What do you think the instructor hopes to achieve?
Is your attitude towards the instructor changed by the end of the poem?

http://lardcave.net/hsc/english.2ug.dawe.enterwithoutsomuch.html

HSC Notes: 2 Unit General English: Bruce Dawe

Enter Without So Much as Knocking

Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.

Blink, blink. HOSPITAL. SILENCE.

Ten days old, carried in the front door in his
mother's arms, first thing he heard was
Bobby Dazzler on Channel 7:
Hello, hello hello all you lucky people and he
really was lucky because it didn't mean a thing
to him then...
A year or two to settle in and
get acquainted with the set-up; like every other
well-equipped smoothly-run household, his included
one economy-size Mum, one Anthony Squires-
Coolstream-Summerweight Dad, along with two other kids
straight off the Junior Department rack.

When Mom won the

Luck's-A-Fortch Tricky-Tune Quiz she took him shopping
in the good-as-new station-wagon ( 495 dep. at Reno's).
Beep, beep. WALK. DON'T WALK. TURN
LEFT. NO PARKING. WAIT HERE. NO
SMOKING. KEEP CLEAR/OUT/OFF GRASS. NO
BREATHING EXCEPT BY ORDER. BEWARE OF
THIS. WATCH OUT FOR THAT. My God (beep)
the congestion here just gets (beep)
worse every day, now what the (beep beep) does
that idiot think he's doing (beep beep and BEEP).

However, what he enjoyed most of all was when they

went to the late show at the local drive-in, on a clear night
and he could see (beyond the fifty-foot screen where
giant faces forever snarled screamed or make
incomprehensible and monstrous love) a pure
unadulterated fringe of sky, littered with stars
no-one had got around to fixing up yet: he'd watch them
circling about in luminous groups like kids at the circus
who never go quite close enough to the elephant to get kicked.

Anyway, pretty soon he was old enough to be

realistic like every other godless
money-hungry back-stabbing miserable
so-and-so, and then it was goodbye stars and the soft
cry in the corner when no-one was looking because
I'm telling you straight, Jim, it's Number One every time
for this chicken, hit wherever you see a head and
kick whoever's down, well thanks for a lovely
evening Clare, it's good to get away from it all
once in a while, I mean it's a real battle all the way
and a man can't help but feel a little soiled, himself,
at times, you know what I mean?

Now take it easy

on those curves, Alice, for God's sake,
I've had enough for one night, with that Clare Jessup,
hey, ease up, will you, watch it --
 Probity & Sons, Morticians,
did a really first-class job on his face
(everyone was very pleased) even adding a
healthy tan he'd never had, living, gave him back for keeps
the old automatic smile with nothing behind it,
winding the whole show up with a
nice ride out to the underground metropolis
permanent residentials, no parking tickets, no taximeters
ticking, no Bobby Dazzlers here, no down payments,
nobody grieving over halitosis
flat feet shrinking gums falling hair.

Six feet down nobody interested.

Blink, blink. CEMETERY. Silence.

Epigraph: Remember, man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.

Stanza 1

Blink, blink. HOSPITAL. SILENCE.

Speaks of a baby waking into life. The sentences are deliberately short and simple. The baby
takes in the hospital, sees signs and expectations.
The first thing that he hears is not a loving mother, but the voice of materialism.
QUERY - Bobby Dazzler colloq. for "super" in the 40s and 50s?
The colon at the end of the line marks a pause and a change in tone.
Bobby Dazzler's false heartiness reflects the false, materialistic nature of the world into
which the child has been born. "Hello, hello, hello all you lucky people". This is
immediately followed by a cynical comment from the narrator (and he really was lucky
because it didn't mean a thing to him then) - Bobby Dazzler doesn't have an impact on the
child's life - yet: the child is lucky because he is innocent of the falseness of society. Note
the irony of this comment in contrast to the rest of the stanza.
The trail-off sentences have convey three meanings: they show cynicism, are similar to
rhetorical questions, and lead into the next stage of his life.

Stanza 2

A year or two to settle in and

get acquainted with the set-up
This is systematic, cold, and impersonal. Contrast this to the usual warmth and sense of
uniqueness associated with the birth of a child - the child's life, just like the rest of society, is
mass- produced.
Well-equipped, smoothly-run, economy-size: these compound words are commonly used in
advertising, as if the life is being sold to the child. This is reinforced by the use of a list, and
the use of stereotypes, both of which are impersonal.
 Economy-sized Mum
... is a sexist description and is a typical stereotype of the 50s.
Anthony Squires -
Coolstream - Summerweight Dad
Anthony Squires is an Australian brand of suit.
Straight off the Junior Department rack.
These children have no names, gender or description (Except to point out that they are
wearing what everyone else their age wears). Everything about the family is described in
sexist, standardised, depersonalised tones. The family has not grown - it has been bought
and constructed.

Stanza 3

Luck's-A-fortch Tricky-Tune-Quiz
Note the capitals: the emphasis is over-the-top. Evidence of consumerism (and sexism)
again - after winning the quiz, Mum chose to celebrate by taking him shopping.
Good-as-new station-wagon - more consumerism. it's not "second hand", it's "good as new".
The price of 495 pounds would have been very expensive for a car. Also note that a station
wagon is room enough to carry the 2.3 children that was the national average.
Beep, beep.
Experiencing the world through the eyes of a child in the car. The series of imperatives
(WALK. DON'T WALK. TURN / LEFT NO PARKING. WAIT HERE. NO / SMOKING) which
starts off realistically becomes satirical: NO / BREATHING EXCEPT BY ORDER. BEWARE
OF / THIS. WATCH OUT FOR THAT.
Noise and aggression in the next few lines. The parenthetical beeps could represent, apart
from the obvious car horn, a censorship of swear words. Imagery of the "rat race" - the
frustration culminates in a final BEEP.
In general, the car journey could represent this man's life.

Stanza 4

However - qualifying word signifiying a change of tone. The poem slows around this
change of direction, but quickly picks up speed again.
He enjoyed - this comment on the child's opinion is the first sign of any emotion in the
whole poem.
on a clear night and he could see [...] a pure unadulterated fringe of sky - The boy is still
fairly impervious to the down side of things - he has not succumbed to the material world,
yet. He is interested in natural beauty, magicked by the stars. The comment in parentheses
here (beyond the fifty-foot screen ... monstrous love)is a reminder of the world which the boy
will eventually have to face. The fact they they are absorbed in watching people making
"Grotesque, monstrous love" shows the sordid nature of society. Note the use of the verbs
"snarled" and "screamed".
The word "Unadulterated" is also used in advertising, and its use here to describe something
naturally beautiful is a contrast, and illustrates an underlying theme of the poem - that of the
contrast between "The horror of man and the beauty of Nature."
Consider the alternative meanings of "stars" - movie stars, aspirations.
 The word "littered" has bad connotations, and is ironic because the stars are about the only
pure thing the poet has yet mentioned. This is perhaps what "society" would say about them
- an idea reinforced with the comment stars no-one had got around to fixing up yet.
kids at the circus - the stars are too far away to be touched by society, but this stanza ends
sadly because the child is close enough, and eventually will get "kicked".

Stanza 5

Once more, there is a change of tone and pace with the word "anyway". This introduces a
colloquial tone to convey the passing of time. This is very cynical, because the poet moves
from early childhood into middle age, in a few lines.
This indicates that childhood is unimportant and might as well have not existed - perhaps
the rest of the child's development was so similar to everyone else's as to not have been
worth mentioning?
The harsh turns of phrase ("back-stabbing", "money-hungry") show that the child has
without doubt finally faced the real word, which is dominated by these types of people.
goodbye stars... goodbye the the world of natural beauty and innocence - perhaps goodbye
also to any dreams of making a difference the child had
... and the soft cry in the corner - no more showing emotion. A sexist comment: In this
society, men don't cry.
Note the intrusion of the child's adult voice here. The first time this has happened, and
revealed is a harsh, selfish, "realistic" adult.
Number One every time - a colloquial expression - care for yourself before you care for
anyone else.
This chicken, signifying himself, is an Australian colloquialism. The rest of the line, kick
whoever's down, reflects again the selfishness of the adult, who in turn reflects the nature of
society - as long as I'm alright, it doesn't matter whom I hurt.
Thanks for a lovely evening Clare - the sudden change of tone here hints at the insincerity of
this comment, which is reinforced in the next stanza.
A man can't help but feel a little soiled, himself, at times, you know what I mean?
The real world is awful, and the man has been soiled - ironically, soiled too much to really
understand what he is missing.

Stanza 6

Note that there is no mention of love or romance or marriage or attraction before this stanza,
which starts with him in a car with a woman who is probably his wife. This reinforces the
theme of over-riding materialism - husbands and wives are acquired just like a house or a
car.
The tone has changed back from conversational to hardened and cynical. Indicative of his
relationship with his wife.
He backstabs Clare, indicating his hypocrisy. He is being driven home by his wife, and he is
possibly drunk.
The punctuation mark - a dash - at the end of the paragraph leaves the car accident entirely
to the imagination. He was not in control, and the unfinished sentence has been cut short
deliberately to show the difference between life and death: a short blink and you miss it.
Stanza 7

Probity & Sons, Morticians,

Probity is uprightness and honesty. Hence this paragraph is very ironic, because Probity &
Sons promote the facades of society even in death (a healthy tan, for example).
Another change of tone - back to narrator and observer.
The callousness of everyone around him - a person has just died, and people are paying
attention to the make-up on his face. Confirmed by the apathetic and unemotional reaction
of observers: (Everyone was very pleased) - he's dead, but he looks good.
the old automatic smile with nothing behind it- shows the extent of the facade he had
developed in order to fit in with society, which kills genuine emotional responses and
individualism, and encourages conformity. The whole idea of the funeral directors making
him look good ties in with the theme of the hypocrisy of society - the ultimate comment on
society is that with "that automatic smile with nothing behind it", the man might as well
have been dead even before the accident: "He was dead before he was killed".
winding the whole show up - this man's life was like a TV show, which is now finishing,
hence the jokey, happy talk show host-style narrative, with undertones of bitterness and
irony. This also winds up the poem.
Underground metropolis - ie, the necropolis. Even in death, the man cannot escape the
metropolis.
Like a talk show host or an advertisement, the narrative breezes over items, as if to generate
interest: permanent residentials, no underground parking, etc. Even death is cheapened and
sold.
Grieving over halitosis - Grieving is a very deep and powerful emotion, associated of course
with death. It is not usually associated with worry about halitosis [bad breath] and indicates
the placement of society's values. Note that there is grieving over halitosis in the living
world, but no grieving for the dead. In fact, people are pleased - because he has been made
up so well.
Six feet down nobody interested - he doesn't affect people's lives anymore, so nobody cares.

Blink, blink. CEMETERY. Silence.

As the child blinked into life, the man blinks into death and whatever is after it - in this case,
silence. The final sound could be reminiscent of a cemetery gate shutting.

Generally

People are too ashamed to have a soft cry in the corner because they have surrended to a
society which is emotionally bankrupt and centred on facade.
The general attitude: Consume, be silent, die.
Theme of the cyclical nature of life - note the similarity of the beginning and the end of the
poem.
Other themes: Conformity, consumerism, materialism, and its effect on individuals;
mortality of man, man made verus natural beauty, innocence and its loss, the shallowness
and hypocrisy of modern ideals and values; facades of society, loss of personal values.
Imagery: Human life as a gameshow; family as an advertised product; Stars like kids at the
circus; the cemetery as an underground city.
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central concerns life, media, materialism, contemporary
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style/technique accessibility, familiarity,
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use of humour sarire, pun, irony, parody, sarcasm,
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The Not so Good Earth _theme those who can be entretained by other
people's suffering
Accident and Ambulace Siren_theme mirrors one of our deepest fears - death
Enter Without so much as people under media or peer group
Knocking_theme pressure use cliches supplied by
pressure groups intead of thinking out
their own values and the emptiness of
our lives
Katrina_theme expresses competently and honestly the
quality of absolute, unqualified love,
which is for all of us our deepest need
Homecoming_theme elrgy about the deep tragedy of any war
Breakthrough_theme the impact and influence of advertising
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Accident and Ambulance figurative imagery, metaphor, limited
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Enter Without So much as dramatic presentation, cliches,
Knocking_techniques humourthrough absurdly exaggerated
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emphasis on first words of lines,
figurative language, light hearted
flippant tone
Katrina_techniques figurative imagery, metaphor, analogy,
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Homecoming_techniques figurative imagery(mostly metaphors),
slow reoccurring rhythm, repetition,
alliteration, listing, heavy impersonal
monotonous tone, paradox
Breakthrough _techniques incongruity, exaggeration, contrast,
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Satire Witty sarcasm

An appreciation of "Life-Cycle" by Bruce Dawe

This ten verse poem is a testament to a distinctly Australian invention, Aussie Rules football.
Football is portrayed as a religion, is food and drink, is the life-cycle itself. Football nourishes the
young and renews the old. Its mythology is life-sustaining. It brings "salvation", the punch-line of
the poem.

The poet sprinkles the language of football liberally: "barracking...Carn ... streamers...scarfed
...Demons...Saints...ladder...final term...three-quarter-time...boundary fences". The argot of the
grandstands is heard in Carn the Hawks.. Carn the Cats...Carn the Bombers." Dawe likens the
initiation of a baby to the game when he is held aloft at his first game as spectator like young
wrigglers swimming to the surface in the flood of light and sound in the roaring heaven
("empyrean"), of the MCG no doubt. This football has epic and heroic connotations.

Dawe's tone is ever so slightly mocking but gently so. He respects the strength of football's cultic
life and the life-sustaining qualities it offers. He knows it is a life-giving religion offering an
initiation, a journey, a wedding, a honeymoon and salvation. He does not deny its worth nor does
he fully side with its rituals. He respects the fact that Australian football is a perpetually renewing
mythology and although the dancers change, the dance goes on.

I enjoyed this poem and rate it a public statement of a fact. The power and passion of Victorian
football in its homeland is wonderful to behold. Dawe records it all for prosterity.

by G. Smith: 26/8/97
See also Noel Rowe Modern Australian Poets 1994, Ch. 3 A821.309 ROW

-----------------------------

An appreciation of "Homecoming" by Bruce Dawe

Dawe here dramatises the homecoming of Australian veterans' bodies from Vietnam. This is
clearly an anti-war poem, reproducing in the seventies the sentiments of the First World War poets.

In 25 lines of broken verse presented in one demanding stanza, Dawe recounts how "they are
bringing" home the bodies "in deep freeze lockers"... zipped up "in green plastic bags" "bringing
them home, now, too late." He picks out the rituals and consequences of this event on a relatively
stable and uncaring society back home (in Australia). Ironically, he celebrates their coming home
across the curvatures of the globe and across the international borders as they fly homeward
bound. Homecomings are usually consoling and familiar particularly in the American culture
where "home' acquires very many strong associations of rest, trust and identity. But here the term
is deliberately turned upside down as the dead return home - a telling commentary on the VN war
and what it destroyed.

The diction is plain like prose, the pace is relentless and the tone is ironic. The drama of the
historic present moment is expressed in many present participles: "picking... bringing....rolling ...
whining..." In 25 lines, the poet drives us across many details, many particulars in the fixed drama
of death. Dawe's point of view is not uncritical. We are enjoined not to be passionless spectators
but to feel this great injustice to our young men. The irony is that the young are brought back to
the old ridiculous curvatures of our old continent's coasts and into the cities and small towns where
they were raised. Thus a spider web of grief "in his bitter geometry" spreads across the land
catching us all.

Dawe uses powerful oxymorons to highlight the bitterness and irony of what is happening:
"sorrowful quick fingers heading south", and "bringing them home now, too late, too early" to
emphasise that their return is premature and "the mash, the splendour" their napalm deaths are
unnatural paradoxes. Dawe drives home the conviction that the whole war is a contradiction:
"(dead) fingers are tracing a course southwards" and "the howl of their homecoming" (in the jet
engines) mocks a ticker tape parade they are owed if they had returned as homecoming living
victors. No wonder they receive only "mute salute" from dogs not their fellow countrymen.

I like it when a poem has a central focus. Dawe's deft writing plays powerful chords on our
emotions: the injustice of killing young men and its overwhelming reality is delivered in many
observable details. Rather than say I enjoyed this poem, let me say I appreciate what it is doing
and rate it a powerful indictment of Australian involvement in Vietnam. It is a memorable poem.

by G. Smith 26/8/97; 486 words

Notes on Bruce Dawe from Outrider pp. 82-97.

speech of the commonplace and suburban poetry for the common man
 working class origins, born 1930 Geelong
variety of jobs and self taught, part time study
combination of sympathy and satire
his battlers are elevated to myth
disturbs the reader's sense of familiarity
many of his poems are elegiac successes
"a painful lack of social awareness in (Australian) poetry"
"exposes what he sees as a dehumanising forces, and so to defend and celebrate
individuality'
self critical, a vulnerable vernacular poet
use of dramartic monologue (Good Friday)
his faults: sentimentality nd simplicity
poets catches himself on the edge of belief
satirise and celebrate football (Lifecycle)
concerned about the destructive tendencies in television (Not So Good Earth)
Homecoming is more elegy than satire; predominantly elegiac mood
gives the individual a true voice
ample use of ambivalence
battler mythology
Australian nostalgia for myth

Notes by this author Greg Smith

http://home.pacific.net.au/~greg.hub/lifecycle.html

Bruce Dawe's Poetry

Written by: Unregistered

Discuss 2 of Dawe's poems which illustrates his belief that ordinary things in life are a good
subject for poetry.

Bruce Dawe poems illustrate his version of "ordinary". The poems I have studied of his work have
been about life and how people deal with everyday living. Such poems as Drifters and
Homosuburbiensis are good examples of how Dawe captures the meaning of "ordinary". Drifters
is about a family who move from place to place, as the father needs to move by the demand of his
job. The young children are growing up to learn no other way of life, as they are all waiting for the
day they shall move again. The children get very excited about this, as it is something different and
is of course an adventurous, in ordinary life.

The eldest, she is seeing what she is missing out on and is becoming aware that there nomadic
lives may never change. She who once was one of those excited children, realises she can not lead
a normal teenage life as she is not stationed long enough, to become friends with people her own
age. She is becoming frustrated with her life. She becomes upset but knows she has to accept the
inevitable. From the above Dawe shows compassion for the eldest as she has to go through this
more than once. Also the young children are going to grow up to realise they will too go through
 the same thing. Dawe also shows a serious side in the poem, as the mother just wants to settle
down and have the bright future she has always dreamed of. Dawe has a sympathetic outlook
towards the mother, by outlining her hopes and dreams, also asking her husband Tom to make a
wish in the last line of the poem. Thus hoping he will choose the same path in life that would be
concrete and will bring them closer together. Because this is a continuous event the mother is
getting frustrated as at the time of packing once again she finds that she has not unpacked from
there last move.

This poem is not everyone's ordinary life but a life the have to lead in order to stay functional. The
family have to make sacrifices because it is more of a necessity. This life they lead is ordinary to
the young children but frustrating towards the eldest and the mother. Although they move around
it's a version of ordinary lives. This is a good subject for poetry as it is continuous and may be
never ending, for this family. The second poem called Homosuburbiensis-latin term for humans
that live in the suburbs. The poem locates a typical suburban home set on a quarter-acre block with
a flower garden and lawn in front and a vegetable garden (lawn) at the back.

The poem asserts that there is one constant value in a turbulent world. The man is a suburban
householder standing alone in his backyard on a quiet evening among his vegetables. Dawe's tone
seems humerous as it is "not much but it's all we've got."

The imagery suggests that Dawe is both celebrating suburbia, while in some ways puts down the
suburban householders dreams: The rich smell of compost and rubbish. The space taken vastly by
overcrowdness of vines represent the overcrowding of suburbia.His thoughts are lost escaping the
pressures that come with life. The traffic unescapable to his mind. Dawe shows a sympathetic look
towards this person, as even in the retreat of his backyard he still cannot escape the lifestyle of
suburbs.

This is agood example of an ordinary life as this particular person needs to escape the pressures
which highlight TIME,PAIN,LOVE, HATE,AGE,WAR,DEATH,LAUGHTER,FEVER. All which
are present and Dawe makes that aware of an "ordinary life". Being achieved in his fenced off
back yard.

Dawe proposes that ordinary lifestyles are not just eat, work, sleep but the strains people have to
face everyday. He goes into depths of peoples lives and makes their problems obvious to the
readers. Dawe faces peoples problems that do not get bought up everyday and are ignored.

http://www.planetpapers.com/Assets/923.php

~ Bruce Dawe's Poetry ~

Year 11 English assignment

PART 1 - Working in pairs:

Read the comments by others on the following poems by Bruce Dawe:

 Life-cycle

Homecoming

Enter Without So Much as Knocking

Homo Suburbiensis

Weapons Training

Discuss these comments and your own journal entries [from your homework!] with
your partner.

Share the outcomes of your discussion to the class (group oral)

PART 2 - Working individually:

Select any other poem by Bruce Dawe and write your own commentary and
analysis. These responses will be converted into connected web pages.

http://www.adelaidehs.sa.edu.au/ahsintranet/subjects/English/dawe_poetry.htm

An appreciation of "Homecoming" by Bruce Dawe

Dawe here dramatises the homecoming of Australian veterans' bodies from Vietnam. This is
clearly an anti-war poem, reproducing in the seventies the sentiments of the First World War poets.

In 25 lines of broken verse presented in one demanding stanza, Dawe recounts how "they are
bringing" home the bodies "in deep freeze lockers"... zipped up "in green plastic bags" "bringing
them home, now, too late." He picks out the rituals and consequences of this event on a relatively
stable and uncaring society back home (in Australia). Ironically, he celebrates their coming home
across the curvatures of the globe and across the international borders as they fly homeward
bound. Homecomings are usually consoling and familiar particularly in the American culture
where "home' acquires very many strong associations of rest, trust and identity. But here the term
is deliberately turned upside down as the dead return home - a telling commentary on the VN war
and what it destroyed.

The diction is plain like prose, the pace is relentless and the tone is ironic. The drama of the
historic present moment is expressed in many present participles: "picking... bringing....rolling ...
whining..." In 25 lines, the poet drives us across many details, many particulars in the fixed drama
of death. Dawe's point of view is not uncritical. We are enjoined not to be passionless spectators
but to feel this great injustice to our young men. The irony is that the young are brought back to
the old ridiculous curvatures of our old continent's coasts and into the cities and small towns where
they were raised. Thus a spider web of grief "in his bitter geometry" spreads across the land
catching us all.

Dawe uses powerful oxymorons to highlight the bitterness and irony of what is happening:
"sorrowful quick fingers heading south", and "bringing them home now, too late, too early" to
emphasise that their return is premature and "the mash, the splendour" their napalm deaths are
unnatural paradoxes. Dawe drives home the conviction that the whole war is a contradiction:
"(dead) fingers are tracing a course southwards" and "the howl of their homecoming" (in the jet
engines) mocks a ticker tape parade they are owed if they had returned as homecoming living
victors. No wonder they receive only "mute salute" from dogs not their fellow countrymen.

I like it when a poem has a central focus. Dawe's deft writing plays powerful chords on our
emotions: the injustice of killing young men and its overwhelming reality is delivered in many
observable details. Rather than say I enjoyed this poem, let me say I appreciate what it is doing
and rate it a powerful indictment of Australian involvement in Vietnam. It is a memorable poem.

by G. Smith 26/8/97; 486 words

HSC Notes: 2 Unit General English: Bruce Dawe

Homo Suburbiensis

For Craig McGregor

One constant in a world of variables
-- A man alone in the evening in his patch of vegetables,
and all the things he takes down with him there

Where the easement runs along the back fence and the air
smells of tomato-vines, and the hoarse rasping tendrils
of pumpkin flourish clumsy whips and their foliage sprawls

Over the compost-box, poising rampant upon

the palings ...
He stands there, lost in a green
confusion, smelling the smoke of somebody's rubbish

Burning, hearing vaguely the clatter of a disk

in a sink that could be his, hearing a dog, a kid,
a far whisper of traffic, and offering up instead

Not much but as much as any man can offer

-- time, pain, love, hate, age, ware, death, laughter, fever.

Stanza 1

Constant is a poisitive comment, he is alone with his thoughts, static and unchanging, while
the world outside continues on oblivious.
Patch of vegetables is his territory - a place where he can vent his frustrations by gardening,
a place where he has total control, with things he has grown himself.
 evening - ie, the man cannot be alone with his thoughts while doing the day's work, he is
only free after the work is complete.
It is interesting to note that the mark of a civilisation in the old times, was the fact that they
had mastered agriculture, in order to feed the people through people specialising into
different fields. This implied different classes, eg an educated class, a farming class, and this
eventually led to civilisation. Some ancient civilisations, eg Babylon, paid a lot of attention
to gardens.
Also note the parallel to the Garden of Eden.
All the things he takes down with him there - although not specified, "all the things" can be
the things he carries in his head - thoughts, feelings, emotional baggage, anything that needs
to be though about and solved - the man can use his garden for tension release.
The garden is a place for contemplation, meditation and working things through. We see an
emphasis in the poem on the man's thoughts and feelings.

Stanza 2

Where the easement runs...: Easement is a piece of land between properties.

We can smell, see, touch and hear the garden through various descriptions in this stanza and
the following one. Note thtat the description is slightly detached - we are observing the man
like a specimen in a tank. This is reflected in the title, a Latin-sounding (but invented) word
to describe this type of man.
The pumpkin is almost alive - it is "clumsy" and it "sprawls", like the progress of human
civilisation, very slowly expanding, and expanding clumsily. Contrast the action usually
associated with whips (ie, the whipcrack) with "clumsy whips" of the pumpkin: the sprawly
of civilisation may be slow, but it will progress as inexorably as if it were driven with a
whip.

Stanza 3

The Rampant is significant in heraldry, where heraldic animals pose rampant on shields.
Suggests the way the vines are curled back on themselves - strong, proud, and potentially
dangerous.
the palings ... - the way the sentence trails off is important. It trails off like the plant itself,
and also suggests the end of the physical description of the garden - the man's focus has
drifted elsewhere: he was possibly daydreaming while standing in his garden.
The pace picks up again - the indentation before He stands makes us focus back on him, and
the poem now focuses on him too, and what he feels and sees.
The idea that he is deep in thought is further brought out in Stanza 4 with the use of the
words "lost" and "vaguely".
The "green confusion" is like a buffer against noise - the garden's potential is seen, but at the
moment it is only slighly tamed. We can see the wildness of the garden - the plants are wild
and confused, similar to his thoughts before he arrived.

Stanza 4
 Our senses are aroused here. Smelling, hearing, seeing, gfeeling the things the man does.
Somebody's rubbish / Burning, Hearing vaguely, Hearing a dog, a kid, whisper of traffic.
These sounds are the only things which intrude on his refuge and remind us that the garden
is in suburbia. However, he is lost in his thoughts and only hears "vaguely". A sink that
could be his shows that he has taken the sound in, but not thought over them enough to
recognise them.

Stanza 5

offering up instead / Not much - he is "offering up" perhaps to a deity. He can't offer up
great or corageous deeds, but he can as much as any human can offer - his life, his
experiences.
time - the time he has spent being a father, and his experiences. Time he can still give before
dying.
pain, love - what of pain and love he has already experienced, and what he will experience
in the future.
hate, age, war, death - all these things we go through and give to the world in the form of
experience, even though we may not know it.
laughter stands out from the rest - it is two syllables long, unlike the list so far - it implies
joy and peace. We can see at this point that the poem is a song of praise to the ordinary
person, giving what small things they can to the world.
fever is not necessarily a negative word - it could represent intense emotion of any sort, and
perhaps could sum up the rest of the list. However it also suggests sickness and death, and is
unpredictable in nature.
The poem is celebrating that although this man may be ordinary, the very act of being alive
can be a celebration, like the growing of plants: it is not the quantity of what you give, but
the quality.

General Notes

The garden represents the mind - chaotic when wild, but when structured, of surpassing
beauty, like a well-kept garden. The man's thoughts, as represented by the garden, may seem
chaotic but there is order there - in the compost box, etc.
The title, Homo Suburbiensis, is a parody of scientific classification methods: Man of the
Suburbs, and generally the poet views the man as the scientist would a specimen: interested,
but with detachment, and perhaps a quiet joy in the beauty of it all.

http://lardcave.net/hsc/english.2ug.dawe.homosuburbiensis.html
 Poet, Born 1930, Geelong Vic

One of the biggest selling and most highly regarded of

Australian poets, Bruce Dawe, 'The Poet of Suburbia', lives an
unconventionally conventional life. He grew up in a household
where his father, a farm labourer, was often unemployed and
often absent from home. His rather eccentric mother longed for
the kind of stability and success in life that circumstances
always denied her.

Dawe drifted through his early years showing promise as a

writer but finding little direction for his life. The variety of his
many occupations - labourer, postman, university failure, air
force officer, father and teacher - has served to give Dawe
extraordinary empathy with people from all backgrounds,
which characterises his poetry and gives a voice to so-called
ordinary Australians.

This encounter with Bruce Dawe allows us an insight into the

motivation and methods of a very fine poet whose ability to
express the drama and beauty of everyday life has made his
work readily accessible to the general public.

http://www.australianbiography.gov.au/subjects/dawe/bio.html

AUSTRALIAN
BIOGRAPHY
STUDY GUIDE
BruceDawe
1930
Po e t
A series that profiles some of the most
extraordinary Australians of our time
This program is an episode of Australian Biography Series 6 produced
under the
National Interest Program of Film Australia. This well-established series profiles
some of the most extraordinary Australians of our time. Many have had a
major
impact on the nations cultural, political and social life. All are remarkable and
inspiring people who have reached a stage in their lives where they can look
back and reflect. Through revealing in-depth interviews, they share their
stories
of beginnings and challenges, landmarks and turning points. In so doing, they
provide us with an invaluable archival record and a unique perspective on the
roads we, as a country, have travelled.
Australian Biography: Bruce Dawe
Directors/Producers Robin Hughes, Linda Kruger
Executive Producers Sharon Connolly, Megan McMurchy
Duration 26 minutes Year 1997
Study guide prepared by Diane OFlaherty Film Australia
Also in Series 6: Eva Burrows, Elizabeth Durack, Margaret Fulton
Jimmy Little, B.A. Santamaria
A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
For more information about Film Australias programs, contact:
Film Australia Sales, PO Box 46 Lindfield NSW 2070
Tel 02 9413 8634 Fax 02 9416 9401 Email sales@filmaust.com.au
www.filmaust.com.au
SYNOPSIS
One of the biggest selling and most highly regarded of Australian
poets, Bruce Dawe, The Poet of Suburbia, lives an unconventionally
conventional life. He grew up in a household where his father, a
farm labourer, was often unemployed and often absent from home.
His rather eccentric mother longed for the kind of stability and
success in life that circumstances always denied her.
Dawe drifted through his early years showing promise as a writer
but finding little direction for his life. The variety of his many
occupationslabourer, postman, university failure, air force officer,
father and teacherhas served to give Dawe extraordinary empathy
with people from all backgrounds, which characterises his poetry
and gives a voice to so-called ordinary Australians.
This encounter with Bruce Dawe allows us an insight into the
motivation and methods of a very fine poet whose ability to express
the drama and beauty of everyday life has made his work readily
accessible to the general public.
CURRICULUM LINKS
Lines of thought and questions within this study guide will have
interest and relevance for teachers and students at middle to senior
secondary and tertiary levels. Curriculum links include English,
Literature, Studies of Society and Environment, Society and Culture
and Australian History.
BEFORE WATCHING
You will be better prepared for the programs content if you research
some areas that impacted greatly on Bruce Dawes life.
The Great Depression
Bruce Dawe was born in 1930 and this coincides with one of
Australias darkest years. The Great Depression, marked by the
collapse of Wall Street in 1929, saw a terrible and extended slump
in all business activity.
From 1929 to 1932, industrial production in the capitalist world
fell by 35 per cent, the volume of world trade fell by more than
40 per cent and unemployment rose to 30 million in 1932 in the
four major capitalist economies. This negative cycle feeds on itself,
whereby unemployment rises and thus spending falls. Australia was
particularly vulnerable at that time because of our then reliance on
wheat and wool exports. Other countries could not afford to buy
our commodities because of their own economic woes. In 1932,
29 per cent of Australian men were unemployed and although the
figures improved a little in the following years, our nation was just
recovering when, in 1939, World War Two broke out.
How would you feel, as the man of the family, i.e. the sole
breadwinner, if youd been unable to provide for your wife and
four children? Remember, a woman in paid employment was a
rarity. Married women were precluded from the workforce.
Look at the positives and the negatives for women and children
in the Great Depression. What would they have lacked? Include
material objects as well as emotional and spiritual poverty. Within
these three areas, what benefits could have resulted from such
unwanted but imposed conditions?
Vietnam War Protests
The Vietnam War was fought in the 1960s and early 1970s. The
United States of America and its allies (New Zealand, Australia and
South Korea) supported South Vietnam against communist
insurgents and their North Vietnam comrades. Australia conscripted
civilians in 1964 and together with the nations regular army, they
fought at Nui Dat, Phouc Tuy province, Long Tan and in other key
locations. As in the USA, many citizens of Australia believed this was
not their war, and thus, in 1970, anti-Vietnam War moratorium
marches began to be held in most capital cities. The people won
and by Christmas 1972 the war was all but over.
WHILE WATCHING
As you watch the program, list words or short phrases to describe
Dawe, and make notes about the degree to which you think he is
representative of the Australian identity.
INFLUENCES ON BRUCE DAWES LIFE
The focus of this program is the life of an Australian who has made
a difference through his observing and recording of large parts of
our life. (Dawe was awarded the Order of Australia in 1992 for his
contribution to Australian literature). All poets experiences
invariably emerge in their work. For Dawe, this is particularly so
because his work is based on the familiarity of everyday occurrences.
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
Although Bruce was only a child when the Great Depression ravaged
the country, many of his experiences from those years militated on
his later life.
To what extent do you think his fathers erratic employment set the
model for Bruces whole succession of jobslawyers office clerk,
labourer, handyman gardener, postman, teacher, RAAF recruit?
Look at each of these jobs and discuss how each of them could have
influenced his style of writing poetry.
Are there parts of your life that exist merely because you have
followed your parents way? Do you believe that parents have a
responsibility to set a sustainable lifestyle example for their children?
Was Bruces father being irresponsible in drifting from job to job,
or was he a product of his circumstances?
As a child, Bruce moved from place to place a lot. As a man,
he lived in several cities on Australias east coast (Melbourne,
Sydney, Toowoomba).
Could it be that this wanderlust was established early in his life?
Does it emerge in any of his poetry?
SPOTLIGHT ON POETRYDRIFTERS
This poem, and all others Bruce Dawe reads in the program, is taken
from the collection Sometimes Gladness: Collected Poems. In 1984,
the National Book Council of Australia nominated the anthology as
one of the ten finest national publications of the preceding decade.
The poem Drifters sums up each of the familys feelings in moving
on yet again, and captures the dwindling vitality of the wife who
dreams of a stability which never comes.
AUSTRALIAN BIOGRAPHY: BRUCE DAWE 2
What does the title of the anthology, Sometimes Gladness,
suggest to you?
What emotions do you hear in the final line of the poem where
the woman holds out the berries and says, Make a wish, Tom.
Make a wish?
What is the significance of the newness of the familys arrival and
the newness of the berries?
How does the order of events in the poems structure create
inevitability?
Quote some lines that show the mothers need to put down some
real roots.
Why does his mother pick all the green tomatoes from the vine?
Why is the first thing she puts on the trailer the bottling set she
never unpacked?
How is the mood set by the poems opening words, One day soon?
What is contributed by the actual speech truly?
How does the archival footage during the poems reading enhance
your understanding? Deal with two specifics.
FAMILY
The Dawe family was unusual; conventional in the context of the
early part of the 20th century, but not cohesive. Consider how the
following factors influenced Dawes life:
His father was often in a disagreeable sort of mood which made
things tense around home.
Although Bruce was the youngest of four children, he was twenty
plus years younger than [his] brother and sisters. Thus he didnt
experience sibling rivalry.
His mother was ambitious for him. He was the only one to go to
high school.
His memory is that his brother didnt spend his earnings on himself,
yet he is unsure about what his father did with the limited money
he had.
The hope that the family invested in him as a clever young fellow.
His admiration for the younger of his two older sisters who had
some poems published in the Herald newspaper.
SPOTLIGHT ON POETRYLITTLE RED FOX
In the poem Drifters, the focus was on Dawes mother, but in Little
Red Fox, it is on his father. Again, the subject matter is everyday and
familiar; we are given a portrait of how the writer remembers his
father. A big issue of the poem-that the spirit of a wild thing is so
easily brokenrecurs in several of his later poems.
What is the point of redefining the word dad into the pronoun
he in the opening line of the poem?
Choose two specific details about the personas dad and say what
they add to the poem.
Find some details that elicit the feeling that reality was too hard to
bear, but there was always hope in what might be. Think back to
aspects of Dawes own life revealed in the program where the future
provided a reason to go on. Why is hope an important emotion for
every human being?
For whom is the little red fox cub a metaphor? Explain how the
comparison works.
Before you saw this video and when you first read Dawes
description of his father as handsome, did you imagine him as the
photograph shows him to be?
Is the contrast of a tough man living alone in a shed with one
who weptbroke down effective in conveying the poems theme?
EDUCATION
There are many points of formal education in Dawes life and they
seem to be turning points for him. Trace each of the following
events as bringing new opportunities. From clues in the film,
speculate on how they contributed to his need to write poetry,
his enjoyment of doing so and his style.
He dropped out of high school before finishing. He had a
difference of agreement with his maths teacher.
I went to night school. I did matric. But he was tempted quite
often to leave the studying at night school.
He went to Melbourne University in the 1950s, but again
dropped out.
After his RAAF service, he completed his degree and became a
teacher of English Literature at both college and university levels.
RAAF
Dawe says he joined the services because he wanted companionship
more than anything. Look at the emergent events below and
speculate on their importance to him personally and to Australias
growth as a country.
His wife-to-be was also a member of the forces.
His voice of protest against the Vietnam War carried weight.
He was winning a few prizes whilst in the RAAF.
SPOTLIGHT ON POETRY
WEAPONS TRAINING
This poem highlights the regimentation and humiliation dished out
during defence training.
Who is speaking?
Why is the language clipped, the tone condescending?
What concepts do you consider demeaning to the soldiers and is
the speaker's choice of language acceptable in either the armed
forces or in civilian life? Why has Dawe written in this way?
What is the point of this poem? What is its context?
Does the opening line set the tone for the poem? How effective
are the onomatopoeic words click and pitter-patter?
SPOTLIGHT ON POETRYHOMECOMING
This poem records the sickening waste of life which resulted from
the Vietnam war.
Why is the title ironic?
Choose three evoked images; explore their depth and how Dawe
gives them life.
Find examples of repetition and comment on their effectiveness.
AUSTRALIAN BIOGRAPHY: BRUCE DAWE 3
Why do Dawes lists in the poem make such strong statements?
What does the use of ing words throughout the poem achieve?
Why do the coasts wing upward?
What makes this such an effective anti-war poem?
What do you make of the final words, too late, too early?
BRUCE DAWETHE MAN
We can gain insight into people by their words and actions. Dawe
describes himself as having a working class background. What does
each of the following situations reveal about Dawes attitude to life?
Whilst living with his mother: Its either me or the Pekes.
She chose the dogs, and he left the following morning.
Whilst at university: they [other writers] were universally
magnanimous, universally generous.
Reflecting on his marriage: theres nothing to say that I deserved
any better than lots of other people.
About his university failure: I was undisciplined[it] forced me
tothink more consecutively.
About writing methods: sitting at the dining room tablethe
televisions usually onnobody ever got shushedpoetry is a sort of
common daily activity.
On poetry: So life comes first, art comes second.
On not being heard of: it never dismays mesuits me fine.
How does knowing the poet better translate into understanding his
work more fully?
SPOTLIGHT ON POETRYGOING
Dawe greatly loved and respected his mother-in-law. Going captures
the moment of her death.
Choose two images that contribute to the happy tone of the poem
and explain the reasons why Dawe created this atmosphere.
Choose a contrasting image and examine how it contributes to the
poems meaning.
What do the personal details add to the poem? Explain at least
two such details.
Do you agree that the language Dawe selects is almost not chosen
at all, but seems like an everyday speaking voice? What then does
the language contribute and can the poem be said to be crafted?
CULTURAL IDENTITY
Every country has an identity, born of its culture. This set of
practices, beliefs and values operating within a community
provides social organization. The way an individual identifies
with these ideologies means he/she either affirms certain cultural
norms, or repudiates them.
Draw up a three column table and head the columns as affirm,
challenge and evidence. List those facets of Australian culture that
Dawe identifies with and those he does not. Finally, make sure you
bring evidence from his work to support your views.
The Australianness of Sometimes Gladness is said to be its key.
Do you agree that Bruce Dawes verse makes us know more fully
what it is to be Australian?
Do you believe the notion of being Australian has changed since
Dawe wrote the poems included in Sometimes Gladness? Explore
your answer by bringing evidence of the differences between then
and now.
SPOTLIGHT ON POETRY
HOMO SUBURBIENSIS
Homo Suburbiensis has been described as an anthem to the
everyday man. It reiterates through imagery Dawes words,
I dont believethat suburbias just full of crummy little people.
What thoughts does the title bring into focus? Can you explain
its irony?
Explain the effectiveness of contrasting constant and variables to
open the poem.
Why does Dawe write about a group of people using just one
man alone?
What strikes you about those states a man can offer? Look at
them firstly as a group, then individually.
Comment on the strength of the everyday details such as a
compost box or rubbish burning.
Why is it appropriate for the program to end with this poem?
CONCLUSION
This program about an Australian who has contributed in mammoth
proportions to the enjoyment of poetry by ordinary people ends in
a way in which Dawe would likely approve. We hear a dog barking,
a car revving, the sound of traffic. The visuals show us the poet
walking through his gate and into his house. It is the action of
everyman, a comfortable action, a shared action, a coming home.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER RESOURCES
Bruce Dawe, Sometimes Gladness: Collected Poems, 19541987,
Longman, 1997, 5th edition
G. Smith (1997), An Appreciation of Homecoming by Bruce Dawe
http://home.pacific.net.au/~greg.hub/lifecycle.html
With Both Rhyme and ReasonSometimes Gladness by John Lewis,
Age EducationVCEXTRA text t@lk
www.education.theage.com.au/pagedetail.asp?intpageid=
109&strsection=students&intsectionid=3
Bruce DaweUQL Cyberschool
www.library.uq.edu.au/schools/bdawe.html
John Kinsella in Conversation with Bruce Dawe
www.geocities.com/SoHo/Square/1664/int_dawe.html
Consumerism: The Poetry of Bruce Dawe,
Bega Valley Christian College
www.bvcc.nsw.edu.au/curriculum/english/year12/dawe.html
Poetry: Bruce Dawe; Ozseek HSC Practice Papers
www.ozseek.com.au/English/practice_papers.php
Bruce DaweVicnet page
http://dargo.vicnet.net.au/ozlit/writers.cfm?id=151

AUSTRALIAN BIOGRAPHY: BRUCE DAWE 4

http://media.australianbiography.gov.au/study/6030_ausbiodawe.pdf