Grace Lutheran College |
Australian Voices |
Analytical Exposition |
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Morgan Sharp |
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In our Australian culture, it is tradition to pay respect to those who have given their lives in war to protect this country. One way of honouring this tradition is poetry based on Australians at war, portraying the bravery of the ANZACS. There are two significant poems that reflect this bravery and also the destruction of war that I believe vocalise the aspect of ‘Australians at war’ to a high degree. The poems ‘Men in Green’ by David Campbell and ‘I was only 19’ by John Schumann both construct a powerful and noteworthy message based on similar themes and also by using powerful poetic techniques while also maintaining their own individual qualities and identities. The message that Campbell is trying to communicate to us through ‘Men in Green’ is that of the 15 new recruits heading off to fight in the Second World War. They are naïve, and unaware of the furiousness and mercilessness of war and Mother Nature; we follow them through their journey until their death. Campbell focuses on the innocence of the young men that have enlisted and also the destruction and desolation of war. A very similar message is also fabricated in ‘I was only 19’. Schumann takes a similar journey to Campbell’s, starting off with a young new recruit at the age of 19 embarking from Townsville, Australia and heading into Vietnam to fight in the 1960’s. This young recruit was also naïve and completely unaware of the devastation of war. Schumann takes us on a journey through the spiralling downfall of this young soldier in his mental and physical health. In this analytical exposition we will further break down these two powerful pieces of Australian poetry and compare and contrast their themes and messages, poetic techniques and significance to our Australian culture.
There was a similar theme that I found present in both pieces of poetry; there was a change in mood during the poems...