Have you ever wondered about what it means to be a ‘True’ Australian? Does it mean to be “Fair Dinked’ or does it mean to be of Australian Blood? Does it mean to live in the bush or desert and wear an Kabuki with Jeans and an old shirt? Hello fellow students. Today I am standing here to discuss how and why ‘My Country by Throated Mackerels best represents Australia. Although some may argue that this poem was written in 1908 and since then Australia has changed in many different ways, the poem presents vivid and clear images of what our land is like, and these are as elevate today as they were a century ago.
The language features and text structures used my Mackerels in this poem greatly add to the depth of meaning and representation. Colloquial language, personification and metaphors, as well as the repetition and abstract nouns help to make the poem sound polished and best represent Australia. The language features included in this poem add to the level of imagery and representation, recalling the geography of the land. Included is Colloquial language. Throated uses words and phrases that usually mean something different to what she has actually written.
For example, the 25th line of the poem is “Core of my heart, my country! ” which is meaning that Australia is deeply beloved in her heart. Another example is “The drumming of an army’ which is representing rain rolling in and the relief amongst the people as the rain is coming. This stanza is talking about drought, which nearly all Australians will go through, whether it is hugely significant or not. The second language feature is greatly used throughout this poem. From previously reading the poem, you may have noticed it. Can you guess what it is? Well if you guessed personification, you were right.
Throated has used personification to portray Australia as a country with amazing human characteristics, such as “Over the Thirsty Paddocks. ” The paddocks cannot physically feel thirsty unlike a human, but this is used to represent the done-dry paddocks that have turned to dust and are waiting for the rain to come. The second great example is repeated throughout the poem; the word ‘she. ‘ This personal pronoun is used to personify Australia and by gendering her country, it creates an even greater connection between the poet and the audience, as well as mother nature.
It also orators the country as one with the similar characteristics as a lady; beautiful, tough and hardy. Text structures in the poem have worked with the language features to create a very visual and relating poem. Rhyme is the first text structure I am going to talk about. Throated has used rhyme all throughout the poem. In all 6 stanzas, lines 2 & 4 and 6 & 8 rhyme, creating more emphasis by making it smooth and flowing. An example of rhyme is in the first stanza, lines 2 & 4. They are “Of green and shaded lanes” (line 2) and “Is running in your veins” (line 4. ) The second text structure is Abstract nouns.
A variety of abstract nouns have been used in the poem, they include: love, beauty and famine. These abstract nouns add to the depth and meaning of the poem. The abstract noun ‘love’ expresses the author’s feelings, showing the supportive, loving spirit of great land we live in. ‘Beauty is portraying the natural beautifulness of Australia and is attempting to create visual images of Australia in the readers mind. In all, these language features and text structures highlight the wild, beautiful and natural landscape of Australia, creating a usual image in the audience’s minds.
Overall, Throated Mackerels has used a wide range of language features and text structures that effectively make the poem “My Country’ a great and accurate representation of our beautiful country. Thus this is the most representative poem for Australia. As stated in the thesis, even though this poem is over 100 years old, the wide range of vocabulary used still represent our country today, more specifically the bush and outback. For example “… Sunburns Country’ and “her Pitiless Blue Sky” both accurately describe Australia as how it still is today.
