Lit- South of my days

About poem

Free verse/vers libre, pastoral elements (pastoral genre), published in collection The Moving Image (1946

Pastoral poetry

in literature typically celebrates rural life, nature, and the simplicity of rural landscapes. Wright's poetry frequently engages with the Australian landscape, reflecting her deep connection to nature and the environment.

Wright's pastoral poetry is not merely idyllic; it also addresses the environmental and social challenges faced by Australia, including the impact of colonisation on the land and Indigenous communities. While embracing elements of the pastoral tradition, Wright infuses her work with a critical and reflective perspective, acknowledging both the beauty and the complexities of the Australian landscape.​

Impermanence of cultural tradition

Old Dan forgetting his stories, symbolising the decline of Australia’s settler past.

"clean, lean, hungry country”

Personification- presents a more complex and sometimes harsh reality of the Australian bush

‘the creek’s leaf silenced/ willow choked,’

The landscape is humanised, the Australian landscape is set in contrast to the European introduced species

Lexical choice of ‘choked’ reflects a certain ambivalence about her colonial past. She experiences the discomfort of being of two worlds. ‘Choked’ serves as a verb that creates conflict

‘Part of my blood’s country’

‘blood’ is a metonym for family, deep connection- conveys that the land is a part of who she is

South of my day’s circle,

Circle is symbolic- implies a family circle and continuity- evokes the idea that the past and present are intertwined particularly in relation to her childhood and cultural heritage, cycle of nature

Tone

Nostalgia, admiration for the landscape, both celebratory and mournful- recognising the beauty of the land but also the hardship and losses associated with it

“the slope a tangle of medlar and crabapple/branching over and under”

Use of enjambment emphasises how the land is being overrun by invasive species- these plants are native to Europe not Australia, like the willow further emphasises the impacts of colonisation on the landscape

“bony slopes wincing under the winter”

Personification constructs conflict between time and place- the winter is causing the slopes to ‘wince’. The landscape is humanised, emphasising that it can be part of who we are

The Australian landscape is set in contrast to the European introduced species

Climatic imagery

winter, black-frost night, hot face of summer

Juxtaposed images together

'“the old cottage lurches in for shelter.”

Lexical choice of ‘cottage’- a home, but a European one. A reader might infer that European settlement has aspects to which she’s nostalgic but also some to which she’s uneasy (personification of ‘lurching’ conveys a sense of unease)

Old Dan

Represents the archetype of the storyteller of Colonial Australia- As an elderly bushman, his stories preserve the history and hardships of rural life, passing down knowledge and experience. However, he also reflects the fading past, symbolizing the endurance and decline of an older generation shaped by the land. His character evokes nostalgia and the tension between memory and change in the poem.

Vignette

Stanza 3- Old Dan’s story provides a brief evocative account

Story telling/yarn tone- uses the discourse of the pioneer, colloquial phrasing

‘some day in a wave of rambler roses’

Another European plant- the natural seasons are now being associated with introduced species

‘thrust its hot face in here to tell another yarn- a story old Dan can spin’

Summer and Old Dan are intertwined- stories from the past are linked with who we are today/who we will be- summer has not yet come

“… of stories he clutches around his bones.”

‘clutches’ conveys importance of stories- evokes idea of holding them tightly/desperately

bones- image of deep connection

“hived in him like old honey” “swarming like bees“

Repetition of bee-related imagery

Creates image of sweetness- bees are communal creatures. The imagery is associated with stories, the last lines of stanza 2 introducing the idea of Dan’s stories, while reference to bees swarming is part of his story in stanza 3.

‘and the river was dust’

Biblical allusion to death- man becomes part of the landscape

what makes Wright’s poetry appealing and clearly her own

reliance on symbolism and allusion; repeated motifs of blood, shadows, trees; themes of loss; personas which convey her own experience and personal struggles; romantic discourse etc.

‘Thunderbolt at the top of Hungry Hill,’

Colloquial reference to Captain Thunderbolt- infamous bush ranger, real name Frederick Ward (referred to later in the poem) longest roaming bush ranger in Australia.

The narrator takes a conversational tone, recounting talking to this bush ranger.

Archetype of the Larrikin- anti-authoritarian figure

“Or driving for Cobb’s on the run”

Another example colloquial Australian discourse- Cobbs & Co was a stage coach company

“Oh, they slide and they vanish/as he shuffles the years like a pack of conjuror’s cards.”

Return to the voice of the persona signified through ecphonesis- simile conveys how the past and present are interwoven

Memories are played out like cards, but also shows how this stories engage – the structure of the last stanza looks like shuffled cards. 

‘outcropping of granite’. 

It is not only the season which is hard – but also the landscape

“trees, blue-leaved”

Australian bush is emphasised with the internal rhyme

Anaphora of “seventy years”

Anaphora of “seventy years”

“Wake old man…Noone is listening”

Tone is imperative, Old people are often not listened to yet their stories belong to us – they are us. 

We tell of ourselves – we create our myths. 

Descriptions of the harsh, untamed Australian landscape

symbolize the endurance and adaptability required to survive in it eg “low trees, blue-leaved and olive” "clean, lean, hungry country"- evokes a sense of both beauty and desolation. This imagery reflects a uniquely Australian identity-one shaped by the land's unforgiving nature.

Repetition of “South of my days circle”

The opening line is repeated in the final stanza- emphasizing continuity- past and present are intertwined, especially in relation to her cultural heritage

Repetition of “Lean country”

Emphasises the land’s harshness, reflecting the resilience required to live in it, this portrayal reinforces an Australian cultural identity shaped by struggle, self-reliance, and perseverance