Australia by A. D. Hope
In the field uniform of modern wars,
Darkens her hills, those endless, outstretched paws
Of Sphinx demolished or stone lion worn away.
They call her a young country, but they lie:
She is the last of lands, the emptiest,
A woman beyond her change of life, a breast
Still tender but within the womb is dry.
Without songs, architecture, history:
The emotions and superstitions of younger lands,
Her rivers of water drown among inland sands,
The river of her immense stupidity
Floods her monotonous tribes from Cairns to Perth.
In them at last the ultimate men arrive
Whose boast is not: "we live" but "we survive",
A type who will inhabit the dying earth.
And her five cities, like five teeming sores,
Each drains her: a vast parasite robber-state
Where second hand Europeans pullulate
Timidly on the edge of alien shores.
Yet there are some like me turn gladly home
From the lush jungle of modern thought, to find
The Arabian desert of the human mind,
Hoping, if still from the deserts the prophets come,
Such savage and scarlet as no green hills dare
Springs in that waste, some spirit which escapes
The learned doubt, the chatter of cultured apes
Which is called civilization over there.
Summary of Australia by A. D. Hope
Australia by A. D. Hope is purely a critical poem which focuses on a country called Australia. A. D. Hope takes a cursory observation on his country, Australia, and notices the cultural, intellectual, and social weaknesses.
A. D. Hope's discovery of all these impels him to make use of sarcastic and harsh language in the poem. Despite A. D. Hope's discovery of social and intellectual weakness, he still believes strongly that there is a futuristic hope because something new and valuable will grow in Australia.
Analysis of Australia by A. D. Hope
Lines 1 - 4:
The first line of the poem depicts Australia as a "nation of tree". A. D. Hope forges ahead to present Australia as natural landscape, highlighting that the colors are visibly not bright by using words such as "drab green" and "desolate grey" to create an image of dullness and emptiness of Australian country.
In the second line, there is a comparison between Australia tree and uniform that are worn by soldiers in modern wars.
The third line presents the tree as something that makes the hills to be dark. The hills, according to A. D. Hope, are notably long and stretched out.
In the fourth line, A. D. Hope points significantly that these hills can be compared to the paws of a damaged sphinx, or perhaps to an old stone lion.
The image which A. D. Hope presents in lines 1 to 4 highlights age, mystery, and destruction. Therefore, Australia is physically large, but it is culturally tired and empty.
Lines 5 - 8:
The fifth line of the poem disagrees with the idea that people describe Australia as young country because of how they consider Australia as a new European nation.
Australia, in the sixth line of the poem, is, in fact, the last land and the emptiest. Again, this is seen as isolation and cultural emptiness.
In lines 7 and 8, Australia is compared to an old or aging woman whose breasts are tender. In spite of her tender breast, her womb is completely dry.
This symbolic representation of Australia as woman with tender breast but a very womb suggests the outward beauty of Australia, but inwardly, Australia lacks creative and cultural productivity.
Lines 9 - 13:
From line 9 to 13, A. D. Hope continues in disclosing things which Australia lacks. These things are songs, architecture, and even history.
Australia also lacks the emotion as well as the belief that can be found in younger lands. Line 11 revealed that Australia rivers have disappeared abruptly into the inland sand.
This river is described as the "river of stupidity". Symbolically, the river which A. D. Hope is referring to is actually the intellectual life of the people.
A. D. Hope states that this stupidity has successfully spread across Australia, from Cairns to Perth.
Lines 14 to 16:
In line 14, A. D. Hope mentions "ultimate men," saying that these men claim that they are surviving and not living.
This shows plainly that life in Australia is now a simple survival, devoid of meaningful living.
Line 16 divulges clearly that these men will only occupy a dying earth. What A. D. Hope attempts to explain is that Australia is a society that lacks imagination and culture.
Lines 17 - 20:
Line 17 makes reference to the five teeming sores, which are Australian five cities. Sores produce painful feeling. Therefore, to Australian people, the cities are pulling things away from Australia instead of providing help for them to grow.
Because the cities take from the Australian people, A. D. Hope calls the cities "parasite," which construes that the city depend wholly on the country.
In line 20, the European in Australia are described as second-hand European. By this description, A. D. Hope simply criticizes Australia for copying or imitating European lifestyle.
Lines 21 - 24:
From line 21, there is a noticeable change, as A. D. Hope says that there are people similar to him who joyfully return home.
There is also a comparison between modern intellectual life and a jungle. And he, of course, is screamingly tired of discussion on intellectuality.
Line 23 makes another comparison between Australian mind and the Arabian desert, drawing attention to dryness and emptiness.
In all these, there is a futuristic hope that something is believed to grow eventually from Australia's cultural emptiness very soon.
Lines 25 - 28:
This line of poem shows that there is a possibility of a new spirit, which A. D. Hope further describes as "savage and scarlet".
A. D. Hope believes hopefully that something powerful will eventually emerge from the barren intellectual landscape.
The last line of the poem focuses on the attack leveled on the highly developed civilization by A. D. Hope. He sees it as "cultural apes."
This last part of the poem signifies that excessive and much civilization can transform into emptiness.
Literary devices in Australia by A. D. Hope:
1. Metaphor:
Metaphor uses in the poem is seen in the words nation of trees and river of stupidity.
2. Personification:
Personification can be noted in the poem as A. D. Hope makes use of the word 'her' when speaking about the country.
3. Imagery. The image of dullness and Australian landscape is pictured through words such as drab green and desolate grey.
4. Symbolism:
The lack of cultural and creative production is demonstrated through the symbolism of dry womb. Also, A. D. Hope uses desert to symbolize intellectual emptiness.
5. Satire:
The satire in the poem is seen and noted when A. D. Hope attacks the Australian cities with exaggerated and sarcastic description, such as sows, parasites, and cultural apes
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