‘Young Girl at a Window’ (published in 1944)

Theses to develop:

Reflection on the limitations and potential of human experience

Time is relevant, whether past, present or future and provides us with the potential to
share or enact moments of growth and change
Regret is what occurs when we miss the opportunities of exploring what lies beyond
the metaphorical frames from which we envision the world
Imagine greatness, hardship, challenge and possibility
Time will be your greatest enemy of you do not act to engage with potential
The social and cultural boundaries put in place by society may prevent is from
grasping hold of opportunity
Potential is the key; take a chance to engage with what lies ahead rather than
procrastinate about what dangers or ramifications may exist
Gender only limits us if we allow society to impose itself on experience

Techniques:

Alliteration – final stanza – repetition of ‘f’ consonant in line 3; final stanza,

repetition of ‘l’ in line 4.
Allusion – ‘mortal swords’ McDuff’s words in Shakespeare’s Macbeth – Act 4 Scene
3
Archetypal metaphors: ‘grass and sheaves and, lastly snow.’
Climax – Last line of Stanza 2
Enjambment – lines connecting across the stanzas - storytelling
Euphemism – crossed swords – but can also be an allusion to the end of conflict –
regardless of defeat or victory – in heraldry, suggests a unity of purpose in defence
Extended personification and capitalisation of ‘Time’ – ‘clock…’guiltless minute’;
‘watchful room’
Imperative verb – ‘must’
Metaphor ( several – ‘latch’, ‘mortal swords’ ‘thresholds’, ‘hills’, ‘journey; ‘map of
living’
Repetition for emphasis
Second person – ‘you’ in concert with the imperative ‘must’ – a determination
Sibilance – repetition of ‘s’ in stanza 2 line 1
Tone – verbs and adjectives establish tone – no threat is implied despite the internal
conflict – adjective ‘gently’ or the verb ‘travel’ infers opportunity forward rather than
restraint or entrapment
Verb choices, verb phrases, imperative verbs – ‘sighing etc in opening stanza ; ‘must;
– imperative ; ‘chance’- take the risk – core message of the poem

Contexts: social, cultural, political, gender, intellectual

Values: truth, independence, integrity, challenge, hope, belief, patience,

LIMP: inferential, metaphysical and philosophical

© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 37

‘Young Girl at a Window’, first published in 1944, exists within Dobson’s first collection of
poetry In a Convex Mirror. If we first decode the metaphor of the title of that first edition, we
can appreciate that a convex mirror is one that bulges outwards. These mirrors, in modern
experience, are positioned at awkward intersections allowing drivers to see vehicles or
objects that could obstruct our path. We can infer that the poems in this collection (‘Young
Girl at a Window’, ‘Over the Hill’ and ‘Summer’s End’ contain content that lies unseen
unless we look through the carefully positioned mirrors of others’ experiences and reflections
that allow us to see the future or potential of taking risks. The poet is asking us to see the
potential for human experience does not lie in the straight paths or vistas of experience, but
rather the curves and secret places that we ourselves must take the ‘chance’ to encounter. An
additional metaphorical emphasis exists across the oeuvre in terms of ‘light’. A convex
mirror bulges towards light, which is why we can see around corners; light is insight, passion
and potential. Whilst the image we see may be quite small from a distance, the closer we get
to the mirror, the larger the image. We are enlightened and become more informed as we
engage with experience, even if it lies outside of the normal paradigms we would expect to
face as we move through life. The ‘mirror’, a reflection of human experience, allows us to see
that all individuals need to engage with the unseen. The poem may be autobiographical; it
holds a wisdom that the young Dobson has realised and shares with those who engage with
her text. We must look and engage beyond that which we can see; the unseen is the core
‘journey’ we all experience if we are ‘living’ to the full potential offered by life’s
opportunities.

Many of the poems in this collection draw on Dobson’s knowledge and love of art. We can
argue, with some confidence, that Dobson has used art as her stimulus. Indeed, many of the
titles in the collection are also found in artworks Dobson studied. Dobson particularly
enjoyed the art of the Dutch Masters and we could argue that the title of this poem ‘Young
Girl at a Window’ comes from any one of a few Dutch Master’s paintings of that or similar
title. Nicholas Maes ‘Young Girl at a Window’ (1660) presents his subject leaning through a
solid door which clearly shows a latch, reminding us of that reference in the poem in line 1 of
the first stanza. Her facial features and the positioning of her hands suggest she is in pensive
thought. ‘Girl at a Window’ by Rembrandt (1645) reveals a young woman leaning on the
window. There is a confidence to her stature and she looks at peace with the world she sees.
Jan Victors ‘Young Woman at a Window’ (c1640) similarly presents a young woman, in
detailed medieval dress, leaning out of a window holding on the latch. The look of
consternation on her face suggests fear of what lies beyond the frame. It is of note that there
are no paintings titled ‘Young Boy at a Window’. We can, therefore, assert the gender
perspective of this poem is deliberate and forms part of the inherent message of challenging
what lies beyond the paradigms of social expectations for the poem’s persona.

The poem is presented in three sextets. The poem is blank verse: it does not rhyme but has a
regular metrical pattern to the lines. The poet has used enjambment to link her lines creating
story for the reader or listener. The opening stanza begins with an imperative. The verb ‘lift’
instructs the girl to touch the ‘latch’. The instruction seems to initiate a break with what lies
beyond the window and the internal room or mind of the persona. The second line also begins
with a verb ‘Sighing’ establishing a tone of defeat as the persona must ‘turn’ and ‘move
away’. The verb phrasing overall suggests reluctance and the imperative movement is
necessary to stop dreaming and begin acting on the need to move beyond being a watcher of
what is beyond the window to being proactive in engaging with that world. Human
experiences cannot be had by passively viewing the worlds beyond our experience.
© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 38
The third and fourth lines are enjambed. The use of the adjective ‘mortal’ indicates human
concerns, not merely physical but spiritual. Immortal indicates beyond human experience so
the ‘swords’ here become synecdoches for internal human conflict, an essential element of
human experience in that we must question ourselves and our own motivations for not
engaging with the world. Euphemistically, when we say we have ‘crossed swords’ with
someone, it usually means we have had an argument or disagreement of some kind. This
persona, however, is alone. There is an internal conflict about what lies beyond the window
which is clearly, as we learn in the next line, influencing an immediate change for the
persona. The reference to ‘thresholds’ suggests not that this is the literal entry to a house, but
an entry into a new experience or world of potential for the persona. The reference to ‘mortal
swords’ may come from McDuff’s response to Malcolm’s fears and desire to run away in
Shakespeare’s Macbeth (Act 4 Scene 3). McDuff exhorts Malcolm to draw on his ‘mortal
sword’ – inner strength – and fight on to protect Scotland from the usurping Macbeth. If we
adapt this metaphor to the poem we might infer that the internal conflict being experienced
by the persona is about fearing the challenge of what lies ahead. The final two lines of the
stanza are quite confronting. The conflict has come with a distinct cost but the argument is
long past and the persona has to accept the outcome. The adjective ‘fading’ is used to
describe the ‘air. That the ‘air’ was ‘stained’ with ‘ red’ infers there has been significant loss
in the decisions being made. The decision has been volatile and will exist in the memory of
the persona. Personification here suggests that the persona feels the very elements are part of
a conspiracy to move her forward. The poet references ‘Time’ capitalising its first mention, to
reinforce the weighted decision and its import and affect the persona. The time for arguing
has gone. The verb ‘killed’ is quite dramatic suggesting that this ‘Time’ in her life is now
‘dead’ reinforcing in the persona’s existing experience, has been finalised. It is time to move
onwards beyond the passive viewing of the world beyond the window. If we return to the
opening line, the ‘latch’ must be caught and locked to prevent any further dreaming of what
might be from the safety of a bedroom or internal view of the world. There is a resentful tone,
filled with blame in this final line. There are questions we can ask at this juncture:

Who has killed Time?

Who is responsible?
Who is affected?
What are the consequences?
Who will grieve for Time?

Clearly, the persona can be both killer and victim.

The syntax can be altered here to clarify or interpret meaning. We commonly use the
euphemism of ‘killing time’ to describe wasting time as we wait for something to happen. It
is a passive exercise so we could argue here that the persona has wasted time and now regrets
what cannot be redeemed. The potential, the experiences, the life that could be lived is
trapped in Time, which is not dead. Irredeemable it would seem.

The second stanza, however, begins with an excuse, a slight retraction from the drama of the
final line of the previous stanza. The conditional ‘Or’ suggests a different perspective. In this
interpretation or rationale, time has been merely ‘lost’ but we have to ask whether there is a
difference. Once time has existed, with all the intricacies of thought and action that can take
place in those moments, it remains irredeemable. Blame seems to be the fallback position
here revealing the anxiety of the persona. The ‘someone’ and the ‘nobody’ are the persona.
© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 39
The verbs ‘saw…spoke…will’ suggest that someone indeed did but was unable or unwilling
at that moment in time to grasp the life it offered. The clock is personified as a silent witness;
it measures time, displays time but must is ‘guiltless’ as it cannot determine how an
individual acts on opportunities or experiences time. Further personification here amplifies
the emotions of the persona. The room is ‘watchful’, the adjective suggesting an
hyperawareness in the persona realising the momentousness of the time that remains. The
light is ‘breathless’ echoing the death of time itself – no air. The moment is claustrophobic;
the room that was sanctuary, a place to envision the world from, can only ‘host’ or be the
place of solitude and recluse, inaction and protection, for one more night. At this stage in the
poem we can argue that the poet is readying the persona for moving into a world where no
experience is dimensional (remembering our convex mirror). Instead there will be distortions,
fears, apparitions, realisations, moments of that lack clarity and moments of enlightenment.
Living and experiencing encompasses all our fears, anticipations, fears, hopes and dreams.

The final stanza shifts in tone. The adverb ‘Over’ presents a sense of rising above the vistas
outside of our scope of vision. The adjective ‘gentle’ to describe the hills infers there is no
threat; the reader can join the persona and look at the vista before they ‘Travel’. The persona
has seen, from the window, a world beyond. Now she must ‘journey’ both imaginatively and
literally, beyond what she sees and engage with its realities. The alliteration moves the
persona ‘forward’, the ‘footsteps are not leaps and bounds, but merely steps in a direction
towards experience which will by its very essence, bring about growth and change. There
may well be challenges on the way. The persona is exhorted to take a ‘chance’ to face the
inevitable ‘assault’ on her psyche which may well exacerbate her fears and doubts. The
persona is encouraged; she is taking the right steps, engaging with the metaphorical ‘map’ we
all travel, as we live our lives. The final two lines use an imperative voice, speaking directly
to the persona. It reiterates the ‘journey’ and uses second person ‘you’ and the imperative
‘must’ to drive them forward. The final line uses seasonal metaphors to present the archetypal
nature of life itself. The archetypal metaphor in the line ‘grass, sheaves and, lastly snow’
reinforces the synecdoche of the cyclic nature of time as all things in life, the passing of, the
growth of the individual leading to and from new experiences and opportunities. Dobson’s
‘grass’ is spring, youth and opportunity, a greenness suggesting naiveté. The ‘sheaves are the
harvest, the time of maturity and the knowledge and willingness to continue to reinvent and
challenge oneself before the climactic ‘assault’ of life is over. The final archetype, of ‘snow’,
symbolising winter and death presents the metaphysical imperative of a life lived to the
fullest, engaging with the ‘latch’ before we are lost to the ongoing and personified ‘Time’
that may consume us. Cleverly, Dobson presents the philosophical underpinnings of youth of
young women seen as a continuance within the frame of an artwork, fearful of the future. The
poet urges her to act and engage with a life of integrity, a life of passion and fulfilment.

The convex mirror of our lives means we do not always see clearly what lies ahead; this does
not mean we should not embark on the journey.

© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 40

 ‘Over the Hill’ (published in 1944)

Theses to develop:

Peace in solitude
Work as catharsis
Light and nature as a source of renewal
Wisdom lies in working with the patterns and rhythms of life rather than against them

Techniques:

Blank verse – Iambic tetrameter – four stressed and four unstressed feet. Eight total
beats per line except for the line in parentheses, ten beats or iambic pentameter –
deliberate disruption.
Alliterative phrasing – ‘dredges….dusk’, ‘bluntly…boots’, ‘swung…scooping’,
‘windows…west’, ‘lemon…light’, ‘day…drains’, ‘strides…strikes’, ‘move
mountains’, ‘could…cared’, ‘lifts…looks’ ‘strides….strikes…stars’ – sustained use
across the poem to sustain rhythm
Simile - ‘comparative between the dirt being kicked out of the man’s boots with
‘chaff’ – dusty and relentless
Repetition, ‘hill’ in line 9, ‘mountains’ and ‘mountain’
Internal rhyme – ‘hill’ and ‘fill’
Sibilance – ‘swung…scooping’, ‘unconscious’ and ‘insolence’
Consonance – ‘cap scooping cups’
Assonance - ‘light…pipe’
Half rhyme – lines 3 and 4, ‘behind’ and ‘wind’
Conditional – ‘Or’
Parentheses – line 11
Verb choices – ‘dredges’, ‘scooping’, ‘crests’, ‘drains’, ‘strides’, ‘stands’
Accumulation of verbs – line 17 – ‘lifts…looks…quiets’

Contexts: social, cultural, political, gender, intellectual

Values: truth, independence, integrity, patience, continuity

LIMP: literal, inferential, metaphysical and philosophical

© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 41

The poem consists of 18 lines in iambic tetrameter apart from the 11th line. The rhythm of the
poem lies in the clever use of alliterative phrasing in most lines of the poem. Consonance,
assonance and internal rhyme all create rhythms that allow the poem to move without
needing end rhyme.

The title of the poem ‘Over the Hill’ presents us with two ways of reading this poem. ‘Over
the Hill’ is a common euphemism we use in society for suggesting an individual is past
his/her prime. The poet uses the play on words here to depict the age of her persona and yet,
contradicts the notion that he has no usefulness with the energy we can draw from the
language and rhythms of the poem. An alternate visual representation exists in terms of the
painterly qualities of the poem. We may see over the hill as a place beyond our scope of
knowing, a place beyond our current experiences. Both interpretations of the title allow us to
infer that human experiences move forward and beyond where we stand. This poem,
originally published in 1944, is contained within Dobson’s first collection of poetry In a
Convex Mirror. I have added the paragraph below that is also used for the previous poem and
will be included in the analysis of ‘Summer’s End’.

If we first decode the metaphor of the title of that first edition, we can appreciate that a
convex mirror is one that bulges outwards. These mirrors, in modern experience, are
positioned at awkward intersections allowing drivers to see vehicles or objects that could
obstruct our path. We can, therefore, infer that the poems in this collection contain content
that lies unseen unless we look through the carefully positioned mirrors of others’
experiences and reflections that allow us to see the future or potential of taking risks. The
poet is asking us to see the potential for human experience does not lie in the straight paths or
vistas of experience, but rather the curves and secret places that we ourselves must take the
‘chance’ to encounter. An additional metaphorical emphasis exists across the oeuvre in terms
of ‘light’. A convex mirror bulges towards light, which is why we can see around corners;
light is insight, passion and potential. Whilst the image we see may be quite small from a
distance, the closer we get to the mirror, the larger the image. We are enlightened and
become more informed as we engage with experience, even if it lies outside of the normal
paradigms we would expect to face as we move through life. The ‘mirror’, a reflection of
human experience, allows us to see that all individuals need to engage with the unseen.

Th poem opens by presenting us with the social, cultural and political context of the persona,
a ‘workman’. The verb ‘dredges’ describes the tired and weary footfalls of a man who has
worked hard and only returns home, at ‘dusk’. There is the notion here that the man works
from dawn until dusk, he works hard and represents, most likely, a man from the land. The
poet builds imagery of the laconic and iconic man of the land throughout the poem. The
adverb ‘bluntly’ describes the ‘boots’ he wears, workman boots, strong and hardwearing, the
dirt or ‘roan earth’ glued within the ridges underneath. The adjective ‘roan’ denotes red earth,
the colour often used to describe the agrarian Australian landscape. The simile ‘like chaff’
extends the lexical chain of descriptors that define the persona as a man of the land. Chaff is
the plant matter left when the seeds have been extracted through the threshing process. The
dirt extends behind the man and is a metaphor for his history with the land inferring years of
hard labour and work.

The man, despite the inference in the title of age, is youthful. The adjective ‘swung’ to
describe his movements as he walks, a cap in hand rather than on his head, and the verb
‘scooping’ suggest he is facing into the wind. The metaphor here is of energy and
© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 42
determination, and a largess of spirit as well as physical size. Line 5 suggests that he ‘fills the
sky’, his physical presence dominating the landscape. We can imagine here the man in
silhouette against the night sky. The poet allows us to gain a perspective of her agenda, to
recognise the human experiences of individuals who have spent their lives on the land and
how they embrace the moments and do not waste the power of their presence as they work
with nature. The description of the persona’s eyes reinforces Dobson’s use of light as a
metaphysical reaction. This man has only crested the hill, he is not yet over it, he is at his
peak rather than made redundant by age. The light is ‘lemon-coloured’ gentle and almost
fragrant in description creating sentience for the reader. The man faces ‘west’ literally to
view the sunset but also presents an archetypal metaphor of the end of the day as a drawing of
one’s life to a close. The verb and adverb ‘drains away’ is used literally and metaphorically
continuing a lexical chain of a life ebbing into the sunset.

The poet, as in ‘Young Girl at a Window’, begins the next line with a conditional. These
conditionals allow us to see a new perspective of human experience. The poems, as with life,
are not limited to one interpretation of human existence or reaction. This workman’s energy
is reinforced. The verb ‘strides’ is powerful and the repetition of ‘hill to hill’ presents the
literal sense of his moving across his land, dominating it with his spirit and energy. At an
inferential level, these hills may be experiences he has had, challenges he has faced and
overcome. The persona ‘strikes’ his match and the lyrical nature, the whimsy of the line in
parentheses reinforces he is at one with nature.

The latter half of the poem changes in energy. Beginning with ‘Now’ to determine a shift, the
man stops moving. Lighting his pipe is a time where he can pause for breath and reflection.
The internal rhyme and sibilance in the next line suggests the normality and rhythms of his
actions. They are ‘unconscious’ so regular and familiar. The notion of ‘insolence’ suggests he
remains empowered by his sense of connection to the landscape. He is depicted as confident
and as having faith. The biblical allusion to moving mountains infers his values and beliefs,
but also his realisation of the responsibilities he has as an individual. The power of humanity
to hold nature in the ‘palm of one’s hand’ is something we all make decisions about. Dobson
recognises the significance of this man at this time contributing to the experience of all
humanity with his quiet restraint. Mankind may, as the workman does, interact with the very
soul of nature, but we too can ‘look’ and then ‘quiet’ those aspects of our experiences that
would disturb the natural order of nature. The workman, in the final line, chooses to let nature
lie, to let it rest just as he too will rest at this end of his day. He needs the experiences he has
to not disrupt nature; rather, he protects what he has and in doing so, his ability to continue to
exist within its presence.

The poem invites us to look at the assumptions we make about others and their experiences.
Just because we are able to do something does not mean we need to. Disrupting truth and
stability, values that contribute to our own sense of well-being, allows us to continue
experiencing the world. The poet suggests age does not define us; age does not necessarily
limit us. We can stride to the top, choose to go beyond the crest and engage in new
experiences. Alternatively, we can stand and appreciate those that have gone before us and
take away the lessons of how their experiences provide us with the wisdom to apply to our
own lives.

© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 43

 Summer’s End (published in 1944)

Theses to develop:

Continuity of the human experience

Nostalgia for the past
Reality of the present
Loneliness and isolation

Techniques:

Free Verse – the individual lines of the poem have no specific iambs; the line lengths
are different.
Enjambment – is used extensively throughout the poem linking a narrative of human
experience creating a storytelling quality to the work
Alliteration and alliterative phrasing – ‘summer’ and ‘season’; ‘wave’ and ‘winter’;
‘carries…curl…crash’; ‘rock…rebuff’; ‘hushes…houses’;
‘mermaid…married…mortal’; ‘weeps…water’; etc.
Sibilance - ‘sweeps…sunhats…surfboards…spotted scarves…sunshades
striped…screaming…seagulls…sleepers…sand’
Allusion – ‘mermaid’
Simile – like: ‘candy’…’ knives’…’slander’…
Sentience/synesthesia – smell of burning blackberries, hear children screaming, visual
depictions of the beach scene, feeling the sharpness of the sand, tasting the ‘savour’,
smelling the ‘smoke’ etc
Parentheses and repetition (years…)
Punctuation – use of dashes and ellipsis – pause and rhythm, suspense and visual and
metaphorical disconnection
Imagery – ‘sunlight’, ‘flames’
Verb choices
Adverbs
Tone – nostalgic yet circumspect;

Contexts: social, cultural, political, gender, intellectual

Values: truth, independence, integrity, patience, continuity

LIMP: literal, inferential, metaphysical and philosophical

44

Copyright Pamela Cohen 2018

‘Summer’s End’, originally published in 1944, is contained within Dobson’s first collection
of poetry In a Convex Mirror. I have added the paragraph below that is also used for ‘Young
Girl at a Window’ and ‘Over the Hill’

If we first decode the metaphor of the title of that first edition, we can appreciate that a
convex mirror is one that bulges outwards. These mirrors, in modern experience, are
positioned at awkward intersections allowing drivers to see vehicles or objects that could
obstruct our path. We can infer that the poems in this collection contain content that lies
unseen unless we look through the carefully positioned mirrors of others’ experiences and
reflections that allow us to see the future or potential of taking risks. The poet is asking us to
see the potential for human experience does not lie in the straight paths or vistas of
experience, but rather the curves and secret places that we ourselves must take the ‘chance’ to
encounter. An additional metaphorical emphasis exists across the oeuvre in terms of ‘light’.
A convex mirror bulges towards light, which is why we can see around corners; light is
insight, passion and potential. Whilst the image we see may be quite small from a distance,
the closer we get to the mirror, the larger the image. We are enlightened and become more
informed as we engage with experience, even if it lies outside of the normal paradigms we
would expect to face as we move through life. The ‘mirror’, a reflection of human
experience, allows us to see that all individuals need to engage with the unseen.

The title of the poem is ‘Summer’s End’. Following on from the analysis of previous poems
in the oeuvre, we can see the title as literal and figurative. Literally, the events and
experiences presented in the poem reflect summer activities and the aftermath and memories
of them. At a figurative level, we can apply the archetypal metaphor of summer being the
fulfilment of adulthood; the poet is writing about that aspect of human experience and how,
as we reach then surpass the zenith of that aspect of our lives, we are left with memories and
nostalgia knowing we cannot have that time in our lives again. The human experiences are
valued and treasured and yet, in hindsight, we see them in all the inglorious detail as well as
the pace at which they occurred and have past in time.

The structure of the poem is two stanzas of free verse. The poem has been numerated into
two sections entitled ‘After the Summer Season’ and ‘Picnic’. Both sections are reflective
and nostalgic in tone. Both contain visual imagery and sentience that resonates with the
reader/listener allowing them to remember similar human experiences in a visceral manner.

Section (1) ‘After the Summer Season’ begins with a long complex sentence. The lines are
enjambed creating a narrative of the flurry of summer as it ebbs away. The ‘waters’ that
cleanse are metaphorical; the refreshing cool of autumn brings the memories crashing in like
waves. The use of polysyndeton ‘and…and…’ over lines 3 and 4 suggest an accumulation of
images. The pace is established through the alliteration and alliterative phrasing. The simile
‘like candy’ reinforces the imagery, the sentience throughout creating a visceral reminder of
our own summer experiences from a range of perspectives. The poem reflects the time in
which the text was written – scarves with spots, candy-striped umbrellas that we see in
nostalgic retro images of the 1940s and Australian beach culture. The notion of beach culture
itself resonates and allows the reader to see the poem as an image of an iconic Australia that
at once endures because of the nostalgia and is no longer resonant in terms of modernity. The
first six lines are dynamic with the energy of the experience. The next three lines continue the
rush of the experience but resonate with departure, literal and philosophical as the end of the
summer brings peace and quiet back to the water’s edge. Lexical chains reinforce the
© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 45
metaphor of water, ‘curl…crash…rock…rebuff…foam…splash’. The tumultuous upheaval
of change at the end of the summer experience ends with the definitive ‘departure’.

The visual structure of the poem over the next four lines, and the final five lines, shifts the
tone to one of reflection and isolation. It is as if the speaker of the poem so loved the flurry of
energy in the summer experience that they are then forced to face the reality of the experience
once it ends. The pace changes and ‘recedes’ with the ‘wave’. The aural qualities of the poem
and the relief of landscape and human experience are reflected in the ‘sigh’. The alliterative
phrasing of ‘hushes…houses’ reflects the emptiness of holiday homes and the silence that
falls on holiday destinations which often revert to places of retirement for those left behind.
The summer has provided them with the potential to feel part of the energy of humanity but
like the ‘flies’ and the ‘cat’ they ‘settle’ or feel ‘abandoned’ in the wake of the departure. The
verbs ‘sleeks’ and ‘prowls’ that describe the cat are in face the feelings of watching homes
without families as the landscape and population dissipate into hibernation.

Loss is exemplified further in the final five lines. While the poet celebrates the opportunity to
have time and space to ‘walk’ and enjoy the ‘moonlight’ – a euphemism for reflection – she
presents an allusion that speaks to genuine isolation. The adjective ‘lonely’ resonates with
loss. The reference to a ‘mermaid’ speaks to us of the fairytale of ‘The Little Mermaid’ who
until she makes the sacrifice to give up her family and marry a ‘mortal’ only watches the
human experience but is unable to engage with them. This persona is isolated and grieving.
She ‘weeps’ and the sand is described through simile as ‘like knives’. In the original tale of
‘The Little Mermaid’ she too experiences pain as she walks among humans, the knives are of
isolation, grief and loss. Once the summer has gone, the persona is like the mermaid, merely
watching and waiting to rejoin the human experience that the following summer may bring. If
this ‘Summer’s End’ is a metaphor for age, for the end of the persona’s life, then
voyeuristically, we see this ‘mermaid’ as isolated in time. The ‘mortal’ man has gone, she
weeps for herself and her loneliness, for summers that will not return and the pain is sharp.
We too will have human experiences that are so busy, so endless at the time, so filled with
light, colour, noise, joy, laughter and indolence. We will, with each passing phase of our
lives, think back nostalgically to those moments; we will wish them back with all the energy
and innocence they contain.

Section (2) Picnic

This section presents yet another vista of human experience. We can all identify with the
visual, aural and olfactory imagery presented. Gum- leaves provide the unique Australian
context. ‘Blackberries’ that ripen in Autumn, a thorny bush, with sweet fruit that stains our
hands and mouths, are ‘burnt’ and we can image and taste the scent of the fire and the notion
of ‘smoke’ that fills the air with fragrance but at the same time, gets into our eyes, covers our
clothes and lingers long after the experience. Once again the imagery is nostalgic. The rays of
sun that flicker in and out of the smoke, ‘contest’ with it for light reminds us of the contest of
remembering and how memories become subjective and intricate in terms of what part of the
experience we want to remember and that which we selectively forget. The ‘ambush’ is a
metaphor for the risks we take on such outings, fire and landscape being natural enemies and
usually only interact through human interaction. The fire comes with ‘tongues’ almost
biblical in terms of allusions to tongues of fire that rained down on Babel and again with the
entrance of the Holy Spirit in Christian biblical narrative. The simile infers the encroachment
and all encompassing watching we do around fires; the ‘Blackened…billy’ is alliteratively
© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 46
and onomatopoeically ‘bubbling’. The poet however, suggests ‘anger’ suggesting something
aggressive. Boiling water, tea, smoke – all images of adulthood that children can view but are
excluded from touching.

The visual characteristics of the poem change as in the first section. The half line takes us on
a new experience, through the eyes of a child. Their perception of the picnic experience
vastly different from that of the adult. The first person suggests the poem has
autobiographical qualities for Dobson. ‘Twig boats’ and ‘tadpoles’ are the domain of
children; play and imagination are however, reflective as the parentheses tells us much time
as passed since these pursuits were had by this child. The resistance of nature to the physical
impressions of the child suggest this space will exist to be shared by many other children in
may other autumns. The final two lines of the poem return us to the adult experience.
Sleeping by the fire they remind us of the ‘indolence’ of the beach goers who sleep in the
summer.

In that moment, the speaker sees the power of the connection between childhood memories
and those of ourselves as adults as we remember them.
The capitalisation of Time reminds us that all human experience exists within existential
realms over which we have no control. We cannot create time, limit time, return to another
time or hold on to time; it is transient and as such, demands we act with as much integrity in
the moment as we are able. Our memories are all we have of experiences and as such are the
links between what we want to remember and how that resonates with who we have become.

The poem is about memory as an essential aspect of human experience. We are all entrapped
by memories in exactly the same way as we are able to learn from them. We have all been the
child and we may all be the mermaid woman or the mortal man. We are being exhorted here
to not forget the stages of experience or to forget that for those who get older, who have come
to the end of their summer or winter, in the metaphorical sense, ‘weep’ for what once was. If
we disregard the isolation of age then we too are doomed to continue a human experience that
only dwells in memories.

© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 47

 The Conversation published (1955)

Theses to develop:

Silence presents us with truth

Connectedness in human experience
Spiritual connection between adults and children
Joy of experience
History and experience can be shared across generations

Techniques:

Accumulation of verbs – ‘teased…spread’; ‘comb…spin’; add rhythm and emphasis

Adjectives – ‘knotted’; ‘scoured’
Alliteration or alliterative phrasing – ‘hand…horizon’; ‘wordless…wise’
First person – ‘I’
Imagery – the ‘mist’;
Paradox - do not need to use words to connect – ‘wordless’
Metaphor – ‘China’
Repetition – ‘years’
Simile – the comparative of the man’s ‘fist’ with the solidity and texture of a ‘branch/
Spoken dialogue – irony – it is unspoken

Contexts: social, cultural, political, gender, intellectual

Values: truth, independence, integrity, patience, continuity

LIMP: literal, inferential, metaphysical and philosophical

© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 48

‘The Conversation’ was first published in Dobson’s selection of poetry for her third
publication ‘Child with a Cockatoo’. The title of this selection continues Dobson’s reference
to art as a source of human experience.

The poem consists of four stanzas of six lines each. The sestets only rhyme in the fourth and
sixth line. The poem presents a paradox - a conversation that does not take place in the literal
sense, but demonstrates the connections between individuals that have spiritual depth and as
such, require no words.

The opening stanza characterises the old man. The opening line refers to a ‘fist’ rather than a
hand. The adjective ‘old’ and the accompanying simile comparing the ‘fist’ to a ‘branch,
particularly one that is ‘knotted’ suggests the extremity of age, a hand twisted into a fist with
arthritis perhaps. The notion of age here is significant as it establishes the contrast with the
second persona, who we can assume to be much younger, a child. The verb ‘punched’
reinforces the shape of his fist but is not a violent reference, rather, an energetic gesture of
welcome. The poet interprets the meaning of the gesture for us using dialogue which
however, remains unspoken. The point of the poem is to demonstrate how, in our interactions
as humans, we can connect and communicate without the necessity for words. The lyrical
description of the landscape presents a further simile, comparing the ‘mist’ to ‘wool’
inferring the older persona is a man of the land, hardworking , laconic and iconic as he stands
and shares the Australian landscape. The verbs ‘scoured…teased…spread’ accumulate
imagery of ‘clouds’ stretched out across the sky, a picturesque morning and moment shared
by both personas. The final line extends the lexical chain describing the ‘clouds’ further
reinforcing the pastoral nature of the scene. The pathetic fallacy of a mist filled valley being
rich and full, like ‘bales’ of wool, sustains the imagery and tone of peacefulness in the early
hours of the day. The rhyme in this stanza is in the fourth and sixth lines adding rhythm and
emphasis to the persona’s context. The experience of the persona, most likely an old man of
the land, resonates; the ‘wool’ metaphorically represents his life and experiences and the
fullness of the mist resonates this with a life that has been full.

The second stanza is structured quite similarly to the first. The first person singular pronouns
‘I’ adds an autobiographical context to the poem however, as a comparative of personas
within a shared human experience, the use of the pronoun could just as easily be us, the
readers, as we imagine ourselves in moments we have shared. Communication is evident as
the verb ‘nodded’ acknowledges the unspoken words of the older persona. This younger
persona wears a ‘hat’ rather than a ‘cap’ seeming to differentiate the two by gender. The
mimicking of the older persona’s gesture presents a familiarity between the two, a sign
language with which they are both familiar. The poet uses the inverted commas to signal
what the conversation would be in words, once again translating the silence of the moment
for us. The imagery in the child’s explanation is fanciful, and reveals not only continuance of
the day, but a realisation that knowledge of nature has been shared previously. The child
persona understands how the mist will shift and move across the day. The verb ‘spin’
extends the lexical chain of wool from the previous stanza and is reinforced by references to
‘fleece’ and ‘thread’ suggesting the whole experience from wool to thread as a metaphor for
life. The ‘morning…noonday…night’ further supports that this shared experience emphasises
time and continuity are links between what we do, when we do them and why: to
communicate our experience of the world despite age or the need for speech. It is a
conversation whereby we can connect on a metaphysical plane understanding the innate
metaphors of landscape and life.
© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 49
The third stanza presents the lightness of tone this poem offers, despite the weighted
significance of the poet’s message. Gestures once again feature, a hand waved, towards the
‘horizon’ presents a metaphor of largesse. The ‘careless joy’ opens the world to the young
persona. The geographical reference to ‘China’ seems to suggest the exotic that lies beyond
this landscape but that both personas can share their imagined experiences of those places.
The gesture is an invitation, a shared and joyful experience that connects these two beyond
age and time. The end rhyme in lines 4 and 6 of ‘know’ and ‘go’ suggests trust in the
unspoken conversation. Knowledge and action overrides the imagined world, possibility and
opportunity lie ahead.

The final stanza brings the reader back to the reality of the poem: shared experiences do not
need words, just acceptance of another and an innate connection that is formed through ‘years
of communication, whether verbal or habitual. The stanza begins with a simile that
emphasises solidity and permanence. There is equality between these two, despite the
difference in age. The repetition establishes that this moment and experience had been
repeated and thus explains how the two ‘know’ and understand the other without the need for
chatter. The adjectives used ‘excellent’ and ‘old’ to describe the older man are affectionate
and protective, despite the reference to him being a ‘madman’. The contrasts with this
nomenclature and the alliterative descriptive language of the final line ‘wordless’ and ‘wise’
infers that the speaker/poet realises that the vignette she presents seems odd. The message is
clear, however; the relationship is warm, locked in her memory and the experiences shared
are part of the ‘thread’ that connects us if we allow ourselves to have conversations of the
spirit rather than searching for words to express the mundane.

The poem centres us on the notion that shared human experiences do not need actual words to
express the emotions of any given event or moment. We can connect with others through
silence and these silences frame a perspective of human connection we may have lost in our
worldly busyness. The poem encourages us to sit and share a moment, a landscape, and
experience without words so that we can connect simply and freely with what our
imaginations offer rather than searching for words that will make those experiences
meaningless.

We might consider how we use Facebook or some other social media platform to send an
image of a sunset or landscape. We don’t illustrate it with words as there is no need. We can
share the emotions we have with the experience beyond the immediacy of our circumstance.
We are, in effect, having conversations that enrich both ourselves in the sharing and others in
the receiving. We may have common threads of experience that link us, considering we can
join groups with similar interests to our own who will appreciate our ‘conversation’.

There is the sense that we then have conversations in isolation however, the power of human
connection and experience lies in sharing what we see, know and understand about the world.

© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 50

 ‘Cock Crow’ (published 1965)

Theses to develop:

The soul and spirit is renewed when we seek solitude

We realise that the things we love most often are the things that limit and confine us
We are torn by the paradox between being responsible for others and having to sustain
and enrich ourselves
Spiritual experiences enriches us even if only grasped for a moment
Realisation that we often resent the things we love and cherish the most
The integrity of the mother is bound in social paradigms of sacrifice
We betray ourselves when we do not take time to renew our spirits
We can be overwhelmed by the needs, wants and expectations of others
Renewal
Motherhood and responsibility; expressions of filial duty as a voice of repression and
constraint upon individualism and personal integrity.

Techniques:

Five quatrains - Rhyming scheme abcb with half or ‘slant’ rhyme in the first and last
quatrains
Biblical allusion – betrayal of Christ alone in the garden of Gethsemane, ‘three times’,
‘denied’ ‘cock crow’
Repetition – ‘three times’ at the beginning of lines 1 and 2 of stanza 2; ‘my…my’;
‘one…one’ stanza 3;
Anaphora – ‘three times’ repeated over two successive lines for emphasis
Circular narrative in structure and content - narrative storytelling begins and ends the journey
where it started but metaphorically references the ongoing cycle of life
Metaphor – ‘road’ - journey continuity and responsibility ; ‘bridge’ – a point of separation
and challenge; ‘handle’ – control and responsibility
Symbolism – the sound and resonance of the ‘cock’ calling – reminder of new day, new
beginnings, but continuance, repetitious reminders of responsibility day after day
First person - Autobiographical voice – use of singular personal pronoun ‘I’
Syntax – line 2 of stanza 3 – begins with the past and then the present
Antithesis – connection is essential to the wellbeing of others and yet the responsibility
creates the need to be ‘alone’
Allusion – John Donne ‘The Relic’ – ‘bone’
Transitional verb –‘between’

Contexts: social, cultural, political, historical, religious, gender, intellectual

Values: sacrifice, continuity, integrity, truth, awareness, commitment, belonging,
conviction, discipline, justice, reliability, sacredness, rationality, simplicity
LIMP: literal, inferential, metaphysical, philosophical

© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 51

This poem was published in Dobson’s fifth publication of the same title as the poem ‘Cock Crow’ in
1965. The poems throughout this series resonate with Dobson’s experiences of motherhood and
domestic life amongst other themes. The relationships evident throughout the publication suggest the
innateness of human connection within human experience. Many of the poems reflect on the past as
with ‘Amy Caroline’, a poem written about Dobson’s grandmother. Whilst this poem seems to be
written in the moment, it reminds us of connections with the past – the mother – and the cyclic nature
of human experience. Indeed, the pressures Dobson feels looking after both mother and child were
most likely experienced by the generation before. The experience of family responsibility for the aged
was common during the 1960s prior to the rise of retirement homes as businesses that institutionalised
those without families or, provided respite families that were unable or unwilling to care for their
elderly relatives in their own homes.

The opening stanza establishes the perspective of the speaker. She is asserting a need to not only be
‘alone’ but asserts the need to be ‘myself’ – a internal longing to be an individual with none of the
responsibilities her current experiences place upon her. The transitional verb ‘between’ is
metaphorical, her role places her between the lives of the past and the present and a constant subplot
to the poem is a realisation that this will continue to be a narrative she herself may experience in the
future. The house is described as ‘lit’, a place of security and safety but a place were she currently
feels exposed whereas the ‘town’, placed in contrast, is a place where she can transition into the night
and be invisible even if only for this moment. The circular nature of the walk and the return to where
she has started is a significant metaphysical reminder of the cyclic nature of the life he speaker knows
she contributes to as an element of human experience.

The second stanza presents anaphoric repetition at the beginning of the first two lines. In narrative
terms, the speaker has walked this circle three times, returning to where she begins literally, not
extending the walk beyond the perimeters she has set for herself. The need to stay within the circle of
life is both something she enforces upon herself but reminds us of the paradox, the need to escape and
yet the need to stay close to where her family and responsibilities lie. The adjective ‘lonely’ is used
extending the sense of isolation the speaker both seeks and yet experiences in her role as carer. There
is the sense that the ‘three’ is an allusion to the cock crowing in the story of Jesus’ betrayal. She walks
and waits for the sound of the cockerel, knowing it will come and betray her as she copes with the
tensions of commitment and the need for individualism. The religious inference of absolution
suggests guilt associated with the speaker’s inability to resolve the tensions of her experience. The
‘bonds’ are indivisible and necessary but the poet can give them up in this moment to the ‘night’. The
darkness provides her with a moment of solace to regenerate, to feel and experience, hear her own
footsteps to provide a sense of personal connection with her inner spirit. The footsteps remind her of
her own groundedness despite the overwhelming demands that family and expectations place upon
her at this juncture of her human experience.

The intensity of the allusion to Christ’s betrayal in the garden of Gethsemane using the repetition of
‘three’ and the archaic ‘thrice’ present in this poem implies the complexity of filial duty. The
emotional insights in Dobson’s first person account infer the tensions between being responsible and
experiencing, even momentarily, individualism. These ideas can be confronting for an audience who
have not yet experienced the continuity and responsibility of parenthood or the realisation of
reciprocity experienced in adult/child relationships. The responsibilities, to both ‘mother’ and ‘child’
denote the connection between past, present and future. Continuity, a trope that resonates throughout
all the poems in the selection for study, is suggested here. The paradoxical inference is that she too
will be the mother of her poem, her child herself, a future generation responsible for the last. In this
third stanza the speaker tells us that in this moment she ‘denied’ both mother and child. The
imposition of their ‘needs’ has overwhelmed her and there is the suggestion of independence yet guilt,
the irony of seeking a moment of respite whilst knowing the need continues to exist.

© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 52

The poet is suggesting, through her wisdoms and reflections of the fourth stanza, the need to escape
the intensity of some human experiences. The biblical resonance of ‘knew’ to describe her intimate
and intense awareness of the need for respite, for time alone to recalibrate her emotions, her
exhaustion, her sense of self becomes the focus of the poem. The only way to regenerate is to ‘cut off’
to separate ourselves from the ‘pain’ we assume both literal and emotions of the mother she cares for
and, the ‘cries’ of a baby or child that rely upon the mother for comfort and sustenance – and that
cannot be provided if the mother has no ability to sustain her own individuality. The poem, written in
1965, resonates with the modern concerns of women who find the challenges of motherhood and
work as competing for attention. That Dobson exposes her own angst in this time reminds us that
there is continuity of this human experience. The contexts may change but it is essential we do not
lose sense of our individualism, our own needs if we are to be successful in meeting the needs of
others. The final line of this poem seems to make a reference to John Donne’s poem, ‘The Relic’. In
that poem, a grave is uncovered and a bracelet of human hair is found wrapped around the bone of the
wrist; the love knot of connection that reflects the value of connection and love. In this last line it is
‘love’ that surrounds the ‘bone’ the strength of what we call life, and the poet reassures the reader that
despite the tensions of her experience, she feels great love and attachment to both her charges, despite
the at times, overwhelming nature of their collective needs.

The moment from reflection is brief as the speaker comes back to reality. She suggests that her sense
of individuality is an ‘illusion’ a somewhat cynical representation. We can argue here that she is not
sufficiently committed to her responsibilities however, unless we have experiences the weight of such
responsibility ourselves we have no right or ability to judge her desire to be herself, to be able to think
and feel and worry, for even a short time, only about her own needs and desires. The speaker is
betrayed by the crowing of the rooster, dawn has come, light and morning and a new day begins. That
the speaker communicates an understanding of the meaning of the crowing, as if it is a personal
message to her, reinforces her appreciation for what lies ahead, that her responsibility has not yet
ended. Her needs are subjugated to those of others. The new days will continue to come, the nights of
reflection and respite will continue but a day will come when she is the one waiting for her needs to
be met. By negating her own responsibilities or holding them to account for her own loss of
individualism, she negates the care that one day, someone will give her. The ‘handle’ is a symbol here
of continuity; she re-enters, revitalised and refreshed for this day; her chance for respite will come
again. Her fears and angst, resentment and individual desires must be left aside for the next period of
time as she cares for her family.

The metaphysical offering here is to find a level of rationality in the simplicity, sacrifice and
sacredness of contributing to others so as to not lose one’s own sense of integrity and purpose. We all
feel the tensions of responsibility towards others. We all appreciate the continuity that lies in the cycle
of human experience. The poet allows us to say we want to be alone, that we need to find solace in a
space that gives us spiritual rest, however, we must all turn the handle and re-engage with the
responsibilities we have been given as essential moments of grace in our human experience.

‘Cock Crow’ does present the reader with a distinctly gendered perspective of human experience. The
emotional tensions and responsibilities associated with domesticity are evident. The text works well in
discussion with ‘Amy Caroline’ in terms of similar representations of gender responsibilities. The
poem can be contrasted however, with ‘The Conversation’ in terms of the easiness of human
expression and relationships.

The silences of both texts are quite different and suggest some human experiences are shared where
others are internalised and can isolate us despite the connections that are inherent with others.

© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 53

 Amy Caroline (published 1965)

Theses to develop:

Appreciation of age as a valued aspect of human experience

Importance of memories
Importance of gentility and valuing of the experiences across generations
Fiscal acuity versus generosity of spirit

Techniques:

Free verse – lack of regular metre or rhyme scheme

First person –use if ‘I’ suggests autobiographical
Geographical references – ‘Bendigo’ …’Eaglehawk’
Simile – bird simile for grandmother, comparative to suggest quickness of responses
Lexical chain – ‘perched’ continues the bird comparative
Metaphor – ‘twilight’…’meditative hour’…’semi-dark’
Enjambment – run on lines creating narrative qualities
Alliterative phrasing – ‘birds’…’bright’; ‘perched’…’piano’
Pace – use of enjambment and sentence structure; compound and complex sentences
Repetition – of place names –reinforces the memories of the past and the customs and
traditions of etiquette

Contexts: social, cultural, political, historical, religious, gender, intellectual

Values: sacrifice, continuity, integrity, truth, awareness, commitment, belonging,

conviction, discipline, justice, reliability, sacredness, rationality, simplicity

LIMP: literal, inferential, metaphysical, philosophical

54

Copyright Pamela Cohen 2018

Following on from the previous poem from the publication of Cock Crow (1965) this poem
examines the nostalgia that comes with age. New generations here of past etiquettes and
experiences and either appreciate them for the context in which they occurred or, dismiss
them – at our peril. The human experiences of the past, as with all human history, offer
lessons for the present and future. The poem reinforces Dobson’s concerns with continuity
and resonates with the benefits of human connection.

The poem is a first person reflective narrative poem. The poet begins by introducing the
persona of the poem, ‘my grandmother’. We learn her age ‘ninety’ then the characterisation
begins that presents values and personality traits. The verb ‘chanced’ refers to whatever and
whomever her grandmother met. That she met them with ‘kindness’ suggests a gracious
character aware of her contribution to the human and natural world. The poet uses simile and
analogy to compare the grandmother to a bird, movements are sharp and precise, she misses
nothing with her ‘bright eyes’.

The graciousness and generosity of the persona is evident in her willingness to share what she
gathers with others. The geographical references to ‘Bendigo’ and ‘Eaglehawk’ are both
historical spaces and times where the persona has grown up and experienced the world in
such a way that she knows the value of generosity. The notion of preparing a place at the
table for ‘strangers’ reflects another time in human experience when we were less concerned
with safety, where there was trust, a willingness to care for those who had less than ourselves.
Considering the time of writing, the grandmother would have experienced her early years
during the Depression prior to World War II. The ‘custom’ Amy Caroline has observed has
become part of her perception of human experience, the ‘kindness’ extending to individuals
who may have less than our experience has offered us.

The adjective to describe the house is ‘thin’ suggesting the building is fragile and old,
echoing the fragility of the bird imagery surrounding the persona. The sentience of the
following line suggests the sensations of heat and cold, the sound of rain on the roof are all
part of the fabric of the experience, both literally and figuratively, of the grandmother. A
fiscal element of human experience is referred to in terms of contrasting the generosity of
sharing with others and with nature. This sharing of experience enriches not only those who
are the recipients but Amy Caroline herself who finds joy in the world she has created and
sustains. The saving of water (long before we became careless of and now climate aware in
our saving of the same resource) demonstrates a frugality and usefulness that reflects an
overall realisation of contributing to a world greater than ourselves.

Time, a frequent element of Dobson’s poetry suggesting human experience is one of

continuity and change is noted through the lexical chain of ‘twilight…meditative hour’ and
‘semi-dark’ suggesting the time for reflection has come for the persona and the speaker. Age
is the reference here, and the nostalgia of remembering the values of the grandmother, and
placing those within the experience of the speaker infers an ongoing connection between the
past and present.

Listing of circumstances ‘eight children…money’ suggests this is not a narrative of a human

experience born of wealth and entitlement. The persona has experienced life with challenges
and yet, has met these with graciousness and few regrets. The final lines add humour; the
persona wished for her own ‘jinker’, a buggy that she could have driven in. That the persona
wanted it for herself, suggests her desire was more for independence than for the object of
© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 55
transport itself. Dobson is reaffirming ideas present in ‘Cock’s Crow’ here. She is suggesting
that women had little independence. That their worlds were circumscribed by what they did
for others and highlights the sacrifices they made where their own wants and desires were
concerned.

The poem allows us to reflect on the human experiences of those who went before us. Their
experiences are what confirm the nature of who we become. If we have witnessed hardship in
the past then we work to avoid the pressures or inconveniences of them in our present or
future. If we witness kindness and frugality and see them as values that reflect a sense of
integrity and dignity in the experiences of others, we are more likely to act with the same
values in our own lives.

The poem speaks to a nostalgic past. The human experiences are not, however, far from our
own in the modern world we inhabit. Generosity has, to some extent, been lost by the fears
we have of others – a result of the human experiences we hear about that have had negative
ramifications. Frugality has become lost to a society that increasingly encourages materialism
and consumerism – and yet increasingly we read about individuals and groups who seek to
step away from that aspect of society and seek a life more simple, more rich in human
relationships.

The poem invites us to reflect on the human experiences of the past, of those we know and
study, and explore ways their worlds were rich in relationships rather than riches themselves.

© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 56

 Canberra Morning (published 1978)

Theses to develop:

As we age we can reflect upon and view human experience

The insights we read into the experiences of others as we age
The transience of experience

Techniques:

Punctuation – use of colon- establish pause, create emphasis and rhythm; hyphenated
adjectives – rhythm;
Alliterative expression – ‘long…like…low-…’; ‘starlings…school-…swinging’;
Simile – shadows/cats
Analogy – children compared to birds using sentience – sound
Lexical chain – verbs used to construct cat imagery in stanza one
Allusion – ‘Satre’ – philosopher – anomaly of bus driver as philosopher while he
listens to the pop culture of ‘Top Forty’
First person – autobiographical voice/speaker
Tone – cynical and voyeuristic, insight drawn from experience, reflective –
‘slantwise’

Contexts: social, cultural, political, historical, religious, gender, intellectual

Values: continuity, integrity, truth, awareness, belonging, conviction, reliability,
rationality, simplicity
LIMP: literal, inferential, metaphysical, philosophical

© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 57

Published in 1978, more than a decade has passed since Dobson’s writing of ‘Cock’s Crow’.
Her family have grown, her writing has evolved and she has become an increasingly
respected literary figure in Australian culture. ‘Canberra Morning’ features in a collection of
poetry entitled ‘Over the Frontier’. A frontier is a line, a demarcation between two states of
land or being. This poetry, published thirteen years after ‘Cock’s Crow’ thus establishes a
demarcation in the poetry of motherhood and the metaphorical summer of Dobson’s poetry to
a richer autumn of human experience. By this stage in Dobson’s life she is living in Canberra.
Her husband, Alec Bolton, has begun Brindabella Press. Responsibilities and pressures of
raising children have eased and Dobson is again writing but with a new perspective of herself
and the world she inhabits. She has been fully involved in the poetry movement Australia has
experienced and her work sits unique amongst some of the more masculine voices of her era.

This poem geographically places Dobson in Canberra where she lives. The poem, rather than
focusing on a work of art or specific individual, focuses on the inward eye, the reflective
perspective of the poet. Her perceptions of the world, of individuals and groups who inhabit it
are more voyeuristic where her previous poems seem to dwell within the experiences shared
with others.

The poem begins with the single word ‘Morning’ followed by a colon suggesting what
follows will list the experiences she sees distinct from those she feels. Observation is the
focus of the poem and the ‘shadows’ she sees are presenting in simile, creating a comparative
with a cat. This cat is ‘low-bellied’ and subject to creeping under cars. There is a sense of the
shadows hunting, presented through the adverb ‘stealthily’. The observation is acute. Time
has been spent watching and there is the appreciation of being able to spend time watching
the world rather than having to actively participate in its busyness.

The second stanza presents a contrasting vignette. The sentience present here is of noise,
laughter, children as ‘chatterers’ waiting at a bus stop in the morning on their way to school.
The simile of the children being like ‘starlings’ suggests their noise if pervasive, even a
nuisance. They break the silence of the quiet silence in the opening stanza. They are observed
as evidence of life, of continuity and the future. Their ‘haversacks’ hold their lunches,
schoolwork and futures. They tease ‘pulling ribbons’ and as such, the poet reflects on the
experiences of childhood but is distanced from its presence.

The bus driver is the next observation. Interestingly, there is something cynical in the
representation, he is an anomaly. The bus driver has a book in his ‘pocket’ ‘Satre’ – John
Paul Satre, a philosopher, poet and playwright – giving him the air of being sophisticated and
academic which belies his occupation. Is he reading What is Literature? or, The Age of
Reason or, Being and Nothingness? The philosophical is contrasted with his physical
description, wearing ‘dark glasses’ implies he cannot see clearly, or hides behind them, his
eyes not showing light or connection with the children who will ride to school on his bus.
Indeed, we sense he is distanced from the world and human connections around him through
the use of the adverb ‘moodily’ describing how he listens to the music of his time. The poem,
presents his paradox – Satre to popular culture. He is listening to the ‘Top Forty’ an iconic
representation of how the landscape of music continually changes as musicians compete for a
place in the popularity of its listeners. His human experience is viewed from the speaker’s
perspective, viewing others and observing them as subjects to be studied; they have become
the paintings Dobson wrote about in her earlier poetry.

© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 58

The last stanza however, exposes the difference in perspective of the poet. Rather than
looking for humanity and experience in static works, she is observing human nature with its
inherent inconsistencies, motivations and flaws. The speaker reflects on how life has changed
in age; she is able to look back at the angst and experiences that have controlled her
responses and been the stimulus of her writing in the past. She recognises and acknowledges
that all experiences are relevant in the context of age. She can look at the world through eyes
that are ‘slantwise’ from different perspectives. The human experiences she witnesses in this
poem do not have to form the basis of her own, neither do they need to be judged for what
they are or analysed for what they means. They are mere observations.

The poet is acknowledging that everyone’s morning – a metaphor for new beginnings – is
theirs to make or live or sustain. The hopes and dreams, the lack of need to control or
accommodate anything more than observation frees the speaker. Perspective is all that
matters rather than the subject of human experience itself.

© Pamela Cohen 2018 Page 59