Rosemary Dobson

Before we start with the poems

• Do you remember who Rosemary Dobson is?

• What did she write about?

Classwork from the previous lesson

Words to Define: • Cherubs: a winged angel • Mizzen-mast: The third mast on a ship, usually after the biggest one. • Agape: mean to love (Greek agapi), in Christian theology love of God or Christ • Triton: Greek god, messenger of the sea, a merman son of Poseidon. • Conch: name give to a number of sea snails, also known by their shell • Scrolls: a roll of papyrus, parchment, paper containing writing. • Heathen: a person not relating to the widely held religions by those who do • Columbus: An Italian traveller who went to Portugal and was sent to explore. • Isle of Pearls: a collection of islands in Panama (between North and South

America) • Square-rigged: The set out of the sails • De Bry (‘Will’): A traveller who drew detailed drawings of the New World • hatch: small opening which allows access from one place to another

• Accumulation: the collection or amass of items.

• Emphasis: special importance or stress on an idea.

• Italics: the use of a slanting font when we wish to emphasise an idea.

• Historical allusion a reference to something that has happened in history and is similar or happening again.

Why do we tell stories?• Look and think about the following question. Then

answer them

• Why do we tell stories?

• When do you tell stories?

• Why is the pub or a gathering a place to tell stories?

Traveller’s Tale

• Where is the play set?

• What is the speaker describing?

• Why do you think the speaker uses such imagery?

• What do you think is the purpose of the poem?

Ghost Town: New EnglandRosemary Dobson

Where is it set?

• It is in the north of NSW, we established this in class Tuesday.

• What kind of climate and landscape do you expect in this place?

• Why is it called rural?

Stanzas of the poem

• Write a sentence next to each stanza describing what it is about.

• For the language techniques used, draw a table for the six stanzas and name and give an example of the techniques used.

• Techniques found: imagery, repetition, metaphor

Ideas from the poem Discovery of new lands and landscapes does not always result in a sustained pattern of settlement Discovery is often a rediscovery of a past we need to engage with if we are to appreciate the impermanence of existence We need to take time to ‘see’ with the poet’s eye or that of anyone who can give us insight into the social and cultural landscapes that frame our view of a national identity Rediscovery leads to new understandings of a world beyond ourself – an appreciation of what others experienced, the isolation and the community of the past.Emotional relics of the past remind us that we are all subject to becoming artefacts that, once explored and evaluated, may present a continuance between the past and the present and the future sense of being and connection to a national landscape. A state of being and not being – existence then none- the epiphany that all things are subject to transitional continuums

The Tiger• Is about the process of writing, the troubled mind of a poet is like that of a

caged tiger. Structure: a quatrain poem (4 lines per stanza with the rhyme scheme abcb)

• The first stanza describes the feeling of being caged, lack of freedom, having no voice and the urge to break free. Alliteration, metaphor is used.

• Stanza two explains how the poet is trapped by what is to be written on the page. The poem makes reference to the past when the writer was able to express themselves, however at this stage they are stuck.

• Stanza three describes the gaze of the poet, looking staring looking for the light, the answer. The poet is hunting, watching, trying to seek the words.

• The last stanza invites the reader to discover the meaning and voice of the poet in the poem. Alliteration is used again but it changes from ‘black bars’ to ‘black-barred’. Captive is repeated twice.

Discovery demands that we look beyond the literal act of reading, finding, seeing and develop understanding; that we demand to learn something from the experienceDiscovering the poet, writer or artist’s voice will enable us to be enriched by their passions, hurts, light, darkness, sorrows and frustrations as they convey the richness of human experience Discovery of words and images that will express the innermost notions of all things human which can be both frustrating and empowering, confronting and provocative To fully appreciate the poet’s voice we need to discover our own voice or identity We are reshaped and refined by the discoveries of others If we wish to find insight into others we must first understand ourselves Poetry is a form of discovery; a powerful force that can expose and affirm Constraints on poetic form and discovery- acceptability of form in the audience and critic’s world as a limitation of inventiveness As an allusion or homage to William Blake, references the notion of creativity and daring – taking the risk to write, to reference, to challenge, to adapt, to refine and to create anew – the antithesis of creativity

Young Girl at a Window

• The title gives the idea of a young girl, before becoming a teenager, will now embark on life. The negativity, the complexity and the suffering that life may entail. The girl is on the threshold of mature life which brings with it the realisation that time is finite and humans are mortal. It marks the transition between childhood to adulthood.

• Stanza one: What is happening in this stanza? What is the mood? Poetic techniques used?

• Stanza two: What is being referenced in the first line? What does the clock signify? Poetic techniques used?

• Stanza three: What is happening here? How is the mood different here?

Reflection on what we were and what we have become should be shared to allow others to recognise their own limitations and potential to discover themselves Time is relevant, whether past, present or future providing us with the potential to discover then share or enact moments of growth and change Discovery is what we experience when we dare ourselves to take control of the present and engage with the futureRegret is what occurs when we miss the opportunities for discovering what lies beyond the metaphorical frames from which we envision the world Imagine greatness, embrace hardship, look for challenge and engage with possibilitiesTime will be your greatest enemy if you do not act to engage with potential discoveriesReflect upon the present and how the past has made it a realityPotential is the key; take a chance to discover what lies ahead rather than procrastinate about what dangers or ramifications may exist

Cock Crow

• Read the poem

• Makes notes as you read.

• Can you tell what kind of discovery it is?

Techniques?

• Anything similar to the Bible?

• What techniques have you found?

• Structure?

Discovery of the soul and spirit is renewed when we seek solitude (spiritual)We discover that the things we love most often are the things that limit and confine usWe are torn by the paradox between being responsible for others and having to sustain and enrich ourselves.Spiritual discovery enriches us even if only grasped for a momentDiscovery that we often resent the things we love and cherish the mostThe integrity of the mother is bound in social paradigms of sacrifice We betray ourselves when we do not seek to rediscover and renew our spiritsWe can be overwhelmed by the needs, wants and expectations of others to the point we miss moments of profound discoverySeek self and seek wisdomRenewal is an essential aspect of self discoveryMotherhood and responsibility; expressions of filial duty as a voice of repression and constraint upon individualism and personal integrity.Dilemma of wanting freedom but having an innate and overwhelming sense of responsibility"Rhyme scheme abcb (stanza 2-4), biblical allusion (3 times), repetition, metaphor (about continuity and responsibility), written in first person.

Painter of Antwerp• Look at the painting on the second page of the booklet

by Pieter Brueghel.

• What is the painting about? (Icarus)

• Look up the legend of Icarus and write a paragraph about it?

• What perspective is presented in the poem?

• Read the poem and look at the painting again. Any differences?

The painting was itself inspired by one Greek myth that relates a story about a father and son team. The father, Daedalus, built artificial wings to allow his son, Icarus, to fly away from where they had been imprisoned. Icarus got a little too excited about the ability to fly, and even though his father told him not to, he flew too close to the sun, which melted the wax in the wings and caused Icarus to fall. "The painting by Pieter Breugel captures the day that Icarus attempted to fly and plummeted to the ocean. In this painting it's spring; there are images of farming, of herds of animals, and of merchant vessels at sea. There's also a tiny set of legs and a little splash where Icarus hits the ocean. "When you start mentioning Icarus around poets, they understand that Icarus is a symbol. He has come to represent someone who pushes beyond his boundaries. The Greeks probably meant the story to be lesson to those who heard it - stay in your place and don't try to rise above what humans can do.

The Renaissance

• Is best known as the reinterpretation of the classics in a new historical perspective rather than a radical rediscovery.

• Others call it the rebirth, which it is, the old knowledge being found again.

The poem• The poem opens by directly addressing the painter

Pieter Brueghel. He often painted landscape views with peasants in them (village life) and religious paintings.

• The poem has the painter ‘plodding homewards’ from his trip to Italy. Why was he in Italy? (Think renaissance).

• Why does Dobson depict Brueghel as ‘plod(ding) homeward….pondering’?

• Why does he not interact with the painter at Padua?

• What does Brueghel discover as he ‘looked backwards’ from the ‘tops of the Alps”?

• This poem is an ekphrastic poem as it responds to Brueghel’s painting Landscape with the Fall of Icarus. What do you think Brueghel discovers about the world, causing him to paint this picture?

Notes: Dobson’s ‘Painter at Antwerp’ alludes to Brueghel’s

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus painted c1558; her poem constructs an imagined narrative of the ramifications of man extending his reach beyond human capacity. The final lines of the poem reflect the consequences of Brueghel’s narrative with the literal reference to the artwork of ‘two feet out of the sea’.

Dobson’s work lies in the allegory she is constructing of myth and adventure, daring and risk that are overshadowed by the reality of experience and the need to remember that the fanciful, the imagined whilst exciting and reflective of growth and progress must be balanced, perhaps even overshadowed by the need to retain the ‘plod’ of life. Effectively, Dobson reveals that the mythical is often a reflection of art, art is a reflection of life and her art poems become a continuance of a narrative that extends beyond time; we all invent, we all see the consequences yet mankind continues to challenge the boundaries – the results and consequences still to be measured.

• Techniques used?

Aesthetic experiences, journeys and discoveries can both provoke and inspire usNew ideas can be confronting and dauntingInner realisations of truth and being evolve from our interactions with people and the environmentWonder is made possible by exposure to the new and realisation of it as contrived and irrelevantNew experiences and new visions allow us to both realise and accept shifts in our social and cultural paradigmsAccessing the idea of the artist allows us to discover the historical wonder of the enduring qualities and influences of art through poetryWe can learn from our discoveries – we do not have to adapt to a prevailing attitude; it is appropriate and insightful to locate the art, thought and representation that we have within us and know it too will be valued The modern and the technological do not outweigh the pedantic and the ordinary; all discoveries have worth if we look closely at how they convey humanity in all its strengths and weaknesses.Pejorative reasoning of what is admired and what represents reality helps us to discover a truth that allows us to acknowledge the artist does not need to always be innovative; sometimes it is right to represent the humbleHumility outlasts pride; the paradox of inventivenessThere are rich discoveries to be found in representations of the ordinary that in itself, represents the extraordinary – a metaphor for Dobson’s poetry