AUSTRALIA by A.D.HOPE - An Analysis

Background:

Australia is a country filled with migrated people. Most of them are dependent on government. Even though they are migrated, they have some strict government rules and regulations. The author wants to identify themselves who really they are.

Australia is a poem by A.D.Hope. His major subjects are English and Philosophy. His collection of poem is ‘Wandering Island’ (1955). The first five stanzas deal with how the Australia is.

He says that Australia is a mechanical and monotonous land. In this poem, he says that his country is intentionally traumatized. The poem gives a kind of negative perception regarding Australian culture. The poem reflects the lack of individualism and spiritual poverty. It is the continent with an ambiguous state.

The first stanza conveys that the trees in Australia are dull and it stood in a desolate place. Generally, the term NATURE is a charming thing but in this continent it looks like a desolated one. Nobody cares about it. Many people give importance to their outer appearance. They do not care about inner beauty. Appearances can be deceptive. The author compares this to a ‘Sphinx’.

The people in Australia are heterogenous in their tradition.The author called them as Young but it ironically conveys their immaturity. He points out the vulnerability of land and the theme of rebellion. By reading this poem, the readers come to know that he is against his country. He says that there is no proper sense with respect to their culture. He adds that they are not creative and independent.

From the famous spot Cairns to Perth there is only flow of stupidity. He says that the people are stupid and foolish. The people in this continent are not living , they are surviving. He calls five teeming stores which denote Melbourne, Sidney, Perth, Canberra, Adelaide. The people in these places have not had their own identity. They are like parasites which dependent on others.

The author calls that their mind as ‘of Australian dumb like’ . He says that their mind is dumb like people who lives in the Arabian desert. He is waiting for his prophecy to come true. They themselves call as civilized people but there is no civilization.

By RAGHAVI, COIMBATORE