Suburban Lovers: A Poetic Reflection on Young Love

1. Bruce Dawe THEME: LOVE/RELATIONSHIPS By as little as a look - 1967 The Turnstiles - 1981 Definition of Loving - 1981 Suburban Lovers- 1968

2. Context the poet’s world • Australian poet born in 1930 – present • Lacked direction when he got older and got experience in a variety of occupations: labourer, postman, university failure, air force officer, father, teacher • Wrote most of his poems during the Vietnam War (social context of the time) • His life experience in all these areas helped Dawe to empathise with people from all different backgrounds. • Empathy is a main characteristic of his poetry and he gives a voice to so-called “ordinary” Australians. • Ability to express drama and beauty of everyday life makes it easy to relate to for the general public.

3. Suburban lovers (1968)

4. SUBURBAN LOVERS – ANNOTATED

5. Subject matter + purpose • Subject Matter: • Young lovers from the suburbs who catch a train to and from work everyday. Bruce Dawe clearly establishes his subject matter in the title of his poem. • Theme: • The innocence of young love // Love is blind • Purpose: • To evoke emotion from the reader.

6. emotion • Tone (author’s attitude toward the subject): • Calm, relaxed • Mood (emotions evoked by the poet in the reader): • Contended, happy, at ease • Atmosphere (setting created through poet’s word choice): • Peaceful (in the lover’s world)

7. Craftsmanship - structure • 23-line poem made up of 2 stanzas • Stanza 1 = 11 lines • Stanza 2 = 12 lines • Written in free-verse – no distinct rhyme scheme

8. Craftsmanship - Language • Dawe uses figurative language to creatively interpret a trip on public transport. • Figurative language = language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation. Literal language is when a writer states the facts as they are. • Dawe uses a range of language techniques such as alliteration, metaphors, personification and imagery to express how the two lovers view the world.

9. Craftsmanship – iMAGERY

10. Craftsmanship – movement • Gentle • Calm • Remains the same the whole way through • First stanza is more rhythmic

11. Craftsmanship - sounds

12. SUMMARY • Bruce Dawe’s poem was not like his many other war poems, but rather a creative and emotive take on the suburbs and the simpler side of life. • Dawe is communicating the beauty in suburbia represented by his young lovers. • The world of suburbia is presented as a force that almost cocoons the lovers. Even the physical infrastructure of the suburbs is built with the purpose of: ‘sustaining them / against years’ seepage.’ • The language techniques used emphasise the content of the poem and also relates to his portrayal of ‘everyday’ Australians making it easy to relate to.

13. Personal connection • Dawe’s use of figurative language makes the poem interesting because you have to work to understand what he is trying to say. • Layers of meaning added depth and intrigue to my understanding of the poem while still remaining peaceful and calm on the surface • I can relate to some aspects of this poem as I, myself, caught the train twice a day for 9 years straight. • My train rides became a place a solitude where I would debrief on my day. In a way and observe the strangers that would come and go on each stop. Rather than being the one of the ‘lovers’ in this poem, I was more of an observer. I too, would often look out of the windows at the suburbs/ the world… • Perspective • Role reversal

14. bibliography HOW TO REFERENCE Book: Last Name, First Name. Title of book, Publisher company, Place of publication, year it was published. Website: Last Name, First Name. ‘Article Title’. Website Title. URL. Date Published. Web. Date Accessed.