Bruce Dawe Poem Analysis

Dawe relies on common issues to form the backbone of his poetry, all of which are known to a much larger, or even global audience. Life-Cycle is arguably one of the most Australian poems, and tells the story of Australian rules football culture, by referring to common slang terms; such as “carn”, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (A.N.Z.A.C) pledge and “bludger”, that transforms the reader into the passionate and vocal audience of a football game. So yes, this poem, at surface level, is Australian - although, the main theme of loyalty is universal. The poem explores the stages of life that a child goes through, growing up supporting a team, which in this case is assumed to be AFL; although isn’t specifically mentioned, meaning it could relate to any sport. …show more content…
Made up by the loyal supporters (“the elderly still crying”) and the new ones (“first league game”). Another point to note is that AFL is not really well liked all over Australia and some states don’t actually have a football team (Tasmania) or, if they do (Sydney), the team is new and doesn’t draw a crowd that “the voice of God booms from the stands”. Homecoming is another one of Dawe’s poems that refers back to the diggers coming back from the Vietnam War. In the time period, it is easy to see how the poem could be recognised as Australian. Historically there were many protests across the nation for Australian men specifically, which are validated when the poet states that bringing the men home is “too late”. Nowadays, there is no War going on, getting signed up is a choice and there is less propaganda to sign young men