Bruce Dawe's Poetry: Sometimes Gladness - Discuss the ways in which at least two of Bruce Dawe's poems use sound to contribute to their meaning.

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Yr 11 English Lit. Long Essay

Emma Bright

Bruce Dawe's Poetry: Sometimes Gladness

Discuss the ways in which at least two of Bruce Dawe's poems use sound to contribute to their meaning.

The sounds created by the words, language and techniques in a poem can greatly add to the meaning, as Bruce Dawe demonstrates in several of his poems within Sometimes Gladness. Dawe carefully makes use of the language he selects, the pace, rhythm and flow of the poem, the sounds of words, which evoke certain feelings, and the use of such poetic techniques like onomatopoeia to contribute to how we perceive his poetry. This is especially evident within his poems "Weapons Training" - a poem about training soldiers for the war, and also "Homecoming" - which describes the stages of bringing the dead bodies home from war. The sounds created in these poems help the reader contemplate what is trying to be said, and what message Dawe would like to portray. Use of poetic techniques is an evident method of creating these sounds to reveal more about the meaning of the poem.

Bruce Dawe's use of poetic techniques within his poem "Weapons Training"