Clive Samson, in his poem called the ‘Hymn Of The Scientific Farmer,’ demonstrates to us his knowledge and awareness of the destructive nature of human agricultural practices on the world. Written at the age of fifty-nine, Clive Sansom has shown the world how we can improve our surroundings and ourselves by finding a less destructive way of sustaining our needs.
‘Hymn Of The Scientific Farmer’ does not sing the praises of modern farming methods as might be suggested by its title, but is an example of a satirical poem that criticizes the way in which farmers are destroying the land that they now exploit for their own short-term benefit.
As the poet describes in the battleground, the foe ‘slaughter trees in thousands,’ ‘strips the lanes of hedges,’ ‘rob the flour of virtue,’ and ‘pump the fowls with hormones,’ all for short term benefit. The foe’s opinion of the consequence of these practices are also expressed with naïve and fallible comments that they will ‘take the gains and go’ when the land is destroyed and will ‘not be there to see’ the consumers who ‘die of cancer’ due to the foe’s malpractices.
It is straightforwardly identifiable to the reader the weapons that the victorious side has used to massacre the foe. Using a direct satire (A first-person speaker addresses the reader whose conversation helps further the speaker’s purpose) in the poem, the victorious side has massacred the foe using the weapons of structural irony (e.g. the farmers judgment/conscience is impaired by personal interests), innuendo (e.g. the indirect suggestion of the legitimacy of the farmers practices), and indirect contemptuous suggestion of the farmers.
Clive Sansom comes out victorious over the farmers. He demonstrates the generally selfish and ruthless attitude of the farmers and allows the reader to easily identify the destructive and poor ethics that these farmers hold. His final satirical victory over the farmers is summed up by the following comments made by the foe; ‘exploit the parts like fury-Forget about the whole’ (i.e. Use up the resources and forget about the future consequences that this will bring).
Another excellent satirical poetry writer is Bruce Dawe. Bruce Dawe is one of the most motivating and honest poets of our time; he is also good at slaughtering the enemy in his satirical poems although he refuses to admit it. Being a resident to Geelong, most of Dawe’s poetry concerns the common person- his poems are a recollection of the world and problems around him. ‘Life Cycle’ is one of his more familiar poems that deals with how Victorians are influenced by football. The poem is satirical in a sense that it ridicules how football for some people has become something like a religion.
The poem describes the general cycle of life for a resident in Victoria. Within the battleground, the poet has shown the fanaticism of football supporters in an indirect satirical approach. From birth, children are encouraged to barrack for their teams and build up a life around football. Important things in life such as marriages and proposals are just detours to football, completed swiftly in between games.
The victorious poet uses weapons such as scorn, irony, innuendo, sarcasm and humor to expose the foolishness and somewhat pitiful nature of the foe. When the poet uses the words ‘behold,’ ‘passion,’ and ‘empyrean,’ the poet creates excellent sarcasm. It is as if he is asking the reader why football is more important to the supporters then religion. The poet puts down the enemy in a subtle manner. He shows us how obsessive, unfulfilling and dull the lives of football supporters are. In an indirect way, the poet puts down the enemy by showing their way of life. This in turn creates humor. The ironical part of the poem is the fact that the football supporters do not realise the extent of their obsession towards football and the degree to which it is excluding their lives from the vast world around them.
The last slaughtering word at the end of the poem (‘having seen in the six-foot recruit from Eaglehawk their hope of salvation’) suggest that it is not God who the foe view as their salvation at the conclusion of life, but the football teams future. They view salvation as the new football player who could resurrect their team back to victory. This demonstrates how pointless and futile their lives are and the extent to which football is the basis of their existence.
Bruce Dawe has victoriously ridden the foe of any dignity. He has ridiculed the supporters circuitously and shown the reader how we can become so involved in something that we no longer recognize the beauties of nature and life. This in turn encourages the reader to change his or her life and to try and reach a balanced lifestyle.
Overall, both poets have been victorious over their foe. They have managed to successfully create a satirized poem using some if not all weapons against the foe. They have also been triumphant in leaving a message for the bystanders of the battle, whether it is change in attitude and life or avoidance of certain characteristics that may overtake our lives.
