How does Dawe demonstrate concerns about society and humanity in his poetry?

Essay How does Dawe demonstrate concerns about society and humanity in his poetry? The desensitisation and dehumanisation of modern society is a concern that plagues the entire western world today. Since the development of television and societies exposure to the media, humanity has evolved into an existence where the gaining of commodities has taken over human morality and consciousness. Dawe testifies the dehumanisation and desensitisation aspects of war upon the human race as a whole. Concerns about society are evidently represented in Bruce Dawe’s poems Homecoming (1968), Weapons Training (1970), and The Not So Good Earth (1966). Each poem explores the harsh realities of war on humanity illustrating the complexities of dehumanisation and desensitisation via the composer’s exploitation of techniques including literary techniques and poetic devices. These techniques and in correlation with certain concerns aid in outlining humanities impassiveness to the human suffering of others. The senseless reality, tragedies of war and foremost the dehumanising and desensitisation effects of war are conveyed in the elegy for the Australian soldiers in the Vietnam War, Homecoming. Dawe epitomises dehumanisation in the first stanza, by exposing a decline in the moral values of humanity. This is revealed through action verbs “they’re picking”, “they’re zipping”

  • Word count: 879
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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