Judith Wright

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What are some common themes between the poetry of Judith Wright and Heaney?

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Wright and Heaney's poetry are similar in that they both use nature to inspire a sense of awe and reverence. They both recognize something greater than themselves in the land. These poets also value their homeland, but they do it in different ways. Wright makes direct references to her Australian land and people, whereas Heaney focuses more on Ireland's history and heritage. However, we can still see how important their homelands are to them by how well they write about these places. Conclusion: It is clear that Judith Wright and Seamus Heaney have many similarities as well as differences in their poetry styles and themes. However, there are also some strong connections between them through their common feelings towards the land.

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Judith Wright is largely known for poems focusing on aboriginal Australia and Australian issues, whereas a lot of Seamus Heaney poems focus on his native Ireland. Still, there are plenty of similarities to be drawn despite the difference in location. Both Heaney and Wright incorporate themes of naturalism and ideas of nature as a type of mythical, powerful force. While these are done in very different ways, the theme still is there. Let's look at some of famous poems from the two.

Wright's poem "Northern River" is an excellent example of how she treats nature in her poetry. The poem immediately begins with her returning to thoughts of a river when "summer days grow harsh," suggesting a type of healing and almost spiritual power that the river she speaks of has. She then speaks of a "sea that encompasses / all sorrow and delight," once again showing that nature is...

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more powerful, more knowing than human beings. "Northern River" reads like an ode to a specific place that is important to her.

Similarly, Heaney's "Bogland" is an ode of sorts to the bogs of Ireland. In this poem, he invokes a feeling of spiritual grandiosity by connecting the landscape to large stretches of time: "Butter sunk under / More than a hundred years" and "Missing its last definition / By millions of years." He reminds us how long this place has been around, and the use of terms like sinking, melting, strip and bottomless and suggest an ancient power to the landscape, just as Wright did in hers.

Additionally, Heaney uses terms like "we" and "our" in this poem frequently, which mirrors how Wright said "my river" in "Northern River." This creates a theme of national pride and connection to their environments, as if the environments they write about are a part of themselves and their own national identities.

I think the best way to find thematic connections between these two poets is to look at how they write about their respective natures from their respective homelands. I hope this is a good jumping off point, good luck!

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