Eliza R
Wright has a strong concern for the importance of the human relationship with nature as well as the need for a sense of continuity in time
Judith Wright’s poetry evokes a deep sense of the importance of human relationships with nature. Through her constant use of organic, fruitful imagery she conveys the intrinsic importance she places upon connections and the need for a sense of continuity in time. The process of natural creation is one which Wright espouses through her references to the “seed” and “fruit” of creation in poems “Woman to man” and “Woman to child”. Her poetry exhorts readers to connect with the land and the culture of its original custodians, the aborigines, in “Bora Ring”. Yet Wright condemns humanity for its destructive capabilities; “we are ruined by the thing we kill” she laments in Australia 1970. She suggests that out disconnection with the land as a result of our consumerism, war and greed, causes a sense of imbalance and loss, and she emphasises this through her imagery in “Patterns”. Wright describes humanity as not yet having reached a sense of cosmic balance which Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, advocated; it seems that out ‘human pattern’ is one of destruction and disconnection, and essentially this is the idea Wright’s collection explores; human beings “unravel everything” leaving an ultimately soulless creation in our wake.
Wright conveys the joy and connection felt in child bearing in poems like “Woman to man” and “woman to child”, through her use of sensual imagery referring to the organic nature of the biological connections between human beings. The speaker evokes images of the child in the womb in “woman to man” as she says “the selfless, shapeless seed I hold builds for its resurrection day”. The alliteration of “selfless, shapeless seed” conveys a feeling of connection, whilst the reference to the seed suggests a sense of continuity in time as life begins with the seed. The reference to the resurrection of Jesus Christ
Judith Wright’s poetry evokes a deep sense of the importance of human relationships with nature. Through her constant use of organic, fruitful imagery she conveys the intrinsic importance she places upon connections and the need for a sense of continuity in time. The process of natural creation is one which Wright espouses through her references to the “seed” and “fruit” of creation in poems “Woman to man” and “Woman to child”. Her poetry exhorts readers to connect with the land and the culture of its original custodians, the aborigines, in “Bora Ring”. Yet Wright condemns humanity for its destructive capabilities; “we are ruined by the thing we kill” she laments in Australia 1970. She suggests that out disconnection with the land as a result of our consumerism, war and greed, causes a sense of imbalance and loss, and she emphasises this through her imagery in “Patterns”. Wright describes humanity as not yet having reached a sense of cosmic balance which Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, advocated; it seems that out ‘human pattern’ is one of destruction and disconnection, and essentially this is the idea Wright’s collection explores; human beings “unravel everything” leaving an ultimately soulless creation in our wake.
Wright conveys the joy and connection felt in child bearing in poems like “Woman to man” and “woman to child”, through her use of sensual imagery referring to the organic nature of the biological connections between human beings. The speaker evokes images of the child in the womb in “woman to man” as she says “the selfless, shapeless seed I hold builds for its resurrection day”. The alliteration of “selfless, shapeless seed” conveys a feeling of connection, whilst the reference to the seed suggests a sense of continuity in time as life begins with the seed. The reference to the resurrection of Jesus Christ