Henery Laweson

Henry Lawson demonstrates great skill in creating distinctively visual Australian images of our country’s land and its characters through the use of language. His short, narrative ‘The Drovers Wife’ clearly creates an image of resilience, as a result of isolation created through characterisation of the drover’s wife and the significant events she faces. Another of Lawson’s stories ‘The Bush Undertaker’ creates an image of isolation and loneliness created through the characterisation of the bush undertaker and his discovery of Brummy to give the readers an insight into life in the Australian Countryside. It is through these key images of the land and its characters that Lawson creates a unique and often humorous voice of Australian culture. Similarly to Lawson, in his poem ‘Clancy of the Overflow’ poet, Banjo Patterson, creates distinct image of the Australian Outback, focusing on the juxtaposition of distinct images of rural and city life.

The story opens by creating a distinct image of a stereotypical setting for a bush home. Lawson describes the bush home being simplistic in nature and made of the natural surroundings.   Through the use of repetition and truncated sentences, the barren nature of the bush adds to the setting, “Bush all round… Bush with no horizon… No ranged in the distance… No undergrowth” emphasizing the isolation and loneliness of the Australian bush. However, the focal image created in Lawson’s short story is that of the drover’s wife. Lawson depicts a mother who was once quite elegant and gracious, but has been forced to become resilient, savvy and self-reliant in order to protect her family while her husband is away droving. The story focuses on the arrival of a black snake in the family home. As she waits for the snake, the drover’s wife reflects upon everything she has fought: the loss of a child, the bush fire, the flood, a mad bullock and the crows and eagles. As she uses vivid emotive language to portray the torment of dealing with...