UnderstandingPoems

AustraliaandNewZealand

7AnalysingPoetry
AnswerKey
Text: OodgerooNoonuccal,"MunicipalGum",originallypublishedinTheDawnIsatHand,
(Milton:JacarandaPress,1966).

1.

Describethesituationpresentedinthepoem.
Onhiswaythroughthecitythespeakerofthepoemcomesacrossagumtreewhich
standsallforlorninthestreet,hisrootsmostlycoveredbybitumen.Thesightofthis
poortreesetsherthinking.

2.

Onemaydistinguishfivedifferentparts.Explainwhatthespeakerdoesineachpart.

1.

Thespeakerseesthegumtreeandstartstoreflectonitssituation.

2.

ll.12

ll.35

She realises that in these surroundings the gum tree is out of place. It does not
belong here but should rather grow in a forest, its natural environment, a place of
plentiful vegetation. The expression "wild bird" stresses the idea of freedom and
contraststhiswildernesswiththeunnaturalprisonthetreeisforcedtolivein.

3.

ll.611

Shecomparesthetreetoapoorcarthorse(extendedsimile).Herdescriptionofthe
carthorseissupposedtoillustratethemiseryofthegumtree.

4.

ll.1214

Herthoughtsreturntothetreebutnowshefindsitpainfultolookatitasshehas
realisedthefullextentofitsmisery.Thetreeisnotallowedtogrowonfertileground,
i. e. the green grass of nature, but is set in the "black grass of bitumen" (l.14). In
terms of colour symbolism black is conventionally associated with death which
suggeststhatthetreeisdoomedtodie.

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UnderstandingPoems

5.

ll.1516

AustraliaandNewZealand

Attheendofthepoemsherevealsthatsheidentifieswithboththecarthorseand
thegumtree.Thefinal question"Whathavetheydonetous?"ispurelyrhetorical
andimpliesthattheyhavebeendisplacedandmistreated.

3.

Contrast the situation of the carthorse with that of a wild horse. The following
expressionscharacterisethecarthorse:castratedbrokenwrongedstrapped
andbuckledhellprolongedhunghead.Whatdotheysuggest?

Acontrastofthetwohorsesbringsoutclearlythemiseryofthecarthorse.Youmay
writedownyourthoughtsintwocolumns.

cart-horse

wild horse

castrated>deprivedofhismasculine

strong/virile/proudtobealive

strength/unabletofatherchildren/

humiliated

broken>lackingdetermination/free

strongwill/fierce/readytofightanyfoeor

will/fightingspirit

competitor

wronged>unjustly/unfairlytreated/not

standsupforhisrights/fightsinjustice

grantedequalrights

strappedandbuckled>likeamadman/

throwsoffanyfetters

lunatic/hehaslosthissanity(anddignity)

hellprolonged>notallowedtodie/keptalive livesinParadise
inhell

hunghead>shame/resignation

liftedhead/readytofacelife

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4.

Thepoemmaybereadasanallegory.Whatdothegumtree,thebitumen,thecart
horseandbyimplicationthewildhorsestandfor?

gumtree:

Thereisnohintinthepoemthatthespeakermustbedistinguishedfromthe
poet.Sowemaysafelyassumethatthesituationofthegumtreerepresents
thatoftheAborigines.

bitumen:

Thepoetwantsustodevelopachainofassociations:

bitumen(roadsurface)

grass,earth

>

>

city

>

T
naturalsurrounding >

whitecivilisation

wilderness(freedom)

Bitumenisusedasametaphor(metonomy,synecdoche)andrepresentsthe
forceswhichkeepthedisplacedtreeinitsunnaturalprison.

carthorse:

Thelasttwolinesshowthatthehorsestandsforthosewhoweretornfrom
theirhomesandforcedtolivealifeofsuppressioninanaliensociety,i.e.the
Aborigines "whose lives were ripped apart by the actions of successive
governments"(KevinRudd,StudentsBook,text3,p.10,ll.1314.)

wildhorse: By contrast the wild horse stands for Aboriginal people in their natural
environment.

5.

Showthatthelasttwolinesdeterminethemeaningandthemessageofthepoem
andexplainwhatthepoemtellsusaboutthesituationofAboriginesinAustralia.

Inlines114thespeakercomparesadisplacedagumtreeandacarthorse.Itisonly
in the last two lines that she reveals why she does so. Her exclamation "O fellow
citizen"showsthatsheidentifieswiththetree(andthehorse).

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The rhetorical question in the last line is an accusation against those who have
displacedandsuppressedallthree,thetree,thehorseandthespeaker.Theyarethe
whiteAustralians,theoneswhobuiltthecitystreets,removedAboriginesfromtheir
homesandimposedaforeigncultureonthem.LikethecarthorsetheseIndigenous
Australians were humiliated, degraded and deprived of their dignity (cf. Students
Book,text3,p.10,ll.911).

6.

Considertherhymeschemeanddiscussifitsupportsthemessageofthepoem.

Rhymescheme:aabbccbdeeffdghhdghhg
There is a rhyme scheme but it is fairly irregular. The same applies to the metre
whichvariesfromtwostresses(dimeter)tofivestresses(pentameter)perline.These
irregularitiesonthelevelofsoundsupporttheideaofdisorderandunderlinethefact
thatthelivesofAboriginalpeoplehavebeenmessedup.

7.

Inthepoemthespeakeraddressesthegumtree.WhomdidOodgerooNoonuccal
haveinmindwhenshewroteherpoem?Givereasonsforyourview.

The description of gum tree and carthorse illustrates how miserable and hopeless
the living conditions of Aboriginal people are. It expresses the feelings of the
Indigenous people, who were displaced and robbed off their native culture. In the
lastlinethespeakerusestwopronouns,"they"and"us",anditbecomesclearfrom
thecontextthattheystandfortwodifferentgroupsofAustraliansociety,theWhites
andtheAborigines.Readagainwiththislineinmindthepoemisaddressedtothe
white Australians and supposed to show them what they have done to the native
population.

[KarlSassenberg]

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