The Pastoral Tradition in Les Murray’s Selected Early Poems
Abstract
Pastoral,” as a term, or bucolic, refers to the poems which are set in the countryside and whose subject is herdsmen and their rural existence. It has its origin in the classical times. Theocritus was the first to use this term and then Virgil followed him, within two centuries, designed his Eclogues based on Idylls of Theocritus, where the genre turned to be highly sophisticated and appealing.
Les Murray, an Australian poet, relates the three essential tributaries of Australian culture in his poetry; the Indigenous, the Pastoral, and the Urban. Major part of his poetry concentrated on the rural-urban relationship according to Australian culture. His exceptionally close relationship with the land is obviously specified in his poetry, as his childhood reminiscences are immersed with the beauty of nature. He stated his association with the physical setting and wildlife.
The present paper is about selected poems from Murray’s The Ilex Tree (1965), The Weather Cathedral (1969) and Ethnic Radio (1977). In “Noonday Axeman,” The axemen's working life is given more importance in the poem than the forests, placing human life value above ecological value. The poem, “Evening Alone at Bunyah,” highlights Murray's sense of belonging and legal possession of the Bunyah family house. He also expresses his strong bond
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