Alliteration In Australian Poetry

Udari Munasinghe When you hear the words Australian identity, what images instantly pop up in your head? Is it the diversity, the landscape, the mate-ship, the beaches or perhaps it’s the stereotypical aussis’? Personally, I believe the Australian identity is what each individual interprets and envisions Australia to be. The Australian identity is really what you love about Australia! One way we can express ourselves and the love we have for our country, is of course by, you guessed it, poetry! Poetry is not just any literature, in fact, poetry is a whole other world, a world that connects people in whole new level. Poetry’s art, it’s passion, it’s power. Australian poetry seeks to tell stories and truths, marked by diversity, emotion, and interest in landscape, with the effect of visual power. These elements that make up such patriotic poems can be seen through

This allows the audience to connect with the passion the poet shares for Australia, and depicts Australia as more than just a land. Alliteration has been used multiple times throughout the poem, this particular poetic device is shown in the phrases “streams and soft”,

2“lithe lianas”, “steady soaking” and “Food and fire and famine”. Alliteration is used to emphasise the characteristics of Australian rural life and to create an impact in imagery for the readers. The imagery in the poem has been formed by descriptive language that encapsulates the emotions of the poet in order to have a visual impact on the readers, and to further express Mackellar’s love for Australia. Hence, through the theme of love and loyalty, a sense of passion is created by the affectional descriptions of the Australian landscape and the uniqueness of the land in which evokes true patriotism. Ultimately, the poem “my country” has become an emblem of the Australian identity and the sense of patriotism Australians share. “Australia” by A.D Hope

1and “My Country” by Dorothea Mackellar are two contrasting poems