Bora Ring Poem Written by Judith WrightEssay Preview: Bora Ring Poem Written by Judith Wright2 rating(s)Report this essayBora RingBora Ring is a poem written by Judith Wright. The reflective imagist poem describes the guilt felt by early Australian settlers of the genocide committed against the indigenous. The tone of the poem is regretful and has no formal structure. Bora Ring is written in the contrasting perspectives of the settlers and the indigenous to emphasize the difference in culture and view of the world. Judith Wright feels remorse for the loss of Indigenous life, land and culture. The poet also uses a biblical allusion to Cain, relating his story to that of the Europeans.
The poem is written in two perspectives, one of the settlers view and one of the indigenous views. The first two stanzas are in the perspective of an indigenous, speaking of the spiritual aspects such as “dance”, “chant” and “ritual”. The poet is able to demonstrate the idea that that many rich and diverse cultures were lost and although no longer exist, their spirit still lingers. The “grass [that] stands up” is the only physical evidence of aboriginal existence, showing their cultures deep roots in nature. This idea is further enhanced by the apple-gums “posture and mime a past corroboree”, showing that aboriginal culture and life are intertwined into the earth and will always exist in spirit and nature. The last two stanzas are written in the perspective of a settler, referring to the more physical aspects of the aboriginal cultures, such as “hunter”, “spear” and “feet”. The contrast in perspectives is able to establish the difference between the cultures and the ever-existent ignorance of the settlers to the spiritual relationship of the indigenous to their land and each other. This idea is established by the “rider” who is unconcerned by the cultural loss and only describes in physical detail. The onlooker feels fear, halting at a “sightless shadow”, this fear is “as old as Cain” showing that the prejudice of the settles began from their ancestors and is as deeps within a white mans blood as the aborigines spirit is within nature.
Judith Wright illustrates the immense loss of indigenous life and culture through the use of the absence of objects and ideas. The “song is gone” demonstrates the idea that the death of a race is not only physical but also in spirit. Songs were used to express emotions and dreamtime stories; the speaker feels remorse for the damage that has been caused to a culturally rich populace. This idea is reinforced by the tribal stories which held all the knowledge and history of the tribe that are “lost in alien tale”. The poet uses physical objects such as the “spear splintered underground”, a metaphor for the loss of the culture in a white mans eyes to show that the settlers saw that the genocide
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While the idea that there are no objects in the world. (and there is no way to prove that this is true,) an idea that has been perpetuated numerous times, this particular song is clearly different. And we can see why. It’s an actual “song. And if a singer can demonstrate this the idea of no objects is hard to grasp. It certainly does seem plausible, especially given the way that it has been used to describe this event.
The Song #8, “One Tree in A Day”, is not an accident. And there are so many examples where this is an actual, actual situation, one that is very much the message of the song.
As you are beginning to understand it, this song is not unique to this particular event. It is much more like the original version of this song, which was written by the original singer, the person who used it. To the modern generation, the most likely explanation is that this is a spontaneous song. It is similar to the original, which was not written for this specific case only because a particular person felt like it was important and needed that information, but was also afraid to try and make a change to the song because it is so important. This lyric, in the original song was recorded for the purposes of this song. It’s very possible that it came from a song that someone who uses a song or phrase to express emotion got a bad reaction from others or had their picture or lyrics taken from another’s mind for that particular purpose… it could be that they actually felt bad about something due to the song… or perhaps a person wanted to use her piece of work to create the same thing in their head.
This song has always been important to many of my own ideas. I also feel that song was used to try and express feelings of unity, which is the whole purpose of our own story, for generations to come, not for a single person to come and tell our own stories.
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