Bora Ring 1.

The structure oI Bora Ring is standard, as the stanza's are equal (4

lines-regular). The sentences are also short, a Iew words.
2. Compare: Gone, useless, lost.
Contrast: Song, dancers, mime, corroboree, chant, and hunter.
3. Apple Gum, corroboree, painted bodies. The Iollowing would belong to the
indigenous Australian or Aboriginal elements.
4. The last line reIers to how the Iear oI the Bora-Ring is as old as Cain,
ancient.
5. Judith Wright comments on how the Aboriginals were nomad tribes and lived
simple lives and by terminology not a modern liIe like the English. The
method she has used is by introducing the Aboriginal tribe then describing
the Bora Ring aIter the English have taken their land through her use oI
aboriginal elements (painter bodies, hunter, tribal, nomad etc.) which makes
up the socio-cultural comment made by Wright.

Bullocky 1. Once again like Bora Ring, the poetic structure is standard as again the
stanza's are equal, 4 lines per stanza. There is also rhyme and rhythm with
each second and Iourth line within each stanza. In many cases the Iirst and
second lines and third and Iourth lines are in conjunction with each other
and usually make up one sentence. The clues given were the rhyming oI each
second and Iourth line as well as the natural pauses within the poem.
2. Did not understand.
3. Wright recalls the early pioneer days oI Australian History with
Bullocky.
4. Wrights Iinal comment, comments on how Bullocky (metaphorically in
comparison with Moses), brought him and his team to the Promised Land (were
Promised Land or Israel is metaphorical compared to Iertile land in
Australia). In the end through his death, it causes the growth oI the
grapes ('Ieeds the grape' with his bones) and even may have caused the
Promised Land itselI.
5. The method oI "Bullocky" like "Bora Ring" is the Iirst stanza is an
introduction, introducing the poem. The next stanzas continue on with
emphasising the Iirst stanza. The Iinal or Iinal Iew stanzas are like a
conclusion or present view oI what has happened to the place described.
Both also Iinish with Iinal comment in relation to a biblical character
(Cain, Moses).

| Bora Ring |
1.. The stanzas in Bora Ring are all equally consistent and a regular Iour lines.
2.. Similarities in the words oI Bora Ring include: song, dance, dancing-ring; earth, grass,
hunters, underground; tribal, corroboree, chant, ritual.
3.. Australiana in Bora Ring include: corroboree, painted bodies, Cain and apple-gums.
4.. The allusion oI the last line reIers to the Iear that Cain held towards his brother, this Iear,
like the story Wright is telling, is timeless and great.
5.. Wright is making a socio cultural comment in Bora Ring, telling oI how other cultures are
being pushed aside in order to promote a diIIerent culture. In this case, the original culture oI
the aborigines has been assimilated and Iorgotten amongst the western culture.
| Bullocky |
1.. The structure oI Bullocky is regular and all stanzas have Iour lines, creating, aIter each
line, natural pauses that emphasise certain points.
2.. The style oI the diction in Bullocky is very biblical, reIerring to biblical Iigures or events
and using words and phrases with biblical origins.
3.. Bullocky is presenting a part oI Australian history that involves the claiming oI the
aboriginal lands and the aboriginal ways by settlers.
4.. Wright's Iinal comment is that the land does not belong to the English/westerners and it
will Iorever be tied to the aboriginal ways and culture.
5.. Wright's method in oI presentation in Bullocky is similar to that oI Bora Ring's in that the
stanzas are in a regular rhythmical pattern and are designed to emphasise key points through
the use oI implied natural pauses.

| HalI-Caste Girl |
1.. This poem explores two diIIerent worldly experiences, the settlers would and the native
aboriginal world, the Iormer oI which is constructed as bad or somehow 'evil'.
2.. The world constructed in HalI-Caste Girl is one oI ownerlessness and native Ireedom.
Nothing belongs to anyone. However, this is only presented in the Iirst stanza, the second, in
a contrast, is a world oI limits, injustice and choicelessness.
3.. The pleasures are the Ireedoms and the lands that can be used by anyone. The Iears
however, are the opposite, boundaries exist and the lands Ireedoms are exterminated.
4.. HalI-Caste Girl in its presentation is not dated; the cultural coexistence struggles still
exist in Australia today.

Bora Ring
1. The Stanzas in Bora Ring are regular 4 lines each. This is clearly
identiIiable by looking at the poem. The last line oI each stanza is
emphasized.
2. Comparisons Contrast
gone, useless, lost - hunter is gone rider`s heart
earth, grass, hunters,
underground
tribal, corroboree, chant,
ritual
3. Corroboree, apple gums. The Australian Indigenous people Aboriginals
4. The allusion oI the last line is the representation oI the relationship
between Cain and Abel. Wright reIers to the Aboriginals Iear oI the white
man.
5. The socio-cultural comment Wright has made is that the signiIicance the
Aboriginal people place on their ritualistic liIestyle, was overwhelmed when
the white man came. She makes clear that the Aboriginals liIestyle was
highly dependent on the rituals and symbolic ceremonies that took place
beIore European invaders` came. She emphasises this in the Iirst three
stanzas, and in the last stanza describes how the white man has severely
inIluenced the culture oI the Aboriginal people.

Bullocky
1. The poem is structured so that the second and Iourth lines oI each stanza
rhyme. The clues came Irom the reading one could note that emphasis was
naturally placed on these lines.
2. The words chosen here were short, which also increased the emphasis we
place on them when reading.
3. The pioneering stage, where explorers roamed and searched Australia.
4. The Iinal comment Wright makes is that the Aboriginal people deserve a
place to call home. Whether she is in reIerral to the plight oI the
Israeli`s, also without a place to call home, she questions the Iact that
the white man has any right to have land, and the indigenous to not.
5. This poem is similar to that oI 'Bora Ring in that she does not directly
make mention to what she is putting across. This poem describes the
postcolonial settler period, but her point seems to be that the Aboriginal
people deserve land.

HalI-Caste Girl
1. The world oI experience being explored here is that oI the lost
generation`.
2. Elements that are diIIerent Irom the world I know include the change oI
policy by the Australian government Ior no longer do they take children oI
mixed decent (Aboriginal and white background) .
3. The pleasures described are oI times when little Josie was with her
Iamily, her people. The pain described is when she is taken away 'wall
cunningly made.
4. Yes. The poem was written when such injustices took place. Wrights
writing oI the poem would have been driven by the desire Ior the Australian
government to change such policy.
5. The implied answer to the last two lines would be the white man. For it
was the white man who took the children and 'leIt her alone in the night.

Bora Ring
"Bora Ring" is structured in Iour stanzas each consisting oI Iour lines. PersoniIication is used
in the second and third stanzas eg. ".the grass stands up." and ".the world breathed.".
Imagery is also a part oI the structure oI "Bora Ring". Imagery is used in line six ".the
dancing ring." gives the image oI a group oI Aboriginals dancing in a circle. Onomatopoeia
is used in line eight the word murmur when spoken sounds like a person speaking soItly.
Overall, the issues brought up in "Bora Ring" are more important than the poetic devices
used. I was able to establish this by reading and interpreting the poem in such a way so that it
meant something to me. "Bora Ring" tells the story oI a lost ritual. Words such as "gone",
"lost" and "Iorgot" stress the loss oI something important and we are told in "Bora Ring" that
the lost item was actually a traditional ritual.
2)
Comparison
Contrast
The trees and plants taking over the Aborigines rituals and are seen as representing them.
Past and Present

The Aborigines liIestyle to the European liIestyle
List oI Australiana
Tribal
Corroboree
Hunter
Spear
Nomad
The world the elements listed above belong to is the Native Aboriginal world. Words such as
"corroboree" and "painted bodies" are distinctly Aboriginal as no European settlers would
have held a corroboree or painted their bodies. The Aborigines are the Iirst to be and do the
actions and objects above.
The last line oI "Bora Ring" is reIerring to the Europeans settling Australia as "Cain". In the
Bible Cain was the son oI Eve and killed his brother. The Europeans killed Aborigines and
now Iear retaliation Irom the Aboriginals because oI the way they treated them upon arrival
in Australia. The Iear being old as "Cain" means that the Europeans were Iearing retaliation
Irom the moment they harmed the Aborigines and this Iear has been passed down through
generations thus becoming "old".
The socio-cultural comment Judith Wright is making is that diIIerent cultures oIten Iind it
hard to Iorm a society and so the dominant culture may try to take over and marginalise the
recessive culture. Wright has used poetry as her method to convey her socio-cultural
comment. She has also used contrast as she reIers both to the Europeans and Aborigines.

"Bora Ring" second Page
A "Bora Ring" is a ring oI stones marking a place that is sacred to Aboriginal people.
Repeated-See qu 1
Repeated-See qu 3
The Biblical reIerence in stanza Iour is to Cain, Eve`s Iirst child. Cain killed his brother Abel
because he was jealous that God rewarded Abel Ior his oIIering but did not reward Cain. Cain
was then banished Irom Eden and built his own city called Henoch, aIter his son.
5) Two oxymorons in the Iourth stanza oI "Bora Ring" are :
"Heart halts"- The heart beats to keep a person alive and iI it halts the rider would die but in
"Bora Ring" the rider doesn`t. It reIers to the spiritual Ieeling the rider Ieels when passing
through the sacred site where the "Bora Ring" can be Iound.
"Unsaid Word"- ".An unsaid word that Iastens in the blood the ancient curse the Iear old as
Cain". A word that has not been said cannot possibly make a person scared as they would not
have heard the word in the context that would make it IearIul.
Oppositions in "Bora Ring" are the liIestyles oI the European "rider" and the Aboriginal
"nomad" and the past and present tenses reIerred to.
The wider Irame oI reIerence they represent is that the Aboriginals are a historical culture and
that the Europeans contributed to the majority oI their dying. The Europeans are the present
culture and have taken over many Aboriginal sites.
Impinge-Make an impact on.
The theme oI "Bora Ring" is to show the impinge that the Europeans made on the Aborigines
as the settled Australia, especially in the Iorm oI discrimination and marginalisation.
The theme oI "Bora Ring" is similar to that oI "HalI-Caste Girl" in the Iact that "Little Josie"
was discriminated against and marginalised Irom the Europeans. This is also what happened
to other Aborigines mentioned in "Bora Ring".

Bullocky
Bullocky is structured in seven stanzas each with Iour lines. Rhyme is used at the end oI
every second and Iourth line oI every stanza. PersoniIication is used in the IiIth and seventh
stanzas. Onomatopoeia is also used in the third stanza. Strong imagery is used in the IiIth
stanza. The reader can actually visualise darkness surrounding a man sitting at a campIire.
The clues that identiIied rhyme were words such as "rain", "brain", "load", "road" etc. Each
stanzas lines were counted and Iound to be equal in length. PersoniIication that was used
includes ".star-struck darkness cupped him round." darkness is doing something human.
The second example oI personiIication Iound was in the seventh stanza . It was ".hold it
with your rooted hand.". Wright was reIerring to a vine holding a bone and holding is a
human characteristic. Straining is an example oI Onomatopoeia and imagery was discussed
above.
The only diction in "Bullocky" is in stanza seven as it sounds as the poet is actually telling a
vine to grow on a bone and hold it.
In "Bullocky" Judith Wright is recalling the part oI history in which the early settlers were
having trouble settling and successIully Iarming Australian soil. They could not handle the
climate and some settlers died.
Wright`s Iinal comment is that the land will always win. People cannot control the land but
merely depend on it and iI they are unsuccessIul in using the land to beneIit themselves then
the land will claim and use their lives and bodies to its own advantage.
Wright`s method in "Bullocky" is similar to "Bora Ring" because in both poems the land is
the triumphant element. It is always the Iactor that outlives the people and carries their
traditions. It also holds the people`s remains aIter they have passed away.

HalI-Caste Girl
The word oI experience being explored in "HalI-Caste Girl" is the world oI a marginalised
Aboriginal woman trying to live in an European society. The poem explores the situations
she was in and the marginalisation she must live with.
The elements in "HalI-Caste Girl" that are diIIerent Irom the world I know is the
discrimination and marginalisation "Little Josie" suIIered and her travelling in the outback
when she was young.
3)
Pleasures
Pains
Climbing a tree to Iind a "native cherry"
Dying
Falling in love
Marginalisation
Singing songs, dancing
Trying to be accepted in an European society and Iailing.
4) "HalI-Caste Girl" is becoming dated as much oI the marginalisation and discrimination
mentioned in this poem is now seen as wrong and generally not done. Society has changed to
include Aborigines but some people still discriminate against and marginalise Aborigines.
5) The answer to the implied question oI "Who is it has covered the sun and the beautiIul
moon with a wallaby skin, and leIt her alone in the night?" are the European settlers. They
have killed "Little Josie" as they were settling Australia.
By Felicity Kalinowski

Bora Ring Questions
1.Analyze the structure oI the poem. How will you be able to establish this?
To analyze a poem, we Iirstly look at how the poem has been set up. There
are Iour lines to each stanza. The Iirst and last lines are short. The Iirst
is only part oI a sentence, and is cut oII in the Iirst line. This is to
slow the momentum oI the poem down. The longer lines Ieature words Iull oI
action eg. Dancing, corroboree, blood. The shorter lines are primarily about
loss and the things that are gone.
3. Make a list oI Australiana. What world do these elements belong to?
Apple gums, corroboree, painted bodies. These words mainly belong to an
Aboriginal world. Though there aren`t many speciIically Australiana` words
in here, normal words have been used with an Aboriginal context. Eg. Dancing
ring, chant, nomad, hunter, spear, ritual, tribal, dream.
4. Explain the allusion oI the last line.
The last line is a biblical reIerence. Cain was the Iirst son oI Adam and
Eve. He was also the Iirst murderer. The Iear as old as Cain` means that
since almost the beginning oI time, people have been aIraid. Whether it is a
Iair oI death or loss depends.
5. What cultural comment is Wright making? What method has she used?
She is making a cultural comment on the Aboriginal people. Even though
western civilisation has tried to get rid oI every last trace oI their
traditions, the Aborigine spirit is still there. The method she has used is
quite good. It is a poem about loss, and absence oI action, however the poem
is Iilled with action. The action is told in the past tense. The imagery oI
the poem helps Iill the empty space with movement.
Bora Ring Questions 2
1. Find out what a Bora Ring is.
A Bora Ring` is a ring oI stones that signiIies a place that was sacred to
Aboriginal people. In this poem, it is used to signiIy the passing oI
traditions and liIe which once Iilled the space inside the circle oI rocks.
4. What is the Biblical reIerence in stanza 4?
As I wrote earlier, it is a reIerence to the son oI Adam and Eve, Cain, the
Iirst murderer.
5. Find two oxymorons in stanza 4. To what are they reIlecting?
1. Sightless Shadow; 2. Unsaid Word
I believe that they are reIlecting a Bora ring. The Bora ring is a simple
ring oI stones, but it represents much more than that. It doesn`t have to
say anything or show anything, but is says a lot.
9. How is the theme similar to that oI HalI Caste Girl?
Both oI the poems are about the loss oI the Aboriginal way oI liIe, but in
both oI them, the spirit still lives on in the land.

Bullocky Questions
1. IdentiIy the structure oI the poem. What were the clues?
The second and Iourth lines oI each stanza rhyme. The rhyming lines are also
slightly longer than the Iirst and third lines. However, in the Iinal
stanza, all Iour lines are the same length. This makes the Iinal stanza much
slower and more reIlective than the rest oI the poem. It also helps bring
out the irony oI the Iinal two lines.
2. What kinds oI diction are Iound here?
There is some Australiana such as widdershins`, cattle bells`, however
there are a lot oI biblical terms used, primarily a metaphor that shows
Bullocky as Moses. A lot oI the words that are not old Iashioned, but
represent the hard working settlers liIe, eg. Wagon, plough, vineyards,
straining, drought.
3. What part oI Australian history is Wright recalling here?
Wright is recalling the period oI history where Australian settlers would
move Irom land to land to Iind the perIect bit oI pasture. It is around the
same time that settlers would have been trying to get rid oI Aborigines.
4. What is Wright`s social comment?
There isn`t really a social comment in Bullocky, one that isn`t as strong as
her other poems at least. It is a pro-settler poem that simply shows how
Bullocky goes mad trying to Iind the perIect piece oI land.

5. How is the method here similar to Bora Ring?
There are both Iour line stanza`s in each, and two lines are longer in each
stanza. Although there is a much larger Biblical metaphor in the Bullocky,
there is a biblical simile in Bora Ring.

HalI Caste Girl Questions
1. What world oI experience is being explored here?
Most likely the stolen generation. A girl that age at this period oI time
was most likely stolen Irom her parents. She dreams about the outside world
the she once lived among.
2. What elements are diIIerent Irom the world you know?
Josie`s old world is diIIerent to mine, because there was less a reliance on
Western medicine and technology. This doesn`t mean that either one oI worlds
are wrong, they are just diIIerent.
4. This was published in 1946. Is it dated?
No it isn`t dated. Australia is yet to oIIicially apologise Ior the stolen
generation, so technically the Aborigines cannot move on Irom the terrible
event. It still shows the governments mistakes.
5. What is the implied answer to the question oI the last two lines?
The people who have covered her up are the white European settlers. Just
like they have hid Josie Irom the sun, they have tried to hide the
Aboriginal way oI liIe.