Poets In The Australian Tradition

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32210, 31 January 1970, Page 4

Poets In The Australian Tradition

The Book of Bligh. By J. M. Couper. Melbourne University Press. 88 pp. Inwards To The Sun. By Thomas W. Shapcott. University of Queensland Press. New Poems 1965-1969. By A. D. Hope. Angus and Robertson. 76 pp. Every part of the British Empire had its own local tradition of pioneers and adventurers, but no country has adapted it better to the purposes of poetry than Australia, which, out of the semilegendary stories of its early days, has developed a literary type which at times approximates to heroic poetry. Although few Australian poets really specialise in this kind of writing, most of them have experimented with it during their formative period, and have thus found scope for technical maturation within a regional speciality. Dr Couper’s single long narrative shows few signs of being apprenticeship poetry: certainly, he does produce lines and effects which suggest toe influence of established writers, but his whole book has a confidence and precision indicative of a talent which has been for a long time maturing in obscurity. The lines are long—between ten and twenty syllables—and do not rhyme, although there is a lot of Internal assonance. The language is easy and well regulated, always kept subordinate to the demands of toe style. The whole of Bligh’s story from Tofoa to Timor is related in simple chronological order, but Dr Couper has employed a number of the stock devices of epic poetry to shape his story; perhaps the most skilful of these is the accommodation of colloquial dialogue into the crucial early period of unrest. This is a very readable book of poetry, distinguished more by skill and competence than by originality. In bls four previous books of poetry, Thomas W. Shapcott has shown himself to be one of the most experimental poets in Australia; nevertheless, his. latest book still contributes to the pioneer-adventurer tradition. Captain Logan, he tells us, was toe commandant of the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement front 1826 to 1830; his seven-page poem about him concentrates on the character of the commandant and conditions in toe settlement, with a minimum of story. This is powerful poetry, and easy to appreciate; it is, however, more typical of Australia than of Shapcott. But Shapcott's own characteristics seem to have undergone modifications since “A Taste of Salt Water." Allusions to French and classical literature are 'now relatively" infrequent, and tight patterns are avoided. Shapcott was. married in 1960, before the’ publication of his first book, and now has four children; marriage and family life have always been important themes in his work, responsible for some of his most idiosyncratic love poetry. This recurs throughout the present volume, and achieves a remarkable culmination in “Night Songs,” which fuses the affectionate with the erotic into a simple statement of an ambiguous situation.

This concept of poetry is a descriptive statement rather than a confident evaluation seems to be the product of Shapcott’s maturity, without obvious ante-

cedent in his early work. Such an attitude, which makes toe poet a humble “speaker” rather than a self-made philosopher, is responsible for his most original work, and one may hope that it will be fostered in future work. The reputation of A. D. Hope as one of the most prominent figures in Australian literature dates only from 1955 when he produced his first book, “The Wandering Islands,” at the age of 48. The immediate favourable reaction of Australians to that volume and toe two which followed it was as remarkable as the bewilderment of English critics who, forced by the Australian response to take Hope seriously, hesitantly pronounced qualified praise patronizingly, commending the efforts of a fusty colonial, who could yet come right if only he would pay more attention to the requirements of European fashion. Roy Fuller politely suggested toat -Hope should read Eliot and Pound; George Macbeth less politely invited him to come to Europe on Europe’s terms. Neither of than acknowledged Hope’s place within the Australian tradition, or even toe strength and sophistication of that tradition.

In his essays, Hope has often expressed a conservatism similar to that of James McAuley. Along with his famous treatment of the erotic, this has led to his being classified as a Romantic, and interpreted in these terms much of his work seems both isolated and emaciated. But Hope’s own account of himself in “The Diecursive Mode” shows a much wider awareness of what he is about than this conclusion would assume, and that his sympathies lie witn the Neoclassical rather than with the Romantics. This invalidates much of the criticism, and reveals that his chosen literary affiliation conceals strong condemnation of toe smug selfconfidence of modern poetry, as proclaimed, for example, by Macbeth and Fuller.

It has always been difficult to decide how much depth is to be assumed in Hope’s erotic poetry, but this volume contains two sequences which read equally well as narratives of love experience and as analyses of love Itself. These, like most of toe volume will excite toe admiration of those who already like Hope, and by their confidence will force his detractors into a reassessment.