GENERAL ENGLISH MODERATION 2016 - POETRY – STUDENT TASK SHEET

REPRESENTATIONS AND INTERPRETATION – AUSTRALIAN POETRY

Overview of assessment tasks

For this moderation task, you will need to complete the short answer questions, annotate the two poems (including notes on interpretation, language and techniques), and write an extended interpretive response. Time will be allocated in class to complete these tasks.

Group discussion

As a class, brainstorm what you know about poetry. What makes a text a poem? How do other textual forms such as prose fiction draw on poetic techniques?

The two poems

‘Australia’

Read through Ania Walwicz’s poem ‘Australia’.

What is your initial impression of this poem?

Compare your response to the poem with others in the class. How did other students’ impressions of the poem differ to yours?

Read the following biographical information about the poet, Ania Walwicz.

Ania Walwicz (1951-) was born in Poland and emigrated to Australia in 1963. She is a poet, playwright and visual artist whose work is characterised by dynamic experimental forms, impressionistic and often stream-of-consciousness, unbound by traditional grammar and syntax. She has been writer-in-residence at several Australian universities and published work in several anthologies.

Walwicz wishes to create a ‘situation of complexity’ rather than one of ease for her readers. She writes of alienation, loss of language, identity and dislocation. Her work has been described as ‘perennially naughty’ (Wilkinson, 2015).

Answer the following questions in the space provided below. You may do this as a class but the notes should reflect your own interpretation of the poem. Provide specific textual evidence when addressing the questions below and remember to annotate your copy of each poem.

  1. Who is the persona of this poem? Do you believe it is the poet or is this ambiguous? Who is the persona addressing? Justify your interpretation.
  1. What attitudes and values, in relation to Australia (as a society/nation/landscape), are represented by Walwicz? How may these attitudes and values reflect the poet’s background and context (speculating from the biographical information provided)?
  1. How are these ideas, attitudes and perspectives represented in the poem? How has the poet used poetic techniques, language, structure and stylistic choices to construct this representation?
  1. How do you interpret this poem? Do you agree with this poet’s representation of Australia or wish to challenge it? How does your own context shape your view? Reflect on the influence of your own personal experiencesand own social/cultural context.
  1. How does the poet’s use of poetic techniques, language and structure position you as a reader? What other interpretations of the poems are possible?

‘Australia Welcomes the Traveler’

Read through Martza Campusano’s poem ‘Australia Welcomes the Traveler’.

What is your initial impression of this poem?

Compare your response to the poem with others in the class. How did other students’ impressions of the poem differ to yours?

Read the following biographical information about the poet, Martza Campusano.

Maritza Campusano is a Chilean-born poet residing in Australia since 1974, where she has worked as a teacher in NSW. Campusano's writes in both Spanish and English and her work has been published in numerous anthologies and magazines in Chile and Australia. She has been a member of the literary group Palabras (meaning ‘words’) and writes for Sunlines, a publisher dedicated to harmony and diversity in Australia. She writes in order to” explore the distinct aspects of life, analysing what is good and what is bad and to share respect with others.”

Answer the following questions in the space provided below. You may do this as a class but the notes should reflect your own interpretation of the poem. Provide specific textual evidence when addressing the questions below.

  1. Who is the persona of this poem? Do you believe it is the poet or is this ambiguous? Who is the persona addressing? Justify your interpretation.
  1. What attitudes and values, in relation to Australia (as a society/nation/landscape), are represented by Campusano? How may these attitudes and values reflect the poet’s background and context (speculating from the biographical information provided)?
  1. How are these ideas, attitudes and perspectives represented in the poem? How has the poet used poetic techniques, language, structure and stylistic choices to construct this representation?
  1. How do you interpret this poem? Do you agree with this poet’s representation of Australia or wish to challenge it? How does your own context shape your view? Reflect on the influence of your own personal experiences and own social/cultural context.
  1. How does the poet’s use of poetic techniques, language and structure position you as a reader? What other interpretations of the poems are possible?

Extended Reflective Response

You need to answer ONE of the questions below. You will have one hour to write an extended reflective response on either one of the two poems or you may choose to reflect on both. This will be completed in test conditions but you may have your own notes and the annotated copies of the poems to assist you.

Question for both texts:

  1. How do the two poets (Walwicz and Campusano) represent ideas, attitudes and perspectives of Australia in their poems? What is your interpretation of these two poems and how has each poet’s use of language, structure and stylistic choices positioned you as a reader?

(Remember to reference the cultural, social and contextual features, and personal experiences, that have influenced both the poet’s representation of Australia, and your personal interpretation. Embed both contextual and textual evidence throughout your response to support your personal interpretation.)

Question for both texts:

  1. How does the poet (Walwicz OR Campusano) represent ideas, attitudes and perspectives of Australia in her poem? What is your interpretation of this poem and how has the poet’s use of language, structure and stylistic choices positioned you as a reader?

(Remember to reference the cultural, social and contextual features, and personal experiences, that have influenced both the poet’s representation of Australia, and your personal interpretation. Embed both contextual and textual evidence throughout your response to support your personal interpretation.)

Structuring your response

Intro:

Introduce the poem/s and the poet/s. Briefly address the question, deliberately using the wording from the question (stating the main ideas, attitudes and perspectives represented in the poem/s). Briefly mention how the poet/s use language, structure and stylistic choices to represent Australia and how you have been positioned as a result.

Main body

Paragraph one should establish contextual and biographical information (time, place, poet’s background) in relation to the ideas expressed about Australia. Compare the poet’s context to your own and how this may have influenced their composition and your interpretation. The paragraphs leading on from this should examine how language, structure and stylistic choices that have been used to convey ideas, attitudes and perspectives about Australia. You need to identify what aspects of the poet’s representation of Australia you agreewith and what aspects challenge your own personal experiences and understanding of your country. Use contextual and textual evidence (including quotes) throughout your response to support interpretation.

Conclusion

Sum up your overall interpretation of the poem/s. Make sure you bring your answer back to the terms used in the question.