Expression of cultural identity – Hyllus Maris; part of country
- “I” the poet-narrator is “child of the Dreamtime People” – the First Nations people; the point is that their identity is inextricably connected with the land and the flora and the fauna; –“Part of the Land” ; I am the river; I am this land; and this land is me; I am Australia. –
- Simple sentences; personal pronoun, I” to reflect a general indigenous identity
- Land and the river – it is reciprocal relationship; the river is both subject and object (chanting songs); red earth and the blood that flows..
- “I” – both subject and object
- Nouns – concrete nouns – relating to the landscape
- I awakened here when the earth was new – ancient history – first peoples – before progress; always having belonged from the beginning; my colour was first – “no other man of a different hue”
- Cultural references – “dust devils” ; the spirit (dreamtime dreaming spirutality is linked to country)
- Landscape and animals
Uluru by Eva Johnson
Cultural identity; isolated rock – the rock is connected with ancient stories; part of the dreamtime; part of the spirit; mythology of First Nations people – the rock is personified to show the close connection with culture – women perform their rituals in the pools at the foot of the rock; “your dreaming” – rock and the people – the spiritual “keeper” – knowledge of the rock… – reference to culture – the “ochred walls”
See An Australian Anthology: a snapshot of literary landscapes