Author: Anna Castagnella

Write a stanza of a poem in the style of Banjo Paterson.

On By Anna CastagnellaIn Australian Literature, Creative Blogs2 Comments

I gaze up at the sky, only to be met with the sun’s harsh stare,
“We’re lost!” I shout, but nobody listens, ignoring me and the cries of my aching feet,
I linger behind their stubborn footprints and hope, yet doubt, that we’re almost there
But when the moon rises and I’m proven right, the feeling is bittersweet.
The trees peer down at us, mocking our aimless walking
As we desperately try to remember our way back,
Beyond the sound of our childish squabbles, we are silenced by the euphony of water falling,
We smile at the waterfall and I can’t help but think, oh I’m so glad we lost our track.

What do you understand by Thoreau’s intention to ‘live deliberately’? Can you possibly explain this basing it in your own experience of life right now?

On By Anna CastagnellaIn American Literature, Best Blog, Critical Blogs4 Comments

What does it mean to ‘live deliberately’? It is the realisation that there is a difference between truly living and merely existing, and thus choosing to take control of your own life in order to ensure a sense of fulfilment. It is a hunger to live a life that exceeds the societal barriers which force people into complacency and monotony. It is a question we all ask ourselves in one way or another, stemming from a universal fear of the uncertainty that comes with death. Thoreau comments on the passivity of human existence, urging us to seek purpose in our lives and live life with intent. He reflects on his decision to embark on a journey within the woods as he seeks to live a life away from materialism, distancing himself from an indifferent society in order to establish spiritual enlightenment as he believes this will bring him ‘purpose’.

Thoreau’s essay ‘Walden’, or ‘Life in the Woods’ profoundly intrigued me and was strangely relevant to me during this time in my life as I too have been pondering on such existential ideas. I have questioned the meaning of life countless times; and whether or not I’m even doing it right as if there is a correct way to live. You do not truly acknowledge the frailty of life until it is almost taken away from you. When encountering a near-death experience, at first you are shocked and overwhelmed at how short life really is. Next, you find the motivation to grasp onto the aspects of life that you enjoy and focus only on them; this is what I believe Thoreau means by “front only the essential facts of life”. Recently, my mum and I were in a frightful car accident and because of this Thoreau’s intention behind writing this essay genuinely resonates with me as he highlights the importance of truly engaging with life rather than simply going through the motions as one day there will be an end. The line which resonated with me the most after enduring such an experience was, “when I came to die, discover that I had not lived”. An underlying tone of regret is present to me in this particular quote, perhaps Thoreau had a similar epiphany to me and realised the changes he must make in order to ensure that when his life ends, it will have been one that he was proud to have lived. This thought provoked me to reconsider my own awareness of my intent to live deliberately, and I encourage you to do the same.

Discuss what you think are the key differences and benefits of poetry that is “transparent” versus poetry that is “opaque”

On By Anna CastagnellaIn Australian Literature, Critical Blogs1 Comment

In my second tutorial on Australian Literature, we were introduced to the concept of ‘transparent’ poetry as opposed to poetry that is ‘opaque’. Transparent poetry is much easier to comprehend as it is straightforward. We are able to gather the meaning behind transparent poetry relatively quickly as it is usually explicitly stated. This was evident when we read Lisa Bellear’s ‘Woman of the Dreaming’ which explores the notion of being unable to find the soul and our necessity to reclaim our spirit. The poem instantly addresses this idea as Bellear begins with “my sweet woman of the Dreaming, where is your soul, I need to surround your body with my spirit, the spirit of the embodiment of love, anger, pain…” elucidating how being open to emotions allow us to rediscover our spirit and soul. This message is further established throughout the rest of the poem, however, due to the transparency of Bellear’s writing, we were able to gather the meaning behind the poem within the first stanza. To contrast, Judith Wright’s poem, ‘Niggers Leap, New England’ was deliberately elusive and what we would call opaque poetry. Subsequently, I had to think a lot harder to gather what the poem was trying to convey. Wright brings attention to the exploitation and suffering that the Aboriginal people have faced through profound metaphoric and symbolic language. For example, “did we not know their blood channelled our rivers, and the black dust our crops ate was their dust?” refers to how the Aboriginal people were killed on the environment we eat and drink from, hence why she says that we eat their dust. Therefore, Wright’s poem is an explicit example of opaque poetry as we have to deconstruct the poem before we can be enlightened by it’s message.