Not this again?

YEAP. YOU GOT

IT

How to not fail your poetry oral

Step 1.Decide on your topic or issue. What is making headlines at the moment or what

are some of the themes and issues that we have explored in this unit?

• Death• Injustice• Witch hunts (political, social, sexual, racial)• Hysteria• The Separation of Church and State• Science VS Nature• ‘Man as the Eternal Victim’• Love• Power• The Breakdown of the Nuclear Family• Madness• Isolation• Unrequited Love• Guilt• Loss

Step 2.

• Collect a minimum of 2 poems or song lyrics which relate to this topic (this task will work better if the two texts contrast in some way). You need to read these texts closely to ensure they will suffice for the sophistication this task requires.

EXAMPLE

No more boomerang • No more boomerang

No more spear;Now all civilised —

Colour bar and beer.

No more corroboree,Gay dance and din.Now we got movies,

And pay to go in.

No more sharingWhat the hunter brings.Now we work for money,

Then pay it back for things.

Now we track bossesTo catch a few bob,

Now we go walkaboutOn bus to the job.

One time naked,Who never knew shame;Now we put clothes onTo hide whatsaname.

BOB MARLEY: REDEMPTION SONGS

Old pirates, yes, they rob I;Sold I to the merchant ships,

Minutes after they took IFrom the bottomless pit.

But my hand was made strongBy the 'and of the Almighty.

We forward in this generationTriumphantly.

Won't you help to singThis songs of freedom'Cause all I ever have:Redemption songs;Redemption songs.

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;None but ourselves can free our minds.

Have no fear for atomic energy,'Cause none of them can stop the time.How long shall they kill our prophets,While we stand aside and look? Ooh!

Some say it's just a part of it:We've got to fulfill the book.

Step 3.

• Analyse the texts closely by using SPIDER or another technique and ensure that you understand and are aware of the poetic devices imbedded in the texts

Step 4.

• After having analysed each text, create a dominant reading for each poem/lyric you have chosen.

• Even if the readings are similar, how it the construction of them dissimilar? In other words what devices, techniques does the author foreground or appropriate to get their invited reading across? Think SPIDER again here, particularly the ID

Step 5.

• Create a thesis which explores the relationships between the two texts and how they might have commonalities or differences in relation to your contemporary issue of social significance.

EXAMPLE THESIS

• While on the surface Kath Walker’s No More Boomerang (1985) and Bob Marley’s Redemption Songs (1979) may appear vastly dissimilar in terms of genre and prevailing discourses, when these texts are analysed and read closely it becomes clear both texts act as political protestations and lamentations regarding the imperial colonisation of Jamaica and Australia. These two contemporary masterpieces of their respective styles comment on the loss of tradition and custom and paint a bleak picture of life for indigenous inhabitants forced to live either as freemen or as slaves under colonial rule.

Step 6.

• Choose extracts to read from these texts which illustrate your thesis.