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Bruce Dawe's Poems 'Homecoming And Weapons Training'

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We live in a world where we have to hide to make love, while violence is practiced in broad daylight. John Lennon. Based on his own reading and reflection, Bruce Dawe constructs his attitudes towards war in his poems, Homecoming and Weapons Training, believing it to be lacking sense historically and ultimately futile. By specifically addressing an Australian cultural context, the poet exposes a universal appeal in that the insensitivity and anonymity are common attitudes towards soldiers during war. Dawe clearly expresses his ‘anti-war sentiment’ through his use of language and imagery as he examines the dehumanising aspects of war and its brutal reality. Bruce Dawe ultimately exposes the brutal hopelessness of soldiers caught up in foreign conflicts and its impact on family and friends. The poem, Weapons Training, is an entailment of a sergeant desensitising a …show more content…

Bruce Dawe employs the technique of repetition and sexual imagery to present his ideas and emotions concerning the brutal reality of war through the persona of the drill sergeant. The dramatic monologue focuses on the drill sergeant’s use of language to capture the speech and attitude of a military instructor. The drill sergeant’s speech is a continuous stream of fluency and proficiency that never comes to a full stop. The use of rhetorical questions have been incorporated to imprint intimidation and fear within the recruits. "Only to find back home because of your position / your chances of turning the key in the ignition / considerably reduced?" The use of the rhetorical question suggests tonal dismay and contempt. A sexual innuendo is further incorporated as it allows the sergeant to communicate effectively with his young male target audience. The sexual

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This description paints the scenes of the poem as they happen, the powerful connotations of the words battling against each other, and to the grievance of the reader, the negative feelings prevail. This battle illuminates the brutality and fear experienced by soldiers, in WWII, during their final moments on Earth - their fear, sadness, and horrified disgust all hidden between the lines of these two sentences. Foreshadowed by the soldier's machine like tone, the speaker alludes to the fact that he will fight for his life, and

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