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Literary Nationalism: Australian National Identity

871 Words4 Pages

Literary nationalism is the late 19th century construction of Australian national identity through fiction. The literary nationalist movement provided Australians with a sense of unity. Australian writers and poets were establishing an Australian identity via their writing. In this essay I will analyse literary nationalism through setting, characterization and society in iconic Australian novels. All the treated topics refer to the image of “the Australian”. Literary nationalism is defined as the period of the 1880s and 1890s. During this time a solid sentiment of nationalism started arising and after establishing colonial governments an independence of England grew and guided to Australian Federation in 1901. This changes influenced the …show more content…

“Poets and novelists such as Banjo Paterson, Miles Franklin, EJ Brady and Barbara Baynton, among others, were inspired by the experiences of Australians living and working in the bush.” (Wells, 2015) Therefore, the early pieces of Australian literature were mostly about the rural Australian lifestyle. (Ltd., 2015) The bush was valued as a source of national ideals. “Bush songs devised by ordinary, everyday people are a record of the people's experiences of living, surviving and dying in the bush, as well as the colourful slang of bush life.” (Wells, 2015) In 1895 Banjo Paterson wrote his poem “Waltzing Matilda” which is known as a bush ballad and has been considered as the country's “unofficial national anthem”. “The story is a universal one – a conflict between poor and rich, in which the poor man loses but defiantly keeps his pride.” (Council, …show more content…

A romanticised view of the hardworking bushman was the typical description of “the Australian”. This was catching the true nationalist spirit of society that time. (Ltd., 2015) The bushman’s nature was mainly compound by independence, levelling, egalitarian collectivism and the concept of mateship. But also, they were described as wanderer and swearer and not hiding these attitudes towards policemen. (Ward, 1989) The literary and general imagination saw the bushmen as the “culture-heroes”. Many Australians saw them as role models and wanted to achieve their characteristics as their attitudes. (Hodges,

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