Henry Lawson

• Introduction Thesis: The worlds of texts can be skilfully created through the manipulation of distinct forms and language by storytellers, enlightening and culturally awakening the readers' perspectives.
• Introduction P1: Composer Henry Lawson, in his short narratives “The Drover’s Wife” and “Shooting the Moon”, effectively portrays the cultural identity and lives of Australian bush dwellers, while both entertaining and educating readers about the harsh reality of the Australian outback.
• Introduction P2: Lawson’s 1892 short story, “The Drover’s Wife”, challenges the stereotypical identity and lifestyle of bush women, providing an unprecedented tale of a female stoic, pragmatic protagonist. In contrast, the 1896 short story “Shooting the Moon”, effectively enlighten the audience on the importance of mate ship, humour and storytelling in order to find comfort and survive the brutal realities of the Australian bush.
• Introduction Link: Through the manipulation of language, Henry Lawson successfully provides and educates the audience with better access into the worlds of the Australian outback.
• Paragraph 1 Thesis: The hostile, desolated and overwhelming isolation of the bush environment defines individual identity. Individuals are often forced to retain one's femininity and sense of humour to survive the monotonous, isolated and cyclical culture of bush life.
• Paragraph 1 Introduction: Henry Lawson, in his 1892 short story, “The Drover’s Wife”, effectively reveals how the culture of the realistic Australian bush life largely shapes identity and provides readers with deep insight into the struggle between her feminine identity, and the pragmatic, hardened woman she is becoming due to the environment.
• Paragraph 1 Quote/analysis 1: Lawson utilises the labelled protagonist, the “Drover’s wife” to challenge the oppressed stereotypical role of females in the bush. The use of the unnamed protagonist ironically reveals the reality of the context of the author’s time, where women are often seen and referred to as property and second to their husbands.
• Paragraph 1 Quote/analysis 2: This is further enhanced in the laconic description, “the drover, an ex-squatter, is away with sheep. His wife and children are left alone”. The Drover’s wife is further introduced through her husband, acknowledging the cultural assumptions of her and other women's identity as solely their husband's wife and property. This highlights the large effect culture has on the identity of the Drover’s wife. The Drover’s wife is always unnamed and seen as second to her husband, stripping her of her identity.
• Paragraph 1 Quote/analysis 3: As her husband is away, the Drover’s wife is forced to push all femininity and emotions aside to survive and protect her children from the harsh environment of the Australian bush. This is further reinforced in the symbolism of “she put on an old pair of her husband's trousers”, highlighting how she is forced to adopt her husband’s masculine qualities, shaping her identity dramatically.
• Paragraph 1 Quote/analysis 4 P1: The change from an urban lifestyle to the harsh culture of the bush can dramatically affect an individual’s dreams and desires, encapsulated in the personified extended metaphor “Her girlish hopes and aspirations have long been dead… As a girl, she built the usual castles in the air”.
• Paragraph 1 Quote/analysis 4 P2: The Drover’s wife's dreams and femininity are metaphorically dead, and the absence of her husband has forced her to abandon the metaphorical “castles in the air”. The land and lifestyle of the bush have forced her identity to change and adapt to the new rural environment. She once dreamt of being a princess and living in a castle, but the bush has had a force on her identity, forcing her to lose her femininity and take on her absent husband's masculinity.
• Paragraph 1 Quote/analysis 5 P1: However, even though the bush culture has forced her to alter her identity to survive, she still makes a big effort to try and not let the land consume her. This is effectively encapsulated in the symbolic juxtaposing images of “Her sewing basket and a copy of the young ladies journal”.
• Paragraph 1 Quote/analysis 5 P2: Lawson deliberately utilises the sewing basket and magazine to represent her femininity, highlighting how even though the bush has largely shaped and changed the Drover’s wife’s identity and lifestyle, she still holds onto some of her femininity and emotions. The symbolism of the Young woman’s journal suggests that the Drover’s wife is using this magazine to hold on to her femininity as much as she can, while also reflecting on her loss of youth and freedom.
• Paragraph 1 QUote/analysis 6: The Australian culture has forced the Drover’s wife to hide all her emotions and feelings to survive and protect her children. Through the emotive language, “she hugs him to her worn-out breast and kisses him”, Lawson effectively encapsulates the maternal love and femininity of the Drover’s wife that had to be suppressed, even in the harsh environment of the Aussie bush. It reveals how her sentimental side was always there but unable to be expressed due to her dedication of protecting her family.
• Paragraph 1 Conclusion: Through the use of language, Henry Lawson is able to encapsulate the realities of the Australian bush life and reveal the effect it has on the identity of individuals. In his short story, Lawson explores the effect of the harsh environment of the bush on a Drover’s wife, her family and identity.
• Paragraph 2 Thesis: Composers of texts use language and the power of storytelling to invite the audience to understand how the struggles and adversity of the Australian bush landscape can be overcome through mate ship, conversation and solidarity.
• Paragraph 2 Introduction: Henry Lawson’s, 1896 short story “Shooting the Moon” exposes and demystifies the reality of the harshness of the bush, his world and the people who survived there.
• Paragraph 2 Quote/analysis 1: The idiomatic title “Shooting the Moon” encapsulates the culture and identity of Australian bushmen and swagmen. The idea of shooting the moon highlights the awareness and instincts of bushies and swagmen, where instinct and ingenuity are required to survive the hostile environment. Through the title, the composer educates the viewers on the collective adversities bushmen and drovers face in order to survive the brutal Australian bush, where many swagmen cannot pay for basic needs.
• Paragraph 2 Quote/analysis 2: Lawson further informs the reader of the world of swagmen through the personification of the romantic imagery “fringe of the mulga”. The Australian tree, the mulga, is an effective symbol of the harsh environment as well as a representation of the resilient bushmen and women. Lawson manipulates the language in the Romantic image, adding to the affirming nature of the Australian bush, while also displaying the harsh environment.
• Paragraph 2 Quote/analysis 3 P1: The hardship of the Australian culture, especially after the drought, largely affected the identity and humour of many swagmen. Swagmen relied on black humour, or dark humour, to find comfort during the difficult hardships of the environment. This is effectively encapsulated in the past tense narration “I carried the rope in case of an accident… — or hang myself, maybe, if things got too bad” and the hyperbole “No, now I come to think of it, I carried a revolver for that, and it was the only thing I never pawned”.
• Paragraph 2 Quote/analysis 3 P2: The casualness of the conversation around such a dark, deep topic highlights their connection in the common experience of the bush and their mateship. The harsh environment provokes nihilistic views on life, resulting in the emotionless black humour of death.
• Paragraph 2 Quote/analysis 4: Lawson here in 'it doesn't matter' conveys that friendship holds experiences and memories that become stories of utmost importance, not something trivial like a last name. What matters is the experiences they survived together and how they were companions in a time of need.
• Paragraph 2 Quote/analysis 5: Lawson exposes the expendable nature of life in the bush through the laconic, dry, unemotional statement of Tom’s fate, “dead-”. In order to survive, they are unable to dwell on death as it is a reality. The ending strongly reiterates the harshness of the bush life, perhaps emphasising the importance of human connection through storytelling.
• Paragraph 2 Conclusion: Through the use of language, Lawson both entertains and informs the reader, providing an understanding on the importance of mate ship and humour to find comfort and survive the harsh Australian bush.
• Conclusion: Readers are both entertained and informed by a composer’s use of language and form, providing them with better access to the worlds of their text. Henry Lawson, through his short stories, effectively enlightens his audience and provides them with better insight into the hard realities of the Australian bush.
• Labelled protagonist (DW)

  "The Drovers Wife"
• Laconic description (DW)


  "The Drover, an ex-squatter, is away with sheep. His wife and children are left alone"
• Symbolism (DW)

  "She put on an old pair of her husbands trousers"
• Extended Metaphor (DW)

  "Her girlish hopes and aspirations have long been dead... As a girl, she built the usual castles in the air"
• Symbolic juxtaposing images (DW)

  "Her sewing basket and a copy of the Young Ladies Journal"
• Emotive language (DW)

  "She hugs him to her warn-out breast and kisses him"
• Idiomatic Title (STM)


  "Shooting the Moon"
• Personified Romantic Imagery (STM)


  "Fringe of the Mulga"
• Past Tense Narration (STM)


  "I carried the rope in case of an accident... of hang myself, maybe, if things get too bad"
• Hyperbole (STM)


  "No, now that I come to think of it, I carried a revolver for that, and it was the only thing I never pawned"
• Dialogue (STM)


  "It doesnt matter"
• Laconic, dry and unemotional Statement of Tom's Fate


  "dead-"