Bush Ballads between the Past and the Present: A. B. (Banjo) Paterson's Romanticization of the Bush vs. John Kinsella's Anti-Pastoralism

The contemplative reader of Australian literary history discerns the fact that early Australian poetry witnessed a distinctive style of a poem entitled the "bush ballad," in complete reference to the "Australian Bush"- a large area in Western Australia that is sparsely populated and uncultivated. Early Australian bush poets adopt a Romantic attitude in which they depict the life, character and scenery of the Australian Bush. In point of fact, A. B. (Banjo) Paterson (1864-1941) is the best to exemplify early Australian bush poetry. His bush poetry tends to tell personal stories that best portray all aspects of life in the Australian Bush at that time. On the other hand, John Kinsella (born 1963) is a contemporary Australian poet whose poetry is highly influenced by the rural landscape. However, his poetic attitude is completely different from that of Banjo. Whereas Banjo tends to romanticize and idealize the Australian Bush with its alluring character, Kinsella is inclined to provide a counterforce to the idyllic elements of the pastoral. The present study is a modest attempt to explore the evolution of Australian poetry between the past and the present, i.e. from romanticizing the Australian Bush in Banjo's poetry to attacking the pastoral in Kinsella's poetry. To do this, there is a tendency to provide a brief account of the rise of the Australian bush poetry. Then, the paper purports to elucidate the way in which Banjo and Kinsella deal with the identity of the Australian Bush in their poetry.