ALI COBBY ECKERMAN A AND O

Question 1

1 Personification - “Ghost gums begin to dance”

Answer 1

Reflects the tree’s freedom and lack of control

To highlight the persona’s inability to control all events and actions that surround her as nature takes its course

Question 2

2 Visual imagery - “Hunched in her possum skin cloak”

Answer 2

Reflects the importance of her cultural identity as indicated through her wearing of animal skins for protection and survival.

This emphasises how the circle of life is of equal importance for both Aboriginal people and the balance of nature

Question 3

3 Personification - “The yellow kiss of the sun”

Answer 3

Mother earth reclaims the physical forms in Aboriginal culture.

This reflects that their love for each other still lives within creation from the natural world.

Question 4

4 Enjambment - The lack of punctuation in the poem

Answer 4

Represents the struggle of loss and the pain fuelled through her past memories with her husband.

Reflects the major impact death has on her and how she uses memories to endure emotional pain.

Question 5

5 Metaphor - “In my mind the horizon is formed by him even at this distance I know that”

Answer 5

Emphasises the communal value of the natural world.

To express their belief that the natural world reflects their ancestor’s state of peace.

Question 6

6 Symbolism - He, Him, His

Answer 6

Reveals the persona’s certainty and comfort in nature as she acknowledges the tree as her deceased father.

Reveals the way her community has influenced her belief in the natural world playing a role in the afterlife