Description of a Walk

Question 1

assumption

Answer 1

Robert Gray’s meticulous Poem, ‘Description of a Walk’ ( 1984 ) explores the transformative power of nature and how engaging with the natural world in its purest forms allows individuals to become reconciled with the landscape.

Question 2

topic sentence

Answer 2

The nourishing power of nature is made apparent in the first 6 stanzas of the poem where Gray invites responders to consolidate with the persona on their attentive walk.

Question 3

similiar
parallels

Answer 3

Gray utilises a description of a currawong, “warbling happily as a hose within a drain”, where the simile helps parallel the bird’s sense of inner peace to invite responder to connect with the landscape to find peace and nourishment within themselves, like that of the bird.

Question 4

metaphor

Answer 4

Gray gives the forest heavenly, divine qualities, derived from the metaphor, “cumulus on stilts”, to allow the audience to reflect on nature’s restorative capacity to human emotions.

Question 5

visual image

Answer 5

Gray cements a powerful visual image in the audience’s mind, through the adjectival description of “rose-coloured sandstone syncopated salt” where the colour and texture of the landscape further reinforces the awe inducing nature of the natural environment, encouraging responders to engage with and appreciate natural landscapes in order to become reconciled with its tranquillity.

Question 6

tactile imagery

Answer 6

Furthermore, the accumulation of colours, accompanied by the tactile imagery in describing the bush; “Bacon redness… caterpillar green… greyish black”, assists the audiences in expanding their appreciation of the natural world due to its projected, powerful capabilities.