Preoccupations In Judith Wright's Poetry

Judith Wright becomes one of Australia's most highly regarded poets in spite of the fact that poetry has traditionally been the most difficult for a woman to succeed in. She is also an uncompromising environmentalist and supporter of Aboriginal land rights. Up till now, the domestic research on Judith Wright is still in its beginning stage and the scarcity of relevant materials remains a big headache. This thesis aims to promote Chinese research on Judith Wright.The first chapter functions as an introduction to Judith Wright and her outstanding poetic achievements. The high position of Wright in the literary world encourages numerous criticisms on her works. Inspired by the abundant research abroad, I will exhibit the objectives, necessity and significance of the study in this part.The second chapter concerns essential standpoints of the poet in her literary works. I shall proceed from the following five aspects: metaphysical profundities in Wright's mindscape, poetic tradition and innovation, rationalism and imagination, craftsmanship and spontaneity, organicism and variation. Wright is ready to synthesize the advantages of each part and adopt a middle course in their regular conflicts. It is safe to say that Wright is a traditional poet by inclination though she is influenced by Modernism as well as its theories.The third chapter is an analysis of Wright's meditation on Modemism. Her poetry is permeated by modernistic preoccupations and concerns, which is anatomized from four major aspects. Wright inclines to undertake the duties of philosophical reflection, among which she focuses on the definition of time and means of overcoming it. Wright's frequent resort to imagery helps extricate her from the limitations of language and express her emotions. Her elaborate understanding of poetry further makes her poems really do something, which conforms to the opinion that poetry should become entwined with reality. In the fourth part, emphases are placed on the major themes in Wright's poetry: love and nature. The love poems of Wright transcend sexual love, because Wright believes that love, a compelling force of life, should be universal fraternity that transcends any discrimination against gender, race, social status and the like. The theme of love is also a reflection of feminist thoughts in Wright's work, which is subsequently investigated in the same chapter. The love for the world has aroused Wright's anxiety about the deteriorating natural environment. She denounces the intention to separate mankind from nature and calls for an effective protection of the globe.I shall concern myself with the oriental complex of Wright in Chapter Five. The analysis of some poems illustrates the Eastern philosophy and world view covered in the poems of Wright in the later period. The transition to Eastern thoughts takes place when she realizes the failure of Western philosophy to settle severe social problems.The conclusion of the study affirms the comprehensive themes and original ideas of this typical Australian poet. Her poems really "promise anything, everything, the world". Wright's works have enriched the literature of Australia, and her considerable contribution to world literature is yet to be further recognized and appreciated.