Les Murray Critical Advanced Essay

Some say that every text has a use by date and whereas some believe that every text is dateless. The idea that every text has its use by date is incorrect, and in this essay, we will argue against this idea. If a text is written from a long period of time ago it does not mean that it still won’t be interesting today, as the events and themes used in the text can still be relevant to today’s time. And these texts are what we can call universal. A universal text allows us to compare, contrast and also reflect on the themes and context of the past to the current time. Hence, these texts provide us an understanding about a particular time by the themes, context or events mentioned in the text and we can therefore use these concepts as a reflection to the current time. Les Murray’s “An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow” and “The Mitchells” are examples of texts that do not need a use by date. These two poems highlight major themes and are considered to be of relevance to today’s time.

Les Murray himself has embraced Catholicism and his religious perceptions have had a deep influence on much of his poetry. In his poem “An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow”, it is evident that Les Murray’s religious insights have been mentioned significantly throughout the poem itself. The theme of religious awareness in the poem shows a division between the city and the rural people. In the first stanza of the poem in the lines of “... at Tattersalls, men look up from sheets of numbers, the Stock Exchange scribblers forget the chalk in their hands. And men with bread in their pockets leave the Greek Club...” describe the city people to be consumed with money. The setting of the poem is set in the city and this allows the reader to create some sort of city image in their mind. Through Murray’s use of descriptive words of the city people, furthermore creates the images of the busy day-to-day lives of urban society. If we were to use this insight and compare it to today’s time, we will see a similar