The Drover S Wife
The Drover’s wife
Exposition
Outline of the setting – desolated, harsh environment, poor living, bleak, Australian bush
Outline meaning sketch which is the narrative form of his writing, the first two paragraphs are pretty brief about its setting
Techniques
Technique
Example
Explain
Tone – unequivocal (clear, leaving no doubt) ‘near waterless creek’
‘nothing to relieve the eye’ describes harsh and barren landscape
Use of accumulation
“built of round timber, slabs and stringy-bark, and floored with split slabs” conveys simple rough construction of the house
Repetition
“no horizon..., no ranges.., no undergrowth...”
The house is geographically isolated, entrapped by the harsh Australian bush
Emphasis
‘big bark kitchen’ as ‘larger than the house itself’ cultural importance of the kitchen
Personification
‘sighing’ ‘she-oaks’ plants survive with struggle
Introduction of characters – four children, a mother
“The drover, an ex-squatter...here left alone” simple statement showing the isolation of the wife and children and their unavoidable situation
Descriptive language - “four ragged, dried-up-looking children” -- > shows their living situation
Conflict/ complication
The snake
Technique
Example
Explain
Exclamation mark
“Snake! Mother, here’s a snake!”
Creates urgency danger
Action verbs
“snatches her baby”
“holds it on her left hip”
“reaches for a stick”
Same as above
Shows a natural reaction to the appearance of a snake as if she has dealt with it before
The in-between
Her single life and talks about how it came to where she was. (e.g. how husband left and became a drover. The memories that were shared but forever gone)
Flashbacks are used to show her harsh life, how she is currently living and has gradually adapted the circumstances of living as a ‘drover’s wife’
Through time, shows alternate between past and present, adding emphasis to the present crisis and building awareness of her past experiences and how they have shaped her personality
Flashbacks –
Exposition
Outline of the setting – desolated, harsh environment, poor living, bleak, Australian bush
Outline meaning sketch which is the narrative form of his writing, the first two paragraphs are pretty brief about its setting
Techniques
Technique
Example
Explain
Tone – unequivocal (clear, leaving no doubt) ‘near waterless creek’
‘nothing to relieve the eye’ describes harsh and barren landscape
Use of accumulation
“built of round timber, slabs and stringy-bark, and floored with split slabs” conveys simple rough construction of the house
Repetition
“no horizon..., no ranges.., no undergrowth...”
The house is geographically isolated, entrapped by the harsh Australian bush
Emphasis
‘big bark kitchen’ as ‘larger than the house itself’ cultural importance of the kitchen
Personification
‘sighing’ ‘she-oaks’ plants survive with struggle
Introduction of characters – four children, a mother
“The drover, an ex-squatter...here left alone” simple statement showing the isolation of the wife and children and their unavoidable situation
Descriptive language - “four ragged, dried-up-looking children” -- > shows their living situation
Conflict/ complication
The snake
Technique
Example
Explain
Exclamation mark
“Snake! Mother, here’s a snake!”
Creates urgency danger
Action verbs
“snatches her baby”
“holds it on her left hip”
“reaches for a stick”
Same as above
Shows a natural reaction to the appearance of a snake as if she has dealt with it before
The in-between
Her single life and talks about how it came to where she was. (e.g. how husband left and became a drover. The memories that were shared but forever gone)
Flashbacks are used to show her harsh life, how she is currently living and has gradually adapted the circumstances of living as a ‘drover’s wife’
Through time, shows alternate between past and present, adding emphasis to the present crisis and building awareness of her past experiences and how they have shaped her personality
Flashbacks –