English Essays

Robert Gray's "Flames And Dangling Wire"

Robert Gray's poem Flames and Dangling Wire accurately reflects his views on society. Gray uses an amalgamation of techniques to convey his view of man as destructive and nature as beautiful and pure.

Born and raised on the north coast of NSW, Australia, this rural environment impacted greatly on Gray's life and poetry, fostering his affinity with nature. This spiritual connection was inherited from Gray's father and helped him embrace a Zen-Buddist life. These background influences have resulted in Gray becoming one of Australia's leading imagist poets. Gray questions social practises and attitudes in the treatment of the natural surroundings and also promotes having a spiritual connection with the natural environment.

Robert Gray's view on society is clearly displayed in his poem Flames and Dangling Wire. Throughout his poem, Gray uses the recurring motif of Hell on Earth in order to demonstrate the negative impact of the dump and the city. The simile "as in Hell the devils might poke about our souls for vestiges of appetite" compares the workers at the dump with demons, reinforcing Gray's negative depiction of man's impact on the natural environment.

Gray also considers the beauty and power of nature in Flames and Dangling Wire. Gray uses the simile "a waterbird rises above the swamp" to show how the bird rising above the polluted environment symbolises the superiority of the natural world. It reflects Gray's affinity with nature which was influenced by his rural upbringing and his father's love of nature. Gray's use of poetic techniques, helped by his affinity with nature and Zen-Buddist life, demonstrates his view of society.

Gray's poem Flames and Dangling Wire effectively conveys the poet's concern of man's relationship with nature through a variety of poetic techniques. The issues explored perfectly reflect Gray's glum view on society.