“North country” by Kenneth Slessor is a poem about human impact on nature. Written in the late 1930’s, the context is contemporary of the composers era, in which he wrote about modern Australia and change in the landscape. The social context is concerned with the different environmental issues in Australia.

The purpose of the poem is to entertain readers. But more importantly, the poet, concerned about trees being cut down, is trying to convey a feeling of guilt to man, for being responsible for taking away a quality of nature. The text implies that humans should recognise the eternal goodness of trees and what they provide.

Due to the issues that the poem is concerned with, its target audience is those aged fifteen and greater. In particularly, the poem is targeted for those interested in nature /the Australian landscape and or those with a passion for poetry.

“North country” addresses the negative change in the environment due to the careless acts of humans. The poets attitude is one of concern about these trees being cut down. He is bitter towards these changes in the physical environment and assigns t

Passing of time and profound love of beauty are the main themes of change evident in the text. Slessor uses the destruction of the forests of the North coast for dairy farms and “cubic inches” to accentuate these themes.

The phrase“rain gone wooden” develops the image of the trees as rain and the unnatural “verticals and perpendiculars” exaggerates the height and shape of the trees. The title “NORTH COUNTRY” is in capitalised letters. This suggests an optimistic feeling. At the beginning of the poem the trees are personified and brought to life. This then changes, and is contrasted against trees “dripping red with blood”.

he blame to humans, for ignorantly stripping away nature. The poet suggests that man has no pity for the dying trees: “nobody cares.”

The second last paragraph switches to be from the perspective of a farmer. The unnatural features of the country, “butterworks and railway stations…” are described.

As the medium of production is in the form of a poem it is very complex in style and concentrated in meaning. Thus, it embodies intensities of thought and emotion. Through emotive language, “gesturing” and the personification of the trees, the poem strikes to the heart of human experience. The poem, unlike other texts, does not reveal its full meaning immediately, but leaves it up to the imagination of the reader as to what will occur next. Through Slessors use of a variety of strategies of communication and techniques of language, “North country” distur

Some topics in this essay:
Country” Slessor, Kenneth Slessor, Slessor Class, “north country”, , red blood”, change “north country”, country” kenneth slessor, “dripping red blood”, trees “dripping red, feeling guilt, quality nature, trees “dripping, change environment, trees cut, change australian, trees depicted, “dripping red,