AD Hope - Critical Poetry

By James Cox, Student

A discussion of several Hope poems.

An essay hosted at LiteratureClassics.com

Poetry can often act as a critique by the poet on a certain subject. One poet who wrote many critical works was AD Hope, an Australian poet. Two poems of his that are perhaps some of his more unknown critical works are “Inscription for a War” and “Standardization.”

The moment in history and culture that these poems focus on are from 30-50 years ago. Unfortunately, this means that the poems have suffered quite a bit since the time of writing. “Inscription for a War” deals with the Vietnam war, and “Standardization” is critical of Australian society in the fifties and sixties.

AD Hope was often condemned by people as conservative when he did not join the Anti-Vietnam war movement, and it is true that he did not comment heavily on the war. His one concession to external commentary on the war was this poem, “Inscription for a Way.”

“Linger not, stranger, shed no tear,
For all of those who have fallen here.
Go tell those old men, safe in bed,
We took their orders, and are dead.”

The structure of the poem consists of rhyming couplets, each being a complete sentence. This means that little or no Enjambment occurs, causing each statement to be read as a separate little ‘sound bite.’

The meaning of the poem is obviously anti-Vietnam war, but it also can be taken to be anti-war in General. This can be surmised form the fact that many parts of the poem can be linked to other wars, such as World War One in this wrote:
“We are the young they drafted out,
To wars their folly brought about.”
another war of follu, as well as of great waste and bloodshed.

“Standardization pokes at two things, the state of modern society, condemning mechanisation, modern technology, etc, and also it looks at a society of ‘complete standardization,’ much like the Orwellian Nineteen Eighty Four.

The poem is divided into two parts, both consisting of ive stanzas. In the first part, the stanzas tell us about the things that are wrong with modern society. Enjambment is used in these stanzas, linking them in to a single section. In the second section, the five stanzas are used to build up a crescendo every Stanza until the last one, which paints a picture of ‘complete standardization,’ with everything being dull, gloomy, and most importantly, exactly alike.

The first meaning is present in the first part of the poem mainly, where AD Hope seems to complain about modern society and to wish for the ‘good aold days’ as well. Some examples of modern society are:
“The house not made with hands”
“Vacuum cleaners and tinned soup.”
“Great buildings thrust up un synthetic stone.”

In a style somewhat popular at the time, Hope seems to despair at the lack of craftsmanship, individualism, and human intervention in the manufacturing process.

The second meaning is best summed up in this quote:
“Anonymous faces plastered with her smile”
This is one quote that promotes the view of the Nineteen Eighty Four side of the poem, indeed, “The main goal of the party is to extinguish independent thought forever,” much like the loss of individualism in thew poem.

“Standardisation” has probably suffered the most the decades since it was published. ‘The state of modern society’ is not a hot topic anymore, and society has almost been conditioned against listeniong to such works: it is not original in form nor subject. In addition to this, usijng vacuum cleaners or tinned soup is not seen by people as contributing to the downfall fot eh world, and craftsmanship has still survived due to the premiums paid on handmade furniture and art, etc.

In conclusion, while such critiques can clearly suffer when the conditions they describe no longer exist, at the time of writing they serve an important role in morals, social and political guidance. They can also serve as histories, such as “Inscription for a Wars,” indicating many aspects from different perspectives on certain events will survive.