Composers effectively portray collective and individual human experiences in their texts by bringing the universal themes of pain, discomfort and chaos alive in their texts, thereby resonating with every human being. Kenneth Slessor’s poems, William Street and Out of Time encourage the reader to reflect on the nature of the human experience, by the use of literary techniques, language concepts, modes and media. This is evident in Kenneth Slessor’s two poems William Street, Out of Time however the same human experiences are pursued in the related short film Morning Dove.
In “William Street”; Slessor’s intention is to represent human experiences of urban living especially in the chaos of the 1930s. He challenges our assumptions about city life and invites us to reflect personally on previous negative associations to evoke flashbacks into our own lives. This is a collective human experience as he invites us to join his thoughts. This is evident through a discerning presentation of his rich experiences and subjective perspective of William Street on Kings Cross. An anaphoric accumulation of ‘you find it ugly, I find it lovely’ represents the poet’s love of the street, despite the despair and uncleanliness due to the Great Depression. Slessor is known to have loved Syd...
