Cirrus@Austlit

Hope examines the stories of Lawson and Rudd and argues that Lawson's are the more universal because Rudd's fiction requires a greater understanding of his time and place. But Rudd was able to create universal comic characters, despite the presence of too much slap-stick comedy. Hope concludes that both writers deserve critical attention and should be accepted into the tradition of comic literature exemplified by Mark Twain.

On the publication of Cecil Mann's edition of Lawson's collected prose, Phillips assesses the best of Lawson's stories and attempts to come to terms with their melancholy tone. He concludes that Lawson combined "his sense of the insecurely triumphant survival of tenderness through endurance" with the rigour of naturalism to produce great works of art. This was achieved because the stories were "formed within the matrix of a defeated man's dark melancholy".

Wallace-Crabbe discusses the ways in which the stories of Joe Wilson and His Mates connect to produce a larger unified work. Lawson's self-analysis in this work provides many of the intertextual connections based primarily on biographical knowledge. The common element in these stories is Joe Wilson's attempts to "pull the threads of his past life into some shape".

Barnes argues that Furphy constructed Such is Life to give an impression of the "seeming shapelessness and uncertain consequence of everyday life". Drawing on evidence from a typescript of the novel and Furphy's correspondence, Barnes demonstrates how Furphy deliberately imposed the narrative structure and hidden plots.

Kiernan questions whether Such is Life reflects the "spirit of the nineties" and whether the ideas that Tom Collins expresses in his digressions are simply Joseph Furphy expressing ideas prevalent at the time. Kiernan concludes that Tom Collins' digressions must be read against the contradictions of his actions because his philosophy does not always match his behaviour: "Man's relationship to the universe and his fellow man are the real concern of Such is Life, not the presentation of Australian fronteir society, and the novel offers us Tom Collins's comic response to life rather than Furphy's 'philosophy'".

Heseltine assesses the value of Paterson's poetry, taking its consistent metre, rhythm and pastoral themes into account. Drawing on Ransom's discussion of the "greatness" of Milton's Lycidas, Heseltine stresses the need for an audience that comprehends the literary conventions being employed in a work. This accounts for the form of the Paterson's poems because he knew what his audience wanted: simple, consistent metres and rhythms with an "arcadian" background. Heseltine concludes that this arcadian view, combined with Paterson's technical prowess and immense popularity demands closer attention to bring readers closer to an understanding of Australian culture.

Wright offers a very useful introduction to Brennan's poetry, arguing that "There are few figures in literature so convincing, so deep in their conception and so towering in their realization, as Brennan's dreadful and ambiguous figure of Night".

French provides a negative assessment of Brennan's poetry, identifying passages that he regards as "obscure" rather than "profound". French criticizes Brennan's critics for paying too much attention to the poet's thought at the expense of a sustained critique of the artistic achievement of the poetry .