Repetition is used throughout the poem Homecoming to show that war is repetitive. Example: the repetition of the word “they’re” as the first word of a line.
The use of repetition in “Homecoming” is to emphasise the emptiness and dullness of going to war and their homecoming.
Bruce Dawes purpose in using repetition is to symbolise the repetition of war.
This technique can effect the audience by creating an atmosphere of empathy for the people who go to war. From using repetition in words such as “ day after day”, Bruce constructs a mood of dullness.
Soldiers aren’t appreciated When the soldiers came home to their homecoming, they were only met by dogs. “raise muzzles in mute salute”. This shows the meaningless of war and how soldiers weren’t given recognition for their war efforts.
Dawe …show more content…
Bruce Dawe had a very strong poetic voice in all of his poems but notably in his poem Homecoming where he connects with the ordinary person and their experiences. His message behind the poem Homecoming had a disturbing challenge to accepted values. An extension to this idea is the problems about war and how detrimental it is to society. To get his point across Bruce Dawe uses vivid imagery to create a distinct mood that challenges the norm based around how the returning soldiers are not appreciated.

Associated with this idea is how Bruce Dawe uses techniques such as repetition to not only voice his ideas but to get the audience to recognize the problems that these ideas signify. It signifies the dryness of the monotone events associated with war and homecoming. An aspect of this idea is the repetition of the “ing” words in homecoming, “They are picking, bringing, zipping, tagging, giving, rolling, freezing, and bringing the dead heroes home”. Bruce Dawe uses this repetition to show his own voice identifying the loss of identity of