A Thaw on Snowy River

Abstract

In brief, 'The Man from Snowy River' seems to possess none of those attributes whereby a critic might justify its wide and continued popularity. Judith Wright's approach to the poem is now perhaps the most usual one. Often it is an attitude that is implied rather than stated, for many critics unexpectedly refrain from commenting on the poem at all. Yet it was the title poem of a collection that was, and still is, remarkably successful. While a few critics have been prepared to assert that Paterson has something worthwhile to offer and that 'The Man from Snowy River' is one of his best poems, perhaps the most outstanding feature of the extant criticism is an apparent unwillingness to comment upon the text of this poem.