Deepen!

Instructions: Read the material for New Zealand literature. File is accessible htough the
class’ Google classroom page.

New Zealand Literature

Most important literary characteristic:
New Zealand’s remoteness.

Why remoteness? Small island (1600 km from Australia)Far from the regular shipping lanes and air
routes of most nations. These characteristics show in NZ a typical “frontier society” which is
reflected in its literature.

European Settlers Early 19th century.

More interested in making a living off the land than in literature .

Early writing: diaries, journals, scientific texts and handbooks.

Purpose: to instruct / to impart practical knowledge.

Poetry Alfred Dommet’s (1811-1887) “Ranolf and Amohia” An epic poem

Concentrated on the lives of the Maori people. Although the subject matter is NZ, its technique
corresponds to the Victorian period of England.

1890sWriters began to feel that it was possible to develop distinctive indigenous literature.

Fiction: Katherine Mansfield

She wrote stories about life in NZ. Her reimagining of NZ has strengthened the belief that the
country can sustain the literary imagination.

1920s Authentic indigenous literature.

Jane Mander (1878-1949)

Problems of women especially in the rural areas.
1930s: Worldwide economic depression
Writers began to explore the harsh realities of life. A re-examining of society and their own attitudes
to it. Critical Realism becomes an important part of NZ literature.

Critical Realism: reality exists independently from us, yet it cannot be known absolutely. Our
knowledge of reality is and can only be an approximation.

Deepen!

Instructions: Watch the YouTube video entitled Entire History of New Zealand ll History
Quickly by History Quickly to learn more about New Zealand and its people, history and culture.