| "Five Visions of Captain Cook" | |
|---|---|
| by Kenneth Slessor | |
| Written | 1931 |
| First published in | Trio : A Book of Poems by Kenneth Slessor, Harley Matthews and Colin Simpson |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Publication date | 1931 |
"Five Visions of Captain Cook" (1931) is a poem by Australian poet Kenneth Slessor about James Cook. It was originally published in the poetry anthology Trio: A Book of Poems (authored by Kenneth Slessor, Harley Matthews and Colin Simpson), and later appeared two of the poet's collections and in numerous other poetry anthologies. [1]
The poem "builds the character of Captain James Cook from the reactions of those who sailed with him on his three major voyages." [2]
In the essay "Kenneth Slessor: An Essay in Interpretation" (1997) A. K. Thompson noted: "The more carefully we read Cook's Journals the more impressive and convincing Slessor's reconstruction becomes and also the more unlikely it appears that Slessor was attempting to depict himself. Slessor also displays his great skill in marshalling the material that seems to him significant and it must be pointed out, especially in Slessor's case, that this marshalling and handling of significant material needs both skill and intelligence." [3]
The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature stated that the poem was "Full of memorable lines that attest to Slessor's delight in language..and demonstrates that men who change the face of the world inevitably change the lives of those who associate with them." [2]
In his book Reading Australian Poetry Andrew Taylor noted that in this poem "Cook's daemon is will, not imagination; his forté is action, not thought." [4]