The Three Fates (poem)

"The Three Fates"
by Rosemary Dobson
Country	Australia
Language	English
Publisher	Antaeus, No. 30-31
Publication date	1978
Lines	15

"The Three Fates" is a poem by Australian poet Rosemary Dobson. ^[1]

It was first published in Antaeus, No. 30-31 ^[1] and later in two of the author's poetry collections and a number of other Australian poetry anthologies.

Outline

The three Fates of Greek mythology allow the poem's protagonist to return to life and relive it. But he does not expect to do so backwards.

Critical reception

In his commentary on the poem in 60 Classic Australian Poems Geoff Page called this a "deceptively simple poem". He then went on to explain that "Dobson has achieved an unusually distinctive tone in this poem and has a highly personal way with rhythm." He concluded that "the poem is more than the sum of its devices. They simply serve to provide aesthetic satisfaction and to make the poem's moral more memorable." ^[2]

Further publications

After its initial publication in Antaeus in 1978 the poem was reprinted as follows:

• Poet's Choice 1978 edited by Philip Roberts, Island Press, 1978 ^[3]
• New South : Australian Poetry of the Late 1970s : A Selection edited by David Brooks, Dreadnaught, 1980 ^[4]
• The Three Fates and Other Poems by Rosemary Dobson, Hale and Iremonger, 1984 ^[5]
• The Penguin Book of Modern Australian Poetry edited by John Tranter and Philip Mead, Penguin, 1991 ^[6]
• Collected Poems by Rosemary Dobson, Angus and Robertson, 1991 ^[7]
• The Oxford Book of Australian Women’s Verse edited by Susan Lever, 1995 ^[8]
• 80 Great Poems from Chaucer to Now edited by Geoff Page, University of NSW Press, 2006 ^[9]
• 60 Classic Australian Poems edited by Geoff Page, University of NSW Press, 2009 ^[10]
• Love is Strong as Death edited by Paul Kelly, Hamish Hamilton, 2019 ^[11]

The poem was also translated into Arabic in 1999. ^[1]

See also

• 1978 in poetry
• 1978 in literature
• 1978 in Australian literature
• Australian literature

References

1. ""The Three Fates" by Rosemary Dobson". Austlit. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
2. 60 Classic Australian Poems edited by Geoff Page, University of NSW Press, 2009, pp 120-122
3. "Austlit — "The Three Fates" by Rosemary Dobson". Austlit. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
4. "New South : Australian Poetry of the Late 1970s : A Selection edited by David Brooks". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
5. "The Three Fates and Other Poems by Rosemary Dobson". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
6. "The Penguin Book of Modern Australian Poetry (Penguin)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
7. "Collected Poems by Rosemary Dobson". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
8. "The Oxford Book of Australian Women's Verse edited by Susan Lever". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
9. "80 Great Poems from Chaucer to Now edited by Geoff Page". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
10. "60 Classic Australian Poems edited by Geoff Page". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
11. "Love is Strong as Death edited by Paul Kelly". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 June 2025.