Analysis Of Gwen Harwood 's Anthology Of Selected Poems

Gwen Harwood underlines the repression of women within society in Home of Mercy by expressing the restrictions that these girls face. The poem brings forward the way society view young females in the 1960s that act ‘indecently’ in societies view. Harwood is opposed to these views and believes that injustice has been done to these girls simply because they are not in a ‘traditional’ and ‘respectable’ marriage. Harwood uses descriptive language, religious imagery and irony to

Gwen Harwood poems such as The Glass Jar and Prize-Giving illuminate concerns fundamental to human experience including life, death, spirituality and human fall from innocence explored abstractly through the prism of childhood experience. The use of binary opposites, metaphors, similes, musical motifs and biblical allusions allow for a multiplicity of responses and readings highlighting mythological, psychological, Freudian and feminist interpretation.

Some discoveries may be the result of significant experiences that one undergoes. In moving on from these experiences, the discoveries can be provoked and have the ability to open the eyes of individuals. Gwen Harwood’s “Father and Child” explores the growth and maturation of a child. Harwood shows the juxtaposition between innocence and maturity and the way that discovering this deepens the perception one has of the world. The

Whether you realise it or not, the act of representation is a constant and significant aspect of our lives. It defines and influences our perceptions of things in either a positive or negative way. One poem that I particularly admire from Harwood’s collection is ‘The violets’ , as it recognises the inevitable act of evolving without our childhood memories. The art of growing up and moving forward is only fully accomplished when we recognise and accept the experiences and explorations of our childhood. Harwood’s poetic style reflects her conservative, traditional and religious upbringing, as well as her interests in literature, philosophy and music. As one of Australia’s finest poets, and it is an honour to introduce Harwood’s latest poem anthology.

Three poems written by Harwood that emphasise the idea of memory’s importance and its ability to alter and determine perceptions are ‘Father and Child’, ‘The Violets’ and ‘At Mornington’. Each of these poems reminisces on pivotal experiences that modify one’s assessment

Gwen Harwood’s poetry is very powerful for its ability to question the social conventions of its time, positioning the reader to see things in new ways. During the 1960’s, a wave of feminism swept across Australian society, challenging the dominant patriarchal ideologies of the time. Gwen Harwood’s poems ‘Burning Sappho’ and ‘Suburban Sonnet’ are two texts that challenge the dominant image of the happy, gentle, but ultimately subservient housewife. Instead, ‘Burning Sappho’ is powerful in constructing the mother as violent to reject the restraints placed on her by society, whilst Suburban Sonnet addresses the mental impact of the female gender’s confinement to the maternal and domestic sphere. Harwood employs a range of language and

Sylvia Plath and Gwen Harwood tell two very different stories of parental relationships, Mother Who Gave Me Life praising Harwood’s mother and speaking with love and affection, whereas Plath’s Daddy is full of hate for her father. These reflections on the poet’s parental relationships are made using imagery, symbolism and tone.

Gwen Harwood, a contemporary female poet, born in Brisbane Australia in the 1920 's, wrote her poetry during a time where Australian society held dominant gender ideologies that focused on domesticating women. A widely held belief of a passive, nurturing mother figure who looked after her children and complied with her duties as a 'house-wife ', whilst men were viewed as the sole source of income and had a minimal nurturing role with children, was shared, along with ideas of male superiority, and of masculine qualities being superior to feminine qualities, both of which were only expected to be embodied by males and females respectively. The construction of people, places and institutions through poetic conventions in Harwood 's poetry allows the audience to identify these cultural beliefs in conventional gender roles and expectations within 1950 's Australian society in particular. These constructions critique the attitudes and values of the time, especially where women are concerned, and thus position the audience to reject the patriarchal assumptions of the time. Her poems Suburban Sonnet and Prize Giving are can be perceived as radical interpretations and criticisms of the views of the time they were written in, and attest to Harwood 's own beliefs of female independence and placing value on feminine and masculine roles and qualities equally. Harwood grew up with the main female figures in her life being her mother and grandmother, who were both very independent; her

Gwen Harwood’s, ‘Father and child’, is a two-part poem that tempers a child’s naivety to her matured, grown up attitude. Barn Owl presents a threshold in which the responder is able to witness the initiation of Gwen’s transition. The transformation is achieved through her didactical quest for wisdom, lead by her childhood naivety and is complimented through ‘nightfall’, where we see her fully maturate state. The importance of familial relationship and parental guidance is explored in father and child, as well as the contrasting views on mortality and death. Barn Owl depicts death as a shocking and violent occurrence while the second poem, nightfall, displays that death can be accepted, describing the cyclical and

Gwen Harwood’s poetry endures to engage readers through its poetic treatment of loss and consolation. Gwen Harwood’s seemingly ironic simultaneous examination of the personal and the universal is regarded as holding sufficient textual integrity that it has come to resonate with a broad audience and a number of critical perspectives. This is clearly evident within her poems ‘At Mornington’ and ‘A Valediction’, these specific texts have a main focus on motif that once innocence is lost it cannot be reclaimed, and it is only through appreciating the value of what we have lost that we can experience comfort and achieve growth.

Rosemary Dobson's Poetry "Rosemary Dobson seems intent on presenting a view of life as bleak and generally uninteresting In the poems by Rosemary Dobson it generally presents the view of life as bleak. " The Tiger" is an example of this. This also reinforces the limitations on her poetic inspirations. The idea is presented by the effective use of imagery, tone, sound devices and the temporary progression.

In the Park is an engaging and eye-opening poem published in early 1960’s. The author of the Poem, Gwen Harwood, is Australian born and is often regarded as one of Australia’s finest poets. Her work is primarily situated on the subject of motherhood. Through her poems, such as In the Park and Suburban Sonnet she shows the hardships and inner struggles that mothers encounter. The underlying message of the poem is showing how a young mother feels as though her children have deprived her of happiness and she regrets the life she has chosen. The theme of motherhood is prevalent in this poem however it shows the alternative side. The dominant view is usually one where the mother shows the purest, undeniable and strong love for her children. Harwood explains the side of motherhood which is not joyous but overwhelming and tiring. Throughout it is made clear that wants to expose the reader to the truth that is often concealed about motherhood.

Throughout history, Australian has always been perceived as a land of men. This is due to the colonization of Australian during the eighteen and nineteen century, where men are seen inferior to women. They also are domesticated within the house duties that the society has influence because of their gender. Although, Henry Lawson “the drover wife” and The Chosen Vessel” by Barbara Baynton challenges the Australian society through Australian literature by placing women in harsh environments. The drover wife is short stories about women who face the new obsolesce while living within the harsh environments. The Chosen Vessel has a similar aspect of the drover wife but the lead female experience the harness of the environment, which lead to her death. Both women display their own straights and heroics while facing their fears, through their selfless action. They are both portrayed of women of the bush but their fate had stored different outcome for both women. This essay will examine both the drover wife and the chosen vessel both contain a simple plot, but it expands on many issues of gender expectation and domesticated within the household role of the expectation of women. It will also examine the religious aspect of the historical narrative that has been seen within both bush stories.

Gwen Harwood explores through many of her poems the role of women in society in which reflects the challenges of the changing nature of Australian society and expectations of women. Harwood highlights the stultifying world of domesticity and the importance of identity in relation to motherhood, by challenging dominant values and mainstream beliefs. Harwood criticizes the male dominated society and channels the zeitgeist of 1960s feminism, by depicting the entrapment of motherhood in a domestic life and reinforcing of loss of identity within her poems. In both of Harwood's poems 'suburban Sonnet' and 'In the Park', the common themes of motherhood and loss of identity is enforced using a wide variety of literally techniques to portray the inner pain and anguish felt by Harwood in a patriarchal society.

According to the book “The New Anthology of American Poetry” by Steven Gould Axelrod; he claimed “The Dead Nation written by Dewitt Clinton Duncan expresses his anger over what he considered the U.S. abandonment of mortality, and its repudiation of justice under the law along with the twenty-two treaties and its main focus on colonial expansion.” Dewitt Duncan was aiming to share his perspective of the assimilation of Cherokee Nation culture at the same time was explaining the demolition of the nation caused by the Europeans doings. Dewitt Clinton Duncan starts the poem off with lines, “ Alas, poor luckless nation, thou art dead / At last ! and death ne’er came ‘neath brigher bows / Of flattering hope ;upon thine ancient head/hath