Analysis Of The Violets By Gwen Harwood

What themes and ideas does Gwen Harwood explore in her poetry and how does she communicate her ideas to the reader

Harwood explore ideas concerning childhood innocence and experience through her poems, reflecting her deep interest in philosophy and the human experience. As a young contemporary reader, Harwood’s emphasis on the importance of childhood memories is particularly resonant, evoking the audience to reflect upon their own naïve recollections. This is also supported by the critic Hoddinott who stated that within Harwood’s body of work, “dreams of childhood have a particular power…perception of the truth with fear of the unknown” is also evident in “The Violets” where the importance of memories is explored as a reflection on an individual’s growth from naivety to experience. Harwood uses the rhetoric “Where’s morning gone?” in recognition of the carelessness exhibited in childhood

In my thoughts, Harwood’s poetry engages readers through its poetic treatment of loss and consolation throughout relationships as well as its exploration of universal themes about human existence and processes of life. Harwood’s poetry validates the consoling influence of childhood experiences upon adult development evident in both At Mornington and A Valediction where they both explore one sense of loss and consolidation. Harwood cleverly includes personas with their own feelings and anxieties to outlook on the present and future and the power of memories held with past relationships. Relationships link within Harwood’s poetry as throughout life she experiences suffering and includes her personal voice and life within the story of her poem.

The reflection of each poet's childhood is displayed within these lines helping to build a tone for the memories of each narrator.

Explore the presentation of femininity and identity in The Great Gatsby and The Color Purple, considering the contexts of their production, reception and the different ways in which these texts have been read.

They look back on it as if it were all part of an exquisite memory. To illustrate, when Robbins asserts, “ [...] laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy”, he is looking back on his teen years with blended emotions filled with nostalgia, prosperity, and accomplishment. To put it another way, the author believes that his past experiences shaped his contemporary method of existence in which he gains pleasure from. Despite what he believes is heavenly ways of thinking, Robbins is misguided by his

An author of children’s books claimed, “When you become a teenager, you step onto a bridge… The opposite shore is adulthood. Childhood lies behind… As you cross, it burns behind you,”(Gail Carson Levine). This quote reveals a hard truth of life.

The anthology is compiled of my favorite poems, and I purposely selected poems with controversial and subjective meanings. Unlike other forms of literature, such as narrations, in which the meaning and language is more direct, poetry tends to be more personal and open to interpretation. In many cases, even the poet never clearly reveals their poem’s true intent, allowing a myriad of theories to formulate. The subjectiveness of poetry allows the audience to develop various interpretations, which also ensures that more people are identify with them through different ways. For example, the meaning of A Girl by Ezra Pound is still debated, and while it is mostly accepted that the poem is based off the myth of Apollo and Daphne, there are still

Wandering off and laying where the violets bloom she is also sucked in to be with her father. Familiar with love dying all around her she rejects the hope to create an uncertain

Throughout the course of the quarter we read various novels in which the issue of gender arose significantly, whether it was opposing or accepting gender normalities, cross dressing, or a patriarchal society, the topic was present. In William Shakespeare’s, Twelfth Night, gender is presented in two ways: the first way is Viola, who cross-dresses as a man to hide her identity and wealth and the second, is when the women in the play go after what they desire, even if it goes against the normalities of gender in the Elizabethan Era. In Frances Burney’s, Evelina, women give into the expected subordination towards men as it expected in the novel’s patriarchal society. But in Virginia Woolf’s novel, To the Lighthouse, we see a shift in that Lily

bittersweet melancholy at life’s impermanence – that additional beauty imparted to cherry blossoms, say, or human

Swinging back and forth, a five-year-old child plays innocently on the monkey bars thinking only of what's for lunch. I'm sure all of you can remember blissfully innocent times like these. Everything seemed so much simpler. The stresses of finding jobs, paying bills, and handling life's other complexities were nonexistent. When you really look back, that image of innocence is a more crucial time than you previously thought. It was during times like these that I, like others before me, developed into the man I am today. The mind of a young person is malleable; one continues growing and redefining oneself all the way through adolescence and beyond. Perhaps the largest obstacle to be conquered during childhood

The passing of time emphasizes the importance of growing on one’s journey. Gwen Harwood’s fusion of modernist and romantic poetry uses powerful narratives to understand growth on one’s journey through the transition from innocence to experience, the quest for whole identity and the cyclical nature of life. ‘Father and Child’ charts a child’s journey from innocence to experience capturing the individual growth from maturing experiences. ‘Alter Ego’ illustrates the questioning and acceptance of ourselves in life and death. Lastly, ‘At Mornington’ canvasses the need to reconcile with ourselves of the inevitability of death with the fleeting nature of time. Thus, readers are engaged by Harwood’s poetry - through its poetic treatment of growth and time, encouraging us to reconcile with ourselves on our individual growth in life.

communing in the present with her memories. The most prominent group of poems, and the one from which Jennings has selected the largest number for Collected Poems (1986), consists of nostalgic evocations of an idealized childhood. In these poems, childhood is presented through selected aspects of it which relate the child protagonist to the adult speaker through their mutual interest in words and language, form and ritual, and through their faith in spiritual reality. In other poems, Jennings reflects on her own use of images from nature to give formal expression to personal experience, on her consciousness of the “the passion, possession and betrayal” associated with love, and on “Memories of Rome.”

The Structure, style and poetic techniques of a poem contribute greatly to the development of the central idea of a poem. Three poems with central ideas that stood out to me were ‘The Darkling Thrush’ by Thomas Hardy, ‘Days’ by Philip Larkin, and ‘Remembrance’ by Emily Brontë. The central idea of each of these poems revolve around the idea of time and change. Firstly, I will discuss how in ‘The Darkling Thrush’ the simple and traditional structure, the bleak yet straightforward style and techniques such as vivid imagery and capitalisation combine to develop the central idea of change. The same can be said for the simple structure and style used in ‘Days’ which combine with poetic techniques such as metaphors to develop Larkin’s argument against time and change. Finally I will discuss how the idea of time is developed through techniques such as vivid imagery and symbolism in ‘Remembrance’ along with changing styles and a slow, consistent rhythm.