At Mornington, A Poem by Gwen Harwood

Throughout Gwen Harwood’s "Selected Poems", Harwood continually seeks to examine the many different faces of human nature, which have been heavily influenced by her experiences as a child, a woman and in the moments prior to her death. Her poems explore and reveal the power of reminiscence and memories, rebellion against authority, as well as the idea of mortality, which are illustrated by many of Harwood’s different personas. In some of Harwood’s poems, the persona demonstrates that memory can

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

EXTENDED RESPONSE: Gwen Harwood “In your view, how has textural integrity been achieved in Harwood’s works. Support your view with detailed reference to at least two of the poems set for study, evaluating the structure and poetic techniques” Through the mastery of the unique structure, style, and coherent textural integrity of her work, Gwen Harwood is widely acknowledged as a ______ poet. Harwood engages the audience personally though the highly personal, yet detached tone and language, thus

experiences held in the subconscious illuminate an adult’s perception. Harwood uses tense shifts throughout her poetry to emphasise and indicate the interweaving and connection the past and the present hold. By allowing this examination of the childhood memories, Harwood identifies that their significance is that of an everlasting memory that will dominate over time’s continuity and the inevitability of death. Three poems written by Harwood that emphasise the idea of memory’s importance and its ability

MODULE B: GWEN HARWOOD Opportunities for an individual to develop understanding of themselves stem from the experiences attained on their journey through life. The elements which contribute to life are explored throughout Gwen Harwood’s poems, At Mornington and Mother Who Gave Me Life, where the recollection of various events are presented as influences on the individual’s perception of the continuity of life. Both poems examine the connections between people and death in relation to personal connections

'Harwood's poems explore the impact of time and change on the reassessment of one's identity.' Evaluate this statement in reference to 'At Mornington' and 'Mother Who Gave Me Life.' Our identity is inimitable, yet ironically it is affected by society and enigmatic forces that define our external relationships. This inextricable link between identity and social environment not only shape our identity, but gives us a sense of purpose, however when we fail to establish our sense of congruity with

truly significant battles are fought within oneself. Differences in people’s opinions can cause major conflicts, however fighting against one’s own opposing beliefs can be tougher to resolve. Poets William Blake, G.M. Hopkins and Gwen Harwood have produced various poems epitomising how these internal struggles can become quite detrimental. Despite the differences in time periods and their varying cultural backgrounds, they all convey deep messages about the struggles with worshipping their faith

interpretation of Gwen Harwood’s poetry, through the two examples ‘Triste, Triste’ and ‘At Mornington’, is that it appeals to the key concepts of existentialism, namely Despair, and ‘the Other’. Through addressing these key concepts, Harwood’s poetry contends the notions of existential nihilism. In turn, the human experiences of loss and consolation are authenticated through her poetic exploration of the concrete and the abstract realms within those key concepts. Although the statement concerning