Essay about Rosemary Dobson's Poetry

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

Robert Gray most definitely provokes thought and stirs emotion through an effective use of language and techniques used in his poems. One of his major messages are those connected with mans effect on the environment and our constant need to create something new and yet, forget about what we already have and where that ends up. Also the sense of our society almost becoming, un-Australian and very international.

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

Imagery was also used in the poem.  I found that the yellow in the first line represented that the future the writer was facing was bright and warm regardless of his choice.  The undergrowth was, as undergrowth in any forest, damp and dank smelling, but not necessarily unpleasant, just something that the writer would have to face.  The image of traveling through a forest also brings to mind thoughts of birds in flight, chirping and singing.  Squirrels dashing through trees, rustling leaves and dropping the occasional acorn or nut also create an image of sight and sound.  The sun reflecting through the trees, casting shadows and creating pockets of warm and cool air and the occasional breeze stirring through the trees are also brought to mind by this poem.  The end of the poem brings to me

Friendship is a blessing, people say, and it is. Men often express their appreciation and respect for male friends through literature. A fellowship, medieval authors call it. A deep and unbreakable connection between males, transcending romantic love. A relationship based on mutual support and admiration, thriving of intellectual stimulation. Nothing is more valuable to a man than a friendship, not even the love of a woman; it is only a man, after all, who can understand another man. To seventeenth century men, friendship (just like everything else) is a male blessing – a patriarchal gift – not for women. Female friendship was “impossible,” for an amicable and supportive relationship between women could never exist. Platonic friendships existed between men, not women. Yet, several female poets challenged this notion, emphasizing importance of female friendships as male authors and poets do. Friendship is defined through a feminist lens in Aemilia Lanyer’s “The Description of Cookham” and Katherine Philips’ poetry in which female characteristics that are often overlooked are deeming meaningful through friendship.

Reflections Within is a non-traditional stanzaic poem made up of five stanzas containing thirty-four lines that do not form a specific metrical pattern. Rather it is supported by its thematic structure. Each of the five stanzas vary in the amount of lines that each contain. The first stanza is a sestet containing six lines. The same can be observed of the second stanza. The third stanza contains eight lines or an octave. Stanzas four and five are oddly in that their number of lines which are five and nine.

Chapter 1 is more of an introduction to some important characters. We learn that Mr. Pontellier isn’t around often, and isn’t much of a family man. We meet Edna and Robert, who have a seemingly romantic connection. This chapter will likely affect the story as the relationship between Edna and Robert continues to build and cause turmoil. In Chapter 2 we learn that Edna and Robert are both aesthetically pleasing, and that Robert is not wealthy because he rolls his own cigarettes. Robert reveals he will be traveling to Mexico at the end of the summer. This chapter affects the story because Robert’s trip to Mexico will deeply affect Edna and their relationship. In Chapter 3 we learn that Mr. Pontellier and Edna’s relationship isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Mr. Pontellier leaves for the week even during their summer vacation to work, so he is rarely around. This chapter will affect the story because the problems in their marriage will contribute to Edna’s development as an individual. Chapter 4 reveals more about Edna to the reader. We learn she is not a “mother-woman”, meaning she doesn’t put her kids or spouse before herself. We also learn she is the lone non-Creole around, and is not comfortable talking about sex, unlike the Creoles. This will play into the story as a whole because Edna’s feelings of distance from the Creole community will play into her growth as a character. Chapter 5 reveals more about Robert, and how every summer he devotes his feelings to a woman,

The ones at the bottom want for the top, And the ones at the top kick their lessers; But those who stayed away, they laugh and scoff. For they alone can see the true message.

The poet ironic/pessimistic tone emphasizes the child’s innocence with the relationship with the child’s father. Diction such as “death” which connotation a dark negative tone. The use of irony in the poem creates heaviness. Also, phrases like “hangs on like death,” the speaker describes their ruthess waltz.

The tone which eventually creates the mood of the poem slowly progresses as the poem moves on. It is a slow, monotonous, interrupted and repetitive tone in the beginning, “drowsy syncopated tune” on which the musician is swaying to the soft and calm “mellow croon”. Moreover, with the personification of the piano “poor piano moan with melody” the tone is changed into a more satisfying one yet with more distress. The piano may also symbolize black and white people and that even though black keys are less, they make music too and are above the white keys. This gives the musician hope.

Lockward’s use of sound was incredible. Readers can hear her anger in the beginning, her humor as she talks about writing and hiding her poem, and her husbands emotional break down at the end. The stanzas in this poem aren’t traditional, they aren’t set to a fixed pattern but each vary in the amount of lines they contain. One stanza contains five lines, while another contains eight.

The expression and unhappy tone of the poem are the most easily identify a condition of tone within the piece. Tears is indicated twice in the poem, as a "sweet arpeggio of tears", yet the tears of the first phrase is much rhythmic and suggest self-control, while weeping in echo to “a rain of tears,” which suggest extreme crying first as a “some sweet arpeggio of tears” (3) and then as “a rain of tears” (13). The calm

Throughout the poem, the structure of the text switches a few times. It starts off as depressing, as he describes how terrible it is being exiled and living

The characters are described as enduring their day to day life, which suggests an uncomfortable presence within their lives. The tone supports the overarching theme of fear. As the poem begins, the child comforts the dog from the clamorous

This poem is very descriptive because it points out details that the reader may have not pointed out when glancing at the painting. For example, Stone writes “ a human snout float in the face of a swine. This human snout emphasizes how the animals symbolizes the human to connect to the theme. Additionally, a shift in this poem occurs in the second stanza when the author writes “ the stalked the dark and day of every beast except the lion” This shift in the poem shows that the lion is different form the other animals. Even more attention is brought to the lion when the author uses the smile “swaggering like a king”. This simile shows that the lion has some sort of high status. Th usage of words such as blaze, dark, venison, and fear gives the poem a fearsome and dark mood. Furthermore, this poem successfully shows how animals are reacting to this tragic