Harwood blends the intellectual with the emotional
The human human condi conditio tion n is such such that that there there are distin distinct ct conte contendi nding ng princi principle ples s that that individuals individuals seek to reconcile. Art is often an individual’s response to their context and atte attemp mpts ts to synt synthe hesi sise se the the dual dualit itie ies s with within in the the arti artist st or thei theirr soci society ety and and to commun communica icate te a resol resoluti ution on throu through gh creati creative ve facul facultie ties. s. This This sense sense of consta constant nt negotiation with one’s self through art is evident in the poetry of Gwen Harwood. In her poems, Harwood Harwood fuses inaries inaries such as reason reason and emotion! emotion! certainty certainty and amiguity in order to deal with competing aspects of the self and engage in a new and harmonised perception of the present. Harwood’s poem "Triste, Triste# tries to negotiate the contrasting passions of the physical and spiritual, while "At $ornington# conveys Harwood’s strife to reconcile the finality of death with the fleeting nature of life. Harwood also unites the past and present in her poem "The %iolets& in order to reach reach a state state of accept acceptanc ance. e. Harw Harwood ood's 's aili aility ty to comin comine e opposi opposing ng princi principle ples s resonates with an audience searching for a united sense of self, transcending the context of her poetry and proving its endurance. In "Triste, Triste#, Harwood explores the tensions etween the creative spirit and the limitations of the earth, a conflict etween passion and lucidity which resonates with the internal conflicts in her audience. Harwood expresses a yearning for continued physical passion in the intermittent "space etween love and sleep#. Harwood views this intangile time as an opportunity to transcend the (prison’ of the heart. The poem is imued with a strong sense of entrapment, with the ody o)ectified as a (stone’! there is almost a necessity to escape the temporal and find a more spiritual intensity, reinforced y Harwood’s allusion to the *hristian resurrection. The poem shifts explicit explicitly ly (away’ (away’ from the physical physical,, transcen transcending ding earthly reality reality Harwood contrasts the spiritual with the mortal, appeal ting the readers’ desire to possess a passionate, intrinsic other self, (away from its tom of one’. There is a divinity in the imagery pertaining to the creative spirit, a sulime perfection in the (unearale light’ where the persona reaches a state of euphoria likened to that of physical physical passion. passion. +et there there is somethin something g divorced divorced with the spirit (walking (walking alone’, alone’, repres represen entin ting g indiv individu idual al exper experien ience ce in the imagin imaginati ative ve realm realm where where there there is no intimacy. Harwood’s personification of the spirit allows it to move from the purely sentimental to a conceivale eing that resonates with oth the reader’s emotion and intellect. hile Harwood contrasts the imaginative and temporal selves, there is a recognition for the need to unify the two. At the height of inspiration, Harwood draws the reader ack to the (darkness of sleep and love’, alerting us to the impossiility of sustaining such intensity in the imaginative realm. The use of emotive language conveys the urgency of reconnecting the two selves. Again there is a removal from the surreal with Harwood's use of dialogue which which creates a sense of the t he present. The last stan-a reunites the (heart’ with creative passion, conveying the need for the heart to draw certainty from the temporal, and also the evanescence of inspiration as the (spirits light’ is (dispelled’. However Harwood recognises and alerts the reader that the heart can only (waken to peace’ if the creative self lies dormant. Harwood not so much lends as negotiates etween the two worlds to reach a harmonious state. Howeve Howeverr the poem poem (At (At $ornin $orningto gton’ n’ convey conveys s an eviden evidentt strife strife to recon reconcil cile e the opposing principles of life in the midst of grief. Harwood uses memory to fuse the past and the present which allows her to come to a realisation that there can e comfort comfort in the thralls thralls of grief. grief. (At $ornington’ $ornington’ confronts confronts the reader reader with the ultimate paradox of transience and finality! life and death. There is a somre, reflective tone
as the persona and friend (stand in silence amongst the avenues of the dead’, which creates a need for solace to occur. Harwood's contrasts the stagnant (marle and granite’ with the nature of memory (fugitive as light in a seawet shell’ /uestioning the significance of memory in the process if grief and its role in consoling the present state of loss. $emory is recalled to the persona in the form of childhood experience, where the persona desires to draw strength and certainty from her earlier conviction in her own power. However as she /uestions the role of memory Harwood speculates on its validity also as memory is influenced y the present and su)ect to emotion, emphasised y the uncertainty of (seem0ing1 to rememer’ and the amiguity of a father (half comforting, half angry’. The innocent elief that defying gravity (was only a matter of alance’ is reflected in the persona’s present longing to transcend the gravity of death (in airy defiance of nature’. Harwood aligns herself with nature, with the metaphor of a pumpkin, lending her state of contemplation with the pastoral as the force of inevitaility,! the cyclical (time of life’ depresses her defiance. There is an intensity in the tone of despair, that y articulating through the language of poetry, Harwood also communicates a deeply personal yet ui/uitous emotion. The poem returns to memory, though that of a dream through which the persona egins to recognise a means y which to reconcile transient life with death. The stan-a is steeped in fertile imagery of (dayright flowers’ and (water’. The motif of water reappears, here symolising not the overpowering force of death, ut the sustenance of friendship. That (there is still some water...enough to refresh’ is comforting, reshaping her perception of nature as progressing to inevitale loss. The raw emotion of the poem turns to a soer reflection where the persona (thinks of death no more’ ut is ale to confront death through the experience of (dreams, pain, memories, love and grief’. 2rom the contemplation of mortality emerges a serenity and acceptance inspired y unifying the inescapaility of death with an appreciation of memory and friendship. 3ikewise, in her poem "The %iolets#, Harwood lends the emotion of grief with a reflection on memory in order to achieve a state of reconciliation. The first stan-a depicts a "melancholy# setting where "frail# violets excite the persona’s recollection of a poignant childhood experience. The pathetic fallacy of the "dusk, and cold# atmosphere reflects the comfortless state of the persona, triggering empathy in reader’s who have experienced such a loss. Harwood’s adult grief is mirrored y her )uvenile outrage at the time which had een "stolen# from her, and like death, the loss of time is irreplaceale. However the child is ultimately "reconciled# y the "sweetness# of the persona’s parents, depicted through Harwood’s use of domestic, homely imagery of the "long hair# and "wood stove#. There is a conviction in "years cannot move# that conveys a sudden awareness that memory’s "lamplit presences# can in times of despair, e as real to individuals as the present, and so a source of solace. The idea of there eing consolation in loss is one that will resonate with readers searching for relief, and the lingering "scent of violets# shows the longevity of memory and conveys it as eternal, continuing the presence of those physically lost.
