Gwen Harwood Essay (Triste, Triste; At Mornington; The Violets)
Conveneyancing law & practice
Gwen Harwood Poem Analysis
Essay on Gwen Harwood's the Violets & Father and Child. Recieved 20,20.
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2010 HSC Sample Response “Harwood’s poetry continues to engage reader’s through its poetic treatment of loss and consolation.” oes this statement resonate with your own interpretation! Refer to at least "#$ poems. %wen Harwood’s poetry is steeped in Romantic traditions and is underpinned &y humanist concerns. 'y personal interpretation is that Harwood’s poetry engages readers through its poetic treatment of loss and consolation as well as its e(ploration of uni)ersal themes a&out human e(istence and the processes of life. Harwood’s poetry )alidates the consoling influence of childhood e(periences upon adult de)elopment e)ident in *+t 'ornington’ which e(plores one sense of loss and consolidation e(perienced e(perienced in the cycle of life from &irth to death. Harwood e(plores one transitory nature of life in her lyrical poem *"he ,iolets’- re)ealing the way in which memory can illustrate past e(periences that will resonate in the present offering consolation. urthermore urthermore Harwood’s poetry is characterised &y an o)er/arching e(istential uest for meaning and consolation as e(perienced through her e(ploration of lo)e in *+ ,alediction.’ #hilst the notion that Harwood’s poetry engages readers through its poetic treatment of loss and consolation resonates with my own interpretation interpretation of her poems- readers are also engaged through Harwood’s e(ploration of uni)ersal truisms. + contemplation of human e(istence and one way in which one cycle of life is characterised &y loss and consolation as a per)ading theme throughout Harwood’s poetry. n *+t 'ornington’ pastpresent and future e(periences are united through the poems fragmented structure and poetic treatment e(periences e(periences of loss of nai)ety and consolation in order to encapsulate the cycle of life characteristic characteristic of one human e(perience. urthermoreurthermore- Harwood uses &i&lical allusions “secure in my father’s arms” to con)ey the uni)ersality of human e(istence- engaging the reader. "he poem &egins in the persona’s past with her childhood innocence and nai)ety- which is con)eyed in her &elief in her own in)inci&ility. “ remem&er &elie)ing as a child could wal on water.” Harwood’s use of &i&lical imagery e)oes the idea of 3esus waling on water and the consoling effect this had on the speaer’s childhood self- to represent her na4)e- childish outloo. "his water imagery &ecomes a sustained motif. "he speaer draws on the image of the “flood” on which “memories of early childhood are &orn” through a contemplati)e tone of spiritual replenishment as she “stands among a)enues of the dead-” engaging the reader through the poetic treatment of &oth loss and consolation. n accordance with the Romantic tradition- the speaer acnowledges acnowledges the restorati)e restorati)e capa&ilities of the natural elements con)eyed in the image of a “pitcher of water” which &ecomes a metaphor for replenishment and re)italisation. +s the poem shifts to the present tense- the reader is further engaged as the persona finds herself in a gra)eyard and coming to terms with the death and loss of a lo)ed one. "he persona comes to a peaceful acceptance of life’s transience and her own mortality as she acnowledges the ine)ita&le passage of time “that &rings us to that time of our li)es where our &ones wear us” offering her a sense of consolation. "he poem concludes with a pro5ection into the future- with the e(istential tone “no hand will sa)e me” e)oing the realisation that death and loss is one ine)ita&le end of the cycle. Harwood’s poem *+t 'ornington’ engages readers through its poetic treatment of loss and consolation and the way in which these themes recur throughout the cycle of life. Harwood’s poems elucidate themes of memory and recollection- highlighting the way these transcend time- death and loss and e)entually offer consolation. n one nostalgic poem *"he ,iolets’ the speaer re)isits a seminal childhood e(perience that affirms adult perspecti)es and engages the reader &y identifying the importance of memories of filial lo)e in sustaining the adult selfpro)iding consolation. "he child’s na4)e uestion “#here has morning gone!” emphasises the power of dreams to distort time and e)oes the speaer’s sense of loss. "he child’s loss is countered &y the memory of her parents’ unconditional lo)e. "he use of en5am&ment creates a sense of
continuity as the )iolets transport the speaer &ac to a time when she was lo)ingly comforted- thus continually engaging the reader. "he maternal image of the mother who “dried my tearful face” and the )isual image of “stroing- golden &rown hair” con)eys the tenderness of this memory. "hrough the recurring motif of the “)iolets in our loamy &ed” Harwood shifts &etween past and present e(periences of loss and consolation. 6iterary critic 7li8að 6awson suggests “identifying its a&ility to control moment s in time &y transforming consciousness of the present.’ "he speaer realises that although memories are “am&iguous” and time can &e “stolen”- ultimately- as is portrayed in the personification “9ears cannot mo)e the lamplit presences” of her childhood. "he poem concludes with a final natural image of “the faint scent of )iolets drifts in the air” con)eying the persona’s awareness that the memories of her parents’ lo)e transcends the power of death. n *"he ,iolets’ Harwood’s poetic treatment of loss and consolation through the motif of the )iolets engages the reader on an emotional le)el. "he theme of lo)e and its permanent- passionate nature resonates within Harwood’s poetryengaging readers through its poetic treatment of the e(periences of loss and consolation associated with lo)e. Similar to *+t 'ornington’ which e(presses one cycle of life and the acceptance of its ine)ita&le processes- *+ ,alediction’ e(presses the 5ourney of maturation through reflection that leads the speaer from adolescent sentimentality to an appreciation of the enduring nature of lo)e. "he interte(tual reference to 3ohn onne in the poems title foreshadows the e(ploration and poetic treatment of the e(perience parting from a lo)ed one and the emotional repercussions of this loss. "he persona’s adolescent sentimentality is e)oed through her ritual of seeing solace in her anthology of onne’s poetry. "he memories of her youth are metaphorically “ined in with aches from adolescence.” Harwood e(plores the nature of lo)e in her representation of two significant female figures and it is from their contrasting reactions to their e(periences of lo)e that informs the persona’s more mature perception of lo)e and loss. $ne the one hand- Harwood gi)es representation Salome- whose indifference to the grand passion of lo)e is con)eyed in the flippant tone of her comment “whether issed :iet8che on 'onte Sacro find do not now remem&er.” $n the other hand- Harwood depicts Saint "herese- a nun who dedicated her life to selfless lo)e as con)eyed in the sentimental tone of her comment “when lo)e it is fore)er.” Harwood’s 5u(taposition of these women’s perspecti)es on lo)e highlights the folly of &oth ideals and consolidates the persona’s understanding that it is rationalism and moderation that offer the most )alued appreciation of lo)e. "he persona’s direct address “dear ladies shall we meet half way &etween sanctity and li&eration!” con)eys her awareness that there should &e a &alance &etween disinterest o)ersentimentality. "he poem concludes with an idyllic scene that encapsulates the persona’s sense of contentment and maturity &eyond her emotional angst. “let me wal at sunset in the pasture feeding my geese” engages the reader through the poetic treatment of loss and consolation as it is associated with the theme of lo)e. 'odernist poet %wen Harwood adheres to the literary con)entions of the Romantics in her anthology of poems- employing poetical de)ices and form to gi)e e(pression to the themes of loss and consolation as well as other timeless themes. Harwood continues to engage readers through her e(ploration of uni)ersal themes of human e(istence e)ident in *+t 'ornington’- *"he ,iolets’ and *+ ,alediction.’
