Gwen Harwood Essay

Gwen Harwoods verse is steeped in romanticistic traditions and is underpinned by humanist concerns. My epitomel interpretation is that Harwoods poetry engages ratifiers by dint of its poetic discussion of modality out and puff as well as its geographic expedition of universal musical compositions about human existence and the processes of deportment.Harwoods poetry validates the consoling influence of puerility experiences upon self-aggrandizing development evident in At Mornington which explores cardinal sense impression of loss and consolidation experienced in the bout of life from birth to death. Harwood explores cardinal passing(a) personality of life in her lyrical metrical composition The Violets, revealing the track in which memory push aside illustrate past experiences that will resonate in the put offering puff.Furthermore Harwoods poetry is characterised by an over-arching experiential quest for meaning and ease as experienced by means of her expl oration of dear in A Valediction. Whilst the notion that Harwoods poetry engages readers through and through its poetic give-and-take of loss and consolation resonates with my bear interpretation of her numberss, readers are also booked through Harwoods exploration of universal truisms.A contemplation of human existence and one way in which one cycle of life is characterised by loss and consolation as a pervading theme throughout Harwoods poetry. In At Mornington past, set out and future experiences are united through the verse forms break structure and poetic treatment experiences of loss of naiveness and consolation in order to encapsulate the cycle of life characteristic of one human experience. Furthermore, Harwood handlings biblical allusions secure in my fathers mail to convey the universality of human existence, engaging the reader.The numbers begins in the lineaments past with her childhood innocence and naivety, which is conveyed in her belief in her own invinc ibility. I remember believing as a child I could walk on urine. Harwoods use of biblical imagery evokes the idea of saviour walking on water and the consoling operation this had on the speakers childhood self, to meet her nave, childish outlook.This water imagery becomes a sustained motif. The speaker draws on the image of the fill up on which memories of early childhood are subjective through a contemplative tone of weird replenishment as she stands among avenues of the dead, engaging the reader through the poetic treatment of both loss and consolation. In accordance with the Romantic tradition, the speaker acknowledges the restorative capabilities of the natural elements conveyed in the image of a pitcher of water which becomes a metaphor for replenishment and revitalisation.As the metrical composition shifts to the present tense, the reader is further engaged as the persona regards herself in a graveyard and feeler to terms with the death and loss of a sock one. The pe rsona comes to a peaceful acceptance of lifes transience and her own mortality as she acknowledges the essential passage of season that brings us to that clock metre of our lives where our bones wear us offering her a sense of consolation.The poem concludes with a projection into the future, with the existential tone no hand will yet me evoking the realisation that death and loss is one inevitable end of the cycle. Harwoods poem At Mornington engages readers through its poetic treatment of loss and consolation and the way in which these themes recur throughout the cycle of life.Harwoods poems elucidate themes of memory and recollection, highlighting the way these pass epoch, death and loss and eventually offer consolation. In one nostalgic poem The Violets the speaker revisits a seminal childhood experience that affirms adult perspectives and engages the reader by identifying the importance of memories of filial know in sustaining the adult self, providing consolation. The c hilds nave promontory Where has morning gone? emphasises the power of dreams to distort time and evokes the speakers sense of loss. The childs loss is countered by the memory of her parents unconditional love.The use of enjambment creates a sense of continuity as the violets transport the speaker back to a time when she was lovingly comforted, thus continually engaging the reader. The parental image of the mother who dried my tearful facial gesture and the visual image of stroking, golden brown pilus conveys the tenderness of this memory. Through therecurring motif of the violets in our loamy bed Harwood shifts mingled with past and present experiences of loss and consolation.Literary critic Elizabeth Lawson suggests identifying its ability to reign moment s in time by transforming consciousness of the present. The speaker realises that although memories are ambiguous and time can be stolen, ultimately, as is portrayed in the personification Years cannot move the lamplit prese nces of her childhood. The poem concludes with a final natural image of the wanton scent of violets drifts in the air conveying the personas awareness that the memories of her parents love transcends the power of death. In The Violets Harwoods poetic treatment of loss and consolation through the motif of the violets engages the reader on an stimulated level.The theme of love and its permanent, warmthate nature resonates inwardly Harwoods poetry, engaging readers through its poetic treatment of the experiences of loss and consolation associated with love. Similar to At Mornington which expresses one cycle of life and the acceptance of its inevitable processes, A Valediction expresses the journey of maturation through cheek that leads the speaker from adolescent sentimentality to an appreciation of the constant nature of love.The intertextual reference to John Donne in the poems surname foreshadows the exploration and poetic treatment of the experience contribution from a lov ed one and the emotional repercussions of this loss. The personas adolescent sentimentality is evoked through her ritual of seeking solace in her anthology of Donnes poetry.The memories of her youth are metaphorically inked in with aches from adolescence. Harwood explores the nature of love in her representation of two world-shattering female figures and it is from their contrasting reactions to their experiences of love that informs the personas more mature perception of love and loss. cardinal the one hand, Harwood gives representation Salome, whose indifference to the grand passion of love is conveyed in the flippant tone of her chit-chat whether I kissed Nietzche on Monte Sacro I find I do not now remember.On the other hand, Harwood depicts Saint Therese, a nun who sanctified her life to selfless love as conveyed in the sentimental tone of her comment when I love it is forever. Harwoods juxtaposition of these womens perspectives on love highlights the folly of both ideals an d consolidates the personas taking into custody that it isrationalism and moderation that offer the most cherished appreciation of love.The personas direct sell dear ladies shall we meet half way between sanctity and liberation? conveys her awareness that there should be a balance between disinterest oversentimentality. The poem concludes with an idyllic scene that encapsulates the personas sense of contentment and maturity beyond her emotional angst. let me walk at sunset in the grade feeding my geese engages the reader through the poetic treatment of loss and consolation as it is associated with the theme of love.Modernist poet Gwen Harwood adheres to the literary conventions of the Romantics in her anthology of poems, employing poetical devices and form to give expression to the themes of loss and consolation as well as other timeless themes. Harwood continues to engage readers through her exploration of universal themes of human existence evident in At Mornington, The Violet s and A Valediction.