Hugh Carwardine In her poetry Gwen Harwood explores the enduring need to define the role of individuals in society.

Evaluate this statement in relation to Mother who gave me Life and one other poem.

Harwoods Poems Mother Who Gave Me Life and Father and Child examine the definition of gender roles in society as well as throughout her entire works. The roles of individuals is developed to fulfil knowledge and natural processes, which have stood for all of time. Harwood uses nature to demonstrate the impact and reflection of individual roles in the natural world, as well as through the understanding of knowledge passed on by individuals. Natural processes which have been present in the world for many thousands of years impact on the development of individual roles in Mother Who Gave Me Life. Harwood explores how the natural proficiency of assigning roles is translated to society through the recurring images of natural motherhood such as heads inclining to monkey bosom. Harwood is admitting to society that we operate most effectively when we following our links to the natural world in assigning motherly roles to women. Harwood does not put down women for their duty but praises them for their contributions to their role, It is for you, for the wild daughters becoming women, which thanks mothers for their development of their children. This is reflected in the personification of nature ice, rock, fire, bones changing that explores how society is modelled off nature, and despite the advancements of culture roles remain constant. In Father and Child Harwood reflects the Fathers teaching role through nature natural occurrences. The two poems are linked through the natural world influencing the role of each parental figure in a relationship with the child, but in Father and Child the fathers role is developed through nature rather than in accordance to nature. The role as the strict enforcer is explored through the first stanza fathers gun which shows how the male figure is dominant and powerful compared to the obedient, angel-mind of the child. His strength is shown through his support in the owls death gave me the fallen gun, but this role is reversed to show his comforting ability that is normally attributed to the mother demonstrated through I leaned my head upon my fathers arm. The father defies gender roles but fulfils the defined role as a parent. The child thanks him for his dual role by returning the comfort in his last fruits of the temporal as shown by Link your dry hand in mine which is a reversal of roles. Defined roles allow knowledge to be passed from older generations to younger generations through teaching, learning and understanding. In Mother Who Gave Me Life Harwood explores the rewards of motherhood as the mother passes knowledge on to her daughter through experiences. The daughter reflects on the importance of the knowledge she did not want to receive and understands the importance of her role as a teacher demonstrated through forgive me the wisdom I would not learn from you. The role as a mother allows her to pass her experiences down the generations as was done for her and before as shown by backwards in time to those other bodies. The flowing of understanding through the generations is shown by the lack of punctuation in the third stanza which allows the poem to flow, reflecting the smooth passing of knowledge through time. Her appreciation of the knowledge she gained is explored through still good to the last which demonstrates the role of a mother to provide support until the end. Father and Child examines how knowledge is passed from one individual to another through their teaching and experiences. The father teaches the child the suddenness of death through his role as a stronger individual and over time the knowledge gained is evident, as shown by Harwood in the

Hugh Carwardine death of the owl the child understands the cruelty of their action the blank eyes shone into mine and is supported by the teaching from the father end what you have begun. Harwood develops the understanding of the effectiveness of this teaching through the fathers dual roles as the child returns later in life to support the father in his weakness demonstrated through who can be what you were that shows her thankfulness for his lessons. The separation of the two halves of the poem emphasises this by showing how the experience is retained over all her years, which is commonly expressed in Harwoods other texts. Knowledge defines the roles of individuals in the framework developed by society over time and Individuals are able to satisfy their roles with the understanding of their roles significance. Harwood establishes how the structure a mother follows allows her to accomplish her role as a supporter, comforter and mother in society. The line I think of women bearing women is not negative in simplifying a womens role to one task but is positive because a woman is able to do so much through one single act. The role of women is represented in the poem through a fabric of marvels folded down to a little space which explores how individual threads of fabric make up the entire cloth which is folded down into the ultimate task of childbirth. As women are aware of their roles they are able to fulfil them completely until death demonstrated through when she died she was folding a little towel. A fathers role in society is developed by his understanding of support and comfort in addition to his regular fatherly duties of control and power. A father follows his strict role but additionally plays as a motherly figure providing comfort and support represented in Father and Child through my stick thin comforter. A father is able to develop powerful memories in a child through the natural world which will stay with that person forever and shape their understanding of themselves and others. This continuity of understanding is presented through you keep a childs delight forever that develops the idea that no matter the strength or weakness nature will bring back powerful memories. The need for the definitive roles of individuals is explored through Mother Who Gave Me Life and Father and Child through which Harwood presents ideas of the natural influences on roles in society, the passing of knowledge from generations and individuals, and the development of the understanding of roles. Harwood explicitly demonstrates the need for specific roles of individuals through her poems demonstrating textual integrity through her links to themes present in all her works.