Gwen Harwood essay by Joshua Quealy The poetry of Gwen Harwood operates on a multitude of levels and perspectives as she

explicitly and implicitly explores universal notions concerning the mystery of the human soul in its search for a sense of identity. Her poems appeal to responders by exploring a myriad of thematic concerns including the dichotomies of life, perpetual connection between Eros and Thanatos life and death! and the transience of time. This is evident in her poems "#ather and $hild% &'(), "#*$%! and "+ri,e Giving% &'(', "+G%! which are representative of her overall wor-. .ritten during the &'(/ and 0/1s, her wor- is indicative of her childhood context and influences such as &2th $entury 3omanticism and the 4/th $ philosopher 5udwig .ittgenstein. Her poems can be appreciated from a variety of interpretations including a 6arxist, 3eligious and #eminist perspective through techni7ues such as .... Harwood was a 3omanticist, with her repertoire of poems focusing on the dichotomies of life. 8n "#9$%, Harwood segments the poem into two symmetrical parts to explore the changing relationship between the father and child. 8n ":arn ;wl% the child is literally described as a "horny fiend%, denoting her devilish capabilities. However, through a role reversal in "9ightfall%, she becomes "afraid% when the child sees her father1s imminent death "now the season that seemed incredible is come %. <imilar to other modernist li-e =irginia .oolf, she uses the poem to try to come to terms with human existence such as the inevitability of death. ;n the other hand, in "+G% she explores the dichotomies of life through the antithesis between femininity and masculinity. The +rofessor is >uxtaposed to the host and students through the alliteration, "superb in silk%. However, the "titian hair girl% sei,es control of the situation through provocative sexual gestures in truncated sentences such as "hitched at a stoc-ing% and "winked at nearby friends%. The girl1s portrayal was largely a result of her upbringing in Queensland in which her mother was an independent feminist. Through intertextuality, Harwood is able to explore themes such as the transience of time. 8n "#9$%, she directly 7uotes ?ing 5ear @ct 8=, sc 0! "Be your tears wet? to examine the passing of time as the father is confronting his mortality. #urthermore, she conveys the father1s fragility through the musical allusion, "You speak as if air touched a string near breaking-point%. The reference to the violin and music in general, is a pervasive and constant motif in all her wor- that was influenced by her strong musicianship as a child. ;n the other hand, "+G% shares an intertextual relationship with 6o,art as the girl plays the piano with "passion and despair%. Through en>ambment, she explores the transience of time through Eisenbart1s transformation. #rom having "rudely declined% out of arrogance, evocative terminology is used in the poem1s last lines when he " peered into a trophy which suspended his image upside down% to show how he has become entrapped. "#ather and $hild% can be appreciably interpreted through a 3eligious perspective, a contextual relationship of her $hristian religious upbringing. Through imagery of the child as "obedient% and "angelic%, she alludes the child to the myth of Eve in Genesis, but li-e Eve, the child succumbs to temptation as "whose law would punish%. This interpretation is largely a result of her strong interest in .ittgenstein, a German +hilosopher and his belief that the "logical discourse% fre7uently used to describe the world and its happenings was inade7uate when applied to the region beyond temporal existence, i.e. religion. #urthermore, Harwood uses the poems diptych structure to echo not only thematic divisions such as life and death, but the parabolic tale of the +rodigal <on. Through descriptive language the child turns her bac- on her father, "let him dream of a child obedient, yet she paradoxically returns to him as "my stick-thin comforter%. #inally, the lac- of a personal female pronoun was intentionally

chosen as Harwood intended this poem to be seen as a parable, a word she mentions herself in "@t 6ornington%. 8n "+G% a 6arxist reading would highlight the power struggle between the different societal classes, namely the +rofessor, the head mistress and the girl. Through contrast, Harwood alludes the +rofessor to the position of A Rodins Thinker% to emphasise his intellectual snobbery in comparison to the head mistress who is " humbler in black%. This is a contextual result of the patriarchal society Harwood lived in and refutes the notion of an egalitarian society. @lthough inferior to the narcissistic +rofessor in terms of education, gender and age, the girl establishes a sense of dominance over him when she receives her award through the metaphor, "he took her hand and felt its oltage fling his hold %. Their roles are reversed as he becomes diminished in status, evident through his oxymoronic description as "sage fool%. ;n the other hand, "+G% can be interpreted through a #eminist reading. The +rofessor views the young female students as a collective group opposed to individuals as " he shook! indifferently% to their monotonous sea of "Blonde, black, mouse-brown%. 8n the poem1s conclusion, imagery of the professor who is "trapped by music in a copper net of hair% draws on the negative connotations associated with "net%. 8t implies that he has become trapped, with the intention of the girl to ensnare him. This #eminist reading mirrors the growing liberalisation of women during Harwood1s post ..88 context. This #eminist interpretation can also be applied to "#@$% through the power struggle in the antagonistic relationship between the father and daughter. Bnli-e $ordelia in ?ing 5ear, who is sacrificed at the end of the play, the daughter in ":arn ;wl% is extremely authoritativeC " " knew my pri#e%. <he survives the poem, a significant feat considering the marginalisation of women in the ma>ority of texts. #inally, the word " pri#e% refers to the owl. However, some feminist critics may argue that the "owl% is a feminine trait and that the use of the " pri#e% is a metonym for her virginity. $onclusion 3esponders learn from her experiences and context. E.g. 3omanticism, feminism. "the deepest mystery...is nowhere else but here poetry!% 3obert Gray!.