Gwen Harwood Essay Essay Example for Free

Gwen Harwood Essay EssayOpportunities for an individual to develop judgment of themselves stem from the experiences win on their journey through life. The elements which contribute to life ar explored throughout Gwen Harwoods meters, At Mornington and Mother Who Gave Me Life, where the recollection of various events are endowed as influences on the individuals perception of the continuity of life. both rimes examine the connections between people and death in relation to range of a functionl connections with the personas perplex or mother. By encompassing aspects of human temperament and lifes journey, Harwood addresses memories and relationships which contribute to ones awareness of life. Memories and meandering thoughts, related to personal experiences, are explored throughout At Mornington where the persona shifts between the past and present and dreams and reality. This is similar to convey and Child where Barn Owl is set in past shield and Nightfall is set in the present, symbolic of appreciation and understanding of the complexities of life which the child learns.At Mornington opens with an evocation of an event from the personas childhood which establishes the pro tem and ever changing nature of human life. Reflected through the shifts between past and present tense, the persona is attempting to use past experiences in order to appreciate the present and accept the future. The poem provides a reflective and personal point of view accompanied by the recurring motif of water which symbolises the personas variety from childhood to the acceptance of the inevitability of death.In the third stanza, the persona refers to a more recent past where she had seen pumpkins stupefying on a trellis in her friends garden. The action of the pumpkins is described as a parable of myself which allows the persona to reflect on the meaning and quality of her own life and existence. The metaphor between the pumpkin vine and the persona suggests that like the pumpkin, human life also ripens and matures before orgasm to a closure and returning to the earth. Supported by the contrive freighterdlelight for eyesight, the reader is made aware of the transience of life that the persona has crowing to accept and understand.In Father and Child, as the persona moves on from childhood, her start out becomes elderly and is entertained by simple things in nature, birds, flowers, shivery-grass. These symbols of nature remind the persona of the inconsistency of life and the certainty of death, sunset exalts its known symbols of transience, where sunset represents time. Both poems are indicative of the impermanence of life and that the persona has managed to mature and grow beyond the initial fearlessness of childhood moving onto a sophisticated understanding of death.The connection between life and death is expressed in a different way through Mother Who Gave Me Life, a poem of mourning for the dead. The poem can be seen as a personal farewell to the personas mother where the dominant images of the poem show evolution and the passing of time. Father and Child also demonstrates the passing of time as the persona moves from the innocence of childhood to the sadness of her fathers advancing age and inevitable passing.In Mother Who Gave Me Life, the reference to Halleys Comet, which appears only once every seventy-six years, tells the reader that the mother was unable to see it once more before surrendering to death. The show speech of the Sister is reported without the use of quotation marks as in, When she died she was folding a slight towel. This provides readers with the knowledge that the mother addressed in the poem is dead. Without quotation marks, the flow of the poem is maintained and is therefore more easily absorbed into the texture of the poem.The parallel image of the fabric of marvels being reduced to the little towel raises the notion that whilst death may have brought a physical end to the personas mothers life she remains a marvel of creation as the personas memories of her live on. The poem ends with the fine linen recalling the memories of a typical childhood scene where the personas mother is calling for her to have dinner as darkness falls on my fathers house. This biblical reference to the House of the Lord, combined with the coming of darkness, reminds the reader of the inevitable ending of life and the respective movement into heaven.As the second section of Father and Child draws to a close, it is evident that the persona has grown to understand that she has limited time left with her father. The significance of Nightfall as the title of the second section, when considering the daybreak setting of Barn Owl, reinforces this. Sunrise symbolises youth whilst nightfall, in comparison, suggests an ending which implies death, a concept that the adult persona is beginning to acknowledge it as occasion of life.A particular instance in life can conjure different memories of the past as in At Mornington where the persona is drawn into recollections of childhood experiences with her father while standing by the graveside of her friends parents. A positive image of the father and child relationship is conveyed throughout the poem as in, secure in my fathers arms. This image conveys safety, sympathiser and protection which assists the persona in moving on and accepting the cycle of life.It is the security which stems from this relationship that enables the persona to mature from the perceptions and thoughts maintained as a child. sharpness into the relationship between the persona, as both child and adult, with her father is also demonstrated in Father and Child. The dominance of the father is suggested through his imperative tone, goal what you have begun. Despite the power-play in their relationship, there is still a sense of closeness, I leaned my head upon my fathers arms. This connection has enabled the persona to mature and grow through experiences.This personal relationship is also evident in Mother Who Gave Me Life where the imagery of light shows the persona realises the importance of her mother as she walks in the light of the living. This suggests that the persona is able to walk amongst the living due to her mother. The affirming experiences and enlightenment provided by this relationship enables the persona to see the life-giving role of women as part of the cycle of life. All the poems comment on an individuals relationship with their mother or father which is essential in maturing and evolving as an individual.The relationships conveyed enable the persona to gain an understanding of life whilst considering its value and accepting its cycle. Ultimately, the exploration of memory and relationships with the persona and their father or mother enables an individual to comprehend human nature and the links between life and death. Throughout the poems At Mornington and Mother Who Gave Me Life, Harwood shows the reader, through memories and comparisons, different aspects of life which contribute to what it means to be human.