To what extent can ‘The Violets’ be seen as representative of the poetic qualities and concerns of

Harwood’s work? Base your discussion on a detailed analysis of this poem and one of the other set

poems. (1500 words)

Gwen Harwood’s poetry explores the rejuvenating powers of memory, the inexorable nature of time and

the adversity of advancing through various stages of human psychological development, particularly

those experienced in childhood. “The Violets” and “Father and Child” may be seen as indicative of

these concerns. Both works encompass the poetic qualities that are characteristic of Harwood’s work, via

manipulation of which she constructs meaning. These are her use of imagery, symbolism, contrast and

juxtaposition and motifs. The manipulation of these techniques creates didactic poetry that examines

primarily the progression of the human psyche into a mind capable of reasoning and understanding their

environment, namely the power and nature of time over the mortality of humankind.

Harwood takes her fixation with memory and uses her recognisable contrasts in settings and symbolism

to convey and construct meaning. “The Violets” is emblematic of Harwood’s work as it explores the

nature of memory, particularly its power to revitalise the persona who is undergoing a form of hardship

or period of transition into which she searches her memory for guidance. The persona’s period of

transition is symbolised by the rich imagery of the sunset being “striped like ice-cream”. The use of

simile is effective at both describing the dusk as well as alluding to images of childhood (i.e ice-cream).

The persona’s adversity is soothed by recalling, in great detail and specificity, the moments of her

childhood that “Years cannot move…(nor) distort those lamplit presences”. The persona appears to be

protective of this memory, as she believes time to be the enemy of such memories, which provides her

with revitalisation in her period of adversity. This concern is strongly affiliated with Harwood’s work as

her poetry is highly didactic and in this case the moral conveyed is that of searching your history for

guidance in the present, and this idea is also discussed in “Father and Child” and “At Mornington”.

Similarly, Harwood’s manipulation of poetic devices to construct mean can be indentified in the

persona’s search for rejuvenation. Her recollection of her childhood is not deliberate and instead

triggered by the olfactory of violets. Past and present are interwoven and linked through the flower,

which generates a vivid and descriptive recollection of a childhood experience. This experience takes

place in Mitchelton, Queensland on a “hot afternoon” which contrasts with it being “dusk, and cold” in

her present geography. Furthermore, this juxtaposition of settings is symbolic of the growth and

blossoming “spring violets” and “sweetness” of her childhood in Mitchelton, contrasted with the “ashes

and loam” and the ominous “blackbird”. The violets themselves symbolise the two ages of the persona,

the mature and immature. In her childhood they are blossoming “spring violets”, in the persona’s present

however they are “frail melancholy flowers” which is emblematic of her loss of innocence and her

experience with psychological development.

“The Violets” is a moral meditation that reflects upon a childhood experience and elucidates the perhaps

once forgotten, yet crucial moment in her psychological development, which is the moment she had her

first experience with the loss of time and her failed attempt to rationalise it. Harwood use the motif of

time and is recurring in her work as time itself is recurring and inescapable. The child learns that each

‘morning’ does in fact slip away and the persona experiences the existence of time. The child

subconsciously mourns the loss of time and describes it as the “thing I cannot grasp or name” which

reinforces the concept of childhood naivety. Through Harwood’s meditative form of writing and motif

of time the child can be seen as undergoing a significant yet slightly traumatic step in the process of the

child’s psychological development.

The “Violets” can be seen as that of an endorsement of patriarchal family structure, as the persona is

nostalgic in remembering the safety and security of her past, which she has now lost in modernity. A

feminist reading, however, of “The Violets” looks into the underlying oppression of women in literary

works and their level of conformity to traditional gender roles and subscription to patriarchal family

structures. “The Violets” reception for many in contemporary Australia is that of a condemnation of this

family structure as gender roles have altered significantly, and the adversity the persona is undergoing is

a product of a patriarchal family structure. However, she is prompted by the “frail melancholy flowers”

and recalls her “first house, in Mitchelton” where she finds safety and security in this family structure.

Indentation in stanzas allow for the reader to distinguish between the current and past, allowing the

voice of the poem to comment in retrospect on past memories. The persona is protective of memories of

this patriarchal structure and believes “Year cannot move/nor deaths disorientating scale/ distort those

lamplit presences”. The alliteration of the hard letter “d” in this quote contrasts significantly with the

soft “s” of “I took my supper and was sent/to innocent sleep”. This juxtaposition of alliteration used to

describe her childhood (soft) and the present persona (hard) indicates that her childhood, in a patriarchal

family structure, was perceived to be a world of serenity in contrast to the instability of modern gender

roles.

Gwen Harwood’s work has a strong obsession with the childhood experience, as has been just witnessed

in “The Violets”. Whilst the majority of her poetry studied in this module deals with the childhood

experience, “Father and Child” best supplements the concepts and poetic qualities derived from “The

Violets”. “Father and Child “ investigates the advancement of human psyche, from the innocence of

childhood to the frailty of old age. The poem also observes the human psyche’s attempt to rationalise

and resist the inescapable nature of time. Harwood explores the change in human psyche in this didactic

poem and suggests that experiences undergone in childhood shape our lives and morality in the future.

The juxtaposition of settings and syntax is used to convey the evolution of the human psyche and

morality. “Father and Child” is separated into two sections, “I Barn Owl”, which takes place in the

persona’s childhood, and “II Nightfall” which is set when the persona has presumably reached middle

age, as the father is now 80, blind and dying. The age of the child is also reflected in the syntax used in

“Barn Owl”, which is simplistic and short sentenced in contrast with the longer and highly developed

vocabulary such as “sunset exalts its known/symbols of transience” and “Be your tears wet?” the latter

of which being a reference to King Lear which displays the persona’s higher education.

The psychological development of the persona in “Father and Child” can be seen as a form of

experiential learning in which the persona learns from her assassination of the barn owl and applies this

encounter with death to the impending death of the persona’s father. The gender of the persona is

unknown, which brings universality to the poem, allowing the reader to more easily relate to the

character. The philosophy of Carl Jung stresses that humans experience the unconscious through

symbols encountered in all aspects of life, and the psyche can only develop by recognizing these

symbols and learning from them. Jungian readings of “Father and Child” places emphasis on the persona

learning the consequences of death, which the child believed “clean and final” and identifying the

symbolism by applying this wisdom to the impending death of the persona’s father. Similarly, in

“Nightfall” where the persona states that “sunset exalts its know/symbols of transience” she is

identifying the symbolism of sunset whilst taking her last walk with her father before his passing away.

Harwood’s has a fascination with the psychological evolution of childhood, and frequently uses explicit

imagery in her poetry to highlight the trauma the child is undergoing. “Father and Child” utilises this

imagery and assonance to construct a sense of brutality caused by the shooting of the owl. The owl was

an “obscene/bundle of stuff that dropped,/and dribbled through loose straw/tangling in bowels”, as

observed in “The Violets” Harwood uses assonance of “hard” letters as shown in bold, which is more

confrontational than using “soft” assonance, clearly Harwood is intending to make the reader

uncomfortable. The specificity and modality of the description also presents a disturbing visual image,

confronting both the child and reader, and demonstrating the trauma involved in the loss of life. Through

the manipulation of these techniques the reader and persona is confronted with the reality of death,

which is a common concern explored in Harwood’s work

“The Violets” and “Father and Child” may be seen as representational of Gwen Harwood’s concerns

primarily the rejuvenating powers of memory, the unrelenting and remorseless nature of time and the

adversity of advancing through various stages of human psychological development, predominantly

those experienced in childhood. As discussed, both works encompass the manipulation of poetic devices

including; symbolism, juxtaposition of settings, the motif of time, and indentation of stanzas that are

characteristic of Harwood’s work and assist in constructing meaning. Gwen Harwood’s poetry is

didactic and examines primarily the progression of the human psyche into a mind capable of reasoning

and understanding their surroundings, principally the authority and nature of time over the mortality of

humankind.

Word Count: 1487

BY JAMES STILL

YEAR 12 HARWOOD ASSESSMENT

MS BUTTERWORTH