HSC 2005 Your class has been exploring the question What will continue to make Harwood s poetr!

worth! o" critical stud!# Your personal response has been challenged b! another student$ %e"end !our response through a critical e&aluation o" Harwood s poetr!' anal!sing the construction' content and language o" the text$ (n !our response' re"er to )H*++ poems !ou ha&e studied$ Gwen Harwood is an Australian romantic poet who wrote primarily in the 1960s and 1970s. Harwoods poetry explores a variety of themes such as a loss of innocence and !rowin! self awareness. "t is full of rich lan!ua!e includin! musical ima!ery and #i#lical allusions and can #e interpreted in several different ways such as romantically and psychoanalytically. "t is these $ualities of her poetry which will continue to ma%e it worthy of critical study Harwoods poetry is rich in the themes it explores and this ma%es it worthy of critical study. &he theme of loss of innocence is mainly explored in '&he Glass (ar. &he youn! #oy is innocent at the #e!innin! of the poem tryin! to capture li!ht in a )ar to scare away monsters at ni!ht. However he discovers this does not wor%. &he stron! metaphor *&hen hope + fell headlon! from its ea!le hei!ht, reinforces this loss of innocence. He also discovers his parents havin! sex and this experience mar%s another sta!e in his loss of innocence. &he theme of !rowin! awareness is also explored in '&he Glass (ar with the youn! #oy !ainin! an awareness that he is on his own as well as !ainin! an awareness a#out adult relationships emphasised #y the stron! musical metaphor *-oves proud executants played from a score + no child could read or realise. (uxtaposin! of *fresh mornin!, the first line of the final stan.a with *ravenin! #irds, in the second line of the final stan.a hi!hli!hts his new awareness and loss of innocence. &he theme of a !rowin! self awareness is also explored in '/ri.e0Givin! and 'Alter 1!o ma%in! Harwoods poetry worthy of critical study. "n '/ri.e0Givin! at the #e!innin! of the poem /rofessor 1isen#art sees himself as important *!race their hum#le platform,. However the attraction he feels towards the titian haired !irl forces him to re0examine himself as he *peered into a trophy which suspended + his ima!e upside down., His world has #een turned upside down as a result of the !irl and the oxymoron *sa!e fool, reinforces his new awareness of himself as well as passion and the power of youth. "n 'Alter 1!o the first person pronoun and personification of the alter e!o in *%nows what " was will #e all that " am, reinforces the personas !rowin! awareness that the alter e!o is a part of her. &his shows she is !ainin! a !reater understandin! of herself. &he presence of the themes of loss of innocence and a !rowin! awareness in Harwoods poetry ma%e it worthy of critical study as they can ena#le the responder to learn lessons. Harwoods poetry is also worthy of critical study #ecause of its use of rich lan!ua!e includin! musical ima!ery and #i#lical allusions. Harwood was a music teacher so there is a stron! presence of musical ima!ery in her poetry. "n '&he Glass (ar music is used to descri#e the #oys new awareness in the mornin! *ravenin! #irds #e!an their son!, 2 3usical ima!ery also plays a role in '/ri.e0Givin! to descri#e the professors attraction to the !irl *3o.art told + the fullness of all passion or despair summoned #y arro!ant hands where music #ecomes sym#olic of this passion. 3o.art also appears in 'Alter 1!o in *3o.arts cascadin! thirds., where music represents the whole person which the poet is tryin! to achieve. 4i#lical allusions are used in '&he Glass (ar and add to the

richness of the poem as well as !ivin! the poem meanin! on a deeper level such as *suns disciples, *ready to #less to exorcise, and *resurrected sun, which have reli!ious overtones. &his ima!ery is part of what will continue to ma%e Harwoods poetry worthy of critical study. /oetry is and will continue to #e worthy of critical study if it can appeal to different !roups and contexts throu!h a variety of possi#le readin!s and this is particularly true of Harwoods poetry. Her poetry can #e interpreted several ways includin! psychoanalytical and romantic. A psychoanalytical readin! loo%s at the reasons why people perhaps #ehave as they do and often includes sexual references as #ein! crucial to this #ehaviour... 1xaminin! '&he Glass (ar from a psychoanalytical viewpoint we see that the youn! #oy demonstrates aspects of the 5edipus complex as he is )ealous of his father *his rival, #ein! intimate with his mother *his comforter,. &he father #ecomes an enemy in the #oys eyes reinforced #y the devil ima!ery of his father with *fiddle and #ow,. &here is also the presence of the 5edipus complex in '/ri.e0Givin! only reversed as /rofessor 1isen#art feels attracted to the titian0haired !irl yet feels inade$uate. 6rom a 6reudian viewpoint we see he is forced to reco!nise his sexual attraction to the !irl in *he for!ed his rose0hot dream,. &his is si!nificant #ecause in 6reudian terms 'rose refers to female !enitals and dreams are a wish fulfilment. 'Alter 1!o can also #e loo%ed at from a psychoanalytical viewpoint. A psychoanalytical readin! sees the alter e!o as another self that theyre not fully in tune with. &he importance and influence of our su#conscious self is crucial in this poem and this readin! *7ho stands #eside me still nameless indifferent, reinforces that the other half the alter e!o isnt united in the whole person althou!h that is the ultimate desire of the persona. Harwoods poetry is worthy of critical study as it can also #e also read from a romantic viewpoint particularly as Harwood is often seen as a romantic poet who deal with human emotions and natural processes. '&he Glass (ar sees innocence portrayed as the i!norance of youth. &he idea of storin! li!ht in a )ar *this pulse of li!ht #eside his #ed, is a romantic idea. '/ri.e0Givin! from a romantic readin! sees a fi!ure of rationality /rofessor 1isen#art compromised #y the power of youth and irrational passion. He has #ecome a *sa!e fool, however and has #een !iven an experience which from a romantic point of view is far more worthwhile 8 that of passion. &he a#ility of Harwoods poetry to #e read from different viewpoints allows a personal response to her poetry to #e formed and will continue to ma%e her poetry worthy of critical study. Gwen Harwoods poetry explores a variety of themes from which the responder can learn valua#le lessons includin! the themes of loss of innocence and a !rowin! self awareness. "t is full of rich lan!ua!e with the poetic techni$ues of musical ima!ery and #i#lical allusions #ein! present throu!hout her poetry. Harwoods poetry can also #e interpreted in several ways includin! not only the dominant readin! #ut also a psychoanalytical and romantic readin!. All these $ualities of Harwoods poetry will continue to ma%e it worthy of critical study.