Gwen Harwood's Poetry And How It Appeals To Me
Gwen Harwood is a poet who appeals to me in many ways. She has written a great variety of works, all of which I find equally intriguing. Her more recent poetry is much more moving and is directly personal. Her older poetry depends much more on the use of rhyme and uses more classical verse form (her recent poems using verse forms with more flexibility.) Gwen Harwood has created a multitude of poems, which, while being quite philosophical, are still very emotionally powerful. The two aspects of her poetry which I find most appealing are; her subject matter and themes, dealing a lot with women’s issues, and also the mood and atmosphere which she effectively creates. Her use of language in creating wonderfully luminous images is amazing.I am enthralled by the amount of insight Harwood seems to have into the mind of the human being, especially when it comes to women. So many of her poems deal with and talk about the minds and lives of women, a topic that I find particularly interesting. She handles these topics masterfully, with ease and a tremendous amount of insight - which just seems to come out naturally through many of her works. Firstly, her themes and subject matter. I find Harwood’s poems particularly fasci
through hell’s own fires? A child stretches above her the children’s name and birthdays. “It’s so sweet “How nice,” et cetera. “Time holds great surprises.” em is these memories being told. Harwood’s skill in her use of language to create amazingly elaborate and realistic images and vivid atmosphere is remarkable, and this is what really captivates me when I’m reading her poetry. It’s as if Harwood is just sitting back watching this woman - and reading her thoughts. The poem is one of her older ones and sounds very detached - almost as if it is a commentary of a play. The poem creates a very striking image of a woman who takes no pride in her appearance, who is depressed and totally unhappy with her life. The woman seems to feel as if her children are unwanted extra baggage - rather than joys. “But for the grace of God” being the man’s “shocked” thoughts, metaphorically rising out of his head like a “balloon” - as he is surprised to see this woman in such a terrible state. I find the line “They stand a while in flicking light,” intriguing and vivid. The language used in this line creates a very clear image - it is almost as if they are in a black and white movie, expressionless simply “rehearsing” their lines, in this case being the children’s names and birthdays. I find it particularly interesting when in the beginning of the poem she observes ! framed in the doorway: woman with a broom.
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Approximate Word count = 1594
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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