Hello, my name is Rahel and my name is Vivian. Today we are presenting and analysing the poem ‘In the Park’ by Gwen Harwood. Our visual presentation is in the form of a set photographs, this is called expectations versus reality. We named our set of photographs this because we believe it relates to the poem because through the words written we can sense that the mother loathes the reality she is living in, that the expectations she had for herself were not achieved. The mother yearns for the life she could have had and probably dreams about it every so often, so we created a snapshot of the alternative reality she craves through these photos.
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The purpose of the poem is to challenge the views of motherhood. Gwen Harwood presents the idea that motherhood is anything but glamorous. She shows her audience that being a mother is more than complex and tiring, it is shown in the way she paints the woman as a person constantly making sacrifices for her children, which mentally exhausts her. Throughout the entire poem, she demonstrates the woman’s desire to have a better life and her want for freedom, to be free of responsibilities given to her. The subject matter of the poem is the desolation of motherhood. Throughout the three stanzas, motherhood is shown to be life-consuming, that children can leech the life out of a mother. The poem is written sonnet form, normally sonnets are associated with romance and love, but in this case, Gwen Harwood purposely uses this