Summary Of At Mornington By Gwen Harwood

The essence of great poetry lies with the author’s ability to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Most poets use universal themes to connect their audience through emotion and experience, making the written theme relatable. But it is only when combined with the use of carefully placed literary techniques that this connection is enhanced and the work transforms from simple words on paper to an art form. Gwen Harwood uses a number of her poems to connect us with the universal journey from childhood innocence to experience and adulthood. Harwood also weaves the idea of memory into her writing, as a way to trigger emotion through a connection to the past, a connection to feelings that transcend through time. Coupled with her ability to use

Through the use of present, past and future Harwood takes us on a journey from childhood to adulthood using memory as a vehicle. She discusses the transience of life, as reflected in the pitcher of water, and the inevitable conclusion and the ultimate acceptance of death; ‘the peace of this day will shine/like light on the face of the waters/that bear me away for ever.” By using such universal themes as life’s journey and the universal emotions of pain, regret and frustration, Harwood shapes the way audiences engage to the written word. Harwood was a deeply religious person and we find her religious commitment reflected in this poem. Critic William Simon states that Harwood uses ‘religious dimensions’ in her work through the use of religious iconography and reference to both the old and new testaments. For example, “I remember believing I can walk on water’ is symbolic as it represents the image of Jesus Christ and the biblical allusion ‘as the drying face of land rose out of the earth’s seamless waters’ references the book of Genesis. Upon reading At Mornington the religious undertones of the poem were noted through imagery, allusion and the recurring reference to water. The audience could relate to the universal religious spirituality within this poem, believing it to be an innate spirituality

This diptych poem is essentially engrossed with the loss of innocence through experience. Part One of Father and Child, Barn Owl, explores the innocence of childhood and the bewilderment towards the nature of death. The line “my first shot struck” consists of monosyllables which creates an emphasis on the shock that is contained within the persona for committing such an act. Part Two of Father and Child, Nightfall, is fast forwarding to a role reversal between the father and child, the child now being the carer and nurturer of the father. “Your passionate face is grown to ancient innocence”, this line reflects the fathers attitude to his surroundings at the present time, taking in the nature and once ordinary things around him, that all become extraordinary with this last inevitable walk. The oxymoron “ancient innocence” again is symbolic for his reaction and pure joy for the simple surroundings that may sometimes go unnoticed. Gwen Harwood demonstrates the memory of a defining experience and shows the significance and impact it made on the personas life, in Part One of Father and Child. “Owl-blind in the early sun for what I had begun”, this line represents her hindered wisdom in her early ignorance for the pursuit of death. In Part two she finally accepts the inevitability of death. The persona turns to Romantic, naturalistic ideals to soothe her