Poem Analysis Of 'Violets' By Gwen Harwood

During our life’s journey, our experiences and relationships we have with others are often the most memorable when we are able to see things in a new way. However, such memories and relationships we have with others stick with us so strongly that we will forever see certain people and events the same way, with an unchanged perspective. Monumental moments, such as a loved one’s death in “Violets,” by Gwen Harwood does not alter the persona’s view of their parents. In contrast, the persona in “Violets” is able to reflect on the memories of herself as a child and her relationship with her parents in another light. At some point in our personal journey, our childlike innocence is often shaken and we are forced to mature into adulthood. The learning …show more content…
In particular, the image of the persona’s mother is described the same way throughout the poem. This is achieved by Gwen Harwood’s choice of a motif of her mother’s hair, which is recounted when she was a child and reflected on as an adult. The poet begins to use visual imagery to describe her mother’s hair as she recounts it as a child, “Her long hair falling down her waist.” While, as an adult, Gwen Harwood uses tactile imagery as opposed to visual imagery, “Stroking my mother’ golden brown hair,” which places further emphasis on a memory which has been unchanged and has even grown stronger. Although her mother has passed away, the poet communicates that the memory of her mother is vivid, she can almost feel her mother’s golden brown hair. Gwen Harwood’s choice of describing hair is symbolic of a femininity, which highlights her traditional feminine and maternal role, particularly of the 1960s. Although time has changed, the mother remains forever, a symbolism of a traditional maternal figure of the 1960s for her. Therefore the memories and experiences of the persona have resulted in her mother being moulded in a still image of femininity as an important maternal