Gwen Harwood - Assessment Task!! (1 Viewer)

[Premus]

Hi

I have an assessment task on Gwen Harwood... and the question is to compose and argument for or against the topic:

"That every text has its use-by date"

Any ideas??

Also ive heard u guys talk abt a study guide on her poems.....
What is it called?

Thanks a lot!

 

[P h i l i p]

I think what its asking is to point out that some texts becoming irrelevant. for example, if some text was written about a topic that has no relevance to todays society, then it could be said that the text has reach its 'use-by date'.

Of course you could argue that there are some texts that dont have a use-by date, for example almost all Fiction, eg Shakespeare.

 

[Wilmo]

You can tackle it from two ways.

For: Feminist reading is possible- No longer a patriacal(sp?) society and therefore her ideas presented in The Violets are useless.
Family reading is possible- The idea of the family unit has changed so much scince Harwood wrote her poems. Can use poems like The Violets, Father and Child and Glass Jar.

Against: Harwoods poetry contains themes common to human existance such as time, memory and death. Scince they will always be part of humanity Harwoods poetry will always be relevent. Poems= The Violets, Father and Child, At Mornington
Religous reading is possible- Harwoods poetry expresses an innate human longing for a live better than this. Uses lots of religious imagery etc etc. Poems= Glass Jar, Father and Child, At Mornington, The Violets.
Psychoanalytical is possible- According to Freud all human beings have surpressed sexual desires which are stored in the subconcious. Dreams are a way of the subconcious being accessed. Poems = Glass Jar, Prize-Giving, Alter Ego.


Thats all i can think of at the moment. And i cant help you with the study guide... never used one.

 

[P h i l i p]

Oh, go here...
http://www.pascalpress.com.au/
There the copany that publish the Excel books, look on their "English" list and see if theres a Gwen Harwood one.

 

[Premus]

Hi

Thanks for your ideas...
I had a look through the other threads and i researched
Alison Hoddinott but couldnt find anything ...

Do u guys know where we can find critical analysis of her poems from the net and books? (other than excel)

Thanks

 

[caroline86]

Hey! there are heaps of threads... check out this one:
http://www.boredofstudies.org/commu...?threadid=29624
there are also heaps of other threads that you can see...

for your argument... you can say her poems are not outdated because they are about her memories... and memories are never out of date... they always spring up on you...

hope that helps!

 

[Premus]

Thanks!

What was Gwen Harwood's Context? and how does our present context affect our reading?
Also...what could be the implications?

Cheers

 

[Wilmo]

Harwood was a woman of the 60's and 70's... she grew up in a male dominated world where women stayed at home and men did the work. Family was important and unlike today the family unit didnt break up at the slightest sign of trouble.

Today, womens rights are almost equal with men (some say they are some say they've gone too far). Familys are no longer as important as they once were. Parents and siblings have become the people you live with not the people you care about the most.

If the question says anything about context, it just means readings.

 

[Premus]

It says:

Compose an argument for or against the topic:
"That every text has its use-by date"

Consider your prescribed text's ideas, language and form, and its reception in different contexts.

So does that mean i need to discuss how the ideas have changed because of the contexts?

 

[Wilmo]

context is just a word they use to make people who dont pay attention in class confused. You dont have to worry about changing times... but you can.

You have to use language, form and the different ways people view it. IE:

Harwood uses many different techniques such as the many different words the persona has for their father to emphasise the male influence on their growing up. It completly ignores the influence of the mother and has lots of male symbolism like the gun, and constantly refering to her father as King, elevating him to the status of God.


Thats a feminist view of father and child. The context is the reading which is feminist. Whenever you see the word context, think reading.

 

[Premus]

Hey

Thanks a lot for that....i think i get it now

if you guys have anymore stuff on this, pls try and post it..


Thanks again

 

[Acid]

I'd talk about how Gwen Harwood's texts are timeless, and this timeless nature is given by the fact that the themes expressed (life/death, good/evil, relationships, etc) are on a macro level, not a micro one solely between the characters in the poem. However, you should also consider that what makes these themes universal is the allusions to other texts such as king lear, book of genesis, etc. Thus, i'd discuss things like post-modernism and a religious reading if I was you...

 

[clerisy]

Originally posted by Wilmo
Thats a feminist view of father and child. The context is the reading which is feminist. Whenever you see the word context, think reading.

If you don't mind-- what's your feminist take on "father and child"?

 

[Wilmo]

I dont really have a feminist one... (a) im not a female/femnatzi (b) we havent done feminist readings much.

But as i said there is a complete lack of a feminine role model in the poem. Feminists would attack that, and they would also pick up on the father taking the role of the comforter which is what the woman is in the violets and glass jar

 

[Premus]

Do u mean to say that the different types of readings are from different people in relation to who they are? eg: Feminist etc...

Or do we need to talk abt Different people's perspectives
eg: Jim's perspective , Harry's perspective etc

Thanks

 

[Wilmo]

Thats what a reading is... everybody brings their life experience to a text. A religious person will bring a religious reading, a feminist will bring a feminist reading and a psychologist will bring a psychoanalytical reading.

You dont talk about individuals... you talk about groups.

 

[Premus]

Oh alright...

But where can i find information on these different groups and what they thought of the poems? Or do i just say that Feminists would have thought this ... , a psychoanalytical reading would have thought that....etc

Cause we havnt discussed in class im not too sure...Thanks

 

[Wilmo]

Well you really should have discussed it in class to some extent... tis not your fault i know.

You'll just have to do your own reasearch on readings and Freuds theories and other stuff... theres not a lot out there that you can study from.

You will also want to combine readings because some of them complement each other.

 

[rachiebub]

Hi

I have an assessment task on Gwen Harwood... and the question is to compose and argument for or against the topic:

"That every text has its use-by date"

Any ideas??

Also ive heard u guys talk abt a study guide on her poems.....
What is it called?

Thanks a lot!

hey.
im doing the same assignment.
and i need help!!!
any tips for which poems to use etc???
how did you do???

 

[slippys]

I dont really have a feminist one... (a) im not a female/femnatzi (b) we havent done feminist readings much.

But as i said there is a complete lack of a feminine role model in the poem. Feminists would attack that, and they would also pick up on the father taking the role of the comforter which is what the woman is in the violets and glass jar

also in father and child, theres the whole idea that the child is taking on the masculine role when picking up the gun. like the gun is a representation of male power and a phallic symbol in a way. just another way of looking at it.