The poem “Father and Child” by Gwen Harwood displays Harwood’s dad teaching her the concepts of your life and loss of life, from the moment she is children in “Barn Owl” about when she actually is around forty at the time of his death in “Nightfall”, visiting accept the concept life is not never-ending. Partly one named “Barn Owl”; she has discovered to accept loss of life as a component of life. The persona with the poem experiences a decrease of innocence with the discovery from the tragedy of death.
Prior to shooting the owl, your child believes they are the “master of life and death, ” with the noun, “master, ” reflecting the energy that the child feels and the ignorance that the child offers about the size of death. This kind of description with the child can be later contrasted in the next stanza, “I watched, afraid by the dropped gun, a lonely kid who presumed death expending final, not really this obscene bundle of stuff.
” The emotive term, “afraid, ” represents the change in the persona’s attitude following being exposed to the harsh reality that may be mortality.
Nevertheless , the rhyme and previous line “what sorrows eventually, no phrases, no holes can mend” releases some inexpressible despair that she has towards the fatality of her father demonstrating that even though she allows death, that still problems her since it did in “Barn Owl”. Father and Child” Nightfall” is more metaphorical and symbolic suggesting a much more mature personality like an mature. The composition represents a human’s trip over time of learning to mature and acknowledge death. The poem “Father and Child” explores the reversing functions of dads and children’s roles in the future. Nightfall” is more metaphorical and symbolic recommending a more adult persona like an adult, and is about a child grown to adult era spending time with her daddy before he dies.
The symbolism of the imagery presented through the poem is of the passing of your energy, this is shown in words like “temporal”, “transience”, “late”, “night and day”, “grown” and “ancient”, this symbolizes the getting older of the father and kid and emphasises how they have raised both mentally and physically. The use of the phrase “angel” in “Barn Owl” suggests the closeness from the father-daughter romantic relationship. Also the line “I leaned my head upon my dad’s arm, and wept, ” shows the caring and comforting character of the dad. However , “Nightfall” shows the childish mother nature towards her father starts to disappear and that she has produced great esteem for her father. This is initially implied throughout the phrase “Father and kid, we wait in time’s extended promised land” which reveals they have a combined front facing death together.
This can be further emphasised through the rhetorical question of “Who may be what you had been? ” showing the gratitude for her father, as the lady recalls her father’s “marvellous journey”. Also, the use of immediate speech in the father requesting, “Be the tears rainy? ” is definitely an meaning to Shakespeare’s play “King Lear”, exactly where King Lear asks a similar question to his raise red flags to daughter Cordelia on his loss of life bed, this is when King Lear discovers that Cordelia was your only child that truly cared for him, suggesting which the persona continues to be faithful in caring for her father up until his loss of life. “Old king” is a identical allusion again implying the fact that persona appreciates her father’s life considering it was superb and it takes to be treasured. “Nightfall” is suggesting that although loved ones pass, it is vital to hold the memories shared close; thus spiritually, they are really never really absent even though actually they have passed.
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