BY GWEN HARWOOD

In the Park

Gwen Harwood

Wrote under numerous pseudonyms because women were less likely to be published. “In the Park” was published under the name Walter Lehman. She was very inventive and created entire life stories for her fake names.

 Walter Lehnamm, �Alan Carvosse, �Miriam Stone and �W.W Hagendoor �(an anagram of her name). Harwood published �10 poems as �Timothy T.F Kline.

In August 1961 the Bulletin printed two sonnets, ‘Eloisa to Abelard’ and ‘Abelard to Eloisa,’ that she had submitted under the pseudonym ‘Walter Lehmann.’ Read acrostically, they declared her farewell to the magazine and her forthright dismissal of all editors.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

PSEUDONYMS

LITERARY HOAX

Identity

Motherhood

Expectations �vs. Reality

Themes

In the Park

She sits in the park. Her clothes are out of date. �Two children whine and bicker, tug her skirt. �A third draws aimless patterns in the dirt�Someone she loved once passed by – too late��to feign indifference to that casual nod.�“How nice” et cetera. “Time holds great surprises.”�From his neat head unquestionably rises�a small balloon…”but for the grace of God…”��They stand a while in flickering light, rehearsing�the children’s names and birthdays. “It’s so sweet�to hear their chatter, watch them grow and thrive, ”�she says to his departing smile. Then, nursing�the youngest child, sits staring at her feet.�To the wind she says, “They have eaten me alive.”

A

B

B

A

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C

D

D

C

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E

F

G

E

F

G

14 lines

Follows most of the format of a Petrarchan (Italian) Sonnet

14 lines

Petrarchan Sonnet

One octave, One sestet

Octave sets up problem

Sestet finds solution

Volta after octave

Rhyme scheme ABBAABBA CDECDE

Iambic petrameter

What’s the Difference?

14 lines

“In the Park”

Two quatrains, One sestet�first quatrain reveals setting�second quatrain the issue

Sestet continue issue

Volta at the end

Rhyme scheme� ABBA CDDC EFGEFG

Not all iambic pentameter

Meter

She sits | in the park. | Her clothes | are out | of date. �Two chil- | dren whine | and bick- | er, tug | her skirt. �A third | draws aim- | less pat- | terns in | the dirt

mostly iambic pentameter

Anapestic foot

What to Look for…

Alliteration

Cliché

metaphor

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Asyndeton

Enjambment

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Caesura

imagery

She sits in the park. Her clothes are out of date. �Two children whine and bicker, tug her skirt�A third draws aimless patterns in the dirt�

Caesura interrupts the first line, disrupting the rhythm (as does the anapestic meter)

Visual imagery: Does she not have money to buy new clothes? Does she not care about fashion? Does she put herself last?

Visual & auditory imagery

The children complaining and tugging on HER skirt, drawing in the dirt produce the stressful tone in the poem.

Asyndeton creates more chaos as the mother is being pulled in all directions.

Someone she loved once passed by – too late��to feign indifference to that casual nod.�“How nice” et cetera. “Time holds great surprises.”�

Enjambment

Connects to her new problem. She saw him, he saw her, now she can’t pretend otherwise.

IF the “too late” had been placed in the second stanza it would have taken away the surprise created by the enjambment, as well as the possibility of two connotations.

Caesura has double duty, as it holds the “too late” to the first stanza, allowing it to create a double meaning. In this stanza it seems as though she is daydreaming about this love, and knows it is too late now.

Clichés the first cliché is cut off by “et cetera” which indicates the conversation wasn’t important enough to record. The second cliché is more “polite” conversation, lacking depth of any kind.

�From his neat head unquestionably rises�a small balloon…”but for the grace of God…”��

Cliché the speaker interprets the ex-lover’s body language, imaging his thoughts to be sympathetic toward her, but happy he is not in her situation.

They stand a while in flickering light, rehearsing�the children’s names and birthdays. “It’s so sweet�to hear their chatter, watch them grow and thrive, ”�she says to his departing smile.

Symbolism the sun is setting, light is fading, like their relationship, as it flickers in and out of these final moments.

diction the word indicates “performance,” as though she is putting on an act, one that has been rehearsed so she gets it right. As a mother, this is what she is supposed to say.

Synecdoche his smile leaves before she is done speaking, as he is trying to get away as quickly as possible. The detachment from his whole person mimics their estrangement.

� Then, nursing�the youngest child, sits staring at her feet.�To the wind she says, “They have eaten me alive.”

Sibilance after he leaves, the sibilant sounds render her silent.

“Nursing” Metaphorically and Literally the children have consumed her identity metaphorically, and literally, breastfeeding is the act of physically consuming the mother’s milk.

Diction she confesses her disillusionment only to the wind because society’s expectations of motherhood are to feel only joy.