Suburban Sonnet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Suburban Sonnet" | |
|---|---|
| by Gwen Harwood | |
| First published in | The Bulletin |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Publication date | 1963 |
| Lines | 14 |
"Suburban Sonnet" is a poem by Australian poet Gwen Harwood.[1]
It was first published in The Bulletin on 12 January 1963,[2] under the author's pen-name of "Miriam Stone", and later in several of the author's collections and in other Australian poetry anthologies.
While caring for her children a "suburban housewife" remembers the time when she was a pianist who once played for Rubinstein.
Analysis
While reviewing the poet's Poems: Volume Two collection the reviewer Geoffrey Lehmann commented that "Her poems about bluestockings and critics indicate perhaps an overconsciousness of possible critical reaction." As an example of this analysis he quoted a line from this poem: "Once she played for Rubinstein, who yawned." He went on to say that "Her ingenuity in avoiding obvious phrases is one of the pleasures of her work, but sometimes this makes her poetry excessively cerebral."[3]
In his commentary on the poem in 60 Classic Australian Poems Geoff Page noted there "is a rich vein of 'suburban disillusionment' running through our poetry and [this poem] by Gwen Harwood is its definitive expression.”[4]