I can very easily say that change has been and still is a difficult concept to grasp. The formal definition for change is defined as the process through which something becomes different. I don’t believe in merely one concept of change but believe in many that combine, relate and affect each other. There are many different interpretations about change; several concepts are clearly inspired by ones personal experiences, which impact your own beliefs on what change is or consists of.
When the concept of change was first introduced to my class the word ‘Revolution’ shortly followed. Revolution has helped me to broaden my understanding about change, revolution refers to/or can be defined as a break through in terms of new ideas and rules, something that involves change or an act of courage. Change can have many aspects and is a very broad idea hence the incorporation of ‘revolution’. ‘evolution’ and ‘evolve’, can you see them in the word ‘revolution’? they all relate to change. To grow is to change, to age is to change, to learn is to change.Understanding the concept of change has helped me to translate and appreciate certain techniques used by poets’ to convey a certain message. Poets’ just like Gwen Harwood are fine examples; throughout her work these techniques are all evident.
Even though poetry isn’t my favourite media to study it is clear that without Gwen Harwood my understanding on change would not be as significant as it is now. It has also become obvious that statements like “change can take years or seconds” and “change is an inevitable transformation” are both relatable and significant in her works. For myself these are the statements I tend to focus on when trying to relate or talk about change. For example Harwood’s poem titled Mother Who Gave Me Life can easily convey ideas in relation to these statements, the poem is about the death of the personas mother and the evolution of women to mothers, becoming a mother is to change, to care and nurture others. These statements are also relevant in her poem titled The Glass Jar , its about a boy who believes if he can capture light in a jar he will be able to scare away all the monsters that night but instead the story thickens and it turns into the boys loss of innocence.
changing perspectives 