Gwen Harwood’s “In the Park” was first published in 1961 under a male pseudonym—and no wonder: its grim but unflinching view of motherhood as a source of regret and resentment was radical for its time. When the author was revealed to be a woman, many were shocked. However, the poem has been widely taught and anthologized since, and is celebrated today for its achievement in upending conventional beliefs about motherhood and keenly capturing the complex reality of women’s maternal experiences.

• Read the full text of “In The Park”

• “In The Park” Summary

• “In The Park” Themes

  • 

    Motherhood and Identity

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-14
  • 

    Social Expectations vs. Reality

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-14

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “In The Park”

  • Line 1

    She sits in ... out of date.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 2-3

    Two children whine ...
    ... in the dirt

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 4-5

    Someone she loved ...
    ... that casual nod.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 6-8

    "How nice" et ...
    ... grace of God…"

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 9-10

    They stand a ...
    ... names and birthdays.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 10-12

    "It’s so sweet ...
    ... his departing smile.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 12-13

    Then, nursing ...
    ... at her feet.

    

    

    

    

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  • Line 14

    To the wind ... eaten me alive."

    

    

    

    

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• “In The Park” Symbols

  • 

    Clothes

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “Her clothes are out of date.”
    • Line 2: “tug her skirt.”
    • Line 7: “his neat head”
  • 

    The Flickering Light

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 9: “They stand a while in flickering light”
  • 

    Nursing

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 12-13: “nursing / the youngest child”

• “In The Park” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “park”
    • Line 2: “Two ,” “tug ,” “skirt”
    • Line 3: “draws ,” “patterns ,” “dirt”
    • Line 4: “loved ,” “passed ,” “too ,” “late”
    • Line 5: “to,” “nod”
    • Line 6: “nice,” “great ”
    • Line 8: “balloon,” “but,” “grace ,” “God”
    • Line 10: “children’s ,” “so ,” “sweet”
    • Line 11: “their ,” “chatter,” “them,” “thrive”
    • Line 12: “says ,” “smile,” “Then”
    • Line 13: “sits ,” “staring ”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “sits ,” “in ”
    • Line 2: “skirt”
    • Line 3: “third ,” “patterns ,” “dirt”
    • Line 4: “Someone ,” “loved once,” “late”
    • Line 5: “feign,” “that ,” “casual ”
    • Line 6: “nice,” “Time ,” “surprises”
    • Line 7: “rises”
    • Line 8: “small ,” “balloon”
    • Line 10: “names,” “birthdays,” “sweet”
    • Line 11: “hear,” “thrive”
    • Line 12: “smile”
    • Line 13: “child,” “feet”
    • Line 14: “eaten ,” “me ,” “alive”

  • Asyndeton

    

    

    

    

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    Where asyndeton appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “whine and bicker, tug her skirt.”
    • Lines 9-10: “stand a while in flickering light, rehearsing / the children’s names and birthdays.”
    • Line 11: “hear their chatter, watch them grow”
    • Lines 12-13: “Then, nursing / the youngest child, sits staring at her feet.”

  • Caesura

    

    

    

    

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    Where caesura appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “ the park. Her”
    • Line 2: “and bicker, tug”
    • Line 4: “passed by – too”
    • Line 6: “et cetera. "Time”
    • Line 8: “balloon…"but”
    • Line 9: “flickering light, rehearsing”
    • Line 10: “and birthdays. "It’s”
    • Line 11: “their chatter, watch”
    • Line 12: “departing smile. Then, nursing”
    • Line 13: “youngest child, sits”
    • Line 14: “she says, "They”

  • Cliché

    

    

    

    

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    Where cliché appears in the poem:

    • Line 6: “et cetera,” “Time holds great surprises”
    • Line 8: “but for the grace of God”
    • Line 14: “eaten me alive”

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “sits,” “park,” “clothes,” “out ,” “date”
    • Line 2: “Two ,” “bicker,” “tug ,” “skirt”
    • Line 3: “third ,” “draws,” “patterns,” “dirt”
    • Line 4: “Someone,” “loved ,” “once,” “passed ”
    • Lines 4-5: “too late / to feign indifference to”
    • Line 5: “nod”
    • Line 6: “nice,” “Time,” “surprises”
    • Line 7: “neat ,” “unquestionably,” “rises”
    • Line 8: “small balloon,” “but,” “grace ,” “God”
    • Line 9: “flickering light”
    • Line 10: “children’s ”
    • Lines 10-11: “It’s so sweet / to”
    • Line 11: “chatter,” “watch,” “thrive”
    • Line 12: “departing,” “smile,” “nursing”
    • Line 13: “youngest,” “child,” “sits staring,” “feet”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 3-4: “dirt / Someone”
    • Lines 4-5: “late / to”
    • Lines 7-8: “ rises / a”
    • Lines 9-10: “ rehearsing / the”
    • Lines 10-11: “sweet / to”
    • Lines 12-13: “nursing / the”

  • Imagery

    

    

    

    

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    Where imagery appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-4
    • Line 5
    • Lines 7-8
    • Lines 9-10
    • Lines 12-14

  • Irony

    

    

    

    

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    Where irony appears in the poem:

    • Line 6: “"How nice" et cetera. "Time holds great surprises."”
    • Lines 9-10: “rehearsing / the children’s names and birthdays”
    • Lines 10-11: “ "It’s so sweet / to hear their chatter, watch them grow and thrive,"”
    • Lines 12-13: “Then, nursing / the youngest child, sits staring at her feet.”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Lines 7-8: “From his neat head unquestionably rises / a small balloon”
    • Line 14: “They have eaten me alive”

• “In The Park” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Bicker
  • Aimless
  • Feign
  • Indifference
  • "but for the Grace of God..."
  • Thrive
  • Nursing
  • (Location in poem: Line 2: “Two children whine and bicker”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “In The Park”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “In The Park” Speaker

• “In The Park” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “In The Park”

• More “In The Park” Resources

  • External Resources

    • The Life of Gwen Harwood — A biography of the poet.

    • Poems About Motherhood — A great Poetry Foundation collection of poems about motherhood.

    • Gwen Harwood's Pseudonyms — An essay on the poet's history of publishing poems under male pseudonyms, including "In the Park."

    • Motherhood in Visual Art — A collection of paintings depicting mothers and their children.

    • Modern Australian Poetry — An overview of Australian poetry throughout the of 20th and 21st centuries.

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by Gwen Harwood

    • Barn Owl

    • Suburban Sonnet

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