Panther and Peacock

"Panther and Peacock"
by Gwen Harwood
Written	1957
First published in	Australian Poetry 1957 edited by Hal Porter
Country	Australia
Language	English
Series	Professor Eisenbart
Published in English	1957

"Panther and Peacock" is a poem by Australian author Gwen Harwood. ^[1]

It was first published in Australian Poetry 1957 edited by Hal Porter, ^[2] and was subsequently reprinted in the author's collections and other poetry anthologies. ^[1]

The poem forms part of the author's "Professor Eisenbart" series of poems. This professor "has been interpreted as a 'mask' through which the poet expresses certain anarchic or anti-Establishment views and as a persona which allows her to reflect ironically on the human condition." ^[3]

Synopsis

"Eisenbart is a powerful man, successful in his field, celebrated in the community, yet he is full of rage, anguish, and self-doubt. He likes to see himself as the panther of the poem 'Panther and Peacock', brooding and deadly but cannot rid himself of the fear that he is really the vain and vapid peacock, helpless like everyone else before the 'dark beast' of time and death." ^[4]

Critical reception

While reviewing Australian Poetry 1957 for The Age newspaper, critic Vincent Buckley wrote the poem "has moments of strength and passion, but is muddled, and, in places, derivative." ^[5]

In his book Reading Australian Poetry Andrew Taylor commented that the poem is "a particularly dizzying series of reversals and subversions. Power displays itself as vulnerability, civilization as the other side of barbarism or bestiality, conscious intellect as the obverse of unconscious's vertiginous dreams, prise as weakness." ^[6]

Publication history

After the poem's initial publication in Australian Poetry 1957 ^[2] it was reprinted as follows:

• Poems by Gwen Harwood, Angus and Robertson, 1963 ^[7]
• Modern Australian Verse edited by Douglas Stewart, Angus and Robertson, 1964 ^[8]
• New Impulses in Australian Poetry edited by Rodney Hall and Thomas Shapcott, University of Queensland Press, 1968 ^[9]
• Australian Literary Studies, vol. 5 no. 3 May 1972 ^[1]
• Selected Poems by Gwen Harwood, Angus and Robertson, 1975 ^[10]
• The Collins Book of Australian Poetry edited by Rodney Hall, Collins, 1981 ^[11]
• Bridgings : Readings in Australian Women's Poetry edited by Rose Lucas and Lyn McCredden, Oxford University Press, 1996 ^[12]
• Selected Poems : A New Edition by Gwen Harwood, Angus and Robertson, 2001 ^[13]

Notes

• You can read the full text of the poem in Bridgings : Readings in Australian Women's Poetry edited by Rose Lucas and Lyn McCredden, Oxford University Press, 1996, on the Internet Archive ^[14]

See also

• 1957 in Australian literature

References

1. "Austlit — "Panther and Peacock" by Gwen Harwood". Austlit. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
2. "Australian Poetry 1957 edited by Hal Porter". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
3. The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature edited by Wilde, Hooton and Andrews, 2nd edition, 1986, p232. Accessed: 8 February 2026
4. The Cambridge Companion to Australian Poetry edited by Ann Vickery, Cambridge University Press, 2024, p169. Accessed: 8 February 2026
5. ""Australian Poetry 1957"". The Age, 7 December 1957, p19. ProQuest   2520433230 . Retrieved 8 February 2026.
6. Reading Australian Poetry by Andrew Taylor, University of NSW Press, 1987, p117. Accessed: 8 February 2026.
7. "Poems by Gwen Harwood". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
8. "Modern Australian Verse edited by Douglas Stewart". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
9. "New Impulses in Australian Poetry edited by Rodney Hall and Thomas Shapcott". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
10. "Selected Poems by Gwen Harwood (1975)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
11. "The Collins Book of Australian Poetry edited by Rodney Hall". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
12. "Bridgings : Readings in Australian Women's Poetry edited by edited by Rose Lucas and Lyn McCredden". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
13. "Selected Poems : A New Edition by Gwen Harwood (2001)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
14. ""Panther and Peacock" by Gwen Harwood". Bridgings : Readings in Australian Women's Poetry, pp32-34. Retrieved 8 February 2026.