Thursday 17 March 2011

Sam's post

Piano
by D. H. Lawrence


Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;

Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see

A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings

And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.



In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song

Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong

To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside

And hymns in the cosy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide.



So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour

With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour

Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast

Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.

Level: Sec 3 Express

Objective: Students will be able to understand metaphors and how it contributes to the overall theme – reminiscing about the past.

1. What is happening in the poem? Who is the speaker?

The purpose of this question is to help students to understand what the poem is about, and see the central idea of the poem. It also helps students to realize that the speaker is an adult wandering down memory lane and reminiscing about his childhood while he listens to a woman singing to him in the evening.

2. What is the speaker’s childhood like? What does the word ‘glamour’ suggest about the speaker’s childhood?

Having established the fact that the speaker is reminiscing about the past, this question then helps students to better understand the feelings of the speaker. This question points students to the vivid imagery of the speaker’s childhood that D. H. Lawrence has set up – a childhood which was innocent, beautiful and familiar. This would in turn allow students to better visualize, understand what is happening, and why the speaker feels the way he does. This would then help students to see the relationship between the speaker’s past and present.

3. What is the tone of the poem, and what does it reveal about the attitude of the speaker? What does the word ‘betrays’ imply about his attitude?

Having looked at the imagery in the poem, students should be better able to understand the tone of the poem, and thereafter, the attitude of the speaker. By pointing students to the word ‘betray’, it would help students to better comprehend the internal struggle of the speaker – between the present and the beautiful past he is reminiscing and longs for.

4. Why do you think this poem is entitled ‘Piano’? What does the piano symbolize?

This question serves to put together what the students have gathered from the previous three questions – who the speaker is, what is happening, how was his childhood like, the speaker’s attitude, why the speaker is feeling the way he is now, etc. This then allows students to understand that the piano serves as a metaphor for nostalgia. The piano could also be a metaphor for their way of life, uniting everyone together through music. It can also be a metaphor for how music was his guide as a child, and still is a guide, even as he is an adult. In addition, it is the piano’s melodic sounds that transport him back in time to his childhood years. Thus, the piano symbolizes many important things, and this contributes to the overall feeling and theme of nostalgia of the poem. However, to be able to grasp what the piano symbolizes can be challenging, and thus, would require understanding of the speaker, his childhood days, and his attitude in the poem. Without these, it would be difficult to gain a full understanding of what the piano stands for, and without this understanding, students may not comprehend the central idea/theme of the poem.

1 comment:

  1. Good questions and some important ideas raised here, Sam. I think it looks like the persona is at a concert or some more formal recital. The music takes him back to the past but I think there must be a difference between both settings: his current setting and the domestic setting he remembers. This would also make his use of the word "glamour" ironic. I like your opening question. For your past question, are you using symbol and metaphor interchangeably? There is a subtle difference though it's hard to tell sometimes.

    ReplyDelete