Poem: 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.

Summary

The poem is starting with a romantic atmosphere. At one evening where two persons a man and a woman are sitting in a room. The woman who is a singer is singing and playing the piano softly for the poet (who is the other person in the room). Her song takes the poet back to his early childhood period where he sees himself as a small child sitting under the piano as his mother sings. His mother pure smiles at him and continues playing the piano as he presses her feet. However, he can’t control himself by hearing the songs. It takes him back to his boyhood. He mentions that it is very cold outside as it’s winter and he is in his warm and comfortable room. All his family members are together as well this Sunday evening singing hymns while being guided by the piano.

In the third stanza, the poet doesn’t want to listen to the music anymore and considers the woman’s song to be a shout. Because the music has done its task which is to take the poet back to his happy past where he wants to be lost with those happy memories and forget about the present completely. He doesn’t find her music sweet anymore and says it is a waste for her to play the piano with deep feelings.

Rhyme Scheme

A rhyme scheme is the ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem or verse
The rhyme scheme of the poem is AABB CCDD EEFF.

“me”=a
“see”=a
“strings”=b
“sings”=b
“song”=c
“belong”=c
“outside”=d
“guide”=d
“clamour”=e
“glamour”=e
“cast”=f
“past”=f

Here the last word of the 1st line is “me” and the last word of the 2nd line is “see”, Both words have the same sound. So we can mark it “a”. Again, the last words of the 3rd and 4th lines are “strings”, and “sings”. Both have the same sound. So we can mark it “b”.Further again the last words of the 5th and 6th lines are “song”, and “belong”.They also have the same sound. So we can mark it “c”. Then, the last words of the 7th and 8th lines are “outside” and “guide”.Both of the words have the same sound. So we can mark it “d”. And then the last words of the 9th and 10th lines are “glamor” and “glamour”. They also have the same sound. So we can mark it “e”. And finally, the last words of the 11th and 12th lines are “cast”, and “past”. So we will mark it “f”.

So at last we can find out that the rhyme scheme of the poem is abba aabb ccdd eeff.

Tone

The tone is a musical or vocal sound with reference to its pitch, quality, and strength. The tone of the poem is nostalgic.

The poem is based on a psychological fact. In the poem, a poet is a grown-up man, who goes back to his sweetest childhood days under the influence of the song sung by a woman. The image of a woman singing in darkness is very evocative, and it revives the poet to his childhood memories. The poem depicts the fact that childhood experiences. In his childhood, he is listening to the songs of his mother with a piano in the dark evening. When he is under similar circumstances -a woman is singing with a piano in the darkness of the night. Those beautiful scene goes back to him his sweetest childhood days and makes him nostalgic.

Structure

Structure means the “design or arrangement of the parts of a work of literature to form a unified whole.

The poem consists of three stanzas and each stanza consists of four lines with the rhyme scheme aabb ccdd eeff. In the first stanza, the poet describes a dark evening. A woman was singing a song on the piano and her little one was sitting under the piano. He was touching his mother’s feet with his soft palm. In the second stanza, the poet went back to his childhood memories through the song of the woman. He remembered his past memories and weep for those sweetest days that he passed before. It makes him nostalgic.

Theme

The theme is the central idea in a piece of writing. The whole body explains the theme.

“Piano” is a poem about past memory and the sweet relationship between mother and son. The poem is nostalgic without being sentimental. It shows the power of one’s experiences as a child without ignoring the facts of one’s adult memories. The main theme of the poem is the relationship between son and mother. The power of old memory is also an important theme of the poem. The poet remembers his old memories of the influence of a beautiful scene. That makes him nostalgic. The power of emotion over one’s thought along with the musical effect make the poem a classic one.

Authors Position

When an author writes to persuade, he/she will have his/her own position on the subject. The author’s position is an author’s opinion about the subject. It may be subjective or objective.

Subjective means where the writer can use his/her own feelings, emotion, and own choice.

Objective means where the writer can’t use his/her own feelings, emotions, and own choice.

It’s a subjective poem because the poet uses his personal experiences and emotions as a child. Though, when he was a child, the same activity happened to him. So It’s an subjective poem.

Figures of Speech

Figures of Speech mean the use of ornamental elements in a piece of writing.

Alliteration:
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds.
* “In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song”.
Here “S” is repeated one more time. So it’s an example of alliteration.

Imagery:
Imagery means a collection of some images. It turns our five senses to the subject matter. We can feel it imaginary. The poem “piano” is rich with the use of imagery.
* “A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings, and pressing the small”