The imagery in this poem helps to describe a picture in the reader's mind so that the reader can sympathize with the speaker during his journeys into the past. In the first stanza, in the first line, the first image is of a woman. In the fourth line the reader learns that this woman is the speaker's mother. The third line shows an image of a "child sitting under the piano . . . pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles." This image gives the reader an image, perhaps of a parlor room, of a child about three or four years of age enjoying the music produced by his mother. The love of the mother shines through her smile as she reciprocates to the child's gentle touch. Later, in the second stanza, the contrasting image of a cold, snowy night in the winter and the cozy parlor causes the "hymns" to seem doubly warm. This represents the traditional image of a grand family sitting around a warm, crackling fire; they sing carols together and just enjoy each other's company. The piano in the first and second stanza is described as "tingling strings" and "tinkling piano"...
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The poem begins with the narrator telling herself, “A few more steps, old feet.” (line 1). The old feet she refers to are the ancestor’s feet, that appear to be old and worn out from the rigorous journey they take. The speaker then goes on to say, “In pale tea I’ll see / me with her, tasting wild grapes” (lines 4-5). This shows her reminder of her ancestors in nature. The pale tea is the symbol of the clean, clear simplicity of nature and when the speaker simplifies herself, to the bare nothingness of nature it reveals to her, her ancestors. Then in the following lines, “at dawn, tasting dew / on tender leaves, another year.” (lines 6-7). The dawn represents a new day, a new start where she can again acknowledge her heritage. After, the speaker says, “her hands still guiding me, / at sunset grinding seeds” (lines 11-12). These hands guiding the speaker, are her ancestors leading her through their stories and nature around…
- 810 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The poem is written in first person narrative. It has 6 stanzas of 8 lines: One stanza each on the narrator, the Lord and Kate; stanza 4 contrasts the position of the narrator and Kate; stanza 5 criticises Kate and stanza 6 focuses on the narrator’s triumph at having a child. Each stanza is the same length and each line has a similar rhythm, giving it a ballad-like feel. It could also be conveying the strength and perseverance of the narrator who has to face life in conflict with the expectations of Victorian society. Note that the tone changes as the poem progresses - regret, accusation, bitterness, triumph.…
- 1497 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
‘Our lady’ represents the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, and symbolizes the warmth and protection offered by all mothers as they embrace their children, However here, the negative connotation of ‘overshadowed by clouds’ reinforces his feelings of not really belonging at this religious institution. This metaphor is reinforced in the last stanza where the lady still watches over him ‘unchanged by eight years of weather’. Even after 8 years of attendance, the poet still does not really belong. Then the use of colloquial language and connotation of shared friendship ‘played chasings up and down the station’s ten ramps’ shows Peter’s young and that he is fitting into some extent but he is still unsure about where he belongs. He doesn’t feel he is part of the school. Repetition of eight years, metaphor and emotive language ‘for eight years I carried the blue, black and gold/I’d been privileged to wear’ are used in the forth stanza to emphasizes the length of time he spent at the school and the benefits he gained there. Even though he did the…
- 415 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
“The Piano Lesson” by August Wilson tells the story of Boy Willie who travels up to Philadelphia from Georgia to visit his sister, and try to convince her to sell their inherited piano. After he arrives his sister, Bernice, refuses to sell the piano because of the history of the family it possesses. The piano was stolen from their family’s owners during the time of slavery. It was stolen because Willie and Bernice’s father, Boy Charles, had carved pictures of members of their family sold to a different owner as well as other family members and important events. After stealing the piano their father was killed by the white people who found it was stolen. Due to the pain the piano caused Bernice refused to play it but didn’t let it be sold.…
- 321 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Many works of literature present the idea that past events can affect the present actions, values, and attitudes of a character. This past event can greatly affect how they act and go about their lives on a daily basis. In August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson”, the character Berniece is affected by the history of the piano in connection with her family, which reveals the idea of the importance of embracing and remembering your origins.…
- 486 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Music comes in many different forms and continues to grow as society expands. Over the years, music has become more simplistic in the main stream. Before understanding why artists create a certain type of music, or why they perform a certain type of music it all draws back to who they are as an individual or group. The Piano Guys is a group of ten people who have worked hard wanting to entertain people with their music abilities. The ten individuals make up a cello family containing one female and nine males. It all started in Southern Utah at a music store known as The Piano Guys. This phenomenal group uses vocals and instruments to make their classical pieces stand apart…
- 762 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The film I have chosen to use is the Pianist; The Pianist was made in 2002 it was directed by Roman Polonski who lived in Poland during WW2, scripted by Ronald Harwood and stars Adrien Brody. During the 75th Academy award ceremony it was nominated for many awards but won Oscars for Best Director, Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay.…
- 1302 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Just as seasons go through an inevitable change, so do people. In her sonnet, “What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, and Where, and Why”, Millay addresses a concern people may have as they experience changes within their life. More specifically, as one’s youth may fade away so do the moments of the past, and what we are left with is but only our memories of emotions expressed.…
- 1240 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Imagine that you family had something value from your ancestors would you sell it or keep it? In the story “The Piano Lesson” there is a conflict with berniece and boy willie (siblings) about selling their family piano or not? I believe that berniece should keep the piano. Berneice is the sister of Willie boy and the daughter of mama ola and Boy Charles. Berneice is Serious, Stubborn and mature. The piano shouldn’t be sold because it shows what the struggle while their family was in slavery. Overall, the piano shouldn’t be sold because it has photo cravings of the family, Their family died for it and Their mother cleaned the piano daily.…
- 113 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
The poem is a four stanza one, each stanza being made up of five lines, with some variation in length of line. The first two stanzas focus purely on the life of the mother before the daughter was born, whilst the third stanza opens with a reference to the daughter 's birth and then moves to the daughter 's vision of her mother in her earlier life, thus providing a link with the previous stanzas. The fourth stanza begins with a recollection from the daughter 's younger life with her mother, and then takes us back once again to the mother 's days of dancing.…
- 481 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
In “Piano”, The persona in the poem is listening to a woman singing and playing the piano. This makes him recall when he was a child, sitting under the piano listening to his mother play and sing on Sunday evenings in winter. He is nostalgic about the warmth and happiness of his childhood days. However, he seems to berate himself on recalling his childhood and views himself as sad and less masculine for giving in to his nostalgic impulses. With his ‘manhood cast/Down in the flood of remembrance’, he weeps, an act considered inappropriate for a man.…
- 1024 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
In conjunction with a solid aesthetic sciences educational modules and Christian perspective, HBU's Piano Program offers a complete music educational modules represent considerable authority in piano execution, teaching method, ambiance music, and going with. Also, understudies in this system advantage from various performing opportunities, regular expert classes and exhibitions by going by universally acclaimed craftsman, little class sizes, and profession/graduate school exhorting. As a piano player at HBU, you will join a strong gathering of associates and workforce who are focused on your advancement as an entertainer, instructor, researcher, and national.…
- 1583 Words
- 7 Pages
Good Essays -
In one scene, a bomb explodes nearby, and on the soundtrack we hear a high- pitched whistling that simulates what Szpilman is hearing. Polanski puts us into Szpilman's room, then puts us into his head.…
- 2162 Words
- 9 Pages
Good Essays -
In the next stanza, the narrator is explaining the ways in which the mother would have been there to support her child. 'held out a huge finger, lifted atoms of dust with the point of a tissue '. Armitage uses the term, 'Huge finger '. A child would think their mothers hand is giant compared to there own. During this stanza, the narrator is beginning to deeply describe the childs ' eyes. They are looking closely into this eye and can notice every little detail. 'Imagined silvers of hair in the oil of the cornea '. The cornea is one of the most complex parts of the human body, and it is very difficult to understand. This person is marvelling at the bodies natural creation…
- 1343 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
Bicycle, fish, airplane, hat, card, homework, swing, flower, picture, sunglasses, watermelon, puddle, school bus, and lawnmower are words that connect with people with his or her memories in some way. An instant word can bring memories back into his or her reality. Their memories can be so vivid that their dreams may feel like present day. The stream of consciousness can take one word and recreate your whole past. In the poem, "Piano", written by D.H. Lawrence, the narrator is affected by the word piano. A woman sings softly to him while he reminiscences about his childhood and his happy memories of his mother. The narrator feels betrayed by the song that has sparked him to rethink the recollections. In his remembrance, the narrator cries for his lost past. In "Piano", D.H. Lawrence conveys the meaning of the poem with very distinct tones in each stanza: in the first, the tone is mellow; in the second, bitterly resentful; and in the third, the narrator is melancholic.…
- 1066 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays