Piano

Question 1

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

Answer 1

• Atmosphere & Mood: The adverb “Softly” coupled with “dusk” creates a hushed, almost sacred intimacy. This delicate soundscape reflects how memories start to beckon the speaker gently before overwhelming him.

• Sensory Gateway: The “singing” becomes a trigger for memory, illustrating music’s power to bridge past and present.

• Maternal Echo: By not naming the woman, Lawrence leaves space for the reader to infer she is like a mother figure, foreshadowing the theme of childhood longing that drives the poem.

Question 2

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

Answer 2

• Childhood Perspective: Physically being “under” the piano suggests security but also underscores the speaker’s smallness, emphasizing how grand and enveloping the music felt to a young mind.

• Soundscapes: The contrasting onomatopoeic words “boom” and “tingling” highlight how music simultaneously resonates powerfully (“boom”) and delicately
“tingling”), capturing the sensory immersion of childhood.

• Emotional Tone: This image radiates comfort and wonder, setting up the nostalgic pull that ultimately overwhelms the adult speaker.

Question 3

“In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song / Betrays me back”

Answer 3

• Reluctant Surrender: “In spite of myself” shows the speaker resisting nostalgia yet inevitably succumbing to it, revealing the inner conflict between adult composure and childlike yearning.

• Power of Music: Calling the song “insidious” and “mastery” gives it a sneaky but strong force. It shows how music can unexpectedly take over someone’s thoughts and lead them into deep reminiscence.

• Feeling Exposed: The verb “betrays” suggests the speaker feels let down by his own adult defenses, as he is forced to relive memories he might have tried to keep at bay.

Question 4

“My manhood is cast / Down in the flood of remembrance”

Answer 4

• Metaphorical Overthrow: “Cast down” demonstrates a sudden collapse of the speaker’s adult identity, emphasizing how powerful, primal memories wash away his mature self-control.

• Flood Imagery: A “flood” implies an unstoppable, overwhelming force of emotion, washing away personal barriers and illustrating the depth of the speaker’s nostalgic grief.

• Emotional Regression: The act of discarding “manhood” reveals the poem’s main tension: nostalgia compels him to revert from adulthood to a vulnerable, childlike state.

Question 5

“I weep like a child for the past”

Answer 5

• Open Emotional Release: The speaker plainly admits he is crying, showing he has given in to the flood of childhood memories.

• Simile: “Like a child” underlines the depth of his vulnerability. He is no longer the calm, collected adult but someone overtaken by the purity of old emotions.

• Sense of Loss: The phrase “for the past” highlights his longing for a time that can never be regained. It sums up the poem’s bittersweet theme of nostalgia.

Question 6

Form

Answer 6

1. Lyric Poetry:
   • The poem is a lyric, expressing the speaker’s deep personal emotions of nostalgia and longing for childhood.
   • The first-person perspective (“me”) enhances the intimacy of the speaker’s feelings.
2. Tone and Mood:
   • The tone shifts from calm and reflective to wistful and melancholic.
   • The mood is nostalgic, as the speaker relives moments of his childhood.
3. Imagery:
   • Vivid sensory imagery is used to recreate the past (e.g., “a child sitting under the piano”).
   • The tactile (“pressing the small, poised feet of a mother”) and auditory imagery (“the tinkling piano”) make the memories vivid.

Question 7

Structure

Answer 7

1. Tightly Organized Stanzas:
   • The poem is composed of three quatrains (four-line stanzas) with a regular
   AABB rhyme scheme, mimicking the rhythm of a song or piano melody.
   • The rhyme gives a musical quality, reinforcing the central motif of music.
2. Progression of Thought:
   • The poem moves from the present (an adult listening to music) to a vivid recollection of childhood and finally returns to the adult’s emotional reaction.
   • The past and present intertwine as the music triggers memories.
3. Enjambment:
   • Lines flow into one another, mirroring the continuous and unstoppable nature of memories and emotions.
4. Contrast:
   • The juxtaposition between the adult’s rationality and the child’s innocence highlights the poignancy of the memories.

Question 8

Themes

Answer 8

Death
Grief
Nostalgia
Family
Memory
Masculinity