Piano

Question 1

Softly, in the dusk,

Answer 1

Gentle atmosphere + Natural light dims which creates intimate setting

Question 2

Taking me back down

Answer 2

Power of song –> Instantly transported to a memory

Question 3

Vista of years

Answer 3

Imagery –> The author has beautiful memories of childhood

Question 4

in the boom of the tingling strings

Answer 4

Onomatopoeia + contrast with gentle sounds of the piano –> Emphasises how real the memories are

Question 5

poised feet of a mother

Answer 5

Verb –> The mother is grateful –> Links to author’s childhood

Question 6

Heart of me weeps

Answer 6

Personification –> Emphasises the great sadness

Question 7

winter outside…cosy parlour

Answer 7

Contrast to cosy parlour –> emphasises security and comfort the family provides and the word “cosy” creates a sense of warmth

Question 8

Hymns

Answer 8

Wholesome imagery –> The family is religious

Question 9

Black piano appasionato

Answer 9

Plosives –> The hammering of strings mirrors his emotions

Question 10

Flood of remembrance

Answer 10

Figurative Language –> Highlights the power of memory and the power of song as it brings back the memories

Question 11

I weep like a child

Answer 11

Simile –> Shows lack of masculinity

Question 12

Line 4?

Answer 12

Sibilance all throughout creates a soothing tone

Question 13

Enjambment throughout the poem indicates what?

Answer 13

Represents the flood of memory and how he’s back to reality

Question 14

Poem is written in what meter?

Answer 14

Trochaic meter which indicates he is longing to return

Question 15

Themes of?

Answer 15

Childhood, memories, family

Question 16

Written from who’s perspective?

Answer 16

Written in 3rd person from the author’s perspective

Question 17

What is his current emotional state?

Answer 17

Nostalgia

Question 18

What is the piano representative of?

Answer 18

His strong relationship with his mother

Question 19

What type of structure is Piano written in?

Answer 19

A controlled structure consisting of 3 quatrains which juxtaposes the writer’s present experience in childhood as it evokes the shape of a hymn

Question 20

What do the rhyming couplets throughout the poem represent?

Answer 20

They are reminiscent of the “hymns” and helps create the poem’s musicality