Piano Flashcards
(11 cards)
What is the structure of piano
-3 quatrains in each the emotional impact become stronger- emotional crescendo
-rhyming couplets; simple rhyme scheme reflects his child centred memory. Also gives a song like quality to the poem
What is the form of piano
Lyric poem
What is the tone of piano
Nostalgic
What are the themes of piano
Music, memory, emotion, grief, nostalgia, parent-child relationships, childhood
How is childhood portrayed in piano
A lost homeland to which we can never return- a happy simple time
‘A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings.’
-the child is under protection in the comfort of his mother. The piano is a metaphor for mother
-onomatopoeia- gives a childlike feeling and sensory description to show the feeling of being under the piano and in the protection of his mother
-it is ‘A’ child which reinforces the distance from now to his past. Also gives poem a universal feeling
-further emphasises from the change from 1st person speaker in the first two lines and the 3rd person speaker in the last two lines of the stanza. This portrays then disconnect between past and present but also demonstrates how he is immersed in the memory
‘Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong.’
-he does not want to be reminded of his mother, feels betrayed by the memory
-palosive b consonants shows his anger at being reminded
-heart is personified. Synecdoche of his heart- he has given into the emotion and wants to go back to his memory. Heart has connotations of love and is the centre of who he is. His emotions were initially concealed within him but not they are being realeased
-shift to the end of the poem as he not longer holds back his emotions as he ‘weeps’
‘Great black piano appassionato.’
-presents the grief that goes with losing a parent
-palosive sounds dominate the final stanza reflecting the intensity of emotion
-the piano being ‘black’ symbolises his mothers death again referring to the metaphor of the piano being the mother. He realises that him and his mother cannot be together anymore
-end stop portrays how he tries to contain his emotion yet he cannot
‘Glamour of childish days’
-suggests beauty and grace of his mother and exemplifying the safety and security of childhood
‘I weep like a child for the past’
-intense memory- he finally fully gives in and no longer suppresses his emotions
-simile compares himself as a child as a result of the emotion-his memories have removed the composure of being an adult however he cannot reclaim his past. He can weep like a child, but he can never be a child again.
What poems does piano link to
-poem at 39:childhood memories
-hide and seek: contrasting images/scenarios
