Four Levels of Poem Piano
In this text as well as the poem “Piano” the writer tries to show the importance of childhood days. Also, this poem is called a love poem.
Four levels of Piano Poem – literal comprehension, interpretation, critical thinking, and assimilation are given below:
Literal Comprehension
The poem entitled ‘Piano’ is a memory poem composed by the twentieth-century English poet D. H. Lawrence. In the poem, the poet describes the nostalgic experiences of his life.
In the poem, a beautiful woman is playing the piano & singing a song for the poet. Therefore, her beautiful song suddenly takes the poet back to the vista of the years & he reached in his childhood.
He remembers his mother & childhood days. He recalls the scene in which he used to sit under the piano & also his mother used to play it smiling at the poet. The child innocently used to press the balanced small feet of his mother.
It was all his past & he is grown up now because his presence is entirely different from the past. The woman who is singing a song makes him remember the old Sunday evening.
Then, memories reciting of hymns in the most comfortable sitting room. When the poet starts thinking of his past, the present song of a woman turns out to be worthless. He doesn’t want to listen to the song sung by the woman.
Because her music & song are sweaty but his remembrance of the past is far sweeter than that. Though his past is pleasant, he can’t get it back even if he pays millions & billions. His past has gone away forever & he can never reach there.
Therefore he weeps like a child for his past throwing his manhood in the flood of remembrance. The song makes the poet sink deep into the recollection of childhood days. Hence, the song can’t impress the poet but he thinks it is useless to bust in the glamour.
Interpretation
Maybe this poem is trying to reflect that music has power & no one can keep aloof from music. Music can touch our hearts & it makes us remember our past.
Music can melt emotions & feelings. We could easily the music match real-life situations. It also tries to reflect that the childhood stage is very important because it can’t be forgettable.
The text also reflects the impressions & glamour of the childhood stage. The poet noticed that some memories might give bad shocks to people with sentimental minds.
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Critical Thinking
The Piano poem is lovely and sweet to read but it can raise some questions in the mind of readers.
Naturally, the memories give a great shock to the passionate person now & then but some of the statements are not agreeable to me according to the poem to cries like a child for his past. Hence, some questions are as follows:
- Can we achieve the past only by crying?
- Does it seem natural for a man to weep like a child?
- Is the poet telling the truth or exaggerating himself?
- Isn’t he trying to sympathize with the reader by presenting himself as a self-hearted man?
- He ignored the music played by a woman who helped him to remember his past.
- Does sweet music ever become glamorous?
- Does a man easily remember the past if he is genuinely in love with someone?
Hence, I don’t agree with the total.
Assimilation
After reading this poem I came to know that past events can’t be forgotten quickly. They significantly affect the lives of people of sentimental minds more than the lives of average people. In this poem, the poet seems to love his past & it is the music that leads him to his past & he wants to forget his present.
In the same way, when I see small children playing marbles on the way to campus & I also happen to remember my past, my childhood. I used to play marble & used to quarrel with my pens.
Those days were beautiful & romantic out of any sort of worries & troubles. Those fulfilled moments do not remain now & like the poet sometimes. I also happen to be sad remembering those of my childhood days. Therefore I knew that childhood is not forgettable.
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