‘Piano’ (Edexcel IGCSE English Literature)

‘Piano’

Below you will find a guide to D.H. Lawrence’s poem titled ‘Piano’ from the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Anthology (part 3: unit 1, section B). This guide includes:

• Overview: a line-by-line breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations

• Form, structure and language: an exploration of the techniques and poetic choices that Lawrence has used

• Themes: an exploration of the themes and ideas in the poem

• Comparing poems: suggestions on which poems to compare it to

Overview

To answer an essay question on a poem, you must understand what it is about. The overview section includes:

• A summary of the poem 

• A “translation” of the poem, section-by-section

• A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Lawrence’s intention and message

A summary of the poem ‘Piano’

D.H. Lawrence published the poem ‘Piano’ in 1913. The speaker of the poem is the poet himself who, upon hearing a woman sing, is transported back to his childhood when he sat under his mother’s piano as she sang. The poet attempts to control his emotions but the memory is too strong and pulls him back. He is overcome and cries for his deceased mother and his lost childhood.

‘Piano’ analysis

Lines 1–4

Translation

• The speaker is reminded of his childhood as he sits and listens to a woman singing

Lawrence’s intentions

• The poem begins with the word “softly” and the first line uses sibilance to create a soothing, calming atmosphere

• The metaphoric phrase “in the dusk” could suggest that the speaker’s mind is about to shift between the present light into a past memory

• The word “vista” suggests that the speaker’s memories are pleasant 

• In line 2, the writer uses enjambment to reflect the speed with which his childhood memory appears

• The phrase “sitting under the piano” creates a sense of comfort and safety as the piano surrounds him 

• The speaker describes the child “pressing the small, poised feet” of his mother as he listens to her play:

  • This illustrates the loving relationship the child had with his mother and also reflects how he viewed her

• The final line of the stanza uses sibilance to create a soft and gentle tone to reflect the sweetness of the speaker’s memory

• The writer has used an indefinite article “a” before the nouns “child” and “mother”:

  • This creates a sense of detachment and makes the memory more universal rather than personal

  • It also creates an image of the speaker watching his memory play out in front of him rather than reliving the memory as the child

Lies 5–8

Translation

• The speaker feels a strong yearning to go back to relive his childhood

Lawrence’s intention

• The second stanza begins with the phrase “In spite of myself”, which suggests that the poet is trying to resist the memory:

  • It could be inferred that the memory is too painful for the speaker

• The phrase “insidious mastery” suggests that something cunning and underhand has taken place:

  • The song, and the singer, have been able to overpower him and control him

• The idea of the speaker not wanting to revisit the past is further emphasised through the word “betrays”

• The speaker personifies his heart as he states that it “weeps”:

  • This is a powerful metaphor as it highlights how desperately he wishes to relive his childhood

  • The heart is symbolic as it is associated with love and so he is attempting to describe the depth of his love and longing

• The first line ends with the word “belong”, which could suggest the speaker not only wishes to revisit the past, but wishes to go back and become a part of it:

  • The enjambment between lines 1 and 2 also separates the speaker’s present feelings and his past memory: his heart “weeps” for those “Sunday evenings”

• The speaker contrasts the outside image of “winter” to the “cosy parlour”, which makes the memory more comforting and tender

• The use of onomatopoeia with “tinkling” creates a pleasant sound as the piano is his “guide” between the present and the past

• The stanza is enjambed as each line carries on to the next, which mirrors the force and strength of the memory that is pulling the speaker in deeply

Lines 9–12

Translation

• The speaker feels there is no point in the singer singing and playing their instrument anymore as they are overcome by the memory 

Lawrence’s intention

• The speaker begins with the phrase “So now” to bring the reader back to the present

• The word “vain” suggests the poet feels it is pointless for the singer to continue:

  • The word “clamour” suggests that the music is now loud and confusing rather than soothing

• The word “appassionato” is an Italian term that means performing with great emotion and passion

• The speaker feels that the present performance is pointless as he has been transported back to his past:

  • The word “glamour” illustrates how the speaker finds the memory appealing

• However, as he has now succumbed to his memories, his “manhood is cast”, which suggests that his adult self has been overpowered by them:

  • The metaphor “flood of remembrance” creates an image of the speaker’s emotions drowning and overwhelming him

• A simile in the final line states he weeps “like a child for the past”, which suggests that he has now succumbed to his past rather than resisting it:

  • However, although he can cry “like a child”, he will never truly be a child again

Form, structure and language

When you consider how D.H. Lawrence uses form, structure and language, try to link your analysis of these elements to focus on how he presents his ideas and why he has made these choices in ‘Piano’. You will gain more marks if you focus on Lawrence’s themes rather than on individual poetic techniques. 

Here are some suggestions for key aspects of the poem you might want to consider: 

Form

‘Piano’ is formed of three four-line stanzas or quatrains and each quatrain has 2 rhyming couplets. It can therefore be called a lyric poem as it has a musical quality to it. 

Structure

The poem makes frequent use of enjambment to reflect the speaker’s memories slowly overwhelming him. The first stanza shows the speaker’s reluctance to give in to his emotions while the final stanza shows him fully succumbing to it.

Language

‘Piano’ uses a range of language and poetic devices to not only reflect the musical nature of the poem but to also highlight the speaker’s feelings of nostalgia as he yearns for his childhood.

Themes

While knowing the poem is important, you also need to be able to show the examiner that you can write an informed, personal response. Therefore, you need to develop a solid understanding of the theme, main ideas and events depicted.

It is still important to have an awareness of background information that is relevant to the themes in the poem, even though you are not explicitly assessed on context. This can help you develop a sustained, critical understanding of the text. 

To help you do this, the section below has been divided into two main themes that Lawrence explores:

• Nostalgia and memory

• Music and emotion

Nostalgia and memory

• D.H. Lawrence wrote ‘Piano’ in 1913 and is known for his modernist approach to poetry:

  • Modernists did not adhere to strict poetic structures that were historically popular

  • Instead, they favoured free verse, which was seen as a newer and more experimental artistic form

• Modernists also introduced the stream of consciousness writing style in which poets try to capture the speaker’s thoughts and feelings in a way that also conveys their thought processes:

  • ‘Piano’ uses a modernist style as the reader is following the speaker’s thought processes and memories as he experiences them

• Lawrence wrote the first version not long after the death of his mother:

  • Her death had a huge impact on him and so the poem could reflect the poet’s own personal grief

• This poem explores the powerful pull of memories, especially childhood memories and the impact they can have on an adult’s life

• The speaker yearns to go back and experience those “Sunday evenings” again but realises that he is unable to:

  • His memories elicit a deep sorrow and longing for something he can no longer experience

• The image of the speaker being cocooned under the safety of the “piano” while his mother plays and “smiles” suggests the memory is pleasant and comforting:

  • The contrast between the “winter outside” (as they are in the safety of the “cosy parlour”) suggests that the speaker felt comfortable and safe as a child

• However, the poem uses language to suggest that the speaker feels a painful longing and sense of nostalgia as they yearn to go back:

  • The use of words such as “insidious” suggests that memories can be painful to relive

  • They can bring about a deeper pain as the memories remind the speaker that those times have gone

• The speaker highlights the powerful strength and impact of nostalgia as the “flood of remembrance”  has drowned his “manhood” as he weeps “like a child for the past”

Music and emotion

• The piano was a popular instrument during the Victorian and Edwardian era and it was a common instrument in middle- and upper-class households:

  • Therefore, it could be inferred that Lawrence grew up listening to the piano during his childhood

• The poem begins with the speaker listening to a woman singing, which takes him back to his childhood:

  • The speaker uses the phrase “insidious mastery of song” to suggests that music has the ability and power to rouse emotion and vivid memories:

    • The word “insidious” suggests that it may even be against the speaker’s wishes

• The speaker tries to resist the sudden urge to be taken back “down the vista of years” but, as he listens, the song “betrays” him back:

  • The word “betrays” suggests that he has been deceived by the music and cheated into revisiting his past

• As a result of listening to the music, his heart “weeps” and he cries “like a child” for his past:

  • This emphasises the transformative power of music and how it has the ability to make one feel even the deepest and most suppressed emotions

• The poem highlights how music has the ability to link the past with the present:

  • The music forces him to remember the “tinkling piano” that serves as his “guide”

• At the end, the speaker is overcome with emotion and finally succumbs to his feelings:

  • This highlights the power that music has to stir and resurface emotions within the listener

Comparing poems

In your exam, you will be required to compare two poems from the anthology so you must have a good knowledge of poetic form, content and meaning to compare the poems effectively. 

You must be able to explore links and connections between texts, which includes looking at both poets’ use of language, form and structure. 

In ‘Piano’, Lawrence’s main ideas are centred around nostalgia and memories; therefore, the following comparisons would be a good starting point:

• ‘Piano’ and ‘Half Past Two’

• ‘Piano’ and ‘Remember’

For each pair of poems, you will find:

• Comparison summary

• Similarities and differences between the ideas presented in each poem

• Evidence and analysis of these similarities and differences

‘Piano’ and ‘Half-past Two’

Comparison summary:

Both ‘Piano’ and ‘Half-past Two’ are poems that look back on childhood memories. However, ‘Piano’ is written from the perspective of an adult who is forced to remember his childhood whereas ‘Half-past Two’ begins from the perspective of a speaker who recounts a memory of a child and writes from the child’s point of view. However, it could be suggested that the speaker in ‘Half-past Two’ is the adult version of the child in the poem.

Similarities:

Differences:

‘Piano’ and ‘Remember’

Comparison summary:

‘Piano’ is a poem about a man who is looking back on his childhood, which he finds both painful and irresistible. However, ‘Remember’ by Christina Rossetti is a poem about a woman who is dying. Written from her perspective, she asks her loved one to remember her.

Similarities:

Differences: