piano

Piano                                                  

 by D.H.Lawrence.

Write four levels of interaction of the poem Piano

Literal Comprehension

                  In the poem, written by D.H. Lawrence, a women is softly playing a piano, the sound of which takes the narrator back to his childhood days, spent by the side of his mother. He sees himself as a child, sitting by the feet of his mother, fondly listening to her sing and plays the piano. The memory makes him weep like a child for the past.

Interpretation

                The poem can be interpreted as nostalgic in tone. The woman playing the piano seems to be trying to woo the narrator, attempting to arouse passions, but ironically, she only arouses images of his childhood days, spent by his mother’s side, casting down his manhood.

                The poem mingles the past with the present. The present reminds him of his past. There are two pianos and two pianists, linking the speaker’s childhood with his present manhood. The poet’s deep nostalgia for the past, spent by his mother’s side brings out the Oedipus complex. It seems that the poet was deeply attached to his mother therefore, he weeps like a child for the past.

Critical Thinking

               Although the poem is nostalgic in tone, we somehow get the feeling that the speaker is somewhat ashamed of his nostalgia. The use of certain words and phrases bring out this fact. The phrases and words like: ‘Inspite of myself’, ‘insidious’, ‘Betrays me back’, ‘the glamour of childish days’ and ‘my manhood is cast’ all have a negative connotation. They seem to indicate that the speaker is ashamed of his childhood memories. Why is the speaker ashamed of showing his deep affection for his mother? What is he trying to conceal? And if the memory is shameful for him, then why does he weep like a child for the past? Why does his heart weep to belong to the Sunday evenings at home by the feet of his mother? The speaker’s feelings seem to be in conflict and contradictory.

Assimilation

   Nostalgic feeling for the past is human nature. There are certain things in the present that usually remind us of our past. These memories can be both good and bad. On reading this poem, I too, felt a nostalgia for the past. Whenever I see little children playing in the parks, I long for my childhood days which were carefree and full of happiness.