Summary and Analysis of the Poem: Piano

- D.H. Lawrence

Literal Comprehension

There are two persons in the poem: The poet and the woman. The woman is singing a song for the poet and also playing the piano. Her beautiful song suddenly takes the poet back down the vista of years. He reached in his childhood. He remembers his mother and childhood. He finds himself as a child sitting under the piano and pressing his mother's feet. His mother used to sing and play the piano. She would smile at him. It is his past and he is grown up now. His present is totally different from his past.

The woman who is singing a song makes him remember the world Sunday evening. They used to sing hymns and the piano was their guide. When the poet starts thinking of his past, the present song of a woman turns to be useless. He doesn't want to listen to the song being sung by the woman. Her music and song is sweet but his remembrance of far sweeter than that. Though his past is sweet and pleasing, he can't get it back even if he pays million and billion. His past has gone away forever and he can never reach there. So, he weeps like a child for his past throwing his manhood in the flood of remembrance.

The piano is a memory poem composed by David Herbert Lawrence. The poet has depicted his feelings from the memories of his childhood in this poem. Softly in the evening, a woman is singing a song to the poet. The song makes the poet sink deep in the recollection of his childhood days. He recalls the scene in which a child is sitting under the piano and his mother is playing the piano smiling at the poet. The child is innocently pressing the balanced small feet of a mother.

The poet has skilful efficiency of the song but that has betrayed him back. He weeps and his heart pains. He remembers the past Sunday evenings. It was cold outside and there were hymns in the comfortable room.

Now, the song can't impress the poet and he thinks it is useless to burst into the clamour. He reaches his childhood days and helplessly sinks into floods of tears that come from his eyes.

Interpretation

The poem may be trying to focus that music has power. None can keep themselves away from music. Music can touch our hearts and it can make us remember our past. Everyone wants to listen to music. Music can melt our feelings and emotion. We are lost in the music it matches our situation. The poem may also be showing that our childhood is a very important period which we can never forget.

The poet may be trying to tell us that some memories give bad shocks to people of sentimental minds. The memory of the past is the basic theme of the poem ' Piano'. The poet remembers his childhood days of sitting at his mother's knee enjoying songs of his mother.

Fresh and the true love of his mother was heart touching for the poet and the music and song of the woman can't give him such pleasure as his mother because the poet has blown himself in the great flood of memory. So, he weeps bitterly while hearing the music and the song produced by the woman.

Critical Thinking

The poem is very beautiful and sweet to read but it arouses many questions in the mind of the reader. We can't be satisfied with the poem in many respects. The poet cries like a child for this past. Do we get our past if we cry? Does it seem natural for a man to weep like a child? Is the poet telling truth or exaggerating himself? Isn't he trying to get sympathy from readers by presenting himself as a self-heartened man? He ignores the music which helps him to remember his past. Should we be that much selfish?

Naturally, the past memories give a great shock to a passionate (sentimental) person now and then, but some of the sayings of the poet are not agreeable to me (i) Does a man weep from such memory? (ii) Does the presence of singing women really betray people? (iii) Can the sweet music be a clamour for the true love of music? (IV). Does a man remember the past if he is deeply in love with someone? So, I don't agree with the poet totally.

Assimilation

The poet loves his past in this poem. It is the music that takes him to his past. He wants to forget his presence and wants to live in his past which is impossible. In the same way, when I see small children playing marble on the way to my campus, I also happen to remember my past, my childhood. I used to play marble and used to quarrel with my friends. Those days were very beautiful. I was not worried about anything. I will never get back those blissful moments. So, like a poet, I also sometimes happen to be sad about my past and childhood.

After reading this poem, I understood that past events can't be forgotten easily. Sometimes they greatly affect the life of the person who remembers but the people of sentimental minds are much more affected than the average people. Tears themselves find their way for the people of sentimental minds. However, I am greatly impressed by the poet's efficiency.