Analysis of Lawrence's Piano

1. Piano
D.H. Lawrence

2. Structure
Poem is in rhyming couplets – these create a sense of harmony.
This is built upon with the use of three equal quatrains.
Perhaps the regular rhyming structure sounds musical?
Moves between past and present – look for the time words – ‘Now’,
‘back’ etc.

3. The title
Instrument which links speaker’s present to his past.
Symbolic of 2 main things he longs for in his past:
• His mother. Recalls security and warmth of her presence.
Admires her for her grace and beauty. Strong respect for her.
• Cozy, warm atmosphere of home. ‘Child’ repeated, desires
simplicity and innocence.

4. Stanza 1
Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;
Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see
A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings
And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.
Speaker listens to the piano and recalls his past.
Belongs to warm and stable family.
Nostalgic/Sentimental – ‘Softly’ Line 1, ‘Smiles as she sings’ Line 4.
Music – Contrast between strong and weak sounds, like the struggle between the two singers. E.g.
‘softly’ and ‘boom’.
“pressing the small, poised feet” shows sense of touch and closeness.
Aura around her of grace and beauty.
Adoration and admiration – watches her as she plays.
Metaphor “the vista of years” compares the events of his life to a long road indicating how far in
time he is recalling
Repetition of the ‘s’
consonant in phrase
“who smiles as she
sings” complements
the soft, gentle
music of the piano.

5. Stanza 2
In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song
Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong
To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside
And hymns in the cosy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide.
Moves from happy to bittersweet - ‘Betrays me’.
“old Sunday evenings … with winter outside” - contrast used to amplify security felt in warm
home setting.
“the insidious mastery of song” indicates the overwhelming power of the music.
“till the heart of me weeps” shows the extent of his being moved by his memories.
Mood is depressing and sad as tone intensifies to a passionate cry for his lost past.
“In spite of myself” – lack of self control.
“Insidious mastery” – subtle effect of music.

6. ‘Betrays’ reflecting speaker’s attitude
Strong word indicating sense of frustration.
Unable to stop himself from recalling his past.
Shows how overwhelming, how deep, his longing to return to his past is.
Suggests how different and perhaps how unhappy his present life is compared to his
past.

7. Stanza 3
So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour
With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour
Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast
Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.
Moves into sadness as nostalgia builds in Stanza 3 – ‘glamour of childish days’, ‘I weep’.
Climax “I weep like a child for the past” (simile) - speaker compares himself to a child, shows
openness and childlike sincerity.
Unable to control emotions any longer and breaks down.
Stuck in the present but like the child, he longs to return to security and warmth of his past.
“glamour” suggests beauty and grace.
Childhood is glamorous because it is one of security and beauty.
Overwhelming longing – tears compared to ‘flood’ and ‘cast’ indicates strength of his emotion
destroying his façade of pride.