Culture in Piano and Drums by Gabriel Okara
In the poem “Piano and Drums” the poet Gabriel Okara depicts and
contrasts two different cultures through symbolism of pianos and
drums.
The Poem is divided into four stanzas. The first two stanzas represent
the “drum” culture and the second two stanzas show the “piano”
culture.
The description of the drums is in two stanzas, but is one sentence
long. The first line of the first stanza:
‘When at break of day at a riverside’
Uses trochees to emphasize the deliberate broken rhythm. The stanza
has savage words, “bleeding flesh,” “urgent raw,” “leopard snarling,”
“spears poised,” to show that this is a primitive culture, one which
has dependency on the environment, as is represented by the “hunters
crouch with spears poised.” The environment in this culture is
physically dangerous, surrounded by wild animals. Drums here are a way
of communication, and “jungle drums telegraphing the mystic rhythm,
urgent, raw…” shows the way of life in this culture. This is life
which is simple, near the beginnings of man. The stanza uses
alliteration, consonances and similes to give a rhythm that is like
that of a drum.
Threatening imagery is also used to give the image of danger and show
physical hazards.
The first stanza mainly describes the way of life and sets the scene.
It shows how the drums are associated with the jungle and a primitive
way of life.
In the second stanza the persona says how when he hears the drums, he
goes back to his youth, “my blood ripples, turns torrent, topples the
years...” reminiscent of his childhood to when things were simpler and
carefree, “in my mother’s lap a suckling.” The repetition of the ‘t’
sound in “turns, torrent and top...
... middle of paper ...
...” shows how he is lost between the two societies-
between his background and upbringing and what he is aspired to be.
“Wandering in the mystic rhythm of jungle drums and the concerto.”
The poem follows a logical format with each stanza beginning with
“When, And, Then and And.” The connotations of each instrument
contrast with one another, with Drums illustrating primitive
behaviour, and a savage, dangerous culture. The connotations of the
piano are complex and technical. The piano uses significantly
different word sounds, showing that it is learnt, westernized and
intricate compared to the drums which is instinctive and naturally
acquired, and simple.
The poem uses no set rhyme pattern which suits the poem as it has an
undecided effect, emphasizing the confusion of the persona over his
future. There is some iambic use as well as the use of trochees.
The poem is written in the style of free verse. The poet chooses not to separate the poem into stanzas, but only by punctuation. There is no rhyme scheme or individual rhyme present in the poem. The poems structure creates a personal feel for the reader. The reader can personally experience what the narrator is feeling while she experiences stereotyping.
Percussion has evolved from a small category to a wide variety of simple and technical instruments. Percussion is a category of musical instruments that is played using the hands or with a handheld stick/beater. Percussion started thousands of years ago when people played rhythms on random objects to please their friends and scare their enemy’s. People over the years discovered different ways to hit the objects.
The alliteration used is to emphasize rhythm in the poem. On the other hand, the poet also depicts a certain rhyme scheme across each stanza. For example, the first stanza has a rhyme scheme of this manner a, b, c, d, e, a. With this, the rhyme scheme depicted is an irregular manner. Hence, the poem does not have a regular rhythm. Moreover, the poet uses a specific deign of consonance, which is present in the poem (Ahmed & Ayesha, p. 11). The poet also uses the assonance style depicted in the seventh stanza, “Seven whole days I have not seen my beloved.” The letter ‘o’ has been repeated to create rhythm and to show despair in the poem. On the second last line of the seventh stanza, the poet uses the style of consonance, “If I hug her, she’ll drive illness from me. By this, the letter ‘l’ is repeated across the line. The poet’s aim of using this style of Consonance is to establish rhythm in the poem and add aural
First of alll, the poem is divided into nine stanzas, where each one has four lines. In addition to that, one can spot a few enjambements for instance (l.9-10). This stylistic device has the function to support the flow of the poem. Furthermore, it is crucial to take a look at the choice of words, when analysing the language.
C. Connotations:The poem is written in free verse with no rhyme or rhythm to be
each stanza do rhyme with at least one other, in this way: 1st & 3rd,
There is no structured rhyme, rather lines and stanzas flow into each other to form sentences. The words are short and simple, carefully chosen to convey deep sentiments in one or two syllables. For example, Boland writes “And still no page/ scores the low music/ of our outrage” (42-44). None of the words in this stanza are more than two syllables, yet the clipped tone expresses her indignation at the way women have been relegated to second class people over the course of history. There are two symbols that appear throughout the poem, stars and fire.
Rhyme-The last words of line one and line three of each stanza rhyme. The last words of line two and line four of each stanza also rhyme. The rhyming words contribute to the rhythm and flow of the poem.
The constant rhythm throughout the poem gives it a light beat, like a waltz; the reader feels like s/he is dancing. The rhyme pattern of...
...a definite and recognizable pattern. This poem is certainly not a sonnet, either in subject matter, meaning, or format. The rhyme scheme for this poem is that of A B B A, C D D C, E F F E, G H H G. There is enough continuity in this rhyme scheme to hold the poem together as a whole through the use of the pattern, however the changing of the actual rhyming words and the fact that, for instance, the A word is only repeated one time (as are all of the others) intensifies the poets feelings of loss over the change in his love's desires. Through the rhyming scheme, the poet is conveying the hopelessness of the two of them getting back together and repeating the beautiful love they once shared.
The author of the poem relies a multiple combination of uses of figurative language including using alliteration, assonance, and usage of parallel structure. Alliteration was presented multiple times through the poem, with the usage of musical rhythm and the flow of the overall writing. The usage of alliteration made every stanza stand out to create a flow with reading the poem. The first type of alliteration that is present in the poem is the repeated sounds in the beginning
...ur lines each. Each line ends with a vertical line that marks the feet. The rhyme isn't but there is rhyme in this poem like "Me" rhymes with "Immortality" and, farther down the poem, with "Civility" and "Eternity." This poem repeated the phrase, "We passed," which is changed a bit in the fifth stanza to, "We paused." This repetition of a word or phrase throughout a poem is called anaphora. The use of these poetic elements allows the words to flow as they describe an event.
The poem is divided into 2 Stanza's with 3 lines each. And there are an
African drumming has a long history, and the tradition of African drumming has spread throughout western cultures as many businesses, corporations and other groups see the team building value of playing music together. These tribal instruments still have importance throughout African culture but are also becoming more common in western societies.
Everything that the speaker is trying to express is tied together by the poem's form. The uneven rhyme is a perfect method of pronouncing the confusion that the speaker is feeling about the world. & nbsp;