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 sonf has a definite rhyme scheme which lends itself well to the theme of the poem.
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,
“The Thaw” by Henry David Thoreau has a couplet and two quatrains. The couplet, the first stanza does not rhyme though the two quatrain does. The rhyme scheme for Henry David Thoreau's poem, “The Thaw” has an A/B rhyme scheme; the first line rhymes with the third line, the second line rhymes with the fourth line, and so on. Furthermore the “The Thaw” has ten syllables in each line.
standard rhyme plan is not took note. The lyric is by all accounts free verse, however after a nearby
To start off explaining the structure, take the rhyming words for example. There is internal rhyme in the first and third lines with “dreary and weary” and “napping and tapping”. The second, fourth, fifth, and sixth lines all end in the -ore sound (this reoccurs throughout the entire poem). This structure is consistent throughout the entirety of the piece. Many do believe this to be one of the best example of rhythm in American literature.
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
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...
The form of the two poems is they have no rhyme scene and no metre.
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
As defined in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, culture is “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group.” These customary beliefs could also be described as a set of morals or values commonly practiced by a group. Social forms are understood as being the institutions in which interaction and socialization between people take place, such as at school, church, or work. The material traits within a culture would include clothing, food, and art to name a few. Music is a distinct, diverse culture in itself, a subculture. Each musical era had its own code of values, social forms, and material traits.
There is a moment in The Piano when the crazed husband takes an axe and chops off his wife's finger. We do not see the awful blow, but both times I watched the film the audience gasped and a few women hurried from the theater. It is a disturbing but crucial scene, the culmination of a sado-masochistic screenplay which has been condemned by some as harmful to women and welcomed by others as an important feminist work. Critics have been more nearly unanimous in their praise for The Piano, and for writer and director Jane Campion. A New Zealander, Campion made two previous low budget films with relatively unknown actors which attracted little notice and small audiences. But their quirky originality established her reputation among film cognoscenti. The Piano, by contrast, is both an astonishing artistic achievement and a major motion picture. Featuring Holly Hunter and Harvey Keitel, it has made Campion an overnight celebrity. She is being hailed as a "natural" and "original" film maker, and no doubt she is.
The repetition of the “s” sound in line 4 and of the “m” sound in line 5 illustrate alliteration, and this occurs throughout the poem, providing to the listener what the rhyme of modern-day poetry provides – an aesthetic sense of rightness or pleasure.
The poem is divided into 2 Stanza's with 3 lines each. And there are an
George Gershwin once said, “True music must repeat the thought and inspirations of the people and the time. My people are Americans and my time is today.” Over the years, no form of art has attached itself to humanity more than music. Music has been creating and destroying cultures in the Twentieth Century at a very rapid rate. Fads come and go, but true music and the heart behind it never dies.