November 14, 2008
Versions
“The Piano” and “Piano”
by: D.H. Lawrence
“Piano”, which is the revision of “The Piano” by D.H. Lawrence, is a lyrical poem of memory in which the speaker is man that, as he hears a woman singing and playing the piano, starts remembering his childhood and his mother because this was a time of happiness in contrast with the present. In it the man fights his memories of the past because he thinks his betraying the present, in other words his manhood. This memory came suddenly and it is that unexpected memory what bothers him because makes him cry and feel less man in such a melancholic moment. As for the title, the piano is the element that links the music with the memory because the music is what remains of his past and is the key to understand the whole meaning of this poem. This poem really focuses on his memory, completing the expectative of a great poem of memory, which purpose is not to explain what happened, but to recreate it in the context of the present moment. D.H Lawrence made 2 versions for the same poem and changed some details because of it there are some differences between them that change their meanings and emotions.
The differences that I could identify are that “The Piano” is longer because it includes some other details, its use of words or vocabulary is easier and simply, the tone of the speaker is more calm, and it has more imagery but isn’t powerful enough. While “Piano” is short but more powerful in emotions and the message is much clearer, its vocabulary changes, meaning that it progress through the poem because in the memory of his childhood the words are easier and casual but as he comes back to the present the vocabulary increases its difficulty and seriousness, its tone is more nostalgic and sad, and its imagery is less but is powerful enough to let us feel his sadness and confusing and it involves or capture our attention.
Of the numerous differences between each...