Wednesday, 19 March 2014

Musical Moments by Dannie Abse

1.His Last Piano Lesson

The first part of this poem is basically about a boy trapped inside his house having a piano lesson when he could be outside doing literally ANYTHING else.
The listing used in this poem hints at his boredom, showing all the things he'd much rather be doing.
The later stanzas introduce a new theme that is more present in the second half: death ("before Sleep's grisly fictions").


2. Outside a Graveyard

Honestly, I found the second half to this poem a little difficult to understand at first and then connect to the first half.
It seems at first to be a funeral procession observed by an outsider, like Larkin's poems often are. Then it becomes more personal, he knew the person that has died. Maybe a loved one or a close friend.
I tried linking it with the first half and all I could think of was the possibility that this was the grave of the person giving him piano lessons in the first half of the poem. I can't really justify this. Just a gut feeling, really.

1 comment:

  1. Yes. The person who has died (in 2) is his old piano teacher - the one that he was so relieved to have got away from in his youth. There is plenty of evidence in the poem to support this. Have another look.

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