Thinking Activity Unit - 4

 Hello readers...

This blog is in response of the thinking activity in our department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University. This blog is about the impressionistic approach of the the poem The piano and The Drum.

What is Impressionistic Approach and criticism :

 rather than depicting accurate portrayal and perfection, try to express a sense or emotion.Impressionistic literature is defined as when an author focuses his story or attention on the character's mental life, such as impressions, feelings, sensations, and emotions, rather than attempting to understand them.

THE POEM,  THE PIANO AND THE DRUMS

When at break of day at a riverside

I hear jungle drums telegraphing

the mystic rhythm, urgent, raw

like bleeding flesh, speaking of

primal youth and the beginning,

I see the panther ready to pounce,

the leopard snarling about to leap

and the hunters crouch with spears poised.

And my blood ripples, turns torrent,

topples the years and at once I’m 

in my mother’s laps a suckling;

at once I’m walking simple

paths with no innovations

rugged, fashioned with the naked

warmth of hurrying feet and groping hearts

in green leaves and wild flowers pulsing.

Then I hear a wailing piano

solo speaking of complex ways

in tear- furrowed concerto;

of far away lands

and new horizons with

coaxing diminuendo,  counterpoint, 

crescendo, but lost in the labyrinth of its complexities, it ends in the middle of a phrase at a daggerpoint

And I lost in the morning mist

of an age at a riverside keep

wandering in the mystic rhythm

of jungle drums and concerto.

Explanation of the poem :

The poetic character shows the disparity between Africans' normal lifestyle and that of the modern world in the poem, which includes piano and drums. The poem's setting ranges from the dawn of civilisation to the present day, as shown throughout the poem. The poem's core issue revolves around Africans' reactions to alien culture. He elaborates on this issue by utilising music as an analogue for the lyrical persona. The poem attempts to stress the purity of African content prior to civilization's influence. Gabriel Okara, in essence, sees the destruction of the African way of life through the lens of music and uses poetry to lament it.

Impressionistic view of the poem :

In the poem, the poet makes a comparison and contrast between the drum and the piano, implying a comparison between African and Western cultures. The first impression that i got after reading the poem was that i first felt that the poem must be an instrumental inspired poem of music but it was not the right one. It follows the path of African culture and its comflicts. The author is expressing his feelings about both cultures. That is to say, whatever he says about the piano alludes to European civilization brought to Africa in some way. In other words, whatever he says about the drum is a veiled reference to African culture. In fact, he employs both to depict the tension that occurs between the two worlds.

Thank you...