How To Understand Piano and Drums by Gabriel Okara

The Message and Structural Review

The poem “Piano and Drums” by Gabriel Okara focused on the poets position with two opposing cultures (African and European) and from the context of the poem, his African background which was symbolized with “Drums” was deeply explained all through the first and the second stanzas; at the commencement of the third stanza, he revealed his feeling towards his newly embraced way of life (the European civilized living) which was symbolized by the poet with the image of “Piano”.  

As it is very necessary for the readers to link the form of the poem to the themes, the theme of African cultural simplicity resided with stanza one and two. How? Okara felt that the African culture is simpler and easier to live with as seen to be full of innocence; lacking innovation “fashioned with the naked/ warmth of hurrying feet and groping hearts/ in green leaves and wild flowers pulsing”. 

The theme of foreign cultural complexity dominated the third stanza of the poem where the symbol “Piano” was hard to understand leaving the poet lost in its rhythm. The poet then confessed his confusion of which culture to fully embrace at the final stanza of the poem:

“And I lost in the morning mist

of an age at a riverside keep

wandering in the mystic rhythm

of jungle drums and the concerto”

Exactly which parts of the poem can the themes be drawn? To attend to this question, here are few of the themes (i) Simplicity of the African culture (ii) the complex European lifestyle (iii) dilemma (iv) clash of two culture (v) reminiscence/innocence. Between line 12-16, Gabriel Okara spoke on the simplicity in the African culture saying “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”. From line 17-20, the complexity of the European culture was portrayed as “a wailing piano/ solo speaking of complex ways/ in tear-furrowed concerto/ on far away lands…” 


The theme of dilemma is within line 26-29 where Okara was unable to decide whether to forgo his past way of life for the newly acquired: “And I lost in the morning mist/ of an age at a riverside keep/ wandering in the mystic rhythm/ of jungle drums and the concerto”. The theme of clash of culture can be best explained via the title “Piano” and “Drums”. The poet placed them side-by-side to reveal his worries; by representing the African culture with “Drums” and European culture with “Piano” while the theme of reminiscence or innocence was between line 1-11 where the poet talked about his past or African background as a riverside dweller with hunting experience: “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 crouched with spears poised”.

From the aforementioned, it’s obvious that “Piano and Drums” is a poem about culture as similar to “Vanity” by Birago Diop and “The Anvil and The Hammer” by Kofi Awoonor; even though, Birago Diop’s poem titled “Vanity” differs in the sense that it emphasized on the neglect of the African culture from the view point of the ancestors. “Piano and Drums” and “The Anvil and The Hammer” share the same philosophy by revealing the poet’s stock between two opposing cultures.

The Setting and Background

Though the setting of the poem showed a very rural setting with the use of "jungle" "leaves" "hunter" "panther" and many more but the best pronounced setting of the poem is Africa. The poet is an African speaker from experience; known the true value of being an African and being part of colonialism which is indelible wherever smeared. {VIEW A DEATAILED EXPLANATION}.

The Alluring Figurative in the Poem

There are some poetic devices in the poem which cannot go unnoticed in terms of alliterations "the panther ready to pounce" in line 6, "leopard snarling about to leap" in line 7, "turn torrent" in line 9, "solo speaking" in line 18. {VIEW A DETAILED EXPLANATION}.

Likely Questions on Piano and Drums

1. Discuss how the form of the poem relates its message.
2. Identify and explain the major themes of Piano and Drums.
3. Comment on the poetic devices in Piano and Drums by Gabriel Okara
4. Discuss the use symbolism in Okara's Piano and Drums.
5. Relate the poem to the present African society.
6. Examine the poet's change in moods in the poem.
7. Does the poem's structure affect the meaning? Explain.
8. Comment on the use of contrasts in the poem.
9. Comment on the use of imagery in Piano and Drums.
10. Justify that the title is a symbolism. 

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Symbolism In Piano And Drums By Gabriel Okara

Discuss the use of symbolism in Okara's Piano and Drum WAEC MAY/JUNE 2017.

Based on Oxford dictionary, symbolism is to represent a concept through symbols or underlying meanings of objects or qualities

The cultural dilemma poem "Piano and Drums" by Gabriel Okara is a whole load of symbols; from the title to down the context.
As said in one of the posts in naijapoets about "Piano and Drums", the idea of cultural clash is the motivating or central message the poem passes to the readers.

The rural African background of the poem speaker was juxtaposed with the present western lifestyle in form of symbol; by placing the "Piano" and the "Drums" side-by-side. The poem speaker saw the drums simple but the piano very complex in his comparisons which brought about his cultural clash (since culture is defined as the lifestyle of a group of people or just even a person).

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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Discuss Any Three Poetic Devices Employed In Gabriel Okara's Piano AndDrums

[QUESTION]
Discuss any 3 poetic devices employed in Gabriel Okara's Piano And Drums (NECO JUNE/JULY 2016 LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH)

[ANSWER]
To answer the above question, we'll choose symbolism, personification and alliteration as our desired three poetic devices from Gabriel Okara's poem "Piano And Drums"

#1) Symbolism which is the representation of a concept through symbols or underlying meanings of objects or qualities, appears in the poem from the title down to the context. "Drums" symbolizes Okara's past uncivilized ways of life while "Piano" symbolizes the poet's present and future existence in a westernized world. His symbolisms are further broadened with related musical dictions.

[You Can As Well Read Poetic Figures And Forms In The Piano And Drums By Gabriel Okara]

#2) There are instances of personifications in the poem where inanimates are given human attributes. In line 15 (groping heart/ in green leaves) actually, line 15 can also be named a synedoche. In line 4-5 "speaking of/ primal
youth and the beginning" which gives human quality to the drums. In line 17-18, the poet also personified the piano "piano/ solo speaking of complex ways"

#3) Alliterations in the poem are “the panther ready to pounce” in line 6, “leopard snarling about to leap” in line 7, “turn torrent” in line 9, “solo speaking” in line 18.

In brief, few other poetic devices are Simile in line 4 “like bleeding flesh” Assonance in line 3 "mystic rhythm" Imageries, etc.

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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)

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Themes of Piano and Drums by Gabriel Okara

Gabriel Okara, the writer of "Piano and Drum" was born in Bayelsa state, Nigeria in 1921. A novelist and a poet; he was once a civil servant. His poem "Piano and Drums" was well beautified with imagery and symbolism.

The themes of the poem can be divided into three: (1) Childhood reminiscence and its effect (2) Complexity of the present and future (3) Dilemma.

Childhood reminiscence and its effect

Since the poem is about the poet's experience with two different cultures or lifestyles, the poet used the experience of his village background to depict African culture which he grew up with, while comparing it to his present civilized way of living.
The poem speaker was reminded of his/her "primal youth and the beginning" through the quietness of the early to morning river and the echoing forest. While at the riverside, the poem speaker could "hear jungle drums telegraphing/the mystic rhythm..." (Line 2 & 3) and other things like panther, leopard, hunters crouching
with poised spears, etc added to his/her memory.

The poem speaker revealed in stanza 2, the effect such reminiscence brought to his/her memory of sitting "in my mother's lap a suckling", "walking simple paths with no innovations", and groping in green leaves with wild flowers in naked hurrying feet.

Complexity of the present and future

How complex, unstable and confusing the present and the upcoming future look were portrayed in the stanza 3 of the poem "Piano and Drums". As said before, Okara preferred his past life to the present that was why he symbolized his rural life with drum, a musical instrument which very easy to learn and operate while he symbolized his civilized modern lifestyle with piano and describe it as complex.

The poem speaker heard "a wailing piano" which symbolised a painful sound which "solo speaking of complex ways" (the confusing present and the unknown future) and such painful sound brought a silent cry which the poem referred to as "in tear-furrowed concerto". In spite of the pain, the poem speaker got "lost in the labyrinth of it complexities" which symbolised the confusing complexity of the future through rough(coaxing) mild(diminuendo) opposite-change(counterpoint) and tough(crescendo).

Conflit of Culture
This is a very vital theme in Piano and Drums by Gabriel Okara; it shows the speaker in the poem standing between past and present (or preferably between African and Western culture); this theme can also be called a clash of culture or cultural disparity. As mentioned earlier, the voice of the poem described his past rural African background as simple as drums beats while his present and upcoming urbanized Western lifestyle as difficult as the wailing tones of a piano. Since ways lead to ways, this theme leads to another theme known as the theme of dilemma.

Dilemma

The poem speaker concluded that he found himself/herself in dilemma "wandering in the mystic rhythm/of jungle drums and the concerto."(line 28 & 29) because he didn't know which culture to totally embrace. He preferred the simple rural life but it was also impossible to let go of the civilisation he had got unto despite it was complex and confusing.

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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the candid Leo with wings flying)

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