Compare how the authors of Piano and Poem at Thirty-Nine convey childhood?

Piano is a poem written by D H Lawrence about his nostalgia about his

childhood. The poem follows the narrative of his grief of his mother whom died
when he was 21. Poem at Thirty-Nine is a poem by Alice Walker about her
relationship with her father. This essay will explore the way the authors present
their nostalgia, their relationship with their parent and the use of lexis
throughout both poems.

In both poems the author reminisce about their late parent. In Piano the poet is
reminded of his mother by a song played on a “piano.” The use of the word
“piano” references how the mother was a soft figure in the poets life as “piano” is
a musical term for soft. Furthermore, the poet remembers sitting and “pressing
the small, poised feet.” The use of descriptive language conveys how the poet has
very clear and distinct memories of his relationship with his mother, this is
contextually relevant as babies and toddlers often latch onto the feet of people
they are close to. The word “poised” conveys how Lawrence’s mother is elegant
and careful about how she is presented, from this we can infer that Lawrence’s
mother tried to protect him and presented a strong and ideal view of the world.
Likewise, Walker starts the poem off by stating, “How I [she] miss [es] my [her]
father.” The use of a full stop instead of an exclamation mark shows how Walker
is reflective. Later on the same line is repeated but with an exclamation mark,
showing the natural progression of grief and nostalgia. The writer conveys how
her father “taught” her to do basic things showing how he was a big part of her
life. Walker continues by saying her father “must have said:” the use of the modal
verb shows the authors lack of certainty of her memories and her ability to
recall. This contrasts to Poem at Thirty-Nine in which the poet has a clear
recollection of his memories.

In contrast, Lawrence conveys how he was very close to his mother; the mock
sonnet form of the poem conveys this, this conveys how the poem is about
familial love. The use of the word “appassionato,” means passionately in Italian
the use of this word to describe the Piano piece conveys how Lawrence was
passionate about his mother and how he felt she was very important to him.
Moreover, Lawrence’s use of specific musical language out of context conveys
how he is very knowledgeable in music and feels very strongly for musical terms
that remind him of his mother. On the other hand, Walker’s writing style makes
her seem very detached from her grief. The use of monosyllabic words in the first
paragraph implies that like a young child whom has to develop the poet has to
allow her grief to develop. Walker’s use of a truncated verse slows down the
reader and highlights how she is not sure how she felt about her father as she is
taking her time to develop her feelings. She writes how her father was “so tired.”
From this we can infer that he struggled to meet her needs. This contrasts to
Poem at Thirty-Nine where Lawrence’s grief was all consuming.

Moreover, Lawrence’s use of complex lexis is evocative.

Lawrence describes his grief as “insidious.” The use of
“insidious” to personify his grief shows that his grief crept
up on him without him noticing. The personification shows
how his grief acts as a companion for his memories.
Compare how the authors of Piano and Poem at Thirty-Nine convey childhood?

However, Walker’s use of basic lexis conveys how her

relationship with her father was simple. He taught Walker
about “telling the truth,” the use of alliteration of the letter
“t” highlights the hard and difficult lessons that she would
have been taught by her father.

In conclusion, Walker and Lawrence convey childhood in

very different ways.