Culture in Piano and Drums by Gabriel Okara Essay -- Culture Symbolism

Culture in Piano and Drums by Gabriel Okara In the poem â€Å"Piano and Drums† the poet Gabriel Okara depicts and contrasts two different cultures through symbolism of pianos and drums. The Poem is divided into four stanzas. The first two stanzas represent the â€Å"drum† culture and the second two stanzas show the â€Å"piano† culture. The description of the drums is in two stanzas, but is one sentence long. The first line of the first stanza: ‘When at break of day at a riverside’ Uses trochees to emphasize the deliberate broken rhythm. The stanza has savage words, â€Å"bleeding flesh,† â€Å"urgent raw,† â€Å"leopard snarling,† â€Å"spears poised,† to show that this is a primitive culture, one which has dependency on the environment, as is represented by the â€Å"hunters crouch with spears poised.† The environment in this culture is physically dangerous, surrounded by wild animals. Drums here are a way of communication, and â€Å"jungle drums telegraphing the mystic rhythm, urgent, raw†¦Ã¢â‚¬  shows the way of life in this culture. This is life which is simple, near the beginnings of man. The stanza uses alliteration, consonances and similes to give a rhythm that is like that of a drum. Threatening imagery is also used to give the image of danger and show physical hazards. The first stanza mainly describes the way of life and sets the scene. It shows how the drums are associated with the jungle and a primitive way of life. In the second stanza the persona says how when he hears the drums, he goes back to his youth, â€Å"my blood ripples, turns torrent, topples the years...† reminiscent of his childhood to when things were simpler and carefree, â€Å"in my mother’s lap a suckling.† The repetition of the ‘t’ sound in â€Å"turns, torrent and top... ...† shows how he is lost between the two societies- between his background and upbringing and what he is aspired to be. â€Å"Wandering in the mystic rhythm of jungle drums and the concerto.† The poem follows a logical format with each stanza beginning with â€Å"When, And, Then and And.† The connotations of each instrument contrast with one another, with Drums illustrating primitive behaviour, and a savage, dangerous culture. The connotations of the piano are complex and technical. The piano uses significantly different word sounds, showing that it is learnt, westernized and intricate compared to the drums which is instinctive and naturally acquired, and simple. The poem uses no set rhyme pattern which suits the poem as it has an undecided effect, emphasizing the confusion of the persona over his future. There is some iambic use as well as the use of trochees.