Music and Memory in D. H. Lawrence’s Piano Essay -- Literature

D. H. Lawrence’s poetry is said to often be of â€Å"great biographical interest† (Encyclopedia Britannica), and his poem â€Å"Piano,† written in 1918, eight years after the death of his mother, illustrates his attachment to his mother through the device of an unwilling memory evoked when he hears a woman singing. Though Lawrence’s relationship with his mother is said to have been â€Å"an intensely—often labeled abnormally—close relationship† (Pearson and Watson), it is also said that it was she who encouraged him to obtain an education and to write. His mother was a teacher, and according to Norton, it is her â€Å"delicacy and refinement† that he â€Å"allied† himself with rather than his less educated, coarse coal miner father (2248). It is she whom he sided with in the conflict-ridden relationship he witnessed between his parents. According to Wart, â€Å"Piano† expresses Lawrence’s personal response when a â€Å"song stirs memories of childhood and his mother,† involuntary as these memories may be. However, though it may be true that we should never assume that the speaker of a poem is, indeed, the poet, according to Semansky, â€Å"Lawrence's work invites us to, as he has always woven autobiographical material into his writing.† Lawrence’s â€Å"Piano† may thus be considered to be the recounting of unwanted and involuntary emotional memory brought about as a response to music. â€Å"Piano† begins by describing a setting conducive to reflection and remembrance, â€Å"Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me† (Line 1). Intimacy is implied in the setting: â€Å"the dusk,† the singing being â€Å"soft† and seemingly personally directed to one individual all lend themselves to an aura of intimacy. This encounter draws Lawrence back through the â€Å"vista of years† (Line 2). In fact,... ..., 1900 to Present. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CBPNP235&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 4, 2012). Rexroth, Kenneth. "Introduction." D.H. Lawrence: Selected Poems. New Directions, 1947. 1-23. Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. Saunders, Clifford. "Critical Essay on 'Piano'." Poetry for Students. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. Semansky, Chris. "Critical Essay on 'Piano'." Poetry for Students. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. Wart, Alice Van. "Critical Essay on 'Piano'." Poetry for Students. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.