WHY 1 HKCEE ELIT

PIANO AND DRUMS

GABRIEL OKARA

Gabriel Okara is a Nigerian writer was born in April 1921. He is a poet and novelist;

Okara has written many poems, the most famous of which is "Piano and Drums."

In 1979 he was awarded the Commonwealth Poetry Prize. He has been extremely

successful in capturing the moods, sights and sounds of Africa. His poems show

great sensitivity, perceptive judgments and a tremendous energy. Okara also

shows a concern regarding what happens when the ancient culture of Africa is faced

with modern western culture.'

Drums Piano

1. Rhythm of

the lines

e.g.

i. ‘the mystic rhythm, urgent, raw’ –

mimicking the rhythm of the

drums

ii. The use of monosyllabic words

e.g. raw, flesh…

iii. The use of verbs denoting

powerful actions e.g. pounce, leap,

crouch…

e.g.

i. The rhythm is dragged down by the

use of words with multiple syllables

e.g. complexities, labyrinth,

daggerpoint…

ii. The use of high-sounding jargons

used in music e.g. concerto,

diminuendo, counterpoint,

crescendo,

2. Feelings the

instruments

give to the

speaker

i. Full of blood-pumping energy e.g.

raw like bleeding flesh,

my blood ripples

ii. The speaker thinks about

___________in ancient Africa e.g.

Primal youth and the beginning…

the hunters crouch with spears

poised

iii.

The mystic rhythm/ of jungle

drums…

iv. The speaker thinks about

e.g.

I’m in my mother’s laps a

i. e.g. wailing piano,

tear-furrowed concerto

ii. The piano is

_____________________________

e.g. But lost in the labyrinth of its

complexities, it ends in the middle

of a phrase at a daggerpoint

iii. e.g. of far away

lands and new horizons

WHY 2 HKCEE ELIT

suckling…

3. What do the

instruments

symbolize?

What is the speaker’s emotion in the last stanza?

WHY 3 HKCEE ELIT

PIANO AND DRUMS

GABRIEL OKARA

Gabriel Okara is a Nigerian writer was born in April 1921. He is a poet and novelist;

Okara has written many poems, the most famous of which is "Piano and Drums."

In 1979 he was awarded the Commonwealth Poetry Prize. He has been extremely

successful in capturing the moods, sights and sounds of Africa. His poems show

great sensitivity, perceptive judgments and a tremendous energy. Okara also

shows a concern regarding what happens when the ancient culture of Africa is faced

with modern western culture.'

Drums Piano

1. Rhythm of

the lines

Powerful and full of energy:

e.g.

iv. ‘the mystic rhythm, urgent, raw’ –

mimicking the rhythm of the

drums

v. The use of monosyllabic words

e.g. raw, flesh…

vi. The use of verbs denoting

powerful actions e.g. pounce, leap,

crouch…

Slow and meandering

e.g.

iii. The rhythm is dragged down by the

use of words with multiple syllables

e.g. complexities, labyrinth,

daggerpoint…

iv. The use of high-sounding jargons

used in music e.g. concerto,

diminuendo, counterpoint,

crescendo,

2. Feelings the

instruments

give to the

speaker

v. Full of blood-pumping energy e.g.

raw like bleeding flesh,

my blood ripples

vi. The speaker thinks about nature in

ancient Africa e.g.

Primal youth and the beginning…

the hunters crouch with spears

poised

vii. Mystical

The mystic rhythm/ of jungle

drums…

viii. The speaker thinks about

childhood e.g.

I’m in my mother’s laps a

iv. Sadness e.g. wailing piano, tear-

furrowed concerto

v. The piano is complicated and not

natural e.g. But lost in the labyrinth

of its complexities, it ends in the

middle of a phrase at a daggerpoint

vi. Not indigenous to Africa e.g. of far

away lands and new horizons

WHY 4 HKCEE ELIT

suckling…

3. What do the

instruments

symbolize?

African history, identity Western culture and civilization

What is the speaker’s emotion in the last stanza?

The speaker is ‘lost’, confused by the ‘complexities’ of the piano solo and the

contrasting styles and the underlying cultures that the two musical instruments

represent. He is forced to question his own identity, and that is why he feels lost.