Half-Past Two and Piano Essay

Half past cardinal is ab stunned a young pip-squeak who has done something naughty. His teacher punishes him by making him stay behind until half past two. However, being cross, she go aways he has not yet learnt to tell the duration. Thus, his concept of time doesnt yet include numerals. He knows he is punished and cannot understand why. During his detention, he recalls the time modules he knows in an attempt to figure out when will he be free again. He trajectorys out of reach of all the timefors into a fantasy gentlemans gentleman. The teacher has almost forgotten about the son owing to the triviality of the matter to her, but of great significance to the boy. At last, she scuttles in and lets him go home.In diffuse, The persona in the poem is earshot to a woman singing and tampering the piano. This makes him recall when he was a child, sitting under the piano listening to his mother play and sing on Sunday evenings in winter. He is nostalgic about the warmth and happin ess of his childhood days. However, he seems to berate himself on recalling his childhood and views himself as sad and less(prenominal) masculine for giving in to his nostalgic impulses. With his manhood cast/Down in the flood of remembrance, he weeps, an act considered inappropriate for a man.These two poems both use striking language. Firstly, they both use onomatopoeia to convey the setting of the poems. In Half-past Two, the onomatopoeia is used to convey the ticking sound of the quantify, whereas in Piano, it is used to convey the musical sounds of the piano.Secondly, they also both use alliteration. In Half-past Two, the phrase time hides tick-less is used to convey the sound of a clock ticking. However, in Piano, the repetition of the consonant /s/ is used to convey the calm and quiet singing of the woman.Thirdly, the two poets choose their words prudently. In Half-past Two, childish words such as wicked and cross helps us locate our imaginations within the setting of a prim ary school. In Piano, the dogmatic word cosy evokes the warm and happy atmosphere when he was a child. On the other hand, negative words betrays and insidious convey that he is shamed of his weakness.Fourthly, the use of senses can be found in both poems. In Half-past Two, in stanza 8, the senses such as smell of old chrysanthemums brings alive the blastoff in the classroom. In Piano, the persona hears the woman singing Softly, in the dusk and playing the piano, recalling his childhood memories.Lastly, the mood of both poems is nostalgic and they both dumbfound the theme of childhood. The persona in Half-past Two is nostalgic about the long-lost childhood which is free from time constraints. It can easily be seen in the last stanza He escaped to be born. On the other hand, the persona in Piano is sad and crying for the time which will never come covert after it is forever lost with his manhood cast/Down in the flood of remembrance.For Half-past Two, I think punishment is not a suitable way to discipline an complimentary child who did Something Very Wrong. He should be explained what the error is. The poet uses the teacher to criticize adults who are dismissive of children, emphasized by she slotted him back. Adults should care and attend to children more.Besides, this poems effect on me is so strong that it almost brings me back to my merry childhood. I crave for relive my childhood, when I lived freely without troubles and worries and time constraints.A nostalgic mood is revealed in the last stanza. It shows that the poet is very nostalgic, reminiscing the childhood experiences when everything is not constrained by time. Moreover, the fantasy world which the child conceives in stanzas 7 & 8 is most peoples utopia, where they can temporarily forget all the stress and worries from work or studies and escape from reality. It is a dream world where all of us can dream about as a solace when we are stressed out.The poem, Piano, has a nostalgic and wistful disembodied spirit. Hearing the powerful music and soft song, the persona recalls his pleasant childhood memories. He reminisces that he sat under the piano mechanical press the small poised feet of his mother. However, in the last stanza, my manhood is cast/Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past. It appears that the persona is rather sentimental and melancholic. He is sad and crying for the time which will never come back after it is forever lost.Besides, the Tingling set up and the mastery of song strongly evoke the personas pleasant childhood memories. It also brings me back to the time when I was a child, learning how to play the piano. I regret not taking piano lessons seriously at that time and dropping it at last. We should treasure everything we possess before they slip away.In my opinion, the persona, being a man, should not cry hastily. I think it is very embarrassing for a grown man to weep. He attempted to restrain his emotions but failed. His heart weeps to belong and eventually he bursts into tears. His weeping is uncharacteristic of his present maturity.Nevertheless, I prefer Half-past Two, because it can fully depict the helplessness of the innocent child being kept in until half past two a time completely unfamiliar to him. I also like the tone of the last stanza. It can trigger my deeper thoughts. It makes me realize that the land where time hides tick-less waiting to be born is a utopia where many people can temporarily forget all the stress and worries and relax.