1. Certain songs can remind us of important times or important people in our lives. Can you think of any songs that have a powerful emotional effect on you? Why do they have this effect?
2. Some scientists claim that music can trigger more memories than other stimuli because our sense of hearing is stronger than our sense of sight or touch. Do you agree or disagree with this claim?
COMPREHENDING AND RESPONDING
1. Who, in your opinion, is the woman singing to in the first line? 2. Who, in your opinion, is the child sitting under the piano?
3. What impression do you get of the mother in this poem? Give reasons for your answer.
4. Both stanza one and stanza two contain a vivid image of Lawrence’s childhood. Give your personal response to both of these images.
5. What do you think Lawrence means by ‘the insidious mastery of song’? Give reasons for your answer.
6. Discuss Lawrence’s use of sound effects throughout this poem and the impact this has on the listener.
7. Describe the mood of the third stanza and select one poetic technique (such as an image) that reveals this mood.
8. Compare and contrast how Lawrence explores the theme of loss in ‘Piano’ and ‘Call into Death’.
CREATING
1. Write a talk for a popular music programme on your local radio station entitled ‘The Soundtrack to My Life’, in which you explore the songs that mean the most to you.
2. You wish to enter your favourite song into a competition for ‘The Best Song Ever’. Write the letter you would send to the competition organisers, in which you explain your choice of song and give reasons why it would be a worthy winner of this competition.
3. Compose a short story in which the main character’s life revolves around music in some way.
