"The Piano and The Drums" a poem by Gabriel Okara

 "The Piano and The Drums" a poem by Gabriel Okara 

Introduction :-

The Piano and the Drums by Gabriel Okara is a contemplative poem that examines the conflict between Western influence and traditional African culture. Through the use of two musical instruments the piano, which symbolises Western civilisation, and the drums, which represent African heritage Okara depicts the internal and external challenges that post-colonial people endure. The poem, which was written when many African countries were still dealing with the effects of colonisation, captures the cultural and emotional conundrum of having to decide between the intricacy of Western modernism and the simplicity of indigenous customs.

The poem centres on a speaker who experiences a strong, automatic connection to his past when he hears the rhythmic sounds of African drums. The sound is unadulterated, strong, and connected to the natural world; it symbolises a period of harmony and purity. However, a contrasting impression of sophistication, organisation, and foreignness is introduced when the sound of the piano enters. Unable to fully leave any of these two realms, the speaker finds himself torn between them. The post-colonial identity problem, in which embracing modernity frequently entails losing touch with one's heritage, is mirrored in this conflict.

The complexity of cultural dualism is emphasised in The Piano and the Drums through its rich imagery, musical allusions, and fluctuating tones. The reader is left feeling unsettled by the poem's lack of a definite conclusion, which is similar to what many post-colonial people go through as they try to strike a balance between their indigenous identity and Western cultural influences. In a world influenced by colonial legacies, Okara's poetry continues to be a poignant meditation on the difficulties of cultural hybridity.

The Piano and the Drums by Gabriel Okara is a classic post-colonial poetry that encapsulates the cultural conundrum that people in post-colonial societies particularly in Africa face when their traditional heritage and Western modernity coexist. Okara emphasises the difficulties of negotiating two opposing worlds pre-colonial African culture and Western influence through the symbolism of musical instruments, the speaker's mental turmoil, and the poem's structure and tone.

Write a detailed note on post-colonialism with reference to “The Piano and The Drums” by Gabriel Okara.

A literary and theoretical framework known as post-colonialism studies how colonialism affected cultures and society, particularly in countries that had previously been colonised. Identity, cultural conflict, hybridity, and the fight between tradition and modernity are some of the topics it examines. A popular issue in post-colonial writing is the conflict between African customs and Western influences, which is reflected in Gabriel Okara's poem The Piano and the Drums.

Cultural Conflicts & Identity Crisis :-

The identity crisis that people and society in post-colonial countries are experiencing is one of the main issues of post-colonialism. In The Piano and the Drums, Okara used musical instruments to symbolise two different cultural identities: the piano stands for Western civilisation, while the drums represent Africa's indigenous culture. Like many Africans who struggled to reconcile their traditional traditions with the Western lifestyle that was forced upon them following colonisation, the speaker in the poem is caught between these two influences.

The drums evoke something primal and instinctive in him, and he feels a natural affinity to them. He has, nevertheless, also been exposed to Western culture, which is represented by the piano, which is more intricate and regimented. The speaker's internal conflict is reflected in the poem's transition from exuberant nostalgia to apprehensive uncertainty: although he yearns for his traditional past, he is unable to fully reject the Western influences that have moulded him.

Symbolism of The Piano and The Drums :-

In the opening verse, the drums stand for African ancestry, simplicity, and a bond with the natural world. The poet paints a picture of an untainted, pre-colonial African landscape with the raw, passionate, and instinctive sound of the drums. This conveys pride in traditional African ideals as well as a sense of nostalgia. The Drums (Simplicity and African Tradition) The poem begins with strong images of drums, which are natural, primordial, and closely associated with the soil. The beats are said to evoke a "jungle drum," instantly connecting the instrument to the unadulterated, unrefined history of Africa. "Urgent, raw, and naked" is how the speaker characterises the drumming, highlighting its simplicity and its natural, direct relationship to human emotions. The drums represent an African identity that existed before colonisation and was firmly anchored in communal living, nature, and a sense of belonging.

The Piano (Complexity and Western Influence) On the other hand, the speaker characterises the piano's sound as "wailing" and its rhythm as more complex but also unnatural and alien. The expression "coaxing diminuendo, counterpoint crescendo" captures the intricacy of Western music, which does not have the drums' unadulterated simplicity. The sound of the piano is learnt and requires formal education and technical expertise, both of which are characteristics of colonial influence. It stands for the contemporary, Westernised world, which is sophisticated and complex but also causes emotional distance and estrangement.

Hybridity and the search for the balance :-

Homi Bhabha established the idea of hybridity the merging of two distinct cultures to create a new, mixed identity as a central idea in post-colonial thought. Despite being torn between the two worlds, the speaker in The Piano and the Drums is unable to completely choose one over the other.

He finds the piano and drums to be beautiful, but he can't make them work together as a cohesive one. The struggle of post-colonial people who live in a state that is neither entirely traditional nor entirely contemporary is symbolised by this. The poem's unresolved finish illustrates the continuous quest for a well-rounded identity in post-colonial societies.

Structure, Tone, and Linguistic Contrast :-

The poem also highlights how colonisation frequently results in the loss of innocence. The drums initially conjure up images of innocence and childhood. But as the piano's impact increases, the speaker feels more apprehensive about the future and more conscious of the difficulties of contemporary living. This is consistent with the post-colonial idea of disillusionment, in which colonised people come to see that embracing Western culture does not always result in advancement or fulfilment.

The brief, snappy phrases in the first stanza resemble the drum's rapid beats. The raw, straightforward, and uncomplicated language captures the essence of African customs. The speaker has a strong bond with this past. The lines in the second stanza get longer, more intricate, and more complicated, which reflects how structured Western culture is. As he struggles, the speaker's tone changes from assurance to hesitancy. The ambiguity of post-colonial identity is reflected in the poem's ambiguous ending. The contrast between the two cultures is reflected in the change in language style, which goes from the first stanza's straightforward phrasing to the second's intricate phrasing.

Comparative Analysis: Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart :-

We might contrast Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe with The Piano and the Drums to further our post-colonial thinking. Although they do so in different ways, both pieces examine the conflict between traditional African culture and Western colonial influence:

Conclusion :-

The Piano and the Drums by Gabriel Okara is a potent post-colonial poetry that effectively conveys the psychological, cultural, and emotional struggles that people face in post-colonial nations. Okara depicts the struggle of a person torn between the intricacy of Western civilisation and the simplicity of African heritage through symbolism, structure, and contrast. The poem's ambiguous conclusion highlights the continuous difficulty of cultural hybridity, where embracing modernity does not imply eschewing tradition but rather figuring out how to combine the two. Okara's poetry, which emphasises the internal difficulties that occur when two cultures collide, provides a more introspective perspective on the post-colonial experience than Things Fall Apart. The Piano and the Drums is a metaphor for the experience of post-colonial countries in general, and Africa in particular, where identity and cultural expression are still shaped by the legacy of colonial control.

References :-

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Heinemann, 1958.

Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Routledge, 1994.

Okara, Gabriel. The Piano and The Drums. Originally published in Collected Poems, Heinemann, 1986.