Easter 1916: Yeats Poem

14:  We know their dream; enough
15:  To know they dreamed and are dead;
16:  And what if excess of love
17:  Bewildered them till they died?
18:  I write it out in a verse -
19:  MacDonagh and MacBride
20:  And Connolly and Pearse
21:  Now and in time to be,
22:  Wherever green is worn,
23:  Are changed, changed utterly:
24:  A terrible beauty is born. 

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Punctuation: Lots of questions (throughout stanza) & a dash, announcing a verse.
Rhyme: ABCB, ABCB, ABAC, ABAC, ABAB, ABCB (of entire stanza)
Repetition: Of words. Specifically: death & dream.
Word Choice, and Interesting Passages:  
Repetition Throughout Poem: Change & the names of the people from Stanza 2 & the passing of time. 

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Interesting Sentence: The people at war dieing for their dream of equality or whatever they want out of the war. The idea of love and compromise instead of war confused the attackers and they did not believe that the dispute could be settled without a war. 

 Enough: It is known what the attackers wanted out of attacking, but 'we' do not truly understand their ambition and drive towards it (their dream of what they wanted the war to change).
 Wherever green is worn: Military green? Irish green?

In this stanza the people were the things changed with the final, "changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born."

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The terrible beauty is the Easter Rising itself, which serves as a specific example for all uprisings, revolts, etc. These events are being referred to as 'terrible beauties' because in the moment, they seem awful. People dieing, killing, and doing evil deeds. But in the end, someone revolting may bring their group equality and peace. Whereas beforehand they were not treated equally by a higher group or leader.

 ~

The theme: No matter what one does, believes, fights for, or ignores, things around one will change. And if one is to participate, or ignore, or not even notice, one will change from the event as well.

Weekend Questions

1) What do you think "the piano lesson" is?

I think that the piano lesson is a metaphor for what each member of the family learns throughout the novel. Each person learns a life lesson from their own experience with the piano. For example Boy Willie learns that ancestry and family history is more important than he originally thought it was. Berniece learned the opposite, that sometimes holding onto your past can hold you back from your personal potential. So by learning their own piano lessons, each person has found a medium for their beliefs.

2) Why did August Wilson choose this title?

I think that Wilson chose the title because it tries together all of the book's conflicts. Everyone learned a lesson because of the piano, Boy Willie and Berniece fought about the piano, Sutter's ghost haunted the piano, Avery wanted the piano, etc. The piano is the main focus point in the entire novel and the book ends when  Berniece learns her lesson of what to value in life, and how strongly to value those things. The title also sticks with you throughout reading the book, the curiosity of what it means. 

3) How is it that Boy Willie comes to understand the importance of the piano in the final scene of the play?

In the final scene Boy Willie sees the power that Berniece playing the piano holds. He sees the importance of family history and ancestry, as that is what the piano symbolizes. Without Berniece harnessing her ability to emote and connect to her past, Sutter's ghost could have haunted the house forever, and Boy Willie sees the connection and its power. He hadn't connected to his past because it had not been tangible, like money and land are, but seeing up-close the actual power of ancestral connection, he understands the necessary balance of spiritual and physical. 

 4) What is significant about her calling out the names of her dead family members?

Berniece calling out their names is how she finally lets them go. It is how she gives herself, being so afraid of the piano and its history, up. She is announcing them without fear or hatred, just as fact. Those are their names and they no longer mean anything to her personal life. She will always honor and respect them, but no longer fear their very presence in her mind. 

5) What purpose does this serve?

By finally letting them go, Berniece is allowing herself a happier life. She is, as Avery said, finally leaving her stones on the side of the road. No longer dragging them along in her life and weighing herself down with them. Now, without the burden of so many  lives, Berniece can go on to live her own. She can make her own footprint in the world and be her own person. Maybe even marry Avery. Wilson has Berniece do this for a reason, to show all the readers to let go of our faults and our parents' faults. It does not matter what has happened to us in the past. It can strengthen us and propel us forward, or drag us down and take away our opportunities. Whichever one we choose.