In what ways does this passage of prose seem poetic? What will ...

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In what ways does this passage of prose seem poetic?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Are there any phrases that suggest or evoke the sound of a piano?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[Sophiapenny]

Answer to Question 1

• The words are chosen at least as much (in fact, a great deal more) for their sounds as for their meanings; the principal purpose of the arrangement of words and phrases is to accentuate and emphasize rhythms; the overall effect of the piece is an appeal to the senses rather than the conveying of information; and the meaning of the description is intended to be perceived intuitively rather than intellectually. In the chapter on Gertrude Stein in his pioneering work Axels Castle: A Study in the Imaginative Literature of 18701930, Edmund Wilson has an interesting discussion of the relationships between sense and nonsense and between poetry and prose (New York: Scribners, 1931, pp. 244253).

Answer to Question 2

• Again, there are no phrases that evoke the sound of a piano. It should be obvious by now that, whatever Steins intentions in the poem may be, they do not involve literal descriptions of the appearance of a piano or the sounds that it produces. Insofar as there is any relationship between an actual piano and the words and phrases Stein has chosen to follow the title A piano, it is a highly subjective and purely associative connection.

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