Music Lessons: Explication

Mary Oliver's poem "Music Lessons" tells of a piano teacher departing from her mundane existence to dive into the music. The first paragraph not only sets the scene, but builds tension, an anticipation for the performance about to begin, while "she would gaze a moment." Then, the second paragraph sets up the first half of the juxtaposition to which we are introduced; what is juxtaposed is the life of the women, rather ordinary and stern (photographs of son and serious husband), and the life she takes on when playing the piano. 

The contrast in diction paints an energetic picture of the teacher playing the piano. In the beginning, everything is petite and closed. The house is small, the windows shut. This may also be seen as the conception of a quaint yet powerful hiding place. In the final stanza, the diction is electrified; "she fled in that lick of flame." The imagery and themes also become violent, in contrast with the first stanza, which discusses mere knickknacks. The final stanza discusses impending death, abruptly and aggressively:
"the knife at the throat" seems to threaten the teacher as well as to propel her to wild, fiery, masterful playing. 

Asonance appears throughout the poem in instances such as "neat green" while rhyme makes appearances as well (though only as approximate rhyme) in instances such as with "at the throat [...] in the metronome." There is some alliteration as well, with “her sons and […] serious husband.” There is consonance. In line 6, the ‘d’ sounds appears several times, creating a rhythmic sound: vanished, formed, sound. The appearance of rhyme and carefully crafted rhythm throughout the poem gives a musical feel to the poem, which is appropriate seeing as the poem is about piano. The poem discusses the playing of music, while itself reading like a piece of music, smooth and elegant.