The imagery in this poem helps to describe a picture in the reader's mind so that the reader can sympathize with the speaker during his journeys into the past. In the first stanza, in the first line, the first image is of a woman. In the fourth line the reader learns that this woman is the speaker's mother. The third line shows an image of a "child sitting under the piano . . . pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles." This image gives the reader an image, perhaps of a parlor room, of a child about three or four years of age enjoying the music produced by his mother. The love of the mother shines through her smile as she reciprocates to the child's gentle touch. Later, in the second stanza, the contrasting image of a cold, snowy night in the winter and the cozy parlor causes the "hymns" to seem doubly warm. This represents the traditional image of a grand family sitting around a warm, crackling fire; they sing carols together and just enjoy each other's company. The piano in the first and second stanza is described as "tingling strings" and "tinkling piano"...
The imagery in this poem helps to describe a picture in the reader's mind so that the reader can sympathize with the speaker during his journeys into the past. In the first stanza, in the first line, the first image is of a woman. In the fourth line the reader learns that this woman is the speaker's mother. The third line shows an image of a "child sitting under the piano . . . pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles." This image gives the reader an image, perhaps of a parlor room, of a child about three or four years of age enjoying the music produced by his mother. The love of the mother shines through her smile as she reciprocates to the child's gentle touch. Later, in the second stanza, the contrasting image of a cold, snowy night in the winter and the cozy parlor causes the "hymns" to seem doubly warm. This represents the traditional image of a grand family sitting around a warm, crackling fire; they sing carols together and just enjoy each other's company. The piano in the first and second stanza is described as "tingling strings" and "tinkling piano"...