Poetry Blog 9

The poem "The Guitarist Tunes Up" By Frances Cornford immediately caught my attention when we got the new poetry packet today. It's concise--but within its single stanza, the poem says a lot. Cornford's poem is an extended metaphor. It compares the way in which the man treats his guitar to how he might also treat a woman he loved. I think Cornford is trying to state that a great musician does not control his or her instrument, like a "lordly conqueror," but rather approaches it with curiosity and love, as if "inquiring with delight." Cornford also describes the musician's act of playing as a team effort of both the instrument and the guitarist: to play beautiful music a musician must first have a decent instrument. No matter how good the musician, a bad instrument will never sound good. I also like how the poem is called, "The Guitarist Tunes Up," because I see it sort of as a play on words. Not only is the guitarist tuning his guitar to get ready to play as it is taken literally, but he is also getting "in tune" or in sync with the instrument. This poem makes perfect sense if you've seen, as most people have, an instrumentalist who is really good at what they do and who is clearly in love with playing their instrument.