 Beethoven by Shane Koyczan : ISC Rhapsody Short Answer QuestionsÂ
Question 1. What impression do you form of Beethoven’s father ?
Answer: In the given poem “Beethoven” by Shane Koyczan Beethoven’s father was presented as an ambitious and tyrannical father devoid of mercy. His father has an obsession to make his son a genius in music. He was never satisfied with the performance of his son. He was so abusive that he used to beat young Beethoven in order to make him perform better.
Whether Beethoven plays notes gently, slowly or fiercely the unkind father would discourage him saying, “NOT GOOD ENOUGH”.
The hurt of these cruel words remained throughout in his life.
Question 2. : What did Beethoven inherit from his father ? Was it conscious or unconscious, positive or negative ? Elaborate.
Answer : Beethoven inherited never being satisfied from his father. His father always wanted him to create better music and bring improvement in it, for this motive he always discouraged him saying “NOT GOOD ENOUGH”. Beethoven inherited this quest without being conscious of it or making conscious attempts to do so.
This inheritance was both negative as it was originated from abuse and potentially positive, as it pushed him towards a sense of perfection. This sense of perfection eventually led him towards great success as a musician.
Question 3. “Most musicians failed to understand Beethoven and his music.” Comment.
Answer: Beethoven’s father always wanted him to create better music so he always express his dissatisfaction with his music saying “NOT GOOD ENOUGH”. This sense of dissatisfaction left a permanent and deep impact on young Beethoven’s mind. Later after being deaf he too would often repeat, “Not Good Enough”.
The musicians accompanying his performance heard these words and felt that he was saying this for the musicians’ performance. They failed to understand Beethoven.
The musician could not understand the way Beethoven created his music out of the silence for being deaf. For them Beethoven was either mad or a genius.
Question 4. How does the poet describe the impact of Beethoven’s music ?
Answer: Beethoven’s timeless symphonies leaves a great impact upon, the listeners all around the world. His fascinating symphonies stimulate the nerves of the listeners and overwhelm them. The symphonies pierce into the nerves of the audience like a fleet moving forward among firing canon shells. His music would hit every molecule of their body and create a divine sensation from within. Each note would leave marks on each part of their body and make them long for one more such hit of music. Beethoven had become an addition for music lovers.
Beethoven’s music has such immense power to turn the entire solar system into cymbals where from the comets would collide. The resulting sound would be so loud that it could shake the constellations to make the stars begin to fall down. It would seem as if the whole universe had begun to cry.
The pleasure imparted by his music was so concrete that you could touch it. Each note of his music was such as if love and hate were dancing together in a waltz of sheer perfection and beauty.
Question 5 : What did Beethoven suffer from ? How did it affect his music ?
Answer: Beethoven suffered from a progressive hearing loss, which eventually led to deafness. But due to this devastating loss, his music did not suffer at all, even became more profound and innovative. This disability forced Beethoven to surpass his physical limitations and rely on his inner sense of sound and his deep understanding of musical structure. It forced him to find new and unique ways to connect to his music like cutting the legs of his piano and pressing his body closer to the floor to feel the vibration of musical notes. This disability intensified the emotional depth and innovation in his compositions.
Question 6. Comment on the use of imagery used in the poem.
Answer : In the poem “Beethoven” the poet uses powerful visual imagery so that the audience could see, hear, feel and taste what is being said. For instance, the powerful “attack” of Beethoven’s music on our senses is compared to the one by an Armada that marches through exploding cannon shells “smashing” every part of the body. The imagery of young Beethoven’s “fingers cramped up into the gnarled roots of tree trunks” shows the violent experience of his youth. Then there is a mythical and celestial imagery to describe the impact of the music.