This question is based on Selected Poems from Johnson, R et al(eds): New Poetry from Africa; Soyinka, (ed)…

Analyze the question: The question asks what Piano and Drums represent in Gabriel Okara's poem "Piano and Drums." We need to identify what the two instruments stand for.

Explain the concept: The poem is about cultural conflict. Okara contrasts two worlds:

• Drums stand for traditional African culture. They bring images of the "jungle," the "river-red," "the beat of the drum," and a natural, primal, emotional connection to roots.
• Piano stands for Western culture. It is described through "wailing," "complex," "clear-stringed," and "a far-away, down-the-years" sophistication, an intellectual, "complicated" and "wearisome" world.

The poet is caught between these two. The speaker is drawn back to the simplicity and honesty of the drums, while the piano's "complicated ecstasy" leaves him confused, "a half-way" between the two worlds.

Step-by-step solution:

1. A. Contradictory tunes: The poem is not mainly about the sounds clashing as music, but about what they represent.
2. B. Complementary tunes: The poem presents the two as being in tension, not harmony.
3. C. Different cultural milieus: The drums represent African tradition and the piano represents Western civilisation. This is the central theme of the poem.
4. D. Different rhythmic appeals: This concentrates on rhythm only and misses the cultural meaning.

Answer: The instruments symbolise two different cultural environments (milieus), African and European.

Exam tip: In Okara's poem, whenever instruments or objects are paired, think symbolism. Drums = Africa/tradition, Piano = West/modernity. The theme to remember is cultural conflict and identity, the same idea you find in poems like Soyinka's "Telephone Conversation" and Clark's "Night Rain" in the broader African poetry syllabus.