A Musical Instrument Literary Elements

The speaker is an unidentified, third-person narrator. The speaker could be considered Browning herself, especially if the poem is viewed through a feminist lens. Beyond this hint, the identity of the speaker is never specified.

The poem follows a consistent rhyme scheme: ABACCB. The “B” lines always end with “river,” and the first line of each stanza ends with “Pan.” The repetition of these key words and the regular rhyme scheme give the poem a rhythmic feel.

“Spreading ruin and scattering ban” (metaphor) When Pan arrives at the river, he makes a great deal of commotion and disturbs the nature there. By breaking the golden lilies and startling the dragonfly, he disrupts the life cycle. This metaphor suggests a sense of foreboding, as the speaker suggests that Pan’s behavior has a deeper consequence. He will eventually ruin everything in his path and curse the poor creatures around him (“scatter ban”).

“Then drew the pith, like the heart of a man” (simile). As Pan hollows out the reed, the speaker compares his action to removing the heart of a man. The simile emphasizes the brutality of Pan’s behavior and the lengths to which he will go to make his musical instrument.

“Great god” (alliteration) The repetition of this key phrase with the repeated “g” gives the title a sound of importance.

“The reeds by the river” (alliteration) The repetition of the “r” consonant rolls off the tongue, mimicking the sound of a river’s flow.

“Spreading ruin and scattering ban” (alliteration) The repetition of the “s” consonant makes a hissing sound, as if the speaker is condemning Pan’s behavior.

“Hacked and hewed” (alliteration) The repetition of the “h” sound gives the line a heavy sound which mimics Pan’s action of mutilating the reed.

“Splashing and paddling” (assonance) The repetition of the short “a” vowel sound flows off the tongue, mimicking the effect of someone committing a long chain of disruptive acts.

“Golden lilies afloat” (assonance) The repetition of the long “o” vowel gives power to the image of the lilies.

“Bleak steel” (assonance) The long “e” sound when used back-to-back is difficult to pronounce, just as the object itself causes discomfort.

“Sweet, sweet, sweet, O Pan!” (assonance) The repetition of the word “sweet” and the long “e” sound it contains mimics the sound of a joyful bird, just as the speaker is in awe of the instrument’s lovely music.

The speaker proclaims Pan to be a great god throughout the poem, yet he/she continuously describes Pan’s disastrous actions. To create beautiful music, Pan must first destroy elements of nature. His godly ways should prevent him from doing harm and help him protect nature, but the animal in him is reckless, while the human part chooses to commit an act for his personal gain. For these reasons, the speaker points out that his music is both “piercing sweet” and “blinding sweet”: beauty that only emerged after Pan inflicted pain.

Victorian poetry; feminist poetry; nature poetry.

A pastoral scene, near a river.

The tone shifts throughout the poem, alternating between reverent and somber. The speaker recognizes Pan’s godly status but is also quick to point out the destructive effects of his behavior. By the poem’s conclusion, it acquires a somber feel as the true gods look down upon Pan with sadness and regret.

Pan is the protagonist of the poem, taking the reed to create his flute. The antagonist is the reed—or the nymph, Syrinx—who is subjected to Pan’s cruel disfiguration. The rest of nature may be considered antagonists as well, such as the broken lilies and the startled dragonfly.

Pan has been shunned by Syrinx, a beautiful nymph. Once she is turned into a reed, Pan continues to pursue her and violently pulls her out of the riverbed. He cuts the reed and fashions it into a flute that makes lovely music, but he does so at the cost of the reed’s life while also causing harm to the nature in his surroundings.

The climax occurs in the fifth and sixth stanzas when Pan declares that his flute is now complete. He proclaims that cutting the reed was the only way to make such a fine musical instrument, and he begins to play. Upon hearing this music, different parts of nature—including the sun, the lilies, and the dragonfly—become enchanted by what they hear.

The first stanza foreshadows the great pain and destruction to come, describing Pan’s arrival at the river as a scene of commotion and savagery. He not only arrives by the river but scatters “ban,” or a curse: a malediction for the nature surrounding him.

The speaker alludes to the notion that beauty is often created at the expense of others. Alternatively, the poem suggests that a thing of beauty—the nymph Syrinx—can become a victim when another objectifies and possesses it (as Pan eventually does). The entire poem alludes to the myth of Pan and Syrinx, projecting a feminist tone that condemns Pan’s actions and evokes sympathy for Syrinx.

“Ban” (metonymy) The word “ban” refers to a malediction, or curse. Pan’s actions essentially curse the reed, or the nymph Syrinx.

“Spreading ruin” (metonymy) When Pan arrives at the river, he causes a great disturbance. The “ruin” he spreads is the demise of nature around him—most notably, the reed.

“Hard bleak steel” (metonymy) The steel represents the tool Pan uses to hollow out the reed.

“A sign of a leaf” (synecdoche) The leaf represents the reed as a whole and is a symbol of the reed’s vitality.

“The broken lilies a-dying lay” The lilies are laying down to die, as a person might.

“The patient reed” The reed is depicted like a human being, calmly surrendering to its fate as Pan hacks away at it.

“Like the heart of a man” The reed is depicted as having a heart, like an animal or human being.

“The sun on the hill forgot to die” The sun is personified as a human who is capable of forgetting.

“Scattering ban” Pan’s actions are so severely damaging that his behavior is likened to the spreading of a curse.

“Hacked and hewed” The action of hollowing out the reed is described in violent terms.

“Then drew the pith, like the heart of a man” The reed is depicted as a human being whose heart is being torn out.

“The sun on the hill forgot to die” The sun is so entranced by the flute’s music that it forgot to stop shining.