[اطلق سراب]

The Guitarist Tunes Up

With what attentive courtesy he bent
Over his instrument;
Not as a lordly conquerer who could
Command both wire and wood,
But as a man with a loved woman might,
Inquiring with delight
What slight essential things she had to say
Before they started, he and she, to play

الشرح

The guitarist Tunes Up
By Frances Cornford

The meaning of the words:
Courtesy: politeness.
Lordly: being a lord.
Command: give order.
Conqueror: the defeat attention.
Inquiring: to ask.
Essential: basic.
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
Paraphrasing + simile:
With what attentive courtesy he bent
Over his instrument;
The poet says that the guitarist tunes his guitar with kindness and politeness. He loves his guitar and he takes care of it.
Not as a lordly conqueror who could
Command both wire and wood,
But as a man with a loved woman might,
Inquiring with delight
What slight essential things she had to say
Before they started, he and she, to play.
The guitarist plays his guitar not as lord who boss his soldiers and not as a peace of wood but as a man who loves a woman. This man is very happy with the woman and he asks her basic question in order to have a relation with her. Here we have a simile when the poet describes the guitarist as a man and the guitar as a woman. All this before they have a relationship.
Theme:
The theme of the poem is describing the relationship between the guitarist and the guitar. The poet expresses this theme by using one figure of speech simile. He describes the relationship between the guitarist and the guitar as the relationship between a man and a woman. He loves his guitar and he tunes it with care ness and politeness as he treat with woman.