Beginning of Essay
Evaluate the effectiveness of diction as an adjunct to meaning in John Updike's "Player Piano". In "Player Piano", John Updike uses personification to give life to a ‘unhuman' piano. By using diction to communicate his ideas, he effectively allows the reader to ....

Middle of Essay
.... the effect of personification in this poem. In the last line of the first stanza, there is consonance in "these", "keys", and "melodies". The repeat of the smooth "s" sound in these three consecutive words evokes a feeling of rhythm or harmony - pleasant sounds from the player piano. The next stanza starts with an internal rhyme: "My paper can caper". The simple rhyme suggests that the paper can leap and jump about like a child. The connotation of the word "abandon" adds to this suggestion of unrestrained movement or activity. The words "dint" and "din" are alliterative, and the suggestion is that the "din" of the piano broadcasts its sound far an ....