As I read the poem silently I somewhat heard the sound of the bagpipes as Macneice was attempting. I knew that there was some kind of sound being repeated but the bagpipe was difficult to emulate in my head. But the pace that I read it at didn’t quite achieve the desired effect. Even reading it out loud I found it hard to re-create the sound well enough to really hear the intent. I found myself imagining a somewhat more melancholy rhythm that took quite a bit longer. I also found that I paused more just reading it. With the number of periods and end stopped lines, I was much more slow in the reading than Macneice in the performance.

When Macneice performs the most noticeable aspect is the speed. He is very quick and the slight modulation of his voice definitely brings to mind the instrument he’s trying to emulate. The pace almost trips over itself, despite all of the end stopped lines. Honestly, in something line this I would expect enjambment. If I hadn’t seen the text first I would have assumed it was one. Now tone is strange because the pace would almost suggest humor but I feel as if my initial feeling of melancholy is still correct. Or potentially nostalgia. There is a tumbling, unstable feeling to the performance. Like nothing can quite remain for very long, not even the words in the poem.