Significance of Songs and Music in August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson”

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From time immemorial, literature and music have been inseparable. Therefore, songs and music have been vital in literature for centuries. The use of songs in African American Literature dates back to the era of slavery when the blacks used to sing while working on the farms. It was a medium of communicating within the slave community. It was also a way to honor deities, hence the emergence of slave spirituals. They are not just songs, but they are filled with sentiments and tales of their sufferings and hardships. The African-American playwright August Wilson (1945-2005) uses songs as a medium, which the characters in his plays sing to tell stories from the past. This short communication demonstrates why and how Wilson incorporates songs and music in his play "The Piano Lesson" (1987).