I cant remember the tale, but hear his voice still, a well of dark water, a prayer. Sad is the man who is asked for a storyand cant come up with one. The main theme from the gift by li young lee is about the care and tenderness that his father gave him. Breaking the alabaster jar contains new insights on liyoung lees aesthetics, history, and various philosophies. The poem strings together lees search for his identity as a chineseamerican, and the origin and value of the indigo. It is a fourstanza, freeverse poem written from the point of view of an adult looking back on his adolescence or late childhood and, like many of the collections poems, reflects on lees complex relationship with his parents and his past. In the beginning of the poem a story by liyoung lee, we are introduced to the complex relationship between father and son. The seed that the father plants in his sons hand is the gift of healing with tenderness.
His parents were chinese, and his father, lee kuo yuan, had been mao zedongs personal physician. In liyoung lees the hammock, lee uses plot and imagery to illustrate to the audience how one lives ones life between the unknowns, all we know is what is right in front of us. The poem is written in free verse that allows the poet to express his thoughts which run a long a chosen line, freely. This proposes the idea that lees father may have had a great impact on lees life.
The father worries that he has exhausted his supply of interesting stories and frantically pines for something, anything that will keep his son interested. His family members included some who were influential to chinese politics in the 20th century. Between 1959 and 1964 the lee family traveled throughout hong kong, macau and japan, until arriving in america. His other work includes breaking the alabaster jar, a collection of twelve. The tone of a poem is the speakers attitude toward the subject and the reader. Early in the morning by liyoung lee poetry foundation. Liyoung lee was born in 1957 in jakarta, indonesia, of chinese parents. We are introduced to this complexity at the beginning of the poem through the authors use of devices such as pointofview when the author uses italics to signify a conve. In liyoung lees poem, the gift, the speaker describes a. I cant remember the tale, but hear his voice still, a well. This father was not only a loving, caring dad, but, more than that, he was a true gift in the life of his son.
What are three literary elements used in the gift by liyoung lee. A story by liyoung lee presents an affectionate relationship between a father and his son, both of them searching for the right words to say to one another. Maffey 1h 68 25 april 20 reader response my indigo my indigo is a featured poem from liyoung lees 1993 book rose. In the gift by liyoung lee, the author uses point of view, rhythm, and metaphor to create a sad mood and keep us interested. Liyoung lees first poetry collection, rose, won the new york universitys 1986. Post jobs, find pros, and collaborate commissionfree in our professional marketplace.
The speaker knew annabel lee many years ago, when she was a girl, and they both lived in a kingdom by the sea. The gift by li young lee by chandler wright on prezi. Values are caught, not taught sonya scott college the poetry of liyoung lee. After kindness, the dominant feature of this poem is the theme of hope. An ordinary moment, the removal of a splinter, is used to exemplify the give and take, the wonder and harshness of that relationship. Luckily, lees father carefully removes the metal shard from lees hand. There is a little boy who one day gets a metal splinter in his palm. Lee s the hammock begins with the narrator reflecting back upon how his mother acted when he was a little.
An analysis of the poem a story by liyoung lee kibin. Poem analysis li young lee li young lee li young lee. Imagine the painfulness of a splinter in ones hand. And i recall his hands, two measures of tenderness he laid against my face, the flames of. Lees father, who was a personal physician to mao zedong while in china, relocated his family to indonesia, where he helped found gamaliel. From the speaker to have been the little boy in the story, to the way he spoke out to us in his tone of voice, to just the phrases he used to touch us deep down in the heart and knowing that he was almost killed by. The speaker is liyoung lee himself, who immigrated to the united states from china as a small boy. Sparknotes bookrags the meaning summary overview critique of explanation pinkmonkey.
Lee seems to be recalling a memory from his youth when he had a splinter in his hand. The poet li young lee describes his experience as a child. I did what a child does when he is given something to keep, i kissed my father. The gift analysis liyoung lee characters archetypes. I think what the gift is, is the wisdom his father has. Among several poems in the handout our instructor gave to us, this poem attracted me the most. His language and choice of words, also known as diction, evokes certain feelings in the reader. My wife marina and i discussed it and argued a great deal. Li young lee, a famous american poet, was born on august 19. In the foreword to liyoung lees first book, rose boa editions, 1986, gerald stern wrote, what characterizes liyoung lees poetry is a certain kind of humility, a kind of cunning, a love of plain speech, a search for wisdom and understanding.
Lees great grandfather was the first president of the republic of china, and lees father had been the personal physician to mao zedong. His father gets the splinter out for the boy, and calms him down by telling him a tale in a soft and gentle voice. This persuasive essay offers an astute, ontarget analysis of liyoung lees poem and its touching father son relationship. The gift to pull the metal splinter from my palm my father recited a story in a low voice.
An extended analysis of a story by li young lee ap. The background is a print called lucky life done by liyoung lees brother li lin lee. Join now log in home literature essays the poetry of liyoung lee the poetry of liyoung lee essays the gift and my papas waltz. The father desperately wants to tell his son a story but cannot come up with one. Liyoung lees books of poetry include rose 1986, winner of the delmore schwartz memorial poetry award. The speaker of the poem is remembering his longlost love, annabel lee. Get all the lyrics to songs by liyoung lee and join the genius community of music scholars to learn the meaning behind the lyrics. Sophie haroutuniangordon, a professor at northwestern university, observes high school juniors in their interpretive discussion of the gift, a poem by liyoung lee. Rose has gone on to sell more than eighty thousand copies, and.
Book of my nights 2001, which won the william carlos williams award. His greatgrandfather was yuan shikai, chinas first republican president, who attempted to make himself emperor. The writer conveys this attitude using particular language and writing style. The gift of this poem is the gift of kindness and of hope. The city in which i love you 1990, which was a lamont poetry selection. Both of lees parents came from powerful chinese families. The poem composed by liyoung lee was published in his first poetry collection, rose 1986.
After watching his lecture poem reading at the 2014 caesar and patricia tabet poetry reading at the university of dominican, i understood the beauty through poetry is. The poetry of liyoung lee essays are academic essays for citation. An action that interrupts to show what happened at an earlier time. Like many of lees poems in rose such as persimmons see this database, this poem tenderly recreates the complex relationship between father and son. What are three literary elements used in the gift by li. The poet liyoung lee was born into history and suffering in 1957. Liyoung lee was born in djakarta, indonesia in 1957 to chinese political exiles. Interpretive discussion of the gift, a poem by liyoung lee. Celebrating prezi s teacher community for teacher appreciation week. In the poem when he says you he is talking to the audience which once again seems to be anyone.
Liyoung lees persimmons presents a secondgeneration asian americans quiet analysis of his own experience between two cultures. In 1959 his father, after spending a year as a political prisoner in president sukarnos jails, fled indonesia with his family. In the poem a story by poet liyounglee, he uses the third person point of view and structure of the poem to define the complex relationship of a son and his father. The sliver of metal was an ore going deep for my heart. Both the speakers in the gift by liyoung lee and my papas waltz by theodore roethke look up to their fathers. He used many of his poems as a way to pass on stories. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the poetry of liyoung lee. I also think that hes giving him the gift of transition from a child to adulthood. Analysis, central idea and theme of the gift by liyoung lee. But what i really dont understand is, what is this death they talk about. The gift by liyoung lee one thing i notice about lee in most of his poetry is his mention of his parents, predominantly his father. His maternal greatgrandfather was yuan shikai, chinas first republican president, who attempted to make himself emperor. Lees father, who was a personal physician to mao zedong while in china, relocated his family to indonesia, where he helped.
The poem is a relation between liyoung lee, and the history of the indigo also known as indigofera tinctoria. Liyoung lee is remarkable for his ability to put pain and love in the palm of hand. The gift liyoung lee analysis help from what i know, the poem is about the relationship between a son and his father. The poem the gift is not really about a physical gift, but rather a metaphorical gift. Sad is the man who is asked for a story and cant come up with one. Lucky life, 1990color woodcut on silk mounted on rag paper3014 x 2914, edition 35 back to. His the gift is one of the best positive fatherson relationship poems that exists in the english language. Breaking the alabaster jar is an invaluable companion to liyoung lees previous awardwinning poetry collections. Poets intimate stanzas explore grief and salvation. Liyoung lee questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on liyoung lee. He was born in jakarta, indonesia, to chinese parents. I cant remember the tale, but hear his voice still, a.
The speaker returns with gentle persistence throughout to two words, persimmon and precision, and by poems end, these two words resonate with representative significance for a son who has managed to recover specific values from his fading heritage. Due to his dramatic childhood, lees poems often focus on the themes of alienation and identity. The 2014 caesar and patricia tabet poetry reading liyoung lee. A story analysis in the poem a story by liyoung lee, the complex relationship between a father and son is portrayed. Learn to improve your english communications, grammar, public speaking, and more by renowned english instructor and youtuber. The structure of the poem, the point of view of both the father and son, and the use of metaphor. The gift analysis li young lee characters archetypes. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Understanding the gift by liyoung lee sixminutescholar. A clear opening sets up the argument by observing that the poems speaker employs emotional appeals as well as strategic literary devices to emphasize the differing perspectives that exist between father and son.