I Ask My Mother to Sing
By Li-Young Lee
She begins, and my grandmother joins her.
Mother and daughter sing like young girls.
If my father were alive, he would play
his accordion and sway like a boat.I’ve never been in Peking, or the Summer Palace,
nor stood on the great Stone Boat to watch
the rain begin on Kuen Ming Lake, the picnickers
running away in the grass.But I love to hear it sung;
how the waterlilies fill with rain until
they overturn, spilling water into water,
then rock back, and fill with more.Both women have begun to cry.
But neither stops her song.
Summary of I Ask My Mother to Sing
- Popularity of “I Ask My Mother to Sing”: Written by Li-Young Lee, a great American poet “I Ask My Mother to Sing” is a lyrical poetic piece. The poem brilliantly catches glimpses of the speaker’s childhood memories to show how the time once passed never returns. It also underpins the bitter realities of life that every moment though excellent or bad, disappears in the blink of an eye. Although the poem signifies the writer’s attachment with his past, yet its universal appeal and relevance to the world have made it won glory for the writer.
- “I Ask My Mother to Sing” As a Representative of Care: This poem is written from a young man’s perspective who recalls the ancient traditions of his family. It begins with a formal request; the speaker asks his mother to sing to relive the moments that have turned into memories. When his mother starts to sing, his grandmother also joins her, and both sing like young girls. Their union reminds him of his late father; the speaker thinks he would have joined the chorus if he were alive.The song of the ladies reminds him of historical places like Perking and Summer Palace. The description shows that the speaker has never visited these places and had never seen how people enjoy life while following their traditions. However, the lasting melody of the ladies lets him enjoy the happiness rain brings to the earth. While recalling these joys in their song, both women began to cry but do not stop singing.
- Major Themes in “I Ask My Mother to Sing”: Respect for one’s traditional values, the transience of life, and the lasting impacts of memories are the major themes of the poem. The poem accounts for the speaker’s feelings for his family; he recalls how every member of his family plays an active role in keeping the family tradition alive. To dive deep into the time that had slipped from his hands, he requests his mother to sing so that he can relive his childhood memories once again. The writer has conveyed a profound message about the instability and shortness of life through this simple text. This simple poem urges the readers to enjoy life to the fullest because time never provides a second chance to adore the moments once passed.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “I Asked My Mother to Sing”
literary devices are used to bring clarity, coherence, and depth to the simple poetic pieces. With the help of these devices, the writers connect the audience with their distinct ideas. The analysis of the devices used in this poem is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ in “they overturn, spilling water into water” and the sound of /o/ in “nor stood on the great Stone Boat to watch.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /r/ in “they overturn, spilling water into water” and the sound of /n/ in “She begins, and my grandmother joins her.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
“I’ve never been in Peking, or the Summer Palace,
nor stood on the great Stone Boat to watch
the rain begin on Kuen Ming Lake, the picnickers
running away in the grass.”
- Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The poet has used situational irony in the ending lines of the poem such as;
“Both women have begun to cry.
But neither stops her song.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Li-Young Lee has used imagery in this poem such as “Both women have begun to cry”, “She begins, and my grandmother joins her” and “I’ve never been in Peking, or the Summer Palace.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different in nature. The poet compares the picnickers with lake in the second stanza of the poem where it is stated as; “the rain begin on Kuen Ming Lake, the picnickers.”
- Simile: It is a device Used to compare something with something else to make the meanings clear to the readers. The writer has compared his father’s dance with boat in the opening stanza of the poem such as
“If my father were alive, he would play
his accordion and sway like a boat.”
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “I Asked My Mother to Sing”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free-verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
- Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here three stanzas are quatrain.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are four stanzas in this poem. The first three are quatrains having four lines while the last stanza contains only two lines.
Quotes to be Used
The lines from the poem “I Asked My Mother to Sing” are useful to use when talking about the people who love to lose themselves in the hands of glorious nature.
“But I love to hear it sung;
how the waterlilies fill with rain until
they overturn, spilling water into water,
then rock back, and fill with mor.”
