I Ask My Mother to Sing

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1986

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Form and Meter

“I Ask My Mother to Sing” features neither an identifiable rhyme scheme nor a constant meter. This means the poem is an example of free verse. However, the “free” in “free verse” is misleading. While Lee is free to implement his own structure and meter, he nonetheless creates a tight and orderly poem. The first three stanzas are quatrains and the last stanza is a couplet. The tidy layout of the poem reflects the controlled tone. Lee’s precision is displayed in the tone and in the form and the meter, with most lines somewhere between seven to 13 syllables.

Although Lee’s poem is free verse, it doesn’t look all that different from a sonnet. Like “I Ask My Mother to Sing,” a sonnet contains 14 lines, with three quatrains and a concluding couplet. Sonnets possess an abab cdcd efef gg rhyme scheme and follow iambic pentameter. Lee’s poem doesn’t rhyme and doesn’t adhere to iambic pentameter; yet, still, it doesn’t look all that different from a sonnet. The proximity and distance of the poem’s form relate to the poem’s complex idea of memories. Lee is close to the sonnet and to China while, at the same time, far away from both. The nod to the sonnet also reflects Lee’s aim to situate himself within the Western canon and to compete with canonized poets, like John Keats and Rainer Maria Rilke, who wrote formal sonnets.

Narrative Voice

Lee’s poem tells a story. There are characters: the mom, the grandma, the dad, and the speaker himself. With the inclusion of Peking and the Summer Palace, there’s a specific setting. The narrator (speaker) of the story is Lee. The reader hears his voice and depends on him to guide them through the poem. The voice is simple and serene. While the women display emotion and the picnickers get caught in the rain, the speaker remains separate from the action. The speaker pares down his emotions, and the images occupy the spotlight.

The reserved narrative voice speaks to the uncertainty of the speaker. As the speaker was dislodged from his country of origin, he’s in a vulnerable position. Unlike his mom, grandma, and dad, the speaker lacks immediate experiences with China. The speaker is alienated from China and the singing. In both cases, the speaker is a witness. He speculatively sees the scenes in the Summer Palace and he quietly listens to the singing of his mom and grandma. Perhaps the stoic quality of the narrative voice belies the speaker’s unresolved, inchoate feelings about his displacement and his homeland.

Repetition

Repetition bolsters the unity and deliberateness of Lee’s poem. The first line matches up to the second-to-last line. Line 1 contains the word “begins.” Line 13 features the word “begun.” The end brings the reader back to the beginning, which creates continuity.

The reoccurrence of the boat reinforces the father’s link to China. In Line 4, Lee compares his dad’s movements to a boat. In Line 6, Lee explains that he hasn’t had the opportunity to visit the Summer Palace and stand on “the great Stone Boat” in the complex. Lee’s dad is not alive, and Lee is not in China, so the repetition of the boat helps drive home the theme of China, alienation, and loss. Lee doesn’t have his dad or the memory of setting foot on the Stone Boat. Like China, Lee’s dad can only be brought forth by his imagination.

In the third stanza, repetition occurs on multiple fronts. Lee uses the word “fill” in Lines 9 and 12, and he uses water twice in Line 13. The repetition reinforces the fullness of the rain and the satisfaction that the singing brings the speaker. The repetition in the third stanza also helps the speaker maintain his placid voice. Whatever the speaker is feeling, it can be offloaded onto the waterlilies, which are, as the repetition indicates, feeling an awful lot of rain and water.