The German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, once said: “That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.” Li-Young Lee’s poem entitled “A Story” poignantly depicts the complex relationship between a father and his son through the boy’s entreaties for a story. He employs emotional appeals as well as strategic literary devices to emphasize the differing perspectives that exist between father and son. Through shifting points of view, purposeful structure, and meaningful diction, Lee adds depth and emotion to the love shared by the two characters and illuminates a universal theme of present innocence and changing relationships over time.
In the beginning of the poem “A Story” by Li-Young Lee, we are introduced to the complex relationship between father and son. The father desperately wants to tell his son a story but cannot come up with one. This fact is central to …show more content…
But, he really started to get serious about it when he was at University in Pittsburgh, studying under Gerald Stern. And, while his poetry is greatly shaped by Chinese classical poets like Li Bo and Tu Fu, who he first heard being recited by his father, Lee is also said to have been influenced by Keats, Rilke, Roethke, Eliot, et al. His poems are often about personal experiences and memories but, always, showing them as part of a larger, universal pattern. His language is usually simple, but vivid, and often described as lyrical and introspective (“Li-Young Lee, Contemporary Authors…”). This is a sad poem – it even starts with that very word. Yet, as with all Lee’s poems, it is profound in its simplicity, economical imagery and universality. And, it explores several of his favorite themes: childhood, family (particularly, for Lee, the father-son relationship which, as in this poem, recurs in many of his works), memory and
In the beginning of the poem “A Story” by Li-Young Lee, we are introduced to the complex relationship between father and son. The father desperately wants to tell his son a story but cannot come up with one. This fact is central to …show more content…
But, he really started to get serious about it when he was at University in Pittsburgh, studying under Gerald Stern. And, while his poetry is greatly shaped by Chinese classical poets like Li Bo and Tu Fu, who he first heard being recited by his father, Lee is also said to have been influenced by Keats, Rilke, Roethke, Eliot, et al. His poems are often about personal experiences and memories but, always, showing them as part of a larger, universal pattern. His language is usually simple, but vivid, and often described as lyrical and introspective (“Li-Young Lee, Contemporary Authors…”). This is a sad poem – it even starts with that very word. Yet, as with all Lee’s poems, it is profound in its simplicity, economical imagery and universality. And, it explores several of his favorite themes: childhood, family (particularly, for Lee, the father-son relationship which, as in this poem, recurs in many of his works), memory and