Analysis of Li-Young Lee’s Persimmons
The speaker in Li-Young Lee’s poem “Persimmons” has been clearly raised in a bi-lingual, bi-cultural atmosphere. His experiences, although not entirely positive, have helped him grow into the man he is today. By using sensory imagery and “precise” diction along with the informal stanza structure, the speaker shows the reader that, despite his bi-cultural past, he now has realized, thanks to his experiences, that some of the most important things are not “visible” and that he is indeed proud of his ethnicity.
The poem begins with a painful memory from the speaker’s sixth grade classroom where he was slapped on the head and commanded to sit in the corner for not knowing the difference between the two words “persimmon” and “precision.” Immediately the speaker’s attitude is that of confusion.
The next stanza, however, proves that he does in fact know the difference between the two words. The speaker shows his understanding of “precision” in choosing the diction to describe how to choose and eat a persimmon. The words “soft,” “sweet,” “sniff,” “suck,” and “swallow” all alert one’s senses. The alliteration further proves the speaker’s “precision.” The speaker then leaves the reader with a feeling of fulfillment after having explained how to “peel the skin tenderly, not to tear the meat” of the persimmon.
The speaker’s attitude, like the reader’s, is proven here to be that of gratification, too. Although he suffered through rocky situations in the past because of his bi-cultural upbringing, he has proven that he has overcome these experiences by clarifying his present knowledge of the difference between “persimmon” and “precision.”
The next stanza further proves he has overcome his...
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...peaker, is his “bi-cultural” heritage.
The fact that this is the last stanza and the italicized font demonstrate that the speaker has come to an understanding of this realization and that he is okay with it. Even though his “bi-cultural” lifestyle had brought him some hardships in the past, he has overcome them and now appreciates his heritage.
Through the use of “precise” diction, vivid sensory imagery and a natural flowing stanza structure, the speaker in Li-Young Lee’s poem “Persimmons” has literally showed the reader how his attitude has developed over time from confusion, to contentment to deep gratification. The speaker has also helped the reader understand that sometimes in life, the most important things are not things we can “see,” but are rather things we can feel.
WORKS CITED
Lee, Li-Young. “Persimmons.” Rose: Poems. Brockport: BOA, 1986.
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Jiawei Han, Jian Pei, and Yiwen Yin, ’ Mining Frequent Patterns without Candidate Generation’, SIGMOD, 2000.