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Micah Clark

10/11/17

Continuing Literature

I Beg You, Zhongzi

Poetry is plucking at the heartstrings, and making music with them. - Dennis Gabor.

The unknown author of the poem, I Beg You Zhongzi, thought to be writing from the

perspective of an unmarried girl or widow, shows that this person is going through a battle of her

feelings vs. the feelings of others. The poem, I Beg You, Zhongzi, affects the reader, likely

saddening them by showing this womans struggle.. An aspect of the poem that can be seen that

affects the reader is the different structures the author uses. There are two main structures seen in

this ancient Chinese poem. The first is a dramatic structure, the second a repetitive structure.

Poetics, written by Christina Somerville, defines dramatic structure, as one in which

the poems dominant element is an address by the speaker to a listener. This is seen throughout

this particular work. Every line of I Beg You, Zhongzi, is written as if the author is addressing

a single listener or reader, Zhongzi.

I beg you, Zhongzi,

dont climb over the wall,

dont break my mulberry branches.

Im not worried about my mulberry trees.

Im afraid of my brothers.

I do miss you
 but Im scared

of my brothers words. (Lines 9-16)

This is only the second of three stanzas that complete the poem. The other two stanzas begin

with the very same words, I beg you, Zhongzi. This leads to the next structure seen in this

ancient poem.

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When talking about repetitive structure, Mrs. Somerville says, Some poems are

structured on the principle of repetition, so that the speaker or poet seems to be saying the same

things over and over in different ways. The author of, I beg you, Zhongzi, does this in all

three stanzas of this ancient:

I beg you, Zhongzi,

dont come into my neighborhood,

dont break my willow twigs.

Im not worried about the willow trees,

Im afraid of my parents.

I do miss you

but Im scared

of my parents scolding.

I beg you, Zhongzi,

dont climb over the wall,

dont break my mulberry branches.

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Im not worried about my mulberry trees.

 Im afraid of my brothers.

I do miss you

but Im scared

of my brothers words.

The point of whoever is speaking in this poem is very clear. She misses this man, Zhongzi,

dearly. This is seen through the repeated lines, I do miss you. At the same time, however, she

does not want him anywhere near her because she is scared. This is seen in every stanza but is

said in with different words in each. The author intertwines the two structures wonderfully,

which leads to the last point of this essay.

By using the dramatic and repetitive structures the way that the author did, a reader can

not help but be affected by this poem. By looking at how the perspective of an unmarried girl or

widow is torn between missing this man and being afraid of what would happen, it makes the

reader feel for this tortured soul. By examining the repetition structure, the reader can see that

she is being continuously tortured by her feelings and the feelings of others.

Dennis Gabor says, Poetry is plucking at the heartstrings, and making music with them.

An ancient Chinese poem called, I Beg You, Zhongzi, perfectly fits this quote. Although the

author may not be writing about him or herself, they are writing from the perspective of someone

whose heartstrings are being plucked. By using the dramatic and repetitive structure, the reader

can more easily be affected by this piece of poetry.

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Works Cited:
Barnstone, Tony, and Ping Chou. I Beg You, Zhongzi. The Anchor book of Chinese poetry:

Anchor Books, 2005.

Somerville, Christina. Poetics.