Randall

E.E. Cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, popularly known as E.E. Cummings, was not only an American poet but also a painter, essayist, author, and playwright – as well as one of the most popular poets of his time. His name was often written by others in the style of his poems, lowercase letters and no periods as “e e cummings”. It has been questioned as to whether he did this out of humility or to echo the unconventional orthography of his writing. His body of work was very expansive, encompassing almost 3,000 poems, two autobiographical novels, four plays, a few essays, and drawings and paintings. From his work, Cummings is remembered as a preeminent voice of 20th century poetry. His first poem came to be when he was only three years old: //“Oh little birdie oh oh oh, With your toe toe toe.”// Cummings loved his childhood in Cambridge to such an extent that he was inspired to write one of his most famous poems, “In Just-“. Many of the poet’s other poems took his father’s pastoral background in order to preach – such as in “you shall above all things be glad and young”. At Harvard, Cummings studied Greek and other languages. Here, he was exposed to the writing and artistry of Ezra Pound, who was a great influence on Cummings. After graduating, Cummings and friend William Slater Brown were sent to a concentration camp in France after Brown was arrested for writing incriminating letters home. They were only released due to the persuasion of Cummings’ pastor father. Cummings’ experience very much impacted his writing, influencing one of his autobiographical novels. Only a few months after returning to the states, the poet was drafted to the war. Soon after his service, Cummings met his first Wife, Elaine Orr – which ended in a complicated divorce after his wife had an affair. While Cummings was publishing many new works – “Is 5” specifically – his father was abruptly killed and his mother was seriously injured in a car accident. His mother, inspired by her children to continue living, unexpectedly survived a fracture skull. Following his father’s death, Cummings entered a new poetic period in which he focused on the more important facets of life. He paid tribute to his father and coped with the death by celebrating the life and love of his father in his poem, “my father moved through dooms of love”. Between his father’s death and 1932, Cummings published works that failed and succeeded as well as marrying and divorcing Anne Barton. 1932 is also the year that the poet would meet the woman he would spend the rest of his life with, Marion Morehouse – with whom it is uncertain if they ever even officially exchanged vows but lived with as husband and wife. Traveling the world with his wife, Cummings published eight more works – including anti-war poems protesting America’s involvement in Europe and the Pacific. He then took a break from writing when his mother’s health quickly deteriorated and she eventually died. At her funeral, Cummings read his poem “if there are any heavens”. It was obvious from this poem that he felt a sense of closure knowing that his mother and father were finally together again and watching over him once more. Fifteen years after the death of his mother, Cummings collapsed from a cerebral hemorrhage and passed away. After his death, several more volumes of verse were published in his name – leaving behind over 25 books of prose, poetry, drawings, plays and stories. Cummings’ successful career was accomplished in a mere sixty-eight years of life.
 * October 14, 1894 – September 3, 1962**
 * Cambridge, Massachusetts**

anyone lived in a pretty how town (with up so floating many bells down) spring summer autumn winter he sang his didn't he danced his did
 * “anyone lived in a little how town”**

Women and men(both little and small) cared for anyone not at all they sowed their isn't they reaped their same sun moon stars rain

children guessed(but only a few and down they forgot as up they grew autumn winter spring summer) that noone loved him more by more

when by now and tree by leaf she laughed his joy she cried his grief bird by snow and stir by still anyone's any was all to her

someones married their everyones laughed their cryings and did their dance (sleep wake hope and then)they said their nevers they slept their dream

stars rain sun moon (and only the snow can begin to explain how children are apt to forget to remember with up so floating many bells down)

one day anyone died i guess (and noone stooped to kiss his face) busy folk buried them side by side little by little and was by was

all by all and deep by deep and more by more they dream their sleep noone and anyone earth by april wish by spirit and if by yes.

Women and men(both dong and ding) summer autumn winter spring reaped their sowing and went their came sun moon stars rain

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 * //(Song Adaptation of the Poem)//**

//In this poem, there are two main characters: anyone and no one. Cummings shows their difference by describing actions of “**anyone**” and “**no one**” – male and female lovers, respectively – relative to the conventional townspeople around them. For example, Cummings wrote that anyone “danced his did” and “dream[t] his sleep” while the townspeople “did their dance” and “slept their dream”. The poet contrasts anyone with “someones” and “everyones”. The latter two have no individuality and are unchanging – “they reaped their same”. At the end of the poem, anyone dies. While the townspeople acknowledge the death with burial, only no one grieves and mourns – and is buried with him. The townspeople continue on with their lives as if nothing has changed, season after season, “summer autumn winter spring”. In the end, the takeaway themes of this poem are of life’s routine and significance. Cummings wants people to understand that love and interaction with others are essential parts of life.// //The repetition in this poem shows the progression of time. “spring summer autumn winter” and “sun moon star rain” are written repeatedly, illustrating how the days and seasons continue to roll on. It is also important to notice that Cummings alters these two lines in their order of terms – which is mentioned first continues the progression of time. Along with repetition, Cummings uses an AABC rhyme scheme to establish a rhythm in the poem. It almost seems to represent the natural flow of life.// //In the final stanzas, Cummings uses words like “buried”, “was by was”, and “deep by deep”, which all symbolize death. These words are at the end to complete the cycle of life, which always ends in death. The last stanza is meant to show how people live their life and then die.//


 * [[image:http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42401000/jpg/_42401944_too_heavy.jpg]]

“l(a”**

l(a le af fa ll

s) one l

iness

//Also known as “a leaf falls on loneliness”, this poem’s form is the major influence on its meaning. If you read everything between parentheses, you read “a leaf falls”. The rest is “l” and “oneliness”, which combined reads “loneliness”.// //Other than the letters themselves, the overall form illustrates a falling motion, or even a slimness or termination. The lines formed are long – as well as the letters, “l” and “f”. All of this forms long, fluid lines leading down to the bottom, or end. Almost everyone is familiar with falling leaves and the poignant nature that the vision can create. Cummings takes the words “a leaf falls loneliness” – or “loneliness a leaf falls”, dependent on how you read the form – and shows a downward fluidity that is affecting in and of itself. The parentheses are inclusive, isolating “loneliness” from “a leaf falls”. With the title, “l(a”, separation and alienation is illustrated again. A boundary, in a sense, is set up between the two letters. The illustration of the falling leaf, traveling downward to the ground, is almost indicative of facing one’s ultimate fate – death, a separation of one from its home and companions by fate.//

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling) i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you
 * “i carry your heart with me”**

here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

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//Oftentimes Cummings’ poems celebrate love, sex, and romance. This poem is no exception. He repeatedly mentions carrying her heart with him, both at the beginning and end in order to emphasize just how much he cares for her. This poem stresses the importance of love, that as long as one has someone to love it doesn’t matter if the lovers are apart. The soul and mind grow higher than they can with anything else when one’s fate is entwined with another.// //He uses metaphorical statements to compare the girl’s beauty to the world, the moon, and the sun – all of which are considered majestic and the epitome of beauty. Even the sun cannot help but sing the praises of this girl, as she is so valued by him that he feels that everyone and everything else sees her in the same way.//


 * “in Just-”**

spring when the world is mud- luscious the little lame baloonman

whistles far and wee

and eddyandbill come running from marbles and piracies and it's spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer old baloonman whistles far and wee and bettyandisbel come dancing

from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it's spring and the goat-footed

baloonMan whistles far and wee

//This poem follows Cummings’ typical style - incorporating intentional misspellings, run-on words, and phonetic spellings intended to represent particular dialects. In “in Just-” specifically, the poet made use of inventive formations of compound words like “mud-luscious”, “puddle-wonderful”, and “eddieandbill”. Cummings’ rejects the formalities of poetry, including grammar and spacing, like “eddieandbill”. This example shows how a young child would talk; one of Cummings’ strengths is representing a certain voice or perspective from which he is writing, which he accomplishes very well in this poem. The effect here is also to imitate the hustle, bustle, and speed of the children as they come running to the sound of the whistle.// //His style plays particularly well to this poem as well due to its structural elements. Lack of correct punctuation and capitalization also lend a childlike voice to this poem. This poem is really about joyous times in youth rather than love or death, as poets seem most often to write about. Also, the reference to "goat-footed/baloonMan" seems to refer to the mythical creature Pan who was half-goat and half-man. This adds yet another element of childlike idealism.


 * One Black Day**//


 * “a total stranger one black day”**

a total stranger one black day knocked living the hell out of me--

who found forgiveness hard because my(as it happened)self he was

-but now that fiend and i are such immortal friends the other's each

//This poem truly delves into the idea of the dark side of a person. This can be taken one of two ways. While one could interpret this poem as discovering one’s unknown side, another might interpret it as avoiding a true side that one wishes to keep latent. Many take this poem to mean that regardless of how we feel about our darker side that we must learn to come to terms with it. This side will always be a part of who we are, so one must acknowledge both sides so harmony between the two can be achieved. For Cummings, he thought it unwise to ignore the darker side – “ a total stranger” – because if ignored or undiscovered it might overtake you and the side that you know. With the true side of self theory, one might take it as not being able to confront this true self and letting the disconnect between sides take over. As the true self is a secret, this secret can take over – scaring “living the hell” out of a person. If you put on a different face, you are not being true to yourself, either the true side or the two in harmony. While we can’t always be who we want to be, we should deal with the conflict rather than trying to avoid it or become so distressed that we find “forgiveness hard”. This poem ultimately mirrors the love/hate relationship that one can have with oneself when, for instance, one makes an error in an important area of one’s life and must live to regret it. Resolution between this love and hate is essentially necessary in Cummings’ view.//