the poetry of elizabeth e cummings essay
E. E. Cummings, who was created in 1894 and died in 62, wrote various
poetry with unconventional punctuation and capitalization, and unusual
line, expression, and even letter placements namely, ideograms. Cummings
hardest form of writing is probably the ideogram, it is extremely
terse and it combines both visual and auditory elements. There could be
noises or characters on the web page that can not be verbalized or cannot
convey precisely the same message if pronounced rather than read. Several of Cummings
poetry l(a, mortals),! blac, and swi( demonstrate the ideogram form
quite well. Cummings utilizes exceptional syntax in these poems to be able to
express messages aesthetically as well as by speaking.
Although you can think of l(a as a poem of misery and
loneliness, Cummings probably did not intend that. This poem is about
identity oneness (Kid 200-1). The theme of oneness can be
derived from the numerous inezces and forms of the phone number 1
throughout the poem. First, l(a contains both the number 1 and the
novel indefinite content, a, the second line contains the French
singular particular article, votre, ll on the fifth line represents two
ones, one for the 7th collection spells the phone number out, the 8th line, l
isolates the amount, and iness, the last range, can mean the state
penalized I that may be, individuality or oneness, deriving the
one from the lowercase roman numeral i (200). Cummings could have
simplified this poem drastically (a tea leaf falls: /loneliness), and
still communicated the same verbal message, but he provides altered the normal
syntax in order that each line ought to show a single and highlight the
theme of oneness. In fact , the complete poem can be shaped like a 1 (200).
The design of the poem can also be seen as the path of your falling tea leaf
the poem drifts down, flipping and modifying pairs of letters such as a
slipping leaf gliding, back and forth, into the ground. The
commencing l(a changes to le, and af flips to fa. ll
indicates a fast drop from the leaf, containing slowed by a longer collection
1. Finally, the leaf comes into the stack of dropped leaves for the
earth, represented by simply iness. Cummings has written this composition so
perfectly that every part of that conveys the message of oneness and
style (200).
In mortals), Cummings vitalizes a trapeze do something about paper. Strangely
enough, this poem, too, strains the idea of individualism, or
eachness, as it is explained on line 4. Lines a couple of and 5, climbi and
begi, both end leaving the letter i exposed. This is a sign that
Cummings is trying to emphasize the concept of self-importance (Tri
36). This composition is an amusing one, as it shows the effects of a trapeze
act inside the arrangement from the words. Online 10, the area in the
word open ing shows the act beginning, and the empty, stationary
moment before it has fully started. of rates of and, meet, lines 8
and 12 respectively, demonstrate a sort of back-and-forth motion, much like
that of the motion of your trapeze swinging. Lines 12 through 12-15 show the
final hop off the trapeze, and a/n/d on lines 17 through 19
represent the deserted trapeze, after the acrobats have dismounted.
Finally, (im around the last line should bring the readers sight back to
the top from the poem, where he finds mortals). Placing (im at the
end with the poem shows that the performers attain a unique type of
immortality intended for risking their lives to make a show of splendor, they
attain a particular type of growing old (36-7). The circularity with the
composition causes a sensation of wholeness or perhaps completeness, and might represent
the Group of friends of Life, eternal action (Fri 26).
Cummings first tightly drafted ideogram was! blac, an extremely
interesting poem. It starts with!, which usually seems to be saying
something deserving that affirmation point happened anterior towards the
poem, and the poem is trying objectively to describe selected feelings
resulting from!. dark-colored against white-colored is an example of such a
explanation in the composition, the clashing colors make a feeling in sync
with!. Also, why (whi) suggests amusement and wonder, another
feeling resulting from! (Weg 145). Cummings had written a notification
relating to! blac to Robert Wenger, author in the Poetry and Prose of
Electronic. E. Cummings (see Works Cited). In it, this individual wrote, for me, this poem
means just what this says… as well as the! which commences the composition is what
could be called and emphatic (=very). This composition is also issues the
cycle of birth, existence, death, and renewal. This is derived from the.
preceding the last letter. This demonstrates even though the poem is
finished, the circle of life is certainly not, and is ever cycling (Weg 144).
Through the poems shape,! blac also reveals a leaf fluttering for the
floor. The lines spacing syncs the speed with the reading with
regarding the leaf at different points in its fall. Using its capital
Is, IrlI also implies a tea leaf falling downward before that
visits the ground (147). Reading this composition, one may know the lone
intervalle on line 12. The poet person writes regarding the atmosphere and a tree, then a
comma intrudes, which makes the reader pause, and realize the modern
consciousness that the intervalle indicated regarding a falling leaf (145).
Lines 1 through 6 can also be very important to the poem. Though black
against white may be mentioning the color of the falling tea leaf in
contrast to the bright heavens, it is not incorrect to suppose it means even more.
Mentioned previously above, the poems motif is the routine of life, and dark-colored
against white could be indicating lifestyle death versus life. That shows
that though a tea leaf falling may be an indication of death, falling
of leaves is usually an integral part of the complete life routine of the woods
(146).! blac may seem just like a simple mess of phrases, but in the truth is
much more complex than that.
swi( is another poem of Cummings ideogram type. The essence of
this poem is viewing a birds swift air travel past the sunlight, and the question
with this experience. The poem largely tries to encourage the reader of
the difference between pregnancy, what one sees, and perception, what
1 knows he can seeing (Mar 105). The first collection, swi( shows that
the item the poet sees is usually moving thus rapdly that before he completely
utters his first phrase, he must identify the object, which it is
passing just before another thing the sun. His use of just primary
descriptives, just like speed, way, color, and shape indicates
that he is trying to describe the bird as soon as possible. The way
he talks, in terse syllables that lack syntactical relationship to
one another, imitate one who tries to speak before he knows exactly
what he would like to say, it is another indicator of how quickly the
object is definitely moving (106). a-motion-upo-nmotio-n/Less?, the 6th line
is usually signifying that although the poet person knows that both objects are
going, ones action causes the other to seem still (106). The g, at
the end of the poem is definitely showing any time the poet person has finally named
the item he saw, he quickly loses interest and prevents, as composing
more to further organize his thoughts would be unnecessary (106). The
different words from this poem are extremely important. against contrasts
with around, and indicates a cease. It seems that the poet really wants to
quit the object to be able to describe this. But a stopping of motion
would contradict swi/ftly, and so Cummings made a decision to refer to the speed
normal of the two, Swi/mming (106). swi( contains less significance
than the other poems being examined, but it is comparable in that the
format adds greatly to the composition.
Cummings distinct method of applying syntax to share hidden
meaning is incredibly effective. Someone does not simply read and
neglect Cummings ideas, instead, he must figure out the hidden which means
him self. In doing this, this individual feels satisfaction, and thus maintains the
poems idea for a more extended period of time. Cummings ideogram
poems are questions waiting to be solved.
Functions Cited
Friedman, Norman. Electronic. E. Cummings: A Collection of Critical
Works. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 72.
Kidder, Rushworth M. E. E. Cummings: An Introduction towards the
Poems. New York: Columbia University
Press, 1979.
Signifies, Barry A. E. E. Cummings. Ny: Twayne Marketers
Incorporation., 1964.
Triem, Eve. At the. E. Cummings. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota
Press, 1969.
Wegner, Robert E. The Poetry and Writing of At the. E. Cummings. New
York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1965.
