Edward Estlin Cummings, better known as E.E. Cummings was an American poet whose experimentation lead to innovative, unique pieces of literature. Involving “language of the streets” as well as “eccentric punctuation and phrases” allowed him to develop his own personal style which differed greatly from the traditional style of poetry (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica 1).
Known for his concise and sparing works of literature, Cummings’ recognizable style is displayed in his works not only in the way he uses the form but also in the way he uses words, odd grammar and punctuation, which differentiate his work from traditional poetry. Cummings created his own set of rules for the way literature should be written and his poem “l(a)” is no
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On the surface, it appears letters were randomly put there in no particular order. The only complete word that is in “l(a)” is the word “one”; it is often thought that one is the loneliest number. Cummings was able to include several references to solidify this message of loneliness in “l(a)” in a well executed manner. To describe and analyze the “aesthetic use of language,” E.E. Cummings’ work offers an “irresistible challenge” one which many have had much difficulty to replicate the “violence to language with such unerring poetic success” (Cureton 213).
Cummings did not want his work to simply be viewed as words on a page, his desire was to construct literature in a way such that it was visually appealing on the page itself. His belief that literature, especially poetry, was to be considered an art for the eyes, not just the mind. He constructed his work in a way to allow the eyes of the reader to easily and fluently move along the poem. Cummings manipulates words and phrases to create “aesthetic use of language.” (Cureton 213).
The poem “l(a)”, was written in a particular form so that there is a hidden image that complements its words. When looking at the surface of the poem, it appears as though he has merely broken up the words, but the
This is a poem that problematizes ‘language’. “Language plays an altogether fundamental role in human thinking, and it bestows on man his unique ability
11. A poet can work its magic on the reader by “choice of images, music of the language, idea content, and cleverness of wordplay” (Foster 17).
The poem “since feeling is first” is written by E.E Cummings in a stanza form with a total number of 16 lines. The sentences carry no more than nine words and no less than four words. It is about a man expressing his love to his beloved women. Cummings use of literary devices such as; metaphor, personification, imagery and denotation to express his feelings. “Since feeling is first” is a romantic poem that teaches a lesson about life. Its use of literary devices make the poem appealing to the readers.
The way EE Cummings wrote his poetry is the main reason why he was such a unique poet. In almost all his poems, he talked about the topic of love and lust, but not in an ordinary manner. He used so much emotion and detail in his poems; it would create images in the reader’s head. When he talked about lust, it was very explicit yet beautiful, leaving a mark on the reader. All of these things made his poems very effective, grabbing the reader’s attention and sucking them right in. In conclusion, Cummings’ approach of writing made his poetry very evocative. Another reason why his poetry was extraordinary was because of his unusual grammar and errors. He revised grammatical and linguistic rules to suit
“Champychumpchomps” and “gay-be-gay”....How did someone get paid for this? Apparently E.E. Cummings did- born in Massachusetts in 1894, he began writing poems as a child and became a well known “poet” for his unusual writing style. This brings us to the question, how did E.E. Cummings use visuals and hearing to create meaning. Not only will you have to read these poems, but also have your ears ready.
E.E. Cummings is known for his unique use of diction, using nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs as nouns. What examples can you find in this poem? In the poem, “[i carry you in my heart(i carry it in]” cummings followed a nontraditional form of writing when creating his own “grammar rules” with punctuation, capitalization, spacing and pacing. I think that the main purpose of this and his reasoning behind it to diversify the meaning and generality of his poem. I think he was trying to be unique, and different while applying his own individual creativity through writing. For example, he uses a unique form of diction in stanza one when he says, “and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling.” Normally, this would not be worded the way it is, the sentence structure would be stronger and would flow better, however cummings still was able to apply meaning to that line by saying that everything he is and everything he has is because of his love. He also uses nouns in a distinctive way. For instance, he says in stanza three, “which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide.” Soul in this cause would already be considered a noun, however, he is rather using it more of a possession of his own. Cummings has a weird way of placing things within this poem. In most poems, everything is aligned to the left and follows down to the next line but in this poem the start of the second stanza, “i fear” is aligned all the way to the right. I think the purpose of this is to emphasize the fear, he is describing how strong his love is for this person but with love comes fear. By using these different forms of language and his uniqueness of grammar he was able to be different and find a new way for the reader to understand the power within his
Edward Estlin Cummings, better known as E.E. Cummings, was a 20th century modernist poet who experimented with form punctuation, spelling and syntax. He often wrote in sonnet and fee verse about nature, death, love and human experience. In his poems “anyone lived in a pretty how town” and “old age sticks” Cummings exemplifies imagery through unusual syntax and typography to convert the themes of his poems. The poem “anyone lived in a pretty how town” is a love story about two people who were very much different from the rest of the town.
Edward Estlin Cummings, commonly referred to as E. E. Cummings, was born on October 14, 1894 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was a source of vast knowledge and was responsible for many creative works other than his poetry, such as novels, plays, and paintings. He published his first book of poetry Tulips and Chimneys in 1923. Many of his poems are known for the visual effects they create through his unusual placement of words on the page, as well as, his lack of punctuation and capitalization. The manner in which Cummings arranges the words of his poems creates an image in the reader's mind of the topic he is discussing, such as a season or climbing stairs. His visual style also
“ To destroy is always the first step in any creation”. Cummings was an artist and a poet. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Had went to Harvard University and then joined a world war. Eventually he died in 1962. E.E cummings creates meaning by using visual and hearing techniques. He creates meaning in his poetry by using visual and auditory techniques.
In this stylistic analysis of the lost baby poem written by Lucille Clifton I will deal mainly with two aspects of stylistic: derivation and parallelism features present in the poem. However I will first give a general interpretation of the poem to link more easily the stylistic features with the meaning of the poem itself.
Cummings” pg.13). Cummings continued to publish volumes of poetry at a rate of approximately one every four or five years (“E.E. Cummings pg.14). The last honor involved giving a series of public talks; published as i: six Nonlecture (1953), they provide a succinct and charming summation of his life and personal philosophy. Two years later he received a National Book Award citation for poems 1923-1954, and two years after that he won the prestigious bollingen prize in poetry from Yale University (“E.E. Cummings” pg.15). (In his poetry he often ignored the rules of capitalization and has sometimes been referred to as e.e. Cummings) expanded the boundaries of poetry through typographic and linguistic experimentation (Frazee, “E.E. Cummings). An avoidance of capital letters and creative placement of punctuation soon became his trademarks. His experimental poetry took many forms, some amusing, some satirical, some beautiful, some profound, and some which did not make much sense (Frazee “E.E. Cummings”). Typical stylistic devices in his work include: running words together; scattering punctuation symbols cross the page; subverting the conventions of the English sentence; intentional misspellings and phonetic spellings and the invention of compound words such as “puddle-wonderful” (“E.E. Cummings”). However, this obvious experimentation is often combined with strict formal structures and traditional
E. E. Cummings, an author known for his various poems and other forms of artwork, wrote numerous works of poetry over a vast amount of subjects. While the subject matter of the poems differ, a few elements of Cummings' style stays the same in virtually all his poems, some of which is important and some of which is not. The fact that Cummings uses enjambment in his poetry is a stylistic trademark that however annoying its use may be is consistent. Other stylistic trademarks of Cummings' poetry are that Cummings has a control over the tone of each of his poems and that each of his poems has its theme located near the end of the poem. While these traits that may not be highlighted in most of the analysis of his poems, each does occur quite
Cummings’ impressive education consists of a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Harvard, in which he graduated near the top of his class. He submitted many of his poems to the newspaper at Harvard, which sparked his interest towards a career as a poet. When his first poem was published, the publisher left all the letters of E.E. Cummings’ name lowercase. Cummings soon adopted this as his own personal trademark. The style of Cummings’ writing was what made his poems so distinctive. No matter what the topic, he always incorporated a lyrical flow to the poem. Cummings “experimented with typography, slang, dialect, jazz rhymes, and jagged lines” (Anderson et al). By exploring the possibilities of poetry, Cummings was able to create poems that have a beat that corresponds with the tone, mood, and theme of the poem.
In E.E Cummings’ poem, in Just, the use of various language devises such as euphony, oxymoron, and an allusion, contributes to the theme of the arrival of spring brings the awakening of beautiful life and joy, along with mystery. The advent of spring leads the world to be “puddle-wonderful” (line 10). Euphony in these calm and bright words contributes to the mood of newness and wonder brought by spring. By deploying words that are pleasing to the ear, Cummings encourages the reader to feel the life and joy brought by spring. Additionally, the oxymoron of a “world [that] is mud-luscious” leaves the reader confused and left with a sense of mystery (line 2-3).
Pound was showing influence from the fourteenth-century Italian poets such as Guido Cavalcanti. In their works that follow their time in Europe, both Eliot and Pound display a hybridization of English and French and Italian ideas. Cummings began to imitate French Modernist poets Guillaume Apollinaire and Stephane Mallarmé. He also adopted an aesthetic based on the manifestos of French Surrealists and Dadaists, who "detached literature from referential meaning and linked it to experimental play" (McQuade 1235). Such experimental play is seen in Cummings' poem "[she being brand]" in which the creatively formed words and syntax give the image of a young man's thoughts, feelings, and actions upon driving his new car: "again slo-wly; bare,ly nudg. ing" (Cummings 15). The use of punctuation gives a vivid image of his thoughts as he carefully puts the stiff transmission into gear. Into another Cummings poem, "[in Just-]," we see more experimental play with the words to create the impression of the way excited children talk: "and eddieandbill come running from marbles and piracies and its spring" (Cummings 6).