External Form #4: "[l(a]" by e.e. cummings can be found on page 1042 of the Norton.
Click here to reference the poem that I am referring to. It's different than the one in the Norton.
I have actually wanted to discuss this poem since we read it in class earlier this year. I found so many things within it interesting.
I think the most obvious place to begin is cumming's separation of the words "lonliness" and "a leaf falls" as the basis of the poem. The poem seems to be mainly about just that--lonliness. Cummings is comparing a leaf falling from a tree to lonliness, which, I believe, is quite a valid metaphor. The image of a single leaf falling from a tree in the fall gives a feeling of lonlieness and emptiness.
However, Cummings seems to go even deeper into the subject of lonliness. In the Norton, the spacing of the lines is different than the other forms I found online. Cummings begins by separating the word lonliness from the beginning to the end of the poem. He is conveying that lonliness is separation and that it's both physical and mental. While we may feel mentally lonely (as represented in the metaphor of the leaf falling) we can also be physically lonely as represented by the spacing of the word.
Also, I am not sure if this is too far fetched, but the letters "la" and "le", the first two lines of the poem, are the feminine and masculine forms of the word "the" in French. In putting such a large gap between the two, he may be suggesting the separation of men and women. Further complicating the idea of lonliness. He is saying that without a companion or lover, humans feel the ultimate separation and lonliness.
Finally, right in the middle of the poem Cummings touches on the major theme of this poem. The 5th line is simply two lowercase L's next to each other: "ll". These L's can be looked at as "ones" when they are viewed as a single line in a poem. In putting them together, Cummings is saying that in the middle of lonliness, that the root of lonliness is one on one contact. Humans simply want one person to attach to and then lonliness is demolished. This can be further supported by his putting the letters O, N, and E on a line together spelling out the word "one." This seems intentional because it is one of the only lines with more than two letters on it.
Overall, I think Cummings has presented a complicated an deep poem as simple to fool us into thinking he has overlooked something. Yet, I think he planned it out to a "T" and was pushing us to look deeper for a meaning.
Click here to reference the poem that I am referring to. It's different than the one in the Norton.
I have actually wanted to discuss this poem since we read it in class earlier this year. I found so many things within it interesting.
I think the most obvious place to begin is cumming's separation of the words "lonliness" and "a leaf falls" as the basis of the poem. The poem seems to be mainly about just that--lonliness. Cummings is comparing a leaf falling from a tree to lonliness, which, I believe, is quite a valid metaphor. The image of a single leaf falling from a tree in the fall gives a feeling of lonlieness and emptiness.
However, Cummings seems to go even deeper into the subject of lonliness. In the Norton, the spacing of the lines is different than the other forms I found online. Cummings begins by separating the word lonliness from the beginning to the end of the poem. He is conveying that lonliness is separation and that it's both physical and mental. While we may feel mentally lonely (as represented in the metaphor of the leaf falling) we can also be physically lonely as represented by the spacing of the word.
Also, I am not sure if this is too far fetched, but the letters "la" and "le", the first two lines of the poem, are the feminine and masculine forms of the word "the" in French. In putting such a large gap between the two, he may be suggesting the separation of men and women. Further complicating the idea of lonliness. He is saying that without a companion or lover, humans feel the ultimate separation and lonliness.
Finally, right in the middle of the poem Cummings touches on the major theme of this poem. The 5th line is simply two lowercase L's next to each other: "ll". These L's can be looked at as "ones" when they are viewed as a single line in a poem. In putting them together, Cummings is saying that in the middle of lonliness, that the root of lonliness is one on one contact. Humans simply want one person to attach to and then lonliness is demolished. This can be further supported by his putting the letters O, N, and E on a line together spelling out the word "one." This seems intentional because it is one of the only lines with more than two letters on it.
Overall, I think Cummings has presented a complicated an deep poem as simple to fool us into thinking he has overlooked something. Yet, I think he planned it out to a "T" and was pushing us to look deeper for a meaning.
No comments:
Post a Comment