The Poetry of E. E. Cummings
...quick drop of the leaf, which has slowed by a longer line, 'one'. Finally, the leaf falls into the pile of fallen leaves on the ground, represented by 'iness'. Cummings has written this poem so perfectly that every part of it conveys the message of oneness and individuality (200). In mortals), Cummings vitalizes a trapeze act on paper. Oddly enough, this poem, too, stresses the idea of individualism, or 'eachness', as it is stated on line four. Lines 2 and 4, '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 poem is an amusing one, as it shows the effects of a trapeze act within the arrangement of the words. On line 10, the space in the word 'open ing' indicates the act beginning, and the empty, static moment before it has fully begun. 'of speeds of' and '&meet&', lines 8 and 12 respectively, show a sort of back-and-forth motion, much like that of the motion of a trapeze swinging. Lines 12 through 15 show the final jump off the trapeze, and 'a/n/d' on lines 17 through 19, represent the deserted trapeze, after the acrobats have dismounted. Finally, '(im' on the last line should bring the reader's eyes back to the top of the poem, where he finds 'mortals)'. Placing '(im' at the end of the poem shows that the performers attain a special type of immortality for risking their lives to create a show of beauty, they attain a special type of immortality (36-7). The circularity of the poem causes a feeling of wholeness or completeness, and may represent the Circle of Life, eternal motion (Fri 26). Cummings first tightly written ideogram was !blac, a very interesting poem. It starts with '!', which seems to be saying that something deserving that exclamation point occurred anterior to the poem, and the poem is trying objectively to describe certain feelings resulting from '!'. "black against white" is an example of such a description in the poem; the clashing colors create a feeling in sync with '!'. Also, why "(whi)" suggests amusement and wonder, another feeling resulting from '!' (Weg 145). Cummings had written a letter concerning !blac to Robert Wenger, author of The Poetry and Prose of E. E. Cummings (see Works Cited). In it, he wrote, "for me, this poem means just what it says . . . and the ! which begins the poem is what might be called and emphatic (=very)." This poem is also concerns the cycle of birth, life, death, and renewal. This is derived from the '.' preceding the last letter. This shows that even though the poem is finished, the circle of life is not, and is ever cycling (Weg 144). Through the poem's shape, !blac also shows a leaf fluttering to the ground. The lines' spacing synchronizes the speed of the reading with that of the leaf at different points in its fall. With its capital 'I's, 'IrlI' also indicates a leaf falling straight down before it hits the ground (147). Reading this poem, one may realize the lone comma on line 12. The poet writes about the sky and a tree, and then a comma intrudes, which makes the reader pause, and realize the new awareness that the comma indicated - that of a falling leaf (145). Lines 1 through 6 are also very important to the poem. Although "black against white" may be referring to the color of the falling leaf in contrast to the bright sky, it is not wrong to assume it means more. As stated above, the poem's theme is the cycle of life, and "black against white" could be indicating life death versus life. It shows that even though a leaf falling may be an indication of death, falling of leaves is an integral part of the whole life cycle of the tree (146). !blac may seem like a simple mess of words, but in reality is much more complex than that. swi( is another poem of Cummings' ideogram form. The essence of this poem is seeing a bird's swift flight past the sun, and the wonder of this experience. T...