Edward Estlin Cummings Essay

E. E. sourcemings is a poet who is undeniable uncommon and the majority of his work highly stylized, modern, and controversial. The bulk of his work is usually recognise and noted for his uncouth use of letters, structure, and mislaid punctuation. enchantment cummings is nigh known for variation on form, his song has bulky depth and meaning. e. e. cummings is the quintes displaceial 19th century poet who stated The day of the spoken terminology is past, and warns that The verse it builds itself, three dimensionally, gradually, subtly, in the consciousness of the set astir(predicate)r (Kennedy).Embodying transcendentalism completely, he unsounded that to live is to constantly be experiencing, changing, and growing. This theme is revisited in his work once again and again. T here(predicate)fore, E. E. cummings is approximately strongly exploitd, like so many early(a) authors by, by events of his life. Eve Triem, in American Writers, explains that cummings was born t o Edward Estlin e. e. cummings to Edward and Rebbecca e. e. cummings in 1894, both of which were highly intelligent and respected in the community. His father was a professor at Harvard University and his research centered somewhat studying people.He had likewise been trained as a parson and preached at a local church. e. e. cummings yield, Rebecca, came from a precise reputable family and play a major role in all the social, political, and cultural ongoings in her community (Triem). cummings had the luxury of the perfect childhood. They spent their winters in Boston and summered in the beautiful farms of rural in the altogether England. Triem explains it was here that e. e. cummings, as a girlishster, fell in love with nature. These beautiful childhood images would last so embedded in e. e. cummings memory that they were the central images in many of Cummings most memorable poems.As explained in present-day(a) literary Criticism, Cummings parents encouraged him to s tudy and read as lots as possible and offered him their profuse support. Kennedy states that Cummings, as a young adult. kept a journal of his inner most thoughts at his mothers request. His mother believed, almost from birth, that Cummings would become a great author and take his place among the ranks of Longfellow. She ensured that his bed stories were from the greatest bring outrs of the cartridge holder, Dickens and Stevenson. Cummings was highly educated. His home life was focal pointed on literature.Cummings would discover and recite firearms of stories, and poesy. In addition, he was also a very fit cougar who enjoyed illustrating his own literary works (E. E. C ummings). As an adolescence he became very involved in his high school newspaper and also the Cambridge Review. While Cummings was in school he helped to found the Harvard Poetry Society. He and some of his friends in the clubhouse put together Eight Harvard Poets ( produce in 1917) (Triem). The Cambridge Review would be the very root place to publish Cummings early writing. However, his poetry was still passive and not entirely healthful received.Though this initial experience of really existence taken sternly inspired Cummings to lionize writing and to push the limits of what was considered proper and acceptable. after graduating high school, Cummings followed in his fathers footsteps and entered Harvard. He received a traditional education and earned degrees in Literature and the Classics. Cummings was educated in public schools and at Harvard University where he received an A. B. , magna cum laude, and an M. A. for English and classical studies. (Triem). His analyzing his skills were unparalleled. Much of his interest during this time centered around Shakespeare.He would closely with literary historians who studied Shakespeares use of floor and literary devices. It was during this time that Cummings became to experiment with allegory in his poetry. Kennedy asserts that Cummings utilized his formal education and his fathers religious writings to author many essays, short stories, and poems. His work was regularly publish in the Harvard Advocate and Harvard Monthly. However, Cummings questioned his skill and wondered if his position in life had cause how people viewed his poetry. In the early 1900s, Cummings was exposed to Cubism and Impressionism.Both of which influence his writing trend. He believed that his poetry had home inside the modern wile movement. But by 1918 Cummings had peed his own poetic style. Because he was a painter as well as a poet, he had true a unique form of literary cubism he broke up his material on the page to present it in a new, visually directed way (Kennedy). It was during this time that he practiced and created his ever touristed variation on poetic structure that he is famous for. He was inspired by the aggressively unique modern artists, specifically Czanne and Gaudier-Breska.Similarly, he looked to modern poe ts and pointly related to the work of Sandburg and Whitman. Cummings loved melodious poetry and manipulated the standard structures by choice using words, punctuation, and syntax in awkward ways. Cummings goal was for poetry not to just sound a particular way, but also have a unique and substantive visual style (Kennedy). His poetry became extremely tight and well built. He carefully constructed each poem with specific word choice and arrangement creating poetry which was both visually stimulating and meaningful. He visited Paris very much and was constantly inspired by the European art movements.Kennedy explains that these influences that appear in his increasing experiment with language and ventures into irrational modes of expression in his poem. Cummings apply repetition, extended songs, and words in written in lines to erupt the allusion of action. An example of his unique style is below lunation Over tOwns mOOn whisper less creature huge grO pingness (excerpt from Cummings poem No Thanks, as quested in Triem) Triem explains that Cummings uses this unique structure and style to decoct the readers attention a capital letter may be thrust into the middle of a word.In the opening poem of No Thanks capitals are used to imitate the roundness of the corn liquor and to imply the eternity of the circle. Though Cummings poetry was popular, he do his living in the publishing field. After graduation he took a desk job at a publishing company. This type of job allowed Cummings to focus almost completely on his poetry and prose. It was during his time here that he had the chance to review and be influenced by the worlds news events and read obscure history. Triem believes that this type of exposure produced his famous poem, buffalo Bill s defunct.He was a prolific writer and continud to perfect his skills as a painter. Contemporary Literary Criticism reports that as the first gear great war approach, Cummings, with the urging of his family decided to volunteer instead of being drafted. He served in a medical division in France. This particular assignment worked well for Cummings because he did not agree with war. Cummings was completely charmed by the bohemian atmosphere of Paris and its abundance of art and artists (E. E. Cummings). In addition, France was a place he had never been and full of new adventures and people.Simply by accident his military paperwork was temporarily lost and he had some extra time to visits the streets of Paris. It was in Paris that Cummings, for the first time was away from the oppressive and prudish nature of American society (E. E. Cummings). Contemporary Literary Criticism reports that during this period, Cummings eschewed upper-class Cambridge determine and frequented circuses, bordellos, pubs, and vaudeville and burlesque shows . Within the burlesque halls and streets lined with prostitutions, Cummings experience a sexual lightendom which is well documented in his most controversial poetry. His time in the military was extremely tense. Cummings was intentionally obtuse and did not make an effort to fit in. Cummings was openly artistic and spoke openly about(predicate) his political views. He practically complained about the other men he worked with and was constantly writing to his family about his uncomfortable conditions (Triem). Cummings was so outspoken that the French government actually read and censored his letters home to his family and friends. He became a print of the authorities who watched everything he did and wrote very carefully.The authorities believed that Cummings might be some type of spy and he was placed in a French jail for a couple of months (Kennedy). Cummings found a common bond with the people he was imprisoned with this was the inspiration for his smart called The Enormous Room (E. E. Cummings). With the help of his prestigious family he was released and sent home in 1918. The Enormous Room is considered a classic of public War I literat ure, this work concerns the preservation of dignity in a degrading and dehumanizing situation (E. E. Cummings).Contemporary Literary Criticism reports it also examines themes that Cummings would pursue throughout his careerthe individual against society, government, and all forms of dominance. Cummings went to live in New York where he surrounded himself with friends and peers within the arts (E. E. Cummings). Many of which supported and encouraged Cummings to keep writing and painting. Cummings painted his most well known piece called Traffic. He continue to write and his uniquely structured poetry was published in local papers and was frequentlytimes debated (Kennedy).Cummings soon fell in love with Elaine Thayer. It was Elaine which is the flat coat for the majority of Cummings titillating and sensual poetry. His love and desire for her is undeniable. Elaine soon became pregnant, and was still married. The situation was extremely tense because Cummings could not openly fath er his baby daughter, Nancy. historic period later, Elaine divorced and the couple was married in overseas (E. E. Cummings). Kennedy explains that their race lasted one year and then they divorced. Cummings separation from his daughter was related in much of his poetry and paintings.Cummings first novel, The Enormous Room, was about his experiences during the war. While the novel was not actually publish until 1922 and it received a great deal of positive feedback from the literary world because Cummings presented much(prenominal) a horrific subject in an unique and first psyche perspective. During this time his poetry was also gaining popularity. Cummings poetry was being published in the Dial,Vanity Fair as well as other literary journals. It was not until later 1923 that Cummings published his first volume of poetry called Tulips and Chimneys (E. E. Cummings).In the next both years he published two more volumes of poetry. With each volume of poetry he became more and more p opular. The most intriguing part of Cummings works is that he is an author with many talents and tools. He had the efficiency not just to write poetry but also dramas, prose, satire, and journaling. He was a great painter and sketch artist. Cummings was witty and charming with a quick nous which is obvious in his poetry. Puns, satire, and slang are often seen in his poetry to create humor while incorporating his footnotes about political, social, and cultural issues (Kennedy).Many of the themes Cummings developed and the literary tools he used set him apart of his peers during his time and throughout literature as a whole. Cummings have the ability to confront many parts of American life, especially Puritanism and Philistinism as well as a holistic approach to mankind. Contemporary Literary Criticism reports many of his poems preach independence and reliance which are the basis of transcendentalism. Cummings effects a softer, more elegiac note, displaying his affinity with New En gland Transcendentalism and English Romanticism (E. E. Cummings).Cummings asserts that man moldiness live alone to be free and when man lives among other men, he loses his humanity and soul. However, many of his poems are just about the basics- nature, romance, and the seasons. Cummings is considerably separated by his peers by his use of lower case letters. His make water alone foreshadows that his poetry is something different. Cummings made varied use of parentheses for an interpolated comment or to split or combine words as a guide to his thought. Frequently they occur, in poem-parables, to clarify the relationship between two sentences that run simultaneously through the poem (Triem).According to Kennedy, Cummings often used alternative methods to express his what he was thinking and feeling. Cummings pure on misuse of syntax, often the verb and nouns are transposed. Kennedy continues to explains Cummings also used broken sentences combined with strong street dialect and pop ular sayings to create poetry most people had never seen before and his poetry as a whole was a gathering of work in traditional verse forms as well as in his newest unconventional forms of expressiveness.He even used traditional poem structure combined with free verse which has become associated with Cummings. Cummings is remembered for his innovative, playful style, his celebration of love and nature, his focus on the primacy of the individual and freedom of expression, and his treatment of, in his own words, ecstasy and anguish, being and becoming the immortality of the creative imagination and the indomitability of the human spirit. (E. E. Cummings). It is the combination of the topics as well as his unique style that has created a reputation for Cummings as a modern poet. His poetry is often copied by young poets who are trying to find a style of their own. American lyric poet, a typographical innovator whose contempt for modern, state-controlled society and love individualit y is reflected in the novel arrangement and punctuation of his poems.