E.E. Cummings has a particular place in American poetry. The poet revealed 2,900 poems and helped outline fashionable poetry. Cummings’ poems have been influenced by the occasions he lived via—together with each World Wars and the Nice Despair—and he put his opinions, feelings, and persona into his poems as he experimented with phrases, language, punctuation, and spacing.
The E.E. Cummings poems beneath are a small pattern of his work, however they provide college students an thought of how he modified poetry, his concepts on love and life, and find out how to analyze poetry that makes use of each side of the style.
Get the total textual content of every poem as a free printable to make use of along with your college students by filling out the shape on this web page.
Who was E.E. Cummings?
Edward Estlin Cummings was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1894. He began writing poems as a toddler, and between ages 8 and 22 he wrote one poem every day. Whereas at Harvard, he was influenced by avant-garde writers like Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound. He labored as an ambulance driver in World Conflict I and was interned in a French jail camp. These experiences formed his sturdy anti-war sentiments.
After the conflict, Cummings cut up his time between New Hampshire and Greenwich Village in New York. He additionally traveled steadily to Europe and was accustomed to the good artists of the time. His poetry began to be broadly learn within the Twenties, and he turned identified for experimenting with type, punctuation, spelling, and construction. He was standard in his time, particularly amongst youthful readers. When he died in 1962, he was the second-most-read poet in the US (after Robert Frost).
Study extra about E.E. Cummings’ life on this video:
26 Well-known E.E. Cummings Poems
Listed below are all of the E.E. Cummings poems which might be within the public area for reference, and beneath is an inventory of 26 E.E. Cummings poems, which you’ll be able to entry and print by filling out the shape on this web page. Notice his unconventional use of spacing and capitalization.
Subsequent to Of Course God America
subsequent to after all god america i
love you land of the pilgrims’ and so forth oh
say are you able to see by the daybreak’s early my
nation ’tis of centuries come and go …
An vital poem for college kids to learn right this moment, this poem talks each about loving your nation and stating when it does one thing flawed and holding it accountable.
The Cambridge Girls Who Stay in Furnished Souls
they imagine in Christ and Longfellow, each lifeless,
are invariably fascinated by so many issues—
at this time writing one nonetheless finds
delighted fingers knitting for the is it Poles?
This poem is a criticism of New England girls who appear too stiff and correct. He thinks they’re old style and too conventional. College students can debate Cummings’ portrayal of those girls, and if there are any teams which may match his description right this moment.
Buffalo Invoice’s
A poem concerning the iconic American determine, “Buffalo Invoice” is likely one of the most experimental in terms of utilizing areas to speak which means, tempo, and tone. Only the start strains, “Buffalo Invoice’s defunct,” are attention-grabbing—why defunct and never lifeless?
Spring Is Like a Maybe Hand
Spring is sort of a maybe hand
(which comes rigorously
out of Nowhere)arranging
a window,into which individuals look(whereas
folks stare …
This poem is an effective introduction to Cummings’ work. It’s about spring, one thing that college students have expertise with, and has the hallmark artistic capitalization, punctuation, and spacing to point out how Cummings approaches the subject of spring.
I Have Discovered What You Are Like
i’ve discovered what you might be like
the rain.
(Who feathers frightened fields
with the superior dust-of-sleep. wields …
Right here, Cummings compares rain and a lady’s smile, utilizing personification and plenty of description. This poem is an introspective work for Cummings. An instance of how he shifted from playful to contemplative in his later profession.
O Candy Spontaneous
O candy spontaneous
earth how typically have
the
doting
fingers of
prurient philosophers pinched …
A poem about nature, with strains which might be damaged up and fragmented. This poem is nice for studying aloud and training find out how to ship poetry. O Candy Spontaneous is about our seek for data. Examine how Cummings makes use of personification to specific his message.
She Being Model
she being Model
-new;and also you
know consequently a
little stiff i used to be
cautious of her and(having …
In a change of tempo for Cummings when it comes to theme, this poem explains a experience in a automotive. Study the narrative construction that’s created via prose and sentence fragments. And discuss how Cummings’ work mirrored the significance of urbanism, trade, and know-how. Additionally, take into account what automobiles will need to have appeared like for Cummings, who lived after they have been simply beginning to take over the roads.
My Candy Outdated Etcetera
my candy previous etcetera
aunt lucy in the course of the latest
conflict might and what
is extra did inform you simply
what all people was combating
for,
my sister …
One other poem about conflict, this can be a satirical critique of what occurs in society throughout wartime. Cummings was strongly anti-war, and this poem examines individuals who accepted conflict whereas ignoring its horrors. Through the time Cummings lived, he was a part of an anti-war sentiment amongst intellectuals and artists.
In Simply-
in Simply-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman …
Cummings is thought for his playful poetry, and this can be a nice instance of how a lot enjoyable he had along with his poems. The casual language, capitalization, and imagery of kids taking part in in spring are inherently playful. By way of learning, this E.E. Cummings poem is an effective one for inexperienced persons because it’s fairly simple.
It Is at Moments After I Have Dreamed
it’s at moments after i’ve dreamed
of the uncommon leisure of your eyes,
when(being idiot to fancy)i’ve deemed
along with your peculiar mouth my coronary heart made sensible …
One other poem about love, this one displays on the ethereal magnificence of affection and goals.
A Man Who Had Fallen Amongst Thieves
a person who had fallen amongst thieves
lay by the roadside on his again
wearing fifteenthrate concepts
carrying a spherical jeer for a hat …
This E.E. Cummings poem begins with a narrative of a person who has been robbed and left by the facet of the street. Whereas others move him by, one man stops to assist. Use this poem to speak about what Cummings considered social justice and the plight of marginalized folks. Learn this inside the context of the Nice Despair.
All in Inexperienced Went My Love Driving
All in inexperienced went my love using
on an ideal horse of gold
into the silver daybreak.
On this poem, Cummings creates a scene with a knight, horse, canine, and deer. The language on this poem is extra archaic than different poems. It’s additionally extra conventional, so it’s an attention-grabbing poem to learn as you’re learning Cummings’ poems.
Since Feeling Is First
we’re for one another:then
chuckle,leaning again in my arms
for all times’s not a paragraph
And loss of life i believe is not any parenthesis
One other love poem, this one celebrates the emotion of affection that always overtakes ideas. It’s one to learn alongside different Cummings poems which might be about love to point out how his understanding of affection evolves over time and the themes he retains coming again to. Additionally, for a poet who makes use of so many parentheses, it’s attention-grabbing to see him point out parenthesis within the closing line.
(Let Us Tremble)a Private Radiance Sits
(allow us to tremble)a private radiance sits
hideously upon the trafficking hum
of nightfall …
On this poem, Cummings creates an evening scene ripe for evaluation of phrase alternative and imagery (“murdering coolness,” “drollsnowing delirium”).
5
derbies-with-men-in-them smoke Helmar
cigarettes 2
play backgammon,3 watch …
This poem is a superb instance of Cummings’ playful voice and the way he makes use of spacing and textual content to actually play with phrases. Analyze the cultural references that Cummings makes on this poem to debate how he was a poet of his time.
A Wind Has Blown the Rain Away
a wind has blown the rain away and blown
the sky away and all of the leaves away,
and the bushes stand. I feel i too have identified
autumn too lengthy
“A Wind Has Blown the Rain Away” is an outline of autumn and all of the motion and alter that comes with the season. Cummings connects autumn to leaving somebody you like. The repetition of the picture of bushes on the finish talks of what stays everlasting.
Amongst These Purple Items
Amongst
these
pink items of
day(in opposition to which and
fairly silently hills
made from blueandgreen paper …
The usage of colour and the way Cummings arranges the strains, punctuation, and spacing are all quintessential Cummings. Along with how Cummings weaves English and Italian to create the scene, college students can talk about how the dashes and parentheses have an effect on how we learn the poem.
As Is the Sea Marvelous
as is the ocean marvelous
from god’s
palms which despatched her forth
to sleep upon the world
This poem is one other of Cummings’ odes to like and relationships. This time, he makes use of the metaphor of an ocean and waves to discover the influence of affection.
Loss of life Is Extra Than
loss of life is greater than
sure 100 these
sounds crowds odours it
is in a rush …
A poem about life and loss of life in America. Like most Cummings poems, this one must be analyzed in its entirety as every stanza and line bleeds into the following one.
Right here Is Little Effie’s Head
right here is little Effie’s head
whose brains are made from gingerbread
when the judgement day comes
God will discover six crumbs
On this poem, a narrator describes what occurs to Effie’s physique after her loss of life. Solely Cummings might write about loss of life and dissection and make it really feel like a nursery rhyme, utilizing his playful approach with phrases. Like Robert Frost’s poem “Out Out,” this poem will shock college students and make them suppose in another way about what poetry can do.
Humanity I Love You
Humanity i like you
since you would somewhat black the boots of
success than enquire whose soul dangles from his
watch-chain which might be embarrassing for each …
Right here, the narrator explores the nice and unhealthy about humanity. He begins pondering that he loves humanity however ends hating humanity. This can be a nice instance of how Cummings wrote about society and his views on how what society valued was not precisely what we should always concentrate on.
It’s Jolly
it’s jolly
odd what pops into
your jolly tête when the
jolly shells start dropping jolly quick you
hear the rrmp and
then nearerandnearerandNEARER …
“It’s Jolly” makes use of juxtaposition of the phrase jolly, which even sounds completely satisfied, with darkish pictures like shells dropping and an total sarcastic tone. You’ll be able to think about how Cummings’ expertise in conflict influenced this poem and the way he will need to have felt when writing it.
Little Tree
little tree
little silent Christmas tree
you might be so little
you might be extra like a flower
“Little Tree” is an surprising muse for Cummings—it’s a few Christmas tree, all embellished and placed on show. It’s attention-grabbing to consider what literal and figurative meanings the tree might have for Cummings.
SNO
a white thought(Pay attention
drenches:earth’s ugly)thoughts.
,Rinsing with actual loss of life
the annual mind
clotted with loosely voices …
An outline of winter and a meditation on how we expect. This poem is one other nice instance of how Cummings combined punctuation, parentheses, phrases, and pictures to create a whirlwind of a poem.
Supposing I Dreamed This
supposing i dreamed this)
solely think about,when the day has thrilled
you’re a home round which
I’m a wind—
One other of Cummings poems about love, this one describes the narrator as a wind and the liked one as a home. Learn this poem alongside different Cummings’ poems about love to match the imagery and the way it modifications.
Ta
ta
ppin
g
toe
A poem with few phrases and letters or punctuation, on this case a few hippopotamus. However there’s so much to consider when it comes to how Cummings laid out every letter and line on the web page.
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