Maggie And Milly And Molly And May Analylsis The poem “Maggie And Milly And Molly and May” by E.E. Cummings is an interesting poem about Maggie, Milly, Molly, and May going to the beach. First, this poem was difficult to analyze due to that fact that “Cummings experimented radically with form, punctuation, spelling, and syntax, abandoning traditional techniques and structures to create a new, highly idiosyncratic means of poetic expression” (poets.org). This made the poem epically difficult to analyze, but there is still a theme present. In this poem, E.E. Cummings expressed that everyone is unique. The theme of how you act at the beach reflects your personality in “Maggie and Milly and Molly and May” is established through its ending, its plot, and its symbols. In “Maggie and Milly and Molly and May”, the theme of how you act at the beach reflects your personality is established through its ending. The ending summed up the poem, and most blatantly showed the theme. The ending stated, “For whatever we lose (like a you or a me) it’s always ourselves we find in the sea” (Cummings 12). This ending shows that at the beach, also known as the sea, we find ourselves. We …show more content…
Throughout the poem, there were statements that showed how at the beach you find different things that make you unique. For example, “Maggie discovered a shell that sang” (Cummings 3), “Millie befriended a stranded star” (Cummings 5), “Molly was chased by a horrible thing” (Cummings 7), and “May came home with a smooth round stone” (Cummings 9). These points in the plot show how everyone at the beach found something different. Because everyone found something different, everyone is unique. Therefore, the theme of how you act at the beach reflects your personality is established through the plot, which shows how finding different things at the beach makes you
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Show MoreIn the first stanza, a general location of “here” and “there” is established for the reader (Trethewey, 1). To determine the meaning of these places, one must analyze the poem in reverse chronological order. When considering those destinations under the context of the whole poem, it is clear that the “there” is Ship Island (Trethewey, 1). However, the hidden implication is that Ship Island is an allegory for the collision of innocence and maturity. Ship Island was first used as a military base during the War of 1812 and evolved into a family friendly beach destination over the years. This island stood as a barrier to the main land during Hurricane Katrina and endured the first wave of damage during the storm. Ship Island has since recovered and continues to thrive as a popular tourist destination. Throughout its history, Ship Island has rotated back and forth between being a place that embodies maturity and hardship to a place and one that is consumed with the frivolous cares of a beach trip. Ironically, Ship Island is often considered as a peaceful rest in the midst the world’s trials; however, it is simultaneously associated with tragic memories for many throughout Gulfport. Therefore, based on the historical context, it is evident that Ship Island is an allegory the apex of maturity and innocence
In the poem, “Ground Swell”, by Mark Jarman there are many themes but one I could relate too most is to move on from the past. The poem explains how Jarman’s life began after one of these skilled surfers passed away. This surfer was really important to Jarman because he was the person that made Jarman “reconsider [his] worth”(37). This poem to me is about Jarman as a teen but now as an adult who was writing about his past life. Jarman says “ I can write about a lot of things Besides the summer that I turned sixteen”(50-51), this meaning that summer he turned sixteen was when his life changed completely. Although this poem can be seen as a poem about surfing, I can still relate to the theme of to move on from the past.
E. Cummings creates a critical and intolerant tone. He uses his work to criticize “most people” and how they blindly follow others. Cummings intolerance arises from others critical opinion of not normal people, whom the townspeople of the writing do not acknowledge. The uniqueness of both the main characters in the writing and Cummings is shown by the distinctiveness, inconsistency, and incorrectness of the writing. This tone directly relates to the theme and how anyone and noone are compassionate, caring people who actually recognize the value of life ,but are surrounded by townspeople who just stumble through life without a care or emotion. Cummings uses the seasons, bells, his unique composition and the repetition of “Women and men” and “anyone” to create and emphasize the unfortunate cycle of life. The use of the seasons in lines three,eleven, and thirty-four emphasise the passing of time and the unchanging ways of the townspeople. “Women and men”, in lines five and thirty-three,are used to remind us of Cummings definition of “most people” and how people tend to blend in and follow. The bells in lines two and twenty-four are used to indicate a change in the character 's, the first bell is before love and the second bell is rang before death.These significant life transitions show how love and death are final. life The character “anyone” introduces a person, unlike any others in the town, between him and his
The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body ...
Crouched behind a square column of the porch of an old late-Victorian frame home, now shelter for squatters, Lew was watching for Molly. Molly is an unassuming yet attractive young woman who makes her living dancing at a local ‘gentleman’s’ club called the Lucky Lady. She lives in a second floor apartment of The Hanright Home, a rundown Gothic Revival house split into six apartments. Lew lives in the apartment next door.
It was a warm sunny day in the summer of the nineteen nighties nine, at the Jersey Shore. Sally stood outside her grandparents ' house with hesitation. Should Juan and I have come? Sally thinks to herself. Sally then begins to gaze out at the ocean 's shorelines. As if time had stood still and the world faded away. She closed her eyes and took it all in. It made her think of all the wonderful childhood memories that they had achieved there. Sally remembered playing in the sand, swimming in the ocean, the bright sun gazing down upon her and a boy. This place had memories that Sally would never forget and treasure forever, for that kid now a man was always in her heart and her life.
It can be seen how they all connect to the sea and her life in her last moments. First, is the solitude she experiences and the narrator says, “But when she was there beside the sea, absolutely alone, she cast the unpleasant, pricking garments...and the waves that invited her” (132). Solitude is present but this time this loneliness she feels with connections of the sea is giving her comfort as she prepares to enter it. Second, is her sexual desires and the narrator says, “The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace” (133). As she walks into the sea it is “Embracing” her body giving her that satisfaction and fulfilling her needs of that part of her life she is struggling with and was never able to really achieve. Lastly, is Edna’s desire for that freedom she has been yearning for and the novel says, “She went on and on. She remembered the nights she swam far out, and recalled the terror that seized her at the fear of being unable to regain the shore. She did not look back now, but went on and on... and the old terror flamed up for an instant, then sank again” (133). Edna becomes aware that the only desire she was truly able to fulfill was her desire for freedom and that is by swimming. This is what encourages her to keep swim far out to feel that freedom again because in her awakening it begins by feeling free in the
During the summer months, my family would spend every Sunday at the beach, if it didn’t rain. My father would carry the water cooler packed with sandwiches, fruit and home-made chocolate chip cookies. Tracy and Bobby would swim in the ice cold Atlantic while I waded in water well below my waist. Or often, I’d pick up sea shells from the wet sand to take home to show Tracy
In her narrative essay, “FYB”, Zadie Smith expresses her belief that if one redirects their mindset to a more limited perspective and uses the limitless Manhattan mentality at certain times, one can arrive at their beach. A beach is a mentality, and Smith finds her beach by coming to peace with Manhattan’s beach. The idea of a person’s “beach” being hard to discover may be observed through Smith’s personal background, as it is almost mythical for this English writer living in Soho, Manhattan to come by a beach.
Poetry is used to send a variety of messages, either through its imagery, meaning, or by the poetic devices used. Each and every poem has something special and unique to offer to the reader, as long as the reader looks deep enough to find it. “Lone Bather'; written by A.M. Klein, and “The Swimmer'; by Irving Layton both offer such messages to the reader. At first glance, these messages seem surprising similar, but after further examination they are in fact strikingly different. The similarities are most evident in the imagery and use of poetic devices, however there are some cases where they are contrary. Meanwhile the differences are most obvious in the meaning, but due to the general similar themes of the two poems, some similarities are found.
He successfully uses metaphors, imagery, and anaphora to aid the reader in understanding and interpreting the poem. The unique metaphors Collins uses are able to encourage the reader to question why he may have chosen them, but there is no real way of knowing. The reader is then left to determine what his or her own interpretation of why the female character within the poem is being referred to such objects, ideas, animals, and aspects of nature. Based on the metaphors being used, it can be interpreted that the female character is strongly independent. The imagery backs up these claims because it uses not only interpretation of words, but also interpretation of images. The best metaphor and imagery combination to support the idea that the female character is strongly independent and living actively is “you are not the boots in the corner nor the boat asleep in its boathouse”(Line 16-18). The use of the three literary devices, metaphors, imagery, and anaphora, allows the reader to form a better interpretation of
Towering whitecaps hurl pebbles onto a moonlit beach like children splashing each other, as tall pale cliffs stand behind them watching; their white faces glitter with parental pride. Over and over, the shallow water is filled with the flying stones. From watching the tides, humans have thought that the Ocean is a living force due to its sudden tendency to wreak havoc with seemingly random storms. People that live today know better, and have come to appreciate the Ocean for all the benefit it provides. However, many poets do not see the sea the same as the rest of us. Take for example the poet and scholar Matthew Arnold. His poem Dover Beach is deeply pessimistic, and possesses negative
Whitman and Stevens similarly structured "On the Beach at Night" and "Sunday Morning," in that their narrators answer to their characters' concerns by explaining, or at least hinting at, the beauty of the perpetual cycle of mortality. "Something there is more immortal even than the stars,/(Many the burials, many the days and nights, passing away,)" (lines 28-29) whispers Whitman's narrator. "Death is the mother of beauty; hence from her,/Alone, shall come fulfillment to our dreams/And our desires," (lines 63-65) echoes Stevens. Through their suggestions of this death-rebirth cycle, Whitman's and Stevens' narrators assuage their characters misgivings. Further, both poets utilize Jove/Jupiter as a metaphor for seeming immortality, and perhaps more famili...
In “On the Beach at Night Alone,” Walt Whitman develops the idea that everyone has a connection with everything else, including nature. Whitman uses a variety of writing techniques to get his point across. First, the repetition and parallel structure that his poems contain reinforce the connection between everything in nature. The usage of “All” 11 times emphasizes the inclusion of everything in the universe. The sentence structure remains the same throughout the poem, without any drastic change; however, the length of the lines in the poem vary. In addition, Whitman’s’ extravagance with his words further illustrates his idea of the Over-Soul. For example, “A vast similitude interlocks all” (4) shows his verbose nature. Whitman does not do directly to the point, but gives every little detail. Most importantly, Whitman’s’ use of catalogues stands as the most recognizable Whitman characteristic that illustrates his beliefs. These long lists that he uses set the mood of the poem. “All spheres, grown, ungrown, small, large, suns, moons, planets,” (5) shows the idea that everything is connected in nature. Similarly, “All nations, colors, barbarisms, civilizations languages.” (10) furthermore emphasize Whitman’s belief in the Over-Soul.
In the poem Dover Beach by Matt Arnold, the use of poetic devices is very evident and you can tell that he tries to use these poetic devices to impact the mood of the poem. The mood present in the poem is depressive and melancholy, this is created by some of the poetic devices he used like metaphors, imagery, and some sound devices. First and Foremost, there are many instances of Imagery in the poem to create a type of mood, For example, “Of the night wind, down the vast edges drear/ And naked shingles of the world.” (27-28). The imagery used here established a melancholy feel to the poem by using vocabulary like night wind and naked shingles of the world to create a tone and mood of a calm and depressive feeling. Secondly, the use of metaphors