The Structure Of Poetry: The Evolution Of Structure

The Evolution of Structure

Throughout the years the structure and flow of poems have evolved along with the rest of the world. In beginning eras, such as the Victorian age, poems were inartistic, traditional, and very structured. The poems of this time period mirrored the style of dress and general atmosphere exhibited during this era. During the Victorian age people wore very fancy, intricate, and modest clothing. These trends matched the proper, structured, and grammatically correct characteristics showcased in poems created during this time. In contrast, the modernist era is the complete opposite of the Victorian age. For example, the modernist era raised many unanswered questions and promoted a rebellious state of mind. Also, the modernist era contained shifts in perspective, voice, and tone. The change from the Victorian era to modernism occurred because of World War 1. After World War 1 many modernist writers were exposed to the

Cummings adapts a style of writing traditionally found in the modernist era. The poem does not contain strict structure or punctuation in comparison to poetry created in the Victorian age, which was very structured with pompous language. One reads this poem by first reading what is outside the parentheses and then reading what is inside the parentheses. This method is very unique and it allows the reader to connect to the imagery created by the words in the order in which they are written. Also, this poem extends vertically down the page and no more than five letters are ever used horizontally in one line. The vertical extension of this poem allows the reader to emotionally connect with its content. Cumming’s poem correctly reads “loneliness a leaf falls”. As the reader interprets the poem they experience the falling motion of the leaves because the words literally fall down the page. The modern structures exhibited in this poem, allows the readers to connect with the poem in an untraditional and unique