e.e. cummings' You shall above all things be glad and young

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e.e. cummings' You shall above all things be glad and young

E.E. Cummings' "You shall above all things be glad and young" is a poem written for a man in love. It is a praise of the joys that love can bring men and women, yet also a warning of what can go wrong if you let your mind get in the way. This poem jumps from three different shifts in the tone of the speaker. In the first and second stanza Cummings is telling the reader the beauty of love. The third and forth stanzas are informing the reader to be careful with letting thoughts fog the innocence of their feelings. And finally, the couplet to end the poem implores you to go out and live life with the same naivete that you should pursue love with.

you shall above all things be glad and young

by e. e. cummings

you shall above all things be glad and young

For if you're young, whatever life you wear

it will become you;and if you are glad

whatever's living will yourself become.

Girlboys may nothing more than boygirls need:

i can entirely her only love

whose any mystery makes every man's

flesh put space on; and his mind take off time

that you should ever think, may god forbid

and (in his mercy) your true lover spare:

for that way knowledge lies, the foetal grave

called progress, and negation's dead undoom.

I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing

than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance

Here, Cummings speech act is a command. He is telling you that before you do anything else in life, you should be glad and young. By using the word glad, Cummings is saying to be happy. If you do nothing else, smile. And by young, Cummings may not be telling you to be physically young, which is an impossible feat in the first place, but rather, be youthful....

... middle of paper ...

...progressed its innocence towards knowledge, and by that, you have set your love towards its end.

The couplet to end Cummings poem, only sustains in greater detail, his feelings for innocence in love. Yet, the couplet changes from innocence in love to bringing the same attitude towards life. To summarize the lines, Cummmings is saying, no matter how great and immense the stars are, they still just sit there. And although there is great simplicity in an everyday songbird, to sing like them is more precious and fulfilling than all the stars in the sky. Cummings is asserting that we should take notes from a birdís innocence. Do what makes you feel good. Do not worry yourself with how your mind feels, follow your heart. In lesser words, Cummings is taking notes form Whitman. He is telling the reader to live their life with vigor. Sing, don't just let life pass you by.

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