It can be said that poetry is very much like its poet, seeing as they both contain two different sides: one that is seen while taking your very first glance and another that can only be unearthed and understood through the study of its underlying influences. So it is not unusual that in order to gain a complete and comprehensive outlook on a poem, one must first study nonfiction sources to see the motivation and purpose behind each chosen word. E.E. Cumming’s works, a notable World War I era poet of the modernist movement, were heavily affected by the hatred and atrocities of warfare, which is seen in the way that his resentment towards humanity grows within this period, and thusly reflects in the poems he created around this time. One of these poems, entitled “Humanity i love you” can be seen as one such work. However, these influences are perhaps unclear at first, which shall be evidenced by this first cursory analysis of this poem.
Task 1: A Cursory Analysis
“Humanity i love you” makes its first impression with its unconventional use of capitalization, or rather, the distinct lack of, which aids Cummings in his manipulation of emphasis. All words, most recognizably “I”, are in lowercase, as presented in the title of the poem. This is a common fixture of E.E. Cummings’ works, and it has been speculated that such a choice was a mark of humility on Cummings’ part in order to show that the authority of the poet isn’t as important as the words themselves. However, in this case it seems that Cummings has manipulated the continued use of the lowercase “i” in order to bring forth the only word that does happen to be capitalized: Humanity. The noticeable emphasis that this places on the word immediately pulls the word from its su...
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...ings felt disgust for those on the home front who willfully or stupidly believed government propaganda and whatever patriotic, racial, or ideological excuses were offered for war” (Murphy xiv). Due to these events of World War I, and Cummings’ further pursuit to write his experiences into what would become the Enormous Room, Cummings was “introduced [to] themes that Cummings would pursue throughout his career: the individual against society, against government, and against all forms of authority.” (“Cummings, E(dward) E(stlin)”, par. 4)
Perhaps the next integral portion of E.E. Cummings life was being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1918 after his return from the French detainment camp and subsequent years of living as a painter. Such an event exposed Cummings to the horrors of warfare, and essentially, challenged his pacifist viewpoints to its fullest capability.
Many soldiers who come back from the war need to express how they feel. Many do it in the way of writing. Many soldiers die in war, but the ones who come back are just as “dead.” Many cadets come back with shell shock, amputated arms and legs, and sometimes even their friends aren’t there with them. So during World War I, there was a burst of new art and writings come from the soldiers. Many express in the way of books, poems, short stories and art itself. Most soldiers are just trying to escape. A lot of these soldiers are trying to show what war is really like, and people respond. They finally might think war might not be the answer. This is why writers use imagery, irony and structure to protest war.
This poem by e. e. cummings describes the link between age and happiness by relating the two with simplicity. With this simplicity, however, there is a break from reality, and there are consequences. We can only do what is natural for us.
Throughout history there have been many poets and some have succeeded while other didn’t have the same luck. But in history e.e. Cummings has stunned people with his creativity and exposure to the real world and not living in the fantasy people imagine they live in. Cummings was a great poet, and was able to make his own way of writing while he was also involved greatly in the modernist movement. But he demonstrates all his uniqueness in all and every poem, delivering people with knowledge and making them see the world with different eyes as in the poem “Since feeling is first”.
Ellen Glasgow said, "Violence commands both literature and life.” Violence commands Erich Maria Remarque’s literature in his novel All Quiet on the Western Front. Remarque accurately depicts both the physical and mental repercussions of war. All Quiet on the Western Front should be read by all members of the Armed Forces for several reasons. First, the novel describes in detail the worst case scenarios associated with war. By being exposed to such a portrayal of war, unprepared citizens would be able to make better decisions regarding enlisting. Second, those citizens who do decide to enlist would be better prepared mentally for the mental horrors that occur after war. Finally, All Quiet on the Western Front sets a standard for the patriotism needed to serve one’s country and the consequential honor that comes with that patriotism.
“…the most important result was that it awakened in us a strong, practical sense of esprit de corps, which in the field developed into the finest thing that arose out of the war – comradeship.” (p23)
...in fact, seem insanely chaotic. Our mindless support of self-centred political systems, of abuse of fellow human beings of different nationalities - it may well have appeared quite insane to him. The poem, therefore, delivers a strong message of warning: we must develop a stronger awareness, a care of what is happening, lest we, the collective we - humanity, the 'Idiot', are left in the ruins of our effort, alone, forever.
Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass covers many facets of human love, including love of the physical body. Whitman’s book contains many poems that try to embrace the beauty of the human body instead of covering it up. Whitman describes the human form in close detail throughout Leaves of Grass, but one of his poems in particular is especially vivid in detail. In “Children of Adam”, the fourth book of Leaves of Grass, Whitman gives readers a celebratory look at the human form. “I Sing the Body Electric” is one poem in particular that demonstrates how Whitman celebrates the human body through descriptive language of love and the human form and by elevating the human form to something more than a simple vessel for a soul. Whitman uses these techniques to emphasize the idea that mortal human forms are no less magnificent than spiritual bodies.
In Soldier’s Home, Ernest Hemingway depicts Harold Krebs return home from World War I and the problems he faces when dealing with his homecoming and transition back towards a normal life. After the fighting overseas commenced, it took Krebs a year to finally leave Europe and return to his family in Oklahoma. Once home, he found it hard to talk about all he had seen in his tour of duty overseas, which should be attributed to the fact that he saw action in some of the bloodiest, most crucial battles towards the culmination of the war. Therefore, Krebs difficulty in acknowledging his past is because he was indeed a “good soldier” (139), whose efforts in order to survive “The Great War,” were not recognized by his country, town and even worse, his own family.
myself since the war days never to speak of my enthusiasm.” (Davies, 164) For the majority of his life,
He lampoons the patriotic fools of America, particularly soldiers, making them sound rash and illogical, being people who just desire to fight for something to scream and yell for something, justifying their actions by saying it was “for America”, claiming “liberty is an endless war”. Saying “why talk of beauty what could be more beaut/iful than these heroic happy dead who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter” (Cummings, 9-11), illustrates America’s love for a fight, a war, no matter how paramount or trivial, no matter how nonsensical and futile the cause. E.E. Cummings questions America if there is anything more beautiful than people dying mindlessly for America: even
Edward Estlin Cummings’s story begins in Cambridge, Massachusetts October 14, 1894, the day he was born. Cummings has had many important influences in his life. EE Cummings earned his Bachelor's and Master's at Harvard University, where his father happened to be a professor at. After Cummings’s time at Harvard he went on to serve in WWI with the ambulance
Forthright and cynical in tone, Gioia’s poem, “Pity the Beautiful” aligns with the author’s typical New Formalism writing style. Gioia also contends to his predictable pattern of incorporating a rather simplistic rhyme scheme, while still maintaining a stern, and meaningful message throughout the piece. The first four-line stanza emits a judgmental, patronizing condemnation towards various types of people, and as the poem progresses every aspect of Gioia’s pessimistic, yet blatantly true, remarks of our existence eventually belittle human life. It’s as if the poem’s unfortunately daunting theme- the insignificance of existence- can be explained in a sarcastic mockery of our true efforts to indeed become significant.
E.E., however, never stopped loving writing, so during his college days he was the editor for the university's monthly newspaper. After he graduated, E.E. was sent away to be part of the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps in 1917. This organization was in Paris, so Cummings soon found a great love for this capital. During his work for the Ambulance Corps, a friend had been writing him letters that occasionally mentioned the twos views against war, this made the French military censors suspicious. Cummings and his friend were incarcerated September 21, 1917, where they were sentenced to three and a half months in a concentration camp. To help his son, E.E.'s father wrote a letter that led to the release of his
Edward Estlin Cummings was born on October 14, 1894 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He attended Harvard University graduating in 1916. During his life time he was a poet, writing twelve volumes of poetry, and was also a painter. As a poet, he was first recognized by readers for his unusual ways of phrasing poems and his usage of punctuation. Cummings also wrote traditionally styled verses such as sonnets. Cummings received a number of honors during his lifetime, including an Academy of American Poets Fellowships and two Guggenheim Fellowships.
E.E. Cummings is one of the most creative poets of 20th century modernist poetry. E.E. Cummings does not let traditional structure and diction to limit his creativity. He is well-known for his play with syntax, capitalization and punctuation also known as typography. His word choices are powerful strokes for his poems. He paints his poems with the effective use of imagery. “E.E. Cummings appreciates uniqueness and nature but dislikes conformity and artificiality” (Kennedy 1571). This attitude is reflected in his works. Even though E. E. Cummings write “i like my body when it is with your” and “pity this busy monster, maunkind” with similar structure, excellent word choices and imagery; these two poems have opposing themes and tones. Their themes and tones assert E.E. Cummings appreciation of nature and ingratitude of artificiality.