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Cummings resorts to the absolute freedom of words and punctuation to create a poem of perfect joy and
exuberance for life, nature and God. Indeed, he reaches beyond the five senses and relies on his intuition
to reach the fullness of spiritual awakening.
NOTE ON THE POET
ee cummings -- his real name was Edward Estlin -- was born in Massachusetts in 1894. His father was
a professor of Sociology and Political Science at Harvard University but who later became a Unitarian
minister.
Cummings was himself a Harvard graduate, obtaining a Masters degree in English and Classical Studies
in 1916. His intelligence and novel way of thinking, however, caused him to be ostracised and so he found
solace in his poetry.
Although he is known for his flamboyant style of writing, he also published a couple of novels and four
plays -- and was an artist who excelled in both drawing and painting.
Cummings' way of thinking was often transcendental, i.e. he believed it possible to reach an ideal spiritual
state by use of intuition rather than through established religious beliefs. Indeed, he reveals this concept
in "i thank You God for most this amazing".
His poetry was shaped by romantic tradition -- for example, he wrote many sonnets -- but he is best
known for his idiosyncratic style in which he used little punctuation, often wrote in the lowercase and
jumbled up the order of words.
It has been said that his poetry often makes little sense until it is read aloud. On the other hand, several
of his poems reveal his artistic flair in that they are pictures painted in words, e.g.
"r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r".
He was also known for his satire when addressing social issues, but he had a strong bias towards the
exuberance of love, sex and spiritual rebirth.
Cummings died of a stroke on September 3, 1962. He was 68 years of age. He had won many awards
for his work.
Have you looked at the questions in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer the following questions:
"i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes"
- How does the use of upper and lower-case words in "i thank You God" enhance the poet's
purpose in this poem? (4)
[Need help?]
As a rule, the personal pronoun "I" as well as the noun "God" would demand the upper-case
-- as well as any pronoun like "You" which means God. To have used the lower-case throughout
the poem would then merely have broken with accepted tradition.
The apparent compromise in this poem -- using the upper-case when referring to God but the lower-case
when referring to the poet himself -- makes a major statement by contrasting a superior being with a
minor one. The poet elevates God by sustaining traditional honour while demoting himself by deviating
from tradition.
When this is placed alongside Cummings's consistent use of the lower-case even when referring to his
own name -- ee cummings -- one is left with the concept of the humility of the poet in contrast to the
esteem which he offers to God.
By the way, it is apparently not true that the poet changed his name permanently to "ee cummings".
Indeed, whenever he signed his name, he mostly used the upper-case, as is customary.
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- Why does the poet refer to "the leaping greenly spirits of trees" in a vague sense instead of
giving the spirits a name, e.g. elves? (4)
[Need help?]
It would appear that the poet's whole purpose is to get the reader to think. Referring vaguely to "the
leaping greenly spirits of trees" leaves the reader pondering whether or not the poet is indeed referring
to elves. He might be speaking of the other intangible spirits which are only detected within the realm of
intuition and the sub-conscious.
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- Why would the spirits be "greenly" and not "green"? (4)
[Need help?]
"Greenly" is an adverb which implies movement. The poet therefore conveys a process rather than
a static quality. There is a creation happening within the trees, a birth which is continuously happening
within the spirits of the trees.
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- Why should the "dream of sky" be "blue true"? (4)
[Need help?]
Does the poet dream of a perfectly blue sky, where it is not only blue but true blue? On the other hand,
if one speaks of a "blue true dream", does it not become a "true dream"? Is it therefore the
dream itself that is perfect and true?
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"(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)"
- Comment on the words, "i who have died am alive again today". (6)
[Need help?]
There is a definite "Death and Resurrection" image here, is there not? One could say that this is
a Christian idea -- and the poet was, after all, a member of the Unitarian Church -- although the concept
of "Death and Resurrection" is also found throughout the ancient world of Egypt and Mesopotamia
long before Christianity.
On the other hand, the poet could be referring to the death of his five senses and his rebirth into the world
of intuition. As such, he has risen above the world of mere sense-perception and is seeing the world as
it enlightens him directly through the inner light of the soul.
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- In what way was it true for the poet that this was "the birth day of life and of love and
wings"? (4)
[Need help?]
Everything appears as new for the poet. It is as if he is seeing everything for the first time. It is the day
of the sun's birth. It is also the day in which all life and love have been born. The poet is seeing
everything with a new inner sense, his intuition.
And the "wings"? Just as the poet could earlier have been referring to the magical elves in the
trees, could he be referring to the birds, symbols of life and flight?
On the other hand, if he is again using a Christian image, then one could interpret the "wings" as
the arrival of the Holy Spirit which was referred to in the New Testament as coming down like a dove and
filling the disciples with love and new light. The Holy Spirit -- and therefore "wings" -- refers then
to the unleashing of the power within.
Bear in mind, of course, that poets sometimes use Christian imagery without necessarily being themselves
Christians. It is sometimes a very useful vehicle for thought.
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- Comment on the "great happening illimitably earth". (4)
[Need help?]
"Illimitably" means "without limits". Once again, the strange word order leads to multiple
meanings. It could mean that the earth, when viewed in the new light of intuition, becomes without limits.
On the other hand, it could mean that the "great happening" itself was without limits.
And what was this "great happening"? A resurrection from an old spiritually dead self which was
restricted by the five senses, the rebirth into a new life enlightened by intuition where previously unseen
and unheard things are suddenly seen and heard?
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"how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any -- lifted from the no
of all nothing -- human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?"
- What does the poet mean by "lifted from the no of all nothing"? (4)
[Need help?]
One should probably read these words as "lifted from the no of all no-thing". If one removes the
"no" from "no-thing", one is left with its opposite which is "everything".
When one is therefore "lifted from the no of all nothing", one is elevated to the state where one is
"lifted to the yes of everything".
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- Comment on the words, "any human merely being doubt unimaginable You". (4)
[Need help?]
One could again find at least two meanings here: "any mere human being" and "any human that
is merely being". In the first, humanity is infinitely inferior to the majesty of God. The second
interpretation -- "any human that is merely being" -- refers to a human who is created as the
image of God but who has lost sight of this amazing state and therefore acts merely humanly and not
divinely.
Likewise, "doubt unimaginable You" has two meanings. One could say that it is unimaginable to
any human being to doubt God. On the other hand, God is so far beyond us that it unimaginable to
conceive of Him except through the inner sense that we call intuition.
Is there any other meaning? I'm sure there must be several.
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"(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)"
- What does the poet mean when he says "the ears of my ears" and "the eyes of my
eyes"? (4)
[Need help?]
The poet believed in intuition, an inner sixth sense. When one listens and sees -- or uses all the other
senses mentioned in the 3rd quatrain -- one is still limited to sensory perception.
When one listens or sees with one's soul, however, one senses the true spirit of the world, the true spirit
of God. It is intuition, therefore, which is the "ears of my ears" and the "eyes of my eyes",
the inner sense which give true insight into things.
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