E. E. CUMMINGS“I AM SOMEONE WHO PROUDLY AND HUMBLY AFFIRMS THAT LOVE IS THE MYSTERY-OF-MYSTERIES…THAT AN ARTIST, A MAN, A FAILURE IS…A NATURALLY AND MIRACULOUSLY WHOLE HUMAN BEING…WHOSE ONLY HAPPINESS IS TO TRANSCEND HIMSELF, WHOSE EVERY AGONY IS TO GROW.”

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BIOGRAPHY

Born Edward Estlin Cummings, Cambridge, MA

October 14th, 1894Father was a Harvard professor, then a Unitarian

ministerMother introduced him to writing

Founded Harvard Poetry Society

Through a printers error his signature developed

MORE BIOGRAPHY

Spent time in Paris during military service

became exposed to “sex culture”

Met Pablo Picasso in 1920s – 1930s

First service: imprisonment

Drafted back into army

Had a child with a married woman

Father died in 1926

Relationship with Marion Morehouse

CRITICISMS OF THE CRITICS

Disliked greatly in his time periodCalled hard to read and understandAccepted by his peersSaid he settled into his work and never

advanced/maturedYounger people liked his work: simplicity of words

and topic

OUR PERSONAL OPINIONS

Agree that he is hard to understandHowever, is the beauty of it Need to read multiple times to really understand

Has many different varieties of types of poems

Some are incredibly hard to understand

(Grasshopper)Others are easily comprehendible

LITERARY DEVICES

SymbolismPowerful ImagerySimiles Repetition ConnotationOxymoronic juxtaposition

POETIC STRUCTURE

Disjointed structure

Punctuation and Capitalization

First line justified

Volume of work= different stylistic periods

No titles on most of poems