E.E Cummings L (A, A Leaf Falls With Loneliness',: Postmodern Poetry Herjin Fadil Abdullah

e.
e cummings
l(a, A Leaf Falls with

Loneliness’,
Postmodern Poetry
Herjin Fadil Abdullah
e.e. cummings
 Born: October 14, 1894 in Cambridge,

Massachusetts
 Read name is Edward Estlin Cummings
 Died September 3, 1962 wanted to be a
poet since childhood and wrote a poem
each day from age 8 to 22 in various
styles
 painter and writer - approximately
2,900 poems, 2 autobiographical
novels, 4 plays, a few essays, numerous
drawings and paintings
 name often written as e.e. cummings, in
the style of some of his poetry
 Began writing poems in 1904
 Graduated from Harvard with his B.A. and M.A.
 First poem published in 1920 in a collection titled Eight Harvard Poets

 enlisted in the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps, along with his college friend John Dos
Passos (1917)
 administrative problem, Cummings stayed in Paris for 5 weeks while sorting things out
- loved Paris
 anti-war: letters caught attention of censors, spent time with French soldiers instead of
other ambulance drivers, spoke about lack of hate for Germans >he and a friend arrested
by French military because suspected as spies
 drafted into army after being released and returning to the US
 Cummings’ had a car accident in 1926, which killed his father and injured his mother
severely. His father’s death had a profound effect on him which led to him entering an
entirely new period in his artistic life. He paid homage to his father in his poem ‘My
father moved through dooms of love’.
 He had two marriages, first one to Elaine Orr and second one to Anne Minnerly Barton.
He had a daughter with his first wife out of wedlock. After separation from his second
wife, Cummings met a fashion model and photographer Marion Morehouse. Even
though the two lived together till he breathed his last, it is not clear whether the two
were ever formally married.
 Transcendentalist* although his family was Unitarian
"a salesman is an it that stinks Excuse“
 more religious later in life
"le bon Dieu"
"i thank You God for this most amazing"
* Transcendentalism was a philosophical movement in the 1800s that protested the state of
culture and society overall, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University
and the doctrine of the Unitarian church at Harvard Divinity School. Transcendentalists
believed that people are essentially good and that society and its institutions (organized religion
and political parties) corrupt people. They valued self-reliance and individualism.
Some FACTS:
 Studied Latin and Greek.
 Is known for the lack of use in punctuation,
capitalization, spelling, and structure.
 He is the second most read poet in the United States
 interested in modern poetry that ignored proper
grammar and syntax
 influenced by writers such as Amy Lowell, Dada,
Ezra Pound, and Gertrude Stein (author of Sister
Bernadette's Barking Dog)
FAMOUS WORKS:
 [i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]

 i have found what you are like
 (and i imagine
 anyone lived in a pretty how town
 in Just-
 in time of daffodils
Death and Literary Legacy
 Cummings died on September 3, 1962, in

North Conway, New Hampshire, from a
brain hemorrhage, leaving legions of
poems as a literary legacy
Others about cummings:
 “What ever the real  “…left a more
distinctive mark on the
meaning, it cannot be
wall of modern
denied that this poet’s poetry…”
command of language
was great enough to
 “…confusing
almost reinvent it.” [form] and
 “Cummings is therefore
visually interesting
inventive.” reading.”
QUOTES FROM CUMMINGS:
 “It takes courage to
grow up and become
who you really are.”
 “The most wasted of

all days is one without
laughter.”
Style
 He became known mainly for his unconventional poems that played
with form, spacing, punctuation, grammar and even pacing. But he
was also able to write traditional style verse such as sonnets with a
flair for wit and whimsy
 In the 1930s he used to endlessly repeat himself by writing different
versions of the same poem, as he felt separated from his culture and
fellow poets. The most characteristic device he is remembered for is
the unique, personal grammar as well as the breaking up and
putting back together of words into different forms.
 His greatest achievements were his love poems and religious
poems. Some of the best works regarding sexual love and the
religious experiences of awe in the twentieth century were written
by him. It is to be remembered that such poems were hardly
popular at that time. So, Cummings can also be credited for
popularizing this particular style.
Poem Analysis
 This poem, ‘l(a, A Leaf Falls with Loneliness’, remains one of
l(a
Cumming’s most fascinating. After decades it still captivates its
le readers even though it is only a few words long. The effect is all the
more powerful because ‘l(a, A Leaf Falls with Loneliness’ is so
af short. To some readers, it may feel as though it ends too soon.
fa
 The brevity of the text causes the reader to feel a sense of emptiness
ll at the lack of completion. This effect directly relates to the words
that seem to exist within the poem on their own in a state of
s) complete and utter loneliness. Thus, the meaning of the poem is
created in the feeling it renders to its readers. The lack of completion
one of words and the use of incomplete phrases allows the reader to feel
an absence. It is this absence that Cummings sought to embody in
l
the poem. For these reasons, ‘l(a (A Leaf Falls with Loneliness)’
Iness holds an important place within the minds of many lovers of poetry.
 When glancing over the text, the word “loneliness” can be made out. It exists outside of the
parenthesis. It is one word by itself. There are no other words to complete the thought. It stands
alone, and is the word “loneliness”. The phrase “a leaf falls” can be found inside of the
parenthesis. This creates an image of emptiness and solitude and reflects the written “loneliness”
that runs parallel to it. This leaf falls by itself and is not with other leaves.
 The image of a leaf falling also implies death. The life of the leaf is over for the season. The cold
of the winter is soon to come and the chill of the fall has rendered the leaf lifeless. Thus, it falls to
the ground by itself. This image is one of loneliness. The phrase existing inside of the word
“loneliness” allows the reader to feel the emptiness mention here.
 The poem also functions visually. The words inside the parenthesis look like a leaf as it sways
back and forth in the wind as it falls to the ground. Thus, this is more than just a poem. It is also a
work of art made from a few words. The visual qualities of the text allow the reader to experience
not only the imagery created by the description of the leaf falling to the ground in loneliness but
also to experience the imagery created by the words and the way they are arranged.
Thank You

E.E Cummings L (A, A Leaf Falls With Loneliness',: Postmodern Poetry Herjin Fadil Abdullah

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

E.E Cummings L (A, A Leaf Falls With Loneliness',: Postmodern Poetry Herjin Fadil Abdullah

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

E.E Cummings L (A, A Leaf Falls With Loneliness',: Postmodern Poetry Herjin Fadil Abdullah

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

e.

l(a, A Leaf Falls with

 Born: October 14, 1894 in Cambridge,

 First poem published in 1920 in a collection titled Eight Harvard Poets

 [i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]

 Cummings died on September 3, 1962, in

 “The most wasted of

You might also like