E. E. Cummings
Buffalo Bill ’s
defunct
who used to
ride a watersmooth-silver
stallion
and break onetwothreefourfive pigeonsjustlikethat
Jesus
he was a handsome man
and what i want to know is
how do you like your blueeyed boy
Mister Death
********************************************************************************
This is a poem without title by E. E. Cummings. The Cummings' style is evident in its usage of irregular spacings. To understand the poem, we should know its subject "Buffalo Bill". Buffalo Bill, whose real name is William F. Cody, was a bison hunter and showman in the late 19th century. He was a heroic figure in the American Old West. He was known for its hunting skills and provided bison meat for Kansas Pacific Railroad workers. Later in his life, he began to tour in Europe and the US with his shows of cowboy themes and earned great success.
The tone of the poem is set in the second line with the word "defunct". Why the poet didn't use "dead" ? Because the word "defunct" means to cease existing and functioning. It is a word of indifference and irreverence. Buffalo Bill was "defunct" as anything else and there is neither glory nor pity. People who watched his show can still remember his beautiful stallion and his excellent shootings. "Watersmooth-silver" is an invented term, but it is easy to understand the meanings behind. "Water" and "smooth" are two words to describe the dynamics of the riding. The horse passes smoothly like the water. "onetwothreefourfive" means the succession of shootings . We can imagine the rapidity and accuracy of these shootings. These descriptions form a sharp contrast with the fact of Buffalo Bill being defunct so as to strengthen the fact that everything is equal before the death. No matter how famous you are, even for Buffalo Bill, the death takes away everything.
"Jesus" could be the cries of the crowd, people who admired Buffalo Bill's incredible show. This word stands out in the poem to strengthen the effect of crowd crying. It could be possible that the poet want to remark that "Jesus" is the cries of the crowd, not himself. "handsome" is not only the appearance, but also the action. The last three lines are rather sarcastic. The poet call Buffalo Bill in an irreverent manner, "blueeyed boy". "boy" indicates that Buffalo Bill is in the group of "Mister Death" and he is an subordinate. So the poet triumphs over Buffalo Bill by putting himself in the same rank as "Mister Death" with the appellation "Mister".
Why E. E. Cummings mocked at the death of Buffalo Bill? To understand this, we should put ourselves in the context of the poet's period. In the development of the west, the Americans needed heroes and created their own like Buffalo Bill. The worship of the violence and the heroic deeds influenced even children's education. Nowadays, we still see the popularity of "superman" films in the US. This represents the exaggerated materialism and the worst indulgence in false heroes in the American society. Cummings have been attacking this phenomenon for a long time. In this poem, he bitterly satirized one of these "heroes", Buffalo Bill. The death of the hero is a disillusion for people who have worshiped him.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Monday, December 9, 2013
“may i feel said he” by E. E. Cummings
“may i feel said he”
E.E. Cummings
may i feel said he(i’ll squeal said she
just once said he)
it’s fun said she
(may i touch said he
how much said she
a lot said he)
why not said she
(let’s go said he
not too far said she
what’s too far said he
where you are said she)
may i stay said he
(which way said she
like this said he
if you kiss said she
may i move said he
is it love said she)
if you’re willing said he
(but you’re killing said she
but it’s life said he
but your wife said she
now said he)
ow said she
(tiptop said he
don’t stop said she
oh no said he)
go slow said she
(cccome?said he
ummm said she)
you’re divine!said he
(you are Mine said she)
*********************************************************************************
E.E. Cummings was an American poet from 1894 to 1962. His body of work encompasses approximately 2900 poems. Cummings wanted to be a poet from childhood and wrote poetry daily aged eight to 22, exploring assorted forms. He went to Harvard and developed an interest in modern poetry which ignored conventional grammar and syntax, aiming for a dynamic use of language. Regarded as one of the most eminent modern poet, he invented his owns ways to use grammar and syntax. So it can be hard to understand the sentence of his poems without the global context. He even uses intentional misspellings in some of his poems. Apart from these eccentric behaviors, Cummings plays with the written format to present his poems in a different way. Like Jackson Pollock who added the gesture movement into the creation of paintings, he mixed the space and words to better express his emotions.[1]
Cummings has also written a great deal of erotic poems, which accentuate his eccentric characters. But his artistic presentation of this controversial subject is interesting to study. In this poem, he describe a scene where a married man is having an affair with his secret lover. The verses with "said he" and those with "said she" alternate in the whole poem. This gives a good sound effect to the poem when it is read. It is like a theater play, where the actor and the actress talk all the time. In fact, the images jumps just in front of readers because of the detailed words exchange.
I don't know how many people have laughed when they read the line "but your wife said she". Personally, I laughed when I got there. It seemed that I was fooled by the poet for the first half part. At the beginning, it seems a normal lovers' meeting. But almost at the end of the scene, we are told that this a an extra-conjugal affair. When we are still enjoying the tender words and the timid interaction in the love affair, this sentence suddenly make a turn by switching the background of the relation. We may be even kind of accused to have enjoyed these words. If you know the famous painting of Edward Manet "The luncheon on the Grass", this technique is not strange to you. This is not a moral relation, but you have enjoyed it during the first part. So you are scandalized. This meets really well the satirical character of Cummings's poems.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ee_cummings
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Interesting quotes of Robert FROST
There are many famous words said by Robert Frost. We may be very familiar with these words without knowing the author. Here are some of them that I prefer:
1. A mother takes twenty years to make a man of her boy, and another woman makes a fool of him in twenty minutes.
2. Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.
3. Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it.
4. A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age.
5. The greatest thing in family life is to take a hint when a hint is intended-and not to take a hint when a hint isn't intended.
6. Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.
7. Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.
8. Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up.
9. The father is always a Republican toward his son, and his mother's always a Democrat.
10. Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee, and I'll forgive Thy great big joke on me.
11. It's a funny thing that when a man hasn't anything on earth to worry about, he goes off and gets married.
12. The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.
13. I hold it to be the inalienable right of anybody to go to hell in his own way.
14. Education doesn't change life much. It just lifts trouble to a higher plane of regard.
15. To be a poet is a condition, not a profession.
16. A jury consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer.
17. I would have written of me on my stone: I had a lover's quarrel with the world.
18. The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work.
19. To be social is to be forgiving.
20. A poet never takes notes. You never take notes in a love affair.
21. College is a refuge from hasty judgment.
22. Humor is the most engaging cowardice.
23. The only certain freedom's in departure.
24. We love things we love what they are.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_frost.html#Cj3Ao4wQJJ9JHR5M.99
1. A mother takes twenty years to make a man of her boy, and another woman makes a fool of him in twenty minutes.
2. Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.
3. Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it.
4. A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age.
5. The greatest thing in family life is to take a hint when a hint is intended-and not to take a hint when a hint isn't intended.
6. Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.
7. Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.
8. Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up.
9. The father is always a Republican toward his son, and his mother's always a Democrat.
10. Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee, and I'll forgive Thy great big joke on me.
11. It's a funny thing that when a man hasn't anything on earth to worry about, he goes off and gets married.
12. The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.
13. I hold it to be the inalienable right of anybody to go to hell in his own way.
14. Education doesn't change life much. It just lifts trouble to a higher plane of regard.
15. To be a poet is a condition, not a profession.
16. A jury consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer.
17. I would have written of me on my stone: I had a lover's quarrel with the world.
18. The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work.
19. To be social is to be forgiving.
20. A poet never takes notes. You never take notes in a love affair.
21. College is a refuge from hasty judgment.
22. Humor is the most engaging cowardice.
23. The only certain freedom's in departure.
24. We love things we love what they are.
I had a lovers quarrel with the world.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_frost_3.html#Ji6RJEvlIe4M9yZ3.99
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_frost_3.html#Ji6RJEvlIe4M9yZ3.99
To be a poet is a condition, not a profession.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_frost_2.html#pUUXYbRtpZdGlU2x.99
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_frost_2.html#pUUXYbRtpZdGlU2x.99
Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee, and I'll forgive Thy great big joke on me.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_frost_2.html#pUUXYbRtpZdGlU2x.99
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_frost_2.html#pUUXYbRtpZdGlU2x.99
Robert Frost Quotes
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_frost.html#Cj3Ao4wQJJ9JHR5M.99
A mother takes twenty years to make a man of her boy, and another woman makes a fool of him in twenty minutes.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_frost.html#Cj3Ao4wQJJ9JHR5M.99v
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_frost.html#Cj3Ao4wQJJ9JHR5M.99v
A mother takes twenty years to make a man of her boy, and another woman makes a fool of him in twenty minutes.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_frost.html#Cj3Ao4wQJJ9JHR5M.99
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_frost.html#Cj3Ao4wQJJ9JHR5M.99
A mother takes twenty years to make a man of her boy, and another woman makes a fool of him in twenty minutes.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_frost.html#Cj3Ao4wQJJ9JHR5M.99
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_frost.html#Cj3Ao4wQJJ9JHR5M.99
A song of love and death by Robert FROST
My butterfly
Robert FROST
Thine emulous fond flowers are dead, too,And the daft sun-assaulter, he
That frighted thee so oft, is fled or dead:
Save only me (Nor is it sad to thee!)
Save only me
There is none left to mourn thee in the fields.
The gray grass is not dappled with the snow;
Its two banks have not shut upon the river;
But it is long ago--
It seems forever--
Since first I saw thee glance,
With all the dazzling other ones,
In airy dalliance,
Precipitate in love,
Tossed, tangled, whirled and whirled above,
Like a limp rose-wreath in a fairy dance.
When that was, the soft mist
Of my regret hung not on all the land,
And I was glad for thee,
And glad for me, I wist.
Thou didst not know, who tottered, wandering on high,
That fate had made thee for the pleasure of the wind,
With those great careless wings,
Nor yet did I.
And there were other things:
It seemed God let thee flutter from his gentle clasp:
Then fearful he had let thee win Too far beyond him to be gathered in,
Snatched thee, o'er eager, with ungentle grasp.
Ah! I remember me
How once conspiracy was rife
Against my life--
The languor of it and the dreaming fond;
Surging, the grasses dizzied me of thought,
The breeze three odors brought,
And a gem-flower waved in a wand!
Then when I was distraught
And could not speak,
Sidelong, full on my cheek,
What should that reckless zephyr fling
But the wild touch of thy dye-dusty wing!
I found that wing broken to-day!
For thou are dead, I said,
And the strange birds say.
I found it with the withered leaves
Under the eaves.
*********************************************************************************
This was the first poem that Robert Frost sold in 1894. It was published in the New York Independent for $15 ($405 today). Proud of his accomplishment, he proposed marriage to Elinor Miriam White. She refused his proposal, wanting to finish first her college. He then went on a journey to the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia. Upon his return, he proposed marriage another time to Elinor. Having graduated, she agreed this time.[1]
In this poem, Frost mourns a butterfly that he loved and which now has died. Just at the beginning, the sorrowful scene already indicates what has happened: something that he loves is dead. Then it turns out to be a butterfly that the poet has seen in the past. He recalls how he fell in love with this beautiful creature on a warm and windy day. His butterfly was like "a limp rose-wreath in a fairy dance". How could he imagine at the time that his butterfly might die one day? He wonders why it would disappear. Perhaps it is a conspiracy of the wind? Perhaps it is God who wants to take it back? The poet cannot help but think that its death is destined.
Frost would not simply express his feelings for a butterfly. There has to be some metaphors in this poem. In my opinion, the butterfly can be a broken love. When two people fall in love with each other, the intense emotions make them carefree and they would never imagine the end of their love. Love can be very beautiful when everything goes right. But finally it may end for all kinds of reasons. They may look back and think, "How funny it is to have thought that this love would last forever and maybe it is a joke of God."
Why would Frost write such a poem? The inspiration was probably derived from his love for Elinor. This poem expressed his anxieties about this relation. They were in love and happy. But how could he be sure that their love would not end up in a tragedy like the "butterfly"? How could he know if God would not try to grasp his butterfly, their love for each other? This feeling might have pushed him to write this poem and propose to Elinor, his butterfly.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Frost
Thursday, November 7, 2013
A philosophical thinking of Robert FROST
The Road Not Taken
Robert FROSTTwo roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
***************************************************************************
Standing at the fork of two roads in a yellow wood means to be confronted in front of an important choice of life. There are two ways to choose. The future is uncertain like the end of a road covered by trees. He wants to foresee the future and he hesitates to making decisions.
But how can you human predict the future ? What you see is just the present and numerous precursors, who have left some traces. However the traces are blurred by the time. So he just picks one way which is less travailed. He comforts himself by saying that "I leave the first one for another day? But will he return back? I don't think so and neither does he. The life is always a one-way travel and we can never return. He might have ask himself,"is this a good choice?" I think that he can never answer this question. How can we judge a decision in life without a second life, where we make the other decision, to compare?
This reminds me of an interesting argument in a book called "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera. He says that we can never judge a choice as we cannot have a second life to compare. It is a quite philosophical reflection. We make choices after choices. So our life become one of hundreds of thousands of possible "lives". We may sometimes look back and ask ourselves, "what if I have made another decision?" The question can never be answered. Maybe we will sigh, "my life would have been another story if..." These decisions make all the differences and kill all the other possibilities at the same time. These possibilities become our dreams when we look back. And this is beauty of life.
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