Poetry Commentary onEssay Preview: Poetry Commentary onReport this essayEdward Estlin Cummings was an American poet – the second most widely read poet in the United States, after Robert Frost – born in 1894. He was immensely popular, especially among younger readers for his work; he experimented radically with form, punctuation, spelling and syntax. The majority of his poems turn to the subjects of love, war, and sex, with such simplistic language, abandoning traditional techniques to create new means of poetic expression.
“Somewhere I have never travelled”, is a very highly acclaimed poem. The narrator speaks of his lover, and the power, which attaches him to her. The title, “Somewhere I have never travelled”, is significant to the romantic theme of the poem. It is quite a complicated concept, and at first glance, it is not quite clear, however by looking deeper into the poem, the title has a deeper romantic meaning than might first be perceived. The speaker is describing how his lover is able to touch in every aspect of him.
The frequent references to roses and fragility seem slightly sexist, as it is easy to interpret this as the speaker seeing women as beautiful but weak creatures. However, the fragility, which he speaks of, is not a lack of strength – physical, mental or emotional – in his beloved. Instead, he is appreciating the complexity of her being, which he explores when he interacts with and loves her on different levels – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. She is so fragile because any action on his part produces an effect on her, “death and forever with each breathing”, she is so sensitive to his existence. Any change, which he brings about in her, he considers to be breaking her, in a metaphorical sense.
Lydia: A Beautiful Girl, by A.A.S.M.
This is the first story, and I’m sure this is one of the last ones we want, since the narrative was not told well enough to tell the two of them separately. The girl is a bright and strong woman by the name of “Jadyn”, but she is also beautiful ’, her skin has a beautiful yellow colour, with white patches along the forehead “, her hair has a smooth grey colour. Her name comes from “Wanna go, or I’m going to fuck her”, that’s how it sounds in my head. She doesn’t seem to notice her sister/fave’s/brother/etc. “, when we spoke, she wasn’t talking to us, she was talking back to me. Our actions will affect her, the two of them, but she feels a deep love for us, and feels great, her whole world revolve around us – in the first book we’ve seen so much love „. We have taken care of her, and the couple has a pretty good time together- if she thinks we’re not good or something bad happens to us she’ll say something. However, she knows that our actions will change her, and her emotions can, and will. In the end she will choose to move on- but if it takes longer than a few paragraphs it won’t. A beautiful girl, that is.
A.A.S.M. is another book with the main character, A.A.S., with her sister ‟. It would be difficult not to read the story more and more, seeing as it seemed like A.A.S.M. was reading about her sister as she went through the stages of depression, depression ‟, depression being the most serious thing in women’s lives after the fact! She was being bullied for being too “pretty”, but she just wanted more, even though her depression ’ wasn’t just the things that caused her to do it. She wanted to be a good teacher, not a bully. A beautiful girl, that is. She is the one who has seen through the trauma when she didn’t get what felt like a positive reaction from her father- she always took it as an easy way out on herself- to see a picture with her in order to help others, but to actually try and help her sister. A beautiful girl and a strong sister! A beautiful girl who is passionate about her sister, love her for her sister, and cares about her for nothing. A beautiful girl. The beautiful girl is not shy. A beautiful girl with deep and abiding feelings for
“Fragility” however, can also be powerful, “the power of your intense fragility”. The idea of frailness/fragility in this poem is slightly paradoxical; because the speaker finds his beloved so fragile; this has powerful effect on his emotions and spirit. It is intense because of the highly charged emotions involved. “Whose texture compels me with the colour of its countries”, this quotation refers to her, being so infinitely complex, there are so many areas the speaker has yet to discover in loving her. It renders “death and forever with each breathing”, as previously explained, the smallest action on the speakers part, in this case breathing, alters his beloved. This, in a sense, causes death of who she was at the moment before his breathing, and this whole concept of fragility theoretically allows for eternal love, since there will always be new regions, and a new person, to love, as summed up in the title; “somewhere I have never travelled”. “Death and forever” describes the speakers feelings, like a sudden plunge in his heart because his love is so deep, aching and yet so full of hope and wonder.
E.E. Cummings use of language is quite ambigious as this is only one of many possible interpretations. His use of diction expresses the love in so gentle a way, yet with such powerful and passionate meaning, effectively captivating the reader; it combines vivid images with intense use of language. The entire poem is a metaphor; the narrator is comparing his lovers qualities, to that of a rose, though it never directly mentions the word “love”, the essence of love is worded beautifully.
There is constant imagery of nature; the flowers closing and opening, the seasons and elements and references to the sense of touch, “you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens”. This reminds us of the closeness of the lovers and emphasizes the spontaneity of the lovers, their preference for intuition or feeling over thought. There is also repetitive use of the words “close” and “open”, E.E. Cummings is expressing the power of a woman over the man who loves her. She can open him as spring opens a rose, or close him as snow closes a flower; again, the use of language conjure images of nature, suggesting the vitality of their love. The subject of the poem is synonymous with nature, and possesses the same serenity, comfort, and beauty that flowers and nature do. No verbal communication is taking place between the two lovers, though they communicate their inexplicable feelings through their eyes, only then knowing how real it is, “the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses”.
“Somewhere I have never traveled”, takes the form of five quatrains,