“Gay” is the captivating cognomen

“Gay” is the captivating cognomen of a Young Woman of cambridge,
mass.
to whom nobody seems to have mentioned ye olde freudian wish;
when i contemplate her uneyes safely ensconced in thick glass
you try if we are a gentleman not to think of(sh)

the world renowned investigator of paper sailors–argonauta argo
harmoniously being with his probably most brilliant pupil mated,
let us not deem it miraculous if their(so to speak)offspring has that largo
appearance of somebody who was hectocotyliferously propagated

when Miss G touched n.y. our skeleton stepped from his cupboard
gallantly offering to demonstrate the biggest best busiest city
and presently found himself rattling for that well known suburb
the bronx(enlivening an otherwise dead silence with harmless quips, out
of Briggs by Kitty)

arriving in an exhausted condition, i purchased two bags of lukewarm
peanuts
with the dime which her mama had generously provided(despite courte-
ous protestations)
and offering Miss Gay one(which she politely refused)set out gaily for
the hyenas
suppressing my frank qualms in deference to her not inobvious perturba-
tions

unhappily, the denizens of the zoo were that day inclined to be uncouthly
erotic
more particularly the primates–from which with dignity square feet
turned abruptly Miss Gay away:
“on the whole”(if you will permit a metaphor savouring slightly of the
demotic)
Miss Gay had nothing to say to the animals and the animals had nothing
to say to Miss Gay

during our return voyage, my pensive companion dimly remarlted some-
thing about “stuffed
fauna” being “very interesting” . . . we also discussed the possibility of
rain. . .
E distant proximity to a Y.W.c.a. she suddenly luffed
–thanking me; and(stating that she hoped we might “meet again
sometime”)vanished, gunwale awash. I thereupon loosened my collar
and dove for the nearest l; surreptitiously cogitating
the dictum of a new england sculptor(well on in life)re the helen moller
dancers, whom he considered “elevating–that is, if dancing CAN be ele-
vating”

Miss(believe it or)Gay is a certain Young Woman unacquainted with the
libido
and pursuing a course of instruction at radcliffe college, cambridge, mass.
i try if you are a gentleman not to sense something un poco putrido
when we contemplate her uneyes safely ensconced in thick glass

Analysis, meaning and summary of e.e. cummings's poem “Gay” is the captivating cognomen

31 Comments

  1. deshawa says:

    That is so lame 2 say somthing like that about gays.

  2. kolen says:

    ee cummings in a love with a gay man

  3. Melaney says:

    I agree with comment #1!!!!!

  4. V says:

    E E cummings is likely referring to Gertrude Stein (well known for her automatic writings) as the “Miss Gay” in this poem. Gertrude Stein was a known lesbian and was the first person to use the word “Gay” as it is commonly used today to refer to homosexual activity (at this time however it did not have a negative connotation.) Gertrude Stein, as the poem notes studied at Radcliffe. The general impression of her which the poem evokes seems to correspond to biographical descriptions of her.

  5. angi says:

    Is everybody out there crazy? Talk about homophobia! This poem has nothing to do with same sex. This was a man and a women going to the zoo. And how he see’s her. Imagines her sexuality behind her glasses. Read it again and get over yourselves…….

  6. Drumoon says:

    I imagine that E.E. would find all these comments quite entertaining.

  7. jennifer travis says:

    I think these poems are really good they should become part of a book

  8. Lori says:

    I’m doing research on him and
    I found this unapproit content I’m not very fond of. Whatev you guys are immatureeee!!

  9. ANONAMIS says:

    I agree with JEFF, # 16 comment

  10. Max says:

    Okay just in case this wasn’t obvious enough, stop with the pathetic jokes about the word” gay”. It’s annoying, if you want to be like that go somewhere else and do it, I really couldn’t care less. Have you even read the poem or are you all to busy beings idiots? If you want to make a comment, keep in mind that it should actually be appropriate and regard the poem and its actual subject matter. Thank you. By the way, it is a great poem by one of the most influential writers in the twentieth century, his language and stylistic writing is world renowned.

  11. idk says:

    that was soooooooo gay!!

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