Comment 14 of 34, added on May 11th, 2005 at 6:23 PM.
At first site, this poem may appear to be jumbled, confusing and
pointless, but it actually makes perfect sense, merely in a different
method. Cummings's style is unconventional and complex, which has caused it
to receive skeptical criticism. Poems are traditionally created to be
construed through the ear, yet Cummings created this poem to be construed
through the eye. (Someone who made a comment just before me made a very
similar statement, I thought it to be very intelligent so I made a similar
statement) It is a visual, rather than a verbal, type of imagery. The poem
apparantly has no rhyme scheme, and no meter.
Imagery has typically been explicit verbal detail that causes the reader
to get an understanding of the place described, and if it is done well,
they should perceive actual images in their mind. Cummings's imagery is
somewhat reversed. His actual imagery had almost nothing to do with the
words used. He used rearrangement of letters and word placement to create
the the basic sense of a jumping grasshopper. It need not be a grasshopper,
it can be any sentence that incorperates the same kind of movement. A
grasshopper is merely a concrete object that he used to describe his
subjective idea. The true genious of the work is that it appeals to all of
the senses if understood correctly. It is somewhat like a computer program
for your mind, as it affects your brain in such a way to create the same
sense that is created by a jumping grasshopper.
This image is created by jumbled letters. Random letters and words are
scrambled, and when your mind tries to rationalize it, your subconsious
goes through possible combinations, moving the letters around like
grasshoppers. This unconsious thought puts the effect of a grasshopper in
the readers mind without them even noticing. Also, the placement of the
letters and words (especially in the middle of the poem where they are
scattered randomly) displays the letters in journey; showing the whole idea
displayed by the poem, rather than just the beginning and the end.
The word "grasshopper" is a significant example of thisThe word appears
four times in the poem (interestingly that it is spaced out almost exactly
evenly), progressively becoming less scrambled each time until it reaches
the unscrambled word "grasshopper." It is a very similar method to the
first one mentioned, but it is somewhat different; in that with this word,
Cummings lays out the central idea and creates the main effect with it. The
word could be stated the four times as it is, and it would still create the
same effect.
Some people believe that the words were placed where they are to make the
poem look like a grasshopper. It was probably not intentional by Cummings,
because it seems like a farfetched rationalization; but if it was, it was
not his priority to make it like so. I do agree that the poem should be
viewed like a painting, but in a more figurative way. Rather than looking
for actual "drawings" with the letters, or as seeing it as a sequence of
words, one must see the poem as an illustrated event. In other words, the
beginning and end of the poem do not address the beginning and the end of
the action, it is the whole poem as a whole (similarly to a painting) that
address any movement or action.
E E Cummings is truly a genious. One might think the poem to be merely raw
talent, but it is actually a representation of his genious in a different
method from other poets (similarly to how a song is different than a short
story, Cummings's style is different from that of normal poetry). To many
people it may appear jumbled and pointless, but that is actually a
different, and more visual type of imagery. Rather than creating a picture
in your mind, it makes one imagine the effect of jumping grasshoppers. The
letters jump around the poem as if they were grasshoppers in a container.
Poem in a readable format for those of you who are stupid, removing the
significant effects described earlier, therefore appearing less genious to
even intelligent people--but whatever: r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r, who, as we
look up, now gath(PPEGORHRASS)ering into the leaps, arriving (gRrEaPsPhOs)
to rearrangingly become--grasshopper.
P.S. I did not intentionally send my earlier comment twice, please forgive
me. lol
P.P.S. I might find some time to edit this, if I do, I will paste my
ananlysis on this site.
P.P.P.S. Feel free to e-mail me with any sort of questions you may have.
Drew Nutter from
United States
At first site, this poem may appear to be jumbled, confusing and
pointless, but it actually makes perfect sense, merely in a different
method. Cummings's style is unconventional and complex, which has caused it
to receive skeptical criticism. Poems are traditionally created to be
construed through the ear, yet Cummings created this poem to be construed
through the eye. (Someone who made a comment just before me made a very
similar statement, I thought it to be very intelligent so I made a similar
statement) It is a visual, rather than a verbal, type of imagery. The poem
apparantly has no rhyme scheme, and no meter.
Imagery has typically been explicit verbal detail that causes the reader
to get an understanding of the place described, and if it is done well,
they should perceive actual images in their mind. Cummings's imagery is
somewhat reversed. His actual imagery had almost nothing to do with the
words used. He used rearrangement of letters and word placement to create
the the basic sense of a jumping grasshopper. It need not be a grasshopper,
it can be any sentence that incorperates the same kind of movement. A
grasshopper is merely a concrete object that he used to describe his
subjective idea. The true genious of the work is that it appeals to all of
the senses if understood correctly. It is somewhat like a computer program
for your mind, as it affects your brain in such a way to create the same
sense that is created by a jumping grasshopper.
This image is created by jumbled letters. Random letters and words are
scrambled, and when your mind tries to rationalize it, your subconsious
goes through possible combinations, moving the letters around like
grasshoppers. This unconsious thought puts the effect of a grasshopper in
the readers mind without them even noticing. Also, the placement of the
letters and words (especially in the middle of the poem where they are
scattered randomly) displays the letters in journey; showing the whole idea
displayed by the poem, rather than just the beginning and the end.
The word "grasshopper" is a significant example of thisThe word appears
four times in the poem (interestingly that it is spaced out almost exactly
evenly), progressively becoming less scrambled each time until it reaches
the unscrambled word "grasshopper." It is a very similar method to the
first one mentioned, but it is somewhat different; in that with this word,
Cummings lays out the central idea and creates the main effect with it. The
word could be stated the four times as it is, and it would still create the
same effect.
Some people believe that the words were placed where they are to make the
poem look like a grasshopper. It was probably not intentional by Cummings,
because it seems like a farfetched rationalization; but if it was, it was
not his priority to make it like so. I do agree that the poem should be
viewed like a painting, but in a more figurative way. Rather than looking
for actual "drawings" with the letters, or as seeing it as a sequence of
words, one must see the poem as an illustrated event. In other words, the
beginning and end of the poem do not address the beginning and the end of
the action, it is the whole poem as a whole (similarly to a painting) that
address any movement or action.
E E Cummings is truly a genious. One might think the poem to be merely raw
talent, but it is actually a representation of his genious in a different
method from other poets (similarly to how a song is different than a short
story, Cummings's style is different from that of normal poetry). To many
people it may appear jumbled and pointless, but that is actually a
different, and more visual type of imagery. Rather than creating a picture
in your mind, it makes one imagine the effect of jumping grasshoppers. The
letters jump around the poem as if they were grasshoppers in a container.
Poem in a readable format for those of you who are stupid, removing the
significant effects described earlier, therefore appearing less genious to
even intelligent people--but whatever: r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r, who, as we
look up, now gath(PPEGORHRASS)ering into the leaps, arriving (gRrEaPsPhOs)
to rearrangingly become--grasshopper.
P.S. I did not intentionally send my earlier comment twice, please forgive
me. lol
P.P.S. I might find some time to edit this, if I do, I will paste my
ananlysis on this site.
P.P.P.S. Feel free to e-mail me with any sort of questions you may have.
Drew Nutter from United States