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Poet: e.e. cummings
Poem: when serpents bargain for the right to squirm... (22)
Comment 10 of 10, added on April 7th, 2008 at 4:53 AM.
Two possibilities occurred to me after considering the lines and reading some of the comments. Either he wants to show the unnatural nature of human beings by ironically applying human deeds to the most natural elements, or he is trying to depict something beyond this; Cummings believes that human beings are currently animals (considering the negative aspects of animals, of which people often speak). If you have in mind his attempts to be anything but normal, Cummings seems to believe in the fact that the devaluation of nature and animals by human beings is not true. WE are the actual animals people are used to depreciate; WE are those to whom all the humiliating adjectives must be ascribed. So what cummings says is that if only everything changes upside down, we can be truly described as unanimal beings; that is, if nature acts as human beings and mankind acts as nature, the so-called nice descriptions of human beings, which are preached by people now and then, can be attributed to us.
Dionysus (S. G.) from Iran
Comment 9 of 10, added on February 14th, 2008 at 12:46 PM.
Yes, like one of the reviewers stated, I too believe that this poem points to the 'absurdities of man', how out of touch with our true nature we have become. We have created a world of concepts and separeteness, a world of illusions. Our dream world is ruled by judgement, self-interest, fear, paranoia, power struggles... Until man can be more like the way everything else is and works around us (in its natural, unadultarated form), we will continue to live in this illusory state. We will be free, spontaneous, connected to all, and in harmony with our world when we wake up from this dream and see our beautiful true nature.
Claudia T.
Comment 8 of 10, added on November 15th, 2007 at 2:00 PM.
it may want to show the power that man has gained beside all the changes of nature that happens n attract our attentions but human behaviour n his developments would be greater than nature changes.human is developing n making day after day n the changes r different from the other one while in nature the changes have become ordinary.
Roya Pourbehi from Iran
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Comments
Two possibilities occurred to me after considering the lines and reading some of the comments. Either he wants to show the unnatural nature of human beings by ironically applying human deeds to the most natural elements, or he is trying to depict something beyond this; Cummings believes that human beings are currently animals (considering the negative aspects of animals, of which people often speak). If you have in mind his attempts to be anything but normal, Cummings seems to believe in the fact that the devaluation of nature and animals by human beings is not true. WE are the actual animals people are used to depreciate; WE are those to whom all the humiliating adjectives must be ascribed. So what cummings says is that if only everything changes upside down, we can be truly described as unanimal beings; that is, if nature acts as human beings and mankind acts as nature, the so-called nice descriptions of human beings, which are preached by people now and then, can be attributed to us.
Dionysus (S. G.) from Iran