anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn’t he danced his did
Women and men(both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn’t they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain
children guessed(but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more
when by now and tree by leaf
she laughed his joy she cried his grief
bird by snow and stir by still
anyone’s any was all to her
someones married their everyones
laughed their cryings and did their dance
(sleep wake hope and then)they
said their nevers they slept their dream
stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt to forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)
one day anyone died i guess
(and noone stooped to kiss his face)
busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by was
all by all and deep by deep
and more by more they dream their sleep
noone and anyone earth by april
wish by spirit and if by yes.
Women and men(both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain
i think this poem speaks about life, and the human condition very well. despite our illusions about what it should be, he bluntly talks about what it will be. our dreams will become nothing, our friendships are meaningless, and there will be no actual progress in life: how things are now is how they always will be. the positive aspect of our lives, cummings concludes, is our loving relationships.
with his tone of bitter reminiscence, he hints that we are doomed to concentrate on our shortcomings. the poem describes its own futility as it concludes the human condition is the desire to find the human condition. happiness is not external – it is being internally content.
It is nice to think of this poem as being about two specific people, anyone and noone. The beauty of the story is that the pronouns speak of everyone. Anyone whose ever been ignored or alone but found their noone who completed their being. The poem, to me, is a story of the invisible becoming visible, the unnoticed becoming loved even though the rest of the world continues to evolve and change around them. It is a lilting piece of poetry that reflects life and does so with a peculiarity that only cummings could create.
personally this is one of my favorite poems i have read. one thing i love about it is that he manages to fit 2 similar stories into one poem and both give sort of seperate emotions but give the same central themes about growing up and such. by different emotions i mean it’s sort of sad how someone may grow up all alone but then you just have to change the anyone and noone into names and it’s no longer really sad. i also love how the lines just sound really cool and don’t have to be straight forward with their meaining. i dunno, i just like this poem alot. there is my ATTEMPT to explain why i like it.
Dear Jesse,
I do not have to be eloquent to present an argument on americanpoems.com. It seems that you and I come from the two main opinions on poetry which happen to clash the most. I understand that you believe we should analyze and such and psychoanalyze cummings and delve into his life to grasp why he wrote what he wrote. But, I disagree. I come from the other, which basically means that I believe that some basic biographical information should be looked at, and that we should think about the poem while we are reading it etc.
Here is basically what I believe: Poetry, a complex menagerie of words. Let it be taken for what it is the first time eyes make contact, read until the reader has no need for it (whether quickly or slowly), and
remembered for what it was. My background would help some understand my poetry, but who cares about what meaning I gave it, I only care what you bring to my work. Without a reader, my work is wasted, it’s the least I can do for a partner.
So, we both have great opinions, and we could argue and argue until our fingers bleed, but it’s not worth it. I respect your opinion, please respect mine, that is all I ask. Sorry if I offended you previously.
— ME
This poem is awesome! It was really hard to understand at first. I mean REALLY hard. But I talked to my language teacher about it and she helped me understand it more. And now, I just keep reading it and reading it and getting more, and more out of it. He is talking about a town and two people who were kind of outcasts. But in another way he was talking about the world, and how we don’t notice “anyone” or “noone”. I think the poem was written this way (I mean like, it doesn’t really make sense if you read it and don’t think about it) because the world doesn’t make sense. I mean, if somebody “dances his own did”, and “sings his own didn’t” then we don’t notice him. I think this poem is a good way to look at our life and see how we are living. THINK ABOUT IT!!
ps….notice that when he says anyone died he says: “anyone died I GUESS” nobody noticed…THINK ABOUT IT!
For more meaning, I have named the verses:
youth
growth
love
courtship
marriage
mid life
death
resurrection
life
i do not understand this poem….
the poem is good. it reaches many. it is life.
it is death. thank you mr. cummings.
To make sense of the poem, try replacing anyone and noone with actual names. For instance, I called anyone Bob and noone Mary. Read the poem several times for it to make more sense.
I love this poem so much that I named my business after it: How Town Jewelry. I feel that this poem is beautiful and uplifting because if anyone and noone are special and happy in their bland how town; then everyone is special in our own how town’s. I make jewelry for everyone(well, girls mostly, so I guess its for noone.) I’ll have a website soon, let me know if you have suggestions.
This poem sounds really beautiful, he make the words sound magical- I can’t make any sense of it- but it’s one of the best poemes I’ve ever read! 😉
what is with everyone capitalizing EE! Do you know nothing about the man?, he didn’t capitalize anything, so please make it e.e cummings!
I think that these is you best poem that I have ever read in my hole life. I think that you are have good poet and you have a lot to look forwards too.
Here is what I thought of the poem after reading and studying it. It is not so much an analysis of the poem, but an analysis of the devices used to convey the thesis of the poem.
E. E. Cummings presents his views about life and how the individual is able to create more opportunities in life by pushing boundaries than if he were to conform to the demands of society by using sequential diction in an informal sentence structure through a weary tone.
The weary tone gives the impression that the narrator has been through many difficult situations and made hard decisions. The tone makes it seem that the narrator has gained quite a bit of experience by living through much of life. With “they sowed their isn’t they reaped their same…reaped their sowing and went their came,” it gives the audience a feeling that the people have been working and gaining experience for a long time. In reality, the sowing and reaping process of crops takes an entire year. The narrator alludes to this fact with the “anyone” and “noone” sowing and reaping to show that they have been through hardships together and for a long time that in fact extends towards many years. Much of this is derived from the aphorism, “One reaps what they sow.” The tone emphasizes the belief that one should be able to make their own decisions; they should be able to live their life just as they like it.
E. E. Cummings’ sequential diction in an informal sentence structure plays a major role in the understanding of the poem. The entire poem is constructed based on the informal order of the diction. He uses what is commonly considered a “verb” as a proper noun, or may make an adjective a conjunction, but usually the meaning behind the words and the poem is clear. The plot of “Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town” is simple, but it is in the subtle language choices that this poem is understandable. “Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town” tells the story of anyone. The name has a double meaning; anyone could be anyone in the dictionary definition sense, and could be seen as one person, reinforcing the theme of isolation the independent individual has from the rest of society. The events all occur in a “pretty how town”. “Pretty” connotes a false appearance, describing the superficiality of the town’s inhabitants. “How”, an adverb, is used as an adjective here. It is describing the extent of the town’s prettiness, but a better reason is that it describes the routine-like schedule of the town’s activities, since “how” also means “in a method or manner”.
The similar words continue “(with up so floating many bells down)”. This line occurs again later in the poem, and its function is to signify the passing of time. The next line is an ordered list of the seasons, also symbolizing the passing of time, describing anyone’s activities as occurring continuously. The activities are grouped as failures (his didn’t) and his successes (his did). Regardless of the outcome, anyone is singing and dancing “happily.” The women and men are described as “little and small”, referring not to their physical size but their capacity and willingness to explore new dimensions. The townspeople did not care for the individual named anyone, nor do they care for any of each other. They do not attempt anything (sowed their isn’t) outside their known habits (they reaped their same). The list of “sun moon stars rain” signifies the fact that the townspeople never change their standardized routines even when other things do.
Cummings also embeds symbolism in several sections of his poem. He views children as innocent, and because of their innocence, can see the love noone has for anyone’s individuality. Again, noone’s name has a double meaning, expressing the degree of noone’s love (“more by more”) as well as anyone’s intense isolation from the rest of society. The children’s ability to see this love fades with the passing of time as they get older, and it is interesting to note that the list of seasons this time starts with autumn. Autumn leads into winter, which is often a symbol of death and sleep. The seasons describing anyone started with spring, which is a symbol of rebirth and change, characteristic of his personality. Noone and anyone live spontaneously for the present (“when by now”), gaining large advances from small things (tree by leaf). Cummings considers risks as tiny compared to the possibilities resulting from wanting to achieve more. “Tree by leaf” could also be referring to parts as the sum of a whole, suggesting the depth of anyone and noone’s shared experiences. Noone takes part in all of anyone’s activities, laughing and crying with him. She does this through all circumstances. The symbols bird and snow describe the seasons as opposed to an obvious list, contrasting anyone’s abstract creativity with society’s literal inflexibility. “Stir by still” illustrates rest and motion, but the “by” implies that even at rest, the couple was moving. “Anyone’s any was all to her” explains how much noone loved everything about anyone, as well as reiterating the isolation motif.
The narrator tells us of anyone’s death with a resigned position. He knows that this event will not change the townspeople. It also evokes the unconcern the townspeople have for anyone, how they allow events to merely pass by. The double meaning of “noone” is used again to display this detachment (“noone stooped to kiss his face”). Anyone and noone are buried together, their physical bodies returning to dust (“earth by april”), but they become part of a shared dream (“dream their sleep”). The townspeople take no notice of this and continue their fruitless cycle. When they die, they achieve nothing (“reaped their sowing”, when they sowed nothing in the second stanza). They merely become dust and disappear forever (“went their came”), as opposed to anyone and noone, who achieve immortality, much like the eternal sun, moon, and stars. There are very few breaks in the poem: two periods, each occurring before “Women and men”. This is a disruption in the poem, signifying the townspeople as a fault in the order of the universe, and anyone and noone being involved in it, blending in. The poem does not begin with a capitalized letter, nor does not end with a period, showing that the cycle begins where it left off.
E. E. Cummings shows us how society is not willing to acknowledge differences. He wants people to question traditions, and to understand them for their true intent. He is challenging anyone, literally, to push the boundaries of success so that we may achieve our dreams.
Who is the anyone? Also, why does EE use bells? Those are the two things that I couldn’t figure out.
I think we have to look beyond the supposed aesthetic to the literal. The poem is about life and death. The line “up so floating many bells down” could simply refer to the soul floating up as the bells ring while the body goes down into the grave. That’s what’s so great about the poem. It’s open to interpretation, and there are so many ways you can look at it. In fact, that’s what’s so great about poetry. It becomes intensely and uniquely personal to every one who reads it. So just read it and enjoy it. If you don’t like a poem, move on. There’s one out there with your name on it. And chances are it was written by e.e. cummings.
To Pan!k:
I agree that some authors who are “classic” are far overrated, and honestly sometimes I have no idea how they came to be considered so. However, you are contradicting yourself. E.E. Cummings IS writing how he feels, whether romantically, politically, or what have you. But like a true artist, he is putting it into different [if you will, his OWN] terms rather than blatantly talking about it in bland and journalistic ways. He is being creative, not devious and “encoding” his message like some spy, as you accuse others of thinking.
And if, as you say, he’s “just writing how he feels,” then what would you say he’s feeling? Without analysis, how could anyone decifer what is going on?
Try to think of it in terms of paintings or drawings, some other form of artistic expression. If everyone simply painted exactly what they saw or felt at face value, paintings would get boring very quickly. Picasso, for example, was a beautiful artist who could paint photographic likenesses, yet instead chose to paint very complex messages in a different way.
And if you disagree with that, I think you should research your opinion a bit more before you post it in fairly ineloquent terms.
And indeed, if poetry has no visible fruits, then there is hardly reason to keep art, theater, music, and other forms of self expression around as well. I suppose that is why our country’s school programs are cutting their budgets exponentially on programs that support such things. It’s a shame.
It would be appreciated, I think, if you would stop making face-values assumptions about other people and poetry, not to mention asinine and juvenile insults, and next time contribute a far better founded–and worded–arguement.
You all sit here pretending that EE had some great reason behind his writings, as if he over analyzed his own work to convey a super secret hidden message! Has the thouhgt ever crossed that he wrote what he felt at the time, which is probably what none of you think it is about. I’m not saying I know the answers, I’m just saying that analyzing poetry has no fruits. It is also humorous to me that ya’ll are saying that you completely agree with the supposed anti-conformity message he is trying to convey, yet you live your lives at work with your Starbucks… It’s time to wake up… if you aren’t already in a coma
good poem its good bye bye
I don’t think of this as being about conformity so much as showing the difference between aspirations and the reality.
We all want to be somebody special, a unique snowflake. And the mystery of love is that to that one other person, we ARE that someone special, even though to everyone else, we are nobody and everyone.
Most people in the world don’t know me, and most of those who have met me probably have forgotten me. And of those who haven’t forgotten, a fair portion probably think I’m a bit wierd, if they think of me at all. Is that a reason for me to despair? I don’t really think so. That’s just how people work.
And small towns are like this, full of people who think that their town is the greatest, when really, it’s quite ordinary. But that’s really the same relationship, isn’t it. To them, it IS the greatest. These two thoughts to me are behind “up so floating many bells down”.
The poem just sounds really wonderful, by the way.