Upon a first read of Poem by E.E. Cummings, the “plot” of the poem, so-to-speak, seemed almost nonexistent. Like the poems of E.E. Cummings which I analyzed previously, it seemed to me that paraphrasing his otherwise complex, unorthodox, and often disjointed writing style was unworthy of even pertaining to any one plot. Confusingly, the poem’s second line contains the word “you’re” when it states that “you’re a sight to sing” (2), already leaving questions as to who this “you’re” was referring to in context of the speaker—moreover, it seemed similarly unclear if the poet, E.E. Cummings, had any relation to the speaker (or served to be the speaker themselves). Was the speaker talking to a lover, based on the use of “song” and “rosetree” when discussing their audience, potentially utilizing the romantic diction and imagery, respectively, which the two words put forth? Perhaps the “you’re” was a form of the second person, speaking directly to the reader, almost as if a compliment of sorts? In place of a futile plot approach, I decided to examine shifts in the poem, an approach more suited to my strengths as a reader of poetry, leading me to identify three distinct, digestible, and ultimately meaningful sections of Cummings’ poem.
Quickly, I realized that E.E. Cummings was conversing directly with nature. The word “earth” rapidly makes its appearance in the fifth line of the first stanza, where Cummings states that “as if an earth was playing at birthdays”, alluding directly to the presence of Earth—most likely figuratively as opposed to literally—in correlation with a happiness of sorts, as derived from its conjunction with “birthday”, invoking a jubilant tone through the traditionally joyous nature of one’s birthday. In the following stanza, the images of bees dancing “a honeydunce; whirling’s a frantic struts a pedantic proud or humble” (10) further bolstered this idea, eventually leading me to develop a thematic summary of sorts for the first three stanzas—in discussing the idea of nature along with the subsequently discussed idea of “giving is living” (17), I noticed a clear emphasis on the idea of nature’s processes as being generous, catering to its principle of “giving” as “living”.
Crucially, I ran into yet another problem when moving past the first three stanzas—I noticed a shift away from the discussion of nature towards mankind, but I had to ask myself why? Why was this shift, apparent to me in the mention of “prose mind” (19), a reference to humanity’s greatest possession of its “mind”, given such an emphasis, given such a stark contrast from the previous three stanzas? The answer came to me in the form of continuation. That is, I learned that a poem is much like a test, where the emphasis on “moving forward” past difficulties is often what moves us past such hardship. So, I kept on the move, past the fourth stanza and up until the seventh stanza, where I finally began to see yet another “section” of Cummings’ poem beginning to take shape. The introduction of man’s existence, ultimately in the “grand scheme” of nature, was a tool utilized by Cummings to put nature’s grandeur and transcendence over man into deep perspective. In the the sixth stanza, the statement of “aeons of (trivial merely) existence, all when may not measure a now of your treasure” (34) directly compares mankind’s otherwise “trivial” existence in the eyes of the Earth, of nature, to the “treasure” of nature which does not hold the quality of being able to be “measured”—in essence, mankind struggles to recognize the governance of nature over all who inhabit planet Earth. By identifying this first shift, a transition into a second “part”, so-to-speak, of Cummings’ poem, a vision of an audience began to form—perhaps Cummings’, through the speaker’s monologue, addresses humanity as a whole, looking to remind mankind of mother nature’s all-encompassing qualities of being Earth’s “ruler”, capable of worldly governance.
Yet after coming to such a conclusion, the proud discovery which I had made, the eighth and ninth stanzas led me to a second shift—specifically in word choice and consequent impact on tone—once again having me questioning this new section’s purpose in Cumming’s development of the relationship between nature and its beneficiaries (specifically through the lens of humanity). Whereas previously I remedied these difficulties through continuation, through simply reading “past” these points of hardship, I was simply not able to do so this time around; stanzas eight and nine are the final two stanzas in Poem by E.E. Cummings. So, as having already identified a shift based on word choice—the previous discussion of mankind as having nature as its “treasure”, as being gracefully ruled by natural process, morphs into a focus on the aspects that warrant nature to be such a “treasure” to humanity, namely in nature’s tendencies towards “emanation” and “creation” (47)—I utilized this very observance as a means of answering my questions, of simplifying my difficulties to the point of resolution. Crucially, I looked for continuations of this newly formed pattern, a pattern characterizing nature as transcending through creation. Ultimately, I was able to uncover subsequent elements of such a pattern in stanza nine, where the phrase “rose alive must three,must four and…five times proclaim fate isn’t fatal” (50) yet again emphasizes the idea of creation through the transition from “three” to “four” and “five”, like the multiplying of the aforementioned rose. When used in conjunction with the “fate isn’t fatal”, the final portion of Cummings’ poem ultimately discusses how nature’s creative aspect plays a part in its transcendence over humanity, as the rose (a symbol of nature) proclaims that the “fate” of the Earth, as it stands to lie in the hand so nature itself, can and never will be “fatal”. 
After successfully navigating such difficulty, I still can’t really say I’ve identified an overwhelmingly apparent plot structure. At the very least, however, I can say that I now possess the tools to derive meaning from Poem by E.E. Cummings, ultimately a happy ending to an otherwise difficult process through difficulty.
Aarohan, I really enjoyed reading your blog! First of all, I thought it was very effective how you described your process, and admitted when certain strategies didn’t work for you. I think beginning your analysis by looking at the speaker and who they are talking to/who they are is a very strong, effective strategy. It is also important to notice your strengths as a reader, and you clearly identified that! Knowing that you do best by focusing on shifts and dividing up the poem that way was a very smart move and clearly helped you to figure out thematic elements. I also liked how you mentioned that you repeatedly asked yourself why the E.E. Cummings was making the choices he did throughout the poem- this shows you really thought about every aspect! I think you also identified a very strong theme in this poem- that of the relationship between nature and humans, especially as it progresses throughout the poem. You picked up on specific words like “emanation” and “creation”, further developing the theme of nature & humanity, and how nature is in fact transcendence over humanity. Nice job with this, I can clearly see how you worked through each part of the poem to reach a final understanding!
I really enjoyed reading your blog about analyzing ¨Poem¨ by E.E. Cummings. While reading Cummings’ poems in class, I immediately vowed not to pick any of his poems for the difficulty essay; a couple I had reviewed looked like gibberish. However, from your blog, I could tell you can understand Cummings’ work. I thought your blog was well written and organized, and I was able to follow your thought process. I find it worth admiring how you found another angle to approach the poem rather than trying to find its plot. By reading your analysis, I can tell you seem to be a very precise reader, able to pick quickly on patterns and make conclusions about them. It was neat to see how you could pick out specific words that are important to the poem, and work out certain meanings from them. For instance, I found your analysis that branched from the word ¨earth¨ to be interesting. When I analyze a poem I usually only pick up on superficial themes and ideas, and I struggle to look deeper into the finer details. It was wise to section off the poem and then delve into each section. In my analysis, I tried a similar tactic.
Aarohan, with a title like “poem” I definitely cannot blame you for choosing to write your difficult essay on this piece. I also agree with you when you said you like the unorthodox methods employed by Cummings, as I find it to add another layer to the poem and make it feel more like a puzzle. I like the way you employ the TPCAST and recap each bit of the poem as you go because in this case, I feel like it can be easy to get lost and get too ahead of yourself while reading it. The way you slow yourself down allows you to formulate a more complete summary of what you just read and even connect it to other pieces of the overall puzzle. I also like the way you ask why and how things are the way they are. Even if it is purely rhetorical, I find it really easy to delve deeper into the meaning of a piece simply by asking myself why certain parts are the way they are and how they function in the piece. Overall, I think you analyzed this piece very well, and I definitely learned some new tactics to carry with me in the future.
Aarohan, I think taking on an E.E. Cummings poem to start with is a challenge in and of itself but picking one named “Poem” just seems like it exposes you to a whole new world of confusion. First off I enjoyed the way that you boiled certain things in your essay because at first glance it showed where the most important parts of the essay were and made those parts stand out. For instance when you asked the question why, it made that part mean more to me because it stood out to me and highlighted how important asking why was/is. I liked how you really broke the poem up line by line and pulled out the most important part of each line and then took that condensed version and got meaning out of that. It allowed me to follow your thinking and by going in order I felt were “ mathematical” in the way that you analyzed it. I also liked how you were brutally honest at the end by talking about how you may not have gotten a ton out of the poem but you got through the poem and made an attempt to get something out of it. I enjoyed your analysis and good job!
Thanks for taking us through your process–I appreciate the focus on specific word choices. I admire anyone who takes on a Cummings poem!