EE Cummings: Satire and Romanticisim

EE Cummings: Satire and Romanticisim

Born in Cambridge Massachusetts, E.E Cummings had always been encouraged by his parents to explore and develop his creative talents. After acquiring a BA degree from Harvard in English, he volunteered to become an ambulance driver in France during World War 1 where he and his friend was detained for three months on false grounds after which he wrote his extremely observant and absorbing account of his experience in "The Enormous Room," which was the starting of his writing career. His writing style involves a special emphasis on punctuation, sarcasm, rhyme and enjambment. His writings include social issues and romance. His main focus has been on satire and romanticism. He also received a number of awards for his work. Some of which are following: Dial Award (1925), Boston Arts Festival Award (1957) and two-year Ford Foundation grant of $15,000 (1959). (Wikipedia)

One of his major literary devices has been the use of satire. In his writings he has satirised society and its numerous problems -- urbanisation, tensions etc. He has also been sarcastic about the injustices of humanity, science and scientists, death etc. For example: He has used satire and irony to explain the injustices of humanity in his poem "Humanity, I love you," in which he has satirised people for being so inhumane and cruel by holding back praise, or being too judgmental, or speaking of things they know little or nothing about. In another poem "kind)" he has used satire towards scientists for being too mechanical and dry and not enjoying the true beauty of universe. In "Buffalo Bill's" he has satirized Death for being too cruel and taking Buffalo Bill's life away, who according to Cummings was not only "handsome" in appearance but also thoughts, like Jesus.

Cummings satire was directed towards the authority figures. According to Frankenberg Cummings' satire was "directed against a faith in the manipulations of Science, industry or government." (p. 169) This shows that Cummings was deeply interested in shaking the foundations of institutionalization. Not every critic loved his work though. There are some who felt that Cummings satire and sex poems are nothing but "bits of sarcasm, fancy invective, and nose-thumbings." (Horton and Mangan, p. 88) While we may not agree with this view, it is true that some of Cummings' poems seem to serve no real purpose at all.

Cummings had a strong penchant for romanticism. He has often written about his pleasure derived from nature, love and sex. Many of his love poems are inspired by his love experiences from his three marriages. For example, his poems:"May my heart always be open to little," "birds who are the secrets of living," "whatever they sing is better than to know" and "and if men should not hear them men are old" explores everything from love to lust and from romance to seduction. He is the most famous contemporary love poet and especially his poem " I carry my heart with you" has left a lasting impact on the modern youth. In his play " HIM-- and Me," he opened himself to complete freedom expressing great beauty and pleasure of heterosexual love and spiritual amalgamation of Him and Me.