E.E. CUMMINGS BY DOMINICK CLAXTON

E.E. CUMMINGS WAS BORN OCTOBER 14, 1894 AND GREW UP IN A SMALL HOUSE IN CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

HIS FATHER, EDWARD, WAS A PROFESSOR AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY AND LATER THE NATIONALLY KNOWN MINISTER OF OLD SOUTH CHURCH IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. HIS MOTHER, REBECCA, WHO LOVED TO SPEND TIME WITH HER CHILDREN, PLAYED GAMES WITH CUMMINGS AND HIS SISTER, ELIZABETH. IT WAS CUMMINGS'S MOTHER WHO INTRODUCED HIM TO THE JOYS OF WRITING

IN 1926, E.E. CUMMINGS'S FATHER, EDWARD DIED IN A CAR ACCIDENT. A TRAIN CUT THE CAR IN HALF, KILLING HIS FATHER INSTANTLY. WHEN TWO ENGINEERS JUMPED FROM THE HALTED TRAIN, THEY SAW A WOMAN STANDING DAZED BESIDE A MANGLED MACHINE WITH BLOOD SPOUTING OUT OF HER HEAD. THE ENGINEERS TOOK HER BY THE ARMS AND TRIED TO LEAD HER TOWARD A NEARBY FARMHOUSE, BUT SHE THREW THEM OFF, RAN STRAIGHT TO HER HUSBAND'S BODY, AND DIRECTED A GROUP OF SPECTATORS TO COVER HIM.

HE WAS INFLUENCED BY MANY MODERN POETS INCLUDING STEIN AND POUND BOTH OF WHOM HE WAS INTRODUCED TO IN COLLEGE.

CUMMINGS WAS INFLUENCED BY WWI ESPECIALLY BECAUSE OF HIS TIME THAT HE SPENT IN THE PRISON CAMP, DÉPÔT DE TRIAGE, IN FRANCE. THIS INFLUENCED HIS WRITING OF "THE ENORMOUS ROOM".

ONE EXAMPLE OF CUMMINGS''S PEICES "THE MOST WASTED OF ALL DAYS IS ONE WITHOUT LAUGHTER"

ANALYSIS 4 "HUMANITY I LOVE YOU"

& ANALYSIS

E.E. CUMMINGS POEMS ARE SIMILAR IN A COUPLE WAYS. 1. HE USES LOWERCASE "i"

2. HE LIKES TO TALK ABOUT HUMANITY & SOCIETY (THE WORLD OUTSIDE AND AROUND HIM).

3. HE'S EXPERIMENTAL & PLAYFUL WITH HIS LANGUAGE.

4. HE DOESN'T USE CORRECT ENGLISH ALL THE TIME BECAUSE HE TRYS TO ILLUSTRATE THE MEANINGS OF HIS POEMS

5. CAPITALIZATION IS USED TO EMPHASIZE THE WORDS OR PHRASES LIKE "HUMANITY I LOVE YOU"