The poetry of e.e. cummings is marked by its distinctive quality of being contemporary, while maintaining a traditional appeal. By doing this, cummings writes poetry that has an appeal to many readers. The same is true for his poem, “i like my body when it is with your body.” The poem utilizes a passion that readers can relate to and descriptive language that draws the reader closer to the core of the poem’s meaning.
The poet, e.e. cummings, writes this particular poem about love and more specifically, about the passion of love making. The poem succeeds in reaching its audience because it utilizes descriptive words that play to the reader’s sense of emotion and passion. The opening line of the poem represents the passion in its purest form and passionate essence. Cummings writes, “I like my body when it is with your body”(cummings). While the line is simply a repeat of the title, it sets the tone and the mood for the entire poem. Love is one of the most pure emotions and when stripped bare and naked, can still have a profound influence. So too, these simple words have a strong impact on the meaning and tone of this poem. The argument in the opening line of the poem is simple. It outlines and details, while providing no details, the experience and emotion of love making.
In a poem like this, where so much depends upon the reader’s emotions and the reader’s depiction of the words in the poem, it is important to consider the literary devices used in the poem by e.e. cummings. A strange bird of sorts, cummings did not write the tradition sonnet. In “i like my body when it is with your body”, cummings chose specifically to write in blank verse. By not utilizing a rhyme scheme, cummings was able to empower his words by allowing them to stand free and alone. Cummings writes in these lines, “I like your body, i like what it does. i like its hows, i like to feel the spine”(cummings). Very clearly, cummings avoids a childish rhyme scheme, opting for a more mature feel in this more mature poem. In addition to blank verse, cumming utilizes the very important literary device of imagery. Defined as descriptive language that appeals to the senses of the reader, the imagery in this poem is undeniable. In one line, cummings appeals to both the senses of touch and taste. Cummings states in lines five through ten, “i like to feel the spine of your body and its bones, and the trembling-firm-smoothness and which i will again and again and again kiss, i like kissing this and that of you”(cummings). These words not only give the poem meaning and power, but they bring the words to life and make them something tangible that the reader and can feel and taste.
Beyond the major themes and literary devices used in this poem, the historical context surrounding this poem is important to consider. The poet, e.e. cummings, was somewhat of a strange bird. He did not feel the need to capitalize any words in his poetry, including his legal name. Born October 14, 1894 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cummings graduated with a B.A. from Harvard University. Noted in his biography for being “one of the most innovative contemporary poets, though in some ways being oddly traditional”(bio), cummings was long thought to have a writing style that appealed to many different types of interested reader. He was married three times, with his second marriage being a one year span of passion. That marriage to Ann Barton contributes to his passionate style in writing of love. The historical context of the time may also contribute to the passionate style of this poem. Cummings volunteered in World War I, and that time was one where men were thought to have a need for passion and for women. Cummings’ poetry is described by one encyclopedia as being, “Noted for its eccentricities of typography, language, and punctuation, usually seeks to convey a joyful, living awareness of sex and love” (encyclopedia). The description is clearly backed up by cummings’ poem, “i like my body when it is with your body”. Before his death in 1962, cummings also excelled in art as well as essay writing. While his influence covers a large range of genres and topics, his poetry will always be his defining measure, with poems like the aforementioned work defining his poetic and literary career.
Worls Cited
Cummings, e.e. “E.E. Cummings on Encyclopedia.com”. Encyclopedia.com (2005), 25 Oct. 2005.< http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/c/cummings.asp>
Cummings, e.e. “E.E. Cummings: Poetry, Bio, and Tips for Understanding” 2002. Nasticur.com. 25 Oct. 2005. < http://www.nascitur.com/cummings/cummings.html>
Cummings, e.e. “I like my body when it is with your body.” Poems VIII.
Reference:
- Cummings, e.e. “E.E. Cummings on Encyclopedia.com”;. Encyclopedia.com (2005), 25 Oct. </” >2005.<; ” >www.encyclopedia.com/html/c/cummings.asp>; Cummings, e.e. “E.E. Cummings: Poetry, Bio, and Tips for Understanding” 2002. Nasticur.com. 25 Oct. 2005. < ” >www.nascitur.com/cummings/cummings.html>; Cummings, e.e. “I like my body when it is with your body.”; Poems VIII.
