Decoding E.e Cummings’ Purposeful Idiosyncrasies Through Stylistic Analysis

Introduction to the Unconventional Nature of Poetry

Of all literary genres known to mankind, poetry is one form that has an unclear distinction, standard, and structure. Indeed, 21st-century literature is replete with evidence of deviation from the usual form of language – or poetic license, as it is often termed. Many poets are increasingly interested in linguistic experimentation, in which syntax, lexis, capitalization, and punctuation are deemed unconventional and unique. Speaking of deviation from the norm, Edward Estlin Cummings, often stylized as E.E. Cummings, is quite the pioneer of avant-garde poetry, especially in how he writes his poems in a peculiar and unusual fashion.

Decoding E.E. Cummings’ Purposeful Idiosyncrasies Through Stylistic Analysis

With the rise of stylistic analysis in literature, the works of E.E. Cummings are being put into the limelight, where readers and critics can view his poetry from a linguistic perspective and discover how its form reveals new meaning and interpretation. This paper examines the poem mOOn Over tOwns mOOn (1935) and analyzes it in terms of linguistic deviations on two levels: graphological and lexical. Additionally, peculiarities in grammar and syntax will also be explored in the poem.

Graphological Analysis of Cummings’ Poetry

In analyzing Cummings’ poems, their graphology is the easiest to identify, as it exists on the most superficial level of linguistic deviation (Li & Shi, 2015). In the poem, spacing, punctuation, uppercase and lowercase letters, line divisions, and breaks are styled unusually. These purposeful idiosyncrasies effectively employ all the possibilities of visual patterns in this poem. For example, of all the letters in the poem, the letter ‘O’ appears 18 times (11 times capitalized, 7 times decapitalized). Given much emphasis on the letter ‘O,’ the reader is left to assume that the letter symbolizes the moon. In the first two stanzas, the letter ‘O’ is in uppercase – suggesting a magnification or emphasis of the moon, showing its fullness and roundness as it hangs high, watching over the towns. Additionally, the capitalized ‘O’ may also imply the wide-open eyes and mouths of the townspeople, revealing their excitement, eagerness, and anticipation at the sight of the moon. On the other hand, in the last stanza, the decapitalization of the letter ‘O’ while other letters are in uppercase may indicate that the previously excited townspeople have lost interest, turning a blind eye to the beauty the heavens offer them. This meaningful scattering of small and capital letters in the poem is one of Cummings’ usual typographical oddities. He used letters to effectively employ all the possibilities of visual patterns, especially in this poem.

Lexical Analysis and Neologisms in Cummings’ Work

In relation to words and lexicon, it is observable that this poem consists of his infamous neologisms and lexical coinages, through affixation such as ‘gropingness’ and ‘dreamest’. The addition of the suffixes –ness (noun suffix to express a state, condition, quality, or degree) and –est (adjective or adverb suffix used to form the superlative degree) intends to imply newly-formed concepts on searching for something by reaching (groping) or visualizing something in its extreme (dream). These neologisms help evoke the visual imagery in the readers’ minds. Furthermore, it is also manifested in the first and second stanzas of the poem, with its second line always being a verb – ‘whisper’ and ‘float’. The use of these verbs also implies a description of the moon – ‘whisper’ can be a personification of the moonlight, a silent connection between the moon and the man, while ‘float’ can describe the position of the moon in the sky. These verbs are indeed used wisely in the poem to induce an image of the moon.

Grammar and Syntax: Challenging Traditional Language Rules

As far as grammar and syntax are concerned, the poem sacrifices the formal rules of language. In the second stanza, the second ‘who’ takes an unlikely position in the sentence, as its inclusion is somewhat redundant. However, if it were grammatically correct, the pattern 5-1-5-2 syllabication might have been broken. Despite an apparent chaos in grammar and word order, the poem effectively conveys an expression of spontaneity and precision. This technique challenges traditional linguistic norms, encouraging readers to find beauty in the unexpected.

Conclusion: The Legacy of E.E. Cummings’ Poetic Innovation

Indubitably, E.E. Cummings lived up to his reputation for producing novel and experimental poems. Despite this, he has excellently seamed words that may seem peculiar at first glance but ultimately incorporate a lot of meaning and imagery. Discerning these purposeful idiosyncrasies of Cummings’ poetry through stylistic analysis is an attempt to comprehend his liberties in art, aesthetics, and visual style, his command of vocabulary, and remarkable innovation. He enjoys reflecting his feelings of appreciation for natural beauty, particularly in this poem.

References

• Li, X., & Shi, Y. (2015). A Stylistic Analysis of E.E. Cummings’ Poem. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 3(6), 481-486.
• Cummings, E. E. (1935). mOOn Over tOwns mOOn.