Masters Theses
Date of Award
6-1969
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Major
English
Major Professor
Dr. F. Dewolfe Miller
Committee Members
Dr. Nathalia Wright, Dr. Richard Kelly
Abstract
E. E. Cummings' poetry has for many years been noted for its typographical gymnastics, which, admittedly, are noteworthy. But technical innovation alone does not make poetry. A poetry must be judged by its words, as well as by the way they are typed and arranged. This thesis is a study of selected words, the motifs of time and nature, in Cummings' poetry. The primary source comprises the published volumes of his poetry. Poems 1923-1954, 95 Poems, and 73 Poems, and the prose i: six nonlectures, which contains important statements of his poetics. Since time and nature are the basic aspects of the human condition, the selection of motifs is limited to these two areas. The method of study is by discussion that suggests possible interpretations and by tables that support the interpretations with multiple recurrences of the motifs. These motifs indicate that the eccentricities of Cummings' style are not the basis of, but are only incidental to, his poetry. The motifs of nature, word-symbols that represent the cycle of life, show that Cummings emphasizes birth and rebirth. The motifs of time, such as "moment" and "now," illustrate his existential view of life. The motifs reveal that his is a poetry that affirms life, the living now, growth, and renewal.
ERRATUM: All tables in this-thesis contain a uniform typographical, error in transcription. Cummings virtually always jams his parentheses, but the transcriptions as given here erroneously use conventional spacing.
Recommended Citation
Harris, Karl Douglass, "Motifs of Time and Nature in the Poetry of E.E. Cummings. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1969.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/2928