Often times individuals wish to change things about themselves whether that be their looks or their personality or other ideas about the world. When this happens, many may view it as a progressive change, yet in E. E. Cummings’ mind, this is the exact opposite of what is actually happening. When society tries to change something about itself, it changes for the worse. By wishing that things were different, the world occurs a loss. If people take an understanding of how something is supposed to be, and wish for it to be something else, that wish will not be fulfilled because it will just be changed temporarily because it would have to be completely changed and then society would have to mold around it as well. Cummings’ overall message that
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The first two lines of each stanza begin with a comparison between two antitheses such as “day was night, ““now was hence,” and “past was present” (Cummings ll. 1, 7-8). The comparison between the opposites in these lines represents the ideas of society. It is one thing, yet wants to be another. It cannot come up with a clear position as to what it should be. This is the problem that Cummings writes about. He realizes that the world is fickle, constantly changing the ideal state of acceptance, yet as this happens, the “perfection” that is strived for becomes increasingly distant. Cummings wishes to diffuse the idea that society must be perfect because there is no potential to reach it. The rhyme scheme is also an important literary device found throughout the …show more content…
The final line in each stanza follows the same pattern, much like the rest of the poem. Line six reads, “I wouldn’t be I,” line 12 states, “You wouldn’t be you,” and line 18 beings, “We wouldn’t be we” (Cummings ll. 6, 12, 18). While the first and the last words are different, the meaning is much the same. The “I,” “you,” and “we” that the author speaks of is society, each at a different level. As the poem continues, there is more imagery of how the world is like one idea, yet turns into another because it has been changed. “We” decide for ourselves that we want to change the little things about ourselves to make us more “perfect.” This is not something that is attainable because the little things are distracting from the big
The first two lines of each stanza begin with a comparison between two antitheses such as “day was night, ““now was hence,” and “past was present” (Cummings ll. 1, 7-8). The comparison between the opposites in these lines represents the ideas of society. It is one thing, yet wants to be another. It cannot come up with a clear position as to what it should be. This is the problem that Cummings writes about. He realizes that the world is fickle, constantly changing the ideal state of acceptance, yet as this happens, the “perfection” that is strived for becomes increasingly distant. Cummings wishes to diffuse the idea that society must be perfect because there is no potential to reach it. The rhyme scheme is also an important literary device found throughout the …show more content…
The final line in each stanza follows the same pattern, much like the rest of the poem. Line six reads, “I wouldn’t be I,” line 12 states, “You wouldn’t be you,” and line 18 beings, “We wouldn’t be we” (Cummings ll. 6, 12, 18). While the first and the last words are different, the meaning is much the same. The “I,” “you,” and “we” that the author speaks of is society, each at a different level. As the poem continues, there is more imagery of how the world is like one idea, yet turns into another because it has been changed. “We” decide for ourselves that we want to change the little things about ourselves to make us more “perfect.” This is not something that is attainable because the little things are distracting from the big