somewhere

i
have
never travelled

by: e.e. cummings

 1. Edward Estlin Cummings was born in Cambridge,
Brief background
Massachusetts, on October 14, 1894.
• e.e.cummings – one of the most important American poets of
the 20th century.
• He was a poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright.
• Cummings is associated with modernist free-form poetry and
is renowned for his love poetry.
• Critics have singled this poem out, as one of cummings’s best
love poems.
2 .During his lifetime, Cummings received a number of honors,
including an Academy of American Poets Fellowship, two
Guggenheim Fellowships, the Charles Eliot Norton
Professorship at Harvard, the Bollingen Prize in Poetry in 1958,
and a Ford Foundation grant.
3. At the time of his death, September 3, 1962, he was the
second most widely read poet in the United States, after
Robert Frost
The poet and critic Randall Jarrell once noted that
Cummings is “one of the most individual poets who
ever lived—and, though it sometimes seems so, it is
not just his vices and exaggerations, the defects of his
qualities, that make a writer popular. But, primarily,
Mr. Cummings’s poems are loved because they are
full of sentimentally, of sex, of more or less improper
jokes, of elementary lyric insistence.’
somewhere i have never travelled (1931 in Cumming’s poetry collection, Viva)
 E.E. Cummings is known for his radical rearrangement of
traditional sentence forms and the alteration of grammatical
rules. This piece is no different. One is immediately struck
by the format of the first line. Cummings often chose, and
did so in this case, not to capitalize the self-referencing “I.”
This phrase became the title of the poem, making it even
more striking and frustrating to critics.
is a five-stanza free verse poem that does not conform to any
distinct patterns of rhyme. There are a few instances of
inclosed rhyme though, or that which happens within a line
rather than at the end. A reader can see this with the
repetition of words such as “enclose,” “rose” and “close.”
While not unified throughout the text, the majority of lines
are written in hexameter, meaning they contain six beats per
line.
 A reader should also take note of the fact that Cummings
does not utilize any final end marks in this work. There are a
number of commas, semi-colons, and parentheticals, but no
periods. This allows the text to flow like a
stream-of-consciousness narrative. The lines follow one after
another without a pause or hesitation.
 Analysis

The poet, E.E. Cummings, started describing what

somewhere i have never appears to be a place he has never been to. However
it can be inferred that where he wanted to embark on
travelled,gladly beyond
a journey is through his muse’s eyes . He speaks of a
any experience,your eyes journey he would gladly travel.
have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are
things which enclose me, He is completely taken in by the actions of his
listener and by the things he cannot touch. He
or which i cannot touch
relishes in the fragility of their being and how it
because they are too near contrasts with their vast power over him.
 your slightest look
easily will unclose me
The speaker reveals how the slightest look
though i have closed from the listener is enough to unclose him.
myself
Plot
as fingers, This refers to his own emotional control. He
you open always petal usually keeps himself closed up, but the
by petal myself as listener does away with this quickly.
Spring opens
(touching
skilfully,mysteriously)
her first rose
 Analysis
or if your wish be to
close me,i and my life
Whatever this person asks of him, he does. On
will shut very
their command he opens or closes. The
beautifully,suddenly, speaker then says that he will end his life
as when the heart of this should she wish it; he will fade away
flower imagines the snow somewhat like the rose when it feels the cold
carefully everywhere kiss of the snow flakes.
descending;
 nothing which we are to
perceive in this world
equals the power of
he examines the woman’s fragility, he is
your intense fragility:
Plot
whose texture compels me unsure how she has such power over him,
with colour of its how she can open him or close him, how
countries,rendering death she can control his life and death so easily.
and forever with each
breathing
 Analysis
(i do not know what it is about The poet does not understand why his lover
has such power over him and why he has
you that closes
such faith in her. In fact, he says that her
and opens;only something in
hands are smaller than rain, which in this
me understands context means that the woman has the ability
the voice of your eyes is to open up the speaker like that of a rose
deeper than all roses) opened by the rain. Even nature is ultimately
nobody,not even the rain,has shown to be inferior to the speaker’s
beloved.he relishes in this mysterious power
such small hands
over him.
 Themes
The Mystery and
Intensity of Love

a poem about love—specifically, the kind of love that has the power to utterly unravel (and
re-ravel) a person, even if they can't quite figure out why. The speaker is experiencing a love
unlike anything he's ever felt before, described as a place to which he's “never travelled.”
The speaker doesn’t quite understand the hold that his beloved has on him, yet surrenders to
it willingly, simply reveling in the intensity of his feelings. In this way, the poem suggests
that love is something that goes beyond rational understanding—that it's a force more
powerful than reason itself.
 Themes

Love and Vulnerability

The speaker of "somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond" repeatedly calls attention
to the fact his beloved is very delicate. The speaker is attracted to this "intense fragility,"
something that, rather paradoxically, holds immense power over the speaker. In fact, it is
this fragility that has the ability to quickly unravel all the speaker's defenses and coax him
out of his shell. That is, his beloved's delicate nature seems to make the speaker himself
more loving and emotionally vulnerable. In this way, the poem illustrates the transformative
power of gentle, delicate love, which it implies can lead people to be their most tender,
unguarded selves.
 Tone Structure Rhyme Scheme

The poet writes in a The poem is in free verse; Though the poem has no
that is, it does not have a formal rhyme scheme, the
serious and mystified
particular rhyme scheme. author still used a few
tone as underscored in
rhyming device in his writing
his words that revealed
It also lacks a specific meter, (free verse)
his deep regard and
love for his muse. but it is still organized
logically.

These five stanzas are all

made up of quatrains
 Figurative Language and/or Imagery

He used assonance - the repetition of the same vowel sounds (a technique used in
unifying the otherwise unrhymed stanzas)

Personification was also used in the phrase “your eyes have their silence”

Paradox - “which i cannot touch because they are too near”,

Simile - “close myself as fingers”

if something happens that can’t be done (July 1943)
Throughout the stanzas of this piece, Cummings repeats a general
pattern of lines with parentheses, repeated structures, and words.
It takes quite a while, at least four stanzas, to get into this pattern
and start to understand what Cummings, or at least his speaker,
was wanting to convey. He emphasizes throughout the stanzas
the nature of “one” and how it is a representative of the strength
and importance of his relationship with the intended listener of
the poem. He uses bird and book-related images to convey his
opinion that knowledge is better gained from love and nature
than it is from the written word.
Analysis

the speaker begins with the line that came to be

used as the title of the poem. It’s a good
example of a paradox in that the speaker is
suggesting that a number of impossible things
are going to happen. This isn’t for sure, but the
speaker is considering the possibility. It might
happen. In the next lines, there are examples of
personification. Specifically, the speaker is
talking about books “planning” something. The
books plan alongside their writers, what’s going
to be written. But, the speaker is saying, their
knowledge is not perfect. Things can be
“righter” than books can even conceive of.
Analysis

In the second stanza of this poem, the

speaker continues where he left off in
the first stanza. More information is
provided to the reader about “one” and
how “something” it is. It doesn’t have a
“why or because or although,” it simply
exists. More parentheses come into play
in the following lines. They suggest that
“buds,” new flowers, know more than
books do. The latter doesn’t grow or
evolve.
Analysis

The first line suggests that a tree is a leaf and a

leaf is everything. This relates back to the feeling
of unity or oneness that was seen at the very
start of the poem. The same pattern of
parentheses continues in the next lines when
Cumming’s speaker describes how “birds sing
sweeter / than books / tell how.” Once again,
something is better than what can be found in
books. The sound of bird song is always going to
outstrip a written description of it. The following
line compares opposites, yours and mine, and
near and far. “One” is everything at once.
Analysis
The speaker addresses his listener, someone
he loves. He tells them that he loves them
and they love him. It is this love that’s made
forever seem possible all of a sudden. The
books come back in the next lines. They are
“shuter,” another made-up word, then
“books / can be.” They’ve closed up these
sources of information, which have already
proved themselves to be inadequate in the
previous stanzas. More knowledge
about the world can be found in nature and
in love than in the written word.
Analysis
The poem concludes with a stanza that is, by the
standards of the rest of the poem, much clearer.
The speaker describes his love with the listener
as “brighter than even the sun” and “greater /
than books”. There is nothing in “books” that
could mean more to the speaker, or presumably
to his lover, than the reality of their love.

The word “everyanything” is used again in order

to describe the two as more than “believe”. The
two together, as one, are more than simple
belief. They’re part of the possible impossible.
 Themes
The theme of education is one of the dominant themes in this poem.
The speaker is found to be lacking interest in school and always
thinks that reading and writing are important but books, textbooks,
teachers and school are the ways of making them mundane and
torturous. He prefers a kind of learning which allows him to have real
time experiences; he likes to listen to birds and forget reading and
writing. The speaker’s views about teacher are negative.
 Themes
Man versus the nature is an important theme in this poem. The
speaker is very particular about a few things. He prefers to go out
and enjoy nature rather than sitting in the classroom. He feels more
comfortable in natural surrounding than in the company of teachers.
The speaker thinks that Nature is the supreme power in the world
and Human Beings should make no attempt to surpass her. Since the
natural world is amazing, joyous, pleasant and perfect.
 Themes
Theme of Awe and Amazement

The elements like awe and amazement form the major theme of this
poem. Here we experience magical transformations, its hyperbole
and glee. Here love is awesome and we admire so many aspects
present
 Themes
Theme of Love

Towards the end of this poem, we come to know that the speaker is
in love. It is quite surprising for the readers because there is sudden
change in the mood of the speaker. The speaker is found to be so
happy and pleasant. He loves, and is loved. This feeling gives him the
sense that nothing is impossible in this wonderful world.
 Structure, Form and Meter
It becomes obvious quite quickly that Cummings chose to write this
poem, almost, in free verse. But, the fourth and ninth lines of each
stanza rhyme as well as the fifth and eighth lines. The meter is also
roughly structured. The lines are almost all iambic, meaning that each
line has syllables that follow a pattern of unstressed and one stressed.
But, there are moments where this changes. There are also anapestic
feet in which two unstressed syllables are followed by a stressed
syllable.
 Structure, Form and Meter
In each stanza, the first, fourth, and ninth lines are rhymed. In the
second stanza, for example, ‘although’, ‘grow’, and ‘so’ rhyme. Then,
the fifth and eighth lines are rhymed, like the first stanza - ‘guess’, and
‘yes’. Each stanza follows this rhyming pattern.
 Literary Devices
• Enjambment * a formal device used concerned with where the poet chooses to
cut off a line. If a line is enjambed, then the line ends before the conclusion of a
phrase. for example, the transition between lines one and two of the first stanza.

if everything happens that can't be done

(and anything's righter
than books
could plan)
 Literary Devices
• Imagery
 In the lines 11-13, the poet refers to ‘buds’ which means something
which is underdeveloped
 In the line 26, the word ‘fly’ connects back to the imagery of birds.
 we’re anything brighter than even the sun
 Literary Devices
• Repetition
This is actually one of the more obvious techniques at play in this
piece. While it is not as prominent in the first couple of stanzas, by the
end, it is hard not to pay attention to it. Cummings repetitively uses the
same line structure, makes comparisons to books and reading, and uses
parentheses in each stanza.
 Literary Devices
• Figurative Language
 Metaphor
In the line 19, the poet compares the world to a leaf, and a tree to a
bough. This is a metaphor using natural phenomenon.

so world is a leaf so a tree is a bough

The line 20-22 establishes the superiority of nature over books by

comparing the act of birds singing, to the act of books, telling how.
(and birds sing sweeter
than books Personification
tell how)
 Literary Devices
• Figurative Language
 Paradox
if everything happens that can't be done

one's anything old being everything new

and deep in the high that does nothing but fall

nobody "nobody loses all the time" appears
in E. E. Cummings's 1926 collection is
5, where it was originally titled
loses simply "ONE XI." The poem describes
the doomed career of the speaker's
all Uncle Sol, who fails over and over at
farming: he runs a vegetable farm
that gets eaten by chickens, so he
the starts a chicken farm that gets
overrun by skunks, and so on. The
time poem ends with a morbid joke: Sol
himself dies—and his corpse "start[s]
a worm farm" underground.
nobody loses all the time (1926)
 Vocabularies
1. Vaudeville- a type of entertainment
popular chiefly in the US in the
early 20th century, featuring a
mixture of specialty acts such
as burlesque comedy and song
and dance.

2. Victor Victrola- popular brand

of phonograph (or record player)
manufactured in the early 20th
century.
 Vocabularies
3. McCann He Was a Diver- a comic song from the Vaudeville era

4. Highfalootin (highfalutin)- slang for fancy or pretentious

5. Auspicious occasion- refers to a notable event, and auspicious generally

means fortunate

6. Splendiferous- splendid

7. Scrumptious- sumptuous or lavish

8. The Missouri- a major river in the midwestern United States

 Analysis

nobody loses all the time

The first stanza presents the idea that nobody

can win all the time, and that everyone will
experience failure and loss at some point in
their lives.
 Analysis
• The second stanza introduces the character of
Uncle Sol, who is portrayed as a "born failure"
who should have gone into vaudeville.

I had an uncle named • The repetition of "nearly everybody said"

Sol who was a born failure and
emphasizes the idea that Uncle Sol's failure is
nearly everybody said he should have gone
into vaudeville perhaps because my Uncle
widely acknowledged and accepted.
Sol could
sing McCann He Was A Diver on Xmas Eve • The reference to him singing "McCann He Was
like Hell Itself which A Diver on Xmas Eve" is a nod to the traditional
may or may not account for the fact that my Irish song "The Wreck of the Edmund
Uncle Fitzgerald," which is about a ship that sank in
Lake Superior.
• The reference to "Hell Itself" suggests that
Uncle Sol's singing is an expression of his pain
and suffering.
Analysis
• The second stanza introduces the character of
Uncle Sol, who is portrayed as a "born failure"
who should have gone into vaudeville.

• The repetition of "nearly everybody said"

emphasizes the idea that Uncle Sol's failure is
widely acknowledged and accepted.

• The reference to him singing "McCann He Was

A Diver on Xmas Eve" is a nod to the traditional
Irish song "The Wreck of the Edmund
Fitzgerald," which is about a ship that sank in
Lake Superior.
• The reference to "Hell Itself" suggests that
Uncle Sol's singing is an expression of his pain
and suffering.
Analysis

• This refers to Sol’s attitude of being adaptable-

if one thing fails, he tries to venture into
something new
Analysis
• The farm failed initially because, although it
was a vegetable farm, the chickens ate the
vegetables, which Sol did not foresee because
he was a born failure.
• The skunks then ate the chickens, which Sol did
not prevent.
• Sol then did have a skunk farm (ironically) but
they caught cold and died (usually treatable,
but it’s just because he’s unlucky).
• As a consequence of his failure, he commits
suicide.
Analysis

• He drowned himself in the water tank.

• The person mentioned who gave him a Victor
Victrola appeared in his funeral which may
indicate an idea that only if Sol had taken a
different career…
• Although he had an unsuccessful life, he had a
marvelous funeral.
• People who gathered in his funeral deeply
mourned for him. (cried like the Missouri)
• Ironically speaking, though he was
unsuccessful at farming when he was alive, he
finally succeeded in “farming” for worms that
will feed off his body underground.
 Themes
Death and the Circle of Life

• Over the course of the story, Sol takes up farming and suffers a cyclical series of failures:
chickens eat his crops, skunks eat his chickens, and so on. Finally, Sol himself dies and his
corpse goes underground to "start a worm farm.“

• Life's a series of challenges, then we die and become worm food—and the cycle starts over
again.
 Themes
Failure, Despair and Hope

• The title of "nobody loses all the time" could be read as the poem's central message—if it
weren't drenched in irony. The poem's main character, Uncle Sol, is a "born failure" who
crashes and burns in every endeavor he tries—and finally loses everything he's got, including
his life. Meanwhile, he never pursues the one thing he's good at: singing. Yet by the poem’s
end, Sol's story also reflects some of the optimism of the title, even if the optimism is the
speaker's rather than Sol's own. The speaker compares Sol's death to a new undertaking
("starting a worm farm"), as if to imply that hope springs eternal even in the grave. And if
Sol enjoyed entertaining people, his story is certainly entertaining! The poem as a whole
seems to hint that life can consist of chronic "losing"—but that there are grounds for hope,
and humor, even in unlucky lives.
 Tone

The tone seems optimistic.

The poet writes in a conversational/ colloquial manner; sometimes satirical
and mocking.
 Form
• The poem is written in loose, conversational free verse. Its casual form conveys the
voice and attitude of its speaker, who is telling the narrative in the poem.

• The poem's first and last stanzas contain one line each, while the middle six
stanzas contain six lines each. This symmetrical structure lends a hint of order to an
otherwise freewheeling and unpredictable piece. The first gives a thematic
introduction to the poem.

• the last line/stanza serves as a kind of punchline. (Old Sol, the failed farmer, has
started a successful venture after all: a "worm farm," in the grave.)

• In terms of line length, the poem veers all over the place, ranging from one to 17
syllables per line.
 Meter

• As a free verse poem, "nobody loses all the time" contains no regular
meter. Its line and stanza lengths vary wildly; for example, line
37 contains only one syllable, whereas line 6 contains 17. This
unpredictability contributes to the poem's offbeat, madcap quality.
 Literary Devices
• Figurative Language
 Irony – from start to finish of the story
- a born failure
-auspicious occasion of his decease (wonderful funeral after
committing suicide)
- started a worm farm
 Enjambment – the lack of punctuation in the poem causes the poem
to run continuously reflecting the style of storytelling. It might also
reinforce the idea that the speaker is uneducated.
 Literary Devices
• Figurative Language
 Repetition
 Hyperbolic Simile– cried like The Missouri
 Allusion – Uncle Sol’s name might be an indirect reference to King
Solomon who, in the Biblical Times was considered as Wise.
 Comparison of the Poems
 Style of Writing (Form, Meter, Rhyme)
-e.e. cummings usually wrote in free verse with no particular
rhyme scheme (part of his being idiosyncratic)
 Theme
1. Love - Love may be the most obvious themes E.E. Cummings describes in his poetry.
A few of his poems simply contain love in the title, while others discuss the effect of
love on himself.
2. Nature - Undertones of nature and mentions of such also appear frequently in his
poems. Cummings states, in no uncertain terms, that the world is taking the heat
for the busy lives of mankind.
3. Roles of Society - Society is often portrayed as the antagonist in E.E. Cumming's
works.
 Thank You

Mrs. Jedahlyn Demate