
“somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” Themes
- The Mystery and Intensity of Love Where this theme appears in the poem: Lines 1-20
- Love and Vulnerability Where this theme appears in the poem: Lines 1-20
What kind of poem is somewhere I have never travelled?
Today, cummings is widely regarded as one of the great twentieth-century poets. In addition, while his poem, "somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond," has not been examined in great detail by many critics, the poem has become one of cummings's most well-known poems and has become a favorite with readers.
What is Line 5 of Somewhere I have never travelled?
This puts in mind line 5 of "somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond," in which the lover says to the beloved, "your slightest look easily will unclose me."
What do the words Somewhere somewhere and travelled imply about the speaker?
The words, "somewhere" and "travelled" imply that the speaker is about to tell the reader about a journey that he has taken or will take. This journey is a happy one, as the word "gladly" indicates, although the reader does not know at this point the destination of this journey.
Does the first line of Somewhere I have never travelled have capitalized?
Within the context of "somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond," he does not capitalize any words, including the first word of the first line. The overall effect makes it seem as if the poem has no beginning.

What type of poem is somewhere i have never travelled?
The poem 'somewhere I have never travelled,gladly beyond', like many by E.E. Cummings, is experimental, abstract and irregular. He wrote in this unconventional style for most of his career and was unapologetic. A skilful artist, he also 'sketched' his often fragmentary poems on the page.
What is the poem somewhere i have never traveled gladly beyond?
'somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond' by E.E. Cummings describes the true devotion a speaker has for his fragile listener. The poem begins with the speaker stating that “you,” the listener of this piece, have a control over him he does not understand. This is not a negative, but something he relishes.
What are the powerful significant lines in the poem somewhere i have never travelled gladly beyond?
Line 7: “you open always petal by petal myself” Lines 9-10: “i and / my life will shut very beautifully,suddenly,” Line 11: “the heart of this flower” Lines 14-16: “whose texture / compels me with the colour of its countries, / rendering death and forever with each breathing”
How does Kunene convey the joy of the time?
Metaphor – the poet compares the happiness of the young married couple to light on new grass. The married couple are young like fresh, new growth of grass. young blades of grass – This suggests a new dawn, a fresh new start for South Africa.
What is the underlying theme of the poem?
The theme is the underlying message that the writer or artist wants to convey. Themes can feature in poetry, a short story, a novel, or even a work of art.
What is the Zulu girl poem about?
The Zulu Girl by Roy Campbell focuses on the pitiable plight of African people who are dominated and exploited. The Zulu were the most powerful tribe in SA. This poem emphasises their subservience. This poem is about a Zulu mother feeding her baby.
What is ee cummings best known poem?
1. 'anyone lived in a pretty how town'. One of Cummings' best-known poems, 'anyone lived in a pretty how town' is, like Emily Dickinson's 'I'm Nobody! Who are you?
What is the poem first day after the war about?
This is a celebratory poem and focuses on celebrating the freedom that comes to a people after oppression. The war is the struggle for freedom of those who were oppressed. The poem focuses on the celebrations that occur amongst the victorious immediately after apartheid.
What does the speaker say in the first stanza of "Somewhere I have never travelled, gladly?
any experience,your eyes have their silence: in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me, or which i cannot touch because they are too near. In the first stanza of ‘somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond’, the speaker begins by describing an experience he has never had.
What does the speaker say in the poem "You"?
The poem begins with the speaker stating that “you,” the listener of this piece, have a control over him he does not understand. This is not a negative, but something he relishes. He would like to travel somewhere he never has before, and enter into the listener’s eyes. They have the ability to “enclose” him in a way he has never experienced.
What does the speaker reveal in the final phrase of the speech?
In the final phrases of this section, the speaker reveals how the “slightest look” from the listener is enough to “unclose” him. This refers to his own emotional control. He usually keeps himself “closed up” with his own “fingers,” but the listener does away with this quickly.
What does it mean when a speaker shuts down his life?
They can open him up or shut him down with equal ease. If the person decides that their wish is “to close [him]” he will “shut very beautifully.”
What is the destination of the end of this particular journey?
There is no clear destination for the end of this particular journey other than the reference to “your eyes.” The intended listener of this piece has some amount of control over the speaker. He is traveling, physically or emotionally, closer to this person. The feelings of control are emphasized in the next line when he describes the “frail gestures” made by the listener. One should take particular note of the use of the word “frail.” In this instance, it is not meant negatively, but simply as a statement of fact. It also adds to the impact of the entire situation.
What does the author say about fragility in the fourth stanza?
The fourth stanza has the author again returning to the description of his subject. He describes her again as having "intense fragility", or this feminine beauty and delicacy that causes him to lose his personal strength in front of her. He explains that she has different areas and elements (or "countries") to her fragility, and yet he finds each one singularly beautiful. He ends this stanza again by repeating her ability to control life and death.
What does "you open always petal by petal myself as spring opens" mean?
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens. (touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose. Again, the author sees himself as a flower; however, she has created this side of him. She is the reason that he opens up, thus making her a personification of Spring.
What does the flower mean in the second stanza?
The second stanza continues the floral metaphor. He begins by likening himself to a flower, and indicates that he will "unclose" at her "slightest look.". A flower closes as a defensive method; thus, the author is indicating that she is able to break down the emotional walls he has created with just a look.
What does "small hands" mean in the poem?
Her "small hands" are a reference to the fact that she found the tiniest opening in his emotional barriers, and was able to reach through and touch him in a way that no one else could. Themes. Throughout this poem, the author comes back to the idea of his emotional barriers being negated by the women.
Does the final quatrain have rhyme?
In the same way, the final quatrain appears to show a rhyme scheme, but the rhyme scheme is not present before then. The author also uses his manipulation of the syntax to ensure that certain words are emphasized in each statement; in doing this, he often places line-breaks in the midst of clauses. Analysis.
Is "frail" a derogatory term?
It is assumed that she is a woman by the use of "frail", which is far from the derogatory term of today. Instead, it indicates that she is delicate and fine rather than weak. He creates a floral description of her; alongside her delicacy, he emphasizes that she can "enclose" him.
How many words are in Line 14-16 of "Somewhere I have never travelled"?
Unlock all 415 words of this analysis of Lines 14-16 of “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond,” and get the Line-by-Line Analysis for every poem we cover.
What does the rose symbolize in the poem?
Roses traditionally symbolize romantic love , and the poem plays up these connotations. The speaker describes his beloved "opening" him "petal by petal"in the same way that a "Spring" opens "her first rose." This simile compares the speaker to a rose, with his lover compared to "Spring" ( personified as a female being here, no less). Through this simile, the speaker is essentially identifying with love itself. In doing so, he relates the intensity of his feelings and the immense hold that his beloved has on him.
What does the poem "eyes have silence" mean?
The speaker notes early on that his beloved's "eyes have their silence," an image that suggests that there are some things that exist in or between people that can't necessarily be articulated.
What is the meaning of "somewhere I have never travelled"?
"somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond" is 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.
Why is consonance used in poetry?
Consonance is used throughout the poem to add emphasis to certain moments and simply intensify the poem's language. Take the poem's first line, for example, where /v/, /l/, and /d/ sounds lend a deep, soothing resonance as the speaker describes the mystery and excitement of his love:
What is the speaker of the poem?
The poem's speaker is someone deeply in love. The object of his affection is a person he perceives to be very fragile—a lover, perhaps, though the speaker could also be discussing his deep love for his child or even something more metaphorical, like a representative of God or a poetic muse.
Where does metaphor appear in the poem?
Where metaphor appears in the poem: Line 1: “somewhere i have never travelled”. Line 2: “your eyes have their silence”. Lines 3-4: “in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me, / or which i cannot touch because they are too near”. Line 5: “your slightest look easily will unclose me”.
How did ee cummings write his name?
It seems that the convention of writing “ee cummings” in lowercase came about after some publishing houses printed his name on the cover in lowercase letters. After a reviewer wrote that ee Cummings had legally changed her name to lowercase letters, Cummings’ wife wrote, “You shouldn’t have allowed H.
Why was EE Cummings famous?
Edward Estlin “EE” Cummings (October 14, 1894 – September 3, 1962), often referred to as ee cummings as he is attributed in many of his published works, was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobiographical novels, four plays and several essays.
What is the meaning of the poem I Carry Your Heart With Me?
Summary of I Carry Your Heart with Me The poem depicts love in its purest form. It also expresses the poet’s compassionate, deep, and warm feelings for his beloved. “I carry your heart with me” as a representative of love: as a love poem, it shows the true nature of love.
What has someone lived in a pretty town?
Cummings’ poem “Anyone Who Lived in a Pretty Town” is about people’s loss and lack of identity in the modern world. The title syntax also suggests unusual meanings in this poem. The title could be read in several ways such as: “a very common and nothing special guy lived in a nice town.
What Do I Read Next?
In the decade before cummings wrote "somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond," another avant-garde artistic movement, surrealism, gained force. Surrealist Painters and Poets (2001), edited by Mary Ann Caws, offers a good introduction to the works of surrealist painters and poets from this era, including some rare letters and essays that are hard to find elsewhere.
What did Cummings do in college?
While in college, he became fascinated by avant-garde art, modernism, and cubism, and he began incorporating elements of these styles into his own poetry and paintings.
What is the meaning of "somewhere I have never travelled"?
The poem details the profound feelings of love that the speaker has for his beloved, and his wonder over this mysterious power that the woman has over him. Over the course of the short poem, the speaker examines and praises this power, and notes how his beloved has transformed him. The speaker in the poem may or may not be cummings himself, although the intensity of emotion expressed in the poem leads one to believe that the poet is describing his own experiences. When cummings published "somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond," he had been married to Anne Barton for two years. While Barton might have been the source of the poem's inspiration, this inspiration would have been short-lived, for cummings and Barton divorced a year later, in 1932. A current copy of the poem can be found in E. E. Cummings: Complete Poems 1904–1962, which was published in hardcover by Liveright in 1994.
Why is it appropriate for I to not capitalize?
As Baum notes of cummings's poetry in general, "By rejecting the pronoun I Cummings assumes a casual humility." This idea is well suited to "somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond," because the poet is completely humble. He is totally signing away any power he has over himself, even his life and death, to his beloved. Therefore, it is appropriate for him not to capitalize the pronoun that indicates himself. Likewise, the total lack of capitalization in the poem underscores the poet's feelings of humility. He is so meek that he does not capitalize any of the words in the poem. It is as if he does not want to call attention to any one part of the poem. He wants to emphasize, and wants his readers to understand, the all-consuming power of his lover's beauty and influence, which affects him so deeply that he cannot even give special emphasis to one element through the use of capitalization. This idea underscores the eternal, timeless quality of his love.
What was Edward Cummings's interest in art?
From an early age, cummings showed a strong interest in poetry and art, which was encouraged by his mother Rebecca. Cummings attended Harvard University from 1911 to 1915 and joined the editorial board of the Harvard Monthly, a college literary magazine. While in college, he became fascinated by avant-garde art, modernism, and cubism, and he began incorporating elements of these styles into his own poetry and paintings. He received a bachelor's degree in 1915 and a master's the following year. His first published poems appeared in the anthology Eight Harvard Poets in 1917. These eight pieces feature the experimental verse forms and the lower-case personal pronoun "i" that were to become his trademark. The copyeditor of the book, however, mistook cummings's intentions as typographical errors and made "corrections." During World War I, cummings volunteered for the French-based Norton-Harjes Ambulance Service. As a result of his disregard of regulations and his attempts to outwit the wartime censors in his letters home, cummings spent four months in an internment camp in Normandy on suspicion of treason. Although he found his detention amusing and even enjoyable, his father made use of his contacts in government to secure his son's release. Cummings returned to New York and pursued painting but was drafted in 1918. He spent about a year at Camp Danvers, Massachusetts, during which time he wrote prolifically. Beginning around this time, cummings, with the knowledge and approval of his friend Schofield Thayer, had an affair with Schofield's wife Elaine. Cummings's daughter Nancy was born in 1919, but she was given Thayer's name. Cummings and Elaine Thayer married in 1924, at which time cummings legally adopted Nancy. During the 1920s and 1930s, he traveled widely in Europe, alternately living in Paris and New York and developing parallel careers as a poet and a painter. He published his first poetry collection, Tulips and Chimneys, in 1923. Politically liberal with leftist leanings, cummings visited the Soviet Union in 1931 to learn about that government's system of art subsidies. He was very disillusioned, however, by the regimentation and lack of personal and artistic freedom he encountered there. As a result, he abandoned his liberal views and became deeply conservative on social
Why do poets use periods?
Poets use periods in different ways within their poetry. Some use them mid-line, to force readers to slow down in their reading. Others use them at the ends of lines to finish thoughts. At the very least, however, poets often use a period or some other end mark such as a question mark to close out the poem and signal to the reader that they have finished the examination of their subject. In "somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond," cummings does not do this. In fact, he does not include any periods at any point in the poem. It is as if he wants to indicate grammatically the timeless quality of his love, which will never end.
How did the Kellogg-Briand Pact affect the world?
Although war was technically outlawed by the Kellogg-Briand Pact, some countries refused to disarm, while others had disarmed and wished to arm again for their own protection. In addition, Germany, one of the primary aggressors in the First World War, was made to pay large reparations for its role in the war. Unfortunately, when the Great Depression hit America, it also affected other countries, including Germany, which was having its own financial problems. The Germans, inspired by Adolf Hitler and frustrated over their own rising unemployment, became increasingly hostile on the issue of war reparations payments. This issue helped Hitler and his Nazi Party gain in popularity, especially when the worldwide depression in the early 1930s affected Germany's ability to make its reparations payments. In addition to rebelling against making reparations, Hitler also spoke out against Jews, blaming the rising rate of German unemployment on Jewish businessmen. This was the beginning of an ethnic-cleansing policy that would eventually take the lives of millions of Jews. Following such horrific acts, many felt that the innocence of humanity was gone. After the war's end in 1945, however, many Americans tried to avoid these unpleasant thoughts and focus on the simple things in life, including love.
