E.E. Cummings

2 Poems by E.E. Cummings

1.  “little tree”

This poem reminded me of my childhood, especially Christmastime, which is what the poem is about.  The last line in the fifth stanza “and there won’t be a single place dark or unhappy” reminds me about how I used to feel as a child around Christmastime, that I felt the most happy and secure.  Cummings writes about the tree being dressed up, made beautiful with decorations for all to see which also takes me back to when my mother and I would take out all the decorations on Christmas Eve, and begin decorating our own beautiful tree.

2. “hist whist”

I disliked this poem because Cummings’ choices of words for this poem were awkward.  The poem references witches, goblins, ghosts, and the devil – all which remind me of Halloween that is coming up next month.  I did not like the devil was referred to as “great” in the final lines of poem as it made it seem like the devil was being glamourized.  The devil was also referred to as green, not red like it is usually perceived.   With the final stanza only containing one word per line, it came across like this poem was supposed to be read as a chant.