Chapter Nine
Appreciation of E.E.
Cummings Poetry from
the Perspective of
Foregrounding
1. Introduction to Cummings
 2.Foregrounding in Poetry
 3. Analysis of Cummings’ poem
“in Just-”
 4.Analysis of “anyone lived in a pretty how
town”
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1. Introduction to Cummings
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E. E. Cummings, poet and cubist painter, was
the representative of American modern
experimental poets. As a poet and painter,
Cummings reflected the harmony of poems and
paintings in his works, eschewing the
conventional rhymes and syntactic structure of
poems and even rejecting to transfer
information and emotion in the way of
conventional printing.
2.Foregrounding in Poetry
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The term ‘foregrounding’ is borrowed by
stylisticians from art criticism, which
distinguishes between the foreground and the
background of a painting. The theory of
foregrounding is probably the most important
theory within Stylistic Analysis, and
foregrounding analysis is arguably the most
important part of the stylistic analysis in poetry.
Leech’s Theory on Foregrounding
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Foregrounding is realized by linguistic deviation
and linguistic parallelism.
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Foregrounding
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Deviation
Parallelism
Figure 1 The Realization of Foregrounding (Leech)
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Leech divides deviation into eight types:
lexical deviation, grammatical deviation,
phonological deviation, graphological
deviation, semantic deviation, dialectal
deviation, deviation of register and
deviation of historical period. Now we
construct a new pattern of the realization
of foregrounding.
Foregrounding
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Deviation
Overregularity
Phonology Graphology lexicon Grammar Meaning
Realization
Form
Semantics
Language
Figure 2 The Realization of Foregrounding
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Figure 2 illustrates that the linguistic deviation
and overregularity produce foregrounding.
Linguistic deviation consists of lexical deviation,
grammatical deviation, phonological deviation,
graphological deviation and deviation of meaning.
Linguistic overregularity includes phonological
overregularity, lexical overregularity and
grammatical overregularity, in which phonological
overregularity consists of phonemic patterning
and rhythmic patterning; lexical overregularity
refers to lexical repetition; grammatical
overregularity can be further divided into
repetition and parallelism
3. Analysis of Cummings’ poem
“in Just-”
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1. in Just2. spring
when the world is mud3. luscious the little
4. lame balloonman
5. whistles
far and wee
6. and eddieandbill come
7. running from marbles and
8. piracies and it's
9. spring
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10. when the world is puddle-wonderful
11. the queer
12. old balloonman whistles
13. far
and
wee
14. and bettyandisbel come dancing
15. from hop-scotch and jump-rope and
16. it's
17. spring
18. and
19.
the
20.
goat-footed
21. balloonMan
whistles
22. far
23. and
24. wee
3.1 Graphological Deviation
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The most striking in this poem is perhaps the fact that
there is no title. Rather, it is only one clause which runs
over the whole poem. that only one clause runs over the
whole poem. This may show that poet intends the poem
to be read as a whole and places emphasis on the unity
of the discourse. The important effect created is the
arousal of the reader’s expectation and interest. This is
because when the reader reads the first line, he gets a
sense of incompleteness and, therefore would like to
read on to find out ‘what’ is said. Taking a close look at
the whole poem, we find that every line of the poem, in
fact, creates a pulling-forward effect, though there may
be differences in the degrees of strength.
3.2 Lexical Deviation
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What may strike us is the compound nouns
goat-footed, mud-luscious , puddle-wonderful, balloonman,
eddieandbill, bettyandisbel are ‘nonce-formations’
(the words the literary writer invents).
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The Function:
1.The unusual compounds that Cummings
invents are suggestive of a “child’s language”:
hence, mud-luscious (pleasant muddy) and puddlewonderful (= pleasant puddly). mud-luscious and
puddle-wonderful evoke the joyful scenery-the
children playing happily on the muddy ground
after spring rain.
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2.Secondly, the names are merged into one another;
eddieandbill(＝eddie and bill =Eddie and Bill) and
bettyandisbel (betty and isbele=Elizabeth and lsabela). eddie
and bill come running(=Eddie and Bill come running).
eddie and bill are the names of two little boys which have
several levels of meaning: (1)the decapitalization of the
names demonstrates the boys are very little; (2) eddie and
bill are merged into one word eddieandbill renders the
cubic impression – the boys are running hand in hand.
The effect here is to render the hustle, bustle, and speed
of the children as they come running to the summons
of the whistle.
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3.According to the context, the nonce-formation
balloonman is the compounding of the words
balloon and man which implies several meaning: 1)
the man who sells balloons; 2) the man looks like
a mixture of balloons and man because there are
a lot of balloons in his hands and over his head;
3) balloonman is the symbol of spring. Balloons
grant a profound impression of happiness and
joy. Goatfooted/ balloonMan makes readers to
associate it with Greek god Pan-Half-man, halfgoat. Pan, God of music and play, is the symbol
of spring. The capitalization of “Man” in
balloonman emphasizes that the man selling
balloons is Pan-God of spring.
3.3 Lexical Overregularity
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The repetition of words and phrases is another
device to realize the foregrounding in this poem.
The words “spring”, “whistle” ,“ballooman” and
the phrase “far and wee” repeat three times
respectively with the repetition of the word
“come”, giving a vivid account of what is
happening.
4.Analysis of “anyone lived in a
pretty how town”
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Cummings’ poem “anyone lived in a pretty how
town” consists of nine stanzas with 36 lines,
each stanza with four lines. Its plot is simple but
hard to understand, and its success lies in
exquisite language. From the perspective of
rhythm, the poem is free verse although there
are some regular patterns.
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anyone lived in a pretty how town
1. anyone lived in a pretty how town
2. (with up so floating many bells down)
3. spring summer autumn winter
4. he sang his didn't he danced his did
5. Women and men (both little and small)
6. cared for anyone not at all
7. they sowed their isn't they reaped their same
8. sun moon stars rain
9. children guessed (but only a few
10. and down they forgot as up they grew
11. autumn winter spring summer)
12. that noone loved him more by more
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13. when by now and tree by leaf
14. she laughed his joy she cried his grief
15. bird by snow and stir by still
16. anyone's any was all to her
17. someones married their everyones
18. laughed their cryings and did their dance
19. (sleep wake hope and then) they
20. said their nevers they slept their dream
21. stars rain sun moon
22. (and only the snow can begin to explain
23. how children are apt to forget to remember
24. with up so floating many bells down)
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25. one day anyone died i guess
26. (and noone stooped to kiss his face)
27. busy folk buried them side by side
28. little by little and was by was
29. all by all and deep by deep
30. and more by more they dream their sleep
31. noone and anyone earth by april
32. wish by spirit and if by yes.
33. Women and men (both dong and ding)
34. summer autumn winter spring
35. reaped their sowing and went their came
36. sun moon stars rain
4.1 Graphological Deviation
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Capitalization is an important element in Cummings’ poems.
Rather than capitalize the first word of every sentence, or every
proper name, Cummings seems to have an entirely different use
for capitalization in a poem. There are only two instances of
capitalization in “anyone lived in a pretty how town.” Both
instances follow the only two full stops in the poem and
capitalizes “Women and men” to imply the position and influence
of the different characters: “anyone” and “noone” are lonely, while
“Women and men” dominate the society. Decapitalization in the
beginning and no full stop in the end symbolize that end is the
new beginning. It tells people not to abide by the convention and
anyone should breach the convention to realize his dream.
4.2 Grammatical Deviation
Line Clause 1
Clause 2
4
he sang his didn't
he danced his did
7
they sowed their isn't
they reaped their same
14
she laughed his joy
she cried his grief
20
they said their nevers
they slept their dream
18
laughed their
and did their dance
cryings
reaped their sowing and went their came
35
Notes
variant
variant
4.3 Lexical Deviation
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his didn't , his did , their isn't , their same , their
nevers , their came .
4.4 Semantic Deviation
(Metaphorical Deviation)
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Stanza 1.This poem has the unified metaphorical deviation. In
stanza 1, the name has a double meaning; “anyone” could be
“anyone” in the dictionary definition sense, and could be seen as
a singular entity, reinforcing the theme of isolation the
independent individual has from the rest of society. The events
all occur in a “pretty how town”. “pretty” implies a mere façade,
describing superficiality of the town's inhabitants. “how”, an
adverb, is used as an adjective here. It could be describing the
extent of the town’s prettiness, but a better reason is that it
describes the routine humdrum of the town's activities, since
“how” also means “in a method or manner”.
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Stanza 2. The women and men of the next
stanza are described as “little and small”,
referring not to their physical size but their
capacity and willingness to explore new
dimensions. They do not attempt anything (sowed
their isn’t) outside their known habits (they reaped
their same). The next line is a list of heavenly
bodies and weather conditions, signifying the
fact that the townspeople never change their
standardized routines even when other things do.
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The third stanza introduces characters common to
Cummings’ works. He viewed children as innocent, and
because of their innocence, can see the love “noone”
has for “anyone’s” individuality. Again, “noone’s” name
has a double meaning, expressing the degree of
“noone’s” love (more by more) as well as “anyone’s”
intense isolation from the rest of society. The children’s
ability to see this love fades with the passing of time as
they get older, and it is interesting to note that the list
of seasons this time starts with autumn. Autumn leads
into winter, which is often a symbol of death and sleep.
The seasons describing anyone started with spring,
which is a symbol of rebirth and change, characteristic
of his personality.
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Stanzas 4-5: “noone” and “anyone” live spontaneously for
the present (when by now), gaining large advances from small
things (tree by leaf). Cummings considers risks as tiny
compared to the possibilities resulting from pushing
boundaries. “tree by leaf” could also be referring to parts as
the sum of a whole, suggesting the depth of “anyone” and
“noone’s” shared experiences. “noone” partakes in all of
“anyone’s” activities, laughing and crying with him. She
does this through all circumstances. The symbols “bird”
and “snow” describe the seasons as opposed to an obvious
list, contrasting “anyone’s” abstract creativity with society’s
literal inflexibility. “Stir by still” illustrates rest and motion,
but the “by” implies that even at rest, the couple was
dynamic. The next line, “anyone’s any was all to her”
explains how much “noone” loved everything about
“anyone”, as well as reiterating the isolation motif.
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The non-specific “someones” marrying their “everyones”
shows Cummings’ attitude towards the institute of
marriage. Note that “anyone” and “noone” have love,
but they are not married. Marriage is a social
convention (did their dance) that does not necessarily
have anything to do with love. The next paradoxical line,
“laughed their cryings”, is an example of these ordinary
couples’ lack of understanding of each other, implying
at best, an incomplete type of love. It also suggests
insensitivity, in that they laugh at other people’s cryings,
and confusion about their own misfortunes, laughing at
themselves.
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“did their dance” is an inversion of anyone’s
“danced his did”, another example contrasting
“anyone” with “everyone”. The townspeople
continue their cycle of sleeping, waking, and
hoping, although hope achieves nothing as long
as they say “their nevers”. They restrict their
hopes and dreams to the realm of sleep (slept
their dream).
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Stanza six describes the passage of time, as the
children grow up and become “everyones”. The
snow archetype is present here again,
symbolizing the end of children’s innocence, as
they “forget to remember” the happiness anyone
achieves, opting for society’s mechanical
activities.
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The narrator tells us of “anyone’s” death with a
resigned apathy. He knows that this event will not
change the townspeople. It also evokes the unconcern
the townspeople have for “anyone”, how they allow
events to merely pass by. The double meaning of
“noone” is used again to display this detachment (noone
stooped to kiss his face). “anyone” and “noone” are buried
together, their physical bodies returning to dust (earth by
april), but they become part of a shared dream (dream
their sleep).
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The townspeople take no notice of this and continue
their fruitless cycle. When they die, they achieve
nothing (reaped their sowing, when they sowed nothing in
the second stanza). They merely become dust and
disappear forever (went their came), as opposed to
“anyone” and “noone”, who achieve immortality much
like the eternal sun, moon, and stars. There are very few
breaks in the poem - only two periods, each occurring
before “Women and men”. This is a disruption in the
poem, perhaps signifying the townspeople as an
aberration in the order of the universe, and “anyone”
and “noone” being more akin to it, blending in. The
poem does not begin with a capitalized letter, nor does
not end with a period, showing that the cycle begins
where it left off.
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The most striking pattern is obviously the revolution of
the seasons, which is indicated by the rotating list of
their names. With each of the abstract terms the poet
associates a natural phenomenon characterizing the
particular season on the sensuous level of human
experience so that one may stand emblematically for
the other: sun---summer; moon---autumn; stars--winter; rain--- spring. Their vertical sequence in the
poem corresponds to our anthropological expectations
and yearnings: spring (3), summer (“sun”8), autumn (11),
winter (“stars” 21), summer (34), summer (“sun” 36)...
4.5 Repetition
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Cummings’ most important structuring devices
in this poem are refrains and repeated
grammatical patterns. Three of the refrains are
two strings of four nouns, the first series
referring to the seasons (natural order “spring
summer autumn winter,” is chosen when anyone
is introduced in stanza 1, then those same words
in a different order in stanza 2 and stanza 3)
with the description;
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the second series referring to more specific
natural phenomena, all related to the sky (“sun
moon stars rain” in lines 8 and 36, and a variant
order of these nouns in line 21).When “Women
and men” are discussed, the natural order are
used, and when children forget to treasure their
individuality, the order is changed into “stars rain
sun moon”, but when children grew up and
became “Women and men”, it resumes original
order. Another refrain, “with up so floating
many bells down” (line 2) is repeated exactly in
line 24. Both times the phrase is in parentheses.