Maybe He's Born With It.....

Oh who is that young sinner with the handcuffs on his wrists?
And what has he been after, that they groan and shake their fists?
And wherefore is he wearing such a conscience-stricken air?
Oh they’re taking him to prison for the colour of his hair.

‘Tis a shame to human nature, such a head of hair as his;
In the good old time ’twas hanging for the colour that it is;
Though hanging isn't bad enough and flaying would be fair
For the nameless and abominable colour of his hair.

Oh a deal of pains he’s taken and a pretty price he’s paid
To hide his poll or dye it of a mentionable shade;
But they've pulled the beggar’s hat off for the world to see and stare,
And they’re haling him to justice for the colour of his hair.

Now ’tis oakum for his fingers and the treadmill for his feet,
And the quarry-gang on Portland in the cold and in the heat,
And between his spells of labour in the time he has to spare
He can curse the God that made him for the colour of his hair.

-A.E. Housman

      Upon the first reading of this poem, you can tell that Housman is making a comment on someone being unreasonably punished by society for something that is out of their control. The first time I read it, I assumed that Housman was referring to someone being lynched because of their race, but when I researched the history of this poem, I discovered that Housman wrote it about Oscar Wilde's imprisonment for "indecency" (which actually meant he was imprisoned for his homosexuality).  Housman's language and description depict a satirical situation where a man is being imprisoned for his hair color in order to show society how ridiculous it is to imprison a man for something out of his control like his sexuality.
      The first stanza begins by calling the subject of the poem a "sinner with the handcuffs on his wrists," This sets the audience up to believe that the subject has committed a crime that is also sacrilegious. Then the poem goes on to show how the people around him are attacking him and "shake their fists" angrily. Housman even describes that the man has a "conscience-stricken air," suggesting that he feels guilty for something he's done wrong. In the final line of the stanza, Housman reveals that the man is being imprisoned for the color of his hair, which, we obviously know is not his fault and is mostly out of his control. The audience also knows that in reality, a person would not be arrested for something so silly. This is how we know that the poem must be satire.
     The second stanza discusses how despicable this man is because of his hair color. Housman describes how people like this man were once hanged, but "hanging isn't bad enough and flaying would be fair". This demonstrates how people believed this man should suffer a fate worse than death for something that is utterly out of his control. Housman's speaker plays the role of an outside person condemning the subject in this stanza.  In the third stanza, the speaker takes a more sympathetic stance and describes the "deal of pains" the subject has taken to hide the color of his hair. Then he describes how these attempts are futile and the world always sees through them. There is a distinct shift in tone between the second and third stanzas. The second stanza is harsh and judgmental, while the third is much more sympathetic and kind. This shows two different attitudes that people have toward the condemnation of the subject.
      The final stanza shows how the man is being punished. Housman describes how the man must pick oakum and run long distances on a treadmill in prison. While he is not being worked to death, Housman says that the man will "curse the God that made him for the color of his hair," This is an interesting statement for a few reasons. First of all, it suggests that Housman was ahead of his time and believed that homosexuality was not something that a person chose, but rather something they were born with, much like the color of their hair. This statement also suggests that a God created the man this way, which would imply that God doesn't have a problem with homosexuality, it's people who have a problem with homosexuality.
     Housman uses satire and metaphor to show how ridiculous society is to imprison a man for his homosexuality by comparing it to imprisoning someone for his hair color. This poem demonstrates Housman's forward-thinking ideas about homosexuality. The different voices in the poem compare to the different ways people in the world would have reacted to Oscar Wilde's imprisonment. Ultimately, this poem is Housman's way of telling society that people should not be imprisoned for things that they cannot control.

Done the Grammar Good

We Real Cool


The Pool Players.
Seven At The Golden Shovel.


We real cool.  We
Left school.  We


Lurk late.  We
Strike straight.  We


Sing sin.  We
Thin gin.  We


Jazz June.  We
Die soon.


-Gwendolyn Brooks




This poem is painful to read at first glance, but actually reveals a lot about people and the consequences of our poor choices.  The subjects of this poem are the people, presumably predominantly male, who dropped out of school because they thought it was the cool thing to do.  They are the seven people playing pool at The Golden Shovel bar in an unnamed town.  Their ages are ambiguous and never directly referred to.  It appears that they are approaching middle age.  They are older and have more health problems, hence the "We die soon" (lines 7-8), but are holding on to the habits they had back in middle or high school.  The same old idiosyncrasies persevere, the ones that are only sometimes allowed in teenagers because they don't know any better and are learning from experience.  However, when such activities- staying out at all hours, hiding who you really are to please those around you, drinking excessively on a regular basis, and trying to act cool- are unacceptable once you reach a certain age, and the subjects of this poem are well beyond that age.  While they could be seen as reckless teenagers, it makes more sense to see them as far older because of the reference to dying.  The subjects were probably not thinking about their mortality at an early age, but as they got older, they became more aware of how harmful their habits are, but that didn't stop them from continuing the poor habits because that's all they know.


The main audience of this poem is the people at risk for becoming this type of person.  The message for these people is that even though it may seem fun in the moment. their actions will have severely negative consequences if not curtailed and performed in moderation.  This poem is designed to be easily understood by everyone, and gets its point across in the last line.  The beginning and middle stanzas serve to hook the audience in, giving something to identify with.  Then, the poem takes a sharp turn to the inevitable early mortality of those who make unhealthy choices.


Each stanza illustrates the poor habits of the subjects in a romanticized. rebellious light.  Starting the poem with "we real cool" (line 1) identifies the speaker right away as someone who either didn't get or ignores their education and cares more about appearances than internal development.  Depending on the reader, this can either be repulsive or exactly how you would have worded it.  Both ways, it serves as a hook for the content to come.  It becomes clearer as to why the poem begins with such poor grammar in the next sentence, " we left school" (lines 1-2).  Though exactly when the speaker and his friends decided to skip out of school is not clear, it was definitely before correct grammar and complex sentence structures were instilled in them.  Instead of being in school, they roam the landscape trying to be bad by "lurk[ing] late" (line 3), defying rules, and lowering expectations.  People who "lurk" in the evening hours are often seen as dangerous and seedy characters.  However the use of the word "late" implies that the subjects have a curfew, something that is not dangerous nor seedy.  In order to fit in, the subjects "strike straight" (line 4), or pretend to be someone they are not.  Oftentimes this manifests as hiding or denying sexuality, but can also mean dreams and backstories.  We all lie to make people like us or present ourselves in a certain way, and Brooks calls us out on the deceptions.  The next line, "we sing sin" (lines 4-5), refers to rock and roll.  Many of the actions described relate to the principles of rock, so it only makes sense that the genre is the anthem for the subjects.  To "thin gin" (line 6), or drink excessively, is in line with the bad boy vibe and self-destructive behavior.  It's almost expected for people who think they need to validate themselves to and for others to drink, party, and overall go wild.  Gin is a fairly strong liquor, and a great choice for escaping the real world by being reckless.  To that point, "we jazz June" (lines 6-7) refers to fooling around good-naturedly.  While having stupid fun is all well and good while sober, once alcohol is introduced, events are far more likely to go south.  The subjects may not think they care about this, but deep down they do care about life, even if it's just to not devastate loved ones.  The activities are seen as mostly harmless and playful until the last line of the last stanza, "We die soon" (lines 7-8).  This ending serves as a wake-up call to teenagers, pointing out that their actions have severe consequences.  On their own, these activities are harmless or in good humor; in conjunction with this reminder, the events serve as witnesses for the stupidity of mankind.


I wholly enjoy this poem, as it plays on meter, spacing, and sound.  The activities in stanzas 2, 3, and 4 are alliteration- "lurk late" (line 3), "strike straight" (line 4), "sing sin" (line 5), "thin gin" (line 6), "jazz June" (line 7)- lending melody and repetition.  This poem is at once appealing and appalling, which hits the sweet spot between frustration and commiseration.  The central purpose of this poem is to get people to take a step back and reevaluate the bad choices in their lives.  It begs the questions, is this the way I want to live my life? Yes, I may be having fun now, but how long-lasting are its effects, and will it make me happy in the future?,  and other deep questions of the same sort.


The subjects of this poem have parents or guardians looking out for them, which many dangerous and seedy characters do not.  However, once the subjects grow up and are no longer under their supervisors' care, the same habits come back to bite them where it hurts.  Because there's no one immediately stopping them from committing harmful acts, their actions can more easily get out of hand, thus increasingly the likelihood of premature death among the subjects.  And just as there's a feeling of emptiness after reading the last line, the people who identify with the subjects might not feel as fulfilled as they would like at this point in their lives.  Then again, we've all done at least one of the activities listed, so we all identify with the subjects on some level.  At least, I know I do.  We all have to own up to our bad habits and actively try to change ourselves for the better.

Antiwar Speculation in a Bar

The Man He Killed

By Thomas Hardy

"Had he and I but met

           By some old ancient inn,

We should have sat us down to wet

           Right many a nipperkin!

           "But ranged as infantry,

           And staring face to face,

I shot at him as he at me,

           And killed him in his place.

           "I shot him dead because —

           Because he was my foe,

Just so: my foe of course he was;

           That's clear enough; although

           "He thought he'd 'list, perhaps,

           Off-hand like — just as I —

Was out of work — had sold his traps —

           No other reason why.

           "Yes; quaint and curious war is!

           You shoot a fellow down

You'd treat if met where any bar is,

           Or help to half-a-crown."

Most anti-war works will focus on more jarring images to scare viewers away from the brutality of war, flashbacks to combat, scenes of suspense and fear, witnessing friends die on the battlefield, but “The Man He Killed” is set as a calm remembrance. Instead of shocking the audience with imagery, it creates empathy with a soldier in his realising that he can’t justify the deaths he caused. “The Man He Killed” is an effective anti-war poem because of the choice of first-person point of view, the wording used to show his realisation, and the casual setting mixed with an increasingly concerned tone.

As this poem is written in first-person point of view, it creates a closer connection to the events of war and puts more emotion into the analysis of the meaning behind fighting. Generally, people who are against war would not fight in one. They will have justification for causing death and believe in what they are doing. However, here is a man, who some time after fighting, is troubled by how he would just kill someone because they were not on his side. Also, first person gives credibility to the trauma experienced, as well as adding an emotional impact to the retelling. The emotion added helps the reader connect to his story of something they have not likely experienced, allowing them to realise the negative impacts of war.

The wording throughout this poem shows both the status of the man, helping readers relate to him, and his thought process through his realisation. As he begins to justify his killing another, he begins to repeat himself, as if stalling and restarting in trying to come up with an idea. “I shot him dead because-because he was my foe.” And yet, even after saying this, he can’t find enough reason. He knows that he was supposed to kill the other man because that is what you do in war, but then he shows doubt by finishing the third stanza with “although.” Also, through use of abbreviations like “You’d” or colloquialisms such as “Off-hand-like” the man is made to be a common citizen. This relates him to the audience by putting him in the same social standing and creating more concern when he begins to become troubled by his actions.

It can be assumed by his conclusion at the end and his casual speech that the veteran is speaking to another about his time at war in a bar. He has most likely recounted this to multiple people, yet this time he is trying to justify his actions. Because the setting is not a place where the man is revealing to say a therapist or journalist about all of the details about his life, he is not guarded about what he is thinking about or saying. Also, assuming he has been drinking a bit, he is saying everything that comes to mind. However, during his stream of conscious he discovers a bump when he tries to talk about why he killed people. As his tone continues to become more concerned and anxious, the reader begins to develop more empathy for him. He was just sitting down to think about his life, but now he has discovered a moral dilemma about his past actions. This is effective in pushing a theme of anti-war as it shows how fighting can impact a soldier long after battle, even when spending a night at a bar trying to do nothing.

“The Man He Killed” is a very powerful poem. Though the setting is casual and the speaker average, the realisation he makes and the fashion that he does so draw the audience to take his place and feel his pain in not being able to justify terrible actions from his past. This becomes a very effective piece in speaking against war, because through drawing in the audience’s empathy, Hardy can effectively argue how the man would have just as likely become friendly with any of the men he murdered. He also makes it clear how the man is not unlike those he murdered, further pushing the idea of antiwar into the question of does one person’s death really have a large change in war, while it means everything to them.

The Shift from Light to Dark

The Villain - W.H. Davies

While joy gave clouds the light of stars,

That beamed where’er they looked;

And calves and lambs had tottering knees,

Excited, while they sucked;

While every bird enjoyed his song,

Without one thought of harm or wrong--

I turned my head and saw the wind,

Not far from where I stood,

Dragging the corn by her golden hair,

Into a dark and lonely wood.

“The Villain” by W.H. Davies is noteworthy for being a light, happy poem that ends in a very dark place. This change is made even more stark by the word choices in both the light and dark portions and, furthermore, is foreshadowed by the meter and rhyme patterns.

“Joy”, “excited”, and “enjoyed” are all the obvious words that make up the world of light in this poem, but this is not all that makes it happy. The imagery of “the light of stars” calls to mind soft, glowing things, and the “calves and lambs” with “tottering knees” brings images of birth and childish innocence. Even when the poem changes tone, the “golden hair” still makes one think of beautiful things.

By contrast, “dark” and “lonely” are the obvious world that make up the world of dark. “Wind”, though, also makes one think of something cold and fleeting, and “dragging” is a very suspicious and forceful-sounding word. Even the birds’ lack of wrong, harmful thoughts carries an ounce of foreboding as these words are introduced in the world of light.

Even ignoring all of this, the change can still be seen. The poem starts with a pretty standard meter--eight syllables, then six, then eight again, then six again--with no rhyme. Then, the next two lines have eight syllables and both rhyme at the end. The poem then goes back to eight, then six, then eight, then six, with the six-syllable lines rhyming. The shift is not easily noticeable at first, but reading it aloud is a little jarring. In this way, it foreshadows the change from light to dark. The sudden plot twist can still be seen, but the build-up can be clearly heard.

"In The Garden"

page 634
by: Anonymous

In the garden there strayed
A beautiful maid
As fair as the flowers of the born;
The first hour of her life
She was made a man's wife,
And was buried before she was born.

Though this poem may be short, it packs a deep meaning. The poem itself is an allusion and it also embodies vivid imagery along with an intriguing rhyming pattern. In six concise lines, Anonymous, expertly shows his emotion on the classic Adam and Eve story.

This poem is an allusion to the story of Adam and Eve being banned from the Garden of Eden for eating the forbidden fruit. The "beautiful maid" "strayed" "in the garden" (line 1-2). The maid is Eve and the garden being referenced is Eden. The choice of using the word "strayed" is because Adam and Eve are often depicted wandering around aimlessly in the garden. Lines 4-5 also make the allusion to the Bible story abundantly clear because Eve was created for Adam. "Buried before she was born" references that God kicked her and Adam out of the garden because of her indiscretion.

This poem has many parts to it. The speaker is an outside speaker looking in on the maid. The time setting is the Creation of Man, taking place in the Garden of Eden. The tone is straight forward, it simply tells it how it is. There was a pretty girl, she was a man's wife very soon, and she was in trouble even earlier. The last line is important due to the word choice. Because it says she "was buried before she was born" it implies that she died, as burying is a common after death ritual. The poet also uses the word "made" in reference to being a wife (line 6). This directly alludes to the writing in the Bible of Eve being "made" or created for Adam.

"In The Garden" is a six line poem of complete imagery. It is easy to conjure up an image of a beautiful young woman wandering in a garden. The third line is a simile representing just how beautiful the woman is, but also making an image of gorgeous flowers just sprouted in the garden. The last three lines are imagery of a whirlwind creation of a human to please someone else and then burying that woman. The rhyming scheme is a, a, b, c, c, b. The poet chose to rhyme the first two lines, the middle lines, and then make the second and last line the same word. This adds a certain element of whimsy to the poem, making it seem as if this fateful Biblical story could be a nursery rhyme.

The poet of "In The Garden" does a wonderful job of giving his or her view on the story of Adam and Eve. It is expertly written in a way that makes the allusion obvious without using actual terms from the story it alludes. The word choice is important because it's what clues the reader in that the maid dies in the end. Finally, the six lines are all imagery making for a vivid image in the reader's mind.

A Peaceful Voyage

Sunset and evening star, 

      And one clear call for me! 

And may there be no moaning of the bar, 

      When I put out to sea, 

   But such a tide as moving seems asleep, 

      Too full for sound and foam, 

When that which drew from out the boundless deep 

      Turns again home. 

   Twilight and evening bell, 

      And after that the dark! 

And may there be no sadness of farewell, 

      When I embark; 

   For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place 

      The flood may bear me far, 

I hope to see my Pilot face to face 

      When I have crossed the bar. 

-Alfred, Lord Tennyson

        Alfred, Lord Tennyson constructs a very comforting image of death in his poem, "Crossing the Bar". His approach to death does not assume it is an ending, but rather a transition. Tennyson wishes for a peaceful death, he desires to ease into it as a boat eases out to sea. Through using both natural and religious imagery, Tennyson conveys his acceptance of his imminent death as well as the style in which he would like to pass.

        The poem begins with an image of a sunset, a classic image used to convey death. Tennyson makes it known immediately that it is his death, as he hears a "clear call" for him as the sun sets. He then asks that there be "no moaning of the bar" when he puts "out to sea." When he refers to sound of moaning, literally, it is to the sound that waves make as they crash against a sandbar before reaching the shore. The deeper meaning however, is that he wishes there to be no remorse or sadness as he leaves his life.

       Instead of grief, Tennyson wishes for a tide that "seems asleep," a peaceful sea. Here he uses sleeping, another common metaphor for peace after death. This tide would be "too full for sound and foam," implying that there would be no sandbar for any moaning to take place. Because the sea is too full for sound, his death would be quiet and serene. Next is my favorite part of the poem. His image of death consists of something that has drawn out from some unknowable, "boundless deep" returns to where it came from. In this context, it reminds one of a vast and deep ocean. The religious significance has to do with the soul or essence of man, which has risen from some unknowable place to live, and will return to that place after death, according to Tennyson.

       The next stanza starts with twilight, a progression from sunset. Next will come the dark, or what waits after death. He then pleads again, more explicitly this time, that there "be no sadness of farewell" when he dies. He justifies this desire of his by explaining that though the circumstances are unknown and somewhat frightening, he has hope that he will meet his God wherever he end up next. "Time and Place" are two defining factors of life: we exist somewhere and at some time. Tennyson explains that though these two essential aspects of life may forsake him after death, he still has hope that he will meet God "face to face" after leaving the Earth. 

       By ending the poem with an explanation as to his desires, he adds another level of reassurance to the poem. As it is often difficult to stay calm and logical in moments of anxiety, his use of reason while facing death shows a certain acceptance and composure at the end. The innately human emotion of hope in the last stanza grounds the poem in the human experience, and makes death feel like a voyage instead of a shipwreck.

The Heart in Love

if everything happens that can't be done
(and anything's righter
than books
could plan)
the stupidest teacher will almost guess
(with a run
skip
around we go yes)
there's nothing as something as one

one hasn't a why or because or although
(and buds know better
than books
don't grow)
one's anything old being everything new
(with a what
which
around we come who)
one's everyanything so

so world is a leaf so a tree is a bough
(and birds sing sweeter
than books
tell how)
so here is away and so your is a my
(with a down
up
around again fly)
forever was never till now

now i love you and you love me
(and books are shuter
than books
can be)
and deep in the high that does nothing but fall
(with a shout
each
around we go all)
there's somebody calling who's we

we're anything brighter than even the sun
(we're everything greater
than books
might mean)
we're everyanything more than believe
(with a spin
leap
alive we're alive)
we're wonderful one times one

- e.e. cummings

This poem does not seem like a love poem at first; it seems like a simple comparison between the virtues of the mind and the virtues of the heart. The further you read, however, the more you realize the purpose and subject of the poem. The poem tells of the inability of books and schooling to describe love, or to prepare a person for the joy of being in love. cummings illustrates the beauty of soulful and euphoric love in this work, using indirect imagery and skillful organization that emphasize the freedom and bliss of the heart in love.

The poem begins as if it's about educational systems, contrasting what the mind can analyze versus what the heart can know. Putting this in the context of a romance, however, changes the meaning of the first stanza. "if everything happens that can't be done" implies the act of falling in love: it is everything impossible happening. Both the heart and the mind ("the stupidest teacher") know that "there's nothing as something as one," or there is nothing that is more profound and "something" as another person. The phrases in parentheses show different aspects of the poem's message. (and anything's / righter than books / could plan)" shows, again, that the romance that the speaker is experiencing is greater than the plot of any novel or the analysis of any scholarly book. "(with a run / skip / around we go yes)" evokes an image of two people clasping hands and turning in circles, whooping and laughing. This shows the emotion of the speaker, who feels as free as someone playing like a child.

The poem continues in a similar manner. The second and third stanzas compare love to nature, saying that "(buds know better / than books / don't grow)" and "(birds sing sweeter / than books / tell how)." The speaker is stating that love is always growing and changing into something beautiful, while books never change. The sound of birds is "sweeter" now, because the speaker is in love. This implies that the speaker formerly put a lot of stock in how accurate and trustworthy books were, but now finds that nature and love are much more beautiful than books could ever convey. He says, "forever was never till now," showing that he had no concept of "forever" until he was presented with the idea of spending all that time with the person he loves.

The last two stanzas solidify the purpose and subject of the poem. If there was any doubt as to who the speaker is addressing, it is now clear that he is talking to and about his lover. The ecstasy of the speaker reaches its highest point, taking the reader with him and giving the audience a mood of lightness and euphoria. The second to last stanza sets up the height by starting at a calm and sweet, "now i love you and you love me." "and deep in the high that does nothing but fall / (with a shout / each / around we go all)" makes the mood climb, lending images of birds soaring up, down, and around, and bringing back the image of shouting and twirling lovers. "there's somebody calling who's we" feels as if it is being called out joyfully from the top of a peak. The last stanza is stationary but excited, and tells unequivocally of the love between the two people. The comparisons to nature and the contrasts between books and reality are brought back in the first four lines. The ecstasy and motion returns in the words "(with a spin / leap / alive we're alive)." The last line shows that the speaker and his lover, while both retaining individuality, are one being; this is done with a mathematical metaphor, tying together the use of books and knowledge with the understanding that the heart and soul can experience.

e.e. cummings' love poems are very very dear to me, as I feel that he captures my experience of love better than any other poet does. This poem shows the way that, no matter how much one has read, love is still unlike anything that could be described in words. It shows that euphoria of being loved in return and of feeling that you and your loved one are two individual and unique pieces of the same being. This poem is emotional and visual and influential, and I find it utterly and completely beautiful.

Where Dreams Go to Die

"Dream Deferred"

Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

      Does it dry up

      like a raisin in the sun?

      Or fester like a sore—

      And then run?

      Does it stink like rotten meat?

      Or crust and sugar over—

      like a syrupy sweet?

      Maybe it just sags

      like a heavy load.

      Or does it explode?

Everybody has dreams.  Some dreams are big, elaborate and far fetched, while others are simple and within reach.  Throughout life, roadblocks and obstacles get in the way of dreams.  Tragedy strikes.  Babies are born.  Dreams are deferred.  Poet Langston Hughes addresses this concept of dreams being deferred in his poem "Dream Deferred".  Knowing that Hughes was an black American living in a deeply segregated America, one can deduce that he was forced to defer some of his dream because of the color of his skin.  A combination of tasteful rhetorical questions and vivid imagery in "Dream Deferred", forces readers to think and examine their lives and the dreams they may have deferred.

Rhetorical questions are the backbone of this poem.  Right from the start, the speaker, presumably a black America, poses the question "what happens to a dream deferred?" (1). In addition to immediately captivating the reader's attention and inadvertently forcing them to ponder the question, it also introduces the central purpose of the poem which, to restate, is, what happens to those dreams that are indefinitely reserved for someday ?  After a stylistic break in the lines, there is a series of rhetorical questions from lines 2-8 regarding what happens to a dream deferred.  Unlike the starting rhetorical question, these other questions present possible scenarios of what happens to dreams that are deferred.  However, what is most notable about these questions is the imagery - visual, olfactory, and tactile - used and the emotion it evokes.

The rhetorical questions which serve as the backbone of this poem are developed using vivid imagery.  The metaphor "like a raisin in the sun" (3) creates an image of something very shriveled and dead.  Raisins are infamously very dry and wrinkled, so the placement of them in the sun further enforces the image of death.  Next ,the speaker wonders if "a dream deferred" (1) "fester[s] like a sore" (4).  The word "fester" with its harsh s sound evokes a squeamish feeling.  The image of a wound festering brings up thoughts of yellow pus and oozing skin.  Not pleasant.  Another metaphor is used in conjunction with olfactory imagery, but this time the question is "does it stink like rotten meat ?" (6).  The idea of rotting meat evokes a very negative reaction from a reader.  The stink of rot is associated with death and biologically humans have an aversion to the smell.  Although less vomit inducing, having a dream deferred "crust and sugar over" (7) still creates a negative image.  The word "crust" brings to mind images of stale cotton candy left on the ground at the fair.  To conclude the poem, a final rhetorical question is presented, "or does it explode?" (11).  This last image is more frightening and violent than the rest.  It is likely to resonate with readers.

Throughout the poem, imagery and rhetorical questions are prevalent.  The images and emotional reactions that the imagery produces are across the board negative.  This is indicative of the message the author is trying to convey: dreams that are deferred die.

Love According to the Books VS the Heart

if everything happens that can't be done
e.e. cummings

if everything happens that can't be done
(and anything's righter
than books
could plan)
the stupidest teacher will almost guess
(with a run
skip
around we go yes)
there's nothing as something as one
one hasn't a why or because or although
(and buds know better
than books
don't grow)
one's anything old being everything new
(with a what
which
around we come who)
one's everyanything so
so world is a leaf so a tree is a bough
(and birds sing sweeter
than books
tell how)
so here is away and so your is a my
(with a down
up
around again fly)
forever was never till now
now i love you and you love me
(and books are shuter
than books
can be)
and deep in the high that does nothing but fall
(with a shout
each
around we go all)
there's somebody calling who's we
we're anything brighter than even the sun
(we're everything greater
than books
might mean)
we're everyanything more than believe
(with a spin
leap
alive we're alive)
we're wonderful one times one



This poem is focused on a couple that is in love and seems to defy everything books tell you about love and being in love. However, this purpose is not revealed for quite some time. Instead, Cummings focuses on the idea of books and how they are incapable of always revealing the truth in life.
Cummings begins the poem by talking about broader ideas, crafting lines like "if everything happens that can't be done," to make the reader pause and think about the magnitude of this concept. This occurs for the first three stanzas of the poem. He begins his contrasts to books and how they are often wrong. He states, "(and anything's righter than books could plan)" implying that books are not always reliable sources of information and one can't always trust them for answers. Cummings goes on to connect the understanding of life and love to nature. He implies that flower buds and birds know more about life and love than books do. He also implies that books don't do anything justice by stating that "birds sing sweeter than books tell how". By this point in the poem, Cummings has made it quite clear that he has little faith in books and what they claim to be the truth. In doing so, he is able to make the reader question the same thing.
The last two stanzas are when Cummings finally reveals what the true purpose of this poem is to the reader. In fact, the first line of the fourth stanza sums the poem's purpose up: "now i love you and you love me". The next piece, "(and books are shutter than books could be)," puts into words the frustration and confusion Cummings is facing as a result of him and this woman being in love. These couple of lines provide the reader with the main purpose of the poem; Cummings wants to reveal to the reader that despite what the books say about life and love, love is not always by the books and you have to listen to and follow your heart more than your mind. He states, "(we're everything greater than books might mean)," further enforcing that their love could never be described or matched by how a book wrote it. The final line of the poem states this idea in the most direct way possible: "we're wonderful one times one," implying that their love for each other has allowed them to become one being and no book could ever put that feeling of unity into words and make it as truthful as it deserves to be.
Cummings has the first and last word of each stanza rhyme to create a unity between the ideas presented and contrasted in each stanza which works quite effectively. In addition, he puts his ideas about books in parentheses to demonstrate that they are thoughts of his that oppose the reality of his life even though people do still believe in them. This is also very effective in showing the difference between what he believes to be true and what others believe to be true. I found it interesting that he didn't reveal the purpose of his poem until the fourth stanza, however, after reading the poem a couple of times, it made the most sense. If Cummings had exposed the point of his poem earlier on, the reader wouldn't have understood the importance of his feelings towards books and what they stand for. The poem is well-constructed and has a funny and unique way of getting to the point.