Nobody Loses All the Time Q and MG

Poetry Pack: IEB HL 2023ff nobody loses all the time ~ e e cummings Edward Estlin Cummings (1894–1962) was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He began writing poems as early as 1904 and studied Latin and Greek at the Cambridge Latin High School. He graduated with a Bachelors degree in 1915 and earned his Masters in 1916, both from Harvard University. It was at Harvard that he was exposed to the unique and experimental poetry of Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein. In 1917, the same year he left for military service, he published an early selection of poems in the anthology Eight Harvard Poets. During the war, he worked as an ambulance driver, and frequently wrote poetry opposing war. Censors were alerted and after five months of work, he and a friend were arrested by French authorities on suspicion of spying. This experience was the stimulus for his anti-war novel, The Enormous Room. His father had to approach the president to facilitate his release from prison. After his release, he divided his time between New Hampshire and Paris. He loved travelling throughout Europe, meeting writers and artists, including Pablo Picasso, who he greatly admired as a fellow innovator. He also published a play entitled ‘HIM’ and when critics responded, he wrote, “Relax and give the play a chance to strut its stuff – relax, stop wondering what it is all 'about' – like many strange and familiar things, Life included, this play isn't 'about,' it simply is … Don't try to enjoy it, let it try to enjoy you. DON'T TRY TO UNDERSTAND IT, LET IT TRY TO UNDERSTAND YOU.” These words could equally apply to his idiosyncratic poetry, so do try to follow the poet’s advice! He was criticised for being too innovative or avant garde but young people often love his work – especially when it concerns anti-war messages or is daringly sexual in nature. Conservatives did not take to the wacky, experimental style, and felt that he should evolve and explore other styles. Cummings received a number of honours, 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. After Robert Frost (America’s favourite), Cummings is considered the ‘most read’ poet. 1. “No one else wrote like Cummings, and Cummings wrote like no one else” is how the poet’s latest biographer, Christopher Sawyer-Laucanno, delivers the bad and good news about the poet’s writing in E.E. Cummings: A Biography. In what way does this statement apply to ‘nobody loses all the time’? 2. List the skills and the ventures of Uncle Sol. 3. How would you describe Sol’s attitude at the beginning of the poem? Motivate your answer. 4. ‘… not to mention splendiferous funeral …’ (line 30) 4.1 What is a ‘splendiferous’ funeral? 4.2 Is this a typical way to describe a funeral? Explain your answer. 4.3 Discuss the irony of such an outcome for Uncle Sol. 5. Ultimately, Sol did have a victory. Explain what it was, and what tone has been used to end the poem. 6. On the surface, ‘nobody loses all the time’ is a poem about a man who has been largely unsuccessful. What do you think is the deeper meaning of the poem? © Macrat Publishing Poetry Pack: IEB HL 2023ff SUGGESTED ANSWERS: nobody loses all the time 1. … … … … Own opinion. But ideas could include: Differing line lengths Unconventional punctuation Weird syntax – jumbled; no one else does this! Unusual use of enjambment Bad news: little more challenging to interpret – certainly unique, but perhaps too wacky? What do you think? Good news: fun, creative, out of the box, wacky, weird, young, playful 2. List: • Uncle Sol could sing – ‘he should have gone/into vaudeville perhaps because my Uncle Sol could/sing McCann He Was A Diver on Xmas Eve like Hell itself’. [Note: ‘vaudeville’ is a type of entertainment popular in the US in the early 20th century, featuring a number of individual acts such as burlesque comedy, song and dance. ‘McCann’ was a navy diver who became a decorated Vice-Admiral. Ironically, he was buried at sea. The word ‘perhaps’ and the simile ‘like Hell’ suggest that while Uncle Sol was entertaining, he was perhaps not the best singer.] • He started a vegetable farm – ‘Uncle Sol’s farm failed because the chickens ate the vegetables’. • He tried chicken farming – ‘had a chicken farm till the skunks ate the chickens’. • He had a skunk farm – ‘had a skunk farm but the skunks caught cold and died’. 3. Cheerful, adaptable – he experiences losses but adapts and tries new ventures. 4. 4.1 It was a very splendid, wonderful funeral. People cried (note the simile and hyperbole) ‘like the Missouri’ river! 4.2 No, it is not typical to describe a funeral as such a wonderful thing. 4.3 It is ironic that throughout his life, Sol experienced repeated failures, but when he died, it was a magnificent event. Another touch of irony is that he is celebrated at his funeral having proved successful at committing suicide. 5. He was victorious in that he managed to succeed at dying: ‘he drowned himself in the watertank’ and those around him had the opportunity to attend his funeral (an ‘auspicious occasion’). He managed, finally to succeed… at becoming food for worms. The tone is wry, satirical, mocking. 6. Even those who seldom succeed can emerge victorious – if only in death! Life is more about resilience than success. © Macrat Publishing