[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]
By E. E. Cummings (1894 - 1962)
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
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Analysis
The theme of this poem is the unity of the speaker and his lover. This is a more modern poem written in the 20th century, so Cummings includes lots of modern techniques in this poem, such as no periods, no spaces between punctuation and parentheses, and no capital letters. These are not typos, Cummings deliberately does so to create a special effect he wants. By using these techniques, Cummings can have a certain flow through his poem, and therefore link his ideas together. Also, by using uncapitalized letters throughout the poem, the author can create the aesthetics of all the letters by making them equal in size. The first and second line start off with the same line the title has. There are some strange syntax and form used here. Why does Cummings use parentheses? It is because Cummings wants to emphasise the unity and reduce the distance between the speaker and his lover. It is said that Cummings loves art, and he wants to combine the form of poetry and art together. Therefore, the function of the parentheses can visualize the connection between the speaker and the lover.
From the second half of the line 2 to line 4, the speaker writes about wherever he goes, his lover must accompany him. They are inseparable, in one form instead of two. Nothing can be done by himself alone, it must be done with his love. The love between them creates a bond and a mutual relationship which is extremely tender and profound. Lines 3 and 4 is once more stressing the idea of unity. Here we see another function of the parentheses which look visually like a heart. Maybe Cummings wants the words inside these parentheses to be the thoughts the speaker has in mind. The words outside them are what the speaker speaks out loud.
From line 5 to line 7, the author introduces two abstract words that are different from previous lines - fate and world. The speaker is aware of these outer obstacles which might hinder their relationship. No matter how hard the fate he might face or how colourful the world might be, his only concern is his lover: 'for you are my fate,my world'. By squishing the words - my fate,my sweet - my world,my true - , he is comparing his fate and his world to his lover. Here we see the third function of the parentheses, which is very creative. The words mentioned outside the parentheses are more poetic and conceptual. 'i fear no fate' and 'i want no world' requires more thinking to grasp what the speaker means. On the other hand, the words inside the parentheses are spoken in a more precise and straight-to-the-point way, which clearly explains his messages. In lines 8 and 9, two important symbols appear - sun, moon. They are a common appearance in love poems. Moon stands for inspirations and sun stands for brightness and warmth. The speaker compares his lover with sun and moon to say that she brings along inspiration, brightness and warmth. The word 'always' is used in both lines to show that the eternal existence of the sun and the moon means that her influences will eternally affect him, day and night.
From line 10 to line 14, we come to the climax of the poem. The speaker uses the previous lines to steadily build up the background of him and his lover in unity, and then continues to say that the world only has meaning because of his lover. More than that, he discovers something which grows far below and higher above. The deepest secret is, of course, his love. It goes deeper and sturdier than any root, it reaches higher and freer than any sky, it stays more tender and softer than any bud, it travels wider than any soul, it opens every mind. Here, the speaker focuses on a bigger picture of love, not only focusing on a small area. Love is the magic force that keeps the universe from falling. Lastly, the poem ends with almost the same sentence as the title. The last line belongs to a separate stanza altogether to form a complete circle with the title, and coming to the theme.
There are lots of poetic devices used in this poem. The first line starts off with a metaphor. By carrying a heart, the speaker means to be close to his lover. In lines 8 and 9, there is a personification used. The sun cannot 'sing', and the moon cannot mean anything. Another poetic device used is repetition, which is from lines 10 to 13. The speaker uses the word 'root', 'bud' and 'sky' twice in every line to emphasise the significance of his love. The form of this poem is actually a sonnet. But Cummings doesn't follow the traditional rules of sonnets. Instead of fourteen lines, he purposely adds a line between the first and second stanza. Also, his poem is more like a free verse. Every stanza has a set of rhyme: in - darling, true - you, knows - grows. Even the last stanza has a rhyme. Although Cummings doesn't want his poem to be entirely like a sonnet, he still ends his poem with the gg pattern like a regular sonnet. The tone of the poem is sweet but earnest because it is dealing about the essence of true love.
From the second half of the line 2 to line 4, the speaker writes about wherever he goes, his lover must accompany him. They are inseparable, in one form instead of two. Nothing can be done by himself alone, it must be done with his love. The love between them creates a bond and a mutual relationship which is extremely tender and profound. Lines 3 and 4 is once more stressing the idea of unity. Here we see another function of the parentheses which look visually like a heart. Maybe Cummings wants the words inside these parentheses to be the thoughts the speaker has in mind. The words outside them are what the speaker speaks out loud.
From line 5 to line 7, the author introduces two abstract words that are different from previous lines - fate and world. The speaker is aware of these outer obstacles which might hinder their relationship. No matter how hard the fate he might face or how colourful the world might be, his only concern is his lover: 'for you are my fate,my world'. By squishing the words - my fate,my sweet - my world,my true - , he is comparing his fate and his world to his lover. Here we see the third function of the parentheses, which is very creative. The words mentioned outside the parentheses are more poetic and conceptual. 'i fear no fate' and 'i want no world' requires more thinking to grasp what the speaker means. On the other hand, the words inside the parentheses are spoken in a more precise and straight-to-the-point way, which clearly explains his messages. In lines 8 and 9, two important symbols appear - sun, moon. They are a common appearance in love poems. Moon stands for inspirations and sun stands for brightness and warmth. The speaker compares his lover with sun and moon to say that she brings along inspiration, brightness and warmth. The word 'always' is used in both lines to show that the eternal existence of the sun and the moon means that her influences will eternally affect him, day and night.
From line 10 to line 14, we come to the climax of the poem. The speaker uses the previous lines to steadily build up the background of him and his lover in unity, and then continues to say that the world only has meaning because of his lover. More than that, he discovers something which grows far below and higher above. The deepest secret is, of course, his love. It goes deeper and sturdier than any root, it reaches higher and freer than any sky, it stays more tender and softer than any bud, it travels wider than any soul, it opens every mind. Here, the speaker focuses on a bigger picture of love, not only focusing on a small area. Love is the magic force that keeps the universe from falling. Lastly, the poem ends with almost the same sentence as the title. The last line belongs to a separate stanza altogether to form a complete circle with the title, and coming to the theme.
There are lots of poetic devices used in this poem. The first line starts off with a metaphor. By carrying a heart, the speaker means to be close to his lover. In lines 8 and 9, there is a personification used. The sun cannot 'sing', and the moon cannot mean anything. Another poetic device used is repetition, which is from lines 10 to 13. The speaker uses the word 'root', 'bud' and 'sky' twice in every line to emphasise the significance of his love. The form of this poem is actually a sonnet. But Cummings doesn't follow the traditional rules of sonnets. Instead of fourteen lines, he purposely adds a line between the first and second stanza. Also, his poem is more like a free verse. Every stanza has a set of rhyme: in - darling, true - you, knows - grows. Even the last stanza has a rhyme. Although Cummings doesn't want his poem to be entirely like a sonnet, he still ends his poem with the gg pattern like a regular sonnet. The tone of the poem is sweet but earnest because it is dealing about the essence of true love.