E.E. Cummings and Literary Modernism
Literature modernism is a term that many authors or readers would use to describe differing yet specific artistic and philosophical movements. Such movements may include but are not limited to symbolism, expressionism, vorticism, surrealism, and futurism. The contemporary Modernism in literature came forth as an outcome of a movement by the global indigenous artistic writers to break loose from the traditional ways of writing. So many of the literature pioneers were losing their attachment to the old fashion ways of presenting ideas to the people. In that, most, if not all, looed fort to an ushering in a new era that would see that both the writers and the readers play a significant part in making art more accessible and enticing to the people. The authors of the 19th and 20th centuries acted as the campaign masters by propelling new artistic techniques that would later override the then existent drawing and other customary ways of presenting creativity. E. E. Cummings stands out of all the authors who promoted Modernism in the world of arts. He is particularly unique in how he was illustrative of the modern viewpoint, especially in the poems that he wrote after World War 1, a major contributing factor to the divisibility and transformation of the literature world (Farley, 56). Therefore, this essay focuses on what makes E. E. Cummings’ “Buffalo Bill’s” an example of Modernism as present in the Norton Anthology American literature textbook. Therefore, it will discuss some of the models like individualism, symbolism, and experimentations in the way they earned E. E. Cummings’s outstanding attention.
Firstly, individualism makes “Buffalo Bill’s” an example of Modernism. Cummings put the individualism way of writing in his poem, the “Buffalo Bill’s,” as evident in the Norton Anthology American literature textbook. By doing that, Cummings distanced from the traditional approaches of art in which the author as to align their ideas according to the group or societal standards, the traditional techniques (Cohen and Milton, 593). For instance, in his work, Cummings leaves the reader with a one-on-one chance to the main protagonist in his poem or writing, instead of involving them with the customary groups or societal norms. In the poem, the ‘Buffalo Bill,’ E. E. Cummings leaves the reader with all the powers to create any feelings to the main character in the poem if they feel okay doing so. In this case, Cummings left the reader to interact with the main character in the poem as either a rascal or an idiom. In one place, the author says, “ride a water smooth-silver stallion…he was a handsome man” (Cohen and Milton, 594), while at another point, he writes, “…and break one two three four five pigeons just like that” (Cohen and Milton, 594). In the latter, the reader of the writing may most likely believe that Buffalo Bill has a callous and inhumane character, especially in the face of animals. That may trigger negative feelings in the reader towards the main character. However, that is contrary to the above point of a handsome man on a water smooth-silver stallion. Here the author created an insinuation that the Buffalo Bill is an idol to the reader rather than a hero. Such approaches by the author show that Buffalo Bill is an example of a modernist piece of art.
Nevertheless, experimentation is another thing that makes “Buffalo Bill’s” an example of Modernism in the Norton Anthology American literature textbook. In this poem, Cummings assumed many customary language structures as a technique or way to attract more readers (Farley, 63). In his writing, Cummings did not emphasize language forms like proper syntax, punctuation, and grammar, among others. Instead, he wrote in a freestyle that included the expression of his ideas in a way that is eye-catching to the readers. Throughout the poem, he used grammatical errors, unnecessary spacing not guided in any form, and wrong or weak sentence structures (Cohen and Milton, 593). All of those were ways of experimenting with the use of language or breaking away from the necessary customs of having to use proper grammar to the latter in writing literary works. That type of experimentation on language gives the readers of the work the freedom to construct their imagination or interpretations while going through the artistic work. A clear insinuation that Buffalo Bill is an example of Modernism.
In a nutshell, Modernism in literature dates to the 19th century and the early 20th century, and E. E. Cummings is one of the pioneers of this artistic approach. It includes aspects such as symbolism, expressionism, vorticism, surrealism, and futurism, and it came forth as an effort by the pioneer artists to counter the traditional norms of arts (Rosenblitt, 76). The application of writing approaches like individualism and experimentation is proof that E. E. Cummings’ “Buffalo Bill’s” is an example of Modernism as used in the Norton Anthology American literature textbook. In the Anthology, Cummings’ poem makes use of individualism when the author leaves the readers to make whatever feelings they like towards the main character. On the other hand, he uses language experimentation by avoiding the typical writing structures like proper grammar and spacing. Such reasons, among others, are a clear indication that Cummings’ work was a champion of Modernism.
Works Cited
Cohen, Milton A. “Cummings and Freud.” American Literature, vol. 55, no. 4, 1983, pp. 591–610. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2925976. Accessed 29 June 2020.
Farley, David G. Modernist travel writing: Intellectuals abroad. University of Missouri Press, 2010.
Rosenblitt, J. Alison. EE Cummings’ Modernism and the Classics: Each Imperishable Stanza. Oxford University Press, 2016.
The post E.E. Cummings and Literary Modernism appeared first on My Assignment Online.