Class 11 English Lesson 11: Poem: who are you, little i? by E.E. Cummings

 

Poem: Who are you, little i? by E.E. Cummings (page 251)

About the Poet

E(dward) E(stlin) Cummings (1894-1962), often styled as e e cummings, was an American poet, painter, essayist, novelist, and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobiographical novels, four plays, and several essays, as well as numerous drawings and paintings.

He developed the style of poetry writing for which he became renowned, with its unconventional use of capitalization, punctuation, spacing, and structure. He is regarded as an eminent voice of 20th-century English literature.

Central Idea of the Poem

In terms of the central idea, this frame presents the close connection between nature and childhood. A child is very close to nature, but as he grows up, this connection is disturbed. A child is capable of perceiving beauty and astonishment in the world of nature.

In terms of the context, the speaker remembers his childhood days when he, as a child, looked at the setting sun in November through the window. In terms of rhyme scheme, we have abided in other words, the first line rhymes with the third line second rhymes with the fourth line, and so on.

Summary of the Poem

This poem is about nature and how it affects the speaker. The poem is quite short, with only eight lines. The main theme of this poem is the beauty of nature and its positive impact on humans. The speaker of this poem begins by standing near a window and looking out of it at the end of the day. He enters a nostalgic state, recalling his childhood when he used to sit and contemplate a sunset. He recalls how he used to enjoy such beauty when he was a young boy of about five or six years old. It's a wonder he still has a youthful aura about him. This presence is capable of appreciating the beauty of the evening. 

              Perhaps he wants to come out of his shell, but his maturity and adulthood prevent him from doing so.  The poet has described a little boy, his surroundings, and his acts of peering (looking) and feeling about beautiful nature beautifully and wonderfully. He has shared his childhood memories of being close to nature. He has presented himself as a little I or a boy of five or six years old who keeps peering through some high window at the beautiful golden sunset of November and pondering the wonderful transformation of the day into night in a very beautiful way.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slZ3c6OImqg 

Analysis of the Poem

While analysing the poem 'Who Are You Little I', it is found that the poem explains the beauty of nature and its positive impact on humans. It begins with the poet's question: Who are you, little I? He is not asking a question but remembering his childhood days. We also notice parentheses in the second and sixth lines, which is another characteristic of Cummings' poetry. The first five lines resemble the poet's childish days. He remembers his childish days when he was five or six and sitting near the window and looking at the sunset. Here the poet has used of small letter 'i for two purposes, first of all, he has used the small 'i for self-reflection or referring to himself as a child, and secondly, it shows the image of the poet indicated by the second line.

He also used the semicolon between winds and at in the fourth line to suggest two different locations, as inside and outside the window, such as the boy is inside the window and the sun is setting outside it. Finally, the poem concludes with the statement that if the day has to become night, this is a beautiful way, and it also reflects the child's excitement at the transformation of the day into night.

Therefore, for him, this is something beautiful. It can also be interpreted as the poet's desire to see the end of his life, where the days refer to life and the night refers to death.

Understanding the text:

Answer the following questions:

a.      Who can be the speaker of this poem?

Mostly, poets use a literary element called 'Speaker'. The speaker is the person voicing the words. Here, the speaker is an adult who recalls his childhood. Perhaps the speaker is the poet himself.

b.     What is "little i" doing?

The "little i" is looking out a window at the end of the day. He is enjoying the beautiful scene of sunset scene.

c.      What can be the relationship between the "little i" and the speaker of the poem?

The "little i" is the childhood of the speaker himself, and the speaker is the child grown up. So we can say that the "little i" is the child version of the speaker.

d.     What is the speaker remembering from his childhood days in the poem?

The speaker is remembering how he used to enjoy natural scenes like sunsets. He used to get pleasure from such sights. 

e.      What attitude does the speaker seem to have toward the child in the poem?

The speaker seems to have a positive, nostalgic attitude towards the child. He feels a youthful presence in himself still now, who inspires him now to look out and enjoy the nature outside. 

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