Analysis of E.E Cummings Poems: "Buffalo Bill" and "A Leaf Falls"

 Q: Describe how their FORM relates to their CONTENT?

Buffalo Bills  By: E.E. Cummings

The "Self-Portrait" is a clever attempt at illustrating a well-known cowboy's ability to shoot, while mocking his inevitable death. The free verse poetic form utilized by the poet can lead to many different interpretations. Firstly, certain key words, like "defunct" stand alone on the page for emphasis allowing  the reader to pause and think about their meaning as well as the relation to the content of the poem.  For example, defunct means "to stop working" or "broken" yet here, the poet is sarcastically referring to the so-called celebrity cowboy "Buffalo Bill" as being defunct. Subsequently, the author combines words together to perhaps slow the reader down therefore forcing one to gain a greater insight as to what the underlying message is. In the line "onetwothrefour...." is not difficult to read unless it's read slowly, it allows the person to question what is meant by this improper way of spelling and utilizing of words. Maybe it helps reiterate the poet's "scattered" thoughts or emotions regarding the old cowboy. Next,  many will argue that the form of the poem and the way in which E.E. Cummings has laid it out on paper resembles two separate pistols when the page is cut in half. If that is the case, it clearly connects to the content of a cowboy and his endless killings. Finally, the way in which Cummings utilizes irony in that on the one hand Buffalo Bill is portrayed as a clever, handsome man (perhaps like Jesus) and very skilled at hunting yet mocks his death.

A Leaf Falls  By: E.E. Cummings

 This short yet effective haiku-like poem has been described by many literary scholars as one of the most beautiful poetic constructs that Cummings has ever written. Despite the poem consisting of four simple words, its meaning can be bountiful.  The format Cummings uses to describe a falling leaf is clever as the letters indicate a "falling" style or dribble down the page. That is, a few letters piled on top of one another in the same manner leaves fall off a tree. Next, the word "loneliness" can be interpreted by many readers as the feeling a leaf encounters when it loses its "place in the tree." For example, once a leaf has fallen to the ground it is alone and in some ways- having to fend for itself. This thought or emotion correlates with the form and style Cummings utilizes in the short poem. For instance, the grammatically incorrect way in which he separates words and syllables as well as the look of the falling letters makes the read perhaps feel alone and having to fend for themselves as to what the author is trying to reveal. In addition, having stated the poem with one letter "I" reiterates the oneness or loneliness of the single letter in the opening sentence of a well respected piece of literary work. Finally, this poem forces the reader to stop and think about each line and letters within to verify it underlying meanings.