Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- What's the point of all the squishing of words and parenthetical clauses in each stanza? How does it affect our reading and interpretation of the poem?
- Why does the speaker remain ambiguous in his diction? What does all the ambiguity contribute to the poem's themes?
- How would you describe the speaker's voice? Does it sometimes sound as if we have more than one voice occurring in the poem? If so, explain the difference.
- Do we have any romantic clichés in the poem? How does Cummings give these clichés a modern twist?
- How does Cummings try to shock us into having "fresh eyes" for his poem? Do these tactics still work for us in the 21st century? Why or why not?