E.E. Cummings is one of the most recognized poets from the 20th century. Cummings destiny to become a poet was evident even as a small child. [http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/e-e-cummings] However, Cummings explored many different avenues and gained experience from many experiences in his lifetime.
As a child, Cummings already liked to view the world in his own way. When Cummings was just four years old, he was very interested in drawing. He showed a love of animals in his sketching, but with hints of perspective. Sketching became a lifetime hobby of Cummings. Cummings also enjoyed going to his family farm; where he would cut wood, go for long walks, and take bicycle tours. [http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/eecummings.html]
It was when Cumming’s first attended the Agassiz school that he realized his love for poetry. While attending school, he realized he had a talent for memorizing the poems of Longfellow and Emerson. This inspired Cummings to begin writing a few of his own poems. [http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/eecummings.html] However, it wasn’t until college that he began to take his studies seriously. At Harvard, Cummings studied Greek and English classics. While in school, his poems were often ran in the Harvard Monthly and Harvard Advocate. [http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/e-e-cummings]
[http://theinspiredcafe.com/tag/e-e-cummings/]
After Cummings received his M.A., he moved to New York, where he worked at a publishing company. Cummings endured many hardships in the years to follow; however, the 1920s were the time of his greatest productivity. During this time he helped write an autobiographical play and later published a book of poetry. [http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/eecummings.html]
One poem Cummings wrote was The Cambridge Ladies Who Live In Furnished Souls. This poem describes women who never think for themselves, who never question society, and who are unaware of anything bigger than themselves. These women have no values or ideas of their own, nor do they question values. They also have no understanding of Christ, but show superficial excitement. [http://blue.utb.edu/gibson/cambridge%20ladies.htm] Basically, the poem talks about wealthy women who are only living by the social standards of society, not their own understandings. Cummings probably wrote this poem because he was such a free-thinker, that women with this persona were frustrating and hard to accept.
(representation of the ladies of Cambridge above)
[http://foldedvictory.blogspot.com/2011/08/cambridge-ladies-who-live-in-furnished.html]
lwebb1's Blog 