Cummings of the 1920s: An Apocalyptic Vision

"abstraction on check blank"--- e.e. cummings
Media: pencil on paper
Dated: 1920s (c.)
Source: http://www.eecummingsart.com/artwork/?eec=0311&gal=s-4-43-31

Immediate thoughts: A maze. Circles and spirals. No color. Sharp lines and smooth lines. No end. One thing flows to the next. Anger. Confusion. Endless stairs. Rainbows. Water. Cobblestone. Pain. Outside of reality. The scene flows off the page, out of the image. Smeared pencil. Carelessness. No hope. Something non-human. Drawn quickly. Lack of precision.

"The Glory Is Fallen Out Of" by e.e. cummings
From Tulips and Chimneys published in 1923
source: http://poetry.poetryx.com/poems/10137/

Cummings' poem seems to have a tone that is almost apocalyptic. In his repetition of the phrase "this is the passing of all shining things"he reveals that the goodness, which once existed, is disappearing. Objects once shining, no longer remain. Nature is destroyed as "the last immortal leaf is dead." Cummings also indicates a loss of morality saying, "the glory is fallen out of the sky." The sky, which is often associated with heaven, is a place of purity and holiness. By saying that the glory has fallen out of this sacred space, Cummings implies that even God is no longer present. There is a loss of order. Humans too succumb to this fate, as they descend"into receptive earth." Without God, there is no life for the humans.

This apocalyptic process Cummings describes is final; it cannot be reversed. There is no "lingering [or] backward-wondering." Once the destruction occurs, all will be gone forever. For this reason, he suggests "straight glad feet." The adjectives used here reflect the attitude one must have. The use of "straight" indicates a known direction, an understanding of the future, while the use of "glad" indicates an acceptance of the dismal fate. With these feet, one walks down the path of imminent destruction.

The form of the poem gives the reader a sense of being lead somewhere. The lines are short flowing vertically down the page rather than horizontally across it. It is as if the reader too is succumbing to this apocalyptic fate, being brought further and further down to the end of the world with each line. The final line "darkness" is its own stanza. Its solitude indicates that the poem has brought the reader to its final destination: darkness.

At first glance, Cummings' drawing seems to have little in common with his poem. The drawing is abstract and simple, containing swirls and geometric shapes. It does not seem to imitate anything concrete. The sharp lines and lack of empty space create a feeling of unease and the smudges create a feeling of carelessness.  When looking at it through the lens of the poem, however, it suddenly has more meaning. While the apocalyptic world many imagine may contain colorful flames and dark smoke, the lack of color in Cummings' drawing creates a scene that is equally chilling. Because color is a sensation associated with emotion and feeling, the colorless world Cummings envisions lacks emotion. This offers a connection between the two works: the drawing can in many ways act as a physical representation of the poem. The colorless world of spirals and sharp lines may in fact be an apocalyptic one. Just as the poem leads the reader down the line, the lines in the drawing lead one off the page. The world off of the page resembles the "darkness" at the end of the poem. Cummings describes a "formal spasm / in the/ dust." The swirls in the drawing allow one to see this spasm, as the lines convulse. In addition, the lack of color, and semblance to any sort of life, allows one to better understand the destruction of nature. There is not even a sign that the "last immortal /leaf/ is/ dead." Finally, there is a difference in the finality of message of the two works. While it seems there is no returning, "lingering/ or backward-/wondering," from the world of Cummings' poem, this is not the case in the drawing. The lines flow off of the page, like paths, allowing one to re-enter the scene of the drawing. In the world of "abstraction on check blank," one can begin off of the page and step onto the path of the piece of art. This suggests that perhaps there is salvation in this world of abstraction. "The end" may not actually be "the end."