Cummings and Love 1940-1950

"nude trio: two cavorting, one reclining"--- e.e. cummings

Dated: 1940

Media: oil on cardboard

source: http://www.eecummingsart.com/artwork/?eec=0508&gal=s-0-53-22

Immediate thoughts: bliss, love, enjoying life, a couple and a spectator, happiness, cotton candy clouds, flowers, grass, without clothes, carefree, barefoot, dramatic sky

"the great advantage of being alive" by e.e. cummings

published in Xaipe in 1950

source: http://www.scribd.com/doc/48849870/Cummings-E-E-Complete-Poems-1904-1962

Unlike Cummings' other poems, the form of "the great advantage of being alive" is relatively standard, demonstrating the universality of the theme of the poem: love. In the first stanza, Cummings differentiates between "being alive" and "undying." Being alive is a mental awareness of life, enjoying its pleasures, while undying is simply surviving. He claims that the great advantage of being alive is the difference between rational thought and emotion. However, he discards this and tells his darling "that love are in we, that love are in we." By saying this, Cummings suggests the all encompassing nature of love. It is so powerful, that it triumphs over all else. Rational though need not be considered for he has discovered true love.

He then distinguishes his love, from all other loves. There are those "for whom create is less than have/ or one times one than when times where." Cummings explains that his love is not one that has been created. It is not the result of a multiplication of numbers, or any sort of manipulation; it has come naturally. It is a genuine love. Finally it is a love that others cannot replicate, for "this world.../shall never discover our touch and feel." Others may attempt to understand this love, but this is not possible. It is a love so unique that others cannot comprehend.

Although the poem and the painting were created 10 years apart, the two work together perfectly to convey Cummings' message of unattainable love. In the painting, there are three people, however only two stand together. The couple, a man and woman seem to be dancing together in a field. Much like how Cummings and his beloved are "above/ and under all possible worlds," the couple in the painting seems removed from the world around them. They are so overwhelmed by their feelings for one another that they do not notice the third person watching them in the painting. This person may try to understand the love of the couple, but ultimately this is not possible. Their love is their own. The dramatic colors in the sky show that even the nature has been influenced by their love --- it is a force this strong and all encompassing.