Poem #4: Since Feeling is First

The Poem: Since Feeling is First by E.E. Cummings                 
               
 since feeling is first

who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world
my blood approves,
and kisses are a better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don't cry
the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids' flutterwhich sayswe are for each other:then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life's not a paragraphAnd death i think is no parenthesis

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Edward Estlin Cummings was born on October 14, 1894 at Cambridge. He passed away on September 3, 1962 at North Conway, New Hampshire  His parents are Edward Cummings and Rebecca Haswell Clarke. His mother was the first person to teach him about poems. At the age of 12, he was a freshman at High school. He attended school at Harvard and graduated in the year of 1916 with a Masters degree. He had two careers which was a poet and a painter. E.E. Cummings had a different way of phrasing and punctuating. In 1917, he stated to publish his poems. He was a volunteer ambulance driver during World War I at France.

PERSONAL RESPONSE:
The poet is saying that love is way better than wisdom. Why would you choose to be so smart when you don't have love. Love is so big. A person can love someone without even knowing. I love how the poet compares the two subjects. I can imagine a lover saying this poem to the person he truly loves. I can relate to this poem because I had a crush on one of my friends. I thought it would be fate that we would be together, that there's a chance of being us, but death came in the way. Death can never stop us from loving other people. It shows how much we loved that person. This poet is so different from other poets. He chose not to capitalize some one the words in the beginning of the lines. This poem makes so sense without even rhyming. Someone would be a food to have wisdom and not choose love. My favorite part in this poem or the line(s) that stood out for me is "Life's not a paragraph/And death I think is no parenthesis". Everyone should enjoy life because life is short. We have to learn to love one another and not create fights with each other. We should live to the fullest before death comes. Show some love to the closest people around us. Give thanks for what we have and don't have. Everyone chooses their fate, not death. I like this poem so much. The poet writes it freely.

TP-CASTT

Title: I expect that this poem will be about feelings for another person or someone getting hurt. Those type of relationships when they don't work out.

Paraphrase:
since feeling is first
who gives any notice
to the arrangement of words
will not be able to fully kiss you
entirely to be a ninny
while spring is in the world
my blood accepts
kisses that should happen
than intelligence
lady i vow (take oath) don't cry
the great movement of my brain is less than
your eyelids flicker says
we are for each other; then
laugh bending my arms
life is not a paragraph
and death is not a clause

Connotation:
 1. Structure- free verse, Rhyme scheme- none, Meter- metrical lines
 2. Figurative Language- Metaphor- "life's not a paragraph" & "And death I think is no pare, Personification- "my blood approves", "the best gesture of my brain" & "eyelids flutter which               says we are for each other"
 3. Speaker- Someone who likes living for a moment.  
 4. Imagery- sight (syntax of things), hear (laugh), smell (none), taste (none), touch (arms, eyes fluttering, kiss)

Attitude: This poem is light-hearted, serious, and emotional.

Shifts:
First quatrain stanza- Feelings we don't even notice.
Second stanza- Compares wisdom and love
Third stanza- We chose our fate, not death.

Title: After reading this poem, I understand the title now. Feeling is the love. Love is always first.

Theme: Feelings come before anything. Love is better than wisdom.


REFERENCES (APA-6)
Cummings, E. (1926). Since Feeling is First. Crestone End of Life. Website. Retrieved from http://www.crestone-end-of-life.org/images-poetry/poetry/49-poetry-since-feeling-is-first.html