Then the voices leap, like the spirits of trees. of all nothing—human merely being Thanks for taking the time to read this :) The final stanza, one of those two asides, uses the phrases “ears of my ears” and “eyes of my eyes,” suggesting a spiritual hearing and seeing, a sense beyond the physical. Another idiosyncrasy in Cummings’s poetry is his division of words across line breaks, as in the “birth / day” of this poem. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. (You may think the line should read “for this most amazing day” and that I’ve […], […] poem was originally published in Xaipe1 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1950), reissued in 2004 by Liveright, an imprint of W.W. Norton […], […] i thank you God for most this amazing […], […] of the album lyrics, click here. Despite some oddities, this poem is actually one of Cummings’s most intelligible, not nearly as eccentric as his others. But, um, anyway. Everyone's a Critic. Feb. 28, 2020. This syntactical shift converts the word “being” from a noun to a verb. Whitacre concludes the piece with a repeat of the first line, “i thank You God.”. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. I wrote this March 29, 2009. This stylistic choice visually contrasts the smallness of humanity with the largeness of God—a contrast he also builds with the words “merely” and “illimitably.” Second, he sets off the accounts of his personal awakening in parentheses as if they are just asides, minor addresses to the reader rather than to God. day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees It’s the last few weeks of summer, so we’re going to the beach! You are wonderful, one of a kind, uniquely valuable! All famous quotes. Right now, think of your positive qualities, and things you can do better than the average person can. ( Log Out /  This is the most positive, most affirmative word Cummings could find. “i thank You God for most this amazing” by E. E. Cummings, http://faculty.gvsu.edu/websterm/cummings/caps.htm, http://faculty.gvsu.edu/websterm/cummings/caps2.html, http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/cummings/reviews.htm, https://www.unitarian.org.uk/pages/frequently-asked-questions-faq, i thank you God, by e.e. In stanza three Cummings expresses incredulity that, given this testimony, any human being should ever doubt God’s existence. ( Log Out /  Here’s a 1953 recording of him reading it: 1.^ The title of the collection is a nonphonetic transliteration of the Greek word χαῖρε (chaire), meaning “rejoice.” As for the poem title: Cummings did not give titles to his poems, so following scholarly convention, I refer to this one by its first line. While William Shakespeare’s reputation is based primarily on his plays, he became famous first as a poet. Best poems and quotes from famous poets. Always remember: Your are smarter, more capable, and more significant than you think you are. Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. Some typographical choices made by cover and title page designers while he was still living, perhaps coupled with his choice to lowercase the first-person pronoun “i” in his poetry, gave rise to the myth that he was “e. This isn’t the same kind of awakening that Cummings is talking about, who, being Unitarian, rejected the divinity of Christ and the literalness of the Resurrection.5 His born-again experience seems to refer more generally to a sudden, sweeping awareness of the glory of God, a wonder that lifts him up out of either ignorance or depression, as if on wings. The poem is set in colonial Burma, then part of British India.The protagonist is a Cockney working-class soldier, back in grey restrictive London, recalling the time he felt free and had a Burmese girlfriend, now unattainably far away. Things do not seem fine at all, but it’s hard to say why. The moments of polyphony (overlapping voices) pay homage to Cummings’s syntax, with its scattered words. Cummings is notorious for his idiosyncratic poetic style, which is marked especially by unconventional syntax—that is, a nonlogical ordering of words. It’s my favorite poem of all time, and words I live by, too. Birth is a major theme in this poem. Fun, Healing, Humor, Inspiration, Joy, Loving~kindness, Merriment, Miracles, Opportunities, Peace, Productivity, Elements from these two complementary traditions can be detected in his praise poem “i thank You God for most this amazing,” in which the natural world triggers an awakening to Truth. great happening illimitably earth). Change ). The Maya Angelou Documentary will reflect on how the events of history, culture, and the arts shaped Dr. Angelou’s life and how she, in turn, helped shape our own worldview … Revitalizing the Christian imagination through painting, poetry, music, and more, i thank You God for most this amazing Words I live by–words that have changed me. As an adult he wed this spiritual framework to Emersonian transcendentalism, a philosophical movement that celebrates humanity and nature. Even though it is dreary with (more) rain I still feel amazement! “The words, the meanings in the words, and also the nebula of meaning and sound and pun around the words, are all put into an enlivening relation to each other,” writes R. P. Blackmur.4, Cummings also abandoned the rules of spacing, demonstrated here by his closing up the space after each colon and semicolon. সূর্য. To further engage with Cummings, check out my analysis of his poem “i thank You God for most this amazing,” which also features a musical setting and happens to be the most visited post on this […], […] Four sounds like a lot but it’s pretty simple and only takes about 5-10 minutes. As the latter proclaimed when overcome by gratitude, “this is the sun’s birthday”, and I want to live ludicrously in […]. Now I am no longer with this guy and am now in a relationship with a guy from my school, and we are doing very well. Rest and Relaxation, Serendipity, Tenderness, and Wonder. e. cummings.” It didn’t help that a preface by Harry T. Moore in the original 1964 edition of E. E. Cummings: The Growth of a Writer stated that Cummings had his name legally changed to all lowercase, a claim that Cummings’s widow denied and had the publisher remove in reprint. First, he lowercases first-person pronouns but capitalizes those referring to God. A New and Most Amazing Day ( Log Out /  for us, human merely beings, to love and live out this word. Cummings, then I read the same prayer from Julia Cameron, then I say my own prayer of thanks and blessings […]. When we open the depths of our inner being to reality, we will encounter God at the center of it. So that’s what you hear after the chorus. and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth For many of us that sense has lain dormant for so long that we need to rouse it awake. In the final stanza the voices climb up on “open,” mimicking spiritual ascent, and repeat the word four times, soaking in its wonder. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Reprinted here by permission of the publisher. I love his one-word descriptor: “yes.” God is yes. See http://www.foxboroughh.co.uk. 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