Who are you little i (Poem) Grade 11 Summary

 

Who are you little i?

About the Poet

E(dward) E(stlin) Cummings (1894-1962), often styled as e e cummings, was an American poet, painter, essayist, novelist, and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobiographical novels, four plays, and several essays, as well as numerous drawings and paintings.

He developed the style of poetry writing for which he became renowned, with its unconventional use of capitalization, punctuation, spacing, and structure. He is regarded as an eminent voice of the 20th century English literature.

Cummings’ poem 'who are you, little i' describes a child looking out a window at the end of the day. It is about nature and the effect it has on the speaker. The speaker of the poem is the person “voicing” the words, recalling a childhood moment closely connected with nature. Perhaps the speaker is Cummings.

Summary

The poem 'who are you, little i' has been composed by E. E. Cummings. It is a short reflective poem. It is about nature and the effect on the speaker. The main theme of the poem is beauty of nature and it's positive effects on humans. The speaker recalls a childhood moment closely connected with nature. Perhaps the speaker is the poet.

The speaker stands next to the window and addresses himself in the form of his own inner child of 5 or 6 years, calling ‘little i’ as the childlike feelings still lives within him. The feelings and peering that cause him to recall how he used to enjoy the golden sunset in November through some high window when he was a child. Now his adulthood worries have suppressed all his joys and pleasures. He considers the day turning into the night as the gradual passage of time. He welcomes this as a beautiful way.

The speaker in the poem is a small boy whose feelings and acts are reflected in the poem. It is a very short poem. There are eight lines in the poem. From the lines we come to know the speaker's deep love and intimacy towards nature.

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