Post a comment comparing these two fall poems. What is the metaphor? How effective are the poets? Include a little background of each poet and discuss how that might influence writing.
Be thoughtful in your discussion.
Be thoughtful in your discussion.
The poem “l(a” by E.E. Cummings was intriguing. Inside the parentheses read “a leaf falls” and the letters outside spelled “loneliness;” all in all, I felt it was a peaceful and lonely poem. The way it was written, however, was definitely the most interesting part of the poem. It was written like a leaf falling to the ground, but I also noticed the “l” in loneliness was separated from the rest of the word. Each individual word was placed all together except that one. I felt this represented the loneliness this poem portrayed.
ReplyDeleteI thought “Kicking the Leaves” by Donald Hall was much different. This poem was not about loneliness, it was about memory and life, and the way people melt into the bigger picture. In the first stanza, the last line is “autumn 1955 in Massachusetts, knowing my father would die when the leaves were gone.” The leaves made him think of his family throughout the poem. He mentions his grandfather in the second stanza and how they would tuck leaves around the house in November, “green on red, until the house was tucked up, ready for snow.” In the third stanza his father comes up again in a happy memory, “laughing, and carried me, laughing, my hair full of leaves.” He also mentioned his mother saying for his father to “...set me down, afraid I would fall and be hurt.” I could not help but connect this line with his father’s death, and how it was almost like the mother telling him not to get too attached, or else his father would die and he would be hurt inside. In the fourth stanza, he talks about his own children, “my daughter’s hair is the red-yellow color of birch leaves,” “my son flamboyant as the maple...impatient to travel.” Also, the line “the way they will follow, Octobers and years from now,” made me think he associated the leaves with the way life goes on and years pass by too quickly. Another line that made me think the same was in the fifth stanza, “this year the poems came back, when the leaves fell.” The sixth stanza is where the poem gets dark, and he talks about death in the lines, “kicking the leaves, I uncover the lids of graves...coughing himself to death at fifty-two...in six years I will be fifty-two.” He is relating his life to the way the leaves come and go, and how everyone becomes part of the story of leaves. The last line is, “And the pleasure, the only long pleasure, of taking place in the story of leaves.”
The biggest similarity between these two poems is actually the backstory of the poets themselves. Both of their fathers died, and their deaths greatly influenced their poetry. “l(a” is probably about the loneliness E.E. Cummings felt after that tragic death, while “Kicking the Leaves” literally told of Donald Hall’s father’s death. Thus, these poems differ greatly, but their authors hold one thing in common which influenced them both.
When I read the poem "l(a" I was a little bit confused, and I had to read it over again. This poem was actually really interesting, it depicted an individual leaf falling,not from the words, but from the structure and layout of the poem itself. Just like Christine said I think it was really unique how E.E. Cummings put the "()" around the words "a leaf falls" and left loneliness outside.It showed how leafs fall at their own speed, not in a bunch, and how no leaves are the same. Even though this was a very short poem is clearly explained the authors point and opinion.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, "Kicking the Leaves" by Donald Hall couldn't have been more different. This poem was extremely detailed, 7 stanzas long, and it was more like a story then a poem. It reminded me of a timeline because he talked about each place he lived at throughout his life, he talked about his father, grandmother and grandfather throughout the poem, but even though the topic changed he always brought up leaves. It seemed like leaves were a symbol to his childhood, a symbol of happiness. It was something that would remind him of the good times he had with his family. He wrote about how his grandfather and his father passed away so it was definitely a hardship in his life and I think it was really interesting that he connected that with the leaves. This poem was really interesting to read because I was able to vividly picture everything going on.
However, even though these poems differed in various ways the authors shared common aspects. They both went off to school and got their masters. They both published several books over time. Even though Donald Hall was more focused on all sorts of writing, E.E. Cummings was focused on making new types of poems and paying attention to their differing structures.
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ReplyDeleteAlthough the style of these two poems differs, they convey a similar message. While I was reading Kicking the Leaves and l(a, I got the feeling of loneliness and depression. E.e. Cummings writes an interesting and unique kind of poem, a kind that I have not been exposed to. She uses the simplest statement and turns it into a beautiful piece of poetry. She puts the statement “a leaf falls” in parenthesis, while splitting up the word “loneliness" outside of the parenthesis. She does this on purpose, as she leaves the letter “l” in the poem alone before the parenthesis. This indicates that she wants to tell the reader about loneliness. She also leaves the word “one” alone on a line, helping to state the fact that the poem’s subject is about a person whom is disheartened. Cummings forms the words into the shape of leaves falling from a tree, which gives a sense of fall, with the leaves changing colors and drifting off of a tree.
ReplyDeleteIn the Poem Kicking the Leaves, the poet also gives a sense of loneliness in his writing. He tells about the death of his father, as well as his children growing up. Hall tells stories about his children playing outside with him, but now, they are all grown up and away from him. His poetry communicates that he is clearly lonely, living in the isolated state of New Hampshire, with no bustling cities around.
Theses two authors have things in common other than their poetry topics. They both attended Harvard University, and had parents that died. Both of these facts may have contributed to their strong writing abilities.
The Poem by E.E. Cummings, "I(a" was confusing at first, but after reading it over a few times I understood it symbolized a leaf falling to the ground. I don't E.E. Cummings meant anything by it, other than the poem being structured to make us imagine a leaf falling on the ground, a great poem overall, but also equally as confusing
ReplyDeleteThe second poem "Kicking in Leaves" by Donald Hall was long, but very detailed. It was his life story summarized in 7 stanzas. it was reflective of his experiences, as he walked from an Ann-Arbor Game (I assume he's referring to Michigan football) but in the second stanza he goes back i time peeling back the time when he was younger in New Hampshire with his grandparents helping them clean up their house, and seal it for the winter, I interpreted the first half of the stanza as happier than the second, because the second explains how it was tedious work and afterwards they sat and didn't talk. The third stanza takes us back to Pre-WWII, he explains his love of fall and how this time, when he raked with his father they laughed, played, and rolled in the leaves before his mother told him to stop. The next stanza takes us back to post-game Ann-Arbor where bright colored fans are wearing jerseys the color of leaves as he walks next to his daughter, while his son speeds ahead, not enjoying the scenery of fall, "his step sprinning impatient to travel." Next stanza he talks about how his grandfather died at 78, while his father at 52, he explains that Hall's father coughed to death. He compares his life to his father by saying "in six years i will be 52."
The Next stanza is dedicated to an idyllic interpretation of fall using extreme detail like "I see the tall bare maple trunks and branches, the oak
with its few brown weathery remnant leaves,and the spruce trees, holding their green." I liked both of these poems, but my favorite was Donald Hall's. Overall I think this poem represented his life, and his thoughts and almost fear of death.
After reading the poem "l(a" by E.E Cummings a was kind of lost. The poem was very short, but not simple like most poems. But then, after reading it over many times I saw the picture of the leaves falling. It was very interesting how the author depicted the poem. I liked how he added the parentheses between the words "the leaf falls". I agree with Olivia and Christine that it made it seem like the leaf was lonely. But then by adding the word loneliness at the end of the poem made "the leaf falls" really stick out. I also liked how the "l" in loneliness was kept by itself. It really made the poem different.
ReplyDeleteThe second poem, "Kicking in Leaves" by Donald Hall was much longer compared to "l(a)". The poem gave lots of detail about everything and really gave you a picture in your mind. He was very descriptive in the way he described the leaves and the colors. I liked how the poem had seven different stanzas that each was from a different time period in the author's life, but had the same topic of the leaves. The poem brought the reader through the story of the author's lifetime.
The most common thing about theses two poems is the authors background. Both of them studied at Harvard University and focused on poetry and writing. Also, both of their fathers died which is probably why they both bring up loneliness in each of their poems.Overall I thought that these poems were very different but had similar topics.
The first time I read through the poem "l(a" I found it to confusing and pointless, but when I looked back I realized that the author put a lot of thought into the poem. After reading it through, I really liked the repetition of "l's" throughout the poem because it made it peaceful. Then, when I went back again, I realized that if the poem is converted to a horizontal state, then the title is just "l," which I thought was clever because of the repetition, and then (a leaf falls) in perentheses. To me, this indicated that the title "l" is for loneliness, which, because the l was on the outer parts of both lone and liness, could mean that the person felt outside or out of the ordinary as well. Then, the person in the poem sees a leaf falling, and is relating himself to that leaf because they are both in a state of loneliness.
ReplyDeleteI thought that both poems seemed to be about loneliness. The other poem we read, "Kicking the Leaves," was interesting, but I found it to be too long, and I felt like it was more of a story than a poem towards the end. I thought that it was interesting and moving, though. I liked that each stanza was "set" in a different time, and I could definitely feel some anger and sadness throughout the poem. I can almost understand his pain of almost waiting for his dad to die and working with his grandparents in silence, and then growing to be almost as old as his dad was when he passed and seeing life from a completely different perspective. I also liked how the pictures of fall helped to create a mental image of the poem itself, and I also thought it was interesting how the author made it seem as though all of his important memories were in the fall, through the years. My favorite part of the poem, though, was the end. The whole poem until then had a depressing tone, but then the end seem to send the message that life flies by quickly, and so you should live it to the fullest. It made me smile to hear about a man in his mid-forty's reminiscing on sad times, and making it better by jumping in those fall leaves and enjoying the time he has on earth.
In the "l(a" poem I could feel the leaves falling down. I think the lonliness represents the falling of leaves and the coming of fall. When at the same times summer, which represents happiness, is ending. The way he organized the poem put a really good picture on how the leaves were falling.
ReplyDeleteIn "Kicking the Leaves" it is telling a story of someone's life. There is a lot of detail in this poem. Almost all the senses are used in this poem and it puts a better picture in my mind on what was happening during the poem. These two poems may have been both about Fall and leaves falling, but they both were very different. One was more of a story and the other was shorter, but very interesting.
After first glancing at the I(a poem, I had never been more confused about any poem. To me all I saw were scattered letters and I had no starting point to branch off of. Then again I thought, E.E Cummings must have had some reason for making the poem in such a bizarre structure. After thinking hard I realized that maybe the plot wasn't just going to jump out at me. This made me think about one of Billy Collins Poems called "Introduction to Poetry" This explains how you cannot just expect to find the meaning at first glace. I compared these two poems and realized still I could not extract any meanings. Now I see that the structure of the poem speaks for itself. When comparing the I)a poem with "Kicking the Leaves" I did feel that autumn atmosphere. I really did enjoy "Kicking the Leaves" I loved the fact that it told a story, and it had a time line theme to it. While reading the poem in my head, I could hear the leaves crunching. I could also feel that cold fall wind. A poem that can make you really aware of your senses, is one that leads you in. Linking the two poets, they were both raised in New England. This may be a connection of their opinions of the weather and the certain feelings and descriptions towards that.
ReplyDeleteI liked how artistic each poem was- l (a was artistic in its layout and design, whereas kicking the leaves through the metaphors and descriptions.
ReplyDeleteWith l(a, written by e.e. Cummings, one of the first things I noticed was the fact that the phrase "a leaf falls" was written in parentheses, meaning that it is a sub-theme to "loneliness". My interpretation is that the only thing that the author was trying to express was loneliness... "a leaf falls" is just used to describe his surroundings or what was happening at the moment. "A leaf falls" could also be the only action happening... perhaps the author/narrator is in such loneliness that there is no action or movement, or even life surrounding him. Maybe he uses the phrase"a leaf falls" as a way of recording an event taking place in his apparent state of destitution and loneliness.
"Kicking the leaves", by Donald Hall, was more of a narrative, then l (a , which was was more symbolic. The author is describing his life and memories from living in New England, and how memorable and important the picturesque setting of New England during autumn is to him. The structure of the poem is chronologic- beginning with the author's childhood and then ending with his current seniority. This structure is what makes it seem like he is telling a story.
Although both poems shared the topic of autumn, and both were very well written and great poems, they are through very different perspectives- one of loneliness, and one of the distinctive memories of life.
Although both of these poems were written very diffrently i believed that they were both very much so alike. They were different though because The Kicking the Leaves poem was very long and talked about a bunch of different memories he had through out his life. In the other poem it was very short and quick, but they both talked about leaves in them. After reading them i also got the feeling that they were depressing at some points because in the Kicking the Leaves poem he talked about how he lost his dad at a young age and lived with his parents. In the other one it was written in a way where leaves fall and the words were falling down the page. Also reading about the authors they both a had a parent that died, and they both went to harvard. Since they went to Harvard they obviously knew what they were talking about so they were written like they were for a meaning. Also they were written around the same time period. The Kicking the leaves poem was written in 1955 and the other was written in 1958. After reading these poems about leaves you learned a lot more about the poem and why he wrote the poem this way.
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading "l(a" by E.E. Cummings, i can honestly say that the only value that came out of that poem was how the words were stacked. Thats it. With only four words, there is simply not enough time or description to give a deep picture. Although the words he did use, gave a nice thought, that was all, a nice idea of a leaf falling down and staying there. Knowing how well known the poet is, he could have easily elaborated on both the words and the structure. These minor tweaks could have easily changed my view on the outcome of this poem and the quality in a tremendously positive way.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, i found "kicking the leaves" a great and interesting piece of great poetry. Throughout the whole poem, using the words and stanzas, he displayed a timeline, and elaborated on the same topic, just at different times in the characters lifespan. Overall this just gave it a "good tradition" kind of feeling. how the same concept of raking leaves with your family, is shown so well, and then how it also displays the fun that comes afterword in the mountains of leaves. In addition to this, these memories are ones that we can all relate to, which gives us insight on the poem. Pretty much, i found this poem very nice and pleasing, and i enjoyed reading it.
1(a by e. e. cummings and kicking the Leaves by Donald Hall are both poems that depict what it is like in autumn in New England. 1(a was obviously a much shorter poem but just the three words “a leaf falls” can show just as much as the longer, more detailed lines in kicking the Leaves. The words in 1)a form a picture, and I think that it is supposed to represent a falling leaf. I personally liked the poem by Donald Hall better because it was easier to understand, and I could definitely relate to it better. As he talks about the different seasons and raking up the leaves, I can picture it completely here in New Canaan during the fall as the trees all turn from green to red and leaves start to cover the ground. I like how he gives a summary of the change from fall to winter. He talks about cleaning up the leaves with his grandfather and then how it gets cold and snow covers. I also find it interesting how he writes this poem not about a certain memory but sort of about his childhood with his grandparents and what he remembers from the changing seasons when he was younger.
ReplyDeleteFrom reading about both of the authors’ backgrounds, it seems like E.E . Cummings is a better-known artist than Donald Hall, but it is hard to tell. It said on Wikipedia that e.e. Cummings has written over 2,000 poems which I find amazing, and he has written many other types of writing as well. Because of his experienced writing background, I think that his short poem may have a deeper meaning than I thought at first. Donald Hall’s childhood is easier to relate to considering he grew up in Connecticut and then went off to a prep school, like most of us at New Canaan Country School will end up doing.
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ReplyDeleteThese poems could not have looked or felt more different yet they had equal power.
ReplyDeleteThe poem “l(a” by E.E Cummings was short, yet managed to incorporate a lot into the miniscule poem. We are able to see the leaf fall in the poem. I felt that he “l” on the outside represented how the leaf (or l) is no longer part of the tree (or poem) and is now on it’s own. I found it amazing that this poem could have so many different interpretations and still only be four words long.
On the other hand, “Kicking the Leaves” by Donald Hall was a long and emotional memory poem. Throughout all of the stanzas, he relates each memory to “kicking the leaves.” The poem shows loneliness. While “l(a” contains loneliness in the separation of the “l,” “Kicking the Leaves” talks about the depression of growing up and getting old. The events of his father dying, his grandfather dying, and his children growing up and moving away can all be depressing. Yet, he end the poems in a powerful way, he is playing in the leaves, looking back on life. I feel the leaves represent memories, and in the end he can sit back and remember each of them.
Both Poems weren’t written around the same time yet E.E Cummings was a lot older than Donald Hall when the poems were written. Donald Hall grew up in Hamden, CT and went to Exeter and Bates. Cummings worked in the Ambulance Corps during World War 1 and was held in a prison in France for three months.
I think that both of these poems couldn't have been more different. Although "Kicking the leaves" was longer it took me twice as much time to read "I(a." "I(a" really confused me. I didn't really like it, what I did like about it, though, was how experimental it was. EE Cummings is a really celebrated poet and to write something as abstract as this was really brave of him although most all of his poetry was abstract and unconventional this poem was more abstract than most. The more I think about this poem the more it grows on me. I didn't like it when I first thought of it but after typing these few lines I have grown to like it. "Kicking the leaves" was a VERY long poem, at 7 stanzas it is more like a small book, and it reads like one too. It tells a story about a man, the author, I presume and his autumns. They are full of loss, sadness, good memories and we get a full glimpse of I think 6 autumns of his life. I really liked this poem because it was like reading a book. I also felt really bad for the man who the poem was about. It really made me sad to think how much this man went through. After reading the poem I read Donald Halls biography. His real life was filled with loss too because his wife died. I really enjoyed both of these poems.
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