Who are you little i ? by E E Cummings

 English: Grade 11    page no. 251

4 . Who are you, little i?

E. E. Cummings

 Before Reading 

Answer these questions.

a. Have you ever looked out through a window and taken pleasure in what you 

saw? If so, what did you look at?

b. Which beautiful scenes do you think would make you want to look out through 

the window?

c. Do you write the pronoun ‘I’ capital or small in writing?

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.

Reading

who are you, little i

(five or six years old)

peering from some high

window; at the gold

of November sunset

(and feeling: that if day

has to become night

this is a beautiful way)

About the Poem

The poem 'who are you, little i', composed by E. E. Cummings, 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 recalls a childhood moment closely connected with nature. Perhaps the speaker is the poet.

Summary

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 that cause him to recall how he used to enjoy the golden sunset in November 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. 

Understanding the text 

Answer the following questions.

a. Who can be the speaker of this poem?

Ans:- The person who recalls his childhood closely connected with nature can be the speaker of this poem.

b. What is “little i” doing?

Ans:- “Little i” is peering at the sunset through the window.

c. What can be the relationship between “little i” and the speaker of the poem?

Ans:- The relationship between “little i” and the speaker of the poem  is that "Little i" is the speaker's inner child.

d. What is the speaker remembering from his childhood days in the poem?

Ans:- In the poem, the speaker is remembering the golden November sunset looking through the window.

e. What attitude does the speaker seem to have toward the child in the poem?

Ans:- The speaker seems to have positive attitude toward the child. He becomes nostalgic when he recalls his childhood.

Reference to the context 

a. Why do you think Cummings has placed a semicolon between the words window and at?

Ans:- The semicolon placed between the words 'window' and 'at' expresses a break between the two main parts of the poem. In the first part, the poet asks his question. In the second part, he goes on to describe the sense of wonder he has experienced.

b. If the speaker is the child grown up, why does he ask, “who are you”?

Ans:- The speaker addresses his own inner child. The childlike wonder still lives within him. The feelings that cause him to remember how he used to enjoy the golden sunset in November when he was a child.

c. In this poem, an adult reflects on the childhood experience. Based on that, what might be the theme of the lines: “(and feeling: that if day / has to become night / this is a beautiful way)”?

Ans:- The theme of the lines ‘and feeling: that if day / has to become night / this is a beautiful way ‘ is death. The day turning into the night as the gradual change of life into death. The speaker is ready to welcome death rather than staying suffering alive. This indicates how death can be a solution to a painful life.

d. What is the rhyme scheme used in the poem?

Ans:- The rhyme of scheme of the poem is ABAB. For example, 'I' in the first line rhymes with ‘high’ in the third line, and ‘old’ in the second line rhymes with ‘gold’ in the fourth line.

e. Explain the pun in “little i” that is related to what he is doing.

Ans:- A pun is the clever use of a word that has more than one meaning or a word that has different meanings but sounds the same. The pun in 'little i' indicates both a specific aspect of the poet's personality, the childlike feeling of wonder, and seeing the world through the 'eye' of a child.

f. How does Cummings’s use of lowercase letters affect your understanding of the poem? Explain.

Ans:- Cumming uses lowercase letters to emphasize his inferior feelings in regard to his experience. He used to enjoy nature in his childhood full of happiness. Now his adulthood worries have suppressed his joys and pleasures.