Poetry > E Poetry > C

Advantages: Unconventional, interesting, a rare voice even today
Disadvantages: A bit elementary at times

------------------------------------------ anyone lived in a pretty how town with up so floating many bells down ------------------------------------------ The poetry of ee cummings is something that most Americans gain exposure to during secondary school (and occasionally in the education of those outside America) -- he is often seen as an acceptable example of one who broke the rules -- rules, the teacher will often hasten to add, which must ...
...this is not what ee cummings would hope had come of his legacy. In reading his poetry in this edition, his prose, his theatrical writings, and his unpublished manuscripts (some of which have been published under the title Etc.), a new vision begins to emerge of a real maverick--not someone who wanted to break the rules, but someone who eschewed the idea of rules so completely that breaking them was beyond the question, for that would have to recognise ... Read review

Advantages: strange, intruiging and startling.
Disadvantages: hard to make sense of

I first read e.e.cummings about three years ago and have never really got over him. An amazing innovative poet with the power to transofrm words and reveal meanings. Famous for using punctuation and capitalisation in strange ways, cummings has the ability to revitalise frequently used language and turn it into something new and ecxiting. For example: "anyone lived in a pretty how town (with up so floating many bells down) spring summer autumn ...
...In this poem, anyone and someone could in fact be individual people, or they could rpresent a wole group. Words like "How" are employed peculiarly as adjectives. What, after all is a "pretty how Town"? e.e.cummings is not easy reading. His poetry is hard to make sense of, and often its not even about sense, its about sound, rhythm and impression. There are quite often meanings that can be found, but to some extent they will be things that you bring ... Read review

Advantages: Easy to read, great for kids.
Disadvantages: if you dislike cats.

This book of poetry is upon which 'Cats, The musical' is based upon. The rythmical reading of Shimbleshanks: the Railway cat is just beautiful and i would suggest any parents with children interested in cats or pets should but this, it'll keep them entertained night after night and they will probably start joining in with funny lines and the clap of the 'train' rhyme. Even if you haven't seen Cats you'll still enjoy this book. If you and children ... Read review

Advantages: Easy to read
Disadvantages: too thoughtful and melancholy for some

I really enjoyed reading this collection of poetry. Plath has a graphic imagination evident in poems such as 'Cut' and her imagery is at times explicit but so apt. 'Morning song' is yet another beautiful poem. The title plays upon the two seperate meanings of 'morning' and 'mourning'. Describing a mother's feelings after birth, Plath describes her as 'cow heavy' using the image of the lactating mother and effortlessly transferring it to the accurate ...
...Plath's poetry is as intriguing as her life. People might suggest her poetry is depressing and such but i urge you to read it. She has such a way with words. Also i would highly recommend reading 'The Bell Jar'. A fascinating insight into the world of insanity through the eyes of a young girl. ... Read review

Advantages: Strong yet simple messages
Disadvantages: May be hard to understand these messages fully for younger readers

Beautiful poems, with both simple and complex meanings and I definitely recommend it to anyone who appreciates poetry or literature. After studying Heaney's poetry for GCSE, and loving it, I personally went to Heaney's birthplace in Ireland, and now all his poems have an even more vivid meaning to me. My 2 favourites - 'Death of a Naturalist' and 'Digging' 'Death of a Naturalist' tells of a young boy's fascination with nature, presented through ...
...and 'sweltering'. Heaney uses imagery and phonology to great effect, and contrasts the boy's emotions to those of the reader. In the 2nd stanza, we return to the pond scene, but now the narrator - presumably Heaney - is terrified by the violent, grotesque nature of frogs, contrasting his earlier love for frogspawn. 'Death of a Naturalist' reflects growing up, and how children lose their childhood fancies as they mature. 'Digging' tells of a man - ... Read review