Poem #1 (Re-type or photo copy the passage in this column)

Analysis of Close Reading (Essentially a prose passage or poetry essay; synthesize the texture of the passage to the left.) In this poem I Will Wade Out by E. E. Cummings, uses simple words, in a complex from to achieve a deeper meaning. Throughout the poem, the phrase I will is repeated four times. The narrator is taking control of his (or her) life. Starting with the title/first line of the poem, the narrator expresses that he will get out of his current situation. It will not be an easy feat, hence the use of the word wade rather than I will get out or any other verb. In the dictionary wade is defined as to walk through water, snow, sand, or any other substance that impedes free motion or offers resistance to movement (dictionary.com). It emphasizes the fact that his struggle is great, but he is greater than it. The next lines that caught my attention were I will take the sun in my mouth (Cummings) and and set my teeth in the silver of the moon (Cummings). I believe in these lines, Cummings is speaking about his desire to take chances and at the end of the day; it would have been worth the risk. If you think about it literally, taking the sun in your mouth is impossible, and I think that is the point Cummings is trying to make. Even if it is impossible, reach for it, leap into the air alive (Cummings) have fun with it. When he references the moon, he is saying he did the impossible and he can now sit above the rest of the world, proud of himself, because the mood is not impossible to reach, but it is a huge accomplishment to do so. In lines seven and eight; with closed eyes to dash against darkness I interpreted darkness to be people or things that try to hinder your progress, once again, hence the use of the word wade. The next few lines describe the narrators body, and flesh and how it is a mystery. Some criticisms I read took a sexual angle with them, which could be. I chose to take a different view, I think that maybe the narrator is pushing his or her bodily limits, and discovering what they can and cannot do, specifically in the lines Will I complete the mystery of my flesh (Cummings). In the concluding lines, After a thousand years lipping flowers And set my teeth in the silver of the moon (Cummings), basically the narrator is saying after years of going against the current wading I have finally reached where I want to be (represented by the moon). I related this poem to F. Scott Fitzgeralds Tender Is The Night (1934), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (1922), and Babylon Revisited (1931) because not only did all three of the pieces share similar themes within the plot and characters but E. E. Cummings and F. Scott Fitzgerald also shared a few aspects of their writing style.

I Will Wade Out

I will wade out till my thighs are steeped in burning flowers I will take the sun in my mouth and leap into the ripe air Alive with closed eyes to dash against darkness in the sleeping curves of my body Shall enter fingers of smooth mastery with chasteness of sea-girls Will i complete the mystery of my flesh I will rise After a thousand years lipping flowers And set my teeth in the silver of the moon

Thematically, the poem is basically talking about how the speaker wants to leave the life they have been living, push against the current, take the road less traveled, and try something new and challenging. After years and years of trying, the speaker is finally content with where they are in life. In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Benjamin had basically accepted that he was different; it was hard for him to make connections with others. When he started to get around that age when he was interested in the opposite sex, he became even lonelier than he already was. What ended up happening was Benjamin took a chance with this beautiful girl at a party, she openly accepted him, and that was the happiest he had ever been/would ever be in his life, he had reached his version of the moon. In Tender Is The Night, Rosemary Hoyt fell in love with Dick Diver the very first time he spoke to her. When she found out he was married she ran back to her mother and cried and cried. After befriending the Divers, Dick started to fall in love with Rosemary as well. They had an affair and that was their version of I will take the sun in my mouth and leap into the ripe air Alive with closed eyes to dash against darkness the darkness being Mrs. Diver and what Rosemarys mother thought about her affair. For Charlie Wales, from Babylon Revisited his struggle was regaining the trust of his in laws who were caring for his daughter Honoria. In his past he was a wildcard and was constantly drinking and partying, after his wife died his in laws took the child in because he was deemed unfit to care for her. He is now sober, and wishes to have his daughter come live with him, so he revisits Babylon, the place where his troubled past occurred, to retrieve his daughter.