Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"1x1 (One Times One): 40" by E.E. Cummings is a celebration of the transformative power of love and a reflection on how even the smallest gesture from a beloved can profoundly impact one's existence. The poem employs Cummings' signature style of playful language, unusual syntax, and rich metaphor to convey the intensity of emotion that love can evoke.

The poem begins with an exclamation of joy: "darling! because my blood can sing / and dance (and does with each your least / your any most very amazing now / or here)." The speaker expresses that their very blood sings and dances in response to the beloved's presence or actions, no matter how small or subtle. The repetition of "your least / your any most very amazing now / or here" emphasizes that every moment with the beloved, no matter how ordinary, is extraordinary and deeply felt by the speaker.

Cummings contrasts this joy with "pitiless fear," suggesting that while fear might dominate much of life ("play host / to every isn't that's under the spring"), love has the power to dispel it. The phrase "every isn't" symbolizes doubt, negativity, and things that do not exist—yet these are banished by the arrival of spring, a metaphor for renewal, hope, and love.

The central metaphor of the poem hinges on the phrase "but if a look should april me." The use of "april" as a verb is a brilliant poetic invention by Cummings, suggesting that the beloved's glance has the power to bring about a renewal or awakening in the speaker, much like the arrival of April brings the rebirth of spring. This metaphor suggests that love rejuvenates and transforms the speaker, lifting them out of doubt and into a state of vibrant life.

Cummings continues to explore the transformative power of love by stating that the doubters, those who are skeptical or negative, can turn "men's see to stare / their faith to how their joy to why / their stride and breathing to limp and prove." Here, he suggests that doubt can reduce vibrant life to mere existence, turning natural actions and emotions into something mechanical or lifeless. However, the power of love—represented by "a look" that "should april me"—is greater than this doubt, and it can create "some thousand million hundred more / bright worlds" that "makes love."

The poem also touches on the enduring struggle between love and hate: "armies (than hate itself and no / meanness unsmaller) armies can / immensely meet for centuries / and (except nothing) nothing's won." Cummings acknowledges that the forces of hate are powerful and can battle for long periods, but ultimately, they achieve nothing. Love, on the other hand, creates and renews.

The final stanza is both hopeful and dramatic, emphasizing the totality of love's power: "but if a look should april me / for half a when, whatever is less / alive than never begins to yes." Here, Cummings suggests that even the briefest moment of love can bring life and positivity to everything, transforming negativity ("less alive than never") into affirmation ("yes"). He further suggests that even "despair completely strikes / forests of mind, mountains of soul," but love's "perfect hope" can triumph over such despair.

The poem concludes with a triumphant image: "death is killed dead. Hills jump with brooks: / trees tumble out of twigs and sticks." This final line underscores the idea that love conquers all, even death itself. The imagery of nature—hills, brooks, trees—emphasizes the return to life and vitality that love brings, as if the entire world is rejuvenated by the power of love.

In "1x1 (One Times One): 40," E.E. Cummings masterfully uses language and metaphor to depict love as a force that transcends fear, doubt, and even death. The poem celebrates the idea that love can bring about a profound renewal and transformation, not just in the speaker but in the world around them. Through this piece, Cummings affirms that love is the ultimate source of life and vitality, capable of creating new worlds and endless possibilities.

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