Nobody loses all the time
e. e. Cummings
By Adrian MacKenzie
nobody loses all the time → Statement = truth understood at the end
i had an uncle named
Sol who was a born failure and → defined by his failure; no one expects anything of him
nearly everybody said he should have gone
into vaudeville perhaps because my Uncle Sol could → passion to entertain – should have pursued it
sing McCann He Was A Diver on Xmas Eve like Hell Itself which
may or may not account for the fact that my Uncle
Sol indulged in that possibly most inexcusable → no sense of formal contemplation
of all to use a highfalootin phrase → conversational aspect – poet speaks to us (spoke like he was superior to others)
luxuries that is or to
with farming and be
it needlessly
added → single word emphasises his compounding failures (they’re adding up)
my Uncle Sol’s farm → Failure 1 (Enjambment amplifies his failures, they’re continuously compounding)
failed because the chickens
ate the vegetables so
my Uncle Sol had a → Failure 2 (with each failure he approaches it differently)
chicken farm till the
skunks ate the chickens when
my Uncle Sol → Failure 3
had a skunk farm but → sense of futility but manages to make a way around it (litany of failure)
the skunks caught cold and
died and so → loses everything, nothing left
my Uncle Sol imitated the
skunks in a subtle manner → possible link to the ‘American Dream’ and its failures
or by drowning himself in the watertank → impact of his accumulated failures (committed suicide)
but somebody who’d given my Uncle Sol a Victor → Someone who understood Sol held a lavish funeral for him
Victrola and records while he lived presented to → passionate about music
him upon the auspicious occasion of his decease a → favourable time to succeed, links to end where he succeeds
scruptious not to mention splendiferous funeral with → Colloquial (no expense is spared, splendid event)
tall boys in black gloves and flowers and everything and
i remember we all cried like the Missouri → Simile + hyperbole = amplifies the sense of loss
when my Uncle Sol’s coffin lurched because
somebody pressed a button
(and down went → Parenthesis shows additional information about Sol finally achieving his success
my Uncle → being mourned showed that he was significant & successful despite his failures finally
e. e. Cummings
By Adrian MacKenzie
nobody loses all the time → Statement = truth understood at the end
i had an uncle named
Sol who was a born failure and → defined by his failure; no one expects anything of him
nearly everybody said he should have gone
into vaudeville perhaps because my Uncle Sol could → passion to entertain – should have pursued it
sing McCann He Was A Diver on Xmas Eve like Hell Itself which
may or may not account for the fact that my Uncle
Sol indulged in that possibly most inexcusable → no sense of formal contemplation
of all to use a highfalootin phrase → conversational aspect – poet speaks to us (spoke like he was superior to others)
luxuries that is or to
with farming and be
it needlessly
added → single word emphasises his compounding failures (they’re adding up)
my Uncle Sol’s farm → Failure 1 (Enjambment amplifies his failures, they’re continuously compounding)
failed because the chickens
ate the vegetables so
my Uncle Sol had a → Failure 2 (with each failure he approaches it differently)
chicken farm till the
skunks ate the chickens when
my Uncle Sol → Failure 3
had a skunk farm but → sense of futility but manages to make a way around it (litany of failure)
the skunks caught cold and
died and so → loses everything, nothing left
my Uncle Sol imitated the
skunks in a subtle manner → possible link to the ‘American Dream’ and its failures
or by drowning himself in the watertank → impact of his accumulated failures (committed suicide)
but somebody who’d given my Uncle Sol a Victor → Someone who understood Sol held a lavish funeral for him
Victrola and records while he lived presented to → passionate about music
him upon the auspicious occasion of his decease a → favourable time to succeed, links to end where he succeeds
scruptious not to mention splendiferous funeral with → Colloquial (no expense is spared, splendid event)
tall boys in black gloves and flowers and everything and
i remember we all cried like the Missouri → Simile + hyperbole = amplifies the sense of loss
when my Uncle Sol’s coffin lurched because
somebody pressed a button
(and down went → Parenthesis shows additional information about Sol finally achieving his success
my Uncle → being mourned showed that he was significant & successful despite his failures finally
