EE ​​Cummings once said: “who proudly and humbly affirms that love is the mystery of mysteries…that “ an artist, a man, a failure” is… a naturally and miraculously whole human being… whose only happiness is to transcend oneself, whose every agony is to grow.” Cummings describes love as a mystery in the quote. He sees it as something extraordinary and difficult to obtain, but once love is achieved, a person can be happier than ever. Cummings continued to show the idea of ​​wanting affection throughout his life and through two specific poems, "l(a" and "Since Feeling is First." Cummings' poetry focuses on his desire for intimacy and affection because he was missing both in his life Say no to plagiarism Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned” Get the original essay. Cummings was very representative of his life, both the intimacy he desired and being close, the personal relationship with a person and affection, which is also linked to the idea of ​​intimacy. The lack of intimacy and affection dates back to his several marriages, Norman Friedman writes: "The first was to Elaine Orr, with whom he had had a relationship before their marriage..." Later, Friedman also adds: "Their daughter. Nancy had been born in 1919, but the marriage broke down and Cummings lost all legal rights to the child, who was raised entirely apart from him..." Cummings' first marriage did not end well and the fact that his daughter being taken away from him could have been a stressor to his emotional state. Cummings may have felt he couldn't show affection because at one point when he did, his daughter and wife left. Having a child taken away from a person causes emotional distress, which could be due to a lack of affection. Cummings had two subsequent marriages, but as Friedman reveals, "he married Anne Barton, but their relationship ended..." His last marriage to Marion Morehouse; however, this lasted the rest of his life. The fact that he never settled for just one marriage shows his lack of intimacy. Cummings experienced other traumatic events throughout his life. Another hardship in Cummings' life was being "taken to a concentration camp..." as Robert K. Martin stated in Cummings' biography. This period of Cummings' life was very difficult for him as he was taken to a concentration camp and learned of the hardships that many people were going through. This experience could have been the cause of a lack of affection. Later, Martin points out that Cummings and William Slater Brown "were both drafted in the summer of 1918 and sent to Camp Devens, Massachusetts, to train as infantrymen." Since being sent to the infantry, both men have experienced many hardships. This experience would have affected his ability to show love and affection. The traumatic events are said to have played a role in his future relationships and his poetry. Cummings' poem "l(a") relates to his desire for intimacy and affection. The poem describes a leaf falling from a tree. The words "a leaf falling" are inserted in parentheses in the poem. Outside the parenthesis the word "loneliness" is depicted. All words are written vertically with two letters or characters on each line. The only line in the poem where this rule does not apply is the last line of the poem. contains five letters. The theme of this particular poem is loneliness as a destructive force The poem represents isolation Poetry for students makes valid points.describing this isolation in the poem by explaining that the word “one” is used many times in the poem. also explain how the whole poem itself is shaped like the number one. This is very important in representing the loneliness felt in the poem. The feeling of being alone could have been the reason for his desire for intimacy and affection. Cummings expresses the thought of “one” throughout the poem, which shows that he was alone and wanted that feeling of belonging. Napierkowski and Ruby also explain that the words in parentheses alternate between consonant/vowel/vowel and consonant/consonant/vowel. They describe it as a leaf slowly falling or rotating towards the ground. The leaf falls by itself. When the leaf falls, it dies because it leaves the tree which provides its source of nutrients. When the leaf falls on its own, it shows a desire for affection because no one wants to die alone. If people could die together, they would. In reference to the desire for intimacy and affection, John Arthos describes Cummings' poetry, explaining: "Love and lovers, not only traditionally but also as a logical consequence of the speaker's thought, are seen in the context and in harmony with: nature and natural process…”. This is clearly linked to the fact that the aim of the poem "l(a)" is to relate the aspects of affection, or love, to the idea of ​​nature. In the case of this poem, the aspect of nature includes the falling of leaves. the process of falling of the leaf is also dying, which describes the natural process that Arthos is referring to. Later, Arthos also describes the reasoning of Cummings' language. the reason for changing words and using unconventional punctuation is as follows one way to change the English language is to represent Cummings' emotions In the poem he sets the word loneliness apart from all the. rest. It is a way of expressing one's emotions of loneliness. A second poem in which Cummings longs for affection includes his poem "Since the feeling is first The poem itself is like any poem." ordinary from any other author, which is different from most of Cummings' other poetry. The poem has stanzas composed of two to four lines. This poem is much simpler than most others. his other poetry. Cummings conveys the theme of love and affection very effectively throughout the poem. The main theme of the poem includes love and affection. The feeling and manifestation of love is directly linked to one's desire for intimacy and affection. The fact that the poem is easier to read than most of his other works shows the feeling of love, which is meant to be light and airy. The poem itself makes many references to the physical side of affection. Poetry for Students describes Cummings' poem by stating, "it asserts that one's emotional response occurs first." The poem explains many affectionate instances which include kissing and hugging with a woman. This ties into his desire for intimacy as he craves affection and love from this specific woman. Later in the poem Poetry for Students continues to explain: “In the third stanza… He argues that a physical relationship, symbolized by kisses, is more important than the acquisition of wisdom. » The fact that Cummings believes that a physical relationship, which involves affection and intimacy, succumbs to the need for wisdom shows how important affection is to him. This also shows that Cummings, above all else, wants the women in the poem to show him affection. Cummings' poem, "Since Feeling is First," was written at a time in his life when he longed for intimacy and affection. The exploration of.