External Structure

[Buffalo Bill 's] by E.E. Cummings

Once again I really enjoy poems that take a different shape. I think that Frost and Cummings are my favorite poets at this point. The build up and breakdown in length of the poem makes me think that it represents life. In the beginning, there is just a name, and in the end there is death. After being given a name, a person builds up who they are through their actions and lifestyle. This is reflected in the poem when it talks about his riding a stallion and shooting pigeons. As life goes on it slowly deteriorates back into the abyss in which it started. In the poem the end has exactly as many words as the opening, two. Very existentialist poem in my opinion.