ay represent the Circle of Life, eternal motion (Fri 26). Cummings first tightly written ideogram was !blac, a very interesting poem. It starts with '!', which seems to be saying thatsomething deserving that exclamation point occurred anterior to the poem, and the poem is trying objectively to describe certain feelings resulting from '!'. "black against white" is an example of such a description in the poem; the clashing colors create a feeling in sync with '!'. Also, why "(whi)" suggests amusement and wonder, another feeling resulting from '!' (Weg 145). Cummings had written a letter concerning !blac to Robert Wenger, author of The Poetry and Prose of E. E. Cummings (see Works Cited). In it, he wrote, "for me, this poem means just what it says . . . and the ! which begins the poem is whatmight be called and emphatic (=very)." This poem is also concerns the cycle of birth, life, death, and renewal. This is derived from the '.' preceding the last letter. This shows that even though the poem is finished, the circle of life is not, and is ever cycling (Weg 144). Through the poem's shape, !blac also shows a leaf fluttering to the ground. The lines' spacing synchronizes the speed of the reading with that of the leaf at different points in its fall. With its capital 'I's, 'IrlI' also indicates a leaf falling straight down before it hits the ground (147). Reading this poem, one may realize the lone comma on line 12. The poet writes about the sky and a tree, and then a comma intrudes, which makes the reader pause, and realize the new awareness that the comma indicated - that of a falling leaf (145). Lines 1 through 6 are also very important to the poem. Although "black against white" may be referring to the color of the falling leaf in contrast to the bright sky, it is not wrong to assume it means more. As stated above, the poem's theme is the cycle of life, and "black against white" could be indicating life death versus life. It shows that eve...
