The following are REAL student samples (potentially from this class). Please do not make fun of any samples, but rather, help to make them better!

Example #1 The affect the form of “i carry your heart” by e.e. cummings has on the content of the poem is good. In every stanza, there is a new topic about love, fate, and secrets. This shows a variety of subjects that are well developed. e.e. cummings shows this when he says, “no fate/here is the deepest secret nobody knows” (2-3). This shows two of the many topics discussed in the poem. The way in which e.e. cummings chose to set up this poem was strange. He put in some parenthesis, “I carry it in my heart” (1). I think e.e. cummings chose to position words in this way to help the reader understand more, almost like he is double checking. Overall, I think his choices were good. He made wise choices.

Example #2 This poem by e.e. cummings represented the theme that if someone loves you, they will always be with you, even if you are not physically there. This author’s way of writing was very different for it distracted my attention away from the moral of the poem. e.e. cummings used many parentheses in his writing. I couldn’t quite understand the need of these parentheses. They held words that would be okay outside of the parentheses. Going back to the moral of the story, in lines 1-2, “i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)” shows that love overcomes the distance. The distance away from someone you love can make you closer. e.e. cummings shows this through his words. Another quote that made me realize the theme of this poem was “(anywhere/ i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done/only by me is your doing, my darling)” (1-3).

Example #3 In the free-verse poem, “i carry your heart” by e.e. cummings, the format of the poem has a big affect on the content. Since all of the letters are lowercase, it has a way of making the reader feel that e.e. cummings is very shy and timid. The many parentheses also make it seem like he was shy. One examples of his clever use of parenthesis is, “no fate/ (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want/ no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)” (6-7). This quote clearly shows that the words in the parenthesis are like the thoughts in his head and the words he wishes he could say, but doesn’t have the courage to. One more quote that shows how important the form of the poem is, “my darling)/i fear/no fate…” (4-6). This shows how significant the simple line “i fear” is. e.e. cummings made this only one line to show how nerve wracking it was for him to express himself. Clearly, the form of the poem is very important to the understanding of the poem.

STELLAR Sample #4 In the poem “i carry your heart” by e.e. cummings, the form adds to the poem because it makes it seem innocent and sweet, almost childlike, and that works to make the poem more pure. This is the reason cummings wrote the poem in this way. When he write, “i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)” (1-2), it seems like a small child explaining what it is they are saying. The parentheses work to explain what the author is trying to communicate with simple and sweet language, thus making it seem innocent. Also, he says, “here is the deepest secret nobody knows” (10), which shows that he is like a little kid whispering a secret, which says, “I love you”. Also, using incorrect grammar and no capitalization makes it seem like a child wrote it. How the overall poem is childlike makes it seem more pure and innocent, which helps to strengthen his message about his love.