A man who had fallen among thieves by E. E. Cummings

1. A man who had fallen among thieves by E. E. Cummings Group names: John maximous Karen Rodriguez Dionicio Martinez

2. E. E. Cumming (1894-1962) • Edward Estlin Cummings was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 14, 1894. • He received his BA in 1915 and his MA in 1916, both from Harvard University • The same year, Cummings left the United States for France as a volunteer ambulance driver in World War I. • After the war, he settled into a life divided between his lifetime summer home, Joy Farm in New Hampshire, and Greenwich Village, with frequent visits to Paris. • At the time of his death, September 3, 1962, he was the second most widely read poet in the United States, after Robert Frost. He is buried in Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts.

3. man who had fallen among thieves a • lay by the roadside on his back b • dressed in fifteenthrateideas a • wearing a round jeer for a hat b • fate per a somewhat more than less c • emancipatedevening d • had in return for consciousness c • endowed him with a changeless grin d • whereon a dozen staunch and leali • citizens did graze at pause f • then fired by hyperciviczeali • sought newer pastures or because f

4. swaddled with a frozenbrook g • of pinkest vomit out of eyes h • which noticed nobody he looked g • as if he did not care to rise h • one hand did nothing on the vesti • its wideflung friend clenched weakly dirt j • while the mute trouserflyconfessed i • a button solemnlyinert. j • Brushing from whom the stiffened pukek • i put him all into my arms l • and staggeredbanged with terrorthrough k • a million billion trillion stars. l

5. About the poem • It is a parable of “The Good Samaritan.” • The poem is composed of 6 quatrains. • The theme is compassion for others in need or treat others the way you would like to be treated. • Rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ KLKL. • No meter

6. Explanation first stanza • From the first stanza Cummings makes a reference to the parable of the Good Samaritan • “Fallen among thieves“ This could mean a few things. He might of fallen in with a rough crowd per say, he had the misfortune to run into some thieves. They stole everything from him and left him • “dressed in fifteenthrate ideas” This means that the persons ideas are not the bestideas. As in First rate ideas for example. • {first stanza meaning} This man had gotten into trouble and was beaten unconscious. He was being ridiculed as he laid on the ground.

7. Explanation second stanza • The second stanza shows to a certain extent, almost exemplifying a drunk man. In exchange for his consciousness he was endowed a changeless grin. • {second stanza meaning} When the man was awake or aware of what was happening he had a smile with pleasure on his face .

8. Important Definitions • Consciousness: being awake and aware of one’s surroundings. • Jeer: to mock. • Emancipated: free from legal, social, or political restrictions; liberated. • Endowed: give or bequeath an income or property to (a person or institution). • Staunch: loyal and committed in attitude. • Puke: vomit. • Graze: to eat grass in a field. • Swaddled: to wrap in garments or clothes. • Brook: a small stream. • Solemnly: gravely or somberly impressive. • Inert: lacking the ability or strength to move.

9. Diction • The diction of the poem is mostly negative . The author’s use of mostly negative diction gives the poem a sense of sorrow for the unconscious man and shows the harshness and ignorance of people. • Towards the end the author uses positive diction not only giving the atmosphere a change but as well as exemplifying that in the story, showing someone finally helping the drunk man.

10. Tone, theme, and figurative language • ‘a million billion trillion stars’ this line show alliteration. • {Tone}:The first stanza gives off an eerie, ominous feeling, depicting the man who had fallen among thieves. • {Theme}: A man who had fallen among thieves’ comes from the biblical parable of the Good Samaritan. Here, Cummings’s narrator encounters a drunk, unconscious man on the street and carries him, even though he finds him disgusting and terrifying, just as everyone else does. The point is that we should still help people whom we find revolting.