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Cummings experimented with poetic form and language to create a distinctpersonal style. A Cummings poem is spare and precise, employing a few key words eccentrically placed on the page. Some of these words were invented byCummings, often by combining two common words into a new synthesis. He alsorevised grammatical and linguistic rules to suit his own purposes, using such

 words as "if," "am," and "because" as nouns, for example, or assigning his ownprivate meanings to words. espite their nontraditional form, Cummings! poemscame to be popular with many readers. Cummings held a prominent position intwentiethcentury poetry 

Cummings! first collection of poems, Tulips and Chimneys, appeared in #$%&. Hiseccentric use of grammar and punctuation are evident in the volume, thoughmany of the poems are written in conventional language. 't was with thesecollections of the #$%(s that Cummings established his reputation as an avantgarde poet conducting daring experiments with language. )hough his poeticlanguage was uni*uely his own, Cummings! poems were unusual because theyunabashedly focused on such traditional and somewhat passe poetic themes aslove, childhood, and flowers. Cummings! early love poems were frankly erotic and were meant to shock the +uritanical sensibilities of the #$%(s

'n addition to his poetry, Cummings was also known for his play, Him, and forthe travel diary, Eimi.  Him consisted of a se*uence of skits drawing from burles*ue, the circus, and the avantgarde, and umping *uickly from tragedy togrotes*ue comedy. )he male character is named Him- the female character is e

e.e Cummings has a very different style; he expieremented with words, parts of words

and with punctuation symbols scattered across the page, often making little sense (He isdefinitely a poet that needs to be read aloud). t is Cummings!s uni"ue style and departure

from aspects of poetic tradtion that make him modern including his attraction to theavant#garde. $lso, Cummings had a strong belief in individuality, %his poems are

constantly exhorting us &the reader' to be original, independent, self#reliant. $nd he is

scornful of everyone who takes refuge in received ideas and conventional standards

(irsch, $dam). Cummings style also showed his conscious separation from traditional poetics and style.

*espite Cummings+ consanguinity with avant#garde styles, much of his work is "uitetraditional. any of his poems are sonnets, albeit often with a modern twist, and he

occasionally made use of the  blues form and acrostics. Cummings+ poetry often deals

with themes of love and nature, as well as the relationship of the individual to the massesand to the world. His poems are also often rife with satire.

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-hile his poetic forms and themes share an affinity with the romantic tradition,

Cummings+ work universally shows a particular idiosyncrasy of syntax, or way of

arranging individual words into larger phrases and sentences. any of his most striking poems do not involve any typographical or punctuation innovations at all, but purely

syntactic ones.

Cummings+ early work drew upon the imagist experiments of $my owell. ater, his

visits to /aris exposed him to *ada and surrealism, which in turn permeated his work. He began to rely on symbolism and allegory where he once used simile and metaphor. n his

later work, he rarely used comparisons that re"uired ob0ects that were not previously

mentioned in the poem, choosing to use a symbol instead. *ue to this, his later poetry is%fre"uently more lucid, more moving, and more profound than his earlier. &12' Cummings

also liked to incorporate imagery of nature and death into much of his poetry.

-hile some of his poetry is free verse (with no concern for  rhyme or meter ), many have a

recogni3able sonnet structure of 14 lines, with an intricate rhyme scheme. $ number ofhis poems feature a typographically exuberant style, with words, parts of words, or

 punctuation symbols scattered across the page, often making little sense until read aloud,at which point the meaning and emotion become clear. Cummings, who was also a

 painter, understood the importance of presentation, and used typography to 5paint a

 picture5 with some of his poems.&16'