Year 12 IB Extended Essays 2017

Spring as a Reference to Growth, Childhood and New Beginnings

Many of cummings’ works are very closely tied to nature. Spring is a significant focus of many

of his poems and he often presents Spring as a symbol of new beginnings, childhood and hope.

It is a season of unparalleled growth that is treated so reverently by cummings that it is almost

divine. The title of his poem ‘ spring omnipotent goddess Thou’ optimizes his reverent view of

the season. The representation of Spring can be aligned with the wonder associated with the

spontaneous delight of youth.

in Just- 6 captures both the innocence of childhood and links back to the irony of youth

discussed previously, all through the assertions of Spring. The bubbling atmosphere of

childhood is achieved through childish jargon and poetic technique. Cummings invents words

to describe Spring, like “mud-luscious” and “puddle-wonderful”, suggesting that to a child

everything is wondrous – even such things as mud and puddles. This ever-appreciative outlook,

he suggests, should be retained to preserve one’s youth. The utilisation of word fusion and

irregular spacing, for example in line 5, “whistles far and wee”, simulates the child-

like excitement and energy of children. Cummings plays with spacing by placing Spring on a

new line every time it is mentioned - “in Just/ Spring” and “it’s/ spring”, serving to disrupt the

reading and forcing the reader to acknowledge its importance. Cummings also delves into the

inevitable change that children will undergo through the symbolic character of “the

balloonman”. On first introduction, he is depicted as “little” and “lame”, projecting a harmless

image. Upon his return in the poem, the balloonman is decribed as “goatfooted” and “Man” is

capitalised. He is now a symbol of adulthood, puberty and sexual awakening. This can be

linked back to the irony and transient nature of youth. The descriptor, “goat-footed” is a

reference to the Satyr Pan (Landles 2014, p.2) – the god of sexuality who is meant to spark

sexual change in children during Spring. Each word is also placed on a separate line, reading

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