The poem “Anyone Lived in a pretty how town” by E.E. Cummings (1904-1962) presents a narration where the word play is employed so that it gets its uniqueness and effectiveness in concentrating on the poet’s intentions. The poem brings into contrast the terms “no one” and “anyone” that represent a hero and a heroine who have feelings for each other. It also juxtaposes the terms “everyone’s” and “someone’s”, which demonstrate an unknown population of nothingness whose lives are filled with desperation. With time both “no one” and “anyone” die, but the “everyone’s” and “someone’s” go on living. The difference between the two parties is that “no one” and “anyone” led good and fulfilling …show more content…
In the first line, “Anyone Lived in a pretty how town” (Line 1), the meaning of “anyone” has been employed using wordplay. The statement “a pretty how town” is another word play example as the poet implies “how pretty the town” that is used to hide the ugliness or lack of prettiness of a substance. The phrase “with up so floating many bells down” (Line 2) in the second line of the first stanza can be perceived to be a syntactical jolt under the terms of which the poet put into perspective two opposing features. The phrase is followed by a line with four terms that lack punctuation representing a sentence that is not an actual sentence. The poet states, “spring summer autumn winter” (Line 3) to represent the tolling of bells and hence highlighting that time was passing. The last line of the stanza projects back to “anyone” in the first stanza by which the poet states, “He sang his didn't he danced his did,” (Line …show more content…
In the first line, the poet states, “Women and men (both little and small)” (Line 5) to illustrate and emphasize the variety of people present in that town. However, the people seem not to demonstration precaution for anyone as per the second line “cared for anyone not at all” (Line 6). The poet also employs word play to demonstrate the feelings of the individual toward one another. Moreover, the phonetics made by the author in line seven, about men and women; that “they sowed their isn't they reaped their same” (Line 7). The definition of “sow” in the Oxford Dictionary is “Plant (seed) by scattering it on or in the earth” while to “reap” means to “cut or gather” (OED Online). This line takes one back to the phrase in the first stanza where anyone “he sang his didn't he danced his did,” (Line 4) by which he sang on things that he did not take part in while dancing to those that he took part in. Possibly, the poet might have used the seeds symbolically to illustrate something that is not yet in existence, and hence, since the men and women seem to be sowing “there isn’t” together, possibly the seeds represent children who are yet to exist once they have been sown. It is important to note that the poet states that people reap the same. Therefore, if the seeds refer to children, then the people obtain children that are alike when compared to their parents. Also, since the parents show no care to