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144 Unit 2 ■ Analyzing Comparisons and Representations e.e. cummings ■ she being Brand 145 UNIT 2

95 There’s a place where this poem dwells — Guided Questions • How does a comparison through a metaphor contribute to meaning in the
it is here, it is now, in the yellow song of dawn’s bell 11. Explain the final text?
where we write an American lyric comparison and • How might the figurative meaning of a metaphor depend on the context in FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
we are just beginning to tell. how the metaphor which it is presented?
contributes to your
understanding of • How does a metaphorical comparison contribute to the figurative meaning
the poem. of a character, conflict, setting, theme, etc.?
Idea of Human Significance of
PRACTICE TEXT Metaphorical Object Experience Comparison

she being Brand
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.
e.e. cummings

THE TEXT IN CONTEXT
Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Edward Estlin Cummings
(1894–1962) began writing poems as a child. He received his BA
and MA from Harvard University, where he not only discovered
the work of avant-garde modernist writers like Ezra Pound and
Gertrude Stein but also visual artists such as the French post-
impressionist painter Paul Cezanne. Cummings’s first collection Bettmann/Getty Images
of poems, Tulips and Chimneys, appeared in 1923. While many
poems in the book followed conventional forms, others intro-
duced readers to Cummings’s idiosyncratic language, eccentric punctuation, and playful
experiments with grammar. His more experimental 1926 collection is 5 included the fol-
lowing poem, which creates an elaborate extended comparison.
she being Brand 1 METAPHOR The speaker initially notes the
1 she being Br and traits of being new, fresh, inexperienced, and a
she being Brand
-new;and you
-new;and you little stiff.
® SKILLS FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
AP know consequently a
know consequently a
2 METAPHOR The speaker creates the
PRACTICE Explaining the Function of Comparisons Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs were used with this sample chapter.
little stiff i was
little stiff i was comparison by using mechanical terms such as
5 careful of her and(having
As you read the following poem by e.e. cummings, use the graphic organizer to “oiled,” “universal joint,” “radiator,” and “springs”
record details from the poem of the comparison in the poem. Explain the signifi- 2 thoroughly oiled the universal that can be interpreted literally for a vehicle—but
thoroughly oiled the universal
cance of each aspect of the traits being compared. joint tested my gas felt of these terms can also be interpreted figuratively
Analyzing Metaphorical Comparisons her radiator made sure her springs were O. as body parts or functions.
Considerations 3 K.)i went right to it flooded-the-carburetor cranked her 3 METAPHOR The speaker describes the
K.)i went right to it flooded-the-carburetor cranked her
• Which two objects are being compared in a particular metaphor? 4 10 up,slipped the experience of driving the car as technical yet
up,slipped the
• What are the particular traits and characteristics being compared? clutch(and then somehow got into reverse she intuitive; notably, the speaker associates the car
clutch(and then somehow got into reverse she
• What is significant about the selection of the objects being compared? with an object that is acted upon.
kicked what
kicked what
4 METAPHOR The experience is transactional;
the car only reacts to movements enacted
upon it.
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CREATIVE WRITING
Finding Similes and Metaphors in Unlikely Places
Ask students to clear their desks and then to them to do this one row at a time), surveying
place on their desks an object they find in their what they see on their classmates’ desks and
backpack, on their person, or in the classroom. creating a comparison with an emotion or
This can be anything, but the more unusual concept on their list. They should explain the
the better—you may point out the unusual connection between the two by writing down
comparison in cummings’s “she being Brand.” ways they are similar on the note card.
Next, guide students in writing a list of emotions Prompt:
or intangible concepts that are difficult to define. As they return to their desks, ask them to write a
Students should have this list with them for the poem based on the metaphor or simile that they
next step. Using note cards, or small pieces of created on their cards. Remind them that poems
paper, allow students to roam around the room do not have to rhyme.
(if you have a large classroom, you might want

e.e. cummings she being Brand 145

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