my father moved through dooms of love

my father moved through dooms of love

By E. E. cummings

my father moved through dooms of love
through sames of am through haves of give,
singing each morning out of each night
my father moved through depths of height

this motionless forgetful where
turned at his glance to shining here;
that if (so timid air is firm)
under his eyes would stir and squirm

newly as from unburied which
floats the first who, his april touch
drove sleeping selves to swarm their fates
woke dreamers to their ghostly roots

and should some why completely weep
my father’s fingers brought her sleep:
vainly no smallest voice might cry
for he could feel the mountains grow.

Lifting the valleys of the sea
my father moved through griefs of joy;
praising a forehead called the moon
singing desire into begin

joy was his song and joy so pure
a heart of star by him could steer
and pure so now and now so yes
the wrists of twilight would rejoice

keen as midsummer’s keen beyond
conceiving mind of sun will stand,
so strictly (over utmost him
so hugely) stood my father’s dream

his flesh was flesh his blood was blood:
no hungry man but wished him food;
no cripple wouldn’t creep one mile
uphill to only see him smile.

Scorning the Pomp of must and shall
my father moved through dooms of feel;
his anger was as right as rain
his pity was as green as grain

septembering arms of year extend
less humbly wealth to foe and friend
than he to foolish and to wise
offered immeasurable is

proudly and (by octobering flame
beckoned) as earth will downward climb,
so naked for immortal work
his shoulders marched against the dark

his sorrow was as true as bread:
no liar looked him in the head;
if every friend became his foe
he’d laugh and build a world with snow.

My father moved through theys of we,
singing each new leaf out of each tree
(and every child was sure that spring
danced when she heard my father sing)

then let men kill which cannot share,
let blood and flesh be mud and mire,
scheming imagine, passion willed,
freedom a drug that’s bought and sold

giving to steal and cruel kind,
a heart to fear, to doubt a mind,
to differ a disease of same,
conform the pinnacle of am

though dull were all we taste as bright,
bitter all utterly things sweet,
maggoty minus and dumb death
all we inherit, all bequeath

and nothing quite so least as truth
—i say though hate were why men breathe—
because my Father lived his soul
love is the whole and more than all

Summary of my father moved through dooms of love

• Popularity of “my father moved through dooms of love”: Written by a highly popular unconventional American poet, painter, and essayist, e e cummings, this beautiful poem presents the pen picture of his father. The poem first appeared in 1940 when he published his first 50 poems. Not only the poem presents the living picture of his father but it also shows the use of his eccentricities in writing which have become the hallmark of his eccentric father, too. This presentation of a pen picture of his father has made this poem popular across the globe.
• “my father moved through dooms of love” As a Representative of Paternal Love: Starting in the first person, the poet presents his father’s picture of how he has moved through sufferings and sorrows but with love, adding that he has come out the contradictory situations, witnessing lows and highs of his life. Yet, he has always stayed a bubbly and jubilant fellow, showing “squirm” in his eyes as if he has lived through an exciting period. The poet continues to show the exciting and lively side of his father’s life, saying that his father has always sung songs of joy evening when experiencing “griefs of joy” and vice versa, and yet he was a living man who always bedecked his face with a smile.
  Despite having an angry persona, his father has always displayed a kind side of his character by becoming angry and merciful simultaneously and living through all the seasons and treating his friends and foes in the same happy mood. Although the poet adds his father was a man of flesh and blood, it seemed to him that he was a free spirit full of passion and imagination and breathed his last in composure. In fact, he has presented a bright side of his character, who was ready to shower love, passion, and imagination on whoever happened to come near him.
• Major Themes in “my father moved through dooms of love”: Death, happiness, and upright individuality are some of the major themes of this poem written about the father of the poet. Despite presenting the bubbly picture of his father in the initial quatrains, the poet shows the seamy side of the life of his father that he has witnessed high and low moments and grief and suffering with joy yet he has always demonstrated happiness. He has shown his individual character until his death and has never bowed down before the bad, the ugly, and the seamy side of life. He has, rather, the poet argues, experienced everything with stiff-upper-lip, showing grit and patience, and yet stayed a happy, smiling, kind, and merciful father figure at home. Even when he used to meet the foolish or the wise fellows, he never treated them differently.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in My father moved through dooms of love

The poem has rich literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices are as follows.

1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ in “through sames of am through haves of give” and the sound of /o/ in “my father moved through dooms of love.”
2. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /f/ in “father’s fingers”, or /s/ in “sleeping selves.”
3. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /m/ in “my father moved through dooms of love” and the sound of /l/ in “this motionless forgetful where.”
4. Enjambment: It is a device in which the meanings of verse roll over to the next without having any pause or punctuation mark. This poem shows the use of an enjambment such as this example or any other example, as there are no conventional punctuation marks in this entire poem.

newly as from unburied which
floats the first who, his april touch
drove sleeping selves to swarm their fates
woke dreamers to their ghostly roots

5. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. E. cummings used imagery in this poem, such as “newly as from unburied which”, “freedom a drug that’s bought and sold” and “drove sleeping selves to swarm their fates.”
6. Neologism: It means to create new words by adding or removing some syllables. The poet has used neologisms such as octobering, septembering, theys or sames.
7. Oxymoron: It means to use contradictory terms in a statement or verse. The poem shows several oxymorons, such as;
   i. Lifting the valleys of sea
   ii. My father moved through griefs of joy
   iii. My father moved through dooms of feel
8. Personification: It means to attribute human passions and emotions to inanimate objects. The poem shows the use of personifications such as imagination that make a scheme or passions that have a will.
9. Simile: It is a direct comparison of things to clarify one thing compared with the other one. The poem shows several similes, such as given below;
   i. His anger was as right as rain
   ii. His pity was as green as green
   iii. His sorrow was as true as bread
10. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as light, dark world, talent, and death to show his poetic talent and its power.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in My father moved through dooms of love

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

1. Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal and poetic diction.
2. End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. E. E. Cummings has used end rhyme in some stanzas while others are without them. For example, the first stanza shows night/height rhyming with each other, and the same goes for the second with where/here and firm/squirm.
3. Quatrain: It is a Persian stanza having four verses. This poem comprises 17 quatrains.
4. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are 17 stanzas in total, with each comprising four verses.
5. Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a didactic, loving, and sad tone at different places in the poem.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines are useful to quote about paternal love.

My father moved through theys of we,
singing each new leaf out of each tree
(and every child was sure that spring
danced when she heard my father sing)