Blog 7

The most obvious connection in "l(a" by E.E. Cummings, "Love Medicine" by Louise Erdrich and "This Is Just To Say" by William Carlos Williams is that all of these works deal with loneliness and longing.

This theme is most evident in "l(a", because it is literally spelled out for the reader: "a leaf falls loneliness." Cummings does a number of things in the form of his poem to get the reader to understand his loneliness and longing for companionship. First, he separates the letters instead of putting them all together in one sentence on one line. here, he signifies his loneliness by making the letters lonely. Then, he chooses the word "one" to be the only identifiable word in the poem. He makes this word and its meaning stand out to the reader; to echo in their mind. In this poem, it is the form that gives the reader the meaning, not so much the words.

William Carlos William's poem is also about loneliness, and about the temptation the narrator goes through as a result of his loneliness. The narrator claims he is sorry for eating a plum that wasn't his, and that the recipient of the note should forgive him because the fruit was just so delicious. I believe that this poem is also about the temptation in personal relationships. The narrator is very lonely, so he is tempted by the person in which the note is for. He longs to be with her.

In "Love Medicine", Grandma longs for the love of her husband. Because her grandson can see her loneliness, he does all he can to help her and fulfill her happiness. However, it results in the death of Grandpa. Her longing and loneliness for the love of her husband left her alone, although when he was dead, she no longer felt this longing.

Each of these pieces of literature dealt with loneliness and the longing a person has for some type of companionship.