Read below our complete notes on the poem “I Carry Your Heart With Me” by E. E. Cummings. Our notes cover I Carry Your Heart With Me summary, themes, and analysis.
Introduction
“I carry your heart with me” is a modernistic love poem written by a renowned American poet, E.E Cummings. It was published in 1952. This poem is the representation of the purest and truest form of love. It shows the deepest feelings of the poet for his beloved. The poem is popular because of its unique description of true love.
Cummings wrote almost 3000 poems in his lifetime. He is famous for his unusual and unconventional style of utilizing the punctuation, capitalization and intentional misspelling in his poems. In this poem, he has used a lot of modern techniques. He doesn’t use periods or spaces the punctuation and parentheses. Moreover, he keeps the use of the pronoun “i” in the lowercase letter throughout the poem. He has used all these techniques deliberately to make his poem unique.
“I carry your heart with me” is a short poem. It consists of four stanzas of different lengths. The poem is filled with many poetic devices. The poet has used the lowercase letters and the concise sentences that make the poem more beautiful. The poem is very simple and can be easily understood by the people of all ages. This poem is almost called a sonnet.
Definition of a sonnet
The word “sonnet” is derived from an Italian word “sonetto” which means “small lyric” or “little song.
Sonnets are the poems that are traditionally written in 14 lines that follow a rhyming scheme and a final rhyming couplet but Cummings reinvented the sonnet and wrote this poem in a new version of sonnet, utilizing all the modern techniques.
I Carry Your Heart With Me Summary
The poem “I carry your heart with me” opens with the speaker addressing his beloved. He expresses his true feelings of love for her and claims that he carries her heart with him and he holds her heart within his own. The speaker tells his beloved that wherever he goes in this world or whatever he does, he always finds the presence of his beloved there. In short, the speaker’s love has united him with his beloved and now wherever he goes, her love follows him there.
The speaker also tells his beloved that he has no fears and he doesn’t want this world either because his beloved is his entire universe. The speaker further praises her and says that he doesn’t know what meaning the moon carries but for him every meaning in life rests with his beloved. The sun also sings the songs in the praise of his beloved.
The speaker also reveals the greatest secret of this world that no one knows according to him. He considers love a foundation of life by giving the example of roots and buds. He compares life with a tree that grows and grows to the limitless heights touching the sky. Life goes on beyond our hopes and understandings and love functions as a base in the life of a person. In short, the speaker considers that life is impossible without the feelings of love.
The speaker considers love a wonder of this universe and tells the secret that love and life are one. This wonder of the universe is like the laws of astronomy that are keeping the stars apart. The speaker ends the poem with the same line that he carries the heart of his beloved with him and he holds it within his own heart. The speaker talks about the entire universe giving examples of nature, roots, buds, sky and stars and then he again comes back to the same point. It shows that his life and his universe revolve around the love of his beloved.
Themes in the Poem
Love
This poem is a love poem and in the entire poem, the speaker doesn’t talk about anything else than love. He considers the love of his beloved superior to every other thing in this world. Moreover, he considers love a foundation of life and says that life is impossible without the feelings of love. He expresses his true love for his beloved by calling her with sweet names like my dear, my darling and beautiful.
He claims to hold her heart within his own and says that wherever he goes or whatever he does, he never stops thinking about her. The speaker explains how the love not only connects him and his beloved together but the whole universe.
Eternity
The speaker expresses his love for his beloved and he tells that it is limitless even if he dies, his love will always remain in this world. The spiritual bond and the perfect union of the speaker and his beloved are exemplary. He praises her saying that the sun will sing her songs even if they die, the sun will keep on praising her in his songs.
This love is also a source of eternal peace for the speaker and he compares his beloved with the sun and the moon to tell us that she and her love is a source of strength, warmth, brightness and satisfaction for him. Moreover, he uses the word “always” to show that the love between the two is eternal and will last forever.
Unity
The poem also talks about the unity of two lovers. The speaker truly loves his beloved and their love has united them as he says that she is with him wherever he goes and she has a part in every work that he does. He also claims to carry her heart within his own that is another evidence to show their unity. They are inseparable and the speaker can’t even imagine his life without her.
Fate and the World
The speaker talks about fate. He says that he doesn’t fear fate. No doubt, lovers face a lot of hardships and there are many obstacles in the way of love but the speaker says that he doesn’t fear the fate and the hardships as long as his beloved is with him.
The speaker also talks about the world and its pleasures. Though this world is very attractive yet the speaker claims that he doesn’t want the world or its pleasures. He is only concerned about his beloved and he calls her his true love. He only cares about the world that his beloved represents in front of him.
Nature
Most of the poems of Cummings are based on the themes of love and nature. This poem is no exception as the theme of nature is also present in it. The poet mentions root, bud, sky, tree, sun and the moon in the poem. He uses nature to present the purity of his love and compares life with a tree that grows to the limitless heights. According to him, as roots and buds are the foundations of a tree, similarly, love is the foundation of life.
I Carry Your Heart With Me Analysis
Lines 1-4
In the opening lines of the poem, the speaker talks about his beloved. He addresses her and says that he carries the heart of his beloved with him all the time. He says that he carries her heart within his own.
These lines suggest that the speaker doesn’t actually carry her heart with him but in reality, he is talking about her love. The speaker wants to say that he holds the love of his beloved within his own heart.
In the next lines, he says that wherever he goes, his beloved accompanies him there. He further says that whatever he does, he is not alone and his beloved always has a part in his actions.
In all these lines, the speaker tries to express his love for his beloved. The feeling of love between the two, makes them united so the speaker says he is never alone. His beloved is always present wherever he goes and she has a great influence over the feelings and actions of the speaker.
It also gives us the idea that maybe the speaker talks about the love of his beloved. He wants to say that wherever he goes, her love follows him and whatever he does, her love is always involved in it. The speaker also calls his beloved by sweet names like “my dear” and “my darling” that shows the beautiful love that he holds within his heart for her.
Lines 5-7
In these lines, the speaker again expresses his feelings of deep love for his beloved. He says that he has no fears in his life. Even he is not afraid of his fate. He says that his beloved is his fate. Here, he links his fate with his beloved. It again gives the idea that the two lovers are united.
In these lines, the poet plays with the language. As he says “I fear”, the readers think that he is going to tell them about the things he fears in his life but then in the next line, he unexpectedly says ” no fate” and hence tells that he has no fears in his life.
Then in the next lines, the speaker tells that he doesn’t want the world and its pleasures. He says that his beloved is his true world. It suggests that he considers her superior than any other thing in this entire world and he calls her his true world. The speaker doesn’t want anything else than the world that is represented by his beloved.
In these lines, the poet again plays with the language. As in one line, he says “I want” that suggests that he is going to tell us about his desires but immediately in the second line, he says “no world” which shows that he has no desires and he doesn’t want worldly pleasures as demanded by all other human beings.
Lines 8-9
Romantic poets always talk about the moon and their love. Similarly, the poet here talks about the moon and says that it does not matter what does the moon means or whatever it symbolizes in the life of lovers, the real meaning always rests with his beloved. For him the thing that matters is his beloved and whatever she says.
In the next line, the speaker praises his beloved saying that the sun will always sing for her. Though the sun doesn’t sing yet if it does, it will always sing for the speaker’s beloved. The speaker wants to say that the love of his beloved is and will always remain a source of meaning and inspiration for him.
Lines 10-13
In these lines, the speaker talks about the greatest truth of the world. He says that he knows a secret that no one else knows and that is a deepest secret. We can assume that by “deepest secret” the speaker is talking about the deepest essence of the love and “here” refers to the love of his beloved that he holds within his heart.
Now the next line is clear. The speaker says that the love of his beloved is the root of the root and bud of the bud. As we know that the roots and buds are the foundation of life in plants, similarly the speaker wants to say that the love of his beloved is actually the foundation of his life. The roots and the buds refer to the love that is the foundation of all and is necessary for life.
In these lines, the poet talks about the roots and the buds but in the next lines, he talks about the sky. The speaker says that love is the unifying force that is keeping the roots, buds and sky together in the form of a tree called “life”. In short, the speaker compares life with a tree. He says that life grows like a tree beyond what we hope and what our mind understands.
According to the speaker, the tree of life is all about love. The tree of life grows and it doesn’t stop. It grows to the limitless heights touching the sky because its foundation is love. The speaker says that the soul and the mind of the person can never understand this deepest secret of the universe without the feeling of love. Love can’t be outperformed or hidden. In these lines, the poet doesn’t just talk about his lover but he talks about the universal existence of love and its importance in life.
Lines 14-15
The speaker reveals the greatest and the deepest secret of the universe by saying that love is the only source, product and aim of life. He considers love and life one and he says that this secret of love is the wonder of this universe that keeps the stars apart.
The speaker ends the poem in a similar way as it started. In the above line, the poet talks about nature and the universe but at the end, he ends the poem with a simplified idea that he carries the heart of his beloved with him and he holds all of her love within his own heart.
Analysis of Literary Devices in the poem
Literary devices are the tools that make the text more appealing to the readers and enable them to interpret the text in multiple ways. There are some literary devices that are used in this poem and are as follows:
Assonance
The repetition of the same vowel sound in the same line is called assonance. In the poem, assonance is used in the line “no world(for beautiful you are my world, my true)”. In this line /u/ sound is repeated. Moreover, the long /o/ sound is repeated in the line “soul can hope” and the long /i/ sound is repeated in the line “mind can hide”.
Consonance
The repetition of the same consonant sound in the same line is called consonance. In the poem, /ing/ sound is repeated in the line “by only me is your doing, my darling”.
Enjambment
The technique in which a sentence is carried over to the next line without any pause, is known as Enjambment. In the poem, Enjambment is used in the following lines:
“i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)”
Personification
When the writer gives the human attributes to the non-human objects, it is termed as personification. Personification is used in the following lines of the second stanza:
“and whatever a sun will always sing is you”
In this line, the poet personifies the sun because “singing” is the quality of human beings.
Metaphor
The hidden comparison between two things is known as a metaphor. In this poem, the metaphor is used in the following lines:
“i carry your heart with me”, here the poet compares the heart of his beloved to a tangible object that could be carried anywhere.
Moreover, the speaker also calls his beloved as his fate and his world. These are also the metaphors because he is indirectly comparing these things with her.
Simile
The direct or explicit comparison between two things is called a simile. In the poem, the poet uses a simile in the line “a tree called life, which grows higher”. In this line, the poet is comparing life with a tree that continues to grow beyond our hopes and understanding.
Hyperbole
The exaggeration of anything for the sake of emphasis, is known as Hyperbole. In this poem, hyperbole is used in the title of this poem “I carry your heart with me”. This is an obvious example of hyperbole because no one can carry someone’s heart with him as the heart is an organ and not a thing.
Imagery
The writers use imagery to enable the readers to visualize the feelings and emotions of the writer. In this poem, Cummings has successfully used imagery in the following lines to create a lifelike image of his true love for his beloved:
“and whatever a sun will always sing is you”
“here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud”
“and sky of the sky of a tree called life”
Paradox
A self-contradictory statement is known as a paradox. Cummings has used the paradoxes in the poem in such a way that it seems he is playing with the words. The use of “i fear” and “i want” is an example of paradox, as the expectation of the readers goes wrong when he flips the meaning in the next lines by adding “no fate” and “no world”.
Metonymy
When a part of something or the name of an object is used to represent the entire object, this figure of speech is termed as metonymy. In the poem, metonymy is used in the following line:
“keeping the stars apart”. In this line, stars are used as the metonyms to represent all the natural objects.
Repetition
In the poem, repetition is used in the following lines:
“here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life”
Here the poet repeats the words “root”, “bud” and “sky” twice.
Conclusion
Though the poem is not very long yet it contains deep meanings. Through this poem, the poet taught the readers how to love and adore someone. Besides, he gave us many things in this poem that could be analyzed by the grammatical and the phonological fields. The poem appears little odd if analyzed on the basis of its grammatical structures and writing technique but that is what makes it unique.
Many grammatical mistakes are also found in the poem like absence of commas, full stops, spaces, the wrong placing of nouns and adjectives etc but these mistakes are the reasons behind the creation of a masterpiece. This poem became very popular especially after being used in the film ” In her shoes”. Many people got inspired by this beautiful, simple, deep, unique and romantic piece of poetry.
