the boys i mean are not refined... (44) Analysis

the boys i mean are not refined
they go with girls who buck and bite
they do not give a fuck for luck
they hump them thirteen times a night
  
one hangs a hat upon her tit
one carves a cross on her behind
they do not give a shit for wit
the boys i mean are not refined
  
they come with girls who bite and buck
who cannot read and cannot write
who laugh like they would fall apart
and masturbate with dynamite
  
the boys i mean are not refined
they cannot chat of that and this
they do not give a fart for art
they kill like you would take a piss
  
they speak whatever's on their mind
they do whatever's in their pants
the boys i mean are not refined
they shake the mountains when they dance

.: :.

Listen to me because I'm awesome:
The modernist movement, of which Cummings was a key contributer, was partially about the disullsionment of man. Therefore, this would seemingly be a criticism of man's vulgairty.
HOWEVER--As an existentialist, which Cummings inarguably was, the final line "They shake the mountains when they dance" is -completely- inconsistent with a thesis of man's insignificance. Why would he write poem after poem expressing unbais nature and the inconsequence of man only to turn around and say corrupted men may shake mountains/change the course of nature? This poem is meant to appear to criticize man, but in actuality, praise him for his honesty.
Remember, modernists were fascinated by Freud and Jung, both of were obsessed by the idea of repression. The men Cummings expresses in his poem do not conform and therefore live a life of depression and regret, instead, they chase and obtain what they know will make them happy regardless of the poor reputation they will achieve in society. They shake mountains---they change nature, or society.
If you don't think so, look at all the other modernists which criticize convention and their collection of sex poems, of which Cummings heavily contributed.

| Posted on 2008-11-17 | by a guest

.: :.

Not what I get at all. I get an assault on the way intellectuals, refined people, look down their noses at 'the masses'. I get a glorying in the uncomplicated, unpretentious animality, of these boys, and their girls who buck and bite. I get an statement of their power, and a warning to the 'refined' - they shake the mountains when they dance.
Although the cannon thing fits pretty well too.

| Posted on 2008-09-18 | by a guest

.: :.

Keeping in mind that E.E. Cummings is a concrete poet, I would say that this poem goes for the entirety of the male gender in general. It seems to be a sum of all the shortcomings of man. I suppose you could interpret it to mean a specific generation. However, I don't mean to sound dismal, but I think that progressively this poem becomes more and more true for each group of man ushered into existence.

| Posted on 2008-09-09 | by a guest

.: It isn't literal :.

I read once that this poem is about soldiers, and the girls he talks about are cannons. I think this actually makes a lot of sense, especially since he lived during both World Wars and was drafted into the army. Those army boys were not refined, they may fire a cannon 13 times in a night, they would carve crosses on cannons, and they kill all the time.

| Posted on 2008-05-11 | by a guest

.: :.

Well, I suppose if you look at the obvious, the poem is about a horrible generation. But that isn't the point of analysis. The "boys" are pained by their crudeness and impulsivity. Somehow, it is repetitive and unwanted.

| Posted on 2008-03-18 | by a guest

.: Moron :.

Considering this poem was written in the 1930s, the "horrible generation that was being brought up" was either your father's or your grandfather's. Why don't you show more respect for your elders, sir?

| Posted on 2008-03-05 | by a guest

.: :.

Obviously this is about the horrible generation that is being brought up. The boys are sex maniacs, and the girls in the story are whores who love to masturbate, as it says in the third stanza.

| Posted on 2008-02-26 | by a guest