The Concept of the Self in E. E. Cummings

The preoccupation with the self was a central and life-long concern for E. E. Cummings which is reflected in his entire poetic work. How does he perceive the individual? What are the characteristics of the self and how does it relate to its surroundings? The notion of selfhood in Cummings is complex. The reader is confronted with two different and even contradictory notions of selfhood. This book analyses the two types of the self - the optimistic, self-reliant individual and the pessimistic, doubting self - revealing the important influences of American Transcendentalism and Modernism on Cummings. The two movements are discussed in separate chapters and are preceded by a short introduction into the philosophy of mind to guarantee a better understanding of the different notions of selfhood in Cummings. A close analysis of his poetic work shows how Cummings presents two contradictory notions of the self without losing credibility. The book is aimed at scholars of American literature as well as all readers who open up to an original kind of poetry that deals with basic questions of the human self in a refreshing and playful manner.