A Man Who Had Fallen Among Thieves

a man who had fallen among thieves

lay by the roadside on his back

dressed in fifteenthrate ideas

wearing a round jeer for a hat

fate per a somewhat more than less

emancipated evening

had in return for consciousness

endowed him with a changeless grin

whereon a dozen staunch and leal

citizens did graze at pause

then fired by hypercivic zeal

sought newer pastures or because

swaddled with a frozen brook

of pinkest vomit out of eyes

which noticed nobody he looked

as if he did not care to rise

one hand did nothing on the vest

its wideflung friend clenched weakly dirt

while the mute trouserfly confessed

a button solemnly inert.

Brushing from whom the stiffened puke

i put him all into my arms

and staggered banged with terror through

a million billion trillion stars

Luke 10:30-37

30. In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35. The next day he took out two denarii[a] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

• Allusion to Luke 10:30-37
• "dressd in fifteenthrate ideas/ wearing a round jeer for a hat" - Jesus challenged many philosophies of his time and the crown of thorns represnts others mocking his ideas
• "Whereon a dozen staunch and leal" -The 12 disciples
• "graze at pause" - The last supper
• "Then fired by hypercivic zeal/ sought newer pastures"- spread the good news
• "and staggered banged with terror through/ a million billion trillion stars" - Jesus rose from the grave
• Cummings acts as the good samaritan

Poetic Devices

A Man Who Had

Fallen Among

Thieves.

Rhyme Scheme

• no rhyme scheme, but as the first stanza ends a scheme appears

The poem ends similarly to how it began with no detectable rhyme scheme

POEM

• Chaotic Rhyming = His emancipated evening.
• Fitting Rhymes = Common reaction
• Replaced Mixed Rhyming = Uncommon Righteousness

Speaker

Identity

PARABLE

E. E. Cummings

-The speaker, the "voice" of the poem,

is hard to identify.

-The speaker of this poem is

the author, E.E. Cummings.

-He is speaking to an audience.

-Identifying himself as the sole

righteous ma, being the only one

to help the injured man.

Tone

• Dad was professor of Political sciences and sociology at Harvard
• In 1900 became an ordained minister
• Religion greatly influenced his poetry

• Born Cambrige Massachuchetts, October 14, 1894
• HIs mother introduced him to poetry and he began writing around age 8
• After graduating before America entered WWI he was an abulance driver in France
• Imprisoned for 3 months on suspicion on holding critical French views during war

-The Tone is set through how he writes and is set through his descriptions of what is going on.

-Tone shifts throughout the poem.

• Starts dark and ominous, dangeous.
• Finishes spirited and bright.

-The Tone helps set the mood of what is going on.

Photo based on: 'horizon' by pierreyves @ flickr