The Full Text of “Buffalo Bill's”
1Buffalo Bill 's
2defunct
3 who used to
4 ride a watersmooth-silver
5 stallion
6and break onetwothreefourfive pigeonsjustlikethat
7 Jesus
8he was a handsome man
9 and what i want to know is
10how do you like your blue-eyed boy
11Mister Death
The Full Text of “Buffalo Bill's”
1Buffalo Bill 's
2defunct
3 who used to
4 ride a watersmooth-silver
5 stallion
6and break onetwothreefourfive pigeonsjustlikethat
7 Jesus
8he was a handsome man
9 and what i want to know is
10how do you like your blue-eyed boy
11Mister Death
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“Buffalo Bill's” Introduction
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“Buffalo Bill's” Summary
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“Buffalo Bill's” Themes
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The Inevitability of Death
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Buffalo Bill's”
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Lines 1-2
Buffalo Bill 's
defunct -
Lines 3-6
who used to
ride a watersmooth-silver
stallion
and break onetwothreefourfive pigeonsjustlikethat -
Lines 7-8
Jesus
he was a handsome man -
Lines 9-11
and what i want to know is
how do you like your blue-eyed boy
Mister Death
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“Buffalo Bill's” Symbols
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Buffalo Bill
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“Buffalo Bill's” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Imagery
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Personification
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Enjambment
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Alliteration
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“Buffalo Bill's” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Buffalo Bill
- Defunct
- A watersmooth-silver / stallion
- Pigeons
- Blue-eyed boy
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Buffalo Bill's”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Buffalo Bill's” Speaker
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“Buffalo Bill's” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Buffalo Bill's”
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More “Buffalo Bill's” Resources
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External Resources
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Cummings on Poetry — Read Cummings's advice to young poets (framed by a short appreciation of Cummings by the essayist Maria Popova).
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to Cummings himself reading the poem aloud.
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A Short Biography — Read the Poetry Foundation's biography of Cummings.
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Cumming's Self-Portrait — Cummings was a painter as well as a poet. Take a look at his self-portrait to get a glimpse of how he saw himself.
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Buffalo Bill — Learn a little background on Buffalo Bill, the poem's hero.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by E. E. Cummings
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