Published in 1952, “i carry your heart with me(i carry it in” is one of E. E. Cummings’s best known love poems. The speaker feels an intense connection to an unidentified lover, addressing the poem to this person and suggesting that everything in life has become infused with their romance. The poem very loosely adheres to the structure of a sonnet, though the meter and rhyme scheme—as well as the stanza form—break from convention. This aligns with the idiosyncratic syntactical style that Cummings is known for, which is also on full display here.
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The Full Text of “i carry your heart with me(i carry it in”
The Full Text of “i carry your heart with me(i carry it in”
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“i carry your heart with me(i carry it in” Summary
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“i carry your heart with me(i carry it in” Themes
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Love and Connection
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-15
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “i carry your heart with me(i carry it in”
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Lines 1-2
i carry your ...
... my heart) -
Lines 2-4
i am never ...
... your doing,my darling) -
Lines 5-7
i fear ...
... my world,my true) -
Lines 8-9
and it’s you ...
... sing is you -
Lines 10-11
here is the ...
... of the bud -
Lines 12-13
and the sky ...
... mind can hide) -
Lines 14-15
and this is ...
... in my heart)
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“i carry your heart with me(i carry it in” Symbols
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The Heart
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2: “i carry your heart with me(i carry it in / my heart)i am never without it”
- Line 15: “i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)”
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The Natural World
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 8-9: “and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant / and whatever a sun will always sing is you”
- Lines 11-14: “(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud / and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows / higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) / and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart”
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“i carry your heart with me(i carry it in” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 3: “go,” “go,” “dear,” “done”
- Line 4: “doing,” “darling”
- Line 5: “fear”
- Line 6: “fate,” “for,” “fate,” “want”
- Line 7: “world,” “world”
- Line 8: “whatever,” “moon,” “meant”
- Line 9: “whatever,” “sun,” “sing”
- Line 10: “nobody,” “knows”
- Line 11: “root,” “root,” “bud,” “bud”
- Line 12: “sky,” “sky”
- Line 13: “higher,” “soul,” “hope,” “hide”
- Line 14: “stars”
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Anaphora
Where anaphora appears in the poem:- Line 1: “i carry,” “i carry”
- Line 5: “i”
- Line 6: “i”
- Line 10: “here is the”
- Line 11: “(here is the”
- Line 15: “i carry,” “i carry”
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Apostrophe
Where apostrophe appears in the poem:- Lines 1-9
- Line 15
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Caesura
Where caesura appears in the poem:- Line 1: “me(i”
- Line 2: “heart)i,” “it(anywhere”
- Line 3: “go,my,” “dear;and”
- Line 4: “doing,my”
- Line 6: “fate(for,” “fate,my,” “sweet)i”
- Line 7: “world(for”
- Line 12: “life;which”
- Line 15: “heart(i”
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Diacope
Where diacope appears in the poem:- Line 1: “i carry,” “heart,” “i carry”
- Line 2: “heart”
- Line 3: “go,” “go,” “done”
- Line 4: “doing”
- Line 6: “no fate,” “for you are,” “my,” “fate,” “my”
- Line 7: “no world,” “for,” “you are,” “my,” “world,” “my”
- Line 8: “you are,” “whatever,” “always”
- Line 9: “whatever,” “always,” “you”
- Line 10: “here is the”
- Line 11: “here is the,” “root of the root,” “the bud of the bud”
- Line 12: “the sky of the sky”
- Line 15: “i carry,” “heart,” “i carry,” “heart”
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Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2: “ in / my”
- Lines 2-3: “anywhere / i”
- Lines 3-4: “done / by”
- Lines 5-6: “fear / no”
- Lines 6-7: “want / no”
- Lines 12-13: “grows / higher”
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2
- Line 6
- Line 7
- Lines 8-9
- Lines 11-14
- Line 15
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Parallelism
Where parallelism appears in the poem:- Line 1: “i carry,” “i carry”
- Lines 2-4: “anywhere / i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done / by only me is your doing,my darling”
- Lines 5-6: “ i fear / no fate”
- Line 6: “(for you are my fate,my sweet)”
- Lines 6-7: “i want / no world”
- Line 7: “(for beautiful you are my world,my true)”
- Line 8: “whatever a moon has always”
- Line 9: “whatever a sun will always”
- Line 10: “here is the,” “deepest secret nobody knows”
- Line 11: “here is the,” “root of the root,” “bud of the bud”
- Line 12: “sky of the sky”
- Line 15: “i carry,” “i carry”
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Epanalepsis
Where epanalepsis appears in the poem:- Lines 3-4: “whatever is done / by only me is your doing”
- Lines 8-9: “and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant / and whatever a sun will always sing is you”
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Personification
Where personification appears in the poem:- Line 9: “and whatever a sun will always sing is you”
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Sibilance
Where sibilance appears in the poem:- Line 9: “sun,” “sing”
- Line 10: “deepest,” “secret”
- Line 12: “sky,” “sky”
- Line 13: “soul”
- Line 14: “that's,” “stars”
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Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 7: “beautiful you,” “true”
- Line 8: “you,” “moon”
- Line 9: “will,” “sing is”
- Line 10: “here,” “deepest secret,” “nobody ,” “knows”
- Line 12: “sky,” “sky,” “life,” “grows”
- Line 13: “higher,” “soul,” “hope,” “mind,” “hide”
- Line 14: “stars apart”
- Line 15: “heart,” “heart”
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“i carry your heart with me(i carry it in” 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.
- Fate
- Sweet
- True
- Bud
- Wonder
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(Location in poem: Line 6: “fate”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “i carry your heart with me(i carry it in”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“i carry your heart with me(i carry it in” Speaker
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“i carry your heart with me(i carry it in” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “i carry your heart with me(i carry it in”
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More “i carry your heart with me(i carry it in” Resources
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External Resources
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On the Big Screen — Watch Cameron Diaz read "i carry your heart(i carry it in" at a wedding scene in the 2005 film "In Her Shoes."
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Self-Portrait — It's well known that E. E. Cummings was a masterful poet, but not everyone knows that he was also a rather skilled painter. Check out, for instance, this self-portrait he painted, which is part of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.
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A Reading of the Poem — Listen to E. E. Cummings himself read the poem! In particular, pay special attention to the way he paces himself and where he inserts pauses between phrases.
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Board Book — After its original publication, "i carry your heart(i carry it in" was published as an illustrated "board book." In this video, you can see the illustrations and how they pair with the lines of the poem.
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The Man Behind the Poem — Read more about E. E. Cummings in this overview of his life and work.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by E. E. Cummings
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