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“somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” Introduction
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“somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” Summary
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“somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” Themes
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The Mystery and Intensity of Love
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-20
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Love and Vulnerability
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-20
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond”
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Lines 1-2
somewhere i have ...
... have their silence: -
Lines 3-4
in your most ...
... are too near -
Lines 5-6
your slightest look ...
... myself as fingers, -
Lines 7-8
you open always ...
... skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose -
Lines 9-10
or if your ...
... shut very beautifully,suddenly, -
Lines 11-12
as when the ...
... carefully everywhere descending; -
Lines 13-14
nothing which we ...
... your intense fragility: -
Lines 14-16
whose texture ...
... with each breathing -
Lines 17-19
(i do not ...
... than all roses) -
Line 20
nobody,not even the ... such small hands
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“somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” Symbols
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Eyes
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 2: “your eyes have their silence:”
- Line 5: “your slightest look easily will unclose me”
- Line 19: “the voice of your eyes”
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Roses
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 7: “you open always petal by petal myself ”
- Line 8: “her first rose”
- Line 11: “as when the heart of this flower imagines”
- Line 19: “the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)”
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Closing and Opening
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 5-6: “your slightest look easily will unclose me / though i have closed myself as fingers,”
- Lines 7-8: “you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens / (touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose”
- Lines 9-10: “or if your wish be to close me,i and / my life will shut very beautifully,suddenly,”
- Lines 17-18: “(i do not know what it is about you that closes / and opens”
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“somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “have,” “never,” “travelled,” “gladly,” “beyond”
- Line 2: “experience,” “silence”
- Line 3: “frail,” “things,” “enclose”
- Line 4: “cannot,” “near”
- Line 5: “slightest,” “look,” “easily,” “will,” “unclose”
- Line 6: “closed,” “myself,” “fingers”
- Line 7: “open,” “always,” “petal,” “petal,” “myself,” “Spring,” “opens”
- Line 8: “skilfully,” “mysteriously,” “first,” “rose”
- Line 9: “close”
- Line 10: “life,” “will,” “very,” “beautifully,” “suddenly”
- Line 11: “when,” “heart,” “flower,” “imagines”
- Line 12: “snow,” “carefully,” “everywhere,” “descending”
- Line 13: “nothing,” “perceive,” “world,” “equals”
- Line 14: “power,” “intense,” “fragility,” “texture”
- Line 15: “compels,” “colour,” “countries”
- Line 16: “rendering,” “forever,” “breathing”
- Line 17: “not,” “know,” “closes”
- Line 18: “opens,” “only,” “understands”
- Line 19: “than,” “all,” “roses”
- Line 20: “nobody,” “not,” “even,” “rain,” “such,” “small,” “hands”
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Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “travelled,” “gladly”
- Line 2: “experience,” “eyes,” “silence”
- Line 3: “enclose”
- Line 5: “unclose”
- Line 6: “closed”
- Line 7: “open,” “opens”
- Line 8: “rose”
- Line 9: “be,” “close,” “me,” “i”
- Line 10: “life,” “very,” “beautifully,” “suddenly”
- Line 14: “texture”
- Line 15: “compels,” “colour,” “countries”
- Line 16: “rendering,” “death,” “forever,” “each,” “breathing”
- Line 17: “closes”
- Line 18: “opens,” “only,” “understands”
- Line 19: “all,” “roses”
- Line 20: “small,” “hands”
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Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2: “beyond / any”
- Lines 5-6: “me / though”
- Lines 7-8: “opens / (touching”
- Lines 9-10: “and / my”
- Lines 11-12: “imagines / the”
- Lines 13-14: “equals / the”
- Lines 14-15: “texture / compels”
- Lines 17-18: “closes / and”
- Lines 18-19: “understands / the”
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Personification
Where personification appears in the poem:- Lines 7-8: “as Spring opens / (touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose”
- Lines 11-12: “as when the heart of this flower imagines / the snow carefully everywhere descending;”
- Line 16: “rendering death and forever with each breathing”
- Line 20: “nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands”
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Line 1: “somewhere i have never travelled”
- Line 2: “your eyes have their silence”
- Lines 3-4: “in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me, / or which i cannot touch because they are too near”
- Line 5: “your slightest look easily will unclose me”
- Line 7: “you open always petal by petal myself”
- Lines 9-10: “i and / my life will shut very beautifully,suddenly,”
- Line 11: “the heart of this flower”
- Lines 14-16: “whose texture / compels me with the colour of its countries, / rendering death and forever with each breathing”
- Line 19: “the voice of your eyes”
- Line 20: “nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands”
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Simile
Where simile appears in the poem:- Line 6: “though i have closed myself as fingers,”
- Lines 7-8: “you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens / (touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose”
- Lines 9-12: “i and / my life will shut very beautifully,suddenly, / as when the heart of this flower imagines / the snow carefully everywhere descending;”
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Imagery
Where imagery appears in the poem:- Line 6: “though i have closed myself as fingers,”
- Lines 7-8: “you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens / (touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose”
- Lines 11-12: “as when the heart of this flower imagines / the snow carefully everywhere descending;”
- Line 20: “nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands”
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Juxtaposition
Where juxtaposition appears in the poem:- Line 3: “in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,”
- Line 5: “your slightest look easily will unclose me”
- Line 6: “closed”
- Line 7: “open,” “opens”
- Line 9: “close”
- Line 16: “rendering death and forever with each breathing”
- Lines 17-18: “closes / and opens”
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Paradox
Where paradox appears in the poem:- Line 4: “or which i cannot touch because they are too near”
- Line 14: “the power of your intense fragility”
- Line 16: “rendering death and forever with each breathing”
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Repetition
Where repetition appears in the poem:- Line 3: “enclose”
- Line 5: “unclose”
- Line 6: “closed”
- Line 7: “open,” “petal by petal,” “opens”
- Line 9: “close”
- Line 17: “closes”
- Line 18: “opens”
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“somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” 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.
- Frail
- Enclose
- Unclose
- Fragility
- Compels
- Rendering
Frail-
(Location in poem: Line 3: “in your most frail gesture”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” Speaker
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“somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond”
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More “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” Resources
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External Resources
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Modernism — An introduction to the modernist poetic movement.
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Modernism, Part II — Another brief introduction to modernism and modernist poets from Poets.org, for comparison's sake.
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The Poetry of Love — Oft considered one of the great love poets, Cummings's work naturally appears in this collection of renowned love poems.
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A Reading of the Poem — Listen to a recording of the poem read by the author himself.
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Biography of E. E. Cummings — Learn more about the poet's life and work courtesy of the Poetry Foundation.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by E. E. Cummings
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