Stypula 1

Harrison Stypula

Dr. Nicole Peeler

SEL 237

9/22/2022

Observing Cycles of Life and Appreciation of Time in E. E. Cummings “anyone lived in

a pretty how town”

At first upon reading E. E. Cummings poem “anyone lived in a pretty how town” readers

may be left with a feeling of confusion from the unorthodox wording and lack of common

grammar rules present in the poem. After multiple readings of it, the reader then may start to get

a better sense of what is going on in the poem; the idea that it is about two characters living in a

village and the tragic course their lives take. However, instead of just being a story about two ill-

fated lovers, the poem can also be seen as a metaphor for the cyclical nature of human existence,

and how we should appreciate the time we have in life and use it wisely. Instead of being a very

earthly story about two living, breathing people, the poem attempts to give a sense of order to the

never-ending cycles of life and death.

The poem itself takes us to a humble village of farmers and begins with the character of

anyone, an outcast from their society, who later becomes the partner and lover of noone, another

ostracized figure in this village. The pair live their lives content until the death of anyone, at

which point noone dies of grief at her loss. The other members of the society ignore this strange

couple and carry on with their mundane lives, paying only enough attention to them to dig

shallow graves to bury them. This summary of the story often is translated as a commentary on

how society treats the unusual members of it, and “Others” them if they are not completely

ignored as anyone and noone were.

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The way the poem is typically interpreted is not something that should be considered

wrong, but instead, something that can be built on to. Having said that, I would like to

completely disregard this entire concept of anyone and noone being singular characters in a

story-like form, and instead look at it in a far broader manner, one in which anyone and noone

represent everyone.

Looking first at the use of cycles, there is a heavy description of how time passes us by.

With the repetition of seasons, “spring summer autumn winter,” in the first stanza (3) and

“summer autumn winter spring” in the last (34) describes the passing of the passage of time as it

would be relevant to the farmers of the village, which is accompanied by the passing of the hours

with the chiming of the bells. It also seems to represent the full cycle of a year, or perhaps many

years, with spring being first at the beginning and last at the end. Additionally, besides the

significance of the seasons changing, including the need to harvest crops, the cycles of the moon

and the movement of celestial bodies also provides an example of time passing and the decay of

each day from morning to night, as referenced with the further cycle language of “sun moon stars

rain” and other nearly identical lines (Cummings 8). Repetition of the “sowing” and “reaping”

throughout the poem as well supports the theme that we all march along through the seasons of

life from seeds being sown at birth to eventually being reaped from life.

A closer examination of the lines suggests that besides being a representation of the circle

of life and the passing of time, the farming metaphor can also be applied to how we as a society

plant the seeds for our future. How the village in the poem “sowed their isn’t” gives the

impression of how sowing “isn’t[s]” is equal to sowing negative thoughts and sentiments that

will be reaped in return later in life (Cummings 7). By the end of the poem on line 35, “reaped

their sowing and went their came” gives us the image of their efforts in life coming to fruition
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with the reaping, and “went their came” seeming to signify their departure from the tangible

world into the spiritual one (Cummings 35). This metaphor of the villagers informs us of how

quickly life can move, and that inevitably it will end the same for all of us.

The bizarre use of bell imagery also helps in unraveling the deeper meanings behind the

poem, including how the bell’s toll can symbolize more than just the passage of time. The line

“(with up so floating many bells down)” stands out at first as being a reference to tolling bells,

representing the passing of time, but can also provide even more insight into how quickly life

passes by and the ways we may take it for granted (Cummings 2). In a broad, general sense the

tolling of bells can most notably signify literal weddings and funerals. Both symbolize

milestones, and we’re also given the sight of people being wed with the lines “someones married

their everyones / laughed their cryings and did their dance” to further illustrate this milestone

directly in the poem (Cummings lines 17-18). Although the ringing of the bells is not mentioned

explicitly at the weddings in the poem, the tradition of it at such events can be inferred. Such a

specific point to include the use of both weddings and funerals in the poem seems to directly

indicate the author marking these as almost lifelong calendar reminders of the passage of time.

With this concept in mind of how the chiming of bells can symbolize our lives moving forward,

the lines “how children are apt to forget to remember / with up so floating many bells down)”

can be viewed as a warning of how children don’t often think about things like the constant

tolling of the metaphorical bell, or how quickly life will pass them by (Cummings 23-24). The

bells which are previously “floating” will so quickly ring “down” the passing of time and

eventually become a marker for their own exit from the tangible world.

The metaphorical characters of anyone and noone serve a valuable purpose in Cummings'

poem, representing what can happen to us and others depending on how we treat other people
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and ourselves in life. The familiar proverb of you reap what you sow is very apparent here as a

memento mori of sorts for how we live our lives in the short time we have. Furthering this idea,

the way in which anyone and noone are seemingly ignored after they die as “busy folk buried

them side by side” adds to this concept of getting out of life what is put into it (Cummings 27).

The “busy folk” who quickly buried and forgot about them can be seen to represent those in our

own lives who could just as easily find life too busy to truly care about anyone besides

themselves. It shows not only how these two metaphorical characters are being mistreated, but

also what will inevitably happen to the rest of the villagers, as they are too busy to truly care

when one of their own dies. This passage shows just how important it is to treat others mindfully.

In that light, another common social concept, the golden rule, can be interpreted quite clearly

here as well. Without treating others the way that we would wish to be treated individuals may

find those around them are too busy to provide help in times of need or even remember them in

death as in the case of anyone and noone.

Additionally, it is a warning against forgetfulness, as the children “forget to remember” to

appreciate life while they have it and be mindful of time (Cummings 23). The root of a rushed

society such as that described in the previous section is found within the forgetfulness and self-

centeredness instilled in childhood. In the end, it is a commentary on how we treat each other

(and ourselves included) and how we appreciate what we have while we have it. 
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Works Cited

Cummings, E. E. "anyone lived in a pretty how town." 1940, Poets.org.

https://poets.org/poem/anyone-lived-pretty-how-town. Accessed 3 Sept. 2022.