A Deeper Meaning Of Buffalo Bill's By E. Cummings

Death is a topic that most people like to refrain from talking about. Whether it be family members, friends, or famous celebrities, we all have to face the reality that our time on Earth is limited because of death. This message is a very prevalent, yet not so up front meaning behind E.E. Cummings’ “Buffalo Bill’s”. E.E. Cumming’s often bitter and pessimistic views towards society often reflects in his work, which reveals some deeper meaning. In fact, the meaning behind this poem is often seen as difficult to understand, and without a little research into who Cummings’ work as a poet and lifetime, one may never truly understand the message the short poem sends. Through the use of an undeniably free verse style and the over exaggeration of keywords,
This is mostly due to its out of the box style, and the lack of words in the poem that make it harder to understand. The free verse style of the poem shows how to understand it through short fragmented statements and blunt word choices. Starting with the first three words of the poem, “Buffalo Bill’s defunct” gives the subject of the poem immediately, which is the death of Buffalo Bill. Immediately knowing the topic of the poem makes it somewhat more simple to determine the meaning. The next lines mainly show exaggerated descriptions and some vexation towards the death of Buffalo Bill. Stating he used to ride a “watersmooth-silver stallion”, and that he could “break onetwothreefourfive pigeonsjustlikethat” shows sarcasm through the decorative word choices and the lack of spaces in the second line. “Watersmooth” is a phrase that creates a visual description of the horse while also providing an active visual illustration of Buffalo Bill riding in on his strong stallion. This could create a tone that promotes Buffalo Bill as strong and heroic, but adding on the phrases about his shooting abilities creates the stallion statement seem more sarcastic and cross sounding. The absence of spaces in the sentence makes the tone seem annoyed and slightly ironic, like the narrator is purposely trying to sound cross with the reality of Buffalo Bill being gone. This satirical yet irritated tone stays
In “The Irony of E.E. Cummings,” written by David Ray, he dives into the idea that Cummings is not necessarily angry with the idea of Buffalo Bill being dead, but more cross over the idea of idolizing unworthy people to classify them as heroes. Ray immediately addresses the right context to understand the poem, saying that readers “... must be placed in the context of Cummings's obstinate attitude of hatred toward an American culture that invites children (and even men) to create an unworthy gallery of heroes.” (Ray 287) Ray notes that Cumming’s “obstinate”(Ray 287) view shows stubbornness on Cumming’s part, and that he would most likely not change the negative way he sees Buffalo Bill and other american heroes. Ray also refers to Cumming as one of “society’s best haters”, especially idols like Buffalo Bill who was treated as a diety for (according to Cumming’s perspective) no specific reason other than his fame. Having the knowledge that the poet is known for often seeing the world through his own specific lens and no one else’s conveys a one-sided message of glorifying the wrong people and the anger that arises from being let down when the reality of life and death sets into one’s