This Little Bride Groom Are
this little bride & groom are
e e cummings criticises marriage in his poem this little bride & groom are through the descriptions of a wedding cake. Cummings tries to convey the message that marriages are like wedding cakes; thin rings, which appear unstable, on top of a very sturdy foundation but is trapped inside a layer of cellulose in order to preserve something that doesn’t exist.
The first two stanzas of the poem described the bride and groom’s clothes. The groom was “dressed/in black candy” (lines 3-4) and the bride was “veiled with candy white/carrying a bouquet of/pretend flowers” (lines 5-8). These descriptions suggest that the bride and groom being described are actually the little figures seen on top of most wedding cakes. Succeeding stanzas describe in great detail the wedding cake itself, such as the different sizes of each ring. The bride and groom figures “stands on/a thin ring” (line 11), which suggests instability since it is like standing on thin ice. This thin ring is on top of a “much/less thin very much more/big & kinder of ring” (lines 11-13), making it more prone to breaking. However, the third and bottom ring of the cake is “much more than very much/biggest & thickest & kindest” (lines 15-16). This bottom ring is the foundation of the whole cake, which is why it is the thickest and biggest of all rings. Looking at the cake as a whole, the first two rings are the most unstable ones due to their thinness but they are both supported by the large size of the last ring, which serves as the foundation. The last stanza states that “everything is protected by/cellophane against anything” (Lines 18-19). Cellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. It has a low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria and water. Since the cake is protected by cellulose, it can be inferred that the cake is clean and fresh. However, since the cake a metaphor for marriage, the cellulose prevents anything from getting in and
e e cummings criticises marriage in his poem this little bride & groom are through the descriptions of a wedding cake. Cummings tries to convey the message that marriages are like wedding cakes; thin rings, which appear unstable, on top of a very sturdy foundation but is trapped inside a layer of cellulose in order to preserve something that doesn’t exist.
The first two stanzas of the poem described the bride and groom’s clothes. The groom was “dressed/in black candy” (lines 3-4) and the bride was “veiled with candy white/carrying a bouquet of/pretend flowers” (lines 5-8). These descriptions suggest that the bride and groom being described are actually the little figures seen on top of most wedding cakes. Succeeding stanzas describe in great detail the wedding cake itself, such as the different sizes of each ring. The bride and groom figures “stands on/a thin ring” (line 11), which suggests instability since it is like standing on thin ice. This thin ring is on top of a “much/less thin very much more/big & kinder of ring” (lines 11-13), making it more prone to breaking. However, the third and bottom ring of the cake is “much more than very much/biggest & thickest & kindest” (lines 15-16). This bottom ring is the foundation of the whole cake, which is why it is the thickest and biggest of all rings. Looking at the cake as a whole, the first two rings are the most unstable ones due to their thinness but they are both supported by the large size of the last ring, which serves as the foundation. The last stanza states that “everything is protected by/cellophane against anything” (Lines 18-19). Cellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. It has a low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria and water. Since the cake is protected by cellulose, it can be inferred that the cake is clean and fresh. However, since the cake a metaphor for marriage, the cellulose prevents anything from getting in and