Extended Metaphor
She Being Brand New–by E.E. Cummings
In this poem, Cummings uses a brilliantly precise conceit to compare the breaking in of a new car to clunky sex with an inexperienced woman.
Fred E. H. Schroeder explains,
“There is no point at which the poem is obscene on the surface, but nonetheless it must be classified as one of E. E. Cummings’ most obscene poems, because of the intimacy and embarrassing accuracy of the description. Despite the high good humor and the apparent superficiality of the poem, it is, like most of Cummings’ other obscene poems, ironic and satirical. This time the satire is directed at the aesthetic perfection of the love act in poetry, and, I suppose, at the untruthfulness of modesty, because in this poem the consummation of love is technically imperfect.”
Automobiles in the 1920s were closely linked with the idea of sexual liberty and debauchery, and Cummings exploits this association in this sexually charged poem.
Obscenity and Its Function in the Poetry of E. E. Cummings
Author: Fred E. H. Schroeder
Source: The Sewanee Review, Vol. 73, No. 3 (Summer, 1965), pp. 469-478 Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Where else do we find the connotation of a woman’s sexuality and automobiles?
Can you think of some other “risqué” topics we shouldn’t talk about openly, but when put into an Extended Metaphor we are able to express our thoughts/feelings in a way that invites an audience?