A detailed line by line analysis of the poem "nobody loses all the time" created by a 90% matric 2020 English HL student (top 1% in the subject).
Explains the meanings of lines, figures of speech used, structure and more.
‘nobody loses all the time’ -E.E Cummings (1894-1962)
i had an uncle named
Sol who was a born failure and
nearly everybody said he should have gone
into vaudeville perhaps because my Uncle Sol could
sing McCann He Was A Diver on Xmas Eve like Hell Itself which
may or may not account for the fact that my Uncle
Sol indulged in that possibly most inexcusable
of all to use a highfalootin phrase
luxuries that is or to
wit farming and be
it needlessly
added Failing and winning
my Uncle Sol’s farm Humour
failed because the chickens
ate the vegetables so Upper and lowercase letters
my Uncle Sol had a
chicken farm till the Punctuation
skunks ate the chickens when
my Uncle Sol
had a skunk farm but
the skunks caught cold and
died and so
my Uncle Sol imitated the
skunks in a subtle manner
or by drowning himself in the watertank
but somebody who’d given my Uncle Sol a Victor
Victrola and records while he lived presented to
him upon the auspicious occasion of his decease a
scrumptious not to mention splendiferous funeral with
tall boys in black gloves and flowers and everything and
i remember we all cried like the Missouri
when my Uncle Sol’s coffin lurched because
somebody pressed a button
(and down went
my Uncle
Sol
and started a worm farm)
Title
Even somebody who fails often has the chance of success (uplifting idea). However, the
tone in which the story is told is so dark and tongue-in-cheek: in Sol’s life there is no real
success (letdown). Lowercase ’n’ further enhances this disempowerment of Sol.
, i had an uncle named
From the start, Sol is positioned as a loser: pitiful (shown by the disempowering
lowercase ‘u’). The speaker is Sol’s nephew.
Sol who was a born failure and
His name is Latin for sun = life giver (biting, sarcastic twist). From the moment Sol was
born his fate was to be unsuccessful.
nearly everybody said he should have gone
Most people felt that Sol made bad choices in life. However, not everyone, showing that
he even failed at being a joke.
into vaudeville perhaps because my Uncle Sol could
He should have gone into slapstick theatre because his life was a joke. He should have
tried to be someone else because who he was was not working.
sing McCann He Was A Diver on Xmas Eve like Hell Itself which
Long, unnecessary song title. Colloquial simile: Sol was a brilliantly terrible singer.
may or may not account for the fact that my Uncle
Apparent fakeness. Pseudo-serious tone. Speaker ponders his uncle’s plight.
Stanza
Enjambment between stanzas represent the choppy, chaotic, fragmented flow of Sol’s
life: he was a figure of ridicule. This is enhanced by the stanza style.
Sol indulged in that possibly most inexcusable
‘Indulge’- to enjoy excess pleasure. ‘Inexcusable’- cannot be justified. Hyperbolic formal
language is used in line 7,8,9 to ridicule Sol’s desire to farm because was destined to fail.
The speaker is also showing off by being bombastic in terms of his writing skills.
of all to use a highfalootin phrase
‘Highfalootin’- pompous/pretentious. Speaker is belittling Sol’s desire to farm as he is
known to fail.
luxuries that is or to
Sol saw farming as a luxury. Although the product may be luxurious, the process is
certainly not. Speaker is mocking Sol for only picturing the end product.
wit farming and be
it needlessly
Snarky, sarcastic tone: obviously Sol will fail at farming.
added
Ending stanza in the middle of a thought creates tension and wonder.
Stanza
Speaker ridicules Sol through language.
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