E. E. Cummings's "in Just-" celebrates the thrills, pleasures, and subtle dangers of spring—both the literal season and the symbolic time of life. Childhood, in this free verse poem, has a lot in common with the very earliest part of spring, when the world feels full of delicious, muddy potential. But the strange old "balloonman" who whistles his way through the landscape reminds readers that neither the springtime of the year nor the springtime of childhood lasts forever. Cummings first published this poem in his 1923 collection Tulips and Chimneys.
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The Full Text of “in Just-”
1in Just-
2spring when the world is mud-
3luscious the little
4lame balloonman
5whistles far and wee
6and eddieandbill come
7running from marbles and
8piracies and it's
9spring
10when the world is puddle-wonderful
11the queer
12old balloonman whistles
13far and wee
14and bettyandisbel come dancing
15from hop-scotch and jump-rope and
16it's
17spring
18and
19 the
20 goat-footed
21balloonMan whistles
22far
23and
24wee
The Full Text of “in Just-”
1in Just-
2spring when the world is mud-
3luscious the little
4lame balloonman
5whistles far and wee
6and eddieandbill come
7running from marbles and
8piracies and it's
9spring
10when the world is puddle-wonderful
11the queer
12old balloonman whistles
13far and wee
14and bettyandisbel come dancing
15from hop-scotch and jump-rope and
16it's
17spring
18and
19 the
20 goat-footed
21balloonMan whistles
22far
23and
24wee
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“in Just-” Summary
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“in Just-” Themes
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The Thrills of Spring
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Childhood Innocence, Temptation, and Sexuality
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “in Just-”
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Lines 1-5
in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman
whistles far and wee -
Lines 6-9
and eddieandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it's
spring -
Line 10
when the world is puddle-wonderful
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Lines 11-17
the queer
old balloonman whistles
far and wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing
from hop-scotch and jump-rope and
it's
spring -
Lines 18-24
and
the
goat-footed
balloonMan whistles
far
and
wee
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“in Just-” Symbols
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The Balloonman
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Spring
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“in Just-” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Juxtaposition
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Onomatopoeia
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Enjambment
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Repetition
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Parallelism
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Assonance
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Alliteration
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Allusion
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“in Just-” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Mud-luscious
- Lame
- Far and wee
- Piracies
- Puddle-wonderful
- Queer
- Goat-footed
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “in Just-”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“in Just-” Speaker
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“in Just-” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “in Just-”
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More “in Just-” Resources
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External Resources
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The E. E. Cummings Society — Visit the website of the E. E. Cummings Society, an academic group that celebrates the poet's work.
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A Brief Biography — Learn more about Cummings's life and work at the Poetry Foundation.
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Cummings on Poetry — Listen to Cummings himself describing his poetic philosophy.
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Cummings's Visual Art — Cummings wasn't just a poet, but a visual artist. Take a look at some of his paintings and drawings at the Whitney Museum's website.
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of the poem.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by E. E. Cummings
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