"somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond" was written by the American poet E. E. Cummings, first published in his 1931 collection ViVa. Cummings is best known for his love poems, and this is considered by many critics to be one of his most exemplary. The poem explores the intense and mysterious power that the speaker's beloved holds over him. Even this person's slightest gesture can emotionally unravel the speaker and then close him back up again, yet the speaker can't quite articulate why this is so. The speaker still gladly and willingly accepts this feeling of vulnerability, which is unlike anything he's ever known. Like many of Cummings's poems, "somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond" uses unconventional punctuation, capitalization, and syntax.

• Read the full text of “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond”

• “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” Summary

• “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” Themes

  • 

    The Mystery and Intensity of Love

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-20
  • 

    Love and Vulnerability

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-20

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond”

  • Lines 1-2

    somewhere i have ...
    ... have their silence:

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 3-4

    in your most ...
    ... are too near

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 5-6

    your slightest look ...
    ... myself as fingers,

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 7-8

    you open always ...
    ... skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 9-10

    or if your ...
    ... shut very beautifully,suddenly,

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 11-12

    as when the ...
    ... carefully everywhere descending;

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 13-14

    nothing which we ...
    ... your intense fragility:

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 14-16

    whose texture ...
    ... with each breathing

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 17-19

    (i do not ...
    ... than all roses)

    

    

    

    

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  • Line 20

    nobody,not even the ... such small hands

    

    

    

    

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• “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” Symbols

  • 

    Eyes

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “your eyes have their silence:”
    • Line 5: “your slightest look easily will unclose me”
    • Line 19: “the voice of your eyes”
  • 

    Roses

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 7: “you open always petal by petal myself ”
    • Line 8: “her first rose”
    • Line 11: “as when the heart of this flower imagines”
    • Line 19: “the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)”
  • 

    Closing and Opening

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 5-6: “your slightest look easily will unclose me / though i have closed myself as fingers,”
    • Lines 7-8: “you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens / (touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose”
    • Lines 9-10: “or if your wish be to close me,i and / my life will shut very beautifully,suddenly,”
    • Lines 17-18: “(i do not know what it is about you that closes / and opens”

• “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “have,” “never,” “travelled,” “gladly,” “beyond”
    • Line 2: “experience,” “silence”
    • Line 3: “frail,” “things,” “enclose”
    • Line 4: “cannot,” “near”
    • Line 5: “slightest,” “look,” “easily,” “will,” “unclose”
    • Line 6: “closed,” “myself,” “fingers”
    • Line 7: “open,” “always,” “petal,” “petal,” “myself,” “Spring,” “opens”
    • Line 8: “skilfully,” “mysteriously,” “first,” “rose”
    • Line 9: “close”
    • Line 10: “life,” “will,” “very,” “beautifully,” “suddenly”
    • Line 11: “when,” “heart,” “flower,” “imagines”
    • Line 12: “snow,” “carefully,” “everywhere,” “descending”
    • Line 13: “nothing,” “perceive,” “world,” “equals”
    • Line 14: “power,” “intense,” “fragility,” “texture”
    • Line 15: “compels,” “colour,” “countries”
    • Line 16: “rendering,” “forever,” “breathing”
    • Line 17: “not,” “know,” “closes”
    • Line 18: “opens,” “only,” “understands”
    • Line 19: “than,” “all,” “roses”
    • Line 20: “nobody,” “not,” “even,” “rain,” “such,” “small,” “hands”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “travelled,” “gladly”
    • Line 2: “experience,” “eyes,” “silence”
    • Line 3: “enclose”
    • Line 5: “unclose”
    • Line 6: “closed”
    • Line 7: “open,” “opens”
    • Line 8: “rose”
    • Line 9: “be,” “close,” “me,” “i”
    • Line 10: “life,” “very,” “beautifully,” “suddenly”
    • Line 14: “texture”
    • Line 15: “compels,” “colour,” “countries”
    • Line 16: “rendering,” “death,” “forever,” “each,” “breathing”
    • Line 17: “closes”
    • Line 18: “opens,” “only,” “understands”
    • Line 19: “all,” “roses”
    • Line 20: “small,” “hands”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2: “beyond / any”
    • Lines 5-6: “me / though”
    • Lines 7-8: “opens / (touching”
    • Lines 9-10: “and / my”
    • Lines 11-12: “imagines / the”
    • Lines 13-14: “equals / the”
    • Lines 14-15: “texture / compels”
    • Lines 17-18: “closes / and”
    • Lines 18-19: “understands / the”

  • Personification

    

    

    

    

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    Where personification appears in the poem:

    • Lines 7-8: “as Spring opens / (touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose”
    • Lines 11-12: “as when the heart of this flower imagines / the snow carefully everywhere descending;”
    • Line 16: “rendering death and forever with each breathing”
    • Line 20: “nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “somewhere i have never travelled”
    • Line 2: “your eyes have their silence”
    • Lines 3-4: “in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me, / or which i cannot touch because they are too near”
    • Line 5: “your slightest look easily will unclose me”
    • Line 7: “you open always petal by petal myself”
    • Lines 9-10: “i and / my life will shut very beautifully,suddenly,”
    • Line 11: “the heart of this flower”
    • Lines 14-16: “whose texture / compels me with the colour of its countries, / rendering death and forever with each breathing”
    • Line 19: “the voice of your eyes”
    • Line 20: “nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands”

  • Simile

    

    

    

    

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    Where simile appears in the poem:

    • Line 6: “though i have closed myself as fingers,”
    • Lines 7-8: “you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens / (touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose”
    • Lines 9-12: “i and / my life will shut very beautifully,suddenly, / as when the heart of this flower imagines / the snow carefully everywhere descending;”

  • Imagery

    

    

    

    

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    Where imagery appears in the poem:

    • Line 6: “though i have closed myself as fingers,”
    • Lines 7-8: “you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens / (touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose”
    • Lines 11-12: “as when the heart of this flower imagines / the snow carefully everywhere descending;”
    • Line 20: “nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands”

  • Juxtaposition

    

    

    

    

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    Where juxtaposition appears in the poem:

    • Line 3: “in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,”
    • Line 5: “your slightest look easily will unclose me”
    • Line 6: “closed”
    • Line 7: “open,” “opens”
    • Line 9: “close”
    • Line 16: “rendering death and forever with each breathing”
    • Lines 17-18: “closes / and opens”

  • Paradox

    

    

    

    

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    Where paradox appears in the poem:

    • Line 4: “or which i cannot touch because they are too near”
    • Line 14: “the power of your intense fragility”
    • Line 16: “rendering death and forever with each breathing”

  • Repetition

    

    

    

    

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    Where repetition appears in the poem:

    • Line 3: “enclose”
    • Line 5: “unclose”
    • Line 6: “closed”
    • Line 7: “open,” “petal by petal,” “opens”
    • Line 9: “close”
    • Line 17: “closes”
    • Line 18: “opens”

• “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” 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.

  • Frail
  • Enclose
  • Unclose
  • Fragility
  • Compels
  • Rendering
  • (Location in poem: Line 3: “in your most frail gesture”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” Speaker

• “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond”

• More “somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond” Resources

  • External Resources

    • Modernism — An introduction to the modernist poetic movement.

    • Modernism, Part II — Another brief introduction to modernism and modernist poets from Poets.org, for comparison's sake.

    • The Poetry of Love — Oft considered one of the great love poets, Cummings's work naturally appears in this collection of renowned love poems. 

    • A Reading of the Poem — Listen to a recording of the poem read by the author himself.

    • Biography of E. E. Cummings — Learn more about the poet's life and work courtesy of the Poetry Foundation. 

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by E. E. Cummings

    • anyone lived in a pretty how town

    • i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

    • in Just-

    • next to of course god america i

    • nobody loses all the time

    • O sweet spontaneous

    • since feeling is first

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