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“In Just” By E.E. Cummings Research by: Kate Young & Emily Maiers  Pan was the Greek god of hunters, shepherds, country folk, domestic animals and fertility. Since shepherds traveled far with their herds of sheep, Pan was associated with roaming and distant places. From the waist down Pan was a goat. He is famous for playing a flute made of seven reeds called a syrinx. The Romans called him faunus and in February they held a fertility festival called Lupercalia, where young men would whip young women wishing to bear children with whips made of goat skin. The women would write love letters back to the men who had whipped them, today we would call these notes valentines.  This poem is a modern allusion to the ritual of Lupercalia. It shows how Pan uses the flute to call together the boys and girls after the ceremony. We know it’s modern because the children are playing games (i.e. hop scotch, marbles, jump-rope) that kids play today. · Anapestic; however, structurally, the feet are separated. Anapestic is common in lyrical poetry and is said to be rolling or galloping. Pan is half goat, half man; therefore, the poem mimics him galloping through the woods. · The poem is very halting, and is often interrupted by abrupt endings to the lines. · The poem refers to Pan as the balloonman, which is a reference to hot air balloons or possibly the operators of hot air balloons. Both Pan and hot air balloon operators are constantly in motion wherever they feel like flying. They tend to be isolated and constantly view the life below them. By connecting Pan to an operator they are portraying him as a sort of guide to shepherds and possibly a moral booster. · By describing Pan as lame, queer and old the poem highlights the irony that the festival held in his honor is all about togetherness while he himself is always isolated not only by his wandering nature but by his physical differences and status as a God. · <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The need for togetherness is universal. By whistling “far and wee” he calls to all people everywhere. ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scattered, which represents the wild, roaming nature of Pan. ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The gaps between the words “far and wee” could possibly represent his movement throughout the trees and nature. ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He puts an emphasis on the opening lines “In Just-Spring” by leaving a space before continuing the rest of the poem to put the reader in the mindset of a specific time. ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The repetition and isolation of the signs of spring (i.e. puddle-wonderful, mud-luscious) emphasize the importance of timing. In the poem he is calling the children together just like how the festival of Lupercalia is held in February which is the beginning of spring, a time of new life. He is calling the children together after the festival when the signs of life that came of the fertility from the festival are evident. ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Everything is dead in winter as people stay nestled their houses and all signs of life (i.e. nature) die for the season; however, in spring life is revived and abundant. ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The names of the children are rushed together to represent their gender as a whole without focusing so much on the individual person. ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Poem is shaped like a tree, perhaps the speaker was caught in the rain and hid under a tree. While under the tree, he heard Pan playing his flute and witnessed the children coming together, and heard all of the organic sounds of the forest. ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Reader Response: o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The myth adds meaning to the poem by providing a back-story to the events that happen in the poem. o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The setting of the poem (spring) is after Lupercalia which takes place in February o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The character of Pan or Faunus evokes a sense of sympathy from the reader
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Myth: **
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Poem: **
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 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sense **<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">-
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 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Meaning: **