In "since feeling is first" by e.e. cummings, what are the metaphors he uses to express his feelings about love and death?How would you explain the...

Cummings uses language ingeniously to relate his feelings
about love and other aspects of life.  In "since feeling is first," a love poem, he uses
the metaphor of punctuation to describe his feelings.  At the very end of the poem, he
states, "for life's not a paragraph/and death I think is no parentheses."  These
metaphors lend themselves to many in-depth interpretations.  For life is not a
paragraph, that could mean that life is not a short summary of things; a paragraph is
too concise and tiny to hold all that life has.  A paragraph is limited; it can only
relate so much information.  Life is not like that--it is entirely, overwhelmingly
full.  As he states above, even "your eyelids' flutter" has so much beauty in it that he
could go on and on about it for quite some time.  Add that to all else that life offers,
and indeed, a paragraph does not suffice.  Paragraphs also follow an order, a specific
format, and life is not that predictable.

For death is no
parentheses, think of the times that you use parentheses.  Usually, you use it to insert
random, sometimes irrelevant tid-bits of information that aren't really pertinent to the
main idea or point.  You can take the paranthetical reference out and the meaning of the
sentence still remains.  Death is not like that at all--it is a huge, dramatic,
meaningful event.  It doesn't just slip in and happen to people and not change the lives
of those around them.  It is more like a bolded declaration with an exlamation
point--DEATH!!--instead of a parenthetical aside--(death).  Death is not a side-note on
life, it is a definite end, something that changes everything and impacts everyone.  To
refer to it as parentheses is to ignore its impact and
importance.

I hope that helped; good
luck!