Analysis by: Laurie Donnelly

the boys i mean are not refined by E.E.Cummigs

the boys i mean are not refined
they go with girls who buck and bite
they do not give a fuck for luck
they hump them thirteen times a night

one hangs a hat upon her tit
one carves a cross on her behind
they do not give a shit for wit
the boys i mean are not refined

they come with girls who bite and buck
who cannot read and cannot write
who laugh like they would fall apart
and masturbate with dynamite

the boys i mean are not refined
they cannot chat of that and this
they do not give a fart for art
they kill like you would take a piss

they speak whatever’s on their mind
they do whatever’s in their pants
the boys i mean are not refined
they shake the mountains when they dance

In the first line of this poem E.E.Cummings says that boys are not refined. Refined is defined as “having or showing well-bred feeling”, but in the poem he is saying that the boys are not refined. E.E.Cummings is suggesting that boys do not show feelings or any class for that matter, they act upon impulse. “They go with girls that buck and bite”. I think that this part of the poem suggest that when boys are choosing a girl to be with, they do not care about choosing someone they can see themselves with for the rest of their lives or a girl that has a good personality, they just want a girl that is good in bed, which is usually a “bad girl”. The next line is implying that boys do not care for passionate, love making; they just want to have sex and be done with it. Finally the last line is saying that boys will have sex as many times as possible a night. They will have as much sex as their bodies will possibly let them.

The first line in the second stanza is basically saying that in a boys mind, a girl is a piece of furniture. Her feelings and emotions do not matter, and boys think that they can use her for their pleasure any time of day, when it is good for them. The second line in the second stanza makes me a little bit unsure but seems to be one of two things. I think it either means that the boys “carve” a place on the girls behind that they want or that the boys always target the behind of a girl so that they don’t have to look at the girl and pretend to show emotion. The third line is saying that boys don’t care about smarts, or feelings, all they want is the bigger picture. A girl can be as dumb as a blade of grass but as long as she’s pretty and good in bed she’s good to go. Then he goes on to prove his point that boys are not refined.

Throughout the whole third stanza E.E.Cummings is talking about how boys like their girls. They want a girl that is good in bed, a “bad girl”. They want a girl that will have nothing to say because she is so stupid to come up with anything. They don’t want a girl who will be trying to talk about world peace and solving world hunger while their in bed. They want someone who will shut up and tell him how good he is. They want a girl that can make them feel good about themselves by laughing at all of their jokes. They want a girl that thinks they are so funny and that they are the funniest person ever. I believe that the last line in the third stanza is saying that boys want a girl that is explosive. Boys want a girl that is “good to go”, ready at any time of day to have a good time.

The fourth stanza goes on to say once again that boys are not refined. They don’t know how to have an intelligent conversation for a long period of time. They don’t want to have an intelligent conversation for a long period of time. They would rather do something that involves a “hands on” approach then sit around and talk. E.E.Cummings’ goes on to say that boys do not care about art. Art, in a boys mind, is drawings that don’t matter. Boys think that art is insignificant and it really has no point. Boys don’t care about buying famous paintings to put in their house, they would rather put a poster of Scarface on their wall. Finally he says that they have no remorse. They could kill a man like we would take a piss. Boys could shoot someone one day and not have any regrets. Boys would say, you made me mad so your dead, and be done with it.

The final stanza is saying that boys don’t think twice about what they’re about to say, they just say it. They say what they want, when they want, and to whomever they want to say it to. “They do whatever’s in their pants”, means that whenever they want to have sex they will. Boys will find a girl that doesn’t have a personality, and doesn’t have a brain and they will have sex with that girl just to satisfy their needs. They don’t care about looking for that one special girl they just want to satisfy their needs and be done. Then he says once again that the boys are not refined. Boys don’t show their feelings or emotions. The final line of the poem, the most confusing line of the poem to me, “they shake the mountains when they dance”. This line could mean a couple of things, one being that when they walk around everyone notices their presence. Another would be a more literal approach; when boys dance they dance so bad that they could shake mountains. The final and most concrete meaning would be that they care so little about everything that they could “shake up” a girls life and not care.