Question:

Four lines of text from a poem by E. E. Cummings is given below.

may come home with smooth round stone

as small as a world and as large as alone

for whatever we may lose (like a you or a me)

its always ourselves we find at sea
One of the four lines is depicted in the images below. Identify the image which correctly represents one line of the poem.

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Each image is really one line of the poem flipped upside down and stretched into a strip, not a random shape, so the fastest method is to mentally flip it back the right way up and read the letters directly instead of comparing silhouettes. Look first for any image that shows a bracket mark, only one line of the poem uses brackets, and that image can be matched or ruled out immediately before checking the rest letter by letter. Read left to right in short bursts of two or three letters at a time rather than trying to take in the whole flipped strip at once.
Updated On: Aug 14, 2026
  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
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The Correct Option is B

Approach Solution - 1

Step 1: Understanding the style of E. E. Cummings' poetry.
E. E. Cummings is known for his unique style, where the arrangement of words and punctuation often conveys the meaning and emotion of the poem. His poetry frequently breaks traditional rules of syntax and structure.
Step 2: Analyzing the images.
(A) Image A: This image correctly represents one line of the poem, maintaining the structure and rhythm of Cummings' unique style.
(B) Image B: This image is also correct, as it captures the specific layout and flow that aligns with the poem's sentiment.
(C) Image C: This does not match the style of the poem as closely as A and B.
(D) Image D: This is incorrect, as the visual layout does not correspond with the structure of Cummings' poem.
Step 3: Conclusion.
The correct answer (B) as they correctly represent one line of the poem with the style and structure of E. E. Cummings.
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Approach Solution -2

Concept:
  • Each image is the same short line of the poem stretched into one continuous strip and then flipped upside down, so it looks like a strange pattern instead of normal writing. Instead of trying to read each image as a picture, turning it back the right way up and reading it as text directly is a faster and more reliable method.

Step 1: Recognise what is actually being shown.
Every image is built from tall, thin vertical strokes packed close together, which is exactly what happens when a line of ordinary handwriting or print is flipped upside down and slightly stretched. The small hooks and curls hanging below the main strokes in some images are actually the tops of letters like the loop of an l or an h, now pointing downward because the whole line has been turned over.

Step 2: Turn the mental image the right way up before comparing anything.
Rather than guessing from the upside down shape, flip each image around in your mind so the tall strokes point up the way normal writing does, then try to read the individual letters left to right as plain text. One of the four images clearly contains a curved bracket mark at its edge, which is a giveaway, since only one line of the poem uses brackets around a phrase.

Step 3: Match each flipped line against the four given lines of the poem.
The image with the bracket mark can only be the line that reads for whatever we may lose, like a you or a me, since that is the only line in the poem written with brackets, so that image can be set aside straight away. Reading the remaining three flipped strips letter by letter and word by word, and comparing them against the three remaining lines of the poem, only image B lines up cleanly from the first word to the last, while the other two remaining images each break down into letters that do not match any full line correctly.

Final Answer: Option B
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