Uppercase or Lowercase?

[masaegu]

I know this is a random question, but it has been bugging this helpless and senile English-learner for a few hours now.

If I were to form a sentence that started with the poet's name "e. e. cummings", would I need to capitalize its first "e"?

Thanks in advance.

[RobinMask]

Post Deleted.

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by RobinMask

Yes. You would always capitalise the 'E' and the 'C' in 'Cummings', because this is a name and all names need to have a capital letter.

Thanks for a quick reply.

My point, though, is that the poet's name is often written all in lowercase in many poetry books I've read.

[Columbine]

Originally Posted by masaegu

I know this is a random question, but it has been bugging this helpless and senile English-learner for a few hours now.

If I were to form a sentence that started with the poet's name "e. e. cummings", would I need to capitalize its first "e"?

Thanks in advance.

Generally when you write names, you should use a capital for each initial, plus the start of the surname; e.g., "J. R. R. Tolkien". In the case of E. E. Cummings, you can actually use lowercase if you like, as he was famous for his deliberate misuse of capitalization. It was his philosophy that all letters were equal and it shouldn't matter which you use, so he often signed his work in lowercase lettering as a kind of grammatical rebellion. *shrug* In academic work, you should probably capitalize, but otherwise you can use lowercase if you want to make a nod towards his style.

[RobinMask]

Post Deleted.

[masaegu]

Thank you both! It's great to hear from native speakers. I was going crazy at 3 am thinking about which should be given priority, grammar or a proper noun in someone else's language. Thanks to you guys, I think I can hit the futon now.

[TalnSG]

I hate to add to your confusion, masaegu, but the example you used in the question is a special case and the rules

ONLY in the instance of e.e.cummings would the intials and last name(surname) not be capitalized. e.e.cummings was a very unusual writer and insisted that his name not be capitalized, as Columbine explained.

Even in the most formal of writing, especially if it is a discussion of literature, it should be kept in lowercase. To do otherwise would might make the reader think you were unfamiliar with him.

[dogsbody70]

Name and capitalization
Cummings' publishers and others have sometimes echoed the unconventional orthography in his poetry by writing his name in lowercase and without periods. Cummings himself used both the lowercase and capitalized versions. According to his widow, he did not (as reported in the preface of one book[25]) have his name legally changed to "e e cummings". On the contrary, he wrote to his French translator that he preferred the capitalized version ("may it not be tricksy").[26] One Cummings scholar believes that on the rare occasions that Cummings signed his name in all lowercase, he may have intended it as a gesture of humility, not as an indication that it was the preferred orthography for others to use.[27]