Next to of course god america i - 1300 Words

â€Å"Next to of course god america i† is a poem by E. E. Cummings that satirizes the arrogant adamancy with which politicians speak of patriotism in order to fabricate an idealistic sense of national pride. Saturated with uncommon poetic practices, Cummings exploits unconventional syntax, lack of punctuation, and an overall rushed, seemingly nonsensical form of writing to emphasize the satirical tone of the poem and to poke fun at the absurdity of the lengths to which patriotism goes. â€Å"Next to of course god america i† toys with diction, syntax, punctuation, and form in a way that makes reading the poem difficult, much the same way as Cummings finds it difficult to understand the message about patriotism the speaker in the first stanza, a†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, the poem breaks up the speaker’s dialogue at key points. In line 9, for example, the word â€Å"beautiful† used to describe the selfless actions of soldiers voluntarily dyin g for their country is split between two lines, demonstrating that the words the politician is speaking hold no strength or validity and that there is no beauty in dying even for your country The lack of proper punctuation that mergers lines together and the extended length of the first stanza lends an air of nonsense, adding to the idea that this presumably patriotic speech is empty of any meaning; the speaker is simply rambling on, â€Å"and so forth† (line 2), and reciting worn out, clichà © sayings such as â€Å"heroic happy dead† in line 10 that ring hollow (â€Å"E.E. Cummings,† n.d.). The last line denotes a new speaker who serves to expose the corruption of the first speaker by stating that the politician â€Å"[drinks] rapidly a glass of water† because he just thoughtlessly, and nervously, attempted to opaque the fallacies of patriotism with propaganda (Brierley, 2013). The poem begins with the line â€Å"next to of course god america i† that can be seen as a juxtaposition between America and the people. The words â€Å"god,† â€Å"america,† and â€Å"i† are placed in order of decreasing importance, thus implying that patriotism is a natural duty, for America as a whole is more important than any one person. Furthermore, by presenting â€Å"god† and â€Å"america† in lowercase letters, Cummings allows the reader to inferShow MoreRelatedNext to of Course God America I by E.E. Cummings Essay645 Words   |  3 PagesNext to of Course God America I by E.E. Cummings e. e. cummings poem, next to of course god america i, is a wonderful example of stylistic variation in a text. Once again, we see his skill and mastery at manipulating the English language in order to foreground a thought and turn it into a commentary on society. As with all of cummings works, there is evidence of a multitude of variances and deviances at work, however, I shall concentrate on the area of language variance, more specificallyRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem I Buffalo Bill s Essay1494 Words   |  6 Pages With the three poems â€Å"next to of course god america i†, â€Å"the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls†, and â€Å"[Buffalo Bill’s] e e cummings paints a very grim picture of American ideals and shows his disdain for much of the cultural identity that Americans share. In the poems â€Å"next to of course god america i† and â€Å"the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls† he lampoons politicians and a certain cl ass of women. 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The theme of both poems deals with the need for citizens to become more outspoken and follow their own beliefs instead of simply following their country. However, each poem addresses a topic that isn’t found in the other poem, and the poems themselves are structurallyRead MoreSonnet Analysis1471 Words   |  6 PagesWhereas Cummings uses his fourteen lines to critique post-World War I society in his poem, â€Å"next to of course god america i,† Millay reclaims the sonnet from the male gaze and writes from the perspective of the liberated 20th-century woman in â€Å"Oh, oh, you will be sorry.† Bringing the classical poetic form into the 1920’s, both poets alter the traditional sonnet to provide a modern critique of social issues in early 20th Century America. E.E. Cummings witnessed first-hand the devastation of war-tornRead More Dulce et Decorum Est Essay1748 Words   |  7 PagesWilfred Owen’s â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† and E. E Cummings’, â€Å"next to of course god america i† are poems that critique patriotic propaganda. Both poems use words and images to effectively depict the influence that patriotic propaganda has on war. â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† uses descriptive words to create realistic images of the horrors soldiers are faced with during combat, whereas â€Å"next to of course god america i† uses sarcasm to inform readers that the abuse of propaganda can be used to manipulate othersRead MoreHow Christians Influenced The United States1690 Words   |  7 PagesA lot has happened over the this course learning everything from music in the 1960s to interrogation techniques of the current. The last ting we learned about our country is how Christians played a role in it. The history of we came to be in America, how we have an influence and the social enigmas with wanting it in politics. The main things we covered in the past eight weeks is how different events have effected or influenced the United States. 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