“You're not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who says it”-Malcom X. This quote by Malcom X explains that one should not become so blind that they become a slave to their own country. This theme is expressed deeply in the poem Next To Of Course God America I by E.E Cummings. Cummings expresses his negative view on the role of citizens supporting the war in a very different but effective way. His use of punctuation or lack of punctuation throughout the poem is one way he gives off his message. Secondly, Cummings grammar and spelling is used in an odd but noteworthy way to drive his point home. Lastly, syntax or his choice of words is another strategy Cummings uses in order to make sure his message is delivered strongly. In the …show more content…
To start, punctuation is used radically in “Next To of Course God America I” by Cummings in order to denigrate and tear down the idea of blind patriotism in America. This is shown through the lack of punctuation throughout the poem. The lack of punctuation used in this poem hints that Cummings is critical of the speaker featured in the majority of the poem. This is shown with the only punctuation used in the entirety of the speaker’s quote. This quote in the poem is ended with a question mark. "shall the voice of liberty be mute?", is the ending to the speaker’s quote. This question mark is important because it shows two alternate meanings. The “mute” is suggesting the soldiers that have died at war and had no say in
The modern world is full of social issues and people use all different kinds of way to express the way that they feel and how they see things. Bruce Dawe uses his poem ‘War Without End’ and Christopher Mann with his poem ‘Country Matters’ to convey important messages.
If the soldiers who fought in the American Revolution were alive today to see what our nation has accomplished, they would cry tears of joy. These people defined their freedom as having an independent country where everyone would reunite and live under a set of laws where they all have equal rights. The novel, 1776, emphasizes the emotions that Americans had when the Declaration of Independence was signed through the following lines, “The year 1776, celebrated as the birth of the nation and for the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was for those who carried the fight for independence forward a year of all-too-few victories, of sustained suffering, disease, hunger, desertion, cowardice, disillusionment, defeat, terrible discouragement, and fear, as they would never for...
In the first poem "Let America be America" by Langston Hughes the speaker is talking about how America is not what it seems from what everyone thought it was. In the lines it states,
This quote also appeals to ethos and pathos. By mentioning God, he is able to convince the reader that his cause is just and he is not acting in his own interests, and by using emotionally charged words and phases, such as “created equal”, “endowed by their Creator”, “certain unalienable rights”, and “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”, he makes the reader feel as though they are important, and not just another British subject with no
Vivid imagery is one way with which writers protest war. Crane uses imagery to glorify, and shortly thereafter demean and undercut war, through the use of imagery, by placing positive and negative images of war close to eachother. “Blazing flag of the regiment,” and “the great battle God,” are placed before “A field where a thousand corpses lie.” (A) These lines’ purposes are to put images into the reader’s head, of how great war may appear, and then displaying that there are too many casualties involved with it. In Dulce Et Decorum Est, a man is described dyin...
“To His Excellency General Washington,” by Phillis Wheatley, is a poem about America’s destiny for freedom and its resolution to fight for liberty. Wheatley addresses this poem to General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. Throughout the poem, Wheatley depicts America as a self-reliant, heaven-favored nation. For example, a divine goddess leads the country in a fight for peace and liberty. The poem correlates America’s army to that of the powerful Greek wind god, Eolus. Wheatley instructs Washington to continue forward, to “Proceed” in the cause for independence (Line 39). She announces that even other countries watch, eager to see America succeed in its quest for liberty. Phillis Wheatley conveys America as an exemplary, independent country that deserves freedom through the use of personification, symbolism, similes, and diction.
For years literature has molded and shaped the minds of many Americans for better or worse. Literature gives us entertainment and knowledge about things we may not have the opportunity to experience in our everyday lives. These written works have the power to influence readers and alter one’s opinions. This is just what Louis Simpson aimed to do, he was skeptical of the idea that America was picture perfect. During his life, he served in World War II, experiencing it all primarily. The victory of World War II left Americans feeling on top and unstoppable. Simpson fed off of this overwhelming optimism translating it into his poems (Faville). His goal was to pick apart the fantasized image we created for our country and expose the real truth
In his poem Cummings integrated an example of the ideas war propaganda conveys in a humorous but yet serious form. The line: “Who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter/ They did not stop to think they died instead”, clearly builds up on the fact that apparently due to war propaganda it is honourable to die for one’s country. However, in order to convey his opinion and disaffection about this idea the speaker mocks these by using words of sarcasm and irony. Besides this he conveys the urgent message that patriotic war propaganda is a lie and could lead to death, which will be everything else than
Edward Estlin Cummings was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on October 14, 1894. He earned a BA from Harvard and volunteered to go to France during World War I with the Ambulance Corps. After the war, he stayed in Paris, writing and painting, and later returned to the US. He died in Conway, New Hampshire, in 1962. Cummings is one of the most innovative contemporary poets, he used unconventional punctuation and capitalization, and unusual line, word, and even letter placements - namely, ideograms. Cummings' most difficult form of poetry is probably the ideogram; it is extremely terse and it combines both visual and auditory elements. There may be sounds or characters on the page that cannot be verbalized or cannot convey the same message if pronounced and not read. Four of Cummings' poems "la," "mortals," "!blac," and "swi" illustrate the ideogram form quite well. Cummings utilizes unique syntax in these poems in order to convey messages visually as well as verbally.
Edward Estlin Cummings, abbreviated to E. E. Cummings, although he was more popularly known in all lowercase letters as e. e. cummings, was an admirably influential American poet, author, playwright, and essayist. His renowned experimentation with poetic form and language in order to create his own personal style is his most prominent accomplishment. Often, he revamped and combined words to create new ones of his own style and in his own likeness. Cummings also bent grammatical and linguistic rules to accomplish his own purposes; he incorporated the usage of words like “if” and “because” as nouns, something odd and unheard of in his time period. He was first sneered at, jeering faces refusing to accept his twisted style as poetry, but quickly his work rose to such a revered status that it shone alongside the ubiquitous writings of the great Robert Frost. The entire collection of Cummings work includes a huge number of approximately 2900 poems, as well as several novels, and countless diary entries of eloquence and skill from even the earliest years of his childhood. E. E. Cummings was, in truth, a genius, for he spent his time inventing new ways of arranging poetry in certain line types, intercepting idea with parentheses and writing backwards and in spiraling loops to emphasize his intricately concealed main points. In his time, this was extremely uncouth and unheard of, and as he steadily grew to become a famous name worldwide, more wanted to read his works. The underlying meanings in his poems were so obscure, it was hard to see past them the very first time one laid eyes on them, as it was to see past the psychical barriers E. E. Cummings hid behind when in public, and sometimes even with those he truly cared about. This sec...
Rhetorically, Douglass was a master of irony, as illustrated by his famous Fourth of July speech in 1852: "This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn," he declared. Then he accused his unsuspecting audience in Roch...
E. E. Cumings poem “next to of course god america i” is a satirical sonnet. Also, the rhyme scheme of the poem is ABABCDCDEFEFE and consists of fourteen line of which thirteen are grouped together. The literal meaning of the poem is that of a patriot praising America and who admires the beauty of war. In contrast, the analytical meaning of the poem is that Cummings dislikes war and that patriotism is a foolish thing that is responsible for the deaths of patriots who went to war. This analysys is drawn from the sarcastic form in which the poem seems to be written.
He starts off by stating there are contradictions that lay within the nation. He explains that before the war, the country was living oppressed and the motives for the war was equality and freedom for all. When he says “ But that days has happily
In his poem, Sandburg deliberately uses a free-verse style of writing. This style is better-suited for Sandburg’s purpose in writing the poem because it directly emphasizes the point of each line while appealing to the common man. The first line of the poem expresses, “Hope is a tattered flag and a dream out of time” (Sandburg 120). Here, “tattered” provides an indication of conflict. The “dream out of time” is signifying that the dream of hope is of another era. During the time of the depression, the American people had so many troubles that they felt hope was unreachable to them. Mahony explains that this image “portrays hope as a survivor, emerging not unscathed from battle” (129). Sandburg uses clear and understandable language in his free-verse style to get his point across to all types of people in an understandable manner.
“The greatest poets are those with memories so great that they extend beyond their strongest experiences to their minutest observations of people and things far outside their own self-centeredness.” This quote said by Stephen Spender depicts a great poet as someone who utilizes their past observations to increase their knowledge about people, nature, love, and life. Like a great poet, E.E. Cummings employed his past experiences in his poetry and life. Known as one of the preeminent poets of the 20th century, E.E. Cummings poetry has received an array of both positive and negative criticism. Nonetheless, Cummings’s poetry has inspired many poets and authors with his liberal views on love, nature, and religion along with his modern writing style. Although many criticized his contemporary style, E.E. Cummings modernized the traditional views of love, nature, and religion in poetry by emphasizing his contemporary beliefs, while incorporating a uniquely modern writing style.