what would the title "next to of course god america i" mean?

by Jennings Bailey III 8 min read

E.E. Cummings “next to of course god america i” is a poem about patriotism and the war. The poem starts off with the speaker being someone that is a patriot and feels strongly about America. As the poem progresses it takes a different approach becoming very sarcastic.

“next to of course god america i” Summary
The speaker then upholds that people should praise the glory of America in whatever terms suit them. To illustrate this, the speaker spouts off a mixture of gibberish and colloquial phrases meant to illustrate just how much the speaker loves America.

Full Answer

What is the poem next to of course God America about?

Jan 01, 2015 · E.E. Cummings “next to of course god america i” is a poem about patriotism and the war. The poem starts off with the speaker being someone that is a patriot and feels strongly about America. As the poem progresses it takes a different approach becoming very sarcastic.

What do the words “My Country Tis of centuries come and go” mean?

E.E. Cummings “ next to of course god america i” is a poem about patriotism and the war. The poem starts off with the speaker being someone that is a patriot and feels strongly about America. ... Therefore bringing to our attention that patriotism can manipulate people into doing things they usually wouldn't.

What does “thy sons acclaim you Glorious Name by Gorry” mean?

next to of course god america i love you land of the pilgrims’ and so forth oh say can you see by the dawn’s early my country ’tis of centuries come and go and are no more what of it we should worry. The opening lines of ‘next to of course god america i’, which you can read in full here, reveal the speaker’s sarcastic tone toward patriotism. The fact that he does not capitalize “god” nor …

What does the title next to of course god america i mean?

E.E. Cummings “next to of course god america i” is a poem about patriotism and the war. The poem starts off with the speaker being someone that is a patriot and feels strongly about America. As the poem progresses it takes a different approach becoming very sarcastic.Jan 1, 2015

What is the form of the poem next to of course god america i?

next to of course god america i is a 14 line sonnet with a rhyme scheme ababcdcdefgfeg and an inconsistent iambic meter (metre in British English) which helps vary the rhythmic stresses of the lines. Basically this is a hybrid English and Russian sonnet with a cumming's twist - a single line at the end.Sep 23, 2020

What does the speaker in Cummings next to of course god america i use as some of his lines?

With these lines of 'next to of course god america i', the speaker is again heavily sarcastic. He asks a sarcastic and yet rhetorical question, “What could be more beautiful than these heroic happy dead?” In effect, he causes the readers to question the point of patriotism to a dead person.

What is the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls about?

'the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls' by E. E. Cummings is about the differences in social classes, ignorance, and reality. The speaker judges the Cambridge women for the fiction they engage in and their lack of interest in the real world.

What is the meaning of the poem "Next to of course God America I"?

E. Cummings published "next to of course god america i" in 1926 as part of his poetry collection Is 5, which contained a number of anti-war poems. In keeping with this, the poem satirizes the intense patriotism that many people adopted during World War I.

What does it mean when a speaker rants about patriotism?

On the most basic level, the speaker's thirst after ranting about patriotism indicates that something about the speech itself has exhausted the speaker, who tries to recover by drinking deeply. This, in turn, represents the speaker's intense commitment to this particular topic.

What is the most prominent feature of the poem?

One of the poem's most prominent features is the speaker's use of alliteration, which appears in almost every line. The alliterative moments become particularly prominent when the intensity of the speaker's words increases.

What does the poem next to of course god america i mean?

E.E. Cummings “ next to of course god america i” is a poem about patriotism and the war. The poem starts off with the speaker being someone that is a patriot and feels strongly about America. ... Therefore bringing to our attention that patriotism can manipulate people into doing things they usually wouldn't.

What kind of poem is next to of course god america i?

next to of course god america i is a 14 line sonnet with a rhyme scheme ababcdcdefgfeg and an inconsistent iambic meter (metre in British English) which helps vary the rhythmic stresses of the lines. Basically this is a hybrid English and Russian sonnet with a cumming's twist - a single line at the end.

What type of speech is Cummings satirizing in next to of course God America?

After the war he moved to Paris where he wrote satirical poems. His novel The Enormous Room (1922) was the first of his many literary attacks on authoritarianism and rabid nationalism. The poem is a parody of a ' speech ' to extreme patriots — the ranting monologue of 'God-fearing' America.

Who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter they did not stop to think they died instead?

Furthermore to the poem the element of blind patriotism is as well evident. This element of blind patriotism is apparent in "... who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter they did not stop to think they died instead ..." (Cummings).

What is ee cummings style of writing?

E.E. Cummings was born on Octo and died on Septem from a stroke. ... Cummings uses a varied approach to rhythm. He prefers writing sonnets and free verse poetry. He also uses slant rhyme in the majority of his sonnets.

Can I write a poem without punctuation?

Not all the time, though, and a line can end on another punctuation mark or nothing and still follow the rules. All in all, you can do whatever you want in poetry. It's a form of expression, so there is no right or wrong was to do it. That goes for prose too (lowercase prose is a favorite of mine).

What happened to anyone in anyone lived in a pretty how town?

While anyone and noone are in love, the other people in the pretty how town get married and have kids and repeat the same cycle of American life. They all laugh and they all cry and then… they eventually die. One day, anyone finally dies and noone is there to kiss his face when he's laid in his coffin.

Why is E.E. Cummings important?

He has the authority to speak on the patriotism of the United States, because he is a U.S citizen by birth. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 14, 1894. In 1917, Cummings left the U.S to go to France and work as a volunteer ambulance driver during World War I. This fact gives the author even more authority to write about U.S patriotism. Being an ambulance driver, he would have seen the worst atrocities there were to be seen in World War I. After some time of volunteering, Cummings and a friend were detained in a prison camp, as the authorities became suspicious of them, partly due to Cumming’s habit of being rather outspoken about his anti-war beliefs. It is no surprise, then, that Cummings wrote about his anti-war beliefs. Not only did he experience the tragedies of war first hand, but he was also detained for being outspoken about these beliefs. This clearly did not stop Cummings from continuing to speak and write according to his beliefs. He was a man who valued humanity and hated war.

What does the use of the words "jingo" mean?

The use of the words “jingo”, “gee”, “gosh” and “gum” suggest that the speaker believes the gory wars in the name of patriotism to be senseless, just like the words he uses to describe it.

What does the speaker say in the line "Jingo by Gee by Gosh by Gum"?

by jingo by gee by gosh by gum. With these lines, the speaker reveals that people of every language, and yes even deaf people have “acclaim [ed” the “glorious” name of patriotism through the “gory details of war”. The use of the words “jingo”, “gee”, “gosh” and “gum” suggest that the speaker believes the gory wars in the name ...

Why did Cummings leave the US?

In 1917, Cummings left the U.S to go to France and work as a volunteer ambulance driver during World War I. This fact gives the author even more authority to write about U.S patriotism. Being an ambulance driver, he would have seen the worst atrocities there were to be seen in World War I.

How does Cummings remove himself from the poem?

He removes himself from the poem by using a speaker within a speaker, but the content of the poem directly corresponds with Cummings’ life experiences. As a volunteer during World War I, Cummings acquired a bitterness for war which he did not scruple to express. He was outspoken and willing to go against the grain to stand up for ...

What is the opening line of the Star Spangled Banner?

The poem goes on to summon a number of earlier patriotic poems about the United States, such as Francis Scott Key’s ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ (better known as the US national anthem), specifically the opening line ‘Oh say can you see by the dawn’s early light’ , and the patriotic hymn ‘ America (My Country, ’Tis of Thee) ’.

Who made the point about great religious works of art risking the charge of blasphemy?

Sir Christopher Ricks, the literary critic, made a similar point about great religious works of art risking the charge of blasphemy. The same, we might say, is true of all interesting patriotic poems. You can read ‘next to of course god america i’ by Cummings here before proceeding to our analysis.

Who is the most experimental modernist poet?

The American poet e. e. cummings (as he styled himself) was one of the most linguistically experimental mainstream modernist poets writing in the United States in the twentieth century, and his poem ‘next to of course god america i’ is a fine example of his innovative style.

How many lines are there in a Petrarchan sonnet?

The Petrarchan or Italian sonnet is divided into two sections: an octave or eight-line section and a sestet or six-line section. But unlike a Petrarchan sonnet, which uses the same two rhymes (rhymed abbaabba) in the octave, cummings makes use of seven different rhymes, as we find in an English sonnet (rhymed ababcdcdefefgg ).