next to of course god america i

1. next to of course god americai By E.E. Cummings

2. America

4. E.E. Cummings • Edward Estin Cummings was born in Massachusetts, USA on 14 October 1894 and died in 1962. • In the First World War he was a volunteer ambulance driver, but was imprisoned for 3 1/2 months in a French concentration camp when his letters home drew the attention of the military censors. • He is known as an avant-garde poet, well known for experimenting with punctuation, syntax and structure and playing with both words and ideas. • This poem was published in 1926 when anti-war sentiments where considered unpatriotic and shocking.

5. next to of course god americai http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPKp29Luryc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKbsy2snyQw • http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=7158

6. What does this suggest about the speaker? “next to of course god americai 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 in every language even deafanddumb Enjambment Where is this line taken from? Dismissive. Undermines his commitment.

7. Speaking so quickly he has mispronounced ‘golly’ American Slang – why? thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry by jingo by gee by gosh by gum why talk of beauty what could be more beautiful than these heroic happy dead who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter they did not stop to think they died instead then shall the voice of liberty be mute?” He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water Powerful image of death and battle- implies? What does this last line suggest?

8. Overview: ‘next to of course god americai’ is a satirical poem. The absence of punctuation and capitalisationallows the reader to engage with the poem’s ambiguity – what does the speaker actually intend with his words? It is interesting that he chooses to capitalise the pronoun ‘He’ as if placing the speaker in a place of superiority or distance. He initially appears to glorify America, although this is also ambiguous as he tempers this with phrases such as ‘and so forth’. His oxymoronic description of the soldiers as ‘heroic happy dead’ also leaves the reader feeling ambivalent. In many ways one can view this as a very modern poem, with many of the criticisms Cummings levels at his country being as relevant today as they were in the 1920s. What criticisms are contained within the poem?

9. Jingoism • Definition: extreme patriotism in the form of aggressive foreign policy” • It refers to the use of threats or actual force against other countries in order to safeguard national interests, and colloquially to excessive bias in judging one’s own country as superior to others – an extreme type of nationalism.

10. There is much talk about 'jingoism'. If by 'jingoism' they mean a policy in pursuance of which Americans will with resolution and common sense insist upon our rights being respected by foreign powers, then we are 'jingoes'. Theodore Roosevelt, 8th October, 1895

11. Endings they did not stop to think they died instead then shall the voice of liberty be mute?" He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water • Reflection... * Who is 'He'? What impression do we get of him? * Is his speech rambling words? Does the poet have a deeper purpose? • Explain your ideas.

12. Interpreting the Text There is much talk about 'jingoism'. If by 'jingoism' they mean a policy in pursuance of which Americans will with resolution and common sense insist upon our rights being respected by foreign powers, then we are 'jingoes'. • Language Think about the use of hyperbole, oxymorons and alliteration. What effects do they achieve? • Punctuation Track the punctuation of the poem. Is its use significant? What about capital letters? • Imagery Find where the poet uses a simile and personification in this poem. Why are these images used? Theodore Roosevelt, 8th October, 1895

13. Agree/disagree? There is much talk about 'jingoism'. If by 'jingoism' they mean a policy in pursuance of which Americans will with resolution and common sense insist upon our rights being respected by foreign powers, then we are 'jingoes'. 1. Because Cummings capitalises the H in 'He' but not the pronoun 'i', he is placing the speaker and his personality at the centre of the poem. 2. Cummings leaves out most of the punctuation so the reader can choose where to pause for humorous/ironic effect. 3. The poem initially comes across as rambling and a little incoherent but this effectively emphasises the internal conflict of the speaker. 4. The use of rhyme and alliteration gives the poem an internal structure that makes it seem to sound quite pleasant. 5. The glorification of war and the soldiers is a form of hyperbole as the speaker doesn’t seem to mean it; it is used for effect. 6. Without Cummings' use of oxymorons, the poem would lose its uncertainty as it could either be read as either patriotic or anti- American. 7. Not having a capital A for America in the title confirms that the poem is not patriotic. Theodore Roosevelt, 8th October, 1895

14. Questions There is much talk about 'jingoism'. If by 'jingoism' they mean a policy in pursuance of which Americans will with resolution and common sense insist upon our rights being respected by foreign powers, then we are 'jingoes'. • 1. How can we tell the poet is mockingthe speaker? • 2. How does the title of the poem relate to the content? • 3. How does the poet build up to an emotive end? • 4. What do you think the poet wants the public to do? • 5. Why has the poet used extracts from well known American patriotic songs? Theodore Roosevelt, 8th October, 1895