Explication Of E. Cummings

Explication of E. E. Cummings’ “next to of course god america i”

Literature I – Engl 2342.10407

August 9, 2010

E. E. Cummings (1894-1962)

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next to of course god america i 1926

1. "next to of course god america i 2. love you land of the pilgrims' and so forth oh 3. say can you see by the dawn's early my 4. country 'tis of centuries come and go 5. and are no more what of it we should worry 6. in every language even deafanddumb 7. thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gory 8. by jingo by gee by gosh by gum 9. why talk of beauty what could be more beaut- 10. iful than these heroic happy dead 11. who…show more content…
E. Cummings’ approach in his poem, “next to of course god america i,” is rather straightforward, but maintains an air of ambivalence in his attacks on patriotism. Despite the satirical tone of this poem, it is safe to say that Cummings is not necessarily anti-patriotic; his message is that of caution or reproach. He saturates his poem with irony by way of historical allusions and imagery to communicate his stance on what patriotism is.

The title, and the repetition of the title in the first line of this poem, captures the theme of American pride, or patriotism, right away, by the mention of “god,” and “america,” which are two ideals people are passionate about and willing to die for. Then the reader recognizes the improper use of the proper nouns “God,” America,” and “I,” because they are not capitalized. This is the first sign that should immediately alert the reader to the possibility that the apparent motive of this poem, pride, might be misleading. There is a colloquial ambiance to this statement in whole; “next to of course god america i.” It is not uncommon for people to speak of their love of something so adamantly, that to justify their feelings it is necessary to express their love of God before all else, but the words “of course” hint at sarcasm. Also, Cummings doesn’t finish his statement until line two, leaving the object of the speakers affection, even if only momentarily, unknown. This initial hesitation is best…show more content…
The speaker remains unnamed throughout the poem; in the last line the speaker is just “He.” This further ridicules the speaker, by making him generic, or just a typical politician; they all ramble on about nonsense they do not even take time to fully consider.

“next to of course god america i” is a poem aimed at revealing the potential of abusing patriotism to sway people’s thoughts. Patriotism can be used to manipulate people into doing things they usually wouldn’t. This implicit theme is enforced throughout the poem by allusions and other literary devices
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and suggests that the poem is not actually unpatriotic. The speaker is admonishing people on being wary of how patriotism is used and uses sarcasm to accent his position.

Works Cited

Gascoigne, Bamber. "History of the American Indians". History World . August 6, 2010. .
Historical Dictionary of American Slang. 2010. Alpha Dictionary. August 6, 2010. .
Key, Francis Scott. "The Star Spangled Banner". USA Flag Site. August 5, 2010 .

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010. Merriam-Webster Online. 30 July 2010. .
Smith, Samuel F. "America My country, 'tis of Thee". USA Flag Site. August 5, 2010