Analysis of next to of course god america i the poem is by edward estling cummings who was born in 1894 in the us. Abstract this paper presents a stylistic analysis of two poems of wellknown poets of the english literature, namely. The poem next to of course god america i alludes to the patriotism of a nation, namely the united states. Cummings edward estlin cummings 1894 1962 was an american poet, born in massachusetts, who studied at harvard university and later travelled within europe and north africa throughout the 1920s and 1930s. The importance of the diction and syntax in contributing to the theme is one of. It has a playful nature and the lack of punctuation allows words and sounds to blend together. Patriotism is pointless patriotism has become a common routine that people forget the actual point and real meaning to it.
He had a highly religious upbringing and grew with a middle class family as his father was a professor at harvard university where cummings later studied himself. Most of next to of course god america i is in quotation marks. Is the poem patriotic or critical of blind patriotism. The researchers attempt here is to approach cummingss poem. E cummings key messages in next to of course god america i, with a particular focus upon the language and structure of the poem.
By the end of the lesson, students demonstrate their knowledge of the text analytically, through assured, appropriate, and sustained interpretations. It is to show others, who believe less, whose belief requires new fuel, that god is still working in our lives. Autoplay when autoplay is enabled, a suggested video will automatically play next. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of democracy in america. It was the american writer gene wolfe who once remarked that almost every. Cummings has used enjambment to such an extreme that it works not only between lines but between words as well in a very gertuidstein. Cummings was very familiar with avantgarde style poetry some attribute this to an influence. Teaching stylistics through ee cummings poetry semantic scholar.
Cummings next to of course god america i the american poet e. As our anthologys brief introduction to cummings notes, next to of course god america i is a satirical poem. Once again, we see his skill and mastery at manipulating the english language in order to foreground a thought and turn it into a. God has already done more for me than i can imagine. This lesson aims to build students understanding of e. Next to of course god america i summary what does e. Examples of allusions in the poem next to of course god america i. Segment 5 segment 2 the speaker strings together the two well known patriotic songs oh say can you see, and my country tis of thee. If you want to read more about the aqa poetry anthology contemporary poetry, you can find my ebook here. Cummings edward estlin cummings 1894 1962 was an american poet, born in massachusetts, who studied at harvard university and later travelled within europe and. With this in mind, i have annotated a personal response to the poem, with observations, in red type, which may not be found elsewhere. In next to of course god america i, the speaker of the poem begins with saying that next to god of course he loves america, the land of the. Cummings next to of course god america i is a poem about patriotism and the war. The quotation seems to be that of a patriot, someone who feels strongly about america.
America was one of the first widely read literary statements of political unrest in the postworld war ii united states. But is next to of course god america i a patriotic poem or an antiamerican poem. The poem next to of course god america i written by e. Next to of course god america i english literature essay. Themes from the decades previous wars are prominent such as the nuclear bomb or asian foreign policy, yet the. Three audio files intended to aid study and revision of next to of course god america i by e. While americans are all busy rallying against a common foe, the. It\s the order that one should regard the most important 1. The poem starts off with the speaker being someone that is a patriot and feels strongly about america. Now that we know the issue is strictly web related because i this poem is an excellent example of cummings irony. A revision video analysing next to of course god america i using flirts for the aqa english literature gcse. Learn more about next to of course god america i with a detailed plot summary. Analysis of poem next to of course god america i by e.
Cummings wrote this poem in 1926, 9 years after he was arrested on suspicion of spying. Cummings is pointing out the blind patriotism that is ingrained into peoples minds at a young age. Be sure to begin with a topic sentence, address all the elements of tpcastt, and close the paragraph with an opinion sentence that expresses whether or not the poet. One is a straight forward reading of the poem no sfx, one a reading with sound effects, and one a commentary on the poem. Next to of course god america i revision powerpoint 1. The first avenger and iron man 3 both of which were both well received superhero movies based on the marvel comic books. Remember, you dont need a kindle or ereader to read it. The poem also contains enjambment because of the runon sentences between the lines and it also contains a perfect rhyme scheme. The poem next to of course god america i centers around the ideas of patriotism within a nation, namely the united states.
Next to of course god america i revision powerpoint. The writing style mocks the strident tone of traditional american patriotism. Cummings and the irish noble laureate seamus heaney. Ap lit ee cummings essay ap lit poem essay next to of. It makes sense that cummings would have written this poem given his outspoken history. Cummings is a poem based on nationalism of america by its patriotic people and what they are capable of sacrificing for it. Cummingss poem next to of course god america i 737 words 3 pages. It brings up the issues of whats a patriot and what in actually the norm of the average american citizens response is to war and fighting. Pdf a stylistic analysis of two selected poems eman. It is a poem that delights in its own satire, that whimsically dances. Iron man 3 broke box office records for 20 reaching number five all time worldwide.
Summary america was written in 1956 during ginsbergs time in berkeley, california and was included in the original publication of howl and other poems. Allen ginsbergs poetry america summary and analysis. In next to of course god america iand come, gaze with me upon this dome, cummings ridicules the blind patriotism of americans. Cummings, known to be particularly antiwar, draws on a sarcastic tone to convey the message that it is not patriotic to be supportive of war. This suspicion was provoked by his open opposition to world war 1. Cummings is a satirical poem that chiefly employs diction, syntax, and tone to criticize american patriotism. The poet also plays with syntax, grammar and device to create a single work that is both. Up next analysis of next to of course god america i by e. Basically this is a hybrid english and russian sonnet with a cummings twist a single line at the end. A close reading of james madisons the federalist no. Since much of the poem is spoken by an imaginary public speaker, such as a politician, it is difficult to gauge cummings tone, as is so often the case with modernist poetry. Zaphod beeblebrox next to of course god america i love you land of the pilgrims and so forth oh say can you see by the dawns early my country tis of centuries come and go and are no more what of it we should worry in every language even deafanddumb.
I have to write a poetry explanation essay on it and i dont understand the essay. Americas experiment in religious liberty involved an unlikely political alliance between evangelical baptists and enlightenment figures such as thomas jefferson as they forged a new concept of. As the poem progresses it takes a different approach becoming very sarcastic. Using tpcastt analysis of the poem, write a 250word, welldeveloped analytical paragraph explaining what the theme of the poem is, and use textual evidence to support your claim. The title shows faith, patriotism, and selfimportance. My lids slap open, and i see the same fog as before. Possibly a politician or, more likely, a military leader. The poem next to of course god america i alludes to the patriotism, the war, and. Cummings next to of course america i has a lot of meaning. It brings up the issues of whats a patriot and what in.
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