The poem “next to of course god america I” is a satirical poem that indicates the speaker is a patriot but also mocks this passionate love of country. The deliberate absence of punctuation and capitalization allows the reader to take the lead and decide when and where to pause for effect. It also helps to create the irony of the two contrasting themes that are felt throughout the poem. What does the speaker actually intend with his words? It is interesting that he chooses to capitalize 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 confusing as he contradicts this feeling of patriotism with phrases such as ‘and so forth’. His oxymoronic description of the soldiers as ‘heroic happy dead’ also leaves the reader feeling uncertain.
For the most part, the poem focuses on his love for America while expressing his animosity for war. He shows his love for America on the second line saying “love you land of the pilgrims’” but immediately after in the same line Cummings says “and so forth oh”. When the speaker says “and so forth oh”, he seems to minimize the importance of the preceding verse and the reader gets a sense of sarcasm and can start to understand the way the he truly feels about unquestioned American patriotism. He specifically uses those words to show he is displeased, not with America itself, but perhaps the people that actually run the country.
In the third line the writer mimics the first stanza in the national anthem of the United States of America, “The Star Spangled Banner” by Francis Scott Key. This line, however, in Cumming’s poem is cleverly missing the word “light” after “dawn’s early”. In his subtle way, the ...
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...ll glorifies America.
Work Cited
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Analysis of Leroi Jones' A Poem Some People Will Have To Understand There is an implied threat in "A Poem Some People Will Have To Understand" by Leroi Jones. Ostensibly, there is no intimidation. The poem is confessional, even reflective; the theme is one of mutability and change. However, there is something frightening and ominous in Jones1 vision, which he creates through attention to word choice and structure. Jones' warning is immediately evident in the title through his manipulation of words.
“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.
Barnet, Sylvan, William Burto and William E. Cain. Literature for Composition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson, 2014.
Cummings “next to of course god america i” the reader intensively comes across various patriotic ideas such as: “love you land of the pilgrims”.However after having fully read and further investigated the text it becomes clear that the speaker simply makes use of these ideas in order to create a deeper and better understanding for the reader as well as create a basis for a progressive and effective comparison between the patriotic propaganda ideas and the reality. Besides this very similar to Owens text, Cummings preforms critic on the patriotic propaganda which due to his point of view simply conveys lies to create a deceitful image of war, in order to recruit soldiers.
The poem by Langston Hughes begins with, “I too, sing America.” Analyzing the words “ I, too” shows that the speaker wants to be and feel included in the singing to America. This brings up the question of who else is singing to America? Looking at the word “sing” it could be in a joyful sense in which the speaker imagines America as being a big chorus, and he too wants to be part of the chorus in singing to America. He no longer wants to be left out. This line is repeated twice, which puts emphasizes on them. The next stanza says:
The poem America by Claude McKay is on its surface a poem combining what America should be and what this country stands for, with what it actually is, and the attitude it projects amongst the people. Mckay uses the form of poetry to express how he, as a Jamaican immigrant, feels about America. He characterizes the bittersweet relationship between striving for the American dream, and being denied that dream due to racism. While the America we are meant to see is a beautiful land of opportunity, McKay see’s as an ugly, flawed, system that crushes the hopes and dreams of the African-American people.
“Words in the mourning time” Hayden begins to explain America as self-destructive, and self-betrayed. He feels Americans fear death everyday and to be a human Americans have to achieve it. Hayden then goes on to explain the hunger problem Americans face. There are many homeless and hungry Americans. In the poem he uses the images of someone sitting at a table and a hungry man come and take their food. He then goes on to explain that America is all about killing no matter who get hurt as long as it’s not the American people. Hayden uses the Vietnam War as an example when the village and the innocent school student were brutally killed. Hayden then explain America to be violent within there society the Americans kill each other. He explains that America is full of ghetto and slums. He explain that although young boys from decent Americans homes are going around killing each other (98) American man should not be frightened to the evil’s that America face, they should go on struggling to be recognized as human. Ignore the racism and the threat, just remember that man are man and should be permitted to be a man. (98)
The poem begins "I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother." From those two lines alone, one can see that he is proud of who he is and introducing himself to the reader. In the line "I, too, sing America" he is explaining that he is an American like everyone else in the country, but he is only of a darker skin color as he follows up in line two with "I am the darker brother." He says that even though he is of another color he is still an American and he should not be treated any differently from any other American.
In line 6, the speaker requests that “America be the dream the dreamers dreamed” (Hughes). This sing-songy style coupled with the repetition of the word “dream” underlines the importance of the message of the poem by reiterating the point the author wishes to make: Americans wish America truly was the place where man can seek his fortune. Hughes also plays with rhyme: throughout the poem, the lines often end with an “ee” sound, though no formal structure is employed. The speaker states that America is a place where man is “seeking a home where he himself is free/(America never was America to me)” (Hughes 4-5), and at the end of the poem, the speaker repeats “America never was America to me” shortly followed by “America will be!” (Hughes 92-94). This repetition of rhyme highlights the speaker’s hope that he, along with his fellow countrymen, will one day be free. Hughes’s belief of a better tomorrow is demonstrated in this
By this Langston means people will not only see the color of his skin, but the beauty and capability he has on the inside. People will see that he is really beautiful—nothing and no one to be embarrassed by—and they will be ashamed by their earlier behavior. Hughes ends the poem by again stating, "I, too, am America" (line 18) showing his true pride and ownership of a country that was never very hospitable to him. Hughes is a talented poet who uses metaphors and his own style of writing to create the effectiveness of his overall message. He uses metaphor throughout the poem for the readers to dig deeper and see underneath the surfaces. He starts out by stating that he, too was an American, but that he is treated like someone the “family” would be ashamed of. Separated from the rest of the society, eating in another room, being given a different treatment than the others. The speaker never let these actions get the best of him. He decided to bide his time where he has been sent and grow stronger and work hard to obtain and enjoy all the rights that all people in the U.S. shall enjoy regardless of their race or
Edward Estlin Cummings was born October 14, 1894 in the town of Cambridge Massachusetts. His father, and most constant source of awe, Edward Cummings, was a professor of Sociology and Political Science at Harvard University. In 1900, Edward left Harvard to become the ordained minister of the South Congregational Church, in Boston. As a child, E.E. attended Cambridge public schools and lived during the summer with his family in their summer home in Silver Lake, New Hampshire. (Kennedy 8-9) E.E. loved his childhood in Cambridge so much that he was inspired to write disputably his most famous poem, "In Just-" (Lane pp. 26-27)
Sylvia Plath was known as an American Poet, Novelist and Shorty story writer. However, Plath lived a melancholic life. After Plath graduated from Smith College, Plath moved to Cambridge, England on a full scholarship. While Plath was Studying in England, she married Ted Hughes, an English poet. Shortly after, Plath returned to Massachusetts and began her first collection of poems, “Colossus”, which was published first in England and later the United States. Due to depression built up inside, Plath committed suicide leaving her family behind. Sylvia Plath was a gifted and troubled poet, known for the confessional style of her work, which is how “Mirror” came to be. Although this poem may seem like the reader is reading from first person point of view, there is a much deeper meaning behind Plath’s message throughout the poem. Plath uses several elements of terror and darkness to show change to the minds of the readers.
Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. Ed. Joseph Terry. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc, 2001. 123-154.
Robert Creeley, a famous American poet, lived from 1926 to 2005. Creeley was normally associated as a Black Mountain poet because that is where he taught, and spent most of his career. Throughout his life, Creeley wrote many different pieces of poetry. Four great poems by Robert Creeley are, “For Love”, “Oh No”, “The Mirror”, and “The Rain”. The poem “For Love”,was written by Creeley for his wife. In this poem Creeley explains, the love someone has for another person, and how complicated it is making his life because the person doesn’t know how to explain their love. “Oh No” is a poem that is literally about a selfish person who ended up in hell, but this poem has a deeper meaning. Part