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Transcript

"next to of course god america i"

By: Joshua Richmond

The Poem

"next to of course god america i"

"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

in every language even deafanddumb

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

The Deeper Meaning

The true tone of this poem is actually sarcasm. One of the first notices of this is at the eighth line with the uses of phrases such as "by jingo" and "by gosh" along with others. With the comical word use, the reader can obviously see that the author is not serious. The next few lines make the sarcasm almost too obvious with their verbal irony in pointing out that the dead are happy and the fact that they rushed to a slaughter. The author is clearly pointing out that war, battle, etc., are killing the men of the country in such a ruthless and tireless manner that is obviously not right. Cummnings is pointing out one of the flaws in our justice system in a manner that seems to glorify the U.S., when really, he is pointing out its faults and flaws.

The Literal View

If someone read this poem and took it literally instead of realizing the sarcasm, they may think it to be patriotic based on the fact that it talks about many interests in the history of the United States. It brings up parts of different anthems as well. When it talks about the death in war, ine lightassociate it with bravery, if read literally. However, there is a different meaning to this poem. It's really sarcastic and shows flaws in how the country does things.

The Tone

E. E. Cummings' poem "next to of course god america i" is sarcastic. This is for many reasons. First we will look at the meaning of it from a literal view.

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