Analysis Of Next To Of Course God America I

The poem “next to of course god america i” was wrote by E.E. Cummings in 1926. In his youth, Cummings served in World War I as a volunteer ambulance driver. Him and his friend were accused of espionage and were sent to a French prison camp then later released in the U.S. This poem, among others, is an anti-war poem which his fascination started when he enlisted. The poem, “next to of course god america i” discusses patriotism and the negative consequences of it. On the surface, the poem represents glory and high spirited in America, however Cummings uses alliteration, allusions, and symbolism to represent the theme of empty patriotism.

Cummings uses alliteration in the poem “next to of course god america i” to illustrate the patriotic tone even though the author feels opposite of the meaning. He uses it roughly every line to express a tone as someone spirit filled would sound like. Cummings says, “love you land...”

In line 3, the speaker addresses the first part of the U.S. National Anthem when he says, “say can you see by the dawn’s early...” (Cummings). Also, he uses part of “America (My Country ‘Tis of Thee)” when he says, “my/country ‘tis of...” (Cummings 3-4). Cummings added these into his writing because these are “patriotic” songs everyone should know. However, the placement of these songs and the way he wrote around them don’t add any substance to the poem, more so, they make the poem seem emptier because of the random allusions. To add on, Cummings strategically placed these song quotes to, in fact, show how pointless the visions these songs have become. The speaker doesn’t use interesting parts of the song, yet he uses boring parts to illustrate how overused and empty these once “patriotic” songs have become because of the extreme patriotism shown by people. Cummings adds two allusions to his poem “next to of course god america i” to further prove how dull patriotism