The poem "next to of course god america i" by E.E. Cummings uses satire and ambiguity to mock extreme patriotism. Through the voice of a patriotic speaker, the narrator parodies nationalistic speeches and sentiments. While paying lip service to America, the narrator undermines the speaker's words by removing punctuation, adding nonsensical phrases, and portraying soldiers as "heroic happy dead" to highlight the foolishness of blind patriotism and war. The last line depicts the patriotic speaker drinking water desperately after his impassioned but confusing speech, capturing the hollowness of his rhetoric.

1. next to of course god america i
E. E. 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 title, “next to of
course god America i”,
shows the order of
importance according to
the narrator: God,
America and Self. This
order of importance
shows Faith, Patriotism
and Self-importance.
‘next to of course god america i’ is a satirical poem
(satire is mocking someone or something). He
initially appears to glorify America, although this is
also ambiguous (has more than one meaning) as
he tempers this with phrases such as ‘and so forth’.
In many ways one can view this as a very modern
poem, with many of the criticisms Cummings levels
at his country being as relevant today as they were
in the 1920s.
It is better to put
in mind that the
poem has two
personas, the
patriot and the
main speaker. The
poem looks like it
is delivered by a
patriot but was
paraphrased by
the speaker
added with his
mockery and own
opinions.
You should compare
this poem with other
poems about the same
themes: causes of
conflict: 'Hawk
Roosting', 'The Yellow
Palm', 'The Right
Word'; patriotism: 'The
Charge of the Light
Brigade', 'Flag'.
The poem of e. e. cummings shows patriotism and
also foolishness which are its theme. In the poem,
there are two personas, the patriot and the main
speaker. The speaker of the poem mocks the patriot
by adding words to the patriot’s words. The poem is
all about nationalism but also it tells the reader that it
is not always wise to be patriotic or heroic and that it
is sometimes irrational. The poem also shows
America being diverse in culture and language. Also, it
talks about war and the innocence of the young,
inexperienced soldiers during the battle. And finally,
the poem shows the reader that bravery and
fearlessness usually lead to stupidity and irrationality.

2. “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
In the first line, the speaker tells the
reader that the patriot loves America
next to God more than anything even
himself. The absence of punctuation and
capitalisation allows the reader to
engage with the poem’s ambiguity –
what does the speaker actually intend
with his words?
The second line line shows further
textual evidence which shows that
the patriot loves and is faithful to
America. The ‘land of the pilgrims’ is
taken from the patriotic song "My
Country 'Tis of Thee“. There is use of
enjambment in the first two lines as
the first line is grammatically wrong
without the second line.
Suggests speaker can't be bothered to
be specific and makes us doubt his
integrity and patriotism.
The third line is also the first
stanza in the national anthem
of the United States of
America, “The Star Spangled
Banner” by Francis Scott Key,
but this line in Cumming’s
poem is missing the word
“light” after “dawn’s early”.
This connotes that the
speaker thinks that the
patriot is entirely unoriginal.
Also, the reason why “light” is
missing to connote that the
patriot is talking so fast that
some words are missing.
The fourth and fifth lines
connotes that the patriot is
very dramatic but then the
speaker mocks the patriot by
putting “what of it”. This is
very dismissive and
undermines his commitment
to his country.
Every language suggests more
than one. The speaker tells the
reader that the patriot thinks
that America is diverse with
different languages and
cultures present. In this line,
also, it shows the mockery of
the speaker upon the patriot
by putting “deaf”, “and”, and
“dumb” together to connote
that the patriot is talking so
fast that he mixed the words
together.
This relates to the soldiers and also to
war in the word “gorry” which can be
understood to be rooted from the word
“gore”. This line also tells the reader
that the patriot thinks that these
soldiers are “wonderful” and heroic.
The speaker used the word “gorry” to
replace the more explicit curses. The
words “thy son” convey the innocence
of the soldiers.
This odd line uses euphemisms to convey
“innocence” since these words are used by
the speaker to replace the more explicit
curses and bad words. Alternatively another
interpretation is although this American
slang sounds like nonsense here and maybe
he's trying to show he can relate to ordinary
Americans.

3. why talk of beauty what could be more beaut-
iful 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
These words of the patriot are beautiful
for him but for the speaker, this is very
sarcastic. This lines pertains to the
soldiers being sent to war. These lines
also show that these soldiers were
mostly young and inexperienced.
His oxymoronic and
alliterative (use of the letter
‘h’) description of the
soldiers as ‘heroic happy
dead’ also leaves the reader
feeling ambivalent (unsure
and hesitant).
These words of the patriot are beautiful for him
but for the speaker, this is very sarcastic. This line
relates to the soldiers being sent to war. These
lines also show that these soldiers were mostly
young and inexperienced.
The use of simile shows the bravery and
fearlessness of the soldiers against their
enemies in the war.
The speaker implies that their
bravery is more like
foolishness. The patriot may
have a good point but the
speaker also implies that at
first they are heroic on the
eleventh line of the poem but
they are foolish to further
their effort on war.
The patriot makes fool of himself
in this line. He tried to end his
speech dramatically but he IS the
“voice of liberty”. He is absolutely
NOT mute. The stirring rhetorical
question to finish with sounds
good but it's confusing. Is he
encouraging more people to
fight? The ‘glass of water’ could
suggest he's nervous or that he
has even more garbled words to
spout.
The first 13 lines are a first person
dramatic monologue and the final
line is in the third person, as if the
poem is presenting someone giving
a speech. The 14 regular lines may
be meant to deliberately mimic a
sonnet layout — the serious form is
undermined by the content just as
the serious political speech is
parodied by the poem's words. The
first 13 lines are all within speech
marks — the words are fragments
of full sentences with very little
punctuation, making the phrases
sound confusing and meaningless.
The last line is the only one that is
close to standard English, describing
the speaker as he finishes talking. It
makes the rest of the poem sound
even more empty and meaningless.
The last line shows that the poem is
conveyed through a second person, the
speaker of the poem. It also shows that
the patriot was excited with his speech
that he exhausted himself and thirstily
drank a glass of water. It is interesting
that he chooses to capitalise the pronoun
‘He’ as if placing the speaker in a place of
superiority or distance.