IB English 12
Patriotism
Patriotism is something that all citizens of a nation have or lack. Some say that patriotism is poetic in its own essence and it would only make sense for poets to write about this subject. E. E. Cummings inscribed his views of patriotism in a poem. At first glance the poem can be seen as chaotic and confusing. It can be inferred that E. E. Cummings wrote his poem in a particular way in order for his views of patriotism to come to light. His style, tone and diction provide supporting evidence as to what his stance on patriotism is.
The poem according to the style, tone and diction seems to me that the poet believes that patriotism holds no value for him. The way E. E. Cummings wrote the poem suggests that the poet has no reason to believe in such nonsense. For example, Cummings writes the poem in quotes and within those quotes there is no room for a breather for the reader. The effects of the no breathers give the reader the sense that the poem is this long, one tracked path that was thrown together with various conflicting ideas. The lack of punctuations and capitalization gives this feeling when the poem is read. The poem has a rigid and confusing flow as one giant sentence. The ideas of the poem are all clustered together and seem to contradict itself. Cummings writes about that why talk of beauty and then transitions without a pause about these heroic people who rush to die. These heroic people can be seen as soldiers and they rush into a war without thinking, all for the glory that war is “suppose” to bring. The way he uses these elements in the poem all lead up to the tone.
