In this essay, I am trying to compare both anthem and analyze their similarities and differences. I will also analyze the parody used by the Sex Pistols.
Both anthems started in the sentence "God Save the Queen". However, the first anthem is serious in the request from god for the queen is the symbol of unity, prosperity, and the glory of the country.The other satirical anthem regards the queen as a symbol tyranny. As a result, the reader will notice the different point of views regarding the queen in the two anthems.
Politically speaking, the national anthem describes the queen as a symbol for England unity and prosperity. This reason makes the anthem wishes her long life and a continuous reign, and that is the main idea in the first stanza, "Long live our noble queen", "Long to reign over us".
In contrast to that, the other mock anthem explains the queen as a dictator without human feelings, "She aint no human being", which is an exaggeration. This indicates that parody is used.
The first national anthem started with the sentence "God save our gracious queen". This shows the loyalty and love towards the queen. The second anthem started in "God save the queen her fascist regime". Here, the author used an interesting technique that we will explore deeper in the analyses which is the juxtaposition technique. It evokes the negative influence on the reader when a positive connotation is followed by a negative connotation.
"a potencial h bomb", is another negative connotation in the second anthem wich evokes the negative influence of the queen. The real anthem has positive connotations, "glorious", "victorious" which rhymes to create the good influence of prosperity and glory to England. This main point of England's prosperity and glory is the main focus of the parody. The Sex Pistols think that there is no future for England, "There is no future in englands dreaming". Such sentence evokes the feeling of lost and danger future England is facing due to the queen.
The main intension for a anthem is to build the love of the citizens for their country and awaken the patriotic feeling in their hearts. The first anthem symbolizes the whole British society singing. Contrastingly, the second anthem is to the British nation and it refers to them directly, "There is no future no future no future for YOU". Here, the Sex Pistols are talking to the British citizen directly which is an affective technique to convince the citizen that their anti-queen philosophy is right.
