I Will Not Kiss Your Fucking Flag Poem Analysis

When songwriters begin to pen the lyrics of a song, I believe their ultimate goal is to transcend time in hopes of reaching listeners for generations to come. J.R. Cash, professionally known as Johnny Cash, wrote a song that did just that. “Ragged Old Flag” is a patriotic song that speaks to every generation. Written in 1974, “Ragged Old Flag” was meant to tell the story of our country. Johnny Cash recorded “Ragged Old Flag” live at the House of Cash. Cash wanted the song to be recorded live because it was raw, untouched, and unapologetically real. The basis of this analysis is to show how patriotism spans generations, but also why a song such as, “Ragged Old Flag” is an important part of patriotism in the United States of America.

America is known to be the country of liberty. The definition of Liberty is simply the reason America was created; it is a place where everyone is treated equal with hopes of achieving their American dream. As a result, many people dream of coming to live in the wonderful country known for its freedom. However, America does not seem to hold that value as it used to. In the poem “Let America Be America Again”, the poet Langston Hughes expresses his disappointment with the country. The poem was written in 1935 where discrimination and inequality still exist. In the poem “Let America Be America Again”, the poet Langston Hughes uses repetition and alliteration in order to show desirement for a better country and disappointment of the country America came to be, and also imagery in order to exemplify the struggles of those who came to live in country they thought was dream.

Ladies of the Confederacy are often linked to the term “southern belle.” This label traditionally evokes images of beautiful, spoiled young ladies whose primary concerns were that of attending balls and capturing the attention of men. Attended to by numerous slaves, the stereotypical southern belle “had few tasks other than to be obedient, to ride, to sew, and perhaps to learn reading and writing.”1 By definition, a southern belle is a beautiful upper-class lady from the south.2 The southern belle stereotype is exemplified in many literary portrayals of upper-class southern women of the 19th century, such as that of Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone With the Wind.”

“Let America be America Again” is a powerful piece of poetry by Langston Hughes written in 1938. The American dream is achievable. Achievement and success comes quite naturally for some, especially if one comes from the right family, has the right skin color, and even has the drive to succeed. However, “Let America be America Again”(Hughes 945) is not a poem about the privileged, but a poem that shows the struggles of the common folk; the average joes who are not willing to give up their own American dream. The oppressed, burdened, enslaved, mistreated, and abused are portrayed in this poem. Still, most Americans believe America is free, and the American dream is alive and attainable.

“O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,” the first line of the United States’ national anthem etched into the mind of nearly every American citizen. It is difficult to read the line and "O say can you see, by the dawn's early light," the first line of the United States' national anthem etched into the mind of nearly every American citizen. It is difficult to read the line and not immediately recognize its origin and it is harder still to read it and not have the quintessential melody of the anthem flood the mind. While ‘The Star-Spangled Banner" is the antithesis of an unpopular song, it is commonplace to have minimal to no knowledge of its origin story. Discerning the conflict that led to the creation of the Star Spangled Banner, the

I have been a Central Academy Cougar for the past three years. I suppose it’s about time for me to try something else my senior year. Perhaps I’ll try to be a Monroe High Redhawk. I’ll learn how to do things the “Redhawk” way, I’ll get rid of my Cougar terminology and adapt the Redhawk slang.

In “Let America Be America Again,” Langston Hughes addresses the reality of inequality and discriminative behaviors of the American people in the pre-Civil War era. Many Americans during this time felt the American Dream was just an illusion because they can never get the opportunity to make it their reality. In this poem, Hughes voices these silent Americans’ concern of how the founding principles of America are not being fulfilled unless a person is wealthy or powerful. He shows the contrast between what America claims to be and what the minority have experienced. Hughes use of repetition, “America [It] never was America to me” (lines 5, 10, 77), emphasizes how America failed him and other

Langston Hughes wrote the poem "Let America Be America Again", where he touches on the failure of America to live up to the American dream that it was meant to be. There is a message full of disappointment and desperation to change the oppression in America. These are feelings that Hughes knows all too well. He knows the stab in the back feeling of working hard for a country that does not work hard for the worker and in this poem, he uses figurative language techniques to express them.

On this day in 1814, Francis Key pens a poem which is later set to music and in 1931 becomes America’s national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner.” Originally titled “The Defence of Fort McHenry,” was written after Key witnessed the Maryland fort being attacked by the British during the War of 1812. Scott was inspired by the sight of a lone U.S. flag still flying over Fort McHenry at daybreak.

In the poem “I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes, he envisions a greater America, a more inclusive America where all the races can proudly represent themselves as American citizens. Hughes was a leader of Harlem Renaissance, and had tremendous pride of his race as an African American. However, during that time period, African Americans were being considered as second-class race, and they were being segregated in every aspect throughout the country. Hughes could not tolerate seeing his fellow brothers and sisters being treated unequally because of their skin color, he knew that he had to do something to bring a change, and he was determined to make that change become the reality. Hughes published the poem in the year of 1945, about ten years before the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. It was the time where racism and prejudice were still prevalent, and segregation laws were being implemented in many places throughout the country. People needed encouragement to stand up in order to fight for their rights, and this poem perfectly empowers people’s courage and spirit. In “I, Too, Sing America,” Langston Hughes uses sound, diction, and symbolism hoping to awaken people’s dilapidated spirits and that one day people would embrace each other in which African Americans are truly classified as equal Americans.

The views expressed by King and Hughes are similar because they both want America to be a free and civilized country. Both speakers have experience in the times of discrimination and are helping motivate the people, but in their own way. Langston Hughes wrote a poem called “Let America Be America Again,” his poem was to help motivate the oppressed people and call them to action, to rally together and do something about their issues rather than be a bystander. Martin L. King’s “American Dream” speech is very similar, given that he also wanted to do something about inequality and hoped for a better future. “We the people must redeem the land, the mines, the plants, the rivers…” This quote from the poem shows how the segregated people have a

Langston Hughes grew up in Missouri and through his hard work and dedication was able to attend Columbia University but decided to leave abruptly after just one year (Biography.com). Hughes produced many famous and inspiring works one in particular was “Let America Be America Again”. The Poem “Let America Be America Again” was first published in 1936 in Esquire Magazine(Dreier, Peter). He wrote this poem to express his frustration with the inaccurate representation of the American Dream. “Let America be America again” contradicted peoples thoughts about the American dream with peoples actions which were in direct opposition of what the American dream stood for.

This paper focuses on exploring the styles and techniques used by Siegfried Sasson in his war-poem The Rear-Guard. This poem is about the negative effects of war on the minds of soldiers and the events happening in the battle field. Sasson is commonly known as a war-poet as he experienced them personally being part of Royal Welsh army. In this paper the techniques of foregrounding i.e. deviation and parallelism are used to make the implicit meanings explicit, used by the writer. Stylistics analysis is done using the technique of foregrounding. The analysis shows that the horror and brutality is shown by making readers part of poem, it means that the style used is autobiographical which shows the dangers and experiences faced by soldiers

Let America Be America Again, by Langston Hughes applies a colorful word picture of a depressed America in the 30’s. To the bountiful existing in America, the idealism showcased as the American Dream has liberated their possession. In this beautiful poetic statement, Langston Hughes grants to voice the unacknowledged Americans’ burden of how American was expected to be, had develop into them, and could pursue to be once again.

In e. e. cummings’ “i sing of Olaf glad and big”, a significant amount of modernist language alteration is employed. In the title and the first line of the poem, cummings uses an un-capitalized ‘i,’ which is an example of how the speaker goes against some basic rules of the English language. The speaker continues with this trend in line 3, where he uses “a conscientious object-or” in the text. This phrase initially suggests that Olaf objected to combat; however, it may also be interpreted that he was viewed as canon fodder and hence objectified by his higher-ranking officers. This type of language shows how infantry are treated in wartime.