Next to of Course God America I by E.E. Cummings Essay

Throughout the poem, the author chooses simple diction. This makes the tone straightforward and blunt, like a black America who simply expresses himself instead of sermonizing about discrimination. Thereby, readers can accept the poem’s argument more easily. Furthermore, the author writes the poem mostly in long sentences to emphasize on short yet important sentences such as “That’s America.”, “Be we are. That’s true!”

The poem America by Claude McKay is on its surface a poem combining what America should be and what this country stands for, with what it actually is, and the attitude it projects amongst the people. Mckay uses the form of poetry to express how he, as a Jamaican immigrant, feels about America. He characterizes the bittersweet relationship between striving for the American dream, and being denied that dream due to racism. While the America we are meant to see is a beautiful land of opportunity, McKay see’s as an ugly, flawed, system that crushes the hopes and dreams of the African-American people.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kendy Menelas, Department of English, Seminole State College, Sanford, FL 32773.

The “American dream,” a promise of the ability to turn your life from rags to riches if you try hard in the United States of America, has been the definition of what it means to be an American. But over time it the American dream has changed and its pledge perhaps more viable than ever. This is due to the simple fact that America as a nation has evolved over time and the core values which its people encompass are a reflection of the times. So as an American how do we define ourselves and our nation outside of the American dream? America has been known over time as a “big brother”- protector of mankind. Yet many of our citizens did not have equal rights until the 1960’s and it took the fourteenth amendment to guarantee equal protection

Do you think that it is important to learn about and accept other people? I believe that it can benefit us all if we did. I have a quote that I believe is a foundation for my views. “We as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves”, written by Barbara Jordan, is a quote that means people should be able to put aside their beliefs of one another. Two texts that I will be discussing: “American Flag Stands for Tolerance” and “Universal Declaration of Independence”, along with contents from the documentary “My So-Called Enemy” will be used to show you why it is important to accept others that our different from ourselves. We people need to try to understand that everybody has somethings that contrasts from the next person. No one always agrees with someone else, nor do we share same opinions, ideas, or likings, however those things that make us different are actually what makes us same.

In the poem ,“America”, Claude McKay uses figurative language and diction to create a dark tone, a powerful empowering tone, and an optimistic tone. The theme of double consciousness of African-Americans is supported in the poem and the poem itself also connects to the purpose of the Harlem Renaissance which was to fight back racial hate and stereotypes with black empowerment.

In our poem “Dear America, the Land of the Free” and other writings and speeches, rhetoric helps to powerfully convey a message to an audience. The more powerful the argument is, the more likely the audience is to spread the message to others and attempt to make changes in support of the message. The most effective literature and speeches are strewn with various rhetorical devices, as these devices cause the message to become clearer and more powerful. We see authors using rhetorical techniques to convey a message in each text we discussed in class. For example, “The Declaration of Independence” uses logos and parallelism to convince the King of Great Britain and the American people of the King’s wrongdoings and the necessity of American independence. The author, Thomas Jefferson

McKay uses his poem “America” as an avenue to express his indifference towards facing the challenges due to his race and of the dark future for his race. He develops these concerns in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet with three quatrains and a final heroic couplet to conclude the poem. Diction utilized by McKay within the first quatrain such as with “feeds” and “cultured” gives America a nurturing or even motherly essence. This exemplifies his love for America. However, McKay juxtaposes this affection by the various harsh descriptions containing cacophonous consonant sounds such as “bread of bitterness” or “sinks into my throat.” He utilizes similes within the next quatrain to further demonstrate this juxtaposition. The comparison of how America’s “vigor flows like tides into [his] blood” and how “her bigness sweeps [his] being like a

E.E. Cummings is known for his unique use of diction, using nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs as nouns. What examples can you find in this poem? In the poem, “[i carry you in my heart(i carry it in]” cummings followed a nontraditional form of writing when creating his own “grammar rules” with punctuation, capitalization, spacing and pacing. I think that the main purpose of this and his reasoning behind it to diversify the meaning and generality of his poem. I think he was trying to be unique, and different while applying his own individual creativity through writing. For example, he uses a unique form of diction in stanza one when he says, “and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling.” Normally, this would not be worded the way it is, the sentence structure would be stronger and would flow better, however cummings still was able to apply meaning to that line by saying that everything he is and everything he has is because of his love. He also uses nouns in a distinctive way. For instance, he says in stanza three, “which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide.” Soul in this cause would already be considered a noun, however, he is rather using it more of a possession of his own. Cummings has a weird way of placing things within this poem. In most poems, everything is aligned to the left and follows down to the next line but in this poem the start of the second stanza, “i fear” is aligned all the way to the right. I think the purpose of this is to emphasize the fear, he is describing how strong his love is for this person but with love comes fear. By using these different forms of language and his uniqueness of grammar he was able to be different and find a new way for the reader to understand the power within his

Diction: Depending on the word choice the author uses they can provide a more complete and detailed analysis of a topic. Advanced and diverse vocabulary use also helps to keep the reader engaged by not creating a monotone voice with author and descriptive language allows the reader to picture in their mind what the author is saying which also helps them to understand the author's argument.

John Adams believed that Britain has been filled with Folly, and America with Wisdom, and he suggested America should be totally separated with England. He values freedom, and independence for people. He said in the passage that “…people are extremely addicted to Corruption and Venality...” Adams think it is understandable, and he think he must submit all this hopes and fears, to an overruling Providence. He considered that his action would gain posterity’s acclaim.

– Let America be America again). The poems display images of hardship and frustration. They both speak of a difference within races and also what the life in America is different from the eyes of someone who isn’t white.

In Edward Taylor’s “Prologue” he seeks to demonstrate the inferiority of man in respect to God’s glory. Taylor begins his piece by creating a metaphor in which his own subsidiarity to God is described in terms of physical stature and uniqueness. He then purposefully includes phrases with erroneous meter and imperfect rhymes to demonstrate that his inferiority extends to his abilities as a writer. Taylor further attempts to establish his lack of authorial skills by including repetitious words, implying that he lacks an extensive vocabulary. When combined these tactics serve to support the idea that Edward Taylor has many shortcomings, both as a human and a poet, especially in comparison to the greatness of God.

     The sonnet, being one of the most traditional and recognized forms of poetry, has been used and altered in many time periods by writers to convey different messages to the audience. The strict constraints of the form have often been used to parallel the subject in the poem. Many times, the first three quatrains introduce the subject and build on one another, showing progression in the poem. The final couplet brings closure to the poem by bringing the main ideas together. On other occasions, the couplet makes a statement of irony or refutes the main idea with a counter statement. It leaves the reader with a last impression of what the author is trying to say.

The form of ‘God’s Grandeur’ is an Italian sonnet, but with some alteration. Even though Hopkins does not use sprung rhythm here, he varies his sonnet structure from the traditional iambic pentameter. Typically, a sonnet contains 3 quatrains (4 lines) and a couplet (2 lines); the Italian sonnet is characterized by having 1 octave (8 lines) and 1 sestet (6 lines). In ‘God’s Grandeur’ a similar pattern is followed, however, Hopkins presents a technique he often employs in other works as well, that of using the octet to present a personal or a sensory experience and the octet in order to provide some reflection on the topic (Gardner 221).