Cummings Poetic Protest
One of the strongest ways to voice political opinion is in interpretive writing. It is universally known that history is an integral factor of literature; sometimes, certain political events inspire poets and authors to cleverly voice their opinions regarding the event in ways that require much ambiguity and analysis to completely understand the author’s intentions. Poetic protest is best shown with careful choice of word, punctuation, and capitalization.
The first example of political protest in poetry can be seen in “Buffalo Bills” by E. E. Cummings. Cummings dislikes the fame that Buffalo Bill received from his pointless fame. However, Cummings does give Buffalo Bill the credit he deserves, complimenting Bill on his horse riding skills, quick speed with a gun, and his elegance …show more content…
(Cummings, Buffalo Bills). At the end of the poem, Cummings almost mockingly suggests that all of Bill’s skills were unnecessary, because he is dead now: “How do you like your blueeyed boy Mister Death.” This shows that Death probably would have been better satisfied to have taken the life of someone who had actual achievements and honor rather than one who could adroitly shoot a gun.
E.
E. Cummings uses no punctuation and little capitalization in “Buffalo Bills.” The word and line spacing is used to represent the excitement that Buffalo Bill had in his shows (Cummings, Buffalo Bills). The lack of word spacing in line 6 has the purpose of demonstrating the speed that Bill possessed. The only words capitalized were the names of people: Buffalo Bill, Jesus, and Mister Death (Cummings, Buffalo Bills). A well-known rule of poetry is to capitalize the first word of every line of poetry, but Cummings chooses to break this rule in order to place emphasis on the characters.
Another poem that displays political protest “My Sweet Old Etcetera” by E. E. Cummings. This poem helps show Cummings’ discontent with the glorification of soldiers in the war. While it is not wrong to honor those who fought for our nation, he is unhappy with the common goal that was in the hearts of many young men: to be soldiers and die for their country. He points out how sad it is that his own mother wished that he “would die bravely” (Cummings, My Sweet Old Etcetera). At the closure of the poem, the “deep mud” that the soldier is lying in is likely referring to trench warfare, possibly World War
One.
Once again, Cummings purposely used formatting and capitalization in order to construe a message. The line spaces and the physical length of the poem is to show the chaos that war brings upon a soldier. There is only one word capitalized in the entire poem: “Your.” This character is mentioned at the conclusion when the soldier is in the mud “dreaming of Your smile” (Cummings, My Sweet Old Etcetera). This places more emphasis on this mystery person, who is most likely the soldier’s mother or even his secret lover.
“I sing of Olaf Glad and Big,” another work by Cummings, seems to promote freedom of speech. Olaf is a young man that has been drafted into the military. This is not ideal for Olaf because his beliefs appear to be anarchist: “I will not kiss your f.ing flag” (Cummings, I Sing of Olaf Glad and Big). Whether he wanted to serve the nation or not, Olaf did not have a choice, and he wanted to voice his anger at the U.S. government. Unfortunately for Olaf, he is not allowed his First Amendment right and is “[thrown] into a dungeon, where he died” (Cummings, I Sing of Olaf Glad and Big). However, the most remarkable trait about Olaf is his refusal to conform to an establishment to which he did not believe in. It can be assumed that many of the other young men drafted did not want to serve, but they quietly submitted; Cummings tried to portray Olaf as being braver than the soldiers, since he would not be persuaded to change his beliefs. This can best be summarized by a quote from the author, E. E. Cummings: “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” Olaf did indeed grow up, he became an anarchist.
“The Big Money” by John Dos Passos protests many historical events. The poem is composed of excerpts of “The Internationale,” a communist song, and historical headlines. “A better worlds’ in birth” is suggesting that the human race is in the middle of a new beginning, possibly an evolution of human thought (Passos, From 'The Big Money'). Passos also portrays equality for all people, no matter the social class. “For justice thunders condemnation…Arise rejected of the earth…It is the final conflict let each stand in his place” demonstrates how justice will condemn the radicals, rejected, and the powerful (Passos, From 'The Big Money'). “The International Party…shall be the human race” (Passos, From 'The Big Money') may refer to a global Communist state, however, it can also be interpreted as being humans living among each other with impartiality.
John Dos Passos protests Sacco and Vanzetti’s death sentence in “The Camera Eye.” This poem is written with absolutely no punctuation or capitalization, and the words do not always make sense in the order they appear; this is to portray the rioting and yelling of the Americans that were in protest of the executions. The people are against the “strangers who have taken the clean words our fathers spoke and made them slimy and foul” (Passos, "The Camera Eye"); the new nation’s leaders have twisted and changed the laws to represent whatever they want them to. As a result of the “strangers” doing this, Sacco and Vanzetti were easily prejudiced against for their outspoken anarchist beliefs. Passos has said: “U.S.A is the speech of the people.” However, he states in this poem that “we are two nations” (Passos, "The Camera Eye"); the U.S.A. is divided between those who desire free speech for all, and those who prefer to restrict speech for the sake of reputation. The United States was created by the diverse opinions of the people, clearly voiced in 1776, and without that diversity, is there truly a United States? Even though Sacco and Vanzetti were Americans, they were not given the right to hold their own opinions.
By choosing to strategically place words and formatting, a poet can easily show dissatisfaction with political events relative to them. The American poet Robert Frost is credited with saying: “There are many other things I have found myself saying about poetry, but the chiefest of these is that it is metaphor, saying one thing and meaning another, saying one thing in terms of another, the pleasure of ulteriority”; a poem might say something on a literal level, but it also can mean many other things (Brewer). The poets and authors use their emotions, opinions, and thoughts and place it in a specific way that can, at times, subconsciously affect the readers. The meanings behind their writings often invoke much thought and interpretation, which can shift the readers’ opinions, achieving the goal of the writers.
The first example of political protest in poetry can be seen in “Buffalo Bills” by E. E. Cummings. Cummings dislikes the fame that Buffalo Bill received from his pointless fame. However, Cummings does give Buffalo Bill the credit he deserves, complimenting Bill on his horse riding skills, quick speed with a gun, and his elegance …show more content…
(Cummings, Buffalo Bills). At the end of the poem, Cummings almost mockingly suggests that all of Bill’s skills were unnecessary, because he is dead now: “How do you like your blueeyed boy Mister Death.” This shows that Death probably would have been better satisfied to have taken the life of someone who had actual achievements and honor rather than one who could adroitly shoot a gun.
E.
E. Cummings uses no punctuation and little capitalization in “Buffalo Bills.” The word and line spacing is used to represent the excitement that Buffalo Bill had in his shows (Cummings, Buffalo Bills). The lack of word spacing in line 6 has the purpose of demonstrating the speed that Bill possessed. The only words capitalized were the names of people: Buffalo Bill, Jesus, and Mister Death (Cummings, Buffalo Bills). A well-known rule of poetry is to capitalize the first word of every line of poetry, but Cummings chooses to break this rule in order to place emphasis on the characters.
Another poem that displays political protest “My Sweet Old Etcetera” by E. E. Cummings. This poem helps show Cummings’ discontent with the glorification of soldiers in the war. While it is not wrong to honor those who fought for our nation, he is unhappy with the common goal that was in the hearts of many young men: to be soldiers and die for their country. He points out how sad it is that his own mother wished that he “would die bravely” (Cummings, My Sweet Old Etcetera). At the closure of the poem, the “deep mud” that the soldier is lying in is likely referring to trench warfare, possibly World War
One.
Once again, Cummings purposely used formatting and capitalization in order to construe a message. The line spaces and the physical length of the poem is to show the chaos that war brings upon a soldier. There is only one word capitalized in the entire poem: “Your.” This character is mentioned at the conclusion when the soldier is in the mud “dreaming of Your smile” (Cummings, My Sweet Old Etcetera). This places more emphasis on this mystery person, who is most likely the soldier’s mother or even his secret lover.
“I sing of Olaf Glad and Big,” another work by Cummings, seems to promote freedom of speech. Olaf is a young man that has been drafted into the military. This is not ideal for Olaf because his beliefs appear to be anarchist: “I will not kiss your f.ing flag” (Cummings, I Sing of Olaf Glad and Big). Whether he wanted to serve the nation or not, Olaf did not have a choice, and he wanted to voice his anger at the U.S. government. Unfortunately for Olaf, he is not allowed his First Amendment right and is “[thrown] into a dungeon, where he died” (Cummings, I Sing of Olaf Glad and Big). However, the most remarkable trait about Olaf is his refusal to conform to an establishment to which he did not believe in. It can be assumed that many of the other young men drafted did not want to serve, but they quietly submitted; Cummings tried to portray Olaf as being braver than the soldiers, since he would not be persuaded to change his beliefs. This can best be summarized by a quote from the author, E. E. Cummings: “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” Olaf did indeed grow up, he became an anarchist.
“The Big Money” by John Dos Passos protests many historical events. The poem is composed of excerpts of “The Internationale,” a communist song, and historical headlines. “A better worlds’ in birth” is suggesting that the human race is in the middle of a new beginning, possibly an evolution of human thought (Passos, From 'The Big Money'). Passos also portrays equality for all people, no matter the social class. “For justice thunders condemnation…Arise rejected of the earth…It is the final conflict let each stand in his place” demonstrates how justice will condemn the radicals, rejected, and the powerful (Passos, From 'The Big Money'). “The International Party…shall be the human race” (Passos, From 'The Big Money') may refer to a global Communist state, however, it can also be interpreted as being humans living among each other with impartiality.
John Dos Passos protests Sacco and Vanzetti’s death sentence in “The Camera Eye.” This poem is written with absolutely no punctuation or capitalization, and the words do not always make sense in the order they appear; this is to portray the rioting and yelling of the Americans that were in protest of the executions. The people are against the “strangers who have taken the clean words our fathers spoke and made them slimy and foul” (Passos, "The Camera Eye"); the new nation’s leaders have twisted and changed the laws to represent whatever they want them to. As a result of the “strangers” doing this, Sacco and Vanzetti were easily prejudiced against for their outspoken anarchist beliefs. Passos has said: “U.S.A is the speech of the people.” However, he states in this poem that “we are two nations” (Passos, "The Camera Eye"); the U.S.A. is divided between those who desire free speech for all, and those who prefer to restrict speech for the sake of reputation. The United States was created by the diverse opinions of the people, clearly voiced in 1776, and without that diversity, is there truly a United States? Even though Sacco and Vanzetti were Americans, they were not given the right to hold their own opinions.
By choosing to strategically place words and formatting, a poet can easily show dissatisfaction with political events relative to them. The American poet Robert Frost is credited with saying: “There are many other things I have found myself saying about poetry, but the chiefest of these is that it is metaphor, saying one thing and meaning another, saying one thing in terms of another, the pleasure of ulteriority”; a poem might say something on a literal level, but it also can mean many other things (Brewer). The poets and authors use their emotions, opinions, and thoughts and place it in a specific way that can, at times, subconsciously affect the readers. The meanings behind their writings often invoke much thought and interpretation, which can shift the readers’ opinions, achieving the goal of the writers.