1. Should the country be using cyberweapons, instead of nuclear weapons?
I don’t see it as an alternative to nuclear in terms of, in terms of ultimate power. Look, in the perfect world everybody would agree that nuclear would, you know, be so destructive, and this was always the theory, or was certainly the theory of many. That the power is so enormous that nobody would ever use them. But, as you know, we’re dealing with people in the world today that would use them, O.K.? Possibly numerous people that use them, and use them without hesitation if they had them. And there’s nothing, there’s nothing as, there’s nothing as meaningful or as powerful as that, and you know the problem is, and it used to be, and you would hear this, David, and I would hear it, and everybody would hear it, and — I’m not sure I believed it, ever. I talk sometimes about my uncle from M.I.T., and he would tell me many years ago when he was up at M.I.T. as a, he was a professor, he was a great guy in many respects, but a very brilliant guy, and he would tell me many years ago about the power of weapons someday, that the destructive force of these weapons would be so massive, that it’s going to be a scary world. And, you know, we have been under the impression that, well we’ve been, I think it’s misguided somewhat, I’ve always felt this but that nobody would ever use them because of the power. And the first one to use them, I think that would be a very bad thing. And I will tell you, I would very much not want to be the first one to use them, that I can say.

2. next to of course god america i
E.E. Cummings
Patriotism
Power
Sounds

3. He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water
"next to of course god america i love you land of the pilgrims' and so forth oh say can you see by the dawn's early my country 'tis of centuries come and go and are no more what of it we should worry in every language even deafanddumb thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry by jingo by gee by gosh by gum why talk of beauty what could be more beaut- iful than these heroic happy dead who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter they did not stop to think they died instead then shall the voice of liberty be mute?“
He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water
Poet’s reading:

4. He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water
"next to of course god america i love you land of the pilgrims' and so forth oh say can you see by the dawn's early my country 'tis of centuries come and go and are no more what of it we should worry in every language even deafanddumb thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry by jingo by gee by gosh by gum why talk of beauty what could be more beaut- iful than these heroic happy dead who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter they did not stop to think they died instead then shall the voice of liberty be mute?”
He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water
What does the lack of capitalisation imply?
What does the grammar and structure inform about the poet’s attitude towards patriotism?
How does this line show the poet’s opinion on war?
Why is the word beautiful written in this way?
Who or what is ”the voice of liberty?”
What does the lack of punctuation mean?
Who is He?

5. next to of course god america i
The lack of correct grammar and punctuation may imply that the poet does not think highly of people fighting for their country.
The title is ironic since speaker is neither close to God or America.
next to of course god america i
No capitalisation of the title show it is a satirical poem mocking patriotism.
The most important person is “I” himself.

6. Intertextuality Intertextuality – referring to other text
Implies that the speaker is not able to come up with his own words
Line
Reference
2-3: oh say can you see by the dawn's early
“Star Spangled Banner”
7: thy sons acclaim your glorious name
Psalm 145
8: by jingo
"Oh By Jingo!" (also "Oh By Jingo! Oh By Gee You're The Only Girl For Me)"
11: who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter
Percy Shelly’s The Masque of Anarchy: “rise like lions after slumber"

7. How does the poet present his ideas and attitudes towards patriotism in the poem?

8. He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water
"next to of course god america i love you land of the pilgrims' and so forth oh say can you see by the dawn's early my country 'tis of centuries come and go and are no more what of it we should worry in every language even deafanddumb thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry by jingo by gee by gosh by gum why talk of beauty what could be more beaut- iful than these heroic happy dead who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter they did not stop to think they died instead then shall the voice of liberty be mute?“
He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water
Punctuate the speech
Alliteration
Sound-related words
Repetition
Assonance
Rhyming scheme

9. He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water A B
"next to of course god america i love you land of the pilgrims' and so forth oh say can you see by the dawn's early my country 'tis of centuries come and go and are no more what of it we should worry in every language even deafanddumb thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry by jingo by gee by gosh by gum why talk of beauty what could be more beaut- iful than these heroic happy dead who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter they did not stop to think they died instead then shall the voice of liberty be mute?“
He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water A B C D E F G
Alliteration
Sound-related words
Repetition
Assonance
Rhetorical questions
Other (caesura, enjambment, simile)
13 lines
Familiar rhyming scheme?
Volta = turn

10. Exploring the Poem
 Because Cummings capitalises the H in ‘He’ but not the pronoun ‘i’, he is placing the speaker and his personality at the centre of the poem.
Cummings leaves out most of the punctuation so the reader can choose where to pause for a mocking effect.
The poem initially comes across as rambling and a little incoherent but this effectively emphasises the internal conflict of the speaker.
The use of rhyme and alliteration gives the poem an internal structure that makes it seem quite melodic.
Without Cummings’ use of oxymorons, the poem would lose its ambiguity as it could either be read as patriotic or anti-American in sentiment.
Not having a capital A for America in the title confirms that the poem is not patriotic.

11. How does the poet present his ideas and attitudes towards patriotism in the poem?
Introduction
3 PEELA  One PEELA for every developed point
Conclusion