Satire, being the definitive of irony, sarcasm or caustic wit used to attack or expose idiocy, debauchery or stupidity, or the branch of literature consisting of such works, is a prominent theme to Cummings poetry. He utilizes irony in particular, expressing something different from and often opposite to its literal meaning. Cummings is emphatic on the values and ideas expressed in his poetry, but chooses to outline the main concerns through application of various poetic techniques, and thus creating a layered effect in the meaning. “I sing of Olaf glad and big”, “pity this busy monster, manunkind”, and “next to of course god America I” are excellent examples of Cummings employment of satire, criticizing human vice and stupidity that are an obtrusive feature of our nature.

“I sing of Olaf, glad and big” is a satire on war, patriotism and societies values. It tells of the kind of treatment one who is soft hearted can expect to receive in the American army, contradicting its glorified and patriotic image. Cummings compares it to the Nazi’s in different lines. “a yearning nations blueeyed pride”, mocks the blatant patriotism of America, and references it to the ‘aerean’ race that Hitler aimed to achieve, also in the last line “more blond that you”. The poem also dictates the truth of what sort of action is accepted and employed by those “most succinctly bred”. Olaf, the unconformist, is abused and beaten until he is “to all intents a corpse”, all in the supposed name of patriotism and authority of the educated , those “kindred intellects”. In the next verse, an undertone of rape is present, but the courage of Olaf in standing up for his own moral conviction in the face of adversity is evident. Despite this, he is called a “yellowsonofabitch”, a coward because he did not agree with the truth and ideology of war. The last verse of the poem reveals the main concerns of the poem, “preponderatingly because unless statistics lie he was more brave then me:more blond than you”. Cummings criticizes the way men are treated simply as objects, as numbers and statistics in war, referencing the number of unknown and unidentified men who died for the few in power. His poetry on war was both personal and general in relativity, as it showed his criticism for what is known to be personally experienced and universally felt and recognized. It is the ironic nature in which it has been portrayed that is so convincing in cummings poetry.

e.e cummings was fond of comparing and relating man to nature, and emphasizing natures brilliance through satirizing our vice and folly. Pity this busy monster manunkind, not, dictates the way humanity is obsessed with its own expansion and greatness in the order of things, “plays with the bigness of its littleness”, forgetting to care for what is left behind in the path of ‘progress’. We are the finest specimen “of hypermagical ultraomnipotence” in our own opinion, thinking that the world will last through the destruction we continually cause it – “listen, there’s a hell of a good universe next door; let’s go”. Despite degrading humanity, Cummings also implies that we are the victims of a comfortable disease, of progress and science, as well as that poets are the doctors or healers of nature – that they know man is ‘a hopeless case’. His explicit and frequent use of irony, along with manipulation of traditional sentence structure and word form is an essential part of conveying the main concerns or ideas and values behind his poems.

“Next to of course god America” is a satire about patriotism, nationalism and politics. Cummings mocks the idea that America is viewed as equal to god by fanatical nationalists, incorporating the American national anthem in its lines. Cummings also includes his oft used theme of war, and criticizes the way history has been beautified and glorified despite the “roaring slaughter” that occurred,although its importance in shaping a nations image of itself is also noted. The poem is an excerpt of a speech, (finishing at) the last line “he spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water” giving the reader/audience the impression that it has been spoken by a politician, perhaps on election day to garner the support of such a patriotic country. The way in which it has been styled has the effect of a rushed, bitter and somewhat forced speech, washed down and swallowed by both the politician and his audience, also as a form of brainwashing in its own way. The glass of water gives the image of a nervous, sweating politician anxious to get his spiel out, and also inevitably makes a note on politics inability to disguise truth. It is this last line, the ironical final twist, that causes the reader to look further into the true meaning and sentiment behind the first verse.

e.e cummings chose to reflect on a number of prominent themes and ideas that were relative both to himself and the rest of society, often writing satires to give his opinion on various ideas and values. The ironical way in which almost all of his poetry has been written is essential in portraying the truth in his seemingly childish and insensible, intelligible poems. Cummings is extremely effective in causing the reader to reflect in the various ideas represented in his poetry, as he was revolutionary in his extremely modern ideals for the time. Although cummings enjoyed employing and manipulating many poetic techniques as well as basic rules for written English, it was his utilization of satire and irony that were the most important, the most prominent and persuasive in his poetry.

Want to comment on this Essays? Sign up to Edit Red and you will be able to comment on Essays and get access to: Upload your own stories and poems, get readers and their feedback, promote your work...