“next to of course god america i:” cummings’ Use Of Domain e. cummings’ poem, “next to of course god america i,” is a wonderful example of stylistic variation in a text. Once again, we see his skill and mastery at manipulating the English language in order to foreground a thought and turn it into a commentary on society. As with all of cummings works, there is evidence of a multitude of variances and deviances at work, however, I shall concentrate on the area of language variance, more specifically, domain.Language variation and the area of domain, subject matter and function, are the easiest kinds of variation to see within a text. Subject matter involves the use of lexical fields, that is to say, a grouping of words, belonging to a specific field of study, like law, medical or religious terminology. In this poem, cummings has chosen to incorporate popular clichs to portray the irony of what people say and what they mean. Through syntactical deviance, cummings shows just how jumbled these attitudes were and produces a poem that is very ironic in tone.Short says that “there is clearly a relationship between subject matter and accessibility.” (p 85) To some extent, what typically counts as a subject matter depends on our knowledge and purposes. cummings has used popular clichs of the time in order to foreground his commentary on blind patriotism.Language variation according to domain is used for characterization and for parody. In this poem, we see a speechmaker trying to communicate his feelings regarding patriotism. However, with language, he ends up letting us know the insincerity and lack of thought for the subject matter he upon which he is concentrating. Phrases like “dawn’s early,” “voice of liberty,” and “land of pilgrims” show that the speaker is discussing patriotism. Phrases like “heroic happy dead” and “roa...
