“Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen and “next to obviously God America i” by E. E Cummings are poems that criticize patriotic propaganda. Both poems use words and images to effectively describe the influence patriotic propaganda has on war. “Dulce et Decorum Est” uses descriptive words to create realistic images of the horrors soldiers face during combat, while “nex to course god america i” uses sarcasm to inform readers that the abuse of propaganda can be used to manipulate others. The attitudes they convey are quite similar; both suggest that propaganda is a lie; it is not sweet and right to die for your country. It is ingrained in the minds of soldiers that dying for one's country is a great and honorable sacrifice. However, in the poem Dulce et Decorum Est the speaker uses powerful words and images to portray that patriotic propaganda is an “old lie” (Owen 27). In the first stanza, the speaker explains the effects war has on young soldiers: “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks/On our knees, coughing like witches, we cursed in the mud” (Owen 1-2). Propaganda portrays soldiers as young heroes, strong, healthy and vigorous. However, based on the evidence expressed in the previous quote, soldiers are not all that propaganda portrays them to be. The speaker chooses words like “bent double, like old baggers” and “knock-kneed” (Owens 1-2) to expose the hardship and effects war has on young soldiers. The soldiers are discreetly compared to crippled old men, which highlights how badly the war has affected their bodies, robbing them of health, making them weak and helpless like “old beggars” (Owen 1). Furthermore, the speaker expresses his experience of selling… middle of paper… support of patriotic propaganda. The speaker may be worried because he fears that what he is saying will cause him to be labeled as unpatriotic. Cumming could have incorporated this verse into the poem to strengthen personal beliefs and protect national pride. Both poems would agree that patriotic propaganda is a method used to alter the values ​​and ideas of the nation. Although both poems differ in their portrayal of the patriotic message, they both criticize the effects of propaganda. For those who believe it is sweet and right to die for your country, any man who has experienced war firsthand would admit that patriotic propaganda is a lie. It would be interesting to further analyze the poems and consider the comparison between the historical use of propaganda and that of modern media by politicians, as well as analyze whether propaganda today is still using and abusing patriotism..