Poetry Blog 12

"The Englissh are So Nice" by D. H. Lawrence immediately caught my attention because it seemed like an odd topic for a poem, and a little bit sarcastic. As I read on in the poem, I realized that it comes across as a satire about the attitude of the English and how they wish to be percieved. I looked up D. H. Lawrence and found that he was in fact an Englishman, meaning that this poem is from the perspective of the English, and makes sense as a satire. I interpreted Lawrence as saying that the English think they are "so awfully nice," and have an inflated opinion of themselves. The fact that he goes on to compare Americans, the French, and Germans to the English also implies that Lawrence feels like the English think they are better than other Eurpoean and Western countries. It has some irony because it implies that the English think they are the nicest people in the world, and that they are better than others, who Lawrence says they should "never [be] take[n] seriously," but it's satiric tone implies that maybe the English are being ignorant in their view of their country, and that the "Americans and French and Germans" do not see them in the same light at all. Lawrence lived during World War I, so this poem could be commenting on England's relationship with America, France, and Germany during the war. But, it could also have broader meaning, representing how a citizen feels about his or her own country, when others may completely disagree. This interpretation would also make sense in reference to the war, as England, America, France, and Germany had relationships during this time. I think this is an interesting commentary about a citizen to his or her country. It can easily be applied to the present, even though possibly written a centuyry ago. Often times Americans are more patriotic than maybe we should be. We assume that we are always the hero that comes to save a people from a corrupt government, but we don't always know the unbiased information about a situation.