Question

My Sweet Old Etcetera
by E.E.cummings

my sweet old etcetera

aunt lucy during the recent

war could and what

is more did tell you just

what everybody was fighting

for, . . .



"my sweet old etcetera". Copyright 1926, 1954, (c) 1991 by the Trustees for the E. E. Cummings Trust. Copyright (c) 1985 by George James Firmage, from COMPLETE POEMS: 1904-1962 by E. E. Cummings, edited by George J. Firmage. Used by permission of Liveright Publishing Corporation.

Question
Use the lines to answer the question.

What interpretation does the poet’s description of his aunt support?

(1 point)
Responses

The poet feels that the public perception of the war is inaccurate and that the reality is much different.
The poet feels that the public perception of the war is inaccurate and that the reality is much different.

The poet makes a statement about the contrast between giving support and taking action.The poet feels that war is necessary to make the world safe for democracy.
The poet feels that war is necessary to make the world safe for democracy.

The poet makes a statement about the importance of his family and their support for the war.
The poet makes a statement about the importance of his family and their support for the war.

Answer 1

The poet suggests that common/public views of the war were simplistic or misleading — the aunt’s easy, clichéd summary ("my sweet old etcetera") implies the reality was more complex than people claimed.