1 Ten O Clock The mention of white nightgowns evokes a ghostly imagery alluding to the trope of ghosts in white sheets common in folklore and bedtime tales References to red weather purple with green rings and other imaginative colors contrast with the bland white attire longing for the exotic or fantastical vibrant hinting at the Romantic The old sailor dreaming of tigers in red weather alludes to adventure and exoticism possibly referencing literary traditions of seafaring tales and exploration The plain white nightgowns may allude to puritanical simplicity and restraint in American culture critiquing its suppression of individuality and imagination America i The poem strings together fragments of traditional patriotic expressions and hymns which allude to familiar nationalistic songs like The Star Spangled Banner and other American anthems highlighting the empty repetition of such rhetoric The line beautiful heroic happy dead positions the glorification of war heroes with the grim reality of their sacrifice Religious Allusions The poem s ironic tone reflects the kind of patriotic attitude and propaganda being displayed during World War I alluding to the ways in which young men were encouraged to sacrifice themselves for their country without critical reflection 2 Yes the word jingo alludes to jingoism a term that refers to extreme nationalism and aggressive foreign policy often characterized by the promotion of warlike rhetoric in the name of patriotism 3 The opening lines mimic a disjointed patriotic speech filled with clich s platitudes and fragments of familiar nationalist slogans and phrases that serve to satirize current politics in 1926 and highlight contradictions in The American Way like glorifying sacrifice and spewing war propaganda The final line speaks to the emptiness of the government s words While the rhetoric glorifies sacrifice and patriotism the speaker is untouched by the consequences of what they advocate