"THE SOLDIER"

"THE SOLDIER" by rupert brooke

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TITLE

This poem has had two titles: “The Soldier” and “Nineteen-Fourteen: The Soldier”.

RUPERT BROOKE

• Brooke began writing poetry at a young age, and her work is distinguished by lyrical language and romantic images. He was also known for his physical beauty, which earned him a certain fame in the literary society of the time.

• His early poems dealt with personal themes, such as love and nature, but with the onset of World War I his poetry took on a more patriotic tone.

• Brooke never took part in the fighting directly, her work was used to fuel patriotic sentiment at home.

• His poems, published posthumously, were celebrated for their idealism and formal beauty.

• Despite his fame as a "war poet", his work reflects more a feeling of melancholy beauty than the hardness of war itself.

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Essential plot

“The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke, written during World War I, conveys patriotism and idealism. The narrator tells of an English soldier preparing for war, reflecting on his love for England and viewing death in battle as a noble sacrifice for his homeland. Brooke describes England’s beauty and tranquility, suggesting the soldier’s body, resting in English soil, would contribute to his nation’s greatness. The poem expresses pride, acceptance of destiny, and hope that his sacrifice will inspire others. It celebrates patriotism, sacrifice, and dying for a greater cause, mirroring the era’s beliefs.

OCTET

f I should die, think only this of me: That there’s some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England.

-First World War.-Alternative rhyme scheme. -Double cesura. -Run on line. -Personification.

There shall be In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;

A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam; A body of England’s, breathing English air, Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

• 2 possible interpretations;

• Meaning of the sextet;

• Rhyming scheme;

• Figures of speech;

• Memories of England and the "englishness"

• Parallel with Easter 1916

Sextet

And think,this heart, all evil shed awayA pulse in the eternal mind, no less Gives somewhere back the toughts by England given; Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day; And laugh; learnt of friends; and gentleness, In hearts at peace, under an English Heaven.

Themes

Nostalgia and memory

Patriotism

The poem suggests that dying for one's country grants a form of immortality through remembrance.

The poem explores the bond between a patriotic British soldier and his homeland.

War and sacrifice

The soldier views his potential death in war as an honorable and noble act that contributes to the glory of his nation.

Mortality and immortality

THE MEANING

- Brotherhood

- A British heaven

- Eternal life in death

- A better land

- The foreign "burial place"

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