Comparison - The Solider And Mametz Wood

Question 1

What are the things similar about the solider and Mametz wood?

Answer 1

• theme of war
• context
• remembrance
• patriotism
• the theme of man
• nature and role of earth

Question 2

What are the things different about the solider and Mametz wood?

Answer 2

• perspective
• structure
• death and violence
• main idea

Question 3

How is the theme of war similar in The soldier and Mametz Wood?

Answer 3

• Both poems are set in WW1 - Mametz Wood was a battle within the Battle of the Somme, and The Soldier was written at the time when the speaker was about to go to war.

Question 4

What are the quotes supporting the theme of war in The soldier and Mametz Wood?

Answer 4

The solider:
• ‘If I should die’ = • The solider is thinking of going to war ,the language is extremely positive language = idyllic as persona never discusses the reality of war (Rupert Brooke was enlisted to fight in WWI in 1914 but he died even before WWI started and never fought it in = he had a fantasied idea of war) - misses out the gruesome death, ‘if’ implies that it probably won’t happen again
• ‘her sights and sounds; dreams as happy as her day’ = • people at home weren’t aware of because it brings to light the awful after effects and how they affect the landscape today.
• ‘in hearts at peace, under an English heaven’ = • Brooke has a very imperialistic view about war – it’s joyful to die for your country

Mametz Wood:
•‘Mametz Wood’ and ‘this morning, twenty men buried in one long grave’ = Mametz Wood was written the truth was known about the tragedy of war – it was inspired by the Battle of Somme n 1961 where detritus was being discovered in Mametz Wood (unearthed organic remains of soldiers)
•’ For years after the farmers found them, the wasted young, turning up under their plough blades’ =• For years after the farmers found them, the wasted young, turning up under their plough blades’

Question 5

How is the idea of remembrance similar in The soldier and Mametz Wood?

Answer 5

Both speakers wish for soldiers to be remembered - Brooke says ‘if I should die, think only this of me’, and Sheers tells us that the earth is ‘reaching back into itself for reminders of what happened. These both show that sacrifice should be remembered and soldiers respected.

Question 6

What are the quotes supporting the idea of remembrance in The soldier and Mametz Wood?

Answer 6

The soldier:

• ‘if I should die, think only this of me’ = - Shows that he thinks that the soldiers should be remembered
• 2nd stanza of the sonnet is about the soldier after death and describes the English heaven
• ‘the Soldier’ = The soldier is generic term so may show that he is important – shows the soldier as a good person and reflects on the soldier’s sacrifice
• Use of caesura slows down the pace of the poem = reflective
• Sonnet form to describe a man’s relationship with his country
• Use of caesura slows down the pace of the poem = reflective
• Sonnet form to describe a man’s relationship with his country

Mametz Wood:

• For years afterwards the farmers found them’ = - for years after shows that the impact of war is long-lasting and found them shows that the soldiers are passive and them shows that they are anonymous as they don’t have a specific identity any longer (made soldiers powerless)
• ‘This morning, twenty men buried in one long grave’ = the adverbial phrase his morning shows the effect of war is still being felt today
• ‘in boots that outlasted them’ = repetition of t,k,b,d,g sounds mimic the sounds of the machine-gun fire cause the heads of the soldiers to be titled back  war is so powerful it forces its way into poetry
• ‘have only now, with this unearthing’ = unearthing shows that we need to acknowledge the atrocities of war to move on from them
• ‘slipped from their absent tongues’ = - absent and slipped shows that the soldiers and passive and powerless again
• ‘reaching back into itself for reminders of what happened’ = - shows that even from the voice of the present, the soldiers should be remembered

Question 7

How is the idea of patriotism similar in The soldier and Mametz Wood?

Answer 7

Sheers shows his love for his country (Wales) by choosing to write about a battle that is rarely remembered - he attempts to achieve justice for the huge sacrifice of the 38th Welsh Division that suffered a huge loss for victory. Brooke wrote ‘The Soldier’ in a sonnet format to show his love for England and repeats the words ‘England’ or ‘English’ six times in the poem, which reinforces the idea that he has strong feelings of affection for the country of origin.

Question 8

What are the quotes supporting the idea of patriotism in The soldier and Mametz Wood?

Answer 8

The Solider:
• ‘plot of land that is forever England’ = - Even the act of burying the solider there links to imperialism as if he is buried there he will be taking over the land
• ‘in that rich earth a richer dust concealed’ = Foreign soil is rich but richer soil remains – nationalistic pride and ‘richer dust’ may be a euphemism for death – is the persona not ready to die?
• England repeated many times in 2nd stanza = - Shows deep love and maybe even obsession for his country – devotion
• ‘English heaven’ = - Heaven has to be English to be good? – suggests dying for the country is glorious and righteous - semantic field of Utopianism = patriotic thoughts of a soldier
• Sonnet form = love for country
• ‘ a pulse in the eternal mind, no less’ =- The soldier who dies who leaves a memory and legacy in the eternal mind = god = a soldier always has a good afterlife – propaganda for WWI

Mametz Wood:
• ‘chit of a bone’ = - Shows the sacrifice made by the soldiers and ch sound shows destruction
• ‘across this field where they were told to walk, not run’ = Mocks the captain of the 38th division whose poor leadership caused the death of the soldiers
• ‘ a broken mosaic of bone linked arm in arm’ = mosaic hits at the destruction but they also have connotations to beauty = sacrifice made was for a better cause
• ‘have only now with this unearthing’ = we need to acknowledge this and move on from it
• ‘absent tongues’ = - He’s the voice they never had
• ‘wasted young’ = - tone is critical and seems like he is mocking them to the people in charge of the 38th division due to poor leadership that had caused many deaths as wasted shows a critical tone towards war

Question 9

How is the theme of man similar in The soldier and Mametz Wood?

Answer 9

Both speakers define the men in the poem by their actions - in ‘The Soldier’ the speaker (Brooke) wants to be remembered ‘only’ by his sacrifice (also link with the title - he is ‘the soldier’). In ‘Mametz Wood’ Sheers uses impersonal pronouns (‘them’) when talking about the soldiers, so they are anonymous. This achieves the effect of reminding the reader of the volume of lives lost, as well as the anonymity of the men due to them being forgotten.

Question 10

What are the quotes supporting the theme of man in The soldier and Mametz Wood?

Answer 10

The Solider:
• ‘think only of me’ = - Only remembered as his role as a soldier
• ‘the soldier’ = - His only identity is being a soldier
• 1st person = - Direct effect of the solider – only his views and only focused on this one soldier’s biased and patriotic views – all soldiers may not feel the same way about war

Mametz Wood:
• ‘and their jaws, those that have them’ = - This achieves the effect of reminding the reader of the volume of lives lost, as well as the anonymity of the men due to them being forgotten.
• ‘3rd person’ = impersonal so anonymous

Question 11

How is the role of nature similar in The soldier and Mametz Wood?

Answer 11

in both poems the earth (nature) has a fairly positive role. Brooke implies that his death will be positive because the place that he falls (on the earth) will win land - ‘there is some corner of a foreign field that is for ever England’. Sheers tells us that the earth is wounded (‘tended the land’) but works to guard the soldiers - ‘even now the earth stands sentinel’.

Question 12

What are the quotes supporting the role of nature in The soldier and Mametz Wood?

Answer 12

The Solider:
• ‘English heaven’ = - More superior
• ‘there is some corner of a foreign field that is for ever England’ = - his death will be positive because the place that he falls (on the earth) will win land
• England bore, shaped , made aware = - personification highlights the motherly nature of land and that the solider is loyal to it

Mametz Wood:
• ‘tended the land’ = - Earth is wounded
• ‘even now the earth stands sentinel’ = - Earth works to guard the soldiers

Question 13

How is the idea of a perspective different in The soldier and Mametz Wood?

Answer 13

: Sheers writes from a future POV, and recognises the negative impacts of war (‘the wasted young’). On the contrary, Brooke wrote with a positive view and is sure that his sacrifice will bring victory - not be in vain (‘there’s some corner of a foreign field that is for ever England’).

Question 14

What are the quotes supporting the differences in perspective in The soldier and Mametz Wood?

Answer 14

The Solider:

• ‘there’s some corner of a foreign field that is for ever England’ = Brooke wrote with a positive view and is sure that his sacrifice will bring victory - not be in vain
• ‘all evil shed away’ = - Shed has connotations to the snake – biblical creatures may show the idea that dying for your country means you will be rewarded in the afterlife too
• ‘flowers roaming’ ‘blest by suns’ ‘heaven’ = - Eden like = worth dying for?

Mametz Wood:

• ‘wasted young’ = - ‘wasted young’ from Mametz Wood - bravery wasn’t acknowledged, 600 men died just for a bit a wood, so it was a ‘waste’
• ‘ the china plate of a shoulder blade’ = - Fragile = destruction is brought due to war
• ‘broken bird’s egg of a skull’ = - Juxtaposition of egg (new life) and skull (death and danger) shows the negative force of war and turns symbol of hope (egg) into one of death
• ‘like a wound working a foreign body to the surface of the skin’ = - Hopeful image showing wound will heal but over time

Question 15

How is the structure different in The soldier and Mametz Wood?

Answer 15

: Brooke shows his love (patriotism) for England by using a sonnet (typical love poem) with a Shakespearean rhyme scheme to show pride in literary heritage. Sheers, however, wrote Mametz Wood as a remembrance poem so it is slow and regular, flitting between focusing on the soldiers and the land every other sentence.

Question 16

What are the quotes supporting the differences in structure in The soldier and Mametz Wood?

Answer 16

The Solider:

• Sonnet = type of love poem = 14 lines long
• Iambic pentameter (mostly) except a few lines related to England which have 11 syllables instead of 10- England gave them so much it’s overflowing?
• Octet shows solider might die
• Volta then sestet to what England gave to the persona
• Almost a perfect sonnet – reflecting perfect England?
• 2nd stanza justifies the first, showing why it’s worth dying for

Mametz Wood:

• Mametz Wood is an elegy for a sad and mournful poem
• Lament for the dead
• No set structure – defined by their topic as long sentences show a slow and reflective tone
• Sheers pays tribute to the soldiers forgotten in history
• Neat parallel lines may show the ploughed fields
• Small fragmentary tercets may show remains of soldiers
• Unrhymed tercets may show the raw nature of war – no beauty in war

Question 17

How is the idea of death and war different in The soldier and Mametz Wood?

Answer 17

Although both poems discuss death, Sheers goes into deep description of the state of the soldiers 100 years on, and how grotesque/macabre the image is. The Soldier - ‘if I should die’ and a ref. to the funeral service: ‘in that rich earth a richer dust concealed’. Mametz Wood - ‘the wasted young’ and ‘a broken mosaic of bone’ ‘their skeletons’.

Question 18

What are the quotes supporting the different idea of death and war in The soldier and Mametz Wood?

Answer 18

The Soldier:

• ‘if I should die’ = - No real pain of war, but mostly how the dead body of the soldier after the war will impact the foreign land
• ‘in that rich earth a richer dust concealed’ = - The body will make the land better like England and improve the foreign land = glorifies dying, not the pain involved in dying
• ‘ a pulse in the eternal mind’ = - Shows death as great in the afterlife – death is a sacrifice after which they will be remembered by God
• All evil shed away = only the purified heart will be left after death = religious views of death in 1914 may have helped drive this piece further as propaganda - Christianity in both Europe and the United States served to unite fellow soldiers of the same denomination and motivated them to fight

Mametz Wood:
• ‘ their haws, those that have them dropped open’ = Brutal and shows devastation of war shown further by embedded clause
• ‘‘a broken mosaic of bone’ and ‘their skeletons’. = - Sheers goes into deep description of the state of the soldiers 100 years on, and how grotesque/macabre the image is.
• ‘blown and broken bird’s egg of a skull’ = Plosive alliteration – mimics the sound of gunfire and explosions on battlefield. Zoomorphism associates a sense of delicacy with the soldiers – some only boys.
• ‘socketed heads tilted back’ = - Gives imagery of their heads when they are shot with bullets with a simple work such as tilted. It shows it was a normal thing to them. The word socketed shows that the bullets fit into them perfectly as if they were meant to die.
• ‘their skeletons paused mid-dance-macabre’ = - By putting their arms together, and burying them all in one grave, the cohesion of the unit is maintained; the soldiers died together, not alone, doing something great, and this, perhaps, is the most memorable image of the entire poem – twenty dead soldiers linked arm in arm, their bones nearly fused together

Question 19

How is the main idea different in The soldier and Mametz Wood?

Answer 19

The Soldier:
The Soldier conveys the message that it is noble to fight and die for your country. To get this across, it misses out the gruesome deaths and the reactions of these soldier’s families. Instead it focusses on how great England is and how the soldiers will get eternal peace after the war, whether they return to England or go to heaven.
- Has more references to patriotism than war
- Excessively sentimental and unrealistic
- Dying is honourable and a chance as redemption
- Noble sacrifice to die in war
- Idealised and romanticism shown by Brooke
- Links war to religion – war is holy?

Mametz Wood:
Mametz Wood demonstrates the tragedy of war and long-term consequences. ‘wasted young’ is a perfect example of this.
‘nesting machine guns’ = - Guns hidden in the forest by the Germans very seamlessly – they almost had no chance of winning but they still went on = bravery?
‘boots that outlasted them’ = - Imagery of the loss of the soldiers – they’re forgotten so easily in the soil but he wants them to be remembered
‘slipped from their absent tongues’= - Soldiers are powerless and passive and he is acting as their voice

Question 20

What is the conclusion about The Solider and Mametz Wood?

Answer 20

The Soldier and Mametz Wood are very different poems and I think that this is because they are written from different knowledge bases, one after and one before the war. They both reflect on the soldiers bodies in the ground and I think that this is effective because it conveys that they are still there and with us today. The Soldier used this to portray everlasting rest and peace from the fighting. On the other hand, Mametz Woods uses this idea to imply that war doesn’t just end when it is declared over and soldier’s lives don’t just end when they die, because the atrocities are still here for us to see today.