The Soldier

Question 1

Structure

Answer 1

Petrarchan sonnet - octave and sestet ; differentiated through a different rhyming pattern
Feature of the sonnet is the use of the caesura - “at peace, under an” - creates balance and a hushed reverence far removed from the tumult of war ; “at peace” is the exact effect Brooke is aiming to achieve
Volta and use of soft rhyme by acknowledging the renewed change in thought - just shows how removed he is from the idea of war and this is also reflected in his cause of death ; through a mosquito infection (sepsis) and with no experience of war, thus presenting this rural idyll

Question 2

Context

Answer 2

Refers to how there was no repatriation in WW1 - soldiers were not brought back home and buried in a “foreign field” without second thought LINK WITH FLOURISH OF ALLITERATION
Removed - death with no experience of war… more of a glorified love poem than a war poem, he is presenting the exact lie “Dulce et decorum Est” that Owens mocks

Question 3

Octave

Answer 3

Immediately starts with “If I should die”, however this is starkly contrasted with the immortality of the word “forever” - suggesting that in a way he does not die that he is a sacrifice made to an idea which always endures. This is reinforced through the flourish of alliteration - accentuating this crescendo of patriotic feelings “foreign feeling”
Fricatives possibly mirroring a proud Union Jack swaying in the wind
“England bore shaped made aware” - personified as a maternal figure and he does not want us to grieve over his loss but instead wants us to celebrate the eternal figure of England (no mourning)
Undertones of purification and warm through the grace of the verbs “washed” and “blest” - a superior country

Question 4

Sestet

Answer 4

“A pulse in the eternal mind” - after death he is absorbed into his Christian God ; momentary second added to the everlasting life of God (infinity)
“Gives somewhere back” - possibly highlighting how his “richer dust” (ashes) give back into this foreign land the beauty and values given to him by Mother England
“Sights and sounds ; dream happy” - caesura adds beauty and elegance reinforced by the paired alliteration, also bringing out the soft sibilance and is very different to the abrupt staccato in Dulce - no angularity or hurriedness and instead beauty, removing it even further from the reality of war