The Soldier Flashcards
Poet
Rupert Brooke
Structure/Form
The poem is written in sonnet form (a typical love poem consisting of 14 lines) and includes iambic pentameter throughout (x5 ‘iambs’ or pairs,
one unstressed syllable, the other stressed). The first 8 lines of the poem discuss the possibility of the soldier dying and reflect on the role England has had in his development. In the ninth line, the soldier reflects on what heaven would be like and this creates a change in the poem’s direction. The final part of the poem explores the afterlife and moves away from earth.
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware
Here, England is personified as a powerful figure and is referred to as the female gender. A semantic field of creation if established through ‘bore, shaped’ – the speaker feels that England is a giver of life, just like a female. He is fighting for the thing that gave him his life – his country.
field’, ‘bore’, ‘flowers’, ‘air’, ‘rivers’, ‘suns’
Semantic field of nature:– sets a romantic tone of beauty throughout the poem, celebrating England’s finer details – the reasons the soldier fights – for everything in the country
If i should die, think only this of me
First person – links to the fact that Brooke himself fought in WW1; he is speaking from experience and clearly has patriotic views
Eternal, dreams, laughter, gentleness, peace, heaven
Semantic field of peace – creates the speaker’s overall idea that England will continue to look after him once he has passed away. Creates a very positive feel to the poem, linking to the romantic, idealistic views of war (before the destructive truth was exposed).
Imperative
Speaker is strong minded
Context
At the beginning of World War 1, people were idealistic and naïve about war, seeing it as something noble and heroic. Brooke’s poems about war and death are quite romanticised and optimistic perhaps because they were written before people were really aware of the senseless slaughter and futility of battle.
