The Soldier Flashcards
introduction
- written shortly after the start of the First World War in 1914, Rupert Brooke’s ‘The Soldier’ was published in 1915 in a collection called 1914.
- the poem presents an idealised view of a soldier’s willingness to fight and die for his country.
- highly patriotic and omitting the harsh realities of war, it glorifies a soldier’s unwavering devotion to England and his selfless allegiance to his beloved nation above all else, even his own life.
form
- iambic pentameter - 10 syllables per line - very hard to achieve as it reflects how perfect the persona thinks England is
- by writing in iambic pentameter, Brooke adopts a traditional poetic form that gives a sense of formality and timelessness.
- The rhythmical pattern aligns with the contemplative tone
- first person narrative voice - only apparent in the first line - could be about any soldier
- almost a perfect sonnet - mostly in iambic pentameter but some lines have 11 syllables which are perhaps suggestive of how much they have to give to England
- 2 stanzas
what type of sonnet is it?
- a petrarchan sonnet
- form used for love poetry
- elevation and loving england
sonnet conventions
- octave - presents an idea - how england enriched his life
- sestet - considers how he will return the gifts given to him by his country through death
- by dividing 14 lines into an octave and a sestet, Brooke divides the thematic focus; the octave explores all that England has bestowed upon the soldier, while the sestet focuses on the soldier’s contribution to his country
volta
The volta signifies a shift from the physical (“bore”, “body”, “breathing”) in the octave to the spiritual (“eternal mind”, “dream”, “heaven”) in the sestet. The structure mirrors the movement from evil to peace
finish the quote : ‘forever..
..England’
finish the quote: ‘ a dust whom…
…England bore, shaped, made aware’
finish the quote: ‘a body..
..of England’s’
‘forever England’
‘a dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware’
‘a body of England’s’
- repetition of England
- shows deep admiration and love, almost obsession
rhyme scheme
- ABABCDCDEFGEFG
caesurae
- commas slow down the pace of the poem which creates a reflective tone
- caesurae in the sestet shows the persona considers what they can give back to England through sacrificing their life protecting it
- they are aware they could pay the ultimate price
what does the octet end with ?
- ‘home’ -> referring to england- suggests how important england is to him
finish the quote: ‘gave once..
..her flowers to love’
finish the quote: ‘her ways..
..to roam’
finish the quote: ‘Her sights…
..and sounds’
finish the quote: ‘dreams..
..happy as her day’
finish the quote: ‘whom england..
..bore, shaped, made aware’
‘gave once her flowers to love’
‘her ways to roam’
‘Her sights and sounds’
‘dreams happy as her day’
- personifies england as a woman and a mother -> unconditional love for motherland
- highlights persona’s loyalty to england as well as his desire to defend and protect her
- as men were encouraged to enlist
- in order to protect the women at home
finish the quote: ‘English..
..heaven’
‘English heaven’
- suggests glory and righteousness
- image of death
- euphemistic image
- sums up overall attitude to war and their positive death
- dying for war is glorified
- propaganda
- rewarded by God - a modern perspective would think this is prejudist - you only go to heaven if you are english
finish the quote: ‘blest by…
..suns of home’
finish the quote: ‘a pulse in..
..the eternal mind’
‘blest by suns of home’
‘a pulse in the eternal mind’
- religious imagery
- ‘blest’ by england to the ‘eternal mind’
- thought of ‘heaven’ gives him comfort when reflecting on his death
finish the quote: ‘flowers…
…to love’
finish the quote: ‘washed by..
..rivers’
finish the quote: ‘blest..
..by suns of home’
‘flowers to love’
‘washed by rivers’
‘blest by suns of home’
- pastoral imagery - element of romanticism - neo Romantic poet
- england’s idyllic nature and landscape
- including its ‘flowers’ and ‘rivers’
- a love of english countryside is part of his devotion to his country
finish the quote: ‘forever..
..England’
‘forever England’
- imperialistic
- suggests that the soldier will conquer foreign soil just by being buried in it
title
- ‘the soldier’
- the definite article ‘the’ suggests that this soldier is representing all soldiers
finish the quote: ‘rich..
..earth’
finish the quote: ‘richer..
..foreign soil’
finish the quote: ‘richer dust…
…concealed’
‘rich earth’
‘richer foreign soil’
‘richer dust concealed’
- comparative adjective (positive)
- euphemistic - euphemism -> speaking metaphorically in order to cover up something more blunt and less delicate
- the idea that it is possible that they might die out there
- softens the blow of potential death
suggests that the persona may not be ready to accept it - being english is the best
- asserting that being english is better than not being english
- nationalistic pride
finish the quote: ‘all evil..
..shed away’
finish the quote: ‘dreams..
..happy as her day’
‘all evil shed away’
‘dreams happy as her day’
‘richer dust’
‘her flowers to love’
‘ways to roam’
‘breathing english air’
‘laughter’
‘gentleness’
- england has been presented as a utopia
- semantic field
- england presented as superior, pure, clean, jolly, peaceful and eden-like
- references to heaven and nature
finish the quote: ‘think only..
..this of me’
‘think only this of me’
- imperative
- wants to be remembered historically
- the persona is shaping the leader’s opinion of them, acting on their “last” wishes
- reader feels forced to think about them in a particular way
use of ‘some’ and ‘a’
- determiners
- ‘that there’s some corner of a foreign field’
- unspecific
- narrator cares less about these spaces, they are part of a ‘foreign field’ and are not nationally english - nationalistic view
- OR
- the soldier feels daunted about the task ahead of them
- they’ll be fighting across many lands
- death could pounce at any moment -> unpredictability of war
what do the final few lines show?
- show the things that the soldier will return to england upon their death
- sights and sounds, dreams -> happy, laughter
- positive
- presents england as idyllic - the origin of all wordly happiness -> bucolic - pastoral idyllic - feels proud that he is fighting for “this” england
‘peace’
- contrasted with the chaos of war
- the persona is aware that the battlefields they will soon enter will be far from nice
mood and tone
- joyous
- uplifting
- celebratory - listing the positive qualities england possesses such as its ‘flowers’ and ‘ways to roam’
- patriotic
key quotations for patriotism
“That there’s some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England.”
“A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam”
“In hearts at peace, under an English heaven”
ANALYSIS FOR KEY QUOTES FOR PATRIOTISM
“That there’s some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England.”
“A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam”
“In hearts at peace, under an English heaven”
England transcends mere geography; the spirit of England is eternally interwoven with that of the soldier’s, wherever he is buried. Alliteration of “foreign field” underscores its foreignness, which contrasts with England
Personification of England as a mother with idealised language (“flowers”, “love”, “roam”) is typical of a Romantic idyll and elevates England into something celestial, thus highlighting the poet’s adoration of his country
The metaphor “under an English heaven” imbues the country with divine status, portraying the idea of dying for it as a noble and beautiful act of patriotism
key quotations for sacrifice/death
“If I should die, think only this of me”
“In that rich earth a richer dust concealed”
“And think, this heart, all evil shed away”
ANALYSIS FOR KEY QUOTES FOR SACRIFICE/DEATH
“If I should die, think only this of me”
“In that rich earth a richer dust concealed”
“And think, this heart, all evil shed away”
The grammatical separation of “think only this of me” shifts the focus away from the soldier and highlights England instead
The dust is considered richer because it is English; the soldier and his country are inextricably linked. It implies that the glory and legacy of the nation are perpetuated through the sacrifices of its people
This line appears at the beginning of the sestet, marking a shift in focus towards spiritual and eternal life. Death is presented positively here, conveying the idea that such a sacrifice brings an end to evil
key quotations for devotion
“A body of England’s, breathing English air”
“Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home”
ANALYSIS FOR KEY QUOTES FOR DEVOTION
“A body of England’s, breathing English air”
“Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home”
The speaker’s devotion to England is highlighted by the notion that his body belongs to the nation; it has been shaped by England, making his “dust” a lasting testimony of England’s beauty and culture
England is omniscient like a divine power: in the air, the rivers and the sun. These religious connotations suggest the poet’s devotion to his country is also a devotion to God
key quotations for transcendence
“A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given”
“Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given”
ANALYSIS FOR KEY QUOTES FOR TRANSCENDENCE
“A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given”
“Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given”
Brooke describes the speaker’s spirit merging with England and the “eternal mind” (God), suggesting he has transcended his earthly existence to endure in eternity
In death, all that England has bestowed upon the soldier returns to the divine power of his country’s spirit; his thoughts do not perish but transcend to an “English heaven”
