The soldier - analysis Flashcards
‘Soldier’
The title suggests an anonymous soldier and perhaps reflects how many soldiers were to lose their lives in battle
‘If i should die’
- poem is written in first person and reflects the idea that is is an honour to right and die for your country
- there is an acceptance that he may die but this is viewed as a sacrifice he is willing to make
‘foreign field’
adjective ‘foreign’ suggests how far from he he is and how strange the environment feels compared to England
‘That is forever England’
First mention of his country and his pride in fighting for her (he represents her even in death)
‘That is forever England’
First mention of his country and his pride in fighting for her (he represents her even in death)
‘richer dust concealed’
religious overtones, reminiscent of a funeral service, he returns to dust upon his death
‘whom England bore, shaped, made aware’
here he personifies England - she is almost his mother, who raised him and nurtured him
‘her flowers to love, her ways to roam’
imagery suggests the beauty of England - her “flowers” and lanes, her “rivers”
‘washed by rivers, blest by suns of home’
again, almost religious the verb “blest” suggests she is his benefactor, his protector
‘all evil shed away’
adjective “evil” perhaps an implied reference to the horrors of war and the cruelty mankind is capable of
‘A pulse in the eternal mind’
suggests in death he almost becomes part of the universe, he achieves some form of immortality
‘Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day; And laughter, learnt of friends’
the poet reminds us of the cherished memories of England and home shared with friends
‘In hearts at peace…English heaven’
Death brings peace and comfort, and he can die in the knowledge of a life well spent and sacrifice appropriately to help protect a nation that is so important and righteous - even heaven reflects its values
