The Soldier by Rupert Brooke

Question 1

The Soldier
Person?
Form?
Structure?

Answer 1

1st- Personal, idealised opinion of a soldier
Petrachan sonnet- Purest form of sonnet, love poem to country
Iambic pentameter- Heartbeat rhythm, heightened emotion

Question 2

The Soldier
Context?

Answer 2

Part of propaganda campaign for WW1
Originally titled The Recruit
Brooke died before seeing military action

Question 3

The Soldier
5 quotations

Answer 3

‘If I should die’
‘corner of a foreign field/That is forever England’
‘suns of home’
‘Her sights and sounds’
‘hearts at peace, under an English heaven’

Question 4

The Soldier
‘If I should die’

Answer 4

Bravery, death is real possibility
Conditional phrase, hope to live
1st person, emotive opening

Question 5

The Soldier
‘corner of a foreign field/That is forever England’

Answer 5

Fricative, labiodental alliteration, gentle, light tone
Patriotism, wherever dies is English soil
Pride lives for eternity, after death

Question 6

The Soldier
‘suns of home’

Answer 6

Homophone, brave men fighting for their families
Comfort, warmth, hope
Monosyllabic words slow down pace

Question 7

The Soldier
‘Her sights and sounds’

Answer 7

Short clause creates list, England’s virtues are so plentiful
Personifies England as a perfect being that must be protected, cared for
Syndetic pair and sibilance, peace, tranquillity and certainty

Question 8

The Soldier
‘hearts at peace, under an English heaven’

Answer 8

Death is a welcome release
Constant repetition, strong patriotism
Afterlife links to religious Garden of Eden, desirable place soldiers can reach