The Soldier - Context Flashcards
1
Q
Who was the author of the poem?
A
Rupert Brooke - neo romantic poet
2
Q
When was the poem written?
A
-1914 - at the start of the war
- published in 1915 by the Times Literary Supplement and the sonnet which came before it and Brooke became a literary celebrity as the poem caught the spirit of the times with a country yet to feel the full impact of war
3
Q
What type of poem it it?
A
A pro-war/patriotic poem
4
Q
What did Rupert Brooke do in the war?
A
- he died of an insect bite on the way to war
- he enlisted to fight when WW1 broke out in 1914 - at 27 years old
- died April 1915 before he fought in war from sepsis which is blood poisoning - which he got from an infected mosquito bite
- never actively fought on the front line of war
5
Q
When were Brooke’s poems published relative to his death?
A
Published after his death
6
Q
Where was Brooke buried?
A
- in Greece, Skyros
7
Q
What was the mood of the soldiers at the start of WW1 in 1914?
A
- when war was declared in 1914, men were eager to enlist - ‘the soldier’ captures this early idealism
8
Q
What is the poem about?
A
- the narrator, a solder, is talking about the possibility of dying in a foreign country during the war - the area where he dies will be “for ever England”
- describe England as a mother who gave birth to him and raised him
- believes that death will be comforting, and that he’ll be able to give back the things that England gave him - his thoughts and memories won’t be lost reassuring the reader that if they are to die, they are doing it for England
- patriotism, prowar, propaganda
9
Q
What themes are shown in the poem?
A
- faith and worship
- death and loss
- the effects of war
- nature
- sense of place
