the soldier- rupert brooke

Question 1

analyse the title:

Answer 1

• definitive article ‘The’ suggests this ‘Soldier’ is representing all soldiers, archetype
• also personalises the role, making it intimate and reflective rather than just symbolic

Question 2

analyse:
If I should die, think only this of me:
That there’s some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be

Answer 2

• first person, imperative, persona is shaping the reader’s opinion of them, just like how they are of England, acting on their ‘last’ wish
• indefinite determiners ‘some’ and ‘a’ are unspecific- persona cares less about these spaces as they are a part of a ‘foreign field’ and not naturally English
• alternatively, it is an imperialistic phrase- suggests the ‘soldier’ will conquer ‘foreign’ soil by being buried in it- persona’s lack of concern for precise location- reinforces idea that any foreign land can become an extension of England through sacrifice

Question 3

analyse:
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England’s, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

Answer 3

• the diacope of ‘rich’, a base adjective, coupled with ‘richer’, a
  positive comparative suggests that being English is the best
• ‘dust’ as a metaphor for mortality- soldier’s body is reduced to it, yet through England’s influence, it becomes something more meaningful
• England is personified as a woman and mother- highlights personas loyalty and desire to defend and protect her
• ‘bore, shaped, made away’- cyclical structure- England does not just create ‘soldiers’- it moults their identity, values and sense of duty for the better
• repetition of ‘England’ shows deep admiration, love and almost obsession
• ends octet with ‘home’, emphasises how important England is
• ‘blest’ suggests divine favour, reinforcing England as sacred
• absence of violent imagery makes it feel more like a tribute than a lament

Question 4

analyse:
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less

Answer 4

• positive things, presents England as idyllic
• caesura slows down the pace, creates a reflective tone
• purity through sacrifice, ignores war’s brutality
• imagery of ‘pulse’ suggests vitality and continuity- soldier’s sacrifice sustains England beyond death- ‘eternal’
• ‘eternal mind’ implies transcendence- legacy will outlast physicality- almost religious- death is a spiritual continuation

Question 5

analyse:
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

Answer 5

• patriotic mood, propaganda like
• persona will return: sights and sounds, (happy) dreams, laughter- presents England as an idyllic memory rather than a real place- almost romanticising the past rather than engaging with war’s harsh reality
• image of death, suggests glory and righteousness
• peace contrasts with the chaos of war
• accumulative listing reinforces England’s abundance of positive qualities, creates a breathless, overwhelmed tone, whilst the enjambment suggests an outpouring of admiration, as if there are too many virtues to contain, reflecting an idealised and near-utopian portrayal of England
• alliteration of ‘h’ gives it an impassioned, breathless quality- has an intense, patriotic love
• England isn’t just a homeland, but a sacred, eternal place- death is noble and peaceful, not tragic

Question 6

describe the form of the poem

Answer 6

• written in almost perfect sonnet form- reflects how perfect the persona thinks England is- sonnet is a typical love poetry form- romanticises England and war, making it a glorification rather than a lament
• presents England as: superior, clean, pure, jolly, peaceful, Eden like (references to both heaven and nature)

Question 7

describe the structure of the poem

Answer 7

• made of two parts:
• Petrarchan sonnet structure, with an octave (introducing England as a motherly figure) and a sestet (shifting to the soldier’s legacy)
• shift in focus- volta occurs at ‘and think, this heart, all evil shed away’- marks transition from physical imagery to abstract, spiritual reflection

Question 8

context:

Answer 8

• enlisted to fight when WW1 broke out 1914, 27 years old
• prior to WW1, educated at University of Cambridge, was popular and well connected in the University’s literary circles
• had travelled widely and completed some journalist work, although did suffer from homesickness from time to time
• wrote a sequence of sonnets that were collectively titled ‘1914’- ‘The Soldier’ is the 5th and final in this collection
• 1915, The Times Literary Supplement published it- Brooke became a literary celebrity as these poems captured the spirit of the times with a country yet to feel the full impact of war- aligns with early WW1 nationalism
• April 1915 died on a ship from sepsis (blood poisoning) after an infected mosquito bite
• was buried in Skyros Greece (where the ship was buried at the time)
• DIED BEFORE EXPERIENCING TRENCH WARFARE- explains his idealism
• NEVER ACTIVELY FOUGHT ON THE FRONT LINE OF WAR

Question 9

key quotes:

Answer 9

• If I should die, think only this of me / That there’s some corner of a foreign field / That is forever England
• rich earth a richer dust concealed
• England bore, shaped, made aware
• a body of England’s, breathing English air
• Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home
• all evil shed away
• dreams happy as her day;
• And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
• In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.