The Soldier by Rupert Brooke Flashcards
1
Q
Story + Message of ‘The Soldier’
A
- Narrator is stating what he would like to be remembered by if he died in the war on foreign soil
- Message of patriotism + fulfilling nature of dying for your country (specifically England) at war
2
Q
What is the tone of ‘The Soldier’?
A
Patriotic tone + sese of idealism -> uses to express his love for England
3
Q
What is the imagery used in ‘The Soldier’?
A
- Imagery of nature – harmonious relationship between reader and nature (specifically nature in England) – shows the narrators strong bond to England
- Imagery of joy felt by people in England
4
Q
“If I should die, think only this of me:”
A
- Conditional command – shows he accepts the possibility of his own death, establishes tone of bravery and assertiveness
- “only” established the patriotism that motivated Brooke as well as other young soldiers at the early idealistic stage of war – wants to be seen as devoted to his country and not mourned
5
Q
“There shall be”
A
There is a certainty in Brooke’s world view – he doesn’t question the morality of war and innocent lives lost
6
Q
1st + 3rd line have clear and simple rhyme
A
Clear rhymes may suggest the moral certainties Brooke seems to express in the poem
7
Q
“A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware”
A
- Shows patriotism of poet – even as dust he represents England, is a product of her society and ethos
- England s repeated and personified throughout the poem – a mother figure who raised and nurtured him, needs protecting, motherland (rousing propaganda style of writing
- “bore” – held and raised
- Builds up emotional impact of his country – lists how England made him the person he is today – triplet used
8
Q
“And think, this heart, all evil shed away,”
A
- Volta in poem – divide the 1st 8 lines on thoughts of death from the last 6 lines which move back to England and the joy that Brooke derives from his country
- In dying for his country, the soldier has sacrificed himself and become a martyr for England and that his heart (and perhaps soul) has been purified by this sacrifice
- “evil” – may be an implied reference to the horrors of war and the cruelty mankind is capable of
9
Q
“Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day; / And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,”
A
- Gentle rhythm of these 2 line
- Unity created by the alliterative “laughter”, “learnt” and “sights and sounds” – reader may be glad he didn’t suffer and go through trench warfare and died with his dream
- Poet’s cherished memories of England
10
Q
“In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.”
A
- Might refer to those who survive the war and can resume their idealistic existence – “hearts at peace” could also refer to those who may die fighting and find rest in heaven (which in Brooke’s view is English)
- “in hearts at peace” – death brings peace and comfort and he can die in the knowledge of a life well spent and sacrificed appropriately to help protect a notion that he believes is so important and righteous that even heaven reflects its values
- Most readers are sad and tolerant given his youth and ignorance
11
Q
Structure:
A
- The poem begins with the idea of the anonymous soldier’s death and suggests his decomposing body will infuse the ground around him with a little of his English values and ideals
- The middle of the poem personifies England and considers how beautiful and picturesque the countryside is
- The final stanza suggests that in death he will achieve some form of immortality under a “heaven” that is English, even if the land he lays in is not
- Sonnet form - love letter to England
12
Q
Context of ‘The Soldier’:
A
- Went to King’s College, Cambridge – education important
- Enlisted himself but never engaged
- Died aged 28 - may explain his youthful and optimistic outlook on England and fighting in war for it
- Written in 1914 in early idealistic stage of war
- Very optimistic and patriotic – 6 references to England
- Religious – often wrote about adult baptism
- Died from sepsis from a mosquito bite before the war, did not die from the war
- He was buried in a “foreign field” in Cyprus
- Never experienced warfare – poem may have been insulting to soldiers who did die in the war but alternatively Brooke may capture the patriotism of soldier who enlisted
- Used as a propaganda – recruitment poem to rouse an army
13
Q
“In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;”
A
- Human flesh is conceived as “dust” as in the biblical ‘ashes to ashes, dust to dust’ – used in Anglican Christian burial service
- Comparative – superiority of England
14
Q
«A pulse in the eternal mind, no less / Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given»
A
- Eternal
- privilege to be given thoughts of England
