The soldier

• Who is 'The soldier' written by?

  Rupert Brooke
• When was 'The Soldier' published?

  1915
• What collection was 'The Soldier' part of?

  1914
• Title: The Soldier

  Suggests an anonymous person, reflecting how many soldiers died during WWI. It is a sonnet, a love poem to England.
• The opening line "If I should die"

  Suggests an acceptance of death and the modal verb "should" indicates a willingness to die for his country.
• "richer dust"

  Suggests the remains of his body are superior to the ground he lies in that he is English not foreign. Dust also relates to the religious idea of our bodies becoming "dust" when we die.
• "A pulse in the eternal mind"

  Suggests his presence in the soil of a foreign land will always live on, making him immortal.
• "under an English heaven"

  Shows his pride in England as he is suggesting England is almost like paradise and to die in England's name would bring him "peace".
• Rupert Brooke was a soldier during WWI and died of blood poisoning. He was buried in "a foreign field" in Cyprus.
• He never was involved in active service but this poem shows he felt very patriotic about England.
• Structure of 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 lies in is not.
• The poem describes Brooke's overtly patriotic view that it is a glorious and honourable sacrifice to die for your country, and specifically England.
• The poem acts almost as a love poem to England, which he romanticises and praises for its beauty and bounty.
• It is an idealistic view of war and what it was like or would be like to die in battle.