do this soldier

• The Soldier


  The title suggests an anonymous soldier and perhaps reflects how many soldiers were to lose their lives in battle
• "If I should die,"

  There is an acceptance that he may die, but this is viewed as a sacrifice he is willing to make
• The poem


  • It is written in the first person and reflects the idea that it is an honour to fight and die for your country
• "foreign field"


  The adjective "foreign" suggests how far from home he is and how strange the environment feels compared to England
• "That is for ever earth England.": 'The first mention of his country and his pride in fighting for her – that he represents her, even in death'
• "A richer dust concealed"

  Religious overtones, reminiscent of a funeral service, he returns to dust upon his death
• "Whom England bore, shaped, made aware,": 'Here he personifies England– she is almost his mother, who raised him and nurtured him'
• "Her flowers to love, her ways to roam," and "Washed by the rivers, blest by the suns of home"


  • Imagery suggests beauty of England – her "flowers" and lanes, her "rivers"
• "All evil shed away"


  The use of the adjective "evil" is perhaps an implied reference to the horrors of war and the cruelty mankind is capable of
• "A pulse in the eternal mind"


  This suggests that in death he almost becomes part of the universe, he achieves some form of immortality
• "Her sights and sounds, dreams happy as her day;" and "And laughter, learnt of her friend;"


  • The poet reminds us of the cherished memories of England and home, shared with friends
• "In hearts at peace, under an English heaven"


  Death brings peace and comfort and he can die in the knowledge of a life well spent and sacrificed appropriately to help protect a nation that is so important and righteous - even heaven reflects its values