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
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,	5
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.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less	10
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

 

Se dovessi morire pensa solo questo di me;

che c’è un angolo di una terra stranera

che sarà per sempre Inghilterra. Ci sarà

in quella ricca terra straniera una più ricca polvere nascosta;

Una polvere che l’Inghilterra generò, plasmò e rese consapevole,

che diede, una volta, i suoi fiori da amare, le sue vie da percorrere,

un corpo inglese, che respira aria inglese,

lavato dai fiumi, benedetto dal sole di casa.

 

E pensa che, questo cuore, liberatosi dal male,

una pulsazione in uno spirito eterno, nondimeno,

 restituisce da qualche luogo i pensieri ricevuti dall’Inghilterra,

i suoi panorami e i suoni ; i sogni felici come il suo giorno;

e la risata imparata da amici; e la gentilezza,

in cuori in pace, sotto un cielo inglese

 

Exercises:

 

1.I think a good soldier should posses honor, courage and loyalty.

2.

1) A soldier.

2)No, he isn’t afraid of death.

3)He says that his grave will be England herself.

4)His dead body will enrich the soil becoming a “richer dust”that will remain a piece of England for the eternity.

5) Yes, it is.The speaking voice focuses on the aspects of patriotism and death, which are linked to the war.

6) I think the poet is speaking to young people.

3.It is a sonnet. The structure of the poem follows the Petrarchan structure and the rhyme scheme is one of the Shakespearean model: ABAB; CDCD; EFG; EFG.

4. The images referring to death are:

And think, this heart, all evil shed away

A pulse in the eternal mind, no less

Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given. 

5. LANDSCAPE: a body of England, breathing English air, washed by rivers, blest by suns of home.

    INNER GROWTH AND PRAVATE FEELINGS: this heart, all evil shed away; eternal mind; in hearths at peace

6.The poet underlines soldier’s courage and strong patriotism.

7.The themes of the sonnet are: the war and the sense of patriotism.

Within the sonnet is possible to identify a strong sense of patriotism, it is clear from the repetition of the words “England” or “English” that for six times appear within the text. The ideal expressed are therefore those of glory, sacrifice and homeland.