The soldier by Rupert Brooke

The soldier is a poem by Rupert Brooke. It belongs to a series of poems called 1914 and Other Poems, published in the 1915, therefore at the time of writing the war was not ended.

Considering the title, the reader should notice the use of the definite article that implies the poem will be about a definite soldier, not a soldier in general. Probably the poet has got a clear idea and a specific kind of soldier in his mind.

Considering the layout, the reader finds out the poem is a sonnet. It follows the Petrarchan model, since it consists of an octave and a sestet. Even if it follows the Petrarchan model, it does not follow the objective for which the Petrarchan model was written. In the Petrarchan sonnet, the quatrain implies a difficult problem and the sestet the resolution of the situation. In this case we have not a solution.

As far as form, even if the poem follows the Petrarchan structure the rhyme scheme recalls the Shakespearian model (ABABCDCD EFGEFG). It is obvious that, at the time the poem was published, approaching to it and considering the title, the readers connected the soldier to the War that was raging during that crucial period.

In the series of poem called 1914 and Other Poems, this sonnet is considered the finale one, so probably the most important.

The volta of the sonnet, that is the point of dramatic change, occurrs after the fourth line, because the poet moves from the description of the death of the soldier to the soldier’s life accomplishment.  

The poem encompasses the memories of a dead soldier who declares his patriotism to his country.

This poem speaks with the voice of a soldier who didn’t effectively take part of the war. He communicates his idea and his perception of the war: the situation is in his mind. This is strictly connected with the perception of the war. The poem provides you with a perception of the war of a young man who lived at that time, even if the poet has not taken part to the battle. It is a consideration about a possible situation where he might die in somewhere abroad. If he dies abroad there will be no funeral for his body. But in the foreign field he will die, there will be a place forever England. Remember that soldiers were fighting to gain more land in their country, that is England.

Exactly in the middle of the 3rd line there is the word England, while in the second line there is the word earth in the same position. The word earth acquires a positive connotation: it stands for Nature. Nature will be like a mother that receives the corps, the dead body of the hypothetical soldier. Nature is compared with England that has given birth to the soldier. In a way or another with his death, the soldier’s body returns to earth and so to his mother England. In other words, the foreign land becomes a part of England. This idea is conveyed by the synecdoche of dust. The image of dust stands for the soldier’s corps while the earth is the natural element that becomes the image of England. England is pervading the mind of the speaking voice: the soldier has a very strong affection to his motherland.

The importance of England is conveyed by the repetition of words England and English.

The function of the octave is to present the situation of a soldier who might die in a foreign land. But since he has fought for his homeland that corner of foreign land that keeps his body will become part of England. The octave expresses the soldier’s patriotism and bears the soldier’s sacrifice.

This is a new way to transform the Petrarchan sonnet. It does not look to a resolution of the problem. The octave conveys an atmosphere: the blissful state of English soldiers who died for their country and offered their lives to England.

Many very important artists have used this poem for other reasons: there are implicit references in the album of the Pink Floyd or in Brooke’s obituary written by Winston Churchill. Rupert Brooke is very quoted since he celebrates the importance of England. Probably it was the culture of the period: it was great to defend your country.

As far as the technique, the speaker’s voice is the soldier’s voice. Who is this soldier? The soldier is the ideal of soldier, who has to become a model. So the mass media of the time could promote people to go to war: it is a way to celebrate war and to make England great. Soldiers’ sacrifice is worth to celebrate the greatness of England. The poem especially in the octave celebrates immortality and it conveys a romantic atmosphere by the images of nature. As the earth is the mother who has given flowers and made Nature beautiful, England is the soldiers’ mother who gave them opportunities.

The soldier’s sacrifice for England makes him living forever in greatness. The soldier is reassured in front of his eventual sacrifice by the reward in heaven, that is deepened in the second part of the poem.

Considering the level of sound, there are a lot of repetitions, in particular the words England and English are more or less everywhere: they compare 6 times in 14 lines. England continues to exist in a foreign land, and in heaven where the soldier will go after his sacrifice. The soldier died for a good cause and therefore he will return to England in heaven, in after life. It also creates a nostalgic atmosphere. The speaker is essentially imagines that the soldier will repeat his happiest experiences in heaven. The reward is that in heaven he will give again all positive experiences of his life. The heart is synecdoche for the soldier, who after death will gain eternal life. Living in heaven is a way to receive back the happy thoughts of England.

Remember that the poet is speaking but he is not dead yet. It is something not real connected to his perception and ideal in his mind.

The poems takes place in the soldier’s mind and the focus is England. In the octave England is in a foreign land, while in the sestet England is in heaven: it is magnified. What we imagine is something that captures our mind and conditions the way we relate to the reality, in this case to war.

What semantically connects the sestet and the octave is the key word England, and the expansion of England over the foreign land and over heaven. The idea of England dominates the soldier’s thoughts.

The soldier is an ideal soldier who is ready to die for his homeland. He understands he might die but he believes his sacrifice will benefit his country. As a result of his sacrifice, a corner of a foreign field will be forever England.

Brooke’s idea of soldier is a model of European mentality. The soldier is one who loves his country. The reward for his death is that once in heaven he will repeat the good moments in England before the war. There is a romantic attitude towards the war. The main objective is to be immortal and to live forever: death is the beginning of a new blissful but familiar life in heaven.

Pre-war idealism is the first theme, the poem indeed celebrates an ideal view of the conflict. No words about the atrocity and horrors of the war are pronounced. The speaker suggests that fighting for your country is a good way to die: the poem is particular suitable for mass media.

There is an English heaven but the reality of the war, the suffering on the frontline and at home, are completed left out.