The Soldier

By Rupert Brook

IF I should die, think only this of me:

That there's some corner of a foreign field That is forever England. There shall be In that rich earth a richer dust concealed; A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam, A body of England's, breathing English air, Washed by the rivers, blest by the suns of home. And think, this heart, all evil shed away, A pulse in the eternal mind, no less 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. 42 EN1215_British & American Literature_content credits to original creators_Uploaded by Nisal Wanigasuriaya

The Poet:

Rupert Chawner Brooke was an English poet known for his idealistic war sonnets written during the First World War, especially "The Soldier". He was also known for his boyish good looks, which were said to have prompted the Irish poet W. B. Yeats to describe him as "the handsomest young man in England" Introduction This poem was written at the beginning of the First World War in 1914, as part of a series of sonnets written by Rupert Brooke. Brooke himself, predominantly a pre war poet, died the year after ―The Soldier‖ was published. ―The Soldier‖, being the conclusion and the finale to Brooke‘s ‗1914‘ war sonnet series, deals with the death and accomplishments of a soldier.Written with fourteen lines in a Petrarchan/Italian sonnet form, the poem is divided into an opening octet, and then followed by a concluding sestet. As far as rhyme scheme, the octet is rhymed after the Shakespearean/Elizabethan (abab cdcd) form, while the sestet follows the Petrarchan/Italian (efg efg) form. The volta, the shift or point of dramatic change, occurs after the fourth line where Brooke goes from describing the death of the soldier, to his life accomplishments. Summary The Soldier is a sonnet in which Brooke glorifies England during the First World War. He speaks in the guise of an English soldier as he is leaving home to go to war. The poem represents the patriotic ideals that characterized pre-war England. It portrays death for one‘s country as a noble end and England as the noblest country for which to die. The speaker implies that England is mother to him. His love for England and his willingness to sacrifice is equivalent to a son‘s love for his mother; but more than an ordinary son, he can give his life to her. The imagery in the poem is typically Georgina. The Georgian poets were known for their frequent mediations in the English countryside. England‘s ―flowers‖, ―her ways to roam‖, and ―English air‖ all represent the attitude and pride of the youth of the pre-industrial England .The soldier also has a sense of beauty of his country that is in fact a part of his identity. In the final line of the first stanza, nature takes on a religious significance for the speaker. He is ―washed by the rivers‖, suggesting the purification of baptism, and ―blest by the sun of home.‖ In the second stanza, the sestet, the physical is left behind in favor of the spiritual. If the first stanza is about the soldier‘s thought of this world and England, the second is about his thoughts of heaven and England (in fact, and English heaven). In the sestet, the soldier goes on to tell the listener what to think of him if he dies at war, but he presents a more imaginative picture of himself. He forgets the grave in the foreign country where he might die, and he begins to talk about how he will have transformed into an eternal spirit. This means that to die for England is the surest way to get a salvation: as implied in the last line, he even thinks that he will become a part of an English heaven. The heart will be transformed by death. All earthly ―evil‖ will be shed away. Once the speaker has died, his soul will give back to England everything England has given to him- in other words, everything that the speaker has become. In the octave, the speaker describes his future grave in some far off land as a part of England; and in the sestet England takes on the role of a heavenly creator, a part of the ―eternal mind‖ of God. In this way, dying for England gains the status of religious salvation, wherever he dies. Wherever he dies, his death for England will be a salvation of his soul. It is therefore the most desirable of all fates. This sonnet finds a soldier speculating as he goes away to war about his possible death, which he feels should not be mourned, but understood as part of a selfless tribute to his much-loved England. The Soldier‟: the poem‘s voice is that of the unnamed and so anonymous soldier. This soldier therefore seems to speak not only for himself, but for other soldiers too. This is, literally, a poem about selflessness: the idealized selflessness of the soldier who sacrifices his life for his country. “If I should die”: the opening clause may be conditional, but Brooke here reflects the contents of many letters home from soldiers to families, filled with foreboding about possible death. 43 EN1215_British & American Literature_content credits to original creators_Uploaded by Nisal Wanigasuriaya “think only this of me:”: the tone of selflessness, of refusing mourning, is contained in this command to “think only this”. “There is some corner of a foreign field that is forever England”: an image full of pathos and patriotism. The idea of an unnamed “corner of a foreign field” where the soldier will be buried speaks of the unsung and anonymous nature of death in war. Yet the notion that this small space will ―forever‖ be part of England elevates the sacrifice the soldier makes— as if he has in a small way conquered this land. The soft alliteration here lends these opening lines a subdued tone. “In that rich earth a richer dust concealed”: the fertile earth of the foreign field (fertile in part because of the dead beneath) has hidden within it the soldier‘s body (dust). ‗Dust‘ is a common literary metaphor for the body: coming as it does from the funeral oration in the Book of Common Prayer, which speaks of the body returning to the earth, ―ashes to ashes, dust to dust‖. “A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,‖: England here is personified as a mother; first with child, then rearing her young. The link with the mother, of course, emphasizes the deep intimacy and importance of England her ‗sons‘. “gave, once, her flowers to love… to roam”: England‘s abundance and pastoral beauty is emphasised here as a kind gift. Giving is an important and recurrent metaphor for Brooke when writing about soldiers sacrifice— a way of giving meaning to death by placing it in the context of a kind of social exchange. “A body of England‟s”: the soldier‘s body actually belongs in a fundamental way to England; it is hers. This sense of intimate connection— of actually joining with England— is key to this poem. “breathing English air…washed…blest…home”: England is again mentioned— six times in this poem in total. By sheer repetition of the name, this poem gains patriotic intensity. Here the pleasant experience of everyday life is described as an English experience. The final mention of “home” in the octet brings us back to the tragic scene described in the first line. “And think”: the sestet is more speculative, about life after death, about the soul rather than the body; this call to the reader to ―think”, or imagine, is appropriate. “this heart…eternal mind”: the heart here stands in for the soul; we are asked to imagine this soul after death, when ―all evil‖ or sin has been cast off, and has become part of God himself. The soul is now “a pulse” in the mind of the greater being. “this heart… no less / Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given”: This line refers back to the octet, where England made the soldier and his thoughts; now we are asked to imagine that equally (“no less”) the soul of the soldier gives all its accumulated thoughts of a lifetime in England to God. “Her sights and sounds… laughter, learnt of friends;‖: the soldier lists all the wonderful experiences that the soldier has gained from England. These pleasant thoughts and memories will be given back to God as the soldier becomes one with Him. “and gentleness, in hearts at peace / Under an English heaven‖: the poem ends with a startling proposition— the soldier finds rest and peace at last in heaven, but heaven has been transformed by the thoughts and memories that the soldier has given to God. This heaven is now ―an English heaven”: the connection with England will remain forever unbroken. The sonnet‘s turn from an idyllic or idealized vision of England to the idea of a transcendent and literally heavenly England is complete. 44 EN1215_British & American Literature_content credits to original creators_Uploaded by Nisal Wanigasuriaya

About the Speaker:

The Realist He starts the poem with "If I should die,‖ He is confronting a cold, hard truth that most people would rather not think about. As a soldier, though, the speaker is thrust face-to-face with his own mortality, and so this poem is his way of working through that imminent possibility. (Historically, for Brooke, that possibility became a sad reality when he went off to war and died of infection not long after this poem was written.) So we feel that we must give the speaker props for dealing with reality, rather than ignoring it. The Idealist The way that the speaker deals with the threat of death is hardly realistic. He imagines a kind of heaven that will be just the like home, full of the same thoughts, sights, sounds, and even dreams of his native land. Now, you could say that this makes our speaker a real patriot (more on that soon), but you could also make the case that he's sort of deluding himself. Sure, it'd be nice to imagine heaven as a place exactly like your favorite place, but think about that for a second. Isn't doing so just imagining that you're current experiences will go on forever, despite death? Isn't this just an elaborate form of denial, then? The Patriot Another way to read the speaker's "English heaven," though, is just to see it as a natural extension of his love of country.. He celebrates his upbringing there, promises to claim more land for it in the war, and portrays heaven as nothing more than the same pubs and fishmongers that he knows from High Street. In other words, he's saying that England will go on forever—both in terms of earthly conquest, and in terms of heavenly immortality. This patriotism, then, is part of what ultimately blinds the speaker to the very real, impending horror of World War I.

Analysis of Symbol used in the Poem:

England or English pride The word "England" or "English" occurs six times in this poem. That's a lot for a poem that is only 14 lines! In this poem England is like a mother to the soldier; she gave birth to him, nourished him, made him who he is. But England is also immortal. Even though, in death, the soldier must leave England, it's only for a little while. When he dies, the soldier will go to a heaven that's just like the England he left behind on Earth.  Lines 2-3: The soldier wishes to be remembered for making a foreign piece of land "forever England." This idea of a permanent, immortal England will return again soon.  Line 5: The speaker compares himself to dust that "England bore." Dust here stands for the speaker's relationship to the natural world and for the fact that he may soon be a corpse. Of course, England can't really bear children but he said, because in his thought England is not a land it‘s his mother.  Line 7: The speaker refers to himself as a "body of England's, breathing English air."  Line 11: The speaker will re-experience in heaven "thoughts by England given." England can't really give anything, so this is another example of personification (the attribution of human qualities to non-human things). It's also another example of how the experience of England will live on for our speaker.  Line 14: When the soldier dies he will go to an "English heaven." Nature Imagery There's a lot of nature in this poem. Fields, dust, flowers, rivers, suns—it's all over the place. The relationship between the speaker and the natural world is very close, even harmonious. When he dies, he returns to the earth (as dust). Moreover, as a child, he was "washed" and "blest" by the rivers and sun of his homeland (England). When he dies, his heaven will look like the England he knew as a child—including its natural characteristics. 45 EN1215_British & American Literature_content credits to original creators_Uploaded by Nisal Wanigasuriaya  Line 2: The speaker imagines acquiring a "corner of a foreign field" for his home country, England. Nature is endowed with Englishness here, as it will be again soon.  Line 4: The speaker imagines himself as a part of nature, a pile of "dust concealed" in the earth.. Heaven and the Afterlife Imagery When you die, you go to heaven, which will be like paradise. That, at any rate, is what the second half of "The Soldier" tells us. Better than paradise, in fact, heaven for the soldier will be just like England. If the soldier dies fighting for his country, it won't be so bad, because he will get to go "home." His heaven apparently will be chock full of memories of England—her "sights and sounds," and a whole lot of other good stuff. Poetic Devices or techniques. Personification England bore, shaped, made aware, Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,

Englandis comparedtoaperson,inparticulara mother,inthatshe:

Gavelife tothesoldier,mouldedthe soldier‘s character,educatedhim and gavehimreallyspecial giftsanda(future) direction. It explains howthe soldierfeelsabouthis country–it isspecialtohim (likeamother),itdidalot forhim,andgavehimheaps ofgifts,thereforeheowesadebtofgratitudetoEngland.This helpsus tounderstand whythesoldieriswillingto sacrificehislife tokeep Englandsafe. The speaker was "washed" by England's rivers, and "blest" by her suns. Neither the suns nor the rivers can wash or bless, so this is also personification, the attribution of human qualities to non-human things. Both washing and blessing are metaphors for the way England nurtured the speaker Metaphor “..inthatrichearth,aricherdustconcealed‟. Compares the soldier‘s body with the treasure by calling it ‗rich‘ tounderstandthe valueofthegift hehasgivenbacktohismotherlandbydying. And also Dust here is a metaphor for both the speaker's status as a corpse and for his relationship to the natural world Alliteration The repeated beginning sounds of words, going off all over the place here. Repeated F sound in lines 2 and 3,: "foreign field" and "forever." Then in lines 7 and 8, B sounds: "bodies," "breathing," "by," and "blest by." Line 12 gives us "sights and sounds," line 13 has "laughter, learnt," and line 14 ends with "hearts" and "heaven." But it's not just the beginning sounds that are repeated here. Even in a very short poem like this, we have full-on words that get repeated, like "dust" (lines 4 and 5), "rich" or "richer" (4), and of course the big one: "England" or "English" (six times in just 14 lines!) Themes  Patriotism Brooke is notorious for his use of sentimentality and nationalism in his war poetry. The voice in ―The Soldier‖ talks about his untimely death in a fiercely patriotic manner, undaunted by his likely demise. When referring to the foreign field in which he will be buried, he describes it with ―…there‘s some corner of a foreign field that is forever England. There shall be in that rich earth a richer dust concealed‖ In these lines the dust, the earth, in which he is buried in will be richer because an English soldier lies in it; because a piece of England lies beneath the earth..Patriotism shines through again in the next lines, ―A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,/ Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,/ A body of England‘s, breathing English air…‖ (Brooke). ―A body of England‘s‖ supports Brooke‘s embodiment of soldiers as not only English, but England.  Warfare The poem is called "The Soldier," so naturally it's about… war. Unlike many other famousWorld War I-era poems, however, Brooke paints a more optimistic picture. The soldier's possibledeath is mentioned, yes, but so is a blissful life after death. Moreover, the poem celebrates thefact that the soldier's death will give England another "corner" of land.. Rupert Brooke is not, perhaps, glorifying war; he is only explaining what the soldiers, maybe, feel. Although I have to say that the author describes the situation of the soldier as if it was easy and beautiful  Death The very first thing the speaker of "The Soldier" talks about is his own death. Throughout the first stanza, he talks about himself as "dust," a word that makes us immediately think of funerals, death, and corpses. Good times! Death almost seems inevitable, and this despite the fact thatspeaker says "If" in the very first line! We're used to thinking of death as scary, but the speakerimagines a life after death that seems, at the very least, peaceful and familiar.  transformation and salvation The second stanza was a prime example of the conversion displayed in the poem. The line in the second stanza, ―And think, this heart, all evil shed away‖ (Brooke) implies a transformation from a soldier, ordinary and human, to a cleansed soul who will live forever through England. The second stanza is saying that with death for your country comes great honor and transformation into a pure soul, forever remembered for fighting to the end for their country. By making yourself a martyr, you have ―cleansed your soul‖ and this is a great transformation. This idea is what inspired soldiers to be willing to die for their country, and to want to fight for England. Brooke is saying that there is a larger purpose that can be achieved through death, which is another example of Brooke romanticizing the war and death  Pride and honor His Pride and honour to embrace death for the sake of his country and his proud to be an English. It helps to create an image in the poem of a man who is very brave and would do anything for his country.