Brooke came from a well off family. His father was a housemaster at Rugby School. Brooke was educated here before going on to King's College, Cambridge. He was a good student and athlete, and - in part because of his strikingly handsome looks - popular. Brooke actually saw little combat during the war; He contracted blood-poisoning from a neglected mosquito bite and died on April, 1915, aboard a ship in the Aegean Sea, bound for Gallipoli.
His friends buried him under a stone cairn on Skryos (Greece) later that day Brooke is remembered as a "war poet" who inspired patriotism in the early months of the Great War. He is mostly remembered for his series of sonnets extolling sacrifice in war as glorious and honourable. Now it is often seen as naive and sentimental. Rupert Brooke has become the epitome of the tragic, golden hero.,
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 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. Rupert Brooke
The Soldier If I should die, think only this of me: If I die think only about the things I am about to mention That there's some corner of a foreign field That there is a small part of another country that is now English That is forever England. There shall be In that rich earth a richer dust concealed; My buried body will make the forign earth better A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, A body who was made in England and moulded by her Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam; England gave me all of its beauties to enjoy (air, sun, flowers..) 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, Don’t think about anything evil A pulse in the eternal mind, no less I continue to exist in (heaven? Or in peoples thoughts) Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given; He gives back to England all that it gave him (dreams, sights..) Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day; And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness, In hearts at peace, under an English heaven. I will be at peace under this new piece of England Rupert Brooke
Analysis Explain how the title relates to the poem. How is it significant? (could be any soldier, applies to all) Who is speaking in the poem? (just a, any soldier) What is happening at this time? (war has started, early – soldiers on their way to the war, people don’t know what it is like) What type of Voice is this? (lyric voice 1 st person – emotional voice) Describe the diction Brooke uses (emotive words) How is imagery used? (images of the beauty of England) Describe the tone/emotion of ‘The Soldier’ (Patriotic, Connections-are there words/images that are connected? What is the significance of the poem? Go through the poem once again and identify the figurative devices you can find