English Poetry Lecture 22 : “The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke

-We move from the victorian age to the early 20th century poetry -
Much of the portrait in the first 20 years, 30 years of the - -
.20th century can be classified as war poetry or pre-war post-war etc
We have this poem by an English British poet Rupert Brooke. The name of the - -
.poem is the soldier

: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
: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

-?Do you think this man likes war is he pre- war or anti war
So is this man saying war is good let's fight or stop the wars horrible it's grim it's -
? tragic
How many times is England or is England like English mentioned here can you count -
how many times do we have England English? 6 times
Is it mentioned in positive or negative circumstance situation context? where is
?negative words
Negative words: English heaven is bad probably for some people even English heaven
.is still hell, but here at least this is positive English heaven you know
remember this was written around 1914 English empires tell people lion-o felt (
pride being English just being English merely being English what breathing English air
) .washed by the rivers

How does the poet deal with England what does he do to England in a poem? -
Personified. For example, if you talk about your country, your car, your ship even or
your boat, you can still personify them. Your cat, your dog, your parrot, to your lion
pet. If you have one you can still personify this thing, so we talk Palestine is proud of
.her children you could say that
But here this is an act of an extended act of personification he's talking about -
England as as well as a human being what kind of human being particularly. Or where
?does the poet personify England
A body of England, gave, once, England bore, flowers..) It indicates a woman like (
.mother is personifying England not only just as female you know
Female could be in you know just being female physically. female you could use -
daughter and female by the way for animals, so that's why my some feminists don't
like the word female like what female. I'm a cat so like a woman, but this is no
.ordinary well
This is a mother, a grandmother because the fact that dust whom England bore or is -
.)the (past of bear). We usually use the passive born (I was born
This is the physical barring you know carrying lifting, but also could mean the fact -
that England here is the woman who in her Billy carried this for month for nine
.months
.Look at ( her). There is a repetition -
Remember: If there are pronounced in the text you need to trace them to what they
.refer to its significant to understand
There are many repetitions of (England) and there are these positive references of -
.England, breathing England's air and also England heaven. Here are positive words
If you want to take this only (if I die) predominantly positive and you know kind of -
celebratory even there is a festive mood. (If I die or when I die) certain like when
Shakespeare said when in my eternal lines ( if I die, if I should die) if you should see
.leaves.This is more polite
.But also (if I should die) probably he's distancing himself from death here
The poem truly begins with (I ) we think this is a personal poem about the person
experiences like you may just mentioned here but as we go into the poem this turns
into an impersonal poem. where the poet is distancing himself from the act of dying
.not imagining it like just imagining of something
if I should die think only this of me)---- the evidence he has is in the fact that we(
don't have any (I or me) in the rest of the poem. so because he it's all about
.England's all about boasting and bragging about
-) This is ( that there is some corner of a foreign field ,that is for ever England
colonial mentality
There is actually a symmetry because one of the English soldiers who died during-
the First World War (the Great War one), so there's one huge symmetry in Gaza for
.English soldiers who were killed in occupied Palestine
This foreign field becomes what forever England because this area this plot of earth-
.contains the remains of an English man
that means ( does that make him sad ? does that mean he is telling people don't go -
to die because if you die you're going to die alone probably hungry angry sad isolated
.)?detached what is he saying something else
that rich earth) it's rich because this person died there, but it's going to get richer(-
.because of the body again
so this foreign field, this foreign piece of land that witness the death of those British
.so English soldiers it's rich this earth is rich
What makes it richer? the bodies, the remains and that's again adding to this pride.-
English people British people make a difference wherever they go they bring
.richness
a richer dust concealed) Here dust: it's the body but because originally now a dust( -
.it refer to the soldiers
whom England bore shaped made aware): at England being the mother being you( -
know, the educator being, the teacher being, the school being, the University gave
her flowers to love game once have flaws. everything you have your country gave
.you
.also (her ways to roam) to move freely when you were
body of England's breathing English air): everybody is an embodiment of England ( -
.herself or itself
blessed by the sons of home): everything you have your country gave you this is(
.more or less a beautiful image in amidst talking about war and dying
everything you have is not yours if you country you don't belong to you the sun's that
.warmed you
.)and think): this is again the poet said (if I should die think only this with me(
.and think this heart all evil she'd away) that's where again interesting(
as Palestinians we've been paying the heavy probably some of the heaviest price -
due to English horrible powerful declaration that gave Palestine to Zionists right so
this English heart the English people the English soldiers have no evil at all in this like
you know what a snake sheds its skin every but this is like more this is spiritual and
so all the evils have been shed away have been there are there is no evil more or less
.still there to Palestinians
- )a pulse in the eternal mind no less(
gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given) .Here again continuing to( -
.personify England this beautiful women
her sights and sounds dreams happy as her day) so this is not a nightmares. It is a( -
dream. Not an ordinary dream. It's a happy dream. A dream of England probably
.dominating him winning the world being victorious and also bringing happiness
And laughter) to this poem for many could sound . Nobody said when there is war(
I am laughing .probably you said them I'm proud because there's this Palestinian -
reaction to resistance, but a being happy. It's war that's the moment I have been
waiting for
)and laughter learnt of friends and gentleness in hearts at peace(
)I'll be in hearts at peace but (most significantly under and English heaven -
That's a hardcore pro war poem .here this man is saying. Let's go die for our -
country. This man is saying we don't own ourselves. This man is saying if the country
calls, we should be in the front and indeed this man joined this the British army. He
was in the Navy. We'll see how difference that mean what difference that makes he
wasn't in the war itself in the fighting .You know shooting was in the Navy you're safe
somewhere relatively safe at sea somewhere , and he wrote this poem in the
beginning months of the great war 1914 ,So some people think that because he was
far away from the grim reality of what a horrible scenes and realities of the war. He
was kind of romanticizing war. Let's go let's die for our country. It is like horror said it
is sweet and prepared to die for one's country, and I want to notice two things here
.number one the traditional imagery he uses many ways
You'll find this connected to that poetry of probably and on Homer or BB wall for
other English or Arabic poetry about portal of battles and Wars. How the fighters are
heroes that defending their honor, their country, their paying back, the debt. This
distillation of thing traditional imagery of that the Sun and the things from England
the river image .They're beautiful images of nature beauty, but English heaven could
just be like under heaven physically being somewhere, but heaven could also mean
paradise. This could be a religious imagery, a religious tone, religious language, so
.don't worry if you die for your country going straight to heaven
You don't die. Any death and you ordinary death. You are a hero and your country is
proud of you and we are going to celebrate you and indeed this poem has become a
very famous . England has used this poem all the time - again to incite soldiers
people to join the army to fight evil terror around the world defend the crown to
defend the Queen to defend the king. somewhere that this man wasnt army, but
.because he wrote many poems that are pro war
he was called from wherever he was and he didn't want to go back. he wanted to join
the army. he wanted to fight, but the country wanted him back home safe and
sound. he could write more poetry and promote you. this shows indicates how
significant poets and poetry are my country needs soldiers, but also the country
.needs poets to tell the people that don't worry you going to die a hero
.Q1: Is this a pro or anti war poem ? pro

.This is Shakespearian Sonnet . the rhyme scheme is ABABCDCDEFGEFG

.this is one unity and an octave followed by sestit

.we don't have a couplet here
the poet is using traditional imagery from like traditional ways of writing poetry
fighting of heroism, the battles, the Sun, heaven, the river, the happiness, but also
using religious. so is it again part of how he is trying to convince these soldiers to talk
.to address to invoke their religious mentality
here that God is with you .God is with us wih the English people. so sorry that we are
turning your suggesting that the white man's obligation to go and civilize. other
people and turn hell's on earth into into heaven possible I take it as more of a
religious indication here more of a religious term to convince people more that death
is going to be followed by by heaven. I don't think there is an an indication that
England will dominate, but possibly the fact that he keeps repeating becoming
England. So wherever we go whatever we touch about like everything there's this
book everything from touches dies and there is so everything English everything
.England touches turns English typical

Brooks upon the soldier is an example of dangers of the dangers of romanticizing war
telling the young people war is fun it'. it's just go kill people and you know by
comforting the survivors telling the mothers the parents and downplaying the
grimreality of war, and this is probably a poem written not for the soldiers, but for
the parents just to you know comfort them to tell them that your kids are in heaven.
and that's why probably why he's bringing heaven here as a religious term because
.all the people tend to be more religious if they seek solace they seek peace
This quoting is something and you're adding to the takes things that don't change the
meaning just sometimes even capital or small
letter I added or for so to tell the reader that this is not something that the original
.also said it's something I am adding to make it clearer in the context

like Brookes poem became a cornerstone of remember of the remembrance process

how countries again used such kind of literature consider like consider this poetry or
.literature as significant because it serves the purpose

war is dead war never ends but yet some people will find it proper to celebrate or to
..glorify etc