The Soldier (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Rupert Brooke
- First Published: 1915
- Type of Work: Sonnet
- Genres: Poetry, Sonnet
- Subjects: Memory, England or English people, War, Duty, Death or dying, Good and evil, World War I, Soldiers, Patriotism, Life and death, Sacrifice, Heaven
The Poem
“The Soldier” is a sonnet of two stanzas: an octet of eight lines and a sestet of six lines. It is the last in a series of five sonnets composed shortly after the outbreak of World War I. The poems are linked by theme as well as form; all reflect idealism and optimism in the face of war, expressing the idea of release through self-sacrifice that many experienced with the coming of that war. “The Soldier” is about the probable death of a soldier, but the poem has little to do with dying.
The first stanza establishes the situation. The first-person speaker...
[The entire page is 1540 words long]
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