The soldier was a WWI war poem written by Rupert Brooke in 1914, but published in 1915 which was the year of his death. This poem signifies war, his feelings within an about it.

Rupert Brooke was an educated man, who enjoyed fine arts, reading, writing and so forth. He was fondly spoken of and highly admired, and was said to have been one of the most attractive young men in England. He had a feminine side to him, as he was a bisexual man who had many partners over the years.

The plot of this text, is describing the horrors of war. However, though war is thought of as a gruesome place and people curse it, he speaks of it in a mannered tone, almost seemingly proud of his country. The poem “the soldier” is written about death. About if he dies, he lies within this foreign land as a small piece of England. He writes about dying, as if he’s already accepted it when he’s still alive.

“In hearts at peace, under an english heaven.”

I would recommend “the soldier” by rupert brooke because it was a seemingly almost peaceful poem to read, and opens your eyes on other mens perspectives of fighting in the war. Rupert brooke wrote this poem in a proud way, saying if he died it was for his country. “If i should die, think only this of me; that there’s some corner or a foreign field that is forever england.” this quote means even in a resulting death, it’s in a win for England. That if he dies in midst of battle, he is forever a part of england in the opposing field. “There shall be in that rich earth, a richer dust concealed.” Meaning there will be english dust within the enemy lines land. This tells us that the english people are of value, and that their blood being buried within the country is winning, even if a life is lost. This poem speaks out in a quiet way compared to many other men writing about the war, and other poets poems. An example being Wilfred Owen. Wilfred Owen’s poems consist of vulgar imaging as he curses the war, passionate as to how stupid and pointless it is men die this way. Wilfred owen hated the war, and wrote about the violence and disgust he felt and witnessed throughout the cruel era. Rupert brooke however used his writing to signify him feeling proud to be there for England. He wrote in a heartfelt way, accepting his death before it’s come to him as opposed to cursing the day. I would recommend this poem as it opens up your eyes to how some men felt about fighting for their country. It makes you feel in contact with Rupert and his feelings, and makes you feel almost proud for and with him.

What this poem teaches me about the world we live in is that people have very different perspectives of things. Rupert Owen wrote World War 1 poems, which was the most cruel and violent era the world has even been traumatically faced with. The world war took millions of lives, and from those who didn’t get killed, they surely had been affected for life. It taught me that even though the world was horrible and people cursed the day it started, there were those who fought for their country and loved ones. That even though the war went on, some managed to find strength throughout, that not all people fought through hatred, but pride too.

My connection to Rupert Brooke’s poem “The soldier” isn’t very much so based around myself, but others around me. In the war, men 17 years and up were called in and sent to fight for their country. They would have a health check to fit the fitness and health standards, with no training or experience with the war whatsoever to a bloodbath battle. These men and boys were stripped away from their families, friends loved ones, lives and educations as well as work to war, which would affect everyone around them. This relates back to me because I myself have four older brothers in my life as well as my dad; aged 19, 22, 26, 30 and 61 my dad. If we were a family in the time of the war, my sisters, mum and myself would take part in the trend of families losing a loved one to the war. My brothers and father are all healthy and fit, meaning they would be sent off to war if the time ever came. This would be a massive barrier in my life, as growing up with four older brothers really makes an impact to someone. My brothers however, are gutsy, clever and a fair bit nuts, and I would say they would have a chance coming home. This being the same for my dad. This however, doesn’t mean they would. They as well as anyone else could catch a disease, get bombed, shot, an infected cut or bite, die to weather etc. the list goes on. This poem relates back to me in a way where it would badly affect me if the 5 most important men in my life had to leave to deathly battle in the blink of an eye, which was a reality to many other woman and girls my age.

This poem connects to the world in a hysterical way. The world war was a raging time, with many treacherous as well as traumatic events, that millions of people had to witness and live through. War has been talked about non stop since the events of WWI and WWII, as it took up many years, and affected many more years to come. We learn about WWI and II all in class, in the public, on the internet and anywhere it can be promoted or talked about. We celebrate the world war anniversaries, as a time we wish to never return to or have a repeat of, and to acknowledge and say many thank yous to the soldiers who took part; sacrificing their mental health, health, families and in millions of cases their very life. There too are family heritages of Chiefs and brave soldiers who families flaunt and are proud to be related to. The World Wars and this poem relates back to the world in a historical way, because it is a enormous piece of history we will still be talking about for many years to come. As well as this poem, we are reading about it today, after the war has well ended and become nothing other than history. This poem is a standout for history for me, as Rupert Brooke acknowledged the war in a way not many other poets did, standing tall and willing to fall for his country.

“The Soldier” written by Rupert Brooke, speaks to us about him in War, and how proud he is to be in it. Rupert talks about how proud he would be to die on foreign land for his country, and he does this in a positive way. As discussed above, he doesn’t curse war and talk about how disgusting and brutal it was, but how proud he is to be a part of protecting his country. I have learnt about different peoples perspectives, talked about what this text means in a way to mee, why i recommend this text and how it affects this world forever historically.