Rupert Brooke was an English poet who emerged on the scene at the time of World War I He was born in the year 1887 and he was associated with the group of poets known as the Georgian (1910-1936) poets because their poetry was distinctly traditionalistic in form and usually dealt with romantic themes. This wave of patriotism culminated with Brooke's completing his verse during World War I, wherein he joined the Royal Naval Division with the Western Front. His exposure in the trenches made him develop some insight regarding the sufferings of war, and most of his poems touch on death, loss, and patriotism.
Brooke's most famous poems, such as, The Soldier and, If I Should Die, were produced during this period only. These poems portrayed what has been considered the noble and heroic image of 'war' and contributed to the making of Brooke as a national figure, a hero. However, Brooke was not lucky to survive and meet the end of the war. He got blood poisoning in the year 1915 and finally died on the island of Skyros at the age of 27 years. His early death reinforced for him the label of a promising poet and a genius who died tragically.
Today, people can read Brooke's poetry and appreciate it for its aesthetics, subject matters, and the youthful feeling of a generation. He will remain forever a poet of war and the young and his poetic works will continue to be read by those who are interested in him.
The most well-known poem of Brooke is "The Soldier", a sonnet that paints the picture of a soldier's sacrifice and the eternal nature of the death of a soldier in the war. The poem was written in 1914, at the beginning of the First World War, a time when the romanticism of war and heroic expectations were still present. The poem shows the reader the vision of death as perceived by a soldier, as well as the process of identification which takes place after death. The speaker thus envisions himself if he were to die in the battle, and his body would be incorporated with the English landscape and hence associated with the country he holds dear. This concept is brought out through the use of imagery where the blood of the soldier is part of 'England's soil'. The body of a soldier is 'part of England'. The words of the speaker indicate a strong conviction in the themes of valor and patriotism inherent with death for the country.
However, the poem also suggests an underlying idea of the war and its impacts which seems to be deeper and more profound. The soldier has an idealistic view of how everything is great and he is ready to die for something, but at the same time he realizes that one has to die and that is not necessarily going to be appreciated right away. This poem is a well-known poem that was written during the early part of World War I and it reflects the patriotism in people during the war It is a lively and spirited poem about the essence of dying for a country but it does not shy away from realities of war and dying. The beauty of the poem is, indeed, in what it can stir up, emotionally and intellectually, in a reader over the stakes of the human spirit, death, and the overall theme of war.
