World War I... Rupert Brooke...Love of the Motherland

War poets were really enjoyable to read. I was impressed by how much intensity they could convey through a few lines. I noticed that they tend to be shorter than other poem as if they wanted to make their point coming across clearer. I decided to comment on a poem I really liked. Rupert Brooke’s poem ‘The Soldier’ is a traditional sonnet in which Brooke demonstrates his love for England and how he believes it is right to fight and die for his country. Patriotism and honor probably had a powerful impact on Brooke, a much stronger effect than it would have on any one nowadays. However, I feel like Brooke never really witnessed the true horror of World War I, as he “fortunately” (if we can say that…) died in 1915 before he actually got to fight in it. Therefore his poem is very idealistic and has a very traditional viewpoint. This poem deals mainly with the thoughts and feelings of a man who loves his country dearly. War seems to be something much deeper in "The Soldier" than it is usually thought of. "The Soldier" is a very short poem which consists of only two stanzas. It is a wartime poem which adroitly draws our attention to the morale of the soldiers during that particular period.
Also, another way to look at this poem is to understand his feelings on death and afterlife. Brooke shows genuine optimism about his perception of the afterlife, and he believes that there is a place where pain and suffering is void as shown on line 9-10: “And think, this heart, all evil shed away, a pulse in the Eternal mind…” Brooke tells of this imaginary place, “under an English heaven,” (14) that resembles to England but that is better in respects to possessing the power of creating a more perfect setting where evil is just an old nightmare. Memories are restored of laughter and old acquaintances where everyone is at peace, and dreams are lived out as mentioned: “And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness.” (13) This place that Brooke describes is a mixture of England at its top and his own understanding of heaven.