Analysing patriotism in *The Soldier*

Swap the last word

The poem ends on 'heaven'. Commit to a prediction before you look.

Imagine the final word were 'hell' instead of 'heaven'. What would the reader be left feeling?

What you need to know

• 'The Soldier' is about patriotism and nationhood: the speaker believes it is right to die for his country.
• To analyse, notice a detail (a word, the form, a structural choice), then explain the effect it has on the reader.
• A metaphor says one thing is another. Brooke calls the soldier's body dust, echoing 'ashes to ashes, dust to dust'.
• Have a goPriya says: 'Dust? He's just saying the soldier's body is messy.' What is the stronger reading of 'dust'?

  It is a metaphor that echoes the religious phrase 'ashes to ashes, dust to dust'.

  A metaphor says one thing is another, so ask what the new image brings with it. Here it brings a religious echo, not a comment on mess.

• Personification gives human characteristics to something non-human. England 'bore' the soldier (gave birth) and 'shaped' him (raised him), like a mother.
• That nurturing, familial bond makes it more likely he will sacrifice himself for England, so it makes him more resolute.
• Have a goImagine England were just a map, with no mother in the picture. What would the poem lose?

  The nurturing, familial love that makes him more willing to sacrifice himself.

  The sacrifice feels more likely because of the bond. Take the mother image away and that bond goes with it.

• A sonnet has 14 lines and a regular rhyme scheme, and is traditionally used for romantic love poetry.
• Brooke writes of familial love instead, between a parent and a child, which may make the poem almost a love letter to England.
• Have a goMarcus says: 'It's a sonnet, so it must be about his girlfriend.' What's your reply?

  Sonnets are traditionally romantic, but Brooke writes about love between a parent and a child.

  Meeting a form's criteria is not the same as following its traditional theme. Brooke keeps the form and changes the love.

• Form is the type of poem. Structure is its pattern: rhyme, rhythm, line lengths, stanzas or punctuation.
• A regular, predictable rhyme scheme can give a sense of order and control. Here it may show resolution, acceptance and peace.
• The final word, 'heaven', is the lasting impression. It suggests eternal paradise, and 'English' before it makes England an idyllic paradise.

The big picture

In 'The Soldier', Brooke presents patriotism as family love. England is personified as a mother who bore and shaped the soldier, the sonnet form carries love between a parent and a child, and the final word 'heaven' leaves the reader with a picture of eternal paradise. Good analysis means noticing a detail and explaining its effect on the reader.

⚠ Watch out

Naming a technique and stopping. 'It's personification' is only noticing. Say what the detail does to the reader. Also avoid saying the speaker is afraid: Brooke portrays his resolution to die for his country.

Memory hook

Mother, not map. Dust, bore, shaped, 'English heaven': every choice says England is a parent.

Check yourself

Choose one word from the phrase 'a dust whom England bore and shaped'. In one sentence, say what the detail is and what it does to the reader.