The Soldier

During my transition back into a normal life I’ve been looking for literature based on soldiers of all nations and those that write about them. The Soldier written by Rupert Brooke is a perfect example of the reverence that some have for fighting men and women from every nation. The description of all that is still real and possible because of a sacrifice is amazing, speaking of the country, in this case England, as almost an entity. It is special because it does not reference any individuals and makes the sacrifice of the soldier seem for a living breathing entity, not for those that live there. My favorite line is “A body of England’s, breathing English air, Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.” It reflects the authors love and passion for his country and the willingness to see it as it is beyond its problems, it is a theme that I respond deeply too because it captures the ideas of the soldier. Seeing the nation not as a group of people but as its own being, it’s how we say we fight for her, as if the nation is a living person that gave birth to us all. The transition in the poem from a very dark and sad first line into a poem that reflects love and creates this beautiful image is surprising and the first time I read it I covered all the lines and moved down them one by one. Doing that gave me a whole new outlook on the poem and it finally dawned on me that the author is writing the character as bonded with England, not as a character but as reuniting with the country that he loves and was spawned from. Not only saying that the country is beautiful but that it creates beauty and then that beauty returns to it and goes to “an English heaven.” It is a poem that expresses love and passion that truly not many understand, to love something so much to be willing to give your life for it with no regrets is truly unique and so is this work.