Rupert brooke the soldier biography

Rupert Brooke 1915

Author Biography

Poem Text

Poem Summary

Themes

Style

Historical Context

Critical Overview

Criticism

Sources

For Further Study

Written during the first year of World War I, Rupert Brooke’s “The Soldier” is the last in his group of six “war sonnets,” collectively titled “1914.” Along with its companion poems, “The Soldier” represents many of the patriotic and traditional ideals that characterized prewar England, with Brooke portraying death for one’s country as a noble end and England as the noblest country for which to die.

These poems made Brooke famous when they were first published in the periodical New Numbers in January of 1915, and a few months later, Dean Inge of St. Paul’s church read from them as part of his Easter Sunday sermon. “The Soldier” inspired many imitators and was, in large part, responsible for the popularity of Brooke’s 1914 and Other Poems and Collected Poems, which, combined, sold more than 300,00 copies betw