Rupert Brooke ” The soldier”

This piece was the last poem that Brooke wrote, after he had a nervous breakdown, recovered, and enlisted in the army. that last part is what shocked me the most, how does someone whom has had a nervous breakdown get admitted into the armed forces. I guess this wouldn’t happen now, but back then they were just taking any healthy able body to fight. In ways it is kind of sad how Brooke died though; can you imagine dying on a ship from blood poisoning. He never even got to see the battle field. How does one contract blood poisoning on a ship? There was one thing for certain, Brooke’s work spoke for itself and he is well known because of that mere fact. In “The Soldier” he write on how people should think of him upon his demise.

“That there’s some corner of a foreign field
This is forever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed,
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave once, her flowers of love, her ways to roam,
A body of England’s, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by the sun of home.” (p1098-1099. lines 2-8)

Here he is stating that he will forever be a part of england, and when he is buried in the ground, the the ground will be richer with his body concealed within it. He speaks of how England gave him life and all it beauties. Oh how much he loved England and the loved the man he became there. He was a better person and he wanted everyone to know that, and for them to open their eyes to its beauty and what it is capable of.

Wilfred Owen “Dolce Et Decorum Et”

In this poem Owen spoke of the agony soldiers felt as they marched in horrible weather conditions. One could only imagine walking for miles in sludge while carrying supplies on their backs along with heavy weapons. Imagine going through all of this and not being able to make plans for tomorrow because you never know what the night might bring.

“Being double like old beggers under sack,
Knocked-kneed coughing like hags, we curse through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And toward the distant rest began to trudge.” (p. 1102 lines1-4).

These men probably marched for miles on end, it must have felt like a lifetime, them looking into the distance and seeing no end in sight, and knowing that they must keep moving without rest and attire that was falling apart.

“Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All lame, all blind;
Drunk with fatigue deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.”(p 1102 lines 5-8)

It was as if these men were running on fumes, especially the fact that they were so used to marching in those conditions its as if they were on auto pilot, and did it with their eyes closed.

“In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunged at me, guttering, choking, drowning.” (p1102 lines 15-16)

Can you imagine watching someone choke on their own blood? That is an absolute horrible death, not being able to breath, gasping for air in hopes that your life might be spared, but instead you are knocking on deaths doors. How much of that can one see before they themselves start loosing their minds from seeing people die around them left and right?