Sonnet and Rhyme Scheme. A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem that follows one of a number of different rhyme schemes. Read more about sonnets in the Handbook of Literary Terms. A rhyme scheme is a pattern of end rhymes, or rhymes at the ends of lines of verse. The rhyme scheme of a poem is designated by letters, with matching letters signifying matching sounds.
Theme. A theme is a central idea in a literary work. “The Soldier” is thematically very rich for such a short piece.
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World War I—the first “total war”—was so brutal and destructive that it shattered some earlier ideas of war as a heroic occupation for “gentlemen.” “The Soldier,” like much of Brooke’s poetry, written early in the war, presents an idealized view of the war and a stirring heroism. Speaking after the poet’s death, Winston Churchill said that the thoughts in Brooke’s sonnets “will be shared by many thousands of young men moving resolutely and blithely forward into this, the hardest, the cruelest, and the least rewarded of all the wars that men have fought.” Brooke’s early death made him a tragic symbol for the English public, even though much of his poetry is joyful. Over the next decade, two volumes of poetry—1914 and Other Poems and Collected Poems—sold over three hundred thousand copies.
As you read, make a cluster chart listing the themes of the poem.
Are you proud of your country? Write about your feelings of patriotism.
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