1a. What would the speaker like the reader to think if he dies?
2a. What has England done for the speaker?
3a. What will become of the happy thoughts given to the speaker by England?
4a. How is the speaker connected to England?
5a. Evaluate the mood at the end of this poem. What phrases help to create this mood?
1b. What is the "richer dust" buried in the foreign earth?
2b. How does the speaker feel about England?
3b. What will the speaker give back to England?
4b. Why might Brooke have written such a patriotic poem?
5b. Would Brooke agree or disagree with the attitude expressed in the following lines from Richard II? Explain. "This happy breed of men, this little world, This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall, Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands, This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England. . . ."
Sonnet and Rhyme. How is this sonnet divided? What is its rhyme scheme?
Theme. Review the cluster chart you made in Literary Tools. What are the themes of this poem?
1. Write a press release announcing the results of the battle of Gallipoli. Be sure to include the aim of the campaign, an explanation of what went wrong, and the number of British and Allied forces that died.
2. Brooke's poem mentions a number of things that made England a special place for him—both physical things such as air and rivers and abstract things such as friendship. Write a short editorial describing some of the things that make your school, community, or country special to you.
3. This poem was written early in the war and expresses an idealized view of war. Write a poem or essay that expresses a more realistic or pessimistic portrait of war.
Inverted Sentences. In each sentence below, bracket the word or phrase that is the subject of the sentence. Then rewrite each sentence in normal word order. Drop or add words if you need to do so.
1. There shall be in that rich earth a richer dust concealed.
2. Forever shall some corner of a foreign field be England.
3. Proud we were.
4. Washed by England's rivers was this body.
5. This heart the thoughts gives back.
Finding Alternative Meanings. Look in a dictionary to discover alternative meanings of the italicized words in these phrases from "The Soldier." For each word, first list the meaning used in the poem. Then, in your own words, give at least two other dictionary meanings for the word.
1. rich earth
2. whom England bore
3. breathing English air
4. all evil shed
5. a pulse in the eternal mind
