Unlike his contemporary, Wildred Owen, Brooke paints an idealistic picture of war in this poem. Brooke does not go into the horror or devastation of war. Rather, he celebrates the gesture of making the sacrifice for his country.
He expresses the idea that it is honorable to die for one's country, particularly England. In the first stanza, Brooke says that "if" he should die in a foreign land, then that land (place of his death...
Unlike his contemporary, Wildred Owen, Brooke paints an idealistic picture of war in this poem. Brooke does not go into the horror or devastation of war. Rather, he celebrates the gesture of making the sacrifice for his country.
He expresses the idea that it is honorable to die for one's country, particularly England. In the first stanza, Brooke says that "if" he should die in a foreign land, then that land (place of his death and/ or burial) will be "for ever England." England made him who he is. He and his native England are materially and spiritually linked. Wherever he happens to end up, that land will have this inherent connection to his sacrifice and his idealized vision of England.
Brooke clearly shows his patriotism in this poem. He was prepared to die for England in this war, and he did die in 1915. He believed if he should die, his spirit would give back what England gave him. These are the thoughts, sights, sounds, and dreams that Brooke attributes to England. His description of England goes beyond patriotism. He gives it such lofty praise that phrases like "English heaven" are no surprise because his England has an almost Edenic aura about it.
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