Idealistic means unrealistically believing in or pursuing perfection.

Naive means showing a lack of experience, wisdom, or judgement.

Sacrifice means to give up something valued for the sake of other considerations.

Optimism means hopefulness or confidence about the future or the success of something.

Patriotic means having or expressing devotion to and support for one's country.

Understanding patriotism in Rupert Brooke’s ‘The Soldier’

English

In 'Unseen Poetry', pupils need to consider the choices made by a poet, to explain how they convey meaning without having context or prior knowledge of the poem to draw on. In 'A World at War: Poetry, pupils have several opportunities to write their own poems in the style of the war poems studied, which pushes them to consider the craft of writing poetry more closely. 

In 'Myths and Legends Re-Told', pupils explore the way that poets use imagery and structural features, to inspire their own choices in narrative writing. In 'A World at War: Poetry', pupils practise adopting Wilfred Owen's style in their own poetry and also use a range of literary techniques encountered through the different poems, to produce a piece of descriptive writing.

In this unit, pupils explore how poets responded to the horrors of the First World War. They first explore Brooke's 'The Soldier', before looking at McCrae's 'In Flanders Fields' and Naidu's 'The Gift of India'. They finally write a comparative response on perspectives of war and sacrifice.

Comparing poetry from the First World War

Depiction of war, threats of war, death or the aftermath of war.

Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Expressing devotion to and support for one's country.

Expressing a love of experiencing new places.

Expressing a critical attitude towards one's country.

Expressing indifference towards one's country.

Which war inspired Rupert Brooke's 'The Soldier'?

The speaker in 'The Soldier' wanted to be remembered as a {{ }}.

At the outbreak of war, Rupert Brooke immediately volunteers.

During his first posting, Brooke experiences no military action.

'The Soldier' is published along with four other sonnets.

Put these events relating to 'The Soldier' and Rupert Brooke's life in chronological order.

It expressed an optimistic view of dying for one's country.

It expressed gratitude to the government's military operations.

Which of the following may have been reasons for the popularity of 'The Soldier' with the government?

Modern readers may find Brooke's purely positive attitude towards death in 'The Soldier' {{ }} and naive.

Which of the following were allies to Britain in WW1?

The suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. is known as {{ }}.

Name the techniques used in government propaganda posters to persuade?

The war was physically draining on the soldiers

The war sucked the life out of the soldiers

The weather conditions were hard on the soldiers

The constant sound of gunfire was emotionally draining

'Bent double, like old beggars under sacks' from Owen's 'Dulce et Decorum Est.' could be interpreted as which **two** of the following?

It is of higher literary quality than other poems.

It offers an insight into life on the front lines.

Which is the most likely reason for why war poetry is so popular with the public?

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Adult supervision recommended

Introduction

What will you need for this lesson?

Are you ready to learn?

Equipment

Content guidance

Supervision

Worksheet