Hello everybody, and a really warm welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Miss Halliday and I will be teaching you today.

In today's lesson, we're going to start analysing Rupert Brooke's poem "The Soldier," in a lot more detail.

Looking at how Brooke presents his patriotism and his devotion to England.

I'm really looking forward to hearing all of your ideas and suggestions.

So let's get started.

So today's lesson is called Analysing the Soldier, and by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to analyse how Brooke uses language, form and structure to express his patriotism.

But first, here are some keywords that you will need in order to unlock today's learning.

Starting with the word patriotism.

Now, somebody patriotic shows a devotion to and a love for their own country.

And some extreme forms of patriotism can lead people to view their country as superior, which means more powerful or valuable or important than something else.

In the poem, Brooke presents England as a nurturing mother, and nurturing means to take care of something and protect it.

Furthermore, the poem takes the form of a sonnet.

And a sonnet is a poem with 14 lines and a regular rhyme scheme.

And finally, Brooke presents England as idyllic in the poem, which means extremely perfect and/or picturesque.

If you'd like to take a moment to pause the video and jot these keyword definitions down, then please feel free to do so.

Here's our lesson outline for today.

We're going to start by considering Brooke's presentation of England before moving on to examining his use of form and how this reinforces his message of patriotism.

But let's start first of all by looking at his presentation of England.

So I'd like to just do a quick recap activity before we dive into analysing the poem in more detail.

So I'd like you to discuss now, well what do you remember that "The Soldier" was about? Who was the speaker and what was their attitude towards war? And finally, do you think that Rupert Brooke might regret writing the poem if he was still alive today? Why or why not? I'm gonna invite you now to pause the video while you have a go answering those questions.

You can either do this by speaking to the people around you, or you can consider them independently if you are working on your own today.

Pause the video and off you go.

Fantastic discussions and really well done.

Now as Andeep points out, ""The Soldier" is a poem which romanticises "dying for one's country in war.

"The poet views dying for one's country "as the ultimate sacrifice "and he imagines the eternal reward "that he will be granted for that sacrifice." So really well done if that came through in your discussions.

Fantastic work.

So what we're gonna do now is reread the poem and I'd like you to reread the poem twice.

The first time you read it, I'd like you to read it just for pleasure and to jog your memory.

The second time you read it, I'd like you to highlight any references that the poem makes to England.

Now remember that poetry is designed to be read aloud.

So when you are reading it, you need to think really carefully about the tone of voice that you are using and pay careful attention to the poetry of punctuation as this will help you to inform your tone and make sure that you are reading it at the desired pace.

So as you're reading, do make sure to pay particular attention to the poets use of punctuation and use this to inform your tone.

I'm going to invite you now to pause a video while you have a go at reading the poem twice through once for pleasure and once highlighting any references Brooke makes to England.

Pause the video and off you go.

Fantastic, really well done and great reading there.

You've highlighted some fantastic examples.

So in the beginning of this poem, Brooke pledges his allegiance to England and he states, "If I should die, think only this of me, "that there's some corner of a foreign field "that is forever England." Now, I'd like you to consider in relation to these lines, well what is Brooke suggesting about his own death here and what influence has England had on Brooke? And how do you know this? Again, this can be done as a discussion or you can consider these questions independently, whatever works best for you today.

But I'd like you to pause the video while you go and discuss those two questions in relation to the lines that we've just read.

Off you go.

Fantastic discussions.

And it was great to see so many of you saying that actually, "Brooke seems really comfortable "with the thought of death "as he views dying for his country, a worthy sacrifice." And this therefore shows his devotion to his country and his patriotism.

Now, "The fact that Brooke uses the phrase "'For ever England' shows us that he feels "that he embodies England, "that it's part of his physical and also spiritual self." And that therefore that can never be destroyed.

"This also shows the profound influence "that England has had on the person that he has become." And how proud he is to have been shaped by his country.

So really well done and thank you very much for those discussions.

Great work.

Moving on, in the poem, Brooke states that if he should die, there shall be in that rich earth, a richer dust concealed.

And I'd like to consider this quotation in a little bit more detail and think about how Brooke uses it to present his views on England.

So I'd like you to discuss, well, what is Brooke saying about England here through his use of the word richer? And when he makes reference to his body turning to dust, what is Brooke suggesting about this foreign corner? And I'd like you to consider the qualities of dust.

So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while again you consider those questions either independently or with the people around you.

Whichever works best for you today.

Pause the video and off you go to discuss that now.

Fantastic discussions and brilliant to those of you that pointed out that "Here Brooke portrays England "as superior to other countries." So as more important or more valuable in some way by suggesting that the foreign soil will be enriched by the English dust from Brooke's body.

Now the word rich here has connotations of value, which could also suggest that Brooke views England as superior in that sense because he views it as more valuable.

And he thinks that if you know his body disintegrates in the soil of another country, that the influence of England will actually make that soil more valuable.

So again, really well done if that came through in your discussions.

Fantastic work.

Now thinking a little bit more about the, you know, that dust and what the connotations of that are and what the qualities of dust are.

Well, we know that dust is actually really difficult to see, but we know that it's in fact everywhere and it's also very difficult to eradicate entirely as many of you that have cleaned will know.

Thus through suggesting that his body will become dust that will be concealed in the earth.

Brooke suggests that like dust, once his body has been absorbed by nature, he and his English flesh and blood will remain forever.

So he's kind of suggesting here that his spirit and the influence of England can never be truly destroyed 'cause it will always exist in some minute form where he has fallen.

So perhaps Brooke is suggesting here that England can never truly be defeated because the dust of his body will remain forever.

So again, fantastic if that came through in your discussions.

Brilliant, brilliant work.

So I'd like you to discuss now, well in the poem, Brooke speaks of England as if it is a family member.

So here's a photo of a family, and in the picture I would like you to consider, well which person would be Brooke and which person would be England, and how do you know that? So again, I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you consider that question either independently or with the people around you.

Pause the video and consider that now.

And a massive well done as many of you were able to identify correctly that in fact Brooke would be the child here and England would be the mother.

So I'd like to consider that image in a little bit more detail and I'd like you to consider, well, what method is it that Brooke uses to present England as a mother figure? So again, I'm gonna invite you to pause the video, you can consider this question independently or you can consider it with the people around you if that's how you'd prefer to work today.

Pause the video and consider the method that Brooke uses to present England as that mother figure.

Off you go.

Fantastic discussions and well done if like Aisha, you managed to identify that the method Brooke uses is actually personification because he personifies England.

We can see that in this quotation here, "A dust whom England bore, "shaped, made aware, "Gave once her flowers to love "her ways to roam; "A body of England's." And I'd like to have a look at that quotation in a little bit more detail and undertake some close text analysis of it.

So I'd like you to look at the verbs that Brooke has used to describe the care that England has taken in raising him.

And you'll notice I've highlighted those verbs for you in purple.

I'd like you to choose one of these verbs and conduct single word analysis on it, explaining how it presents England as a mother figure to Brooke.

You might want to do this as a spider diagram.

You might want to do this on your anthology.

You might want to do it just in your head by thinking it's completely up to you how you do this, but I'd like you to consider how Brooke characterises England as a mother figure in this extract from the poem.

So pause the video and off you go to do that now.

Fantastic, really great analysis work there.

And I could see many of you really understanding how Brooke presents England as that mother figure through the use of his verbs.

So let's have a look at some of those verbs in more detail.

Well first of all, this verb here shaped shows that he has been guided and moulded into the man that he is, which presents England as nurturing because England has brought him up with real care and attention.

So what I'd like you to think now is, well, how does Brooke feel towards his mother England? And what emotions does he feel for her and how do you know that he feels them? So again, you can do this independently or you can consider it with other people if you have access to a discussion partner.

But I'd like you now to pause a video while you consider Brooke's feelings towards his mother England.

Pause the video and off you go to do that now.

Fantastic work.

And again, some really great suggestions there and well done to those of you and there where many of you who identified that Brooke feels really grateful to England for the gifts that she has given him, as well as the influence that she has clearly had on him.

He views himself as a child or a body of England and that shows his love for and his loyalty to her.

So again, really well done if you've got that in your discussions.

Really great analysis work demonstrated there.

So let's check for understanding, which two quotations present England as a mother figure in the poem? Is it A, "That is for ever England?" B, "A body of England's?" C, "Her ways to roam?" or is it D, "A dust that England bore?" I'm gonna invite you now to pause the video while you make your answer selection.

And a massive well done if you correctly selected B and D.

Here we see England as a mother figure who has shaped England and born Brooke, which positions her as a maternal figure to him.

So really well done if you've got that, fantastic work.

So onto the first task of the lesson now.

I'm going to show you Brooke's very last line from the poem, "In hearts at peace under an English Heaven." And I'd like to think about that line in a little bit more detail.

So if we take the word English out, how does the meaning of this line change? Why is that word English so important and significant here? So here's what it would look like if we took that word English out.

We just have, "In hearts at peace, under a heaven." Now, once you've had those discussions around why that word English is so important, I'd like you to use your discussions to answer the following questions in full sentences.

So why does Brooke end the poem with the phrase English heaven? What is he trying to convey about England? Why is the last image of the poem that of an English heaven specifically? And finally, what is it that makes the ending so impactful? So to recap your task, you are discussing why the word English is so significant and then you're formalising the contents of your discussion by answering the questions on screen in full sentences in your book.

So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you have a go undertaking that task.

Make sure you give your all to this task and demonstrate as much resilience as you have within you.

Pause the video and off you go to do that now.

Fantastic effort there, and I could see some really detailed responses there using evidence from the text, which is fantastic because in English we've always got to make sure that we are using evidence to inform our opinion.

So here are some ideas you might have written about.

And what I'd like you to do is as we go through these ideas, I'd like you to use them to improve your own responses.

So first of all, Brooke returns to the final image of an English heaven at the end to leave the reader with lasting hope and to give them peace and comfort at the thought of him dying.

We've got to remember that this poem was likely written with Brooke's family and loved ones in mind.

So Brooke likely wanted to leave them with a positive lasting image of Brooke and his English heaven, spiritually rewarded for his sacrifice.

Now, the word English is really significant in that end line because it reinforces Brooke's whole reason for joining the army, which was his patriotism and devotion to his country.

Now, Brooke presents England as idyllic earlier in the poem by describing her "Ways to roam rivers and suns." He returns to that lasting image of England as idyllic at the end of the poem to outline and make really clear his last wishes in the event of his death, which would be that he would be reunited with his love, England.

So really well done if you got that idea that actually Brooke's lasting wish is to be reunited with his home country, his mother England.

So really well done if you got that and if it came through in your responses.

Now, as I said, you should be taking a few moments now to reread those responses and use them to improve your own.

So pause the video while you go to do that now.

Fantastic improvement work there.

Really well done.

You've used those responses really productively.

So great work.

So onto the second part of the lesson now where we're gonna consider Brooke's use of form in more detail.

So I'd like you to think now, well what actually is the form of a poem? So again, you can consider this question independently or you can consider it with the people around you, whatever works best for you today.

Pause the video and off you go.

Fantastic discussions and well done to those of you that were able to remember that the form refers to the type of poem.

Now we know that "The Soldier" is written in sonnet form and I'd like you to consider again, well, what is it that we know about sonnets? So can you remember anything about sonnets, perhaps how many lines they contain? Detail about their rhyme schemes? So I'd like you now to pause the video while you consider what you already know about sonnets.

And again, fantastic.

And many of you're able to remember that a sonnet has 14 lines and a regular rhyme scheme.

Sonnets, as many of you pointed out, were actually traditionally used to express feelings of romantic love, which was often unrequited, so not returned.

So really well done if you were able to remember that.

Fantastic work.

So let's check for understanding before we move on to looking at how Brooke uses a sonnet form in this poem.

True or false, the love that Brooke speaks of for England in his poem is unrequited, which is why Brooke used the sonnet form.

I'm going to give you a moment to decide whether you think that is in fact true or whether you think it's false.

So pause the video and off you go now.

And a really well done and congratulations if you correctly selected false.

You are absolutely right.

What I'd like you to do now is use the two justifications below to explain to me why that statement is in fact false.

So I'm gonna invite you now to pause the video while you read the justifications and decide which you think is the correct one for that statement being false.

Pause the video and off you go.

Fantastic and really well done if you correctly selected A.

The love between Brooke and England is presented as reciprocal.

She nurtured him and in return he is protecting her.

So really well done if you identify that, that explains why Brooke might have used the sonnet form for this poem.

So as we've just established, traditionally the sonnet form is used for romantic love poetry.

Now the two most prominent kinds of sonnets are the Petrarchan sonnet and the Shakespearean sonnet.

Now I'd like you to look at both of these shapes of sonnet and think about which of them best resembles the shape of the soldier.

Do you think it's the Petrarchan sonnet, or do you think it's the Shakespearean sonnet? So have a look at the shape of your poem and compare it to the two shapes on screen now to decide which form of sonnet you think Brooke adheres most closely to.

So pause the video and off you go to decide that now.

And really well done if you correctly identified that it is in fact the Petrarchan sonnet because Brook separates his sonnet into two standards.

So Petrarchan sonnets have a specific rhyme scheme, and the rhyme scheme is ABBAABBA, CDCDCD.

So Rupert Brooke's poem does not exactly adhere to this rhyme scheme.

So it doesn't exactly adhere to the conventions of the Petrarchan sonnet.

So let's have a look at the first four lines as an example.

So below is the rhyme scheme that Brooke has used.

So we've got ABAB because me and be rhyme and field and concealed both rhyme too.

And now what I'd like you to consider is, well, how does that differ from the Petrarchan rhyme scheme that I have outlined for you above? So you'll need to look to the top of the screen at the rhyme scheme that is typical of Petrarchan sonnets and compare it to the rhyme scheme that Brooke has used in his first stanza.

I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you consider what the difference is between Brooke's rhyme scheme and the Petrarchan rhyme scheme on the screen are.

So pause the video and off you go to do that now.

Fantastic discussions and well done as many of you were able to identify that Brooke has subverted the conventions of Petrarchan sonnets by switching the last two lines around.

So instead of having ABBA, Brooke has used ABAB.

So if we compare that directly with Brooke's use of rhyme scheme, this is what the Petrarchan rhyme scheme should look like.

So Brooke's first line is right.

So Brooke's second line abides by the conventions of the Petrarchan sonnet rhyme scheme.

So now in the third line, this is where Brooke starts to deviate from the Petrarchan sonnet rhyme scheme.

So he goes, instead of going ABBA, he goes ABAB.

So now this is where Brooke starts to deviate from the Petrarchan sonnet rhyme scheme.

As instead of returning back to rhyme B, Brooke goes for A here and instead of returning back to rhyme A, Brooke chooses to rhyme with B.

So as we can see here, the rhyme schemes are different and Brooke has deviated from the typical rhyme scheme of the Petrarchan sonnet and well done if you were able to identify that.

So onto the last task of the lesson now, now traditionally we know that the sonnet form is used for romantic love poetry, but what I'd like us to consider now is why Brooke deviates from using the Petrarchan sonnet rhyme scheme and creates his own.

So we're going to look again at "The Soldier" and we're gonna discuss the following questions.

What or who does Brooke express love for in "The Soldier?" What or who is presented as loving Brooke in the poem? Why might he have used the sonnet form for this poem, but then why might he have subverted and deviated from the Petrarchan sonnet form? So why has he basically adhered to some conventions of the sonnet form but deviated from others? Why has he not just written a typical Petrarchan sonnet? So as I said, this is a discussion activity, but I'd like you to feel free to make notes as you're discussing, as these notes will be useful for your revision.

Now, as this is a discussion task, and I know that some of you may not have a discussion partner, that's absolutely fine because you can just do this task by making notes in the form of bullet points, or you can write full responses to the questions.

It's up to you how you want to approach this task if you don't have a discussion partner.

So what I'm going to invite you to do now is pause the video while you have a go at answering those questions with the people around you or just in bullet point form if you're working on your own.

Pause the video and off you go.

I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Fantastic discussions and really well done.

I was really impressed with your work there.

Now here are some ideas that you might have raised.

In terms of what or who Brooke expresses love for.

Well, "In "The Soldier," Brooke expresses love "for his country, England.

"He presents England as a superior nation "and suggests that the love he shares "with his country is unbreakable." Now, in terms of what or who is presented as loving Brooke, well, "In the poem we know that Brooke personifies England "and presents her as a mother figure "who was born shaped and made him "into the person that he is.

"Brooke likens England's love to that of a mother "for her son, suggesting that the love between the two "is familial as opposed to romantic." Now in terms of why Brooke might have used the sonnet form.

So, "Brooke may have used the sonnet form for this poetry "because he is still expressing feelings of love "and devotion to his country.

"This patriotism is perhaps what motivated him "to enlist for the army and comforted him "when he was faced with the prospect of death." So that's why he may have used the sonnet form because he is still expressing feelings of love and devotion.

However, he may have subverted the conventions of Petrarchan sonnets because perhaps "He felt that the sonnet form does not have to be confined "to one type of love.

"Rather than just being about the traditional subject "of an idealised romantic interest.

"Brooke is suggesting that the theme of familial love "is just as strong and unbreakable as a bond." So basically this idea that Brooke acknowledges that he is still expressing feelings of love, but that the type of love that he feels is different from the type of love that is often expressed in traditional sonnets.

So by not following tradition, Brooke may have been trying to imply that there is something very unique about the love between a soldier and their country and that therefore he wanted to deviate from the typical Petrarchan sonnet to reflect the unique nature of his love for his country.

So really well done, if you got those ideas and if you think that there's anything useful that you might want to jot down for your notes, then please feel free to pause the video and take the time to do that now.

So to summarise the learning from today, well first of all, remember that Brooke uses personification to portray England as a mother figure who has nurtured and cared for him his entire life.

Brooke presents England as a superior nation and he portrays England as idyllic to illustrate his patriotism.

Furthermore, Brooke ends the poem with the image of an English heaven to reflect his hopes of being reunited with his mother country in the event of his death.

Brooke uses the sonnet form perhaps to reflect his love for and devotion to England.

And finally, Brooke subverts the conventions of traditional sonnets, perhaps to suggest that there's something really special about the love between England and the soldier.

Thank you so much for coming to today's lesson.

It's been brilliant to discuss this poem in a lot more detail with you, and I've really enjoyed hearing your contributions and suggestions.

So thank you so much for your engagement.

I really look forward to seeing you next time.

I hope you have a lovely rest of your day, and I will see you later.