Hello, everyone.

My name is Dr.

Clayton, and I'm really excited to help guide you through your learning today.

Welcome to the third lesson from the "World at War" poetry unit.

This lesson is called "Analysing the Soldier." We're going to be exploring how Rupert Brooke uses language, form, and structure in order to present his views on war and patriotism, and you'll be able to explain all of these by the end of the lesson.

We're going to specifically focus our analysis on Brooke's presentation of what it means to die for one's country.

The key words that we'll be using in our learning today are: evocative, resolute, immortality, nurturing, and idyllic.

If you can, try to use these words in your discussions and written work today.

We have three learning cycles in our lesson today.

For the first learning cycle, we're going to be exploring how Brooke uses language, namely, personification and metaphorical language, in order to express a patriotic view of England.

Secondly, we're going to explore how Brooke slightly plays with a sonnet form in order to privilege this patriotic love for his country.

And finally, we're going to explore how Brooke uses the rhyme scheme and word choices within the poem to portray the soldier's resolution to die for their country.

We're going to start by clarifying what we mean when we talk of analysing the language of a poem.

Analysing the language means you identify powerful words and phrases within the poem, and explain how they create an effect.

When we say create an effect, what we mean is, how do they affect the emotions of the reader? What do they make the reader feel about a particular idea or concept? Now, I'd like you to have a go at doing this with "The Soldier." Look at your copy of the poem, find one word that is powerful to you.

What does this word suggest? Pause the video, and take a few minutes to look through the poem.

Amazing, I had some fantastic ideas there.

You might have chosen the word 'home,' and thought that this word evokes a sense of belonging and peace.

Remember that everyone will have different words that speak to them, and even if you pick the same word, that word will most likely have a different meaning to you than somebody else.

This is why there is no right or wrong in English, everyone brings their own unique perspective to a text.

One linguistic device that poets may use within their text is metaphorical language.

A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes something by saying that it is something else.

For example, you might have heard the phrase, "You are my sunshine." This is a metaphor, because someone is being compared to the sun, and the effect of this is that we imagine the person to bring warmth and happiness, like the sun.

In "The Soldier," Brooke uses a metaphor by referring to the soldier's body as dust.

Now we're going to look at a couple of quotes.

I'm going to start by asking three questions to you for you to consider, and then I'll share some of the things you might have said.

The quote we're starting with is, "That there's some corner of a foreign field that is for ever England.

There shall be, in that rich earth, a richer dust concealed." Our first question zooms in on the specific phrase in the quote, which is "for ever England," and asks, why is it important that the place where the soldier's body lies is being called "for ever England?" Secondly, we're going to zoom in on where Brooke uses metaphorical language to describe the soldier's body as a richer dust.

And there are two questions for you to consider.

What are the connotations, and by that, I mean the feelings or emotions, that we attach to the word dust? And why would Brooke compare the soldier's body to dust? Pause the video, and take a few moments to consider.

Fantastic job.

I had some wonderful ideas there.

Here are some of the things you might have said.

You might have said that "for ever England" is important, because it shows, although the soldier's body lies in a different country, they will forever be a part of England since there is an unbreakable, eternal bond between them.

This might have been a particularly comforting image for those whose loved ones' bodies were never recovered from the war.

Then you might have noted the religious connotations around dust from the phrase "ashes to ashes, dust to dust," which suggests that the soldier's body has now returned to its natural state.

Finally, you might have taken this image to mean that Brooke is suggesting the soldier is fulfilling the natural order by dying.

Now, we're going to do a quick check for understanding of the learning so far.

Is it true or false that Brooke's use of metaphorical language implies the soldier will achieve immortality? Pause the video, and take a few seconds to consider your answer.

The correct answer is true.

Now, I'd like you to justify your answer by picking which one of the following statements best reflects Brooke's ideas around immortality in the poem.

Is it a, the soldier will remain forever a part of England? Or is it b, the soldier will continue their existence in a state of constant movement? Pause the video, and make your selection now.

The correct answer is a, the soldier will remain forever a part of England, so, very well done, if you've got that right.

The second linguistic feature that we're going to focus on is personification.

Personification is giving human characteristics to something non-human, and that might be an object, or an abstract idea.

One example might be, "The sun giggled as it rose," because the sun is giggling, which is a human action.

This might then make us think of the sun as, perhaps, childlike and happy, because that's what we associate a giggle with.

Generally, we can read personification as creating an emotional bond between the reader and the object that's being personified.

In the same way that anthropomorphizing animals makes us feel closer to them, the same thing happens with objects and personification.

The second quote that we're going to explore is, "A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam." As before, I'm going to ask you to zoom in on specific phrases within the quote, and discuss some questions about the personification.

Firstly, if England bore, meaning gave birth to, the soldier, what does this suggest about the relationship between the soldier and England? Secondly, as well as bearing the soldier, what else has England done for them if Brooke suggests that England shaped them and made them aware? Finally, by assigning personal pronouns to England, Brooke is personifying England.

Why might this personification make the soldier more resolute in the face of potentially dying for their country? Pause the video, and take a few minutes to consider your ideas.

Amazing job, everyone.

Some fantastic ideas.

Here are some of the things you might have said.

You may have said the act of giving birth to the soldier means that England is portrayed as a mother figure.

You may also have said the idea of shaping the soldier suggest that England has raised and nurtured them, by making them into the man they are today.

Finally, you may have suggested that the personification of England creates an emotional connection between the soldier and England, which makes it more likely the soldier would be willing to sacrifice themselves for their country.

Now it's time for a quick check for understanding.

Which two of the following does Brooke attribute to England in "The Soldier?" Is it a, raising and nurturing the soldier, b, teaching the soldier to fight, c, comforting the soldier, or d, giving birth to the soldier? Pause the video, and take a few moments to make your selection.

The correct answers are a, raising and nurturing the soldier, and d, giving birth to the soldier.

So, well done, if you chose those two.

We now have our first task of the lesson.

What I'd like you to do is complete the table by explaining the effect of each language device.

So what is the effect of Brooke using the metaphor, dust, to refer to the soldier's body? And what is the effect of Brooke personifying England? Pause the video, and take a few minutes to form your responses.

Fantastic.

Some great ideas there.

Here are some of the things you might have said.

You might have said that, by metaphorically referring to the soldier's body as dust, Brooke evokes a religious image that implies the soldier is returning to his natural state by dying for his country.

You might then have suggested that Brooke's personification creates the image of nurturing, familial love between the soldier and England.

You're doing really well, everyone.

We're now onto our second learning cycle, where we're going to analyse the form of "The Soldier." Firstly, we need to clarify what we mean when we say, the form of the poem.

Essentially, the form refers to the type of poem, for example, a dramatic monologue, or an epic poem.

To analyse the form, you want to think about whether the writer is meeting all the criteria for a form to be a perfect match, and, if so, what are they trying to achieve through this? Or you might also think about how they don't meet the criteria.

Writing always has a purpose behind it, so if a writer has tweaked a poetic form, they're doing this to perhaps either be ironic, or to show a different side of a particular emotion.

"The Soldier" is written in sonnet form, this means it has 14 lines and a regular rhyme scheme.

Traditionally, sonnets were about romantic love, which was often unrequited, meaning that it was one-sided.

Traditionally, the sonnet form is used for romantic love poetry.

Look again at "The Soldier," and discuss the following two questions.

What type of love does "The Soldier" refer to, and why do you think Brooke might have included this type of love? Pause the video, and take a few minutes to consider ideas.

Amazing, some great ideas there.

You might have said that Brooke does not follow the traditional theme of romantic love, and instead uses familial love as a theme, the love between a parent and a child.

You might have then also considered that Brooke may have done this to demonstrate the nurturing aspect of England's love for the soldier, and perhaps to create the impression of an unbreakable love.

Now, for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is fill in the blanks of the following sentences.

The traditional sonnet form focuses on the theme of __ love.

Brooke doesn't quite adhere to this tradition, since he writes of __ love in "The Soldier." And finally, potentially, Brooke does this in order to emphasise the __ aspect of love.

Pause the video, and add in your answers.

The answers are, the traditional sonnet form focuses on the theme of romantic love.

Brooke doesn't quite adhere to this tradition, since he writes off familial love in "The Soldier." And, potentially, Brooke does this in order to emphasise the nurturing aspect of love.

We're now onto a second task of the lesson.

Why do you think that Brooke may have chosen to alter the traditional theme of the sonnet? Complete the following sentence starter.

"By using the theme of familial, rather than romantic, love, Brooke may have been.

." As well as thinking about the reasons behind familial love, specifically try to also think about why Brooke might have wanted his love poem not to look like every other love poem.

Pause the video, and take a few minutes to create your answer.

Fantastic job, everyone.

Here is an example of what you might have said.

By using the theme of familial, rather than romantic love, Brooke may have been demonstrating 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.

Furthermore, by not following tradition, Brooke may have been trying to imply there is something unique about the love between a soldier and their country.

Amazing, you're all doing fantastically well, everyone.

We're now onto our final learning cycle, analysing the structure of "The Soldier." Wonderful, everyone.

We're just going to start by again clarifying what we mean by the structure of a poem.

While the form of a poem is the type of poem, the structure is what makes up that pattern of the poem.

So you might talk about the rhyme, the rhythm, the line lengths, the number of stanzas, or the use of punctuation.

I often like to read the poem to myself, and think about whether it feels natural to read.

Are there any awkward breaks? Does it flow? Do I feel as if the pace slows down or speeds up? All of those things are really useful when it comes to analysing structure.

I often find students find the concept of talking about structure challenging, so I'd like to remind you that analysing the structure is the same as analysing language.

You notice and describe a detail, and then explain the effect you think that detail has on the reader.

We're going to start our analysis of the structure by looking at the rhyme scheme.

While Brooke doesn't quite adhere to the traditional theme of a sonnet, he does meet the criteria of having a regular rhyme scheme.

I often find that students struggle to know what to say about the rhyme scheme, and one analogy I think may help is to imagine that the rhyme scheme reflects the inside of a room.

Since an organised rhyme scheme means there is a pattern to the poem, and patterns are organised and predictable, we might imagine a poem with a regular rhyme scheme to be like a room where everything is organised, and in the correct, logical place.

What I'd like you to do now is imagine that you've entered a room where everything is tidied away and organised.

What emotions might you feel? Pause the video, and take a few moments to consider.

Fantastic work, everyone.

You might have said that an organised room could evoke a sense of control, a sense of order, a sense of peace, or a sense of satisfaction.

Now, why do you think Brooke would use a regular rhyme? What might he be trying to say about the concept of dying for one's country? Pause the video, and take a few moments to consider.

Amazing work, everyone.

You might have said that, potentially, Brooke is demonstrating the resolution of the speaker through the rhyme scheme.

It indicates a sense of acceptance and peace.

Just a quick check for understanding now.

Which two of the following do you think that Brooke is showing through the regular rhyme scheme? Your options are, a, a sense of order, b, a sense of disorder, c, a sense of control, or d, a sense of chaos.

Pause the video for a few moments, and make your selection.

The correct answers are a, a sense of order, and c, a sense of control.

So, well done, if you selected those two.

Wonderful job, everyone.

We're now gonna move on to thinking about the choice of word placement within a poem.

One of the most powerful ways to analyse structure is to examine the beginning, middle, and end of a text.

What journey does the poet want us, the reader, to take? This is particularly useful when you're confronted with an unseen text.

Look at the very first word or phrase of the text.

How is the writer introducing the text to you? What is the very final word? What is the lasting impression they want to leave you with? The final word of "The Soldier" is heaven.

What I'd like you to think about is why do you think Brooke chose to use the word heaven as the final thing the reader sees? Pause the video and take a few moments to consider.

Amazing work, everyone.

You might have said that to end on the word heaven suggests that this is the final destination of the soldier.

His resolution to die for his country means he will experience eternal paradise.

Furthermore, Brooke prefaces the final word with 'English,' which adds to the image of England as an idyllic paradise.

We're now going to do another quick check for understanding.

Is it true or false that you can analyse word choices as part of structural analysis? Pause the video and make your selection.

The correct answer is true.

Now, I'd like you to justify this answer by selecting which of the following statements applies.

Is it a, that the choice of words to appear at certain points in a text is a structural choice, or b, you should only analyse words as part of structural analysis.

Pause the video and make your choice.

The correct answer is a, the choice of words to appear at certain points in a text is a structural choice.

So, well done, if you selected that one.

We're now onto our final task of the day.

What I'd like you to do is discuss how you think your interpretation of the poem would change if the final word were hell, rather than heaven.

You might consider the following questions in your response.

What do you associate with hell? What would this word imply about Brooke's feelings towards dying for England? Pause the video and consider your ideas.

Great work, everyone.

You might have said that if the final word were hell, rather than heaven, it would leave the reader with a very negative feeling of pain and misery.

This would suggest to the reader that the soldier is suffering with the knowledge they will die for their country, rather than peacefully accepting it.

Amazing job today, everyone.

Here's a brief summary of what we covered today.

We discussed how Brooke uses language to evoke the nurturing love between the speaker and England.

We talked about how Brooke uses the form to suggest that there's something special about the love between the soldier and England, and finally, we discussed how Brooke used the structure to demonstrate the sense of peace the soldier feels.

You all did amazingly well, and please remember to take the exit quiz.

I hope to see you for our next lesson on writing about "The Soldier." Goodbye, everyone.