The Soldier Subjective Question

1. Is the speaker afraid of death?

Ans. No, the speaker is not afraid of death. He is only apprehensive that if he dies in the battle field he may be buried in a small corner in the foreign land.

2. If at all he dies in the battle, how would he like to be remembered?

Ans. If he dies in the battle field, he would like to be remembered as a brave soldier who is not afraid of death. He would like to be remembered as a patriotic person who has grown up in England and has sacrified his life for the sake of England.

3. How can ‘some corner of a foreign field’ be forever England?

Ans. The poet says that when he dies in a foreign land while fighting for his country, he would be buried there in some corner of a field. The dust of that country would get mixed up with a richer dust from England in the form of his physical body. For this reason, he says that area would become like England itself.

4. “In that rich earth a richer dust concealed”. What does ‘dust’ stand for?

Ans. Here the word dust has multiple meanings. In the first place it refers to the earth of the place where the poet was born and brought up. It also refers to the earth of his burial place in a foreign land where his body would be buried if he dies during war. He also refers to the physical body of a dead person as dust which gets concealed in the dust of the land where he would be buried.

5. What is meant by the phrase ‘A pulse in the eternal mind’?

Ans. When we think with a vibration lasting in our mind forever and with a pulsating heart delighted with the beauty of England, all our evil thoughts and actions get vanished. It helps to prevent war.

6. Do you think that the title of the poem is appropriate? Give reasons.

Ans. Yes, the title of the poem is appropriate because it describes the inner feelings, thoughts and desires of a soldier who is in the battle field in a foreign land. The poem makes a touching presentation of the desires of a soldier who expects to die at any moment in the battle field and expresses his patrotic feelings for England which is his place of birth.

7. Discuss the main ideas contained in the first eight lines. i.e., octave.

Ans. The main idea contained in the poem relates to the feelings and sentiments of a soldier, who is fighting in the battle field. He knows that in the battlefield he may die at any moment and he may be buried in some corner of a foreign field. He says that in the due course of time dust would conceal his body. He is born and brought up in England which has given him beautiful flowers to love, ways to roam and fresh and refreshing English air for breathing.

8. What do you understand by patriotism? Is this a patriotic poem? Discuss.

Ans. Patriotism means love for one’s country. A patriotic person would be willing to make any kind of sacrifice for the freedom and progress of the country and its people. Yes, this is a patriotic poem.

9. Summarise the poem in your own words.

Ans.‘The Soldier’ is a patriotic poem written in the form of a sonnet by the renowned British poet, Rupert Brooke. The poem gives expression to the feelings of a British soldier fighting for the honour of his country on foreign soil. He is not afraid of death. He is ready to sacrifice his life for his country. He simply wants to be remembered at his death by his countrymen as a Britisher who has lived and died for his country. The soldier remembers his country with fondness because he was born and brought up there. He still likes the sun, the rivers, the flowers, the streets, the air and the friends of his country. He is grateful to his country which has taught him the high ideals of life. In this way, the poem has glorified wars and battles unlike the anti- war poems which plead for peace and pity.

10. How many times does the poet use ‘England’ or ‘English’ in the poem? What does it show?

Ans. In the poem the poet has used the word ‘England’ four times and the word ‘English’ twice. This depicts his patriotic feelings and sentiments. The poet wants to say that the man who loves his country is ready to sacrifice his life for the country. England is poet’s birth place and he immensely loves his country.

11. How can you show that you love your country?

Ans. I can show my love for the country through my willingness to fight for her safety, security and integrity even at the cost of my life. I shall do my best for the progress and prosperity of the country and devote my life for the welfare of my fellow countrymen by rendering my services and extending all kinds of help to them.

12. What is a Sonnet? Comment on the language of the prescribed poem. Also mention its rhyme scheme.

Ans. A ‘Sonnet’ is a poem of 14 lines consisting of 3 parts of four lines each and one couplet (of two lines). Sonnet is of two types. The first is petrarchan or Italian kind of sonnet. It is so called because it was started by Petrarch, an Italian poet. This type of sonnet has two divisions. The first part is called octave consisting of first eight lines. The second part consisting of the six remaining lines is called sestet. In the first part of the sonnet the problem is introduced and in the second part the problem is solved. There is another type of sonnet called Shakespearian or English because this type of sonnet was started by Shakespeare in England. The problem is introduced and discussed in the three stanzas of four lines each called quartrains and it is concluded in the last two lines called a couplet.

There is a definite rhyme scheme of this type of sonnet:

The first line of the stanza rhymes with the third line of the same stanza and similarly the second line of the stanza rhymes with the fourth line of the same stanza.

This rhyme scheme continues in all the three quatrains.

There is at the end a couplet of two lines rhyming together.

The Soldier is a sonnet of English or Shakespearian type. There are three stanzas of four lines each rhyming alternately followed with a couplet of two lines rhyming together. The three stanzas of four lines each are called quatrains.