Analysing Brooke's presentation of England and patriotism in 'The Soldier'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can analyse how Brooke uses language, form and structure to express his patriotism.
Key learning points
- Brooke uses personification to portray England as a mother figure, who has nurtured and cared for him his whole life.
- Brooke presents England as a superior nation; he portrays England as idyllic to illustrate his patriotism.
- The image of an “English heaven” reflects Brooke's hopes of being reunited with England in the event of his death.
- Brooke uses the sonnet form perhaps to reflect his love for, and devotion to, England.
- Brooke subverts conventions of traditional sonnets, perhaps because his love for England is familial and not romantic.
Keywords
Patriotism - showing a devotion to, and love for one’s country
Superior - more important/powerful/valuable than something else
Nurturing - to take care of and protect something or someone
Sonnet - a poem with 14 lines and a regular rhyme scheme
Idyllic - extremely perfect and/or picturesque
Common misconception
Students might think that Brooke fought and died in the war because he wrote a war poem.
Although Brooke bravely volunteered to fight in the war, he never actually engaged in any military action. Unfortunately, Brooke died from septicaemia on a ship en route to battle.
Teacher tip
When students are asked to consider whether they think Brooke would regret writing this poem, try to get them to recap the context of this poem, and think about what might have happened if people had been too frightened to enlist in the war - perhaps consider conscription in light of this.
Equipment
You will need access to a copy of the Eduqas poetry anthology for this lesson.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the poem 'The Soldier' about?
Q2.To express a deep love and admiration for your country is to be...
Q3.If you have unrealistic expectations you can be said to be...
Q4.What are sonnets traditionally about?
Q5.Which quotation taken from 'The Soldier' uses personification?
Q6.To is to praise something or make it seem good or special, usually when it is not.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords to their definitions.
showing a devotion to, and love for one’s country
more important/powerful/valuable than something else
to take care of and protect something or someone
extremely perfect and/or picturesque
Q2.In 'The Soldier', Brooke uses the form perhaps to reflect his love for, and devotion to England.
Q3.What is the rhyme scheme of the poem 'The Soldier?
Q4.In the poem 'The Soldier' England is presented as a __________ figure.
Q5.Which quotation from 'The Soldier' shows Brooke feels he embodies England and it's a part of him?
Q6.Complete the quotation from the final line of 'The Soldier': "In hearts at peace, under an English ."
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Analysing Brooke's presentation of England and patriotism in 'The Soldier', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Analysing Brooke's presentation of England and patriotism in 'The Soldier', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 English lessons from the Poetry anthology (Assessment until summer 2026) unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.