Death and Dying
Death and war are inseparable. The poems I have included in this section begin with Rupert Brooke's "The Soldier". The students will easily make the comparison/ connection to our first poem by Yeats. In addition, this will give me an opportunity to teach a war sonnet.
Students should have an ongoing discussion about whether a person can write about war if they have never been in one. We will continue with this type of writing exercise as we read the poems.
Brooke wrote five war sonnets before his death. Several writers feel he should actually be considered a prewar poet. He saw one day of fighting before he died in April, 1915, from blood poisoning. However, his poems inspired great patriotism and were helpful in the early war effort to England. Churchill used him as a "poster boy" for England and actually wrote his obituary for The Times. "The Soldier" was read from the pulpit of St. Paul's on April 23, 1915 (Groves). Students will see how this poem could also fit our first category: why men go to war. Each time we move forward we will go back to discuss his handling of this idea. The blending of the Italian sonnet and Shakespearean sonnet will help students review the sonnet style. This poem is also called Brooke's "epitaph," and we can discuss why.
Since the students have many choices, they may work on their project notebook after we talk about this poem. They may choose to do a Venn-diagram of two poems we have read. This will allow some of the students to work on the internet while I help those who have been absent or need individual assistance.
Yeats' "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death" and Brooke's "The Soldier" have several similar features. They have the same sense of tension and the premonition of death. They both have a deep personal drive to go to war, almost a quiet exhilaration. Also, they do not seem to have regret. They both have a rhyme scheme, first person point of view, and nature as a backdrop.
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