The Relevance of The Dead and The Soldier by Rupert Brooke in Modern Society

The Relevance of The Dead and The Soldier by Rupert Brooke in Modern Society

In the poems, "The Dead" and "The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke, the two

poems are related to modern society by the current issue such as the

war in Iraq, which is still the largest issue that people see, hear

and talk about. In the poems, the main themes, which relate to modern

society, are patriotism, expecting to die and that death in war is a

glorious thing to some people.

In "The Dead", the theme of patriotism is shown by "…gave up the years

to be of work and joy…" This quote means that they sacrificed their

lived for their home country, England. Patriotism in this quote is

shown as they died for their country till the end of their lives. In

"The Soldier", the theme is shown by "If I should die, think only this

of me…" This quote means that if he dies protecting and fighting for

the country, the country should believe that it was for the good of

the country for its survival. These two quotes from the two poems are

related to modern society today because when compared, the people who

are going to war in Iraq, Americans are risking and possibly giving up

their lives to fight for their country, protecting it for the safety

of the future.

Also, in the two poems, the theme of that the soldiers are expecting

to die is also shown. In "The Dead" by "Blow out you bugles, over the

rich dead…" This quote means that the soldiers went to fight for their

country and died, knowing and expecting to die by fighting for their

country. On "The Soldier", this theme is written as "If I should die,

think only this of me:…" This quote means that the soldiers who went

to war we expecting to die so when they did die, they want the

citizens of England to remember what cause they died for. The two

quotes relate to modern society by relating to the soldiers who went

to Iraq.