Compare and Contrast Rupert Brookes The Solider with Wilfred Owens Du

Compare and Contrast Rupert Brooke's The Solider with Wilfred Owen's Dulce et Decorum Est. Although 'The Soldier' by Rupert Brooke and 'Dulce et Decorum Est' by Wilfred Owen are concerned with the common theme of war, the two poems contrast two very different views of war. 'The Soldier' gives a very positive view of war, whereas Owen's portrayal is negative to the extreme. Rupert Brooke's 'The Soldier' is very patriotic as Brooke loves his country and is ready to die for it. This perhaps is not surprising as it was written in the first few months of war when the whole country was swept by a tide of patriotic fervour. Rather ironically for a war poem 'The Soldier' is a peaceful poem, as it doesn't describe the blood and death of war like 'Dulce et Decorum Est.'. Brooke's love for his country, however, is somewhat jingoistic and his view of England is rather sentimental. There are many examples of his love for his country, one of which is 'A body of England's, breathing English air.' Brooke also thinks that his country is superior to any other land: 'a richer dust concealed '. To an outsider this is a rather conceited view; thinking that an Englishman's rotting corpse would act as some superior fertilizer. But to his patriotic readers, this only intensified his main arguing point; his conviction that England is worth dying for. Brooke's purpose for writing such a one-sided poem was to give a morale booster to his audience and to demonstrate his deep love for his country. The poem is very powerful and no doubt had a very positive effect on these reluctant to join the army. The poem effectively demonstrates that this is a cause and country undoubtedly worth fighting for. Brooke's belief that God is... ...some of the best anti-war poetry ever written. Looking back over time, we can easily be critical of Brooke's rather naÃÆ'Â ¯ve view of war. But to be fair, he could not know what the next three years of war would bring and was only reflecting the patriotic mood of the early months of war. His view is much influenced by the Victorian poets, such as Tennyson, whose 'Charge of the Light Brigade' saw war as romantic and glorious with valiant cavalrymen charging the enemy on horses. But the First World War was to change all that. This was a twentieth century war with aeroplanes, machine-guns, tanks and gas, which Owen witnessed at first-hand and through his pen, changed not only war poetry, but how future generations have thought about war and the horrors it brings: And watch the white eyes writhing in his face. His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin.