Vindiciae contra populus:
Rethinking the poetry and legacy of
Rupert Brooke

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Introduction: The fall from grace 

 

Before the First World War, Rupert Brooke’s poetic voice was regarded as one of “exquisite feeling”, “high majesty” and “completion” [1]. Since then, however, he has been tossed into the trash-heap of literary analysis, condemned for his “life-diminishing ideas”, “sick philosophy” [2]  and “callous idiocy” [3]; simplistically reduced to a naïve idealist who, had he lived to fight the war, would have ditched his innocent musings to lament its grave austerity [4].

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However, as a pioneer of the Georgian and Great War literary tradition, the scathing rebukes that Brooke has posthumously endured do him a glaring disservice. His complexity, maturity and substance remain underappreciated, clouded by the sheer weight of condemnatory judgement. The unthinking dismissal of a poet who, disparaged as he is, remains essential to the holistic picture of war poetry, creates a gaping hole in the existing body of literature surrounding the poetry of war.

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Therefore, this essay moves beyond ‘facile’ [5] judgements, to meaningfully enhance the holistic picture of war poetry. To these ends, this essay challenges conventional analyses of Rupert Brooke: poet, prospective soldier, human being and — once upon a time — the darling of England.

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Patriotism and Prejudice

 

To nuance what is known about Brooke, one must first nuance how Brooke is studied. Fundamentally, this essay sheds the assumption that Brooke was saccharine and idealistic, and thus unworthy of serious consideration. Instead, to more deeply and holistically understand Brooke, this essay critically probes into his corpus, in search of discoveries that redeem and vindicate him, by illustrating his literary skill and perceptiveness of thought and emotion.

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Furthermore, the assertion that pro-war perspectives do not entail naïveté underpins the premises of this essay. This is because such an assumption inherently prejudices and disparages pro-war poetry, undercutting appreciation of Brooke. Naïveté entails ignorance, foolishness and inexperience: traits that, this essay argues, do not pertain to Brooke at all. Instead, by disentangling Brooke from assumptions that he is naïve simply because he glorifies war, this essay judges him more discerningly.

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Finally, this essay contextualises Brooke’s poetry not merely as war poetry, but poetry of the Georgian realist poetic tradition, which remained intrinsic to his works. Georgianism ‘[approximates] the innocent eye of childhood’ [6] through a simple worldview and style — guiding ‘how rather than what the poet sees’ [7]. Pastoralism, indispensable to Georgianism, also features in Brooke’s poetry; analysis thereof nuances the exploration of Brooke’s poetry, accentuating the resonance of the sentiments he wishes to express.

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The existing body of research surrounding Rupert Brooke is saturated, creating an imperative for the literary researcher to continually scrutinise and rethink the current state of knowledge. This essay does not claim to revive a dead poet; rather, it intends to breathe new life into his poetry.

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Beyond the Lines: Brooke’s envisioning of greater glories

 

Brooke indubitably idealises, sanitises and glorifies war. However, this does not reveal naïveté, but Georgian maturity, because Brooke proclaims patriotic duty. Perspective in Peace highlights divinely-ordained enlightenment to higher purposes when God ‘wakened us from’ indolent ‘sleeping’ [8] to, as the kinaesthetic imagery of ‘swimmers… leaping’ similises, joyously embrace ‘cleanness’ [9] — illustrating war purifying humanity. Warfare is also valiant: The Dead (III) personifying ‘Honour… [coming] back, as a king’ [10] and ‘Nobleness… [walking] in our ways again’ [11] venerates war. Wartime death is especially glorious: apostrophising bugles to reverentially ‘[blow] out… over the rich Dead!’ [12], and metaphorical imagery of ‘[pouring] out the red / Sweet wine of youth’ [13] represent bloodshed, and thus honour and passion, especially through connoting elegance. Likewise, human experiences are intricately beautiful, imagery of embroidery celebrating ‘hearts… woven of human joys and cares’ [14]. Brooke portrays war and forfeiting life as nobly sacrificial; however, one must shed the prima facie assumption that Brooke’s work consists of empty musings and idealisations to appreciate the passion and perceptiveness in his poetry.

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Dulce bellum inexpertis? Brooke as wise beyond his years of experience

 

To judge Brooke more fairly and discerningly, it is imperative to understand Brooke holistically, as a person and a poet. The sense of duty he expresses was profoundly felt by himself, ‘galvanised’ [15]  by the ‘incessant mechanical slaughter’ [16] in the ‘Dantesque hell’ [17] of ‘one of the greatest crimes in history’ during the siege of Antwerp. This detail is often overlooked by naysayers of Brooke, who argue that his pro-war stance was a product of never having experienced war, so much so that it has rather fallen into oblivion — perhaps because the fact that he was involved in brutal conflict directly refutes such claims. Very much to the contrary, Brooke actually knew much more than any of his peers about war before they went to battle. Therefore, Brooke himself declared the need to make the ‘great sacrifices … everyone must make’ [18]; this mature sense of duty is reflected in Peace and The Dead (III).

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Brooke’s Georgian revolution

 

Even further, Brooke’s poetry reflected his sentiments via his unique interpretation of Georgianism. Sailing on the Aegean Sea while writing his five famed war sonnets, he had not yet experienced the war about which he wrote, and thus could not describe the physical realities so integral to Georgian realism. Therefore, he ‘faithfully reproduc[ed]’ [19] emotional realities instead, accentuating the turmoil, resentment and, ultimately, reconciliation he expressed in his seminal essay, An Unusual Young Man [20]. Peace echoes such realities, repudiating resentment of losing music and peace through repulsive visual and auditory imagery of ‘dirty songs’ [21], and hollow, ‘little emptiness’ [22], disparaging frivolity — reflecting Brooke’s initial conflict between peacetime pleasures and war. Thereafter, Safety reflects Brooke’s newfound resolve overcoming resentment and reconciling his emotions. Cheerful pastoral imagery of ‘birds singing’ [23] highlights war beautifying, not destroying, pleasures; while the ‘house... not for Time’s throwing’ [24] metaphorises trenches as a locus amoenus [25]. Brooke encapsulates his feelings about war, in keeping with the spirit of the Georgian worldview and style. Further, he imbues an emotional dimension to Georgianism, more resonantly accentuating his emotional experiences through its sheer sincerity. Pastoralism, intrinsic to the Georgian tradition, is introduced into war poetry to uniquely illustrate the escape and reassurance Brooke finds in going to war. Brooke’s poetry is, first and foremost, personal.

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Rejoicing in the presence of God’s angels:

Brooke’s conversion of areligious Georgianism, and salvation in an ‘English heaven’

 

Furthermore, grateful, passionate emotions about war maintain the Georgian tradition, including pastoralism. This is because Georgian realism is faithful to personal reality — vis-à-vis impersonal jingoism. Visual imagery of England’s ‘flowers to love’, ‘indispensable’ to Georgian pastoralism, idealises The Soldier’s countryside setting, furthered by the kinaesthetic imagery of being ‘washed by the rivers’ and visual imagery in being ‘blest by suns of home’ [26] likewise depicting a serenely pastoral ‘English heaven’ [27]. The sestet [28], rhyming efgefg, illustrates melodic ritenuto, giving mental space to ponder English beauty — in which pastoralism immerses, and elevates — thus illustrating gratitude. Far from jingoistic, Brooke’s patriotism is purely personal. Though grounded in emotional reality, ‘doctrinaire’ [29]  ‘moralisation’ [30] overcomes characteristically ‘sedate’ [31], inoffensive Georgian ‘agnosticism’ [32]. Brooke expanded beyond to — arguably — proclaim divinely-ordained duty, his subversion of Georgian conventions especially emphatic in doing so.

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Justice for Brooke: parting remarks

 

War is sweet to he who has not fought; yet, war is simple to he who dares not probe. This essay has essentially argued that no perspective is less valid than another; no emotion less noble, no poet less venerable. Rupert Brooke idealises and sanitises war, not merely because he is inexperienced and, so, foolish. This is factually wrong. Instead, he glorifies war to express his unquenchable patriotic resolve — displaying maturity and complexity that research has often overlooked.

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The year 2018 marked the centenary of the Great War. Especially at this monumental juncture, humankind must constantly and vigorously re-evaluate its current state of understanding, ever pursuing more meaningful insights. Over time, incomplete knowledge will ossify, entrenching humankind in normative analysis, denying it the troves of understanding that were once at its disposal. Therefore, should the literary researcher delve into this field, Brooke’s voice should at least be allowed to vindicate itself. Much biographical detail is known about Brooke; this must be used better to understand his works. Thus, although the darling of England may have perished en route to war, his poetry may yet live to fight another day.

 

Notes

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[1] Ervine, St. John G. “The Poetry of Rupert Brooke.” The North American Review, vol. 202, no. 718, 1915, pp. 439-440  JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25108586.

[2] Roberts, David, editor. Minds at War: the Poetry and Experience of the First World War. West Sussex, Saxon Books, 1999. ISBN: 9780952896906

[3] Scutts, Joanna. “The True Story of Rupert Brooke.” The New Yorker, https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-true-story-of-rupert-brooke. Accessed 5 October 2019.

[4] Bergonzi, Bernard. Heroes’ Twilight: A Study of the Literature of the Great War. 3rd ed., Manchester, Carcanet Press 1996, pp. 32-59. ISBN: 9781857541359

[5] Hibberd, Dominic. “Wilfred Owen and the Georgians.” The Review of English Studies, vol. 30, no. 117, 1979, p. 28 JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/514760.

[6] Simon, Myron. “The Georgian Poetic.” Papers of the Midwest Modern Language Association, Number 1. Theory/Poetic Practice, special issue of The Bulletin of the Midwest Modern Language Association, vol. 2, no. 1, 1969, p. 131. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1314743.

[7] Ibid., 132

[8] Brooke, 1914 & Other Poems, 2

[9] Ibid., 4

[10] Ibid., 11

[11] Ibid., 13

[12] Ibid., 1

[13] Ibid., 4-5

[14] Ibid., 1

[15] Murray, Nicholas. The Red Sweet Wine Of Youth: The Brave and Brief Lives of the War Poets. 2nd ed., London, Abacus, 2012, p. 53. ISBN: 9780349121437

[16] Keynes, Geoffrey, editor. Letters of Rupert Brooke. London, Faber & Faber, 1968, pp. 632-633. ISBN: 9780825304446

[17] Ibid.

[18] Ibid. p. 627.

[19] Moore, Jr., L. Hugh. “Siegfried Sassoon and Georgian Realism.” Twentieth Century Literature, vol. 14, no. 4, 1969, p. 200. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/440596.

[20] Brooke, Rupert. Letters from America. New York City, NY, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1916. ISBN: 9780283998492

[21] Brooke, 1914 & Other Poems, 7

[22] Ibid., 8

[23] Ibid., 7

[24] Ibid., 9

[25]  McLoughlin, Kate. Authoring War: The Literary Representation of War from the Iliad to Iraq. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2011, p. 96.

[26] Brooke, 1914 & Other Poems, 8

[27] Ibid., 14

[28] Ibid., 9-14

[29] Myron. “The Georgian Poetic”, 127

[30] Ibid., 133

[31] “War Poetry”. The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English. New York City, NY, Oxford University Press Inc., New York, 1996, p. 700. ISBN: 0192122711

[32] Myron. “The Georgian Poetic”, 127

Bibliography
Primary Texts

Brooke, Rupert. 1914 & Other Poems. London, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1915.

Books

Bergonzi, Bernard. Heroes’ Twilight: A Study of the Literature of the Great War. 3rd ed., Manchester, Carcanet Press, 1996.

Brooke, Rupert. Letters from America. New York City, NY, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1916.

Keynes, Geoffrey, editor. Letters of Rupert Brooke. London, Faber & Faber, 1968.

McLoughlin, Kate. Authoring War: The Literary Representation of War from the Iliad to Iraq. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Murray, Nicholas. The Red Sweet Wine of Youth: The Brave and Brief Lives of the War Poets. 2nd ed., London, Abacus, 2012.

Roberts, David, editor. Minds at War: the Poetry and Experience of the First World War. West Sussex, Saxon Books, 1999.
 

Stringer, Jenny, and Sutherland, John. The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English. New York City, NY, Oxford University Press Inc., New York, 1996.

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Scholarly Articles

Ervine, St. John G. “The Poetry of Rupert Brooke.” The North American Review 202.718 (1915): 432-440.

Hibberd, Dominic. “Wilfred Owen and the Georgians.” The Review of English Studies 30.117 (1979): 28-40.

Moore, Jr., L. Hugh. “Siegfried Sassoon and Georgian Realism.” Twentieth Century Literature 14.4 (1969): 199-209.

Simon, Myron. “The Georgian Poetic.” Papers of the Midwest Modern Language Association, Number 1. Poetic Theory/Poetic Practice, special issue of The Bulletin of the Midwest Modern Language Association 2.1 (1969): 121-135.

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News Articles

Scutts, Joanna. The True Story of Rupert Brooke. The New Yorker. Accessed 5 October 2019. https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-true-story-of-rupert-brooke.
 

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