Today's poem is one of the most famous war poems, written during the first World War by an Englishman named Rupert Brooke. The poem is a soldier's request, in the event of his death. Brooke wrote the poem in 1914, and died the following year of blood poisoning. His bit of "for ever England" is indeed in a foreign field, on the island of Skyros. He ( Read more... )

Yesterday's poems by Christina Rossetti were both about death, and about remembrance of the deceased after death. Today's poem flows naturally from this, being as it is about a person's request if they should die. This is one of the most famous of war poems, written during the first World War by an Englishman names Rupert Brooke.

The Soldierby ( Read more... )

Tomorrow is Veterans Day here in the U.S. And yes, that's the proper way to spell it, per the U.S. government, although Veterans' and Veteran's are frequently used ( Read more... )

As promised in yesterday's post, here's a look at Wilfred Owen's famous poem, "Dulce et Decorum Est". The title of the poem comes from one of Horace's Odes, written in Lattin (of course): Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori, which is quoted in full at the end of the poem. The translation for the Latin is, roughly, "It is sweet and seemly to die ( Read more... )