Analysis Of May Herschel Brooke's The Soldier

Undoubtedly , WW1 was the first utmost military conflict in the modern times that has evoked variety of literary responses which reflect the sociopolitical and psychological background of that time and are considered as vital part of the historical and cultural memory of WW1 . War poetry has provided us with variety of images of the war and the battlefield by men who have experienced the reality of war face-to-face. On the other hand, women knew from the beginning that the war was going to be a great tragedy not only for men who were enlisted in the army , but also for women on the homefront who battled against the fear and horror aroused by WW1 . Women 's voices of agony, anger and anguish have emerged from the shadows of marginalization during WW1 to express their anti-war attitude. Women 's poetry of WW1 mirrors the 'new ' roles that women took during WW1 and shows the connection between men in the battlefield and

May Herschel Clarke 's 1917 poem 'The Mother" is an allusion to Rupert Brooke 's "The Soldier," in which Brooke glorifies the soldier 's willing sacrifice for his country . On the other hand , the euphoric and jingoistic tone of Brooke 's "The Soldier" is opposed with the mournful and ironic tone of Herschel-Clarke 's "The Mother." In "The Mother," Herschel-Clarke conveys the grieving mother 's perspective to a soldier during the time of war and shows the trauma that she goes through while waiting the untimely death of her son .Unlike the speaker in Brooke 's poem, who gains peace and oblivion through his sacrifice, the speaker in Herschel-Clarke 's "The Mother" describes how the grieving mother addresses her son who fights in the battlefield to remind him that if he " should die, " , he should think of her as " That in some place a mystic mile away" there is someone whom he " loved has drained the bitter cup." Moreover , the Mother is going to face her bereavement and bitterness " One whom you loved has drained