How Far Do You Agree That The Volunteer Is Typical

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The Volunteer is about a clerk who is unsatisfied with the everyday city life which is described as “toiling” and “city grey” and he then goes on to fight in the war but dies fighting for his country yet Asquith describes his death in a heroic manor rather than unnecessary proving that this is a patriotic poem that glorifies the men that fought and died in the war; comparing them to the heroes of Agincourt. The simple message of sacrifice and nobility is shown in the regular pattern of the poem which consists of two stanzas of 8 lines. The first stanza simply compares the boredom of city life and the chivalry of fighting in a war; whereas the second stanza simply talks about dying in honour and concludes the poem. There is also simplicity to the rhythm of the poem; the two stanzas consist of the same rhyme scheme of ABBA CDCD. The poem is also written in a rather rigid iambic pentameter. The Volunteer is typical to that of Rupert Brooke’s poems for example The Soldier is also a patriotic poem; it describes that of an idealistic England which the men of our country should preserve by fighting in the war, this is shown in the chosen language such as “English heaven” “Peace” and “gentleness”. And death is described as the ultimate sacrifice and joy for your country just like in The Volunteer. The Soldier also has the simple message of sacrifice and patriotism for example England and Englishmen is mentioned six times throughout the poem which continually reinforces this message by using repetition. The fact that the poem is written in a sonnet form also reinforces the message of patriotism because a sonnet represents a love poem and The Soldier is about a love of your country again like The Volunteer. Peace is typical to The Volunteer too. Again it’s a patriotic poem; the line “God be thanked who has matched us with His honour” shows this as it means that god has
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