The Dead Analysis

The Dead
- By Rupert Brooke
This poem, The Dead, by Rupert Brooke is a part of his
war sonnets that focuses on the positive aspects of the
war and tries to show to the public the benefits and the
rewards a soldiers gets from taking part in the war and
pride in dying for one’s country. In the first stanza of this
sonnet, he describes the life and routine of the common
man and talks of all the things soldiers did before the war
and later on he tell the reader that all this is no more and
that the times have changed. Also at the end of the poem
he talks about the glory and immortality one gains by
dying on the battlefield. The writer creates a stark
contrast between the two verses in the poem, one
signifying living and the other the dead. The play on
colours, weather and the times of day adds to the setting
through sunrise and sunset, and earthy colours to give a
feeling of warmth and a positive effect and also in the
dark night and frosty climate which refers to all the sorrow
and the creates a negative atmosphere.
The writer focuses this poem around the central

characters of the ‘dead soldiers’ of the war. In the
beginning of the first stanza, he refers to their hearts as
being integrated with ‘human joys and cares.’ This
denotes the love and warmth in their lives before the war
and shows us how happy they were. He also indicates, in
the line ‘washed…to mirth’, that yes this life was not
perfect and that they too have their share of problems and
unhappiness, but still they do not hesitate to laugh it off
as being part and parcel of life. ‘dawn was theirs’ tells us
that now their time had come and it was their time to
shine. The next 3 lines, from ‘they had seen… sat alone’
also show that these men who are now dead, had in their
prime, lived life completely, enjoying all of the tiny
moments; the good like love, friendship, and life and even
those precious indescribable moments where all else
seems meaningless and we can only stand in awe, and
also the few not so good ones like loneliness. But, the poet
goes on too tell us that ‘all this has ended.’ This could
have multiple meanings either referring to the fact that
this stage in their lives as common men was over and that
they were now soldiers or it could also mean that these
events were over and would no longer take place in their
lives, because they themselves are no more and they
have died. Despite this entire verse being written in the
past tense, Rupert Brooke uses the present tense of the
verb ‘to be’, ‘is’, despite the rest of the verse being
written in the past tense. This indicates a contrast in the
fact that at the present these emotions and actions are no
more, and have become a thing of the past.
In this stanza the writer creates a warm and positive

atmosphere by using adjectives and words like, ‘joys’,
‘kindness’, ‘marvellously’ and wonder.’ This paints a
joyous picture for the reader and gives along with it a
sense of the good life of these soldiers before the war.
This feeling, coupled with the phrase, ‘all this is ended’

gives a sense of ambiguity and to a certain extent
confuses the reader as to the motive of this poem, that is,
is it pro-war or against war, because Brooke, having a pro-
war mentality, still talks about the happy lives of soldiers
before the war and then goes on to say that due to the
war itself ‘all this has ended’, thus signifying the loss of
live or the drastic change in lifestyle brought about by the
war.
In the second verse, the poet begins by saying that ‘blown

by… to laughter’. This means that the lives of these, now
dead, soldiers were affected by these ‘changing and
uncontrollable external forces. In this stanza, the poet
refers to the ‘water’ and the ‘waves’ as the soldiers
themselves who have been moulded by these external
forces and have been changed from within. The erstwhile
peace and calm in their mind has been transformed into
noise and chatter. By personifying the waves in the line,
‘frost, with… that dance’, by saying that they ‘dance’
refers to their continuous rhythm and movement that is
stopped by the frost that freezes the water. The ‘frost’
that ‘stays the waves’ that too only with a small ‘gesture’
can be interpreted as the mixture of deadly disease and
harsh climate that freezes the lives of these soldiers and
therefore they cannot move. Thus, again the poet creates
confusion in the readers’ mind as one is unsure whether
the death of these soldiers can be a good thing, as such
an idea is actually against the notion of war and may
discourage readers from openly participating.
the phrase ‘leaves a white… shining peace’ signifies that

even after dying these soldiers live on and have
‘radiance’, ‘glory’ and ‘peace’. This clears any doubt or
confusion in the reader’s mind as it tells us that, yes,
these soldiers had ‘wonderful’ and positive lives before
the war, and yes, they had to leave it all behind, but he
tells us that by dying for their country they have gained a
greater satisfaction and a greater meaning in life even
after their death. This refers to the immortality that they
gain after sacrificing their lives for the country. This gives
the reader a sense of hope, and satisfaction. Here, the
poet talks about the ‘glory’ in dying for the greater good.
Thus, these last few lines can be interpreted with a
reference to the stars. Here, these dead soldiers have died
but live on in a ‘white unbroken glory’ that is ‘gathered’
and is ‘shining under the night.’ Hence it symbolizes these
dead living on among us as stars in the sky, watching over
us as they shine brightly with a white, concentrated glow
under the night sky.
Looking back at the style of the poem, it is written as a

Petrarchan sonnet, i.e., 14 lines separated into 2 verses of
8 and 6 lines respectively. However there is a great
contrast in the theme of this sonnet as compared to the
Petrarchan sonnets, which were based more on love and
joy, while this poem by Rupert Brooke is based on the
much opposing concept of war and death. The poet here
also intergrates a Shakespearean epigrammatic twist in
the last 2 lines that changes the mood and the meaning of
the poem. By changing his view on the war by explaining
the importance and glory in dying in war the writer clears
up all the confusion and contrasting emotions left behind
by the last line of the 1st verse and the opening lines of the
second verse.
In this poem, the poet creates a large contrast between

the first and second stanzas. The first talks about the life
of the soldiers and is written in the past tense, referring to
it as over and finished, while the second that is written in
the present, refers to the afterlife. Thus, the writer creates
a contrast between these 2 different states of life by
creating contrast in the readers mind by using opposing
colours, seasons, and times of day. The poet here also
uses euphemisms to downplay the negative effects of
death. He firstly highlights the positive points in life but
almost overlooks the negative consequences, by
refraining from mentioning things like the diseases, the
blood, the pain that is to be borne by the soldiers. Also
Rupert Brooke in referring to the afterlife as glorious and
better that the life of a common living man, makes an
attempt to justify death and thus say that it is unimportant
and can be overlooked.
Thus in this poem Rupert Brooke, tries to encourage the

younger generation to join the war and this pro-war poem
may probably come as an answer to anti-war poems by
poets like Wilfred Owens and Siegfried Sassoon, who
refered to life in the trenches as torturous and miserable,
and the death soldiers as a waste of life. Thus by telling
the reader about common men and saying that the ‘DEAD’
don’t live like that he tries to emphasize on the probability
of immortality that can only be attained by these
extraordinary ‘Dead’.
By Aashay Sheth
XI – A

The Dead Analysis

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What is the central theme of the poem?

How does the poet create contrast between the two stanzas?

The Dead

The writer focuses this poem around the central

In this stanza the writer creates a warm and positive

This feeling, coupled with the phrase, ‘all this is ended’

In the second verse, the poet begins by saying that ‘blown

the phrase ‘leaves a white… shining peace’ signifies that

Looking back at the style of the poem, it is written as a

In this poem, the poet creates a large contrast between

Thus in this poem Rupert Brooke, tries to encourage the

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