"If I should die, think only this of me:", he's
saying forget everything I've done, only
remember that I've died for my country.
"foreign field That is forever England.", the use
of f's is repetition giving it emphasis and the
repetition also represents the continuation of
England.
He is very patriotic, thinks very highly
of his country. Where ever he dies will
be England regardless of what country
he is buried in.
The full stop on the end
shows there is no argument
to his comment, it is fact.
"A dust whom England bore, shaped, made
aware," He is describing that England is his
Mom and his birth as a death.
"Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam." Personifying
England as a beautiful rose. More of a love interest. England is a
social construct so we get to see his full extent of his love for the
country. Her = person.
"A pulse in the eternal
mind," God is English, dying
for England is spiritual.
"all evil shed away", reference to Satan.
Tone of the second stanza: Happy, I want to die for England.
"A body of England's, breathing English air, washed by the
rivers, blest by the suns of home." Baptismal, imagery of
God. Represents England as a divine power, chosen by God.
Elements: Wind, water, fire.
An unreliable war poem, if he spent time in
the trenches it wouldn't be the same. A
reliable war poem as that's what soldiers feel
before going off to war.
Form: A sonnet, love letter. 14
lines. 1st stanza = Octet (8
lines). 2nd stanza = Sestet (6
lines).