Brooke, Rupert

Brooke, Rupert, 1887–1915, English poet. At the outbreak of World War I he joined the Royal Naval Division, served at Antwerp, and was in the Dardanelles expedition when he died of blood poisoning at the island of Skíros. Handsome and athletic, Brooke was also charming, intellectual, and witty, and was universally sought in society. His early fame and tragic death have made him an almost legendary figure. He wrote two small volumes of poetry, Poems (1911) and 1914 and Other Poems (1915). His verse is exuberant and charming, the romantic patriotism of his war sonnets contrasting sharply with the bitter, disillusioned poetry of Owen and Sassoon.

Bibliography

See his letters, ed. by G. Keynes (1968); biographies by A. Stringer (1948, repr. 1972) and C. Hassall (1964, repr. 1972); studies by J. Lehmann (1981) and P. Delany (1987); bibliography by G. Keynes (1954).

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Brooke, Rupert

Rupert Brooke, posthumous portrait drawing by J.H. Thomas; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

(credit: Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London)

(born Aug. 3, 1887, Rugby, Warwickshire, Eng.—died April 23, 1915, Skyros, Greece) English poet. His best-known work, the sonnet sequence 1914 (1915), which includes the popular poem “The Soldier,” expresses an idealism in the face of death that is in strong contrast to later poetry of trench warfare. His death at age 27 in World War I contributed to his idealized image in the interwar period.