Question

"There shall be / In that rich earth a richer dust concealed; / A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware"

Hint:

This quote is from *The Soldier* by Rupert Brooke, part of his collection of war sonnets, expressing patriotism and the idealized view of sacrifice during World War I.

Answer 1

Explanation: These lines are from Rupert Brooke's sonnet "The Soldier." The speaker, a soldier, is contemplating his own death in a foreign land. He sees his body not just as flesh, but as "a richer dust" because it is a part of England. The line "A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware" personifies England as a mother figure. It suggests that everything he is—his body, his values, his consciousness—was given to him by his homeland. Therefore, if he dies abroad, his burial will enrich the foreign soil by consecrating a small piece of it as forever England. It is a deeply patriotic expression of identity and belonging.