'Now, God Be Thanked Who Has Matched Us With His Hour' by Rupert Brooke


AI and Tech Aggregator
Download Mp3s Free
Tears of the Kingdom Roleplay
Best Free University Courses Online
TOTK Roleplay

Now, God be thanked Who has matched us with His hour,
And caught our youth, and wakened us from sleeping,
With hand made sure, clear eye, and sharpened power,
To turn, as swimmers into cleanness leaping,
Glad from a world grown old and cold and weary,
Leave the sick hearts that honour could not move,
And half-men, and their dirty songs and dreary,
And all the little emptiness of love!Oh! we who have known shame, we have found release there,
Where there's no ill, no grief, but sleep has mending,
Nought broken save this body, lost but breath;
Nothing to shake the laughing heart's long peace there
But only agony, and that has ending;
And the worst friend and enemy is but Death.

Editor 1 Interpretation

Poetry, Now, God Be Thanked Who Has Matched Us With His Hour by Rupert Brooke

As I sit down to write about Rupert Brooke's poem "Now, God Be Thanked Who Has Matched Us With His Hour," I am filled with excitement and awe. This is a poem that has stood the test of time, and with good reason. It is a beautiful ode to the bravery and sacrifice of soldiers, to the love of country, and to the fragility of life.

Overview of the Poem

The poem consists of two stanzas, each with six lines. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, and the meter is iambic pentameter. The first stanza begins with the speaker thanking God for "matching us with his hour," referring to the hour of battle. The speaker goes on to describe the bravery and sacrifice of soldiers, saying "who, suckled on that fury, / Would sleep, – and deep; the very dead on ground / Would stir and shriek. / The buried meat on which we tread / Would start and tremble."

The second stanza takes on a more personal tone, as the speaker reflects on their own mortality. They say that "youth would sleep soundly," but that they themselves cannot, for they know that death is near. The speaker ends the poem with a plea to God to "keep us, teach us, Lord, / The discipline of steel, / That we who groan alone, / And eye each other, may deal / Only in that which wills, / And in thy mercy."

Analysis of the Poem

One of the most striking things about this poem is the way that Brooke brings together the themes of sacrifice, bravery, and mortality. The first stanza is a celebration of the bravery of soldiers, who are willing to give their lives for their country. Brooke uses vivid imagery to convey the horror and intensity of battle, with lines like "the very dead on ground / Would stir and shriek."

The second stanza shifts the focus to the speaker's own mortality. They seem to be haunted by the knowledge that death is near, saying "youth would sleep soundly, / But we, with our strange, unnatural woes, / Would keep awake." There is a sense of loneliness and isolation in these lines, as the speaker suggests that they are alone in their awareness of their own mortality.

The final lines of the poem are particularly powerful, as the speaker makes a plea to God for help in dealing with the challenges of war. They ask for the "discipline of steel," suggesting that they need to be strong and resolute in the face of danger. There is a sense of resignation in these lines, as the speaker seems to accept that death is inevitable, but also a sense of hope, as they turn to God for guidance and comfort.

Interpretation of the Poem

At its core, "Now, God Be Thanked Who Has Matched Us With His Hour" is a poem about the sacrifices that soldiers make in times of war. Brooke celebrates their bravery and courage, but also acknowledges the horror and brutality of battle. The poem is a reminder that war is not just about strategy and tactics, but also about the human cost.

There is also a sense of introspection in the poem, as the speaker reflects on their own mortality. This is a common theme in Brooke's poetry, and it is one that resonates with many readers. The speaker's awareness of their own mortality serves as a reminder that life is precious and fragile, and that we should cherish it while we can.

Finally, the poem is a prayer to God for help and guidance in the face of danger. This is a common theme in Brooke's poetry, as he was deeply religious and saw God as a source of comfort and strength. The poem is a reminder that even in the darkest of times, there is hope and that we can turn to a higher power for help.

Conclusion

In conclusion, "Now, God Be Thanked Who Has Matched Us With His Hour" is a powerful and moving poem that celebrates the bravery of soldiers, reflects on the fragility of life, and offers a prayer for guidance and comfort in times of war. Brooke's use of vivid imagery and introspection make this poem a timeless classic that continues to resonate with readers today.

Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation

Poetry Now, God Be Thanked Who Has Matched Us With His Hour: An Analysis

Rupert Brooke’s poem, “God Be Thanked Who Has Matched Us With His Hour,” is a classic piece of poetry that has stood the test of time. Written during the early years of World War I, the poem is a reflection of the poet’s patriotism and his belief in the righteousness of the war. In this analysis, we will take a closer look at the poem and explore its themes, structure, and language.

Themes

The poem is a celebration of the British soldiers who fought and died in World War I. The poet expresses his gratitude to God for matching the soldiers with their hour, which is a reference to the time and place where they were called to serve their country. The poem is also a tribute to the soldiers’ bravery and sacrifice. The poet acknowledges that the soldiers knew the risks of going to war, but they still went anyway, driven by their sense of duty and love for their country.

Structure

The poem is written in the form of a sonnet, which is a 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. The poem is divided into two parts, with the first eight lines presenting the theme of the poem, and the last six lines providing a conclusion.

Language

The language used in the poem is simple and straightforward, but it is also powerful and evocative. The poet uses a range of literary devices to convey his message, including imagery, metaphor, and personification. For example, in the first line of the poem, the poet uses the metaphor of a match to describe the soldiers’ role in the war. The soldiers are matched with their hour, which suggests that they are the perfect fit for the task at hand.

The poet also uses personification to give the soldiers’ sacrifice a sense of nobility. In the fourth line of the poem, the poet writes, “And caught our youth, and wakened us from sleeping.” Here, the poet personifies the war as a force that has the power to awaken the nation from its slumber and inspire its youth to action.

Analysis

The poem is a powerful tribute to the soldiers who fought and died in World War I. The poet’s use of language and imagery creates a sense of patriotism and pride in the reader. The poem is also a reflection of the poet’s own beliefs about the war. Rupert Brooke was a staunch supporter of the war effort, and he believed that it was a just and necessary cause.

The poem’s structure is also significant. The use of the sonnet form gives the poem a sense of elegance and sophistication. The rhyme scheme of the poem is also important, as it creates a sense of unity and harmony. The poem is divided into two parts, with the first eight lines presenting the theme of the poem, and the last six lines providing a conclusion. This structure gives the poem a sense of balance and completeness.

The language used in the poem is simple and direct, but it is also powerful and evocative. The poet’s use of metaphor and personification creates a sense of drama and emotion. The metaphor of the match is particularly effective, as it suggests that the soldiers were the perfect fit for the task at hand. The personification of the war as a force that awakens the nation from its slumber is also effective, as it gives the soldiers’ sacrifice a sense of nobility and purpose.

Conclusion

In conclusion, “God Be Thanked Who Has Matched Us With His Hour” is a classic piece of poetry that celebrates the bravery and sacrifice of the British soldiers who fought and died in World War I. The poem is a reflection of the poet’s patriotism and his belief in the righteousness of the war. The poem’s structure and language are also significant, as they create a sense of unity and harmony, and evoke a sense of drama and emotion. Overall, the poem is a powerful tribute to the soldiers who gave their lives for their country.

Editor Recommended Sites

Quick Home Cooking Recipes: Ideas for home cooking with easy inexpensive ingredients and few steps
Tree Learn: Learning path guides for entry into the tech industry. Flowchart on what to learn next in machine learning, software engineering
ML Privacy:
Multi Cloud Business: Multicloud tutorials and learning for deploying terraform, kubernetes across cloud, and orchestrating
Entity Resolution: Record linkage and customer resolution centralization for customer data records. Techniques, best practice and latest literature

Recommended Similar Analysis

Laughing Song by William Blake analysis
I stepped from plank to plank by Emily Dickinson analysis
To The Reader At Parting by Walt Whitman analysis
A Time To Talk by Robert Frost analysis
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe analysis
St . Agnes' Eve by Alfred, Lord Tennyson analysis
Tommy by Rudyard Kipling analysis
Never The Time And The Place by Robert Browning analysis
Shine, Perishing Republic by Robinson Jeffers analysis
Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold by William Shakespeare analysis