Brooke, Rupert (1887-1915) - British poet. Described as "a golden young
Apollo," he travelled widely before receiving a commission in the Royal
Navy at the outbreak of World War I. Never reaching his assignment in the
Dardanelles, he died of blood poisoning on board a French hospital ship.
The Soldier (1914) - One of five sonnets Brooke wrote while training for
World War I, musing on his personal debt to England as his fellow soldiers
slept around him. Opening line: If I should die, think only this of me: ...
