Rupert Brooke

Rupert Brooke (1887-1915), English poet, born in Rugby, Warwickshire, and educated at King's College, University of Cambridge. While serving with the British Royal Naval Division during World War I, Brooke died of blood poisoning in Greece. His untimely death, his great personal attraction, and the charm of his verse made him a symbol of all the gifted youth killed in that war. His first collection Poems, was published in 1911; “The Old Vicarage, Grantchester”, Brooke's tribute to the lovely village near Cambridge, appeared in 1912. The poet's most famous work, the sonnet sequence 1914 and Other Poems, embodying the mood of romantic patriotism of the early war years, was published in the year of his death. These poems continue the boyish idealism of his earlier poetry. In The Letters of Rupert Brooke (1968) are found poignant views on the tragedy and waste of war. His experiences in the United States and Canada are described in Letters from America (1916).