1914 and Other Poems

This compilation of poetry contains the most noted and celebrated works of English poet Rupert Brooke.
Distinguished from an early age, Brooke excelled in school and in Cambridge University before plunging into British literary society. An emotional breakdown following a romantic breakup led him to depart the UK for recuperation in the USA and Canada, where he would write travelogues for a newspaper named The Westminster Gazette.
Upon departing North America, Brooke opted to take a long sea journey across the Pacific. In the South Seas he enjoyed a relationship with a Tahitian woman by the name of Taatamata. Prior to the outbreak of World War I and his consequent military enlisting, the handsome young literary had several other romances.
Tragically, Rupert Brooke lost his life as a soldier in World War I. He died at the age of 27 in April 1915 from an infected mosquito bite during the British Army’s expedition to the Mediterranean, and was buried on the Greek island of Skyros.
Today, Brooke is recognised for his youthful, idealistic style which was to characterise the poems written during the early stages of World War I. The five sonnets which make up the poem 1914 were quoted in the popular press, launching Brooke to wide recognition. They are included in this collection, alongside many of his earlier notable poems and sonnets.