Soldier Rest

This is an analysis of the poem Soldier, rest by Sir Walter Scott

1. Soldier, rest
Sir Walter Scott
By: Tomás Braun, Matías Ripoll, Juan elía, Olvierio Llobet and
Francisco Montoya

2. Author
-Born: 15 August 1771
-Died: 21 September 1832(61 years old)
-He started writing professionally at the age of 25 years old but before that he wrote for himself.
-Occupation:
●Poet
●Historical novelist
●Advocate
●Sheriff-depute
●Clerk of session
-Nationality: Scottish
-Literary movement: Romanticism
-Notable works
“The Waverley Novels”
“The Lay of the Last Minstrel”
“Old Mortality”
“Ivanhoe”
“Quentin Durward”
“The Lady of the Lake”
“Rokeby”
“Marmion”

3. Context
Walter Scott wrote a story in which this poem is mention, “The lady of the lake”. “Beside Loch
Katrine lake a huntsman found himself lost in an unknown place. His prey, a stag, had escaped, so
he decided to blow his hunting horn in a desperate scream for help. A beautiful and delicate
woman appears, the Lady of the Lake. The lady thought that her father had made the call, but she
invites the stranger to come to her home and find some shelter there. Everything was, in fact,
prepared for him: a comfortable bed and food. The huntsman is amused, as he was a total
stranger to that part of the country. The lady, known as Ellen, tells him that old Allan-bane had
foretold his coming and perfectly described him. They rowed to an island and followed a hidden
road to a dwelling made from a wide variety of local materials. There was a great sword which
falled to the floor from its place. The walls inside the building are covered with trophies of the battle
and the hunt. After dinner, to the sounds of an unseen harp, Ellen sings a song which begins with
the statement that the soldier's fighting is over.” We can see that she is singing the poem.

4. Romanticism
Some of the main characteristics of Romantic literature include a focus on the
writer or narrator’s emotions and inner world; celebration of nature, beauty, and
imagination; rejection of industrialization, organized religion, rationalism, death,
afterlife and more.

Examples:
“Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking”
“Dreams of battled fields no more”
“Every sense in slumber dewing. Soldiers, rest!”

5. Poem

SOLDIER, rest! thy warfare o’er,
Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking;

Dream of battled fields no more,
Days of danger, nights of waking.
In our isle’s enchanted hall,
Hands unseen thy couch are strewing,

Fairy strains of music fall,
Every sense in slumber dewing.
Soldier, rest! thy warfare o’er,
Dream of fighting fields no more;
Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking,
Morn of toil, nor night of waking.



No rude sound shall reach thine ear,
Armour’s clang, or war-steed champing,

Trump nor pibroch summon here
Mustering clan or squadron tramping.
Yet the lark’s shrill fife may come
At the daybreak from the fallow,
And the bittern sound his drum,
Booming from the sedgy shallow.
Ruder sounds shall none be near,
Guards nor warders challenge here,
Here’s no war-steed’s neigh and
champing,
Shouting clans or squadrons stamping.


Huntsman, rest! thy chase is done;
While our slumbrous spells assail ye,
Dream not, with the rising sun,
Bugles here shall sound reveillé.
Sleep! the deer is in his den;
Sleep! thy hounds are by thee lying:
Sleep! nor dream in yonder glen
How thy gallant steed lay dying.
Huntsman, rest! thy chase is done;
Think not of the rising sun,
For at dawning to assail ye 35
Here no bugles sound reveillé.

6. ANALYSIS
-Message: the main message the author wants to transmit, is for us to see
how much soldiers suffered in war, to the extent of death being their
desire
-Title: The title, “soldier, rest” is repeated multiple times all along the song.
The repetition of this phrase is a command to every soldier, who have to
accept and follow this order. The commander instructs them to welcome
and accept their death, and stop with the torture. They are dying and
should act as the commander informs, welcoming death, in order to end
with the pain and grief of war and life.

7. ANALYSIS
Important quotations.

"Soldier, rest":
"Sleep the sleep that know not breaking":
"Days of danger, nights of waking":
"Morn of toil":
"Dream of battlefields no more":
"Huntsman, rest":
Literary devices:

Anaphora:
Sleep! the deer is in his den;
Sleep! thy hounds are by the lying:
Sleep! nor dream in yonder glen
Oxymoron: Nights of waking
Imagery:
“Dream of battled fields no more”: Picture
“Armour’s clang, or war-steed champing”: Noise/hearing
"Shouting clans or squadrons stamping", "Rude sound"
Alliteration:
"Sleep the sleep", "Days of danger"

8. Themes and tones
Themes:
-Criticism of war
-Battle of life and death
-Life is less worth leaving for soldiers
Tones:
-Calm
-Reflective

9. Perception and opinion
In our opinion, this poem gives a raw example of what a soldier has
to confront, in spite of the fact that this poem doesn't belong to war
poetry. The author is just a poet writing about war and death, and
manages to do it in a very real and impacting way. Moreover, the
song portrays a very impactful scene of a soldier about to die and
receiving orders about an eternal sleep (death), which was
something soldiers usually wished, to rest from their pain and from
warfare.

10. What does the poem teach?
In this poem, Sir Walter Scott interprets a higher rank general giving
orders to a soldier, and telling him to rest, due the fact that the war has
already ended. Stanza by stanza, we can see him explaining to the
soldier how he no longer has to hear the “armour’s clang” or that he
can finally have a sleep that knows no breaking.
The poem itself can give us a message and make readers
understand the traumas soldiers undergo after the war is over. As the
soldier is dead, we can see how the author expresses the impact war
has on you can’t even let you “Rest In Peace”. Also, it explains how
many soldiers want to die to escape the big suffering that war implies.

11. Connections to real life
was the main connection to real life about this poem, is the fact that wars happen,
and we, in real life, had to live wars.
-In wars there are usually wounded soldiers who end up dying for their
country. in the poem you can notice how a war soldier is dying slowly and
explains how he feels. this is likely to represent how most of the soldiers felt
as they died
-Walter scott wrote his poems on the war and how he represents death as a
human being, because of the weakening while dying.
-Finally, the tone of the author gave this atmosphere him talking to himself and
reflecting on life that is a characteristic that occurs just before death.

12. THE END