Rule, Britannia

"?Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves: Britons never will be slaves?." This well-known phrase is seen in the famous poem? ‘Rule, Britannia!’?. The patriotic poem was written by James Thomson and later set to music by Thomas Arne in 1740. It may be regarded as an unofficial national Anthem, and the poem and song has always been absolutely fascinating throughout the years - and it still is. ‘?Rule, Britannia!’ ?is a tribute to the british people and country, and in particular the first, third, and fifth stanza have the intention to glorify british greatness and express how beautiful it is. The idyllic expressions are used by the poet to show his pride of nationalism. A refrain is repeated on the last part of each stanza to suggest the importance of these expressions. The poet wants to tell us that Britannia rules the land, the waves and they will never admit to weakness. In the poem, the line “Britannia, rule the waves” are fl”c“”a“ed “o ’how “he b‘i“i’h  ? powe‘ by making i“ in“o B‘i“annia ‘”le’ “he wave’ in “he ’ong. Now i“ i’ no“ an o‘de‘ b”“ a  ’“a“emen“. In ‘?Rule, Britannia!’ ?we sense both rhymes and rhythm, and especially the rhymes are remarkable seeing that the poem is constructed in an ABABCC-form. This musical structure is a significant reason why the poem has been turned into a song. There are two icons used in the poem; they are britons and tyrants. The icons are placed side by side to indicate the Briton’s superiority over tyrants. The tyrants have to be perceived as the many enemies and competitors of the british nations. At the time Britain was not the only one with the agenda of conquering new territory. In this poem the author claims that the british people could win against all the tyrants, while they were working under heaven’s instruction. Britons believed that heaven is associated with only good things, so therefore they believed that all their conquests were dignifying. ‘Rule, Britannia!’? is considered of great importance to the WW1, but why is that? To fight a war you need an army, but how do you encourage men to join such a brutal purpose? Young and older men went to join the war with their heads held high and induced not to succumb to the staggering pressure, as they felt they were fighting for their freedom and galore glory. At the same time, patriotism was an extremely important and influencing factor over the duration of WW1, as it affected men to think that they were not just fighting for their own freedom but for their country’s. This led men to feel obliged to join the war. A poem like ?‘Rule, Britannia!’? influences people to connect and adopt to a sense of common solidarity. The poem and song i’ ’“ill hailed yea‘ af“e‘ yea‘, when i“ i’ pe‘fo‘med a“ La’“  ? Nigh“ of “he P‘om’ .