Author: Nicholas Romanov II (Николай Александрович Романов) was the last Emperor of Russia. He also given the nickname Bloody Nicholas because of his violent tendencies. He ruled from 1894 to 1917 and saw the total collapse of his country from a world power into an absolute crisis. He abdicated his thrown after a humiliating defeat in a war against Japan and the February Revolution of 1917. The Romanov family was captured and executed along with the higher ranking servants in 1918.

Context: His abdication was written in March of 1917 in the middle of World War I.  War was inevitable and the Emperor mobilized to defend their border with Austria.  They fully mobilized in 1914 and this was taken as a declaration of war by Germany.  The Russian people were very unhappy as Nicholas lead the Russian army to one loss after another.  The people finally forced him to abdicate the thrown.

Language: Even with the collapse of his country and his forced abdication, he seemed to be positive that the next ruler would be helpful and that his abdication is of his own accord. But called upon those who stilled believed in the power of the monarch.

Audience: He addressed the Russian public with this abdication speech. He wanted one last time to try and convince his people that he did well by them and he was a good ruler.

Intent: To remove himself from the thrown in the hope of saving his life and the lives of his family.  It was also to appoint his brother as the heir to the thrown and that he would be working with the new Provisional Government.

Message: That even in that time of trouble Russia will bounce back with the appointing of a new monarch and the new Provisional Government that the people were looking for.  He seemed to have faith that the country would come back and be a great power once more and he wanted to share that belief with his people before he abdicated.

Author: Vladimir Illyich Lenin, Russian revolutionary and politician.

Context: He played a central role as a leader of Russian revolution because he had a great ability to bring people together. He also learned  the idea of socialism developed by Karl Marx and established his theory. It was called Marxism-Leninism.  Because of physical damages caused by an attempted assassination, he passed away.

Language: He uses a standard level of English.

Audiences: social democrats, and members of revolutionary groups

Intentions: There are mainly three kinds of intentions.

1. To state significant elements that social revolutionary group should have for a success.

2. To clarify the differences between the group of employees and revolutionaries.

3. To inform his own theory in the action of social revolution.

Messages:

1. The group of employees and revolutionaries is very different. Employers take their action voluntary, while revolutionaries conduct revolution as a natural action.

2. The group of employees does not get accustomed to large-scale movements, while revolutionaries are well versed in revolutionary movements.

3. It is useful for revolutionary groups to keep professional revolutionaries because they help the coordination within members.

4. Group members of revolutionary movements have to learn a faith belief in advance because it can lead them to the success of actions.

Author: Rupert Brooke (1837-1887) was an highly talented and educated English poet. He went to King’s College, University of Cambridge, on scholarship. 

Context: War Sonnets was written in 1914, a year when political and economic turmoils reached the highest point. Germany and Italy was demanding for redistribution of the colonials outside of Europe, and France and Britain felt endangered with the rise of Germany and Italy.

Language: Since they are a collection of poems, the language used is rhymed and has emotional impact.

Audience: Rupert is writing to the Britain public and army.

Intention: By illustrating what soldiers will be fighting for, which are the greater good and longer period of peace, Rupert evokes a sense of pride in fighting for one’s own country, so as to justify the war.

Message: Through the poems, Rupert suggests that death is what makes people “rarer than gold.” Dying for one’s own country is something to take pride in, and the nationalism spirit provoked Britain’s intention to go to war.

A. Rupert Brooke was a well educated English poet know for his idealistic war sonnets. He was well educated and raised in a fairly well off family. He joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and died at age 27.

C. This was written in 1914 at the very beginning of WWI when nationalism and tension between countries was high.

L. The language was patriotic, passionate, and romantic.

A. The audience was the British people, especially those who who might potentially fight in the war.

I. The intent was to inspire England to fight in the oncoming war.

M. Brooke split his poem into five sections: Peace said that war would give Britain something to do–a common cause to rally around the flag. Safety portrayed the paradoxical safety in going to war. Perhaps he meant that soldiers feel safe with their fellow soldiers or simply because they have a purpose in war. Both of The Dead stanzas say that soldiers could have the gift of dying for Britain by taking up arms. Finally, The Soldier talked of how dying for Britain would repay the land that raised the soldier.