Information on Rupert Brooke

Rupert Brooke, a renowned English poet known for his idealistic war sonnets, led a life marked by both creative brilliance and personal complexity, particularly in relation to his sexuality. Brooke's journey through love and relationships was both rich and tumultuous, colored by the societal norms and sexual attitudes of early 20th-century Britain.

Born in 1887, Brooke's early years were spent in education at Rugby School and King's College, Cambridge. During his time at Rugby, he developed romantic relationships with several fellow pupils, including Charles Lascelles, Denham Russell-Smith, and Michael Sadleir. His time at Cambridge was a period of flourishing creativity and social connections, where he became involved with influential groups like the Apostles and the Fabian Society. It was here that Brooke's charm and charisma drew many into his orbit, including prominent figures like George Mallory and Virginia Woolf.

Brooke's romantic and sexual experiences were not confined to a single gender. He had relationships with both men and women, embodying a bisexuality that was complex and often fraught with internal conflict. His first significant heterosexual relationship was with Élisabeth van Rysselberghe in 1911. This relationship, along with his affair with Ka Cox (Katherine Laird Cox), signifies Brooke's engagements with women. However, his relationship with Cox ended in 1912 amid a severe emotional crisis, partly driven by Brooke's struggles with his sexuality and jealousy.

Brooke's bisexuality was a source of considerable inner turmoil. He wrote homoerotic letters to James Beaumont Strachey, reflecting the affection and the societal context he lived in. Despite having relationships with both men and women, Brooke found it challenging to reconcile and accept his bisexuality. In the words of Adrian Caeser, Brooke considered “the bisexual position to be impossible” and was deeply uncertain about his sexual identity, often wishing to choose between homosexuality or heterosexuality.

This struggle was exacerbated by the societal norms of the time. Early 20th-century Britain had harsh, puritanical views on sexuality, where bisexuality was effectively invisible. Brooke's social circles were either distinctly gay or straight, leaving him without a clear community or identity to relate to.

Brooke visited New Zealand briefly in 1913/14. He arrived in Auckland aboard the ship RMS Niagara on 17 December 1913, and departed from Wellington for Tahiti on 7 January 1914.

Tragically, Brooke's life was cut short at the age of 27. He enlisted in the British Mediterranean Expeditionary Force during the First World War and died in 1915 from sepsis, contracted from a mosquito bite. Brooke's death not only curtailed a promising literary career but also ended a personal journey that was still grappling with the complexities of his sexual identity.