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SENIOR ENGLISH

TEACHING UNIT

THIS TEACHING UNIT WAS WRITTEN BY

JOHN MCGEE

DEPARTMENT HEAD OF ENGLISH

THOMAS A. STEWART S.S.

PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO

GLISH

Educational materials for this project have been supported by

GHOSTS OF AISNE ENGLISH UNIT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

UNIT OVERVIEW 1

ASSIGNMENT 1: Act One, Scenes 1 & 2 3

ASSIGNMENT 2: Act One, Scenes 3, 4, 5 5

ASSIGNMENT 3: Act Two, Scenes 1, 2, 3 7

ASSIGNMENT 4: Act Two, Scenes 4 & 5 9

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ASSIGNMENT 11

POETRY RESPONSE 12

SHAKESPEAREAN LANGUAGE ASSIGNMENT 13

THEMATIC EXTENSION ASSIGNMENTS 16

UNIT TEST 17

APPENDIX

1914 V: The Soldier by Rupert Brooke A1

And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda A2

Anthem For Doomed Youth by Wilfred Owen A3

Dulcee et Decorum Est A4

The Gunner’s Dream (Waters) A5

“the rank stench of those bodies haunts me still” by Siegfried Sassoon A6

William Shakespeare’s St. Crispen’s Day Speech from Henry V A7

Act One Scene Three Alternate scene A8

The Ghosts of Aisne: Unit overview

Day One:

• Compare opening lines of Macbeth and Hamlet and The Ghosts of Aisne

How does each play create tension, tone and mood?

Compare the language used in each of the three plays.

• Reading Act One, Scenes One and Two. Assign roles to use for the four days of class

reading.

• Worksheet: Ghosts One

• Introduce character development assignment so students can track characters.

Day Two:

• Historical context of Aisne – Reading summary of famous Canadian battles.

• Reading Act One, Scenes Three, Four and Five

• Worksheet: Ghosts Two

Day Three:

Group readings of poems.

• Start with poem by Rupert Brooke “1914 V: The Soldier”

• Then contrast to Sassoon and Owen.“Anthem For Doomed Youth” “Dulce et Decorum

Est”

• Follow up with more modern poems (lyrics) inspired by war “The Gunner’s Dream” by

Roger Waters on Pink Floyd’s The Final Cut, and The Pogues’ “And the Band Played

Waltzing Matilda”

• Poetry assignment

Day Four

• Reading Act Two, Scenes One, Two and Three

• Worksheet: Ghosts Three

• Work on character development assignment

• Work on worksheets

Day Five

• Reading Act One, Scenes Four and Five

• Worksheet: Ghosts four

• Work on and hand in character development assignment

• Work on and hand in the four worksheets.

Day Six

• Read Shakespeare’s St Crispin’s Day Speech and the introduction to it

• View Kenneth Branagh’s film version of Henry V and this scene

• Introduce and define similes – as a class, find and examine several examples from the

play. Discuss their construction and the ideas enhanced through their use.

• Shakespearean Language Assignment

Day Seven

• Video clips from All Quiet on the Western Front.

• Focus on the scene where Paul is in training with his instructor and then that instructor’s

appearance at the front – reveal the idea of the contrast between idealized war and the

reality of the soldiers at the front

• Focus on the scene where Paul is in the crater with the enemy soldier – reveal the idea

that the enemy is just like Paul - reveal the brutality of war

• Focus on the scene where Paul returns home in the middle of the war – reveal the idea

that Paul has changed because of war, while home still thinks it is heroic and full of glory

Day Eight

• Thematic extension (DI) assignment

• Book a computer lab so students can spend the period writing.

Day Nine

• Book a computer lab so students can spend the period writing.

Day Ten

• Unit test

Evaluation and Assessment

• Guided Reading Worksheets: Ghosts One, Ghosts Two, Ghosts Three and Ghosts Four

Knowledge/understanding X four

• Poetry response

Thinking, Communication

• Shakespearian Language

Communication, Application

• Character Development Analysis

Thinking, Application

• DI Assignment

Thinking, Communication, Application

• Unit Test

Knowledge/Understanding, Thinking, Communication, Application

The Ghosts of Aisne

Act One, scenes one and two Name: __________________

Read through these questions before you begin to read this section of the play.

Part One: Vocabulary

Write a point form definition for the following words:

1. starting (page 1): _____________________________________________

2. cur (page 4): _____________________________________________

3. foraging (page 4): _____________________________________________

4. parapet (page 9): _____________________________________________

5. respite (page 13): _____________________________________________

6. stalemate (page 15): _____________________________________________

7. fire-step (page 16) : _____________________________________________

8. discordant (page 16) : _____________________________________________

9. blight (19): _____________________________________________

10. foregone (page 20): ______________________________________________

Part Two: Tracking the Plot

Answer the following questions in point form

1. Who are “the Huns”?

______________________________________________________________

2. What does “Death” do in the play?

______________________________________________________________

3. What is the first story we are told about Captain Donne?

______________________________________________________________

4. What characters question their bravery in the first two scenes of the play?

______________________________________________________________

5. Who gives the order to let the deserters live?

______________________________________________________________

Part Three: Understanding the Ideas

Answer the following in complete sentences. Underline key words in the question and use those

words in your answer. Aim to use short quotations.

Outline some of the ways in which the play reveals Smith’s worried mental state.

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Explain Stewart’s attitude towards the dead German soldier’s possessions.

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3. Explain the significant event that has already happened to Captain Roy in the War.

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4. Captain Roy explains the reasons why deserters must be executed. What are those reasons?

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5. What does the Old Soldier mean when he says Captain Roy’s mercy is “the greatest silver o’

thy chest”?

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The Ghosts of Aisne

Act One, scenes three, four and five Name: __________________




1. Enfield (page 22): _____________________________________________

2. superlatively (page 23): ___________________________________________

3. portentous (page 24): _____________________________________________

4. Caravaggio (page 27): _____________________________________________

5. feral (page37): _____________________________________________

6. skulk (page 40): _____________________________________________

7. decry (page 42) : _____________________________________________

8. phosphorescent (page 44) : ________________________________________

9. husbandry (46): _____________________________________________

10. corporeal (page 48): ______________________________________________



1. What does Stewart bring back from his second foraging mission?

______________________________________________________________

2. Explain what happens to the Young Soldier in the battle.

______________________________________________________________

3. Who has “a kick like a mule?

______________________________________________________________

4. Where is Smith going?

______________________________________________________________

5. Who escapes the nightmares of war by taking morphine?

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What “lesson” is plain for Smith when he hears what Jones says about deserters?

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Why does the Old Soldier caution the Young Soldier’s enthusiasm for battle?

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3. What does Captain Roy mean when he says “I spared the once and will again”?

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4. Why won’t Arthur shake Smith’s hand?

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5. Who are the ghosts of Aisne that haunt Captain Roy?

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The Ghosts of Aisne

Act Two, scenes one, two and three Name: __________________




1. loathe (page 51): _____________________________________________

2. dissuade (page 52): _____________________________________________

3. ramparts (page 53): _____________________________________________

4. hence (page 57) : _____________________________________________

5. flourish (page 60): _____________________________________________

6. Maxim gun (page 61): _____________________________________________

7. howitzer (page 63) : _____________________________________________

8. dishevelled (page 64) : _____________________________________________

9. harbinger (67): _____________________________________________

10. tendrils (page 68): ______________________________________________



1. Who visits Donne when he is on watch?

______________________________________________________________

2. Where did Donne get his sword?

______________________________________________________________

3. How many of Donne’s men survive the battle?

______________________________________________________________

4. Who tells the soldiers “think not, it leads to harm”?

______________________________________________________________

5. What is the “brand new infant of destruction” used at the end of Act Two, Scene Three?

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Why is there tension between Roy and Donne at the beginning of Act two, Scene One?

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2. What is Donne worried about at the end of Act Two, Scene One?

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3. What are the motivating factors that govern Donne’s actions and attitudes towards war?

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4. How is Donne’s sword – its history and what happens to it in battle – an appropriate symbol

for this character?

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5. On page 68, personification is used to describe the gas when it used as a weapon. Outline, with

examples, how personification is used. What does the author accomplish in doing so?

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The Ghosts of Aisne

Act Two, scenes four and five Name: __________________




1. portent (page 70): _____________________________________________

2. mobilize (page 73): _____________________________________________

3. spurn (page 73) : _____________________________________________

4. naught (page 74): _____________________________________________

5. mundanity (page 73): _____________________________________________

6. bolstering (page 75): _____________________________________________

7. celestial (page 75) : _____________________________________________

8. mired (page 79) : _____________________________________________

9. unheralded (79): _____________________________________________

10. piteous (page 79): _____________________________________________



1. Who hasn’t bathed in more than a month?

______________________________________________________________

2. Stewart is worried who will miss him?

______________________________________________________________

3. What does Captain Roy call his soldiers, his men, before they leave the trench?

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4. Smith gives us a report of the battle. What happened? Who won? Who died?

______________________________________________________________

5. Where is Smith headed at the end of the play?

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1. What does Vachon mean when he says “there’s never been a clearness”?

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2. What does Vachon see when he scouts the battle-ground after the gas has lifted?

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3. Why does Captain Roy think it is necessary for the troops to leave their trenches and attack?

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4. What does Captain Roy say about Honour?

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5. What do you think the phrases “glorious horrible” and “piteous wonderful” mean?

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The Ghosts of Aisne: Character Development Assignment

For this assignment, you are to select one of the central characters from the play to analyze in a

200 word paragraph.

Aim to include the following elements in your analysis:

• Provide a clear direction for your paragraph in the first sentence. That means you should

mention the play, the author, the character you are analyzing, and the overall thematic

idea that the character is used to develop.

• Compare the character at beginning and at the end of the play. How have they changed?

What realizations have they come to? What growth do they demonstrate?

• Is there a significant obstacle the character has to overcome or face? How do they tackle

their obstacle? What character traits are demonstrated as they do so?

• Close textual analysis. Select short passages that reveal what ideas the character

represents. Be sure to comment on what your quotations reveal.

• Contrast and or parallel to another character. Who is similar to or different from the

character you are analyzing? How can we understand what ideas your character

represents by making this comparison?

Some characters are more thematically important than others. The following characters would all

be good characters to study:

Smith Vachon Captain Roy Captain Donne

Evaluation:

• Application

Use of specific supporting details and quotations from the play.

• Thinking

Demonstrate a clear statement of the play’s thematic ideas. Demonstrate good insight into

the use of the character to develop thematic ideas. Clearly link evidence to theme.

The Ghosts of Aisne: Poetry Response

Read one poem from each of the following sections. As you read, ask yourself what were the

values of the society that produced this type of poetry?

1. Rupert Brooke: Pre War

2. Wilfred Owen or Siegfried Sassoon: Post War

3. Pink Floyd (Roger Waters) or The Pogues (Eric Bogle): Inspired by the War

Assignment One: Analysis

Write a paragraph (150 words) that compares the values of the three poems. What is the attitude

towards war that each poem develops? What poetic tools (simile, metaphor, rhyme, structure,

imagery) does each poet use to develop their ideas? What kind of transition can you see in the

poems? Would any of the poets agree with each other?

Assignment Two: Personal Response

Poems impact us on an emotional level. Select any one of the poems and write a paragraph (150

words) outlining your personal response to the ideas and images it creates. What lines left an

impact on you? Why? If you select either of the poems (lyrics) inspired by war, you should listen

to them so that you can understand them more fully.

Evaluation:

Thinking

This mark will be based on your analysis of the three poets’ concepts. What ideas does each poet

develop regarding war? Provide evidence from each poem to support your analysis.

Communication

This mark will be based on the overall quality, style and organization of your two

paragraphs.

The Ghosts of Aisne: Shakespearean Language

Both of these questions are based on the Elizabethan language used in The Ghosts of Aisne.

1. For this assignment, you need to read Shakespeare’s St Crispin’s Day Speech which is taken

from his play Henry V. The final lines of The Ghosts of Aisne were inspired by some of the

language and ideas that appear in Shakespeare’s speech.

Write a paragraph (150 words) comparing the two speeches. What words or phrases do you hear

echoed in Davies’s play? What ideas are presented in the two speeches? How are they similar?

While Shakespeare’s speech is said before a major battle, Davies’s is used to wrap up the play

after several battles. Does that change their impact?

2. Similes, like metaphors, are comparisons a simple and fairly easy to understand object is

compared (using like or as) to a more complex idea or concept, in the hope that the comparison

will make the complex part easier to understand. Often the simile or metaphor also makes you

see the complex part in a new and more interesting way as well.

The Ghosts of Aisne includes many similes, as does Shakespeare’s writing.

Find five different similes that Davies includes and analyze them. What two things are being

compared? How is the complex idea made easier to understand, or how is it made more

interesting through the use of simile? 150 words.

Evaluation:

Communication

This mark will be based on how well you write your two paragraphs. Are they clear, error free,

and well organized?

Application

This mark will be based on your ability to demonstrate an understanding of the ways Elizabethan

language used in the play.

The Ghosts of Aisne: Thematic Extension Assignments

The basis for all of these assignments is to further develop the play’s central themes on war.

For this assignment, you will produce a creative piece that communicates one of the author’s

ideas in an interesting and creative manner. The length of the assignment will depend on which

topic you select. Make your assignment long enough to thoroughly develop the play’s criticism

of war.

Some suggestions:

Below are some suggestions of ways to approach the assignment. You don’t have to select one of

the options listed below, but you do need to clear your choice with me.

• You are Ross Davies - add in another brief scene: maybe it’s a scene from one of

the character’s past, maybe a deleted scene, maybe a scene based on what

happens next. Focus on the ideas you want to develop first. Pay attention to

Davies’s voice as well – try out your Elizabethan English.

• music: I’m not sure what to suggest here, but I’m open to suggestions. Focus on

the ideas from the play that you want to develop first. You could create something

for one of the scenes. You could research the music of the WW I era. You could

compose something of your own inspired by one of the two works.

• Act out a key scene from the play (need a group of 4). Focus on the ideas you

want to develop first. Remember that the audience can suspend their disbelief

more readily if you include props and costumes. Hand in a one page description

of the central thematic ideas your production tried to draw attention to. Explain

how your group did so.

• Watch the film version of All Quiet On the Western Front and compare/contrast it

to the play. Specifically, what scenes from the film parallel scenes from the play?

What thematic ideas are emphasized? How? Focus on the ideas from the play that

you want to examine.

• Create a set of action figures for the play. Focus on the ideas you want to develop

first. Include a short written piece to explain how you have developed the author’s

ideas. What props might come with your action figures?

• Create a visual piece. This could be a painting inspired by one particular scene

from the play. Include a short written piece to explain how you have developed

Davies’s ideas. Focus on the ideas from the play that you want to develop first.

Evaluation:

The assignment will be assessed based on the following criteria:

· Thinking :demonstrate clear understanding of thematic ideas.

· Communication demonstrate clear communication skills- either oral or written.

· Application apply the author’s thematic ideas in an interesting and informative way.

The Ghosts of Aisne: Unit Test

Communication

The overall quality, style and organization of your writing will be the basis of this mark. Vary

your sentence structure and length. Be sure to proofread your writing. Double space your writing

so that you have room to make some revisions after you edit.

Write all your answers on another piece of paper.

Knowledge/Understanding

Answer the following in responses of about two sentences. Aim to use specific supporting details

or quotations from the play to back up your answers.

1. On page 14, what makes Vachon suspect that Smith is not well?

2. Why does Young Soldier Two hesitate when he is assigned his duty on page 31, 32?

3. Before he and his men go into battle in Act Two, Scene One, what is Captain Donne’s attitude

to war?

4. Describe the impact that chemical warfare has on the soldiers in the play.

5. What evidence is there that develops the trusting relationship between Captain Roy and

Vachon?

Thinking

Answer one of the following in a paragraph response of about 150 words.

This play is mainly about the realization that war is not something of glory and honour.

OR

This play is mainly about the courage we must all find when we are put in dire situations.

OR

This play is mainly about the importance of camaraderie and friendship – in war and in

life.

Application

Answer one of the following in a response of about 150 words.

If you were making a film version of the play, describe how you would film it. Select one scene

to outline what your film would look like.

Questions to consider: What actors would you use? Why? How would you direct the actors?

Describe the set you would use. Would you keep the Elizabethan language? Is this a story that

could be moved to another time period with a different war? What music – if any – would you

use in the background? How would the lighting be used? What would the camera focus on?

OR

In the original draft of the play, Act One, scene three read as follows: (appendix)

The scene was re-written during rehearsals prior to the premiere in November 2012. Compare

the two different endings to the scene. How does each alter the audience’s reaction to what

happens? Why do you think the change was made? Explain your reasoning.

1914 V: The Soldier

If I should die, think only this of me:

That there's some corner of a foreign field

That is for ever England. There shall be

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;

A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,

Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,

A body of England's, breathing English air,

Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,

A pulse in the eternal mind, no less

Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;

And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,

In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

Rupert Brooke

AND THE BAND PLAYED WALTZING MATILDA

When I was a young man I carried my pack

And I lived the free life of a rover

From the Murrays green basin to the dusty outback

I waltzed my Matilda all over

Then in nineteen fifteen my country said Son

It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be done

So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun

And they sent me away to the war

And the band played Waltzing Matilda

As we sailed away from the quay

And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers

We sailed off to Gallipoli

How well I remember that terrible day

How the blood stained the sand and the water

And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay

We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter

Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well

He chased us with bullets, he rained us with shells

And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell

Nearly blew us right back to Australia

But the band played Waltzing Matilda

As we stopped to bury our slain

We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs

Then we started all over again

Now those that were left, well we tried to survive

In a mad world of blood, death and fire

And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive

But around me the corpses piled higher

Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit

And when I woke up in my hospital bed

And saw what it had done, I wished I was dead

Never knew there were worse things than dying

For no more I'll go waltzing Matilda

All around the green bush far and near

For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs two legs

No more waltzing Matilda for me

So they collected the cripples, the wounded, the maimed

And they shipped us back home to Australia

The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane

Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla

And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay

I looked at the place where my legs used to be

And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me

To grieve and to mourn and to pity

And the band played Waltzing Matilda

As they carried us down the gangway

But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared

Then turned all their faces away

And now every April I sit on my porch

And I watch the parade pass before me

And I watch my old comrades, how proudly they march

Reliving old dreams of past glory

And the old men march slowly, all bent, stiff and sore

The forgotten heroes from a forgotten war

And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"

And I ask myself the same question

And the band plays Waltzing Matilda

And the old men answer to the call

But year after year their numbers get fewer

Some day no one will march there at all

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda

Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me

And their ghosts may be heard as you pass the Billabong

Who'll come-a-waltzing Matilda with me?

Eric Bogle

Anthem For Doomed Youth

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?

Only the monstrous anger of the guns.

Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle

Can patter out their hasty orisons.

No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;

Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,

The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;

And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?

Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes

Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.

The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;

Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,

And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

Wilfred Owen

Dulce et Decorum Est

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,

Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,

Till on the haunting flares we turned out backs,

And towards our distant rest began to trudge.

Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,

But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame, all blind;

Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots

Of gas-shells dropping softly behind.

Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!--An ecstasy of fumbling

Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,

But someone still was yelling out and stumbling

And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime.--

Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,

As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams before my helpless sight

He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace

Behind the wagon that we flung him in,

And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,

His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin,

If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood

Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs

Bitter as the cud

Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,--

My friend, you would not tell with such high zest

To children ardent for some desperate glory,

The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est

Pro patria mori.

Wilfred Owen

The Gunner's Dream (Waters)

Floating down through the clouds

Memories come rushing up to meet me now.

In the space between the heavens

and in the corner of some foreign field

I had a dream.

I had a dream.

Good-bye Max.

Good-bye Ma.

After the service when you're walking slowly to the car

And the silver in her hair shines in the cold November air

You hear the tolling bell

And touch the silk in your lapel

And as the tear drops rise to meet the comfort of the band

You take her frail hand

And hold on to the dream.

A place to stay

"Oi! A real one ..."

Enough to eat

Somewhere old heroes shuffle safely down the street

Where you can speak out loud

About your doubts and fears

And what's more no-one ever disappears

You never hear their standard issue kicking in your door.

You can relax on both sides of the tracks

And maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control

And everyone has recourse to the law

And no-one kills the children anymore.

And no one kills the children anymore.

Night after night

Going round and round my brain

His dream is driving me insane.

In the corner of some foreign field

The gunner sleeps tonight.

What's done is done.

We cannot just write off his final scene.

Take heed of his dream.

Take heed.

“The rank stench of those bodies haunts me still”

The rank stench of those bodies haunts me still

And I remember things I'd best forget.

For now we've marched to a green, trenchless land

Twelve miles from battering guns: along the grass

Brown lines of tents are hives for snoring men;

Wide, radiant water sways the floating sky

Below dark, shivering trees. And living-clean

Comes back with thoughts of home and hours of sleep.

To-night I smell the battle; miles away

Gun-thunder leaps and thuds along the ridge;

The spouting shells dig pits in fields of death,

And wounded men, are moaning in the woods.

If any friend be there whom I have loved,

God speed him safe to England with a gash.

It's sundown in the camp; some youngster laughs,

Lifting his mug and drinking health to all

Who come unscathed from that unpitying waste:

(Terror and ruin lurk behind his gaze.)

Another sits with tranquil, musing face,

Puffing bis pipe and dreaming of the girl

Whose last scrawled letter lies upon his knee.

The sunlight falls, low-ruddy from the west,

Upon their heads. Last week they might have died

And now they stretch their limbs in tired content.

One says 'The bloody Bosche has got the knock;

'And soon they'll crumple up and chuck their games.

'We've got the beggars on the run at last!'

Then I remembered someone that I'd seen

Dead in a squalid, miserable ditch,

Heedless of toiling feet that trod him down.

He was a Prussian with a decent face,

Young, fresh, and pleasant, so 1 dare to say.

No doubt he loathed the war and longed for peace,

And cursed our souls because we'd killed his friends.

One night he yawned along a haIf-dug trench

Midnight; and then the British guns began

With heavy shrapnel bursting low, and 'hows'

Whistling to cut the wire with blinding din.

He didn't move; the digging still went on;

Men stooped and shovelled; someone gave a grunt,

And moaned and died with agony in the sludge.

Then the long hiss of shells lifted and stopped.

He stared into the gloom; a rocket curved,

And rifles rattled angrily on the left

Down by the wood, and there was noise of bombs.

Then the damned English loomed in scrambling haste

Out of the dark and struggled through the wire,

And there were shouts and eurses; someone screamed

And men began to blunder down the trench

Without their rifles. It was time to go:

He grabbed his coat; stood up, gulping some bread;

Then clutched his head and fell.

I found him there

In the gray morning when the place was held.

His face was in the mud; one arm flung out

As when he crumpled up; his sturdy legs

Were bent beneath his trunk; heels to the sky.

Siegfried Sassoon

William Shakespeare’s St. Crispen’s Day Speech from Henry V Introduction:

Although Shakespeare penned this work nearly two hundred years after the Battle of Agincourt

(1415), it remains the finest dramatic interpretation of what leadership meant to the men in the

Middle Ages.

Prior to the Battle, Henry V had led his English footmen across Northwestern France, seizing

Calais and other cities in an attempt to win back holds in France that had once been in English

possession and to claim the French crown through the obscure but powerful Salig Law.

The French, aware of Henry's troops weakening condition because of their distance from

England and the attacks of dysentery that had plagued the dwindling band, moved between King

Henry and Calais, the port he needed to reach in order to return to England. The troops followed

Henry's band along the rivers, preventing their crossing and daring them to a battle they thought

they could not win.

The English knights fought on foot after the manner devised by Edward III. Archers were to be

used in support, the English and Welsh longbows having established their credentials both at

Crecy (1347) and at Poiters (1356). But here the French seemed to have sufficient numbers to

deal with even this threat, and they refused to allow Henry to pass, angered by the English

seizure of the cities.

Morale in the English line as they looked upon the overwhelming force of heavily armoured,

highly skilled French knights must have been extremely low. King Henry, rising to the occasion,

spoke words of encouragement that rallied the English troops and carried them to a victory. As a

result of the victory the French Princess Catherine was betrothed to Henry V, and France and

England were at peace for the remainder of Henry's short life. He perished of dysentery in 1422,

but was survived by his son (Henry VI) and was buried at Westminster Abbey, close to the

shrine of Edward the Confessor.

Although the speech below is a work of fiction, it is evocative of the spirit with which Henry--

and all strong medieval kings--ruled through the strength of their convictions and by force of

their personality.

--Brian R. Price

St. Crispen's Day Speech

William Shakespeare, 1599

Enter the KING

WESTMORELAND. O that we now had here

But one ten thousand of those men in England

That do no work to-day!

KING. What's he that wishes so?

My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;

If we are mark'd to die, we are enow

To do our country loss; and if to live,

The fewer men, the greater share of honour.

God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.

By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,

Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;

It yearns me not if men my garments wear;

Such outward things dwell not in my desires.

But if it be a sin to covet honour,

I am the most offending soul alive.

No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.

God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour

As one man more methinks would share from me

For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!

Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,

That he which hath no stomach to this fight,

Let him depart; his passport shall be made,

And crowns for convoy put into his purse;

We would not die in that man's company

That fears his fellowship to die with us.

This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.

He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,

Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,

And rouse him at the name of Crispian.

He that shall live this day, and see old age,

Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,

And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'

Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,

And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'

Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,

But he'll remember, with advantages,

What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,

Familiar in his mouth as household words-

Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,

Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-

Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.

This story shall the good man teach his son;

And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,

From this day to the ending of the world,

But we in it shall be remembered-

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

For he to-day that sheds his blood with me

Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition;

And gentlemen in England now-a-bed

Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,

And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks

That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

Original ending of Act One, scene three, The Ghosts of Aisne

SMITH

Something must be done, sir.

VACHON and ROY move to stage right to confer.

VACHON

His life is but an hour of suffering now. There is no way to save him, else we would.

ROY

Only hard mercy, which I alone can furnish. Fetch me that boy whose eye unmatched

and steady hand is told around the camp.

VACHON leaves, The men look silently at ROY who moves to stage front for

soliloquy.

ROY

Some dark god of war doth laugh at us; his pleasure is to thwart our tries.

Like tiny, bloody chessmen does he use us, or gory broken toys to scatter for his games.

No matter, I know what must be done, and shall not shrink. I only wish I'd not the need

to call another to my use. (He looks out over no-man's land) I spared thee once and will again.

This time, though death itself I cannot thwart, yet I'll save thy suffering.

VACHON arrives with YOUNG SOLDIER TWO who carries a long rifle with a scope.

ROY

Good soldier. Of all the company, they say your shots are truest.

YOUNG SOLDIER TWO

I am a marksman, sure, my lord. I learned the craft from hunting birds at home. I take no

pleasure from it now.

ROY

I've something difficult to ask. Yonder, out in no-man's land lies a brother to yourself.

His plight is this; that he shall die for sure. He cannot move to help himself nor we

to give him aid. Each breath he draws is but a dagger to him. We'd have him live

but barring that we wish him peaceful death. Your skills must be his medicine.

ROY leads YOUNG SOLDIER TWO to the fire-step. The others are silent; they

watch, and one by one cast their eyes down. YOUNG SOLDIER TWO looks around

helplessly.

ROY

Write it not upon the bill thou ow'st to God. For it is my command.

YOUNG SOLDIER TWO takes aim as if in a daze.

YOUNG SOLDIER TWO

I see his face.(He lowers the rifle and says gravely) His desk, was next to mine, my lord,

at school.

ROY

Courage, son. This is mercy and my command.

YOUNG SOLDIER TWO takes a deep breath. He takes a single shot, the report

loud and sharp. There is silence. He droops and VACHON holds him up.

ROY( He is spent)

Vachon. Take these men; survey our other trench.

VACHON and the others quietly file off through the trench. ROY stares out at no-

man's land. When they are gone, he slumps down and holds his head in his

hands.

Fade to black.

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