Once More unto the Breach, Dear Friends, Once More
(Spoken by King Henry, from Henry V)
Once More unto the Breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour’d rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o’erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O’erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill’d with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,
Have in these parts from morn till even fought
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call’d fathers did beget you.
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game’s afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry ‘God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’
Summary of Once More unto the Breach
- Popularity of “Once More unto the Breach: “Once More onto the Breach” is from Shakespeare’s play, Henry V, Act-III, Scene-I. Published in 2959, the play revolves around the Battle of Agincourt during the hundred years of war. This speech occurs at the peak of action in act three where King Henry’s army weakens the walls of the French city, Harfleur, and the king asks them to make a little more effort to be victorious. The popularity of this extract lies in the fact that it deals with the phenomenon of encouragement and struggle.
- “Once More unto the Breach” As a Representative of Courage: This motivational poem revolves around the King’s wish to be victorious. It begins when the speaker gives his men two options. He asks them to summon the energy to push through the breach or die and let the place be filled with English dead. The speaker also reminds his men that amid war, there is no room for humility and modest quietness. These tactics work well during peacetime. During warfare, the army must display terrifying courage and appear physically frightening by using their power.
Also, he advises his men to be wild and ferocious. He expands his vision about the army men by saying that their eyes must look like a brass cannon and their high heads should appear like an angry cliff over the ocean. In the second part of the poem, the king musters up his soldiers’ courage by reminding them of their duties toward the nation. The end shows that Henry’s motivational speech makes the soldiers ready to storm Harfleur. - Major Themes in “Once More unto the Breach: Masculinity, patriotism, warfare, and motivation are the major themes of the poetic piece. It emphasizes the English values of a king, religion, and country by presenting English as a noble, brave and steadfast nation. Shakespeare paints a vivid sketch of how English soldiers should be. They should be physically strong, fierce, and violent. Also, they should be brave warriors, and above all, they should never let the hopes of their families down. In other words, the poem suggests that once someone is into warfare, he should fight for their king and country, setting aside all other businesses. Thus, the motivational speech of King Henry shows that the leader of an army should be bold, brave, and commanding.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Once More unto the Breach
William Shakespeare has made this poetic piece deep and unique with the use of some literary and poetic devices. The analysis of the devices is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;” and the sound of /o/ in “To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /h / in “That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ in “The mettle of your pasture; let us swear” and the sound of /f/ in “Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
“Like the brass cannon; let the brow o’erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O’erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill’d with the wild and wasteful ocean.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. William Shakespeare used imagery such as “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more”, “That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not” and “I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. Shakespeare used power and strength as an extended metaphor to show how nations won victories on the basis of their strategic dominance over their counterparts.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as courage, praise, patriotism, and warfare to show the ferocity of the attack.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Once More unto the Breach
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows descriptive, simple, and poetic diction.
- Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
- Iambic Pentameter: It is a type of meter having five iambs per line. The poem follows iambic pentameter, such as; “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once”.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are thirty-four lines in this line without a stanza break.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. Initially, the poem shows a suggestive tone, but later it turns into an aggressive and patriotic one.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to count the characteristics of people taking part in any battle to protect their country.
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour’d rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect.
