Existing comment:
Henry V, Hamlet, and World War I
And thus the native hue of resolution/ Is sicklied o'er by the pale cast of thought.
-- Churchill quoting from "Hamlet" at the time of the Dardanelles campaign, 1915
Henry V and Hamlet were often invoked by the English, French and Germans during the First World War. The plays were performed by troops, read by officers before a battle, and even featured in political cartoons.
During World War I, Henry V in particular was re-imagined as a play showing the long relationship between England and France, especially as 1915 marked the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt fought by Henry V. English troops performed scenes from the play in France, highlighting the union of the two countries by the marriage of Henry with French princess Katherine. They also performed Hamlet, rousing the audience of soldiers with an appearance of Henry V at the end reciting "Once more unto the breach, dear friends." In an odd coincidence, both the English and German presses reported that their officers read Hamlet to satirize both Churchill and American President Woodrow Wilson. And Churchill himself cites Hamlet against what he saw as delaying tactics employed by the Admiral of the Fleet in 1915. |