ing eras, the poems are "Henry V at the Siege of Harfleur" by William Shakespeare, "Come up from the fields Father" by Walt Whitman, "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen and "In Flanders Fields" by Major John McCrae.
             This is the earliest of the four poems and demonstrates perfectly the idea of war being an honorable pursuit for which Britons are perfectly suited:
             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.
             In that speech King Henry V of England was attempting to rouse his routing troops to storm a breach in the French defenses at Harfleur. His reference to noblest English is flattery but he goes on to say that, as British soldiers they are descended from men proved, even forged in battle, men who fought in those areas all day and only stopped because nobody would oppose them. This illustrates that even in a play meant to entertain the masses there is a certain patriotic undercurrent. It is also highly possible that Shakespeare was attempting to flatter King Henry with reference to his prowess in battle and his triumph in France.
             The war is portrayed in the most stirring and inspiring way possible, it is described as "the blast of war", "the game" which
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