Hello Friends,
Welcome back to Writing the Past.
As ever, we have come to a most solemn time of year: Remembrance Day.
On November 11th, at the 11thhour, we commemorate the end of World War I, but more importantly, we remember and honour the lives and sacrifices of our men and women in the armed forces and emergency services, as well as their families.
Most of us likely know someone who has been touched by the cold hand of War, be it a grandparent, parent, spouse, or some other family member, a friend, a colleague or someone else.
Sadly, war and conflict are not only constants of history, but also of the present.
In the Eagles and Dragons series of books, many of the main characters are soldiers, and later in the series, themes of post-traumatic stress are central to the story.
But that is fiction, and most readers like a happy ending.
Sadly, in real-life, veterans and their families do not always get a happy ending. The trauma of war is real, acute, and destructive, and our servicemen and women need all the support they can get.
They deserve it, don’t they?
Of course they do!
In previous years, I’ve written about charities and programs that have used historical sources and texts to help veterans with their healing.
One of these highlighted the amazing work of the charity, Theatre of War, in which actors perform ancient Greek plays by Euripides, Sophocles and others in order to help veterans discuss the difficult emotions and traumas brought about by war.
If you haven’t read the post about Theatre of War, then you can check it out by CLICKING HERE.
This year, I wanted to highlight the work of another wonderful program using literature and theatre to help veterans overcome the trauma of war and find some camaraderie at home.
The program is called Shakespeare with Veterans.
When I read about this, I knew that I just had to write about them.
Shakespeare with Veterans is a not-for-profit program put on with help from the Kentucky Shakespeare company and veterans from the local Vet Centre and the female vet organization, Athena’s Sisters.
The program itself is the brainchild of Colonel Fred Johnson (USA retired), a veteran himself who saw and experienced the healing potential of art when he needed it. He chose Shakespeare because, as he has been quoted “no one in the English language speaks more directly to the Veteran experience and the warrior’s heart than William Shakespeare.”
“O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man
That ever lived in the tide of times.
Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood!
Over thy wounds now do I prophesy,–
Which, like dumb mouths, do ope their ruby lips,
To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue–
A curse shall light upon the limbs of men;
Domestic fury and fierce civil strife
Shall cumber all the parts of Italy;
Blood and destruction shall be so in use
And dreadful objects so familiar
That mothers shall but smile when they behold
Their infants quarter’d with the hands of war;
All pity choked with custom of fell deeds:
And Caesar’s spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice
Cry ‘Havoc,’ and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial.”
(Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene I; Mark Antony’s monologue)
Shakespeare with Veterans is a free, weekly conversation group in which veteran men and women of all ranks can come together to talk about their shared experiences in the context of Shakespeare’s plays, while telling their own stories of war, life, and family.
By looking at Shakespeare’s works, they delve into themes of war, empathy, tragedy, and redemption. They are able to talk about how they feel with those who understand.
Shakespeare with Veterans participants do not perform the plays in their entirety, but focus on performances of those soliloquies and scenes that resonate with their shared experiences as veterans, as warriors. Unlike programs where trained actors perform plays for veterans, these veterans are the performers. They discuss, read, rehearse and perform for the public and fellow vets!
Some of the plays they have performed scenes from are Merchant of Venice (themes of revenge), Hamlet (theme of suicide), Julius Caesar (themes of guilt and death), and of course, Henry V and the important themes of honour, duty and brotherhood that are familiar to all the participant vets.
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 called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
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 Crispin’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 remember’d.
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 remember’d;
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 accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.
(Henry V, Act IV, Scene III; Henry’s St. Crispin’s Day speech)
I find it heartening and hopeful that programs like this exist for our veterans, and though they may not be a good fit for some, it does seem that for others, it is a form of relief or deliverance from the trauma they are dealing with as a result of service to their country.
I love Shakespeare, and have studied his works for many years, but this is an aspect of the power of the Bard that I was truly ignorant of until now.
To read more about Shakespeare with Veterans, and Kentucky Shakespeare, CLICK HERE.
You can also watch this video of one of their performances:
This Remembrance Day, and every day, I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to all the men and women in uniform, and their families, who have risked their lives on the battlefields of the world.
Thank you for your courage, and thank you for your service.
Lest we forget…
