HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"For the Fallen" is a poem written by Laurence Binyon. It was first published in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' in September 1914. Over time, the third and fourth stanzas of the poem (usually now just the fourth) have been claimed as a tribute to all
casualties A casualty, as a term in military usage, is a person in military service, combatant or non-combatant, who becomes unavailable for duty due to any of several circumstances, including death, injury, illness, capture or desertion. In civilian usag ...
of war, regardless of state. This selection of the poem is often taken as an
ode An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...
that is often recited at
Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...
services, and is what the term "Ode of Remembrance" usually refers to.


Background

Laurence Binyon (10 August 1869 – 10 March 1943), a British poet, was described as having a "sober" response to the outbreak of World War I, in contrast to the euphoria many others felt (although he signed the "Author's Declaration" that defended British involvement in the war, appearing in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' on 18 September with 54 other British authors—including Thomas Hardy, Arthur Conan Doyle, and H.G. Wells). A week after the war began in 1914, Binyon published his first war poem, " The Fourth of August" in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
.''


Writing

On 23 August, in Britain's opening action of World War I on the Western Front, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) suffered a loss at the Battle of Mons and the subsequent lengthy retreat. The extent of fighting to follow was not revealed as casualties were comparable to past European wars. "For the Fallen" was specifically composed in honour of the casualties of the BEF, written immediately following the retreat from the Battle of Mons. Binyon composed the original poem while sitting on the cliffs between Pentire Point and The Rumps in north
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
, UK. A stone plaque was erected at the spot in 2001 to commemorate the fact. The plaque bears the inscription:For the Fallen Composed on these cliffs 1914 There is also a plaque on the East Cliff above
Portreath Portreath ( kw, Porthtreth or ) is a civil parish, village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is about three miles (5 km) northwest of Redruth. The village extends along both sides of a st ...
in central North Cornwall which cites that as the place where Binyon composed the poem. It was published in ''The Times'' on 21 September 1914, just seven weeks after the beginning of the war.


Poem

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea. Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit, Fallen in the cause of the free. (14) Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres. There is music in the midst of desolation And a glory that shines upon our tears. (58) They went with songs to the battle, they were young, Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted, They fell with their faces to the foe. (912) They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. (1316) They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; They sit no more at familiar tables at home; They have no lot in our labour of the day-time; They sleep beyond England's foam. (1720) But where our desires are and our hopes profound, Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight, To the innermost heart of their own land they are known As the stars are known to the Night; (2124) As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust, Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain, As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness, To the end, to the end, they remain. (2528)


Analysis

The first stanza establishes a patriotic element. Binyon personifies the United Kingdom as a "
mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...
," and British soldiers as its "children." The poem remembers the deaths of soldiers while justifying the cause of their deaths as "the cause of the free": a theme carried throughout the rest of the poem. The Monosyllable, monosyllabic words of the second stanza echo "solemn, funereal drums." The stanza, like the first, espouses themes of "martial glorification." It describes war as "solemn," with a "music" and "glory" and compares death to "celestial music." The third stanza refers to soldiers marching to fight in the Battle of the Marne. It is less known than the fourth, despite occasionally being recited on Remembrance Day. The soldiers are "straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow," and though facing "odds uncounted" are "staunch to the end." The fourth stanza of the poem was written first, and includes the best known lines in the poem. The original words "grow not old" are sometimes quoted as "not grow old." It has also been suggested that the word "condemn" should be " contemn," however "condemn" was used when the poem was first printed in ''The Times'' on 21 September 1914, and later in the anthology ''The Winnowing Fan: Poems of the Great War in 1914''. If either publication had contained a misprint, Binyon had the chance to make an amendment. The issue has arisen in Australia, with little or no debate in other Commonwealth countries that mark
Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...
. The line commencing "Age shall not weary them" echoes (probably unconsciously) Enobarbus' description of Cleopatra in '' Antony and Cleopatra'': "Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale". In the fifth stanza, Binyon speaks of loss and mourns the deaths of soldiers who left behind "familiar tables" and "laughing comrades." In the sixth stanza, the soldiers are described as achieving a sort of "bodily transcendence" in their death. Finally, the seventh stanza compares dead soldiers to stars and constellations, that remain traces of being soldiers, moving in "marches". This memorializes the dead while keeping their role as soldiers for the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
present; "an empire that, by association with these eternal soldiers, makes its own claims on a sort of immortality. "


Critical response

In his biography on Laurence Binyon, John Hatcher noted:
In its gravitas, its tenderness, and depth of grief, "For the Fallen" looks as if it should have appeared in ''The Times'' of 21 September 1918 not 1914. It harmonizes with the tone neither of ''The Times'' war reports nor of other poems appearing at the time... While other early Great War poems sounded hollow when the true scale and nature of the war slowly permeated the national consciousness, this poem grew in stature with each defeat, each abortive push, and pyrrhic victory.
Hatcher concludes that "by 1918 it was an infinitely better poem than it had been in 1914." The
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
said the poem "remains one of the most affecting and well-known elegies from the period."


Usage


Memorial services and monuments

The "Ode of Remembrance" is regularly recited at memorial services held on days commemorating World War I, such as ANZAC Day,
Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...
, and
Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...
. Recitations of the "Ode of Remembrance" are often followed by a playing of the "
Last Post The "Last Post" is either an A or a B♭ bugle call, primarily within British infantry and Australian infantry regiments, or a D or an E♭ cavalry trumpet call in British cavalry and Royal Regiment of Artillery (Royal Horse Artillery and Ro ...
".


UK/Europe

The ode is also read at the
Menin Gate The Menin Gate ( nl, Menenpoort), officially the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, is a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium, dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves ...
, every evening at 8 p.m., after the first part of the "Last Post". It is mostly read by a British serviceman. The recital is followed by a minute of silence. The Ode is also read by the members of the HMS ''Hood'' Association at the end of every annual commemorative service held on 24 May each year, the anniversary of the sinking of HMS ''Hood''. In 2018, at the centennial of the signing of the Armistice, plans were made to ring carillons and church bells across the Commonwealth at local sundown, in reference to the line, "at the going down of the sun... we will remember them." The bells were to be rung 100 times in recognition of the 100 years having passed. A plaque on a statue dedicated to the fallen in La Valletta, Malta, is also inscribed with these words.


Oceania

In Australia's
Returned and Services League The Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) is a support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force. Mission The RSL's mission is to ensure that programs are in place for the well-being, care ...
s, and in New Zealand's Returned Services Associations, it is read out nightly at 6 p.m., followed by a minute's silence. It is also part of the Dawn Service in Australia and New Zealand. Like the Menin Gate, the Australian War Memorial incorporates the ode into its Last Post Ceremony, where it is read by a member of the Australian Defence Force and is followed by a minute of silence and a bugler playing the "Last Post".


= Ode of Remembrance

= Typically, the "Ode of Remembrance" is recited in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands as follows:


Canada

In Canadian remembrance services, a French translation is often used along with or instead of the English ode. A quotation appears on the Calgary Soldiers' Memorial.


"Lest we forget"

The line "Lest we forget", taken from
Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...
's poem "Recessional" (which incidentally has nothing to do with remembering the fallen in war), is often added as if were part of the ode and repeated in response by those listening, especially in Australia. Several
Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...
memorials are inscribed with the phrase, showing its use pre-World War I. In the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, the final line of the ode, "We will remember them", is repeated in response. In Canada, the second stanza of the above extract has become known as the Act of Remembrance, and the final line is also repeated.


Musical settings

Sir Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
set to music three of Binyon's poems ("The Fourth of August", "To Women", and "For the Fallen", published within the collection ''The Winnowing Fan'') as ''The Spirit of England'', Op. 80, for tenor or soprano solo, chorus, and orchestra (1917). His setting of "For the Fallen" sparked some controversy as it was published after another setting of the same poem by the composer
Cyril Rootham Cyril Bradley Rootham (5 October 1875 – 18 March 1938) was an English composer, educator and organist. His work at Cambridge University made him an influential figure in English music life. A Fellow of St John's College, where he was also or ...
in 1915. Neither composer was responsible for this, and Elgar initially offered to withdraw but was persuaded to continue by the literary and art critic
Sidney Colvin Sir Sidney Colvin (18 June 1845 – 11 May 1927) was a British curator and literary and art critic, part of the illustrious Anglo-Indian Colvin family. He is primarily remembered for his friendship with Robert Louis Stevenson. Family and early ...
and by Binyon himself. There is an eighth stanza in the version that was set to music by Elgar. An abridged version of Elgar's setting of "For the Fallen", called "With Proud Thanksgiving", was sung at the unveiling of the new
Cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...
in Whitehall on 11 November 1920. "They shall grow not old..." was set to music by
Douglas Guest Douglas Albert Guest (9 May 1916 – 18 November 1996) was an English organist, conductor, teacher and composer. Education Guest was born in Mortomley, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, and studied originally at the Royal College of Music ...
in 1971, and has become a well-known feature of choral services on
Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...
. Nottingham-based composer Alex Patterson also wrote a setting of the text in 2010. The text of "For the Fallen" has also been set by Mark Blatchly for treble voices, organ and trumpet (which plays " The Last Post" in the background). In March 2015, a new musical setting was released by Gil Orms.


Popular culture

* The title of the novel '' Time of our Darkness'', by South African author Stephen Gray, is a reference to the last two lines of the poem: "As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness, / To the end, to the end, they remain." *
Paul Bearer William Alvin Moody (April 10, 1954 – March 5, 2013) was an American professional wrestling manager and licensed funeral director. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) where he performed under ...
recited part of the poem as a tribute to wrestler
Owen Hart Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian-American professional wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wres ...
on 24 May 1999 at the Raw is Owen memorial, the night after he died in the ring. * The CD audiobook ''Artists Rifles'' (2004) includes a reading of "For the Fallen" by Binyon himself. The recording itself is undated and appeared on a
78-rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...
disc issued in Japan. Other Great War poets heard on the CD include Siegfried Sassoon,
Edmund Blunden Edmund Charles Blunden (1 November 1896 – 20 January 1974) was an English poet, author, and critic. Like his friend Siegfried Sassoon, he wrote of his experiences in World War I in both verse and prose. For most of his career, Blunden was a ...
, Robert Graves, David Jones, and Edgell Rickword. * The song "Berliners", from Roy Harper's 1990 album '' Once'', uses the 4th stanza as its opening verse, preceded by a recording of a Remembrance Day ceremony where the same stanza was recited. * "...For Victory", a song from the eponymous album by British death metal band
Bolt Thrower Bolt Thrower were an English death metal band from Coventry. They formed in 1986 and released their first album with Vinyl Solution in 1988. The band then shifted to a new record label, Earache Records, soon becoming one of the best selling b ...
, contains a quote from Binyon's poem. * In the closing scene of the '' Doctor Who'' episode titled "
The Family of Blood "The Family of Blood" is the ninth episode of the third series of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 June 2007. It is the second episode of a two-part story written by Paul C ...
", the vicar at a
Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...
ceremony reads "For the Fallen/Ode of Remembrance" to those who have gathered, including elderly survivors of the war.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
* The title of Peter Jackson's film '' They Shall Not Grow Old'', produced to commemorate the 100th anniversary of
Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, Fran ...
in 2018, perpetuates the common misquotation of Binyon's "They shall grow not old."


References


External links

*


Bibliography

* * *


External links


Audiobook CD featuring reading of "Ode" by Binyon

Manuscript copy of "For the Fallen" at the British Library
{{The Times, state=collapsed British culture Australian culture New Zealand culture Canadian culture Military life World War I poems Acknowledgements of death 1914 poems English-language poems English poems Works originally published in The Times