The basis of the British Army, sir, is discipline
The punishment must fit the crime, that is the thing
Our good King George, whom the Lord protect
Is a great man, sir, and worthy of respect
But to the point. The soldier, Furnel, needed, sir, to learn
His duty to the King, and to England in his turn
You may say, sir, that his error was small
But I must disagree. It seems to me
That great oaks from little acorns grow
Who knows what Furnel's thieving might have become?
Given time, what looting might the man have done?
His sentence, sir, was suited to his crime
Administered according to the martial law
You tell me, sir, that Furnel now is dead?
And I must be responsible for that?
Your argument contains a flaw
'Twas not our punishment which caused his death
But lack of moral fibre in the wretch
A criminal, sir, does not belong
In the British army, and 'twill not be long
Till such are routed out, and do not doubt
That retribution will be strong.
The army, sir, is not composed of brutes!
Now fetch me in the new recruits.
A contest entry
- Edna's First HISTORICAL Contest: York 1822 by Edna Sweetlove.
300 points, ended November 28, 2007, 2 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 8 of 8
-
Having viewed the contest page, I am appalled at the cruelty and bloodthirstiness of the officer. "His sentence, sir, was suited to his crime" and indeed the whole speech strongly reminds me of 19th century readings.
Your officer's attitude has made me angry. Well done.
-
I forgot the applause!
-
Bravo, Old Chap!
Very good writing indeed! Captures just the right spirit of appalling military class-conscious arrogance which made Britain great. Had you thought of speaking at the Conservative Women's Conference being held in London this week? I believe they are looking for someone to address them on the topic of "Hanging, Drawing and Quartering - a New Reappraisal for a New Century". -
-
The Conservative Women (is that an oxymoron?) haven't asked me to speak, which quite offends me. I am, of course, available, and very cheap also. My talk on the use of the thumbscrew always goes down well, and is competitively priced at twa bawbees.
-
-
bloody marvelous. This, I thought was a difficult contest but you have managed it with apparent ease. Like a knife through butter. x
-
great job on this take of the prompt!!! good luck in the contest!!
-
Absolutely brilliant evocation of British Army attitudes of the period. You've got the tone just right--the stiff upper-lip and "moral rectitude" of the officer classes and their callous unconcern for the "lower" orders, whom they saw merely as cannon-fodder. Great piece.
Bill
Adding your comment:
1 - 8 of 8
