Once More Unto the Breach
by Ken Walker
Title
Once More Unto the Breach
Artist
Ken Walker
Medium
Digital Art - Digital Painting
Description
Inspired by a famous quote by Shakespeare - King Henry urging his men to not give up and to muster the passion to move ahead.
Buyer Note - "Texture intentional"
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.
- Henry V, Act III, Scene I
Artist Note – “I heard it once said that when words fail you, let Shakespeare do the speaking for you. Well I certainly don’t go around quoting Shakespeare, but the words written still have a way of speaking into a situation, especially when gravitas is needed. As I was working on this new painting, there was this depth to it, the distant horizon, bright and energetic. In this passage, the king was attempting to motivate his men not to give up – to move forward with ferocity and surge into battle. This year has been a year of anticipation and message is “GO”, “SEIZE THE DAY”, to not give up and to try again. The king was telling his men just that: “Don’t give up. Let’s go once more” I pray that 2022, leaving such an awful few years behind us, that we will together cry out with resolution, “Once more unto the breach!”
Uploaded
January 16th, 2022
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