Return to Elementary Literature 7
There’s a breathless hush in the Close to-night
To make and the match to win-
A blipping pitch and a blinding light,
An hour to play and the last man in.
And it’s not for the sake of a ribboned coat,
Or the selfish hope of a season’s fame,
But his Captain’s hand on his shoulder smote-
“Play up! play up! and play the game!”
The sand of the desert is sodden red-
Red with the wreck of a square that broke
The gatling’s jammed and the Colonel dead,
And the regiment blind with dust and smoke.
The river of death has brimmed his banks,
And England’s far, and Honor a name,
But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks:
“Play up! play up! and play the game!”
This is the word that year by year,
While in her place the School is set,
Every one of her sons must hear,
And none that hears it dare forget.
This they all with a joyful mind
Bear through life like a torch in flame,
And falling fling to the host behind
“Play up! play up! and play the game!”
Notes
Vitai Lampada: lamps of life, beacons.
Close: ground enclosed by a hedge or wall.
Square that broke: when surrounded, a small body of soldiers fight in a square. If this breaks, capture or death is certain for each one.
Questions for Study
- Never mind if you don’t understand the details of this game of English cricket. What are the rewards that some boys play for? Why is it bigger and finer to play the game for the game’s sake, so that the captain and every other man knows that he can depend on you to do your part?
- In what respect is the awful situation in the second stanza like that in the first? To whom would the last line mean most?
- What does it mean to “play the game” in the affairs of every day? Why is it necessary to “play the game” in school sports if one wishes to do his part steadfastly and bravely in the bigger battles later in life?
Return to Elementary Literature 7
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