Character of the Happy Warrior [abridged] by William Wordsworth (read by Ben W Smith)

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On the day of Sir Winston Churchill’s funeral on Saturday 30th January 1965, Sir Laurence Olivier opened ITV’s coverage by reading these extracts from William Wordsworth’s poem ‘Character of the Happy Warrior’ to ‘Von Den Hinterweltlern’ from Richard Strauss’s ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’. It is a stunning piece of television that, alas, has been taken down from YouTube, but which I have attempted to recreate here.
#WilliamWordsworth #WinstonChurchill #BenReadsPoetry

Words:
Who is the happy Warrior? Who is he
That every man in arms should wish to be?
—It is the generous Spirit, who, when brought
Among the tasks of real life, hath wrought
Upon the plan that pleased his boyish thought:
Who, doomed to go in company with Pain,
And Fear, and Bloodshed, miserable train!
Turns his necessity to glorious gain;
—Who, if he rise to station of command,
Rises by open means; and there will stand
On honourable terms, or else retire,
And in himself possess his own desire;
Who comprehends his trust, and to the same
Keeps faithful with a singleness of aim;
And therefore does not stoop, nor lie in wait
For wealth, or honours, or for worldly state;
But who, if he be called upon to face
Some awful moment to which Heaven has joined
Great issues, good or bad for human kind,
Is happy as a Lover; and attired
With sudden brightness, like a Man inspired;
'Tis, finally, the Man, who, lifted high,
Conspicuous object in a Nation's eye,
Prosperous or adverse, to his wish or not—
Plays, in the many games of life, that one
Where what he most doth value must be won:
Who, whether praise of him must walk the earth
For ever, and to noble deeds give birth,
Or he must fall, to sleep without his fame,
And leave a dead unprofitable name—
Finds comfort in himself and in his cause;
And, while the mortal mist is gathering, draws
His breath in confidence of Heaven's applause:
This is the happy Warrior; this is he
That every man in arms should wish to be.