'Once more in the breach, dear friends, once more', one of the most famous openings, probably, the most famous passage of entire Henry V Play by Shakespeare. Through this opening we can tell that Henry is a character of perseverance and fortitude as he leads his troops into war. Shakespeare's presentation of Henry is undoubtedly that of a hero and protagonist as he is presented as a man with a certain degree of intelligence and charm with motivations that are not focused on the lust for power, like most kings , but on his obligations and responsibilities as a high rank. It is also clear from Henry's unquestionably inspiring speeches that Shakespeare intends us to see Henry as a hero, or, at the very least, as an estimable king. Siegfried Sassoon on the other hand in his poem "Hero" tries to reveal the façade and sad irony of the traditional image of the "war hero". Sassoon joined the army himself motivated by patriotism, but after his first-hand experiences he expressed his views on the "stark realism" of war through his writings. One of his most applauded works is the poem "The Hero" in which he touches on an issue close to his heart; the wide gap between the public perception of the soldier fighting for his country and the harsh reality of life in the trenches. The most notable and heroic quality of Shakespeare's Henry is his determination; once Henry sets out to accomplish something, he uses every tool at his disposal to ensure it is achieved. “If we can pass, we will; if we are thwarted, we will color your tawny land with your red blood' Henry meticulously presents himself as an unstoppable force to which his enemies must choose to react; although his methods are morally questionable, I am a... paper officer... who portrays Jack to his mother in Sassoon's poem. Both are working hard to please their audience rather than present reality. We can deduce Shakespeare's deception from the surrounding political climate and its historical context, to confirm it it is enough to briefly examine what really happened to Harfluer as opposed to the Shakespearean version of the facts, Sassoon instead reveals the hero's mask in the poem itself "He had Told the poor old dear some gallant lies." So in effect Shakespeare's audience is the historical version of Jack's mother "We mothers are so proud of our dead soldiers", no doubt Shakespeare's audience would have left the theater in a state of euphoric hero worship after having listened to Henry's heartfelt speeches, just as Jack's mother's emotional state would have been when she learned of her son's death in battle.