This document contains several texts that discuss or relate to English and British identity. It includes poems that raise issues around Englishness such as "Inglan is a Bitch" by Linton Kwesi Johnson and "Translating the British" by Carol Ann Duffy. It also contains excerpts from Shakespeare's "Richard II" and William Blake's "Jerusalem". The document asks the reader to put the texts in chronological order, annotate them, and rank them based on various criteria. It also prompts consideration of the social backgrounds that influenced the authors.

1. Texts for Nation States
Read these texts; put them in chronological order (dates have been deleted where
appropriate)
Annotate the poems and discuss what key issues these texts raise about English and British
identity…
Rank these texts as to which you find:
The most effective
The most offensive
The most thought-provoking
The most illuminating about English identity
Now look deeper and consider:
What sort of “cultures” these texts arise from:
The social, ethnic, educational and gender backgrounds of the authors
INGLAN IS A BITCH Translating The British
W'en mi jus' come to Landan toun
mi use to work pan di andahgroun A summer of rain, then a gap in the clouds
but workin' pan di andahgroun and The Queen jumped from the sky
y'u don't get fi know your way aroun'
to the cheering crowds.
Inglan is a bitch We speak
dere's no escapin' it
Inglan is a bitch Shakespeare here,
dere's no runnin' whey fram it a hundred tongues, one-voiced; the moon
mi get a lickle jab in a big 'otell bronze or silver,
an' awftah a while, mi woz doin' quite well
sun gold, from Cardiff to Edinburgh
dem staat mi aaf as a dish-washah
but w'en mi tek a stack, mi noh tun clack- by way of
watchah!
London Town,
Inglan is a bitch on the Giant's Causeway;
dere's no escapin it
Inglan is a bitch we say we want to be who we truly are,
noh baddah try fi hide fram it now, we roar it. Welcome to us.
w'en dem gi' you di lickle wage packit We've had our pockets picked,
fus dem rab it wid dem big tax rackit
the soft,
y'u haffi struggle fi mek en's meet
an' w'en y'u goh a y'u bed y'u jus' cant sleep white hands of bankers,
Inglan is a bitch bold as brass, filching our gold, our silver;
dere's no escapin it we want it back.
Inglan is a bitch fi true
a noh lie mi a tell, a true We are Mo Farah lifting the 10,000 metres
gold.
mi use to work dig ditch w'en it cowl noh bitch
mi did strang like a mule, but, bwoy, mi did We want new running-tracks in his name.
fool
For Jessica Ennis, the same; for the
den awftah a while mi jus' stap dhu ovahtime
den aftah a while mi jus' phu dung mi tool Brownlee brothers,

2. Inglan is a bitch
dere's no escapin it Rutherford, Ohuruogu, Whitlock, Tweddle,
Inglan is a bitch for every medal earned,
y'u haffi know how fi suvvive in it
we want school playing-fields returned.
well mi dhu day wok an' mid dhu nite wok Enough of the soundbite abstract nouns,
mi dhu clean wok an' mid dhu dutty wok
dem seh dat black man is very lazy austerity, policy, legacy, of tightening
but it y'u si how mi wok y'u woulda sey mi metaphorical belts;
crazy
we got on our real bikes,
Inglan is a bitch
for we are Bradley Wiggins,
dere's no escapin it
Inglan is a bitch side-burned,
y'u bettah face up to it
Mod, god;
dem have a lickle facktri up inna Brackly we are Sir Chris Hoy,
inna disya facktri all dem dhu is pack crackry
fi di laas fifteen years dem get mi laybah Laura Trott, Victoria Pendleton, Kenny,
now awftah fiteen years mi fall out a fayvah Hindes,
Inglan is a bitch Clancy, Burke, Kennaugh and Geraint
dere's no escapin it
Thomas,
Inglan is a bitch
dere's no runnin' whey fram it Olympian
mi know dem have work, work in abundant names.
yet still, dem mek mi redundant We want more cycle lanes.
now, at fifty-five mi gettin' quite ol'
yet still, dem sen' mi fi goh draw dole
Or we
Inglan is a bitch saddled our steed,
dere's no escapin it
Inglan is a bitch fi true or we paddled our own canoe,
is whey wi a goh dhu 'bout it? or we rowed in an eight or a four or a two;
By Linton Kwesi Johnson our names, Glover and Stanning; Baillie and
Stott;
Adlington, Ainslie, Wilson, Murray,
Valegro
(Dujardin's horse).
We saw what we did. We are Nicola Adams
and Jade Jones,
bring on the fighting kids.
We sense
new weather.
We are on our marks. We are all in this
together.
Carol Ann Duffy (Poet Laureate)

3. Why can’t the English learn how to speak? Listen Mr Oxford don
Henry Look at her, a prisoner of the gutter,
Condemned by every syllable she ever Me not no Oxford don
uttered. me a simple immigrant
By law she should be taken out and hung, from Clapham Common
For the cold-blooded murder of the English I didn‟t graduate
tongue. I immigrate
Eliza Aaoooww!
Henry imitating her Aaoooww! But listen Mr Oxford don
Heaven's! What a noise! I‟m a man on de run
This is what the British population, and a man on de run
Calls an elementary education. Pickering is a dangerous one
Oh,
Counsel, I think you picked a poor example. I ent have no gun
Henry Did I? I ent have no knife
Hear them down in Soho square, but mugging de Queen‟s English
Dropping "h's" everywhere. is the story of my life
Speaking English anyway they like.
You sir, did you go to school? I dont need no axe
Man Wadaya tike me for, a fool? to split/ up yu syntax
Henry No one taught him 'take' instead of I dont need no hammer
'tike! to mash/ up yu grammar
Why can't the English teach their children
how to speak? I warning you Mr Oxford don
This verbal class distinction, by now, I‟m a wanted man
Should be antique. If you spoke as she does, and a wanted man
sir, is a dangerous one
Instead of the way you do,
Why, you might be selling flowers, too! Dem accuse me of assault
Hear a Yorkshireman, or worse, on de Oxford dictionary/
Hear a Cornishman converse, imagine a concise peaceful man like me/
I'd rather hear a choir singing flat. dem want me serve time
Chickens cackling in a barn Just like this for inciting rhyme to riot
one! but I rekking it quiet
down here in Clapham Common
I‟m not a violent man Mr Oxford don
Eliza Garn! Henry I ask you, sir, what sort of I only armed wit mih human breath
word is that? but human breath
It's "Aoooow" and "Garn" that keep her in her is a dangerous weapon
place.
Not her wretched clothes and dirty face. So mek dem send one big word after me
Why can't the English teach their children I ent serving no jail sentence
how to speak? I slashing suffix in self defence
This verbal class distinction by now should I bashing future wit present tense
be antique. and if necessary
If you spoke as she does, sir, Instead of the
way you do, I making de Queen‟s English accessory/ to
Why, you might be selling flowers, too. my offence
An Englishman's way of speaking absolutely
classifies him,
The moment he talks he makes some other JOHN AGARD
Englishman despise him. from Mangoes and Bullets, Serpent‟s Tail,
One common language I'm afraid we'll never 1985
get.
Oh, why can't the English learn to set
A good example to people whose
English is painful to your ears?
The Scotch and the Irish leave you close to

4. tears.
There even are places where English
completely
disappears. In America, they haven't used it
for years!
Why can't the English teach their children
how to speak?
Norwegians learn Norwegian; the Greeks
have taught their
Greek. In France every Frenchman knows
his language fro "A" to "Zed"
The French never care what they do,
actually,
as long as they pronounce in properly.
Arabians learn Arabian with the speed of
summer lightning.
And Hebrews learn it backwards,
which is absolutely frightening.
But use proper English you're regarded as a
freak.
Why can't the English,
Why can't the English learn to speak?
This sceptr‟d isle – William Shakespeare
From the Preface to Milton (a long poem),
Prophecy of the dying John of Gaunt
sometimes known as „Jerusalem‟
in The Tragedy of King Richard II (1594),
Act 2, Scene 1:
And did those feet in ancient time.
Methinks I am a prophet new inspired Walk upon Englands mountains green:
And thus expiring do foretell . . .:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, On Englands pleasant pastures seen!
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise;
This fortress built by Nature for herself
And did the Countenance Divine,
Against infection and the hand of war;
This happy breed of men, this little world, Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall, And was Jerusalem builded here,
Or as a moat defensive to a house, Among these dark Satanic Mills?
Against the envy of less happier lands;
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this
England, Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
This nurse, this teeming womb of royal
kings, Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Fear'd by their breed and famous by their Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
birth,
Renowned for their deeds as far from home, Bring me my Chariot of fire!
For Christian service and true chivalry,
As is the sepulchre in stubborn Jewry,
Of the world's ransom, blessed Mary's Son; I will not cease from Mental Fight,
This land of such dear souls, this dear dear
land, Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:
Dear for her reputation through the world, Till we have built Jerusalem,
Is now leased out, I die pronouncing it,
Like to a tenement or pelting farm: In Englands green & pleasant Land
England, bound in with the triumphant sea
Whose rocky shore beats back the envious

5. siege
Of watery Neptune, is now bound in with (missing apostrophes etc the author‟s own)
shame,
With inky blots and rotten parchment bonds:
That England, that was wont to conquer
others,
Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.
Combo: But I've got one question to ask you. Mo Farah, the Olympic Champion, on
Do you consider yourself English, or being British.
Jamaican?
Somali-born Farah made history by
[There's a long uneasy silence, as Milky
becoming the first British athlete to win the
looks around nervously to the rest of his
brutal 10,000m distance race.
friends... ]
Milky: [eventually] English. When asked in a press conference if he'd
Combo: Lovely, lovely, love you for that, have preferred to run as a Somali, he said to
that's fucking great. A proud man, learn from the journalist: "Look mate, this is my country.”
him; that's a proud man. That's what we
need, man. That's what this nation has been Farah added: "This is where I grew up, this is
built on, proud men. Proud fucking warriors! where I started life. This is my country and
when I put on my Great Britain vest I'm
Two thousand years this little tiny fucking
proud. I'm very proud.
island has been raped and pillaged, by
people who have come here and wanted a "The support I got today was unbelievable. I
piece of it - two fucking world wars! Men have couldn't believe it. It was the best moment of
laid down their lives for this. For this... and for my life.
what? So people can stick their fucking flag
in the ground and say, "Yeah! This is "If it wasn't for the crowd and people shouting
England. And this is England, and this is out my name, cheering and putting the Union
England." Jack up, I don't think it would have happened.
"To win the Olympics in the place you grew
up and went to school just means so much to
me."
From Huffington Post