"The English Character" by E M Forster (essay reading)

I am posting this as a counterpoint to D. H. Lawrence's poem, which is posted below. The poem is a product of a different Britain when the class system dictated much of how people behaved. Our training as part of the IB Learner Profile should urge caution when whole nations or peoples are reduced to stereotypes, even by writers from that country. We must always guard against 'confirmation bias', looking for texts which confirm bias and leave us feeling smug and self-satisfied. Lawrence's poem seems to spring from some bitterness but it's worth noting that modern Britain has welcomed people from all over the world, including one million Irish people, including many of my own relatives and many people from India and other countries too. The recent visit of Queen Elizabeth to Ireland, showed that both nations are ready to move past stereotypes and the bitterness of the past. As generalisations go, Forster's essay is closer to my own personal experience of English people in Singapore, Saudi and of course India. Further reading for those interested in this subject might include Jeremy Paxman's "The English". The English are noted for their own ability to lampoon and laugh at themselves, a wonderful antidote to national hubris in any people. So I will attempt to emulate this quality by quoting the English writer Samuel Johnson, "the Irish are a very fair people, they never speak well of one another."