On St Crispin's Day...

YouTube ^ | Circa 1587 | W. Shakespeare

[jonascord]

This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be rememberèd—
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

[fella]

A great motivational speech. To bad it was written long after the event.

[SES1066]

I have long loved this Kenneth Branagh version of Henry V, especially with the excellent score, settings and cast. Particularly good was Brian Blessed as Duke Thomas Beaufort of Exeter (Uncle of HenryV), seen as the bear in armor in this clip. My favorite scene with him is when he brings Henry’s ultimatum to the French Royal Council with words of iron and blood! The wooing scene of Henry and the French Princess Katherine is as comedic as anything written.

[Rummyfan]

Yes!

[JOHN ADAMS]

Thank you so much for the reminder! Who, after that speech, could ever forget St. Crispin’s Day?

[SES1066]

A great motivational speech. To bad it was written long after the event.

True enough with Shakespeare writing it in 1598-9 and the battle occurring in 1415 BUT as an inspirational speech it has been put to use countless times since then. For a comparison to this Branagh version of 1989, you can also watch the 1944 Laurence Olivier's Henry V, sumptuously done in mid-war Britain with full government cooperation. This same speech starts at 1:26:40 with very different costumes and staging. That a 'purported' educated person can graduate from any number of 'top' colleges without even studying a line of Shakespeare is very telling about our debased academia! This includes English, History and Literature majors! SIGH!

[SES1066]

Thank you so much for the reminder! Who, after that speech, could ever forget St. Crispin’s Day?

Yes, I fully agree, Thank you 'jonascord'!

And a reminder to all, this, Agincourt, was one of history's greatest David-v-Goliath battles (minimum 3-1 with no English Cavalry) so Trump 2020 should be easy, right!

[Borges]

In that play, Shakespeare invented the war movie. Henry inspiring his “band of brothers” to battle against overwhelming odds, combined with scheming politicians, officers from different parts of the country, grunting doughboys, and scurrilous commoners, all brought into wider focus by the narration. There’s a love interest too.

[I-ambush]

There was the Iliad.

[SES1066]

In that play, Shakespeare invented the war movie.

Shakespeare is good but he was not Orson Welles nor would he have wanted to be. War Play, yes, War Movie in 1599, NO! I remember a movie where they showed a MINIMALIST production of Henry V, very cut-down, bare stage and about ~7 performers. What I saw was still recognizable, still good but lived up to the "Chorus' Introduction" that calls upon the audience to use their imaginations! Amazing!

[Borges]

The Illiad didn’t bother with “common” people.

[JOHN ADAMS]

From your mouth to God's ears.

[Portcall24]

Salisbury is my 20th great grandfather. He was Thomas Montagu, 4th Earl of Salisbury, KG (13 June 1388 – 3 November 1428) of Bisham in Berkshire, was an English nobleman and one of the most important English commanders during the Hundred Years’ War. These were the battles he fought:

• Battle of Agincourt (1415)
• Battle of Baugé (1421)
• Battle of Cravant (1423)
• Battle of Verneuil (1424)
• Siege of Orléans (1428) On 27 October 1428 he was wounded during the Siege of Orléans, when the tower he was inside was hit by a cannonball. There are conflicting reports on the manner in which this wounded him; Enguerrand de Monstrelet states a piece of stone from the window ‘carried away part of his face.’ He died days later at Meung-sur-Loire on 3 November 1428.