Monday, October 26, 2015

Every Year I Have To Hear This Speech On St Crispin's Day





Saint Crispin's Day falls on 25 October and is the feast day of the Christian saints Crispin and Crispinian (also known as Crispinus and Crispianus, though this spelling has fallen out of favour), twins who were martyred c. 286.

It is a day most famous for the battles that occurred on it, most notably the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Because of the St. Crispin's Day Speech in Shakespeare's play Henry V, calling the soldiers who would fight on the day a "band of brothers", other battles fought on Crispin's day have been associated with Shakespeare's words. Other notable battles include the Battle of Balaclava (Charge of the Light Brigade) during the Crimean War in 1854 and the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Pacific theatre in 1944.

4 comments:

j-swin said...

First we read Henry V then watched the movie in 12 English class. Then we did the same thing with Much ado about nothing, hamlet and Macbeth. Best English class ever thanks to Mrs. Trachsel.

Cal's Canadian Cave of Coolness said...

I used to teach it and the kids would all bitch at the beginning but once they got a feel for the rhythym of the language they really got into it. Understanding Shakespeare makes one feel smart.

j-swin said...

No, understanding Shakespeare makes one smart.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

The 5 year old is cute and Branagh is at his bombastic best, but here's a real St Crispin's treat -- Tom Hiddleston's version:

https://youtu.be/oz_IBbvcRao