Analysis of Henry V's Saint Crispian's Day Speech
Analysis
Shakespeare’s Henry V is a masterful play with many memorable lines. Amongst the memorable lines is what has been known as Henry V’s “Saint Crispian’s Day” speech, in which the king inspires his soldiers to fight a French army five times their size. Not only does he convince his army to fight for him, but he empowers them to the point of victory. Against incredible odds, King Henry’s army manages to defeat the French. What united Britain despite it being torn apart due to numerous civil wars, apathy, and discouragement? Shakespeare gave his character Henry V the power to persuade and his mastery of language. By playing on surrounding historical context, Henry V’s Saint Cripsian’s Day Speech has influenced generations of famous speeches with its use of victimage, inspiration, persuasion, and imagery. Shakespeare’s masterful ability to use the English language has resulted in a poetic masterpiece.
Prior to delving into the speech itself, it is imperative to observe the historical context surrounding William Shakespeare. Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet who lived from 1564 to April 23, 1616. He married his wife, Anne Hathaway at the age of 18 and had three children. He began his career as a teacher and became an actor soon after, beginning to write the majority of his comedies and histories around 1589. Growing up secretly Catholic (he was a “surface Protestant” for legal reasons), he knew the Bible well, having made 42 references to the Bible throughout his works (Dobson 45). Shakespeare’s plays were almost always multi-facetted - they had multiple players of meaning - and he was able to do so with his mastery of the English language. Not only did he popularize drama and the theater in this way, but he coined phrases and even invented words that would be used by influential leaders of future generations. Shakespeare’s impressive knowledge of history also aided him in writing his historical plays, as he was able to incorporate historical figures and events into his plays and portray them anew. Shakespeare’s company, King’s Men, erected a theater near the River Thames called the Globe where he performed his plays and became very wealthy. Although retirement was not a common practice in that day, Shakespeare was able to retire at age 49.
Shakespeare’s *Henry V *is the final part of a tetralogy which includes Richard II and both parts of Henry IV. In the previous plays, Henry V’s character is portrayed as an undisciplined playboy who goofs off the majority of the time as prince. In Henry V, however, we see a dramatic shift in the protagonist’s character, as he transforms from irresponsible lowlife to courageous king. He even rejects Falstaff, his mentor who lead him down the wrong path, early in the beginning of the play. Soldiers Bardolph, Nym, and Pistol represent Henry’s old lowlife friends, and they are repeatedly contrasted to Henry V, oftentimes being portrayed humorously. As Henry changes for the better, he’s faced with the 100 Years’ War, and is seeking to claim France, which is rightfully his. He has a “divine right” to claim the land, and makes his purpose to overtake it known. Prior to the Battle of Agincourt, Henry rallies his troops with his famous Saint Crispian’s Day Speech which empowers and inspires the army to fight spectacularly. As they conquer the land, Henry tries to woo Princess Catherine and the French king allows Henry to be the successor to the throne. Henry’s winsome character and courageous disposition suited him perfectly to become the dynamic leader Britain needed, and his Saint Crispian’s Day Speech testifies to this truth.
The Saint Crispian’s Day Speech employs the method coined by Allen Monroe, the Motivational Sequence. Henry first calls attention to what great feat lies before his army; conquering a nation. He points out that failure to win is indeed a possible outcome of their efforts, yet the treasures of triumph would far outweigh the costs. He presents a particular need to his audience next, which is honor, “…if it be a sin to covet honour, I am the most offending soul alive.” He explains that this need cannot be met by material goods (“such outward things dwell not in my desires”), and that he wants all he can get. Satisfaction is realized by Henry minimizing the weak and unsure in his army by publically inviting them to leave the ranks and not fight with them, “We would not die in that man’s company who fears his fellowship to die with us.” Since only the strong remain, they will fight and become victorious. This is visualized clearly when Henry talks about how future Crispian’s Day holidays will be celebrated by remembering the brave who fought that day, “Then shall our names…be freshly remember’d.” Fathers will teach sons about the fight and their names will be famous. Henry’s call to action is to fight together as kin for the glory of themselves and England, “For he to-day that sheds with blood with me shall be my brother.” He further emphasizes his point by saying the men who chose not to fight with them will have to consider themselves secondary citizens in comparison to those who did choose to fight.
Totaling 396 words, 47 lines long (lines 2255 to 2302 in the play) and written in iambic pentameter, Saint Crispian’s Day Speech is one of the most eloquent speeches by Shakespeare. He constantly contrasts with comparison, “If we are mark’d to die, we are enow to do our country loss; and if to live, the fewer the men, the greater share of honour.” He begins with the sobering thought of death, and finishes his thought with the word “honour” here. “Honour” is used three times in the first 12 lines very intentionally as the hook by which Henry captures the attention of his audience. Henry also restates his points with repetition, “I am not covetous for gold, nor care I who doth feed upon my cost; it yearns me not if men my garments wear.” These three lines enhance his credibility, as he makes it clear that he has no exterior motives or agendas. He employs repetition in other ways as well, “I pray thee, which not one man more…wish not a man from England…O, do not wish one more!” He uses these three lines in the first half of the speech to be clear that he is confident enough in his men and craves glory enough to put a rest to any possible worries about being outnumbered. He promotes this idea by using imagery of glory being literally taken from him (or “shared” from him) if more men were added to their numbers. Just as Henry makes his audience feel strong and proud, he challenges them all by extending an invitation to quit, even offering to pay their way home. But he quickly reintroduces the idea of honour here again, “We would not die in that man’s company who fears his fellowship to die with us.” This is his second reference to dying alongside his soldiers, and it foreshadows his final reference near the end of the speech.
The second half of the speech is dedicated to visualization and a final call to action. He begins with an introduction to the current day’s holiday, “Today is called the feast of Crispian,” and explains in the following lines how much they will be remembered, honored, and celebrated as war heroes. He continues to say that they will be “household words,” celebrated every single Saint Crispian’s Day following that battle. In the final eight lines, Henry begins with repetition, “we few, we happy few, we band of brothers” adding a modifier to “we” each time. He then makes his third reference to dying with his army (which was alluded to earlier), “For he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.” Here he combines repetition with “band of brothers” and also completes his dying-with-army analogy. The last four lines reiterate his points of honor, small numbers, and the significance of the holiday,
And gentlemen in England now a-bed Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.
Saying the “gentlemen in England now a-bed” were considered less of men combined with the image Henry conjured up to imply an overall intense desire to be one of the elite “few” brings the speech to its climax just before the last line. At this point, the mythos is strongest and his audience has an overwhelming sense of patriotism just as Henry makes the final mention of the holiday “Saint Crispin’s Day” at the end. Variations of the word “Crispian” are used three times in the middle of the speech and three times at the end.[1]
Henry’s mastery with identification and victimage is apparent from the beginning. He points out that having a low number of soldiers is something to be proud of, and even championed. By explaining that he has no ulterior motives, he leverages his position with his army by introducing a common focus: honor. This not only gives him credibility but establishes his identity with them. Rather than victimizing the army against the enemy (the French), Henry is instead demonizing the men that did not join them in England as individuals who do not care enough about honor. He says himself that he covets honor, which means he demonizes those who do not. And since he knows his audience craves honor too, he knows he can easily establish identity with them in this way. He masters alienation to further unify his band by inviting the weaker men to leave (as mentioned earlier). Because the soldiers are already worn and tired out from a miserable civil war, using the analogy of showing off scars is a powerful visualization of the glory they would receive. Most prominently, Henry uses identification when he says his famous “We few, we happy few” line at the end of the speech[2]. For a high and mighty king to call his subjects his “brothers” was significant, and Shakespeare knew it would have hit home.
Themes and phrases in this speech have been adapted and referenced generations later by other famous speakers and even in culture. For example, “Band of Brothers” is a ten-part television miniseries on World War II, and its title is a reference to the Saint Crispian’s Day speech. “Household Words” was an English weekly magazine that Charles Dickens edited back in the 1850s, which also references the speech. In the 1995 movie Braveheart, William Wallace uses similar rhetoric to Henry: “Aye, fight and you may die. Run and you’ll live – at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance…” The imagery of beds is used (“gentlemen in England now a-bed”), and the first part of this quote echoes the visualization in the beginning of the Saint Crispian’s Day Speech (…mark’d to die…but if to live.”). He also emphasizes the significance of “today” and says freedom worth the sacrifice (comparable to Henry’s “from this day till the end of the world but we in it shall be remembered”). General George Patton adopted many elements from Henry V’s speech as well in his famous 1944 speech to his army. He talks about when his soldiers will be “home once again” after that war, and visualizes they will have conversations with their grandsons, similarly to how Henry mentions that “this story shall the good man teach his son.” Patton visualizes the future by saying, “You can look him straight in the eye and say, ‘Son, your GrandDaddy rode with the Great Third Army…’” in a way that teases to what Henry visualized, “’These wounds I had on Crispin’s day.’” Patton’s speech is similar to Henry’s in that a man of high rank and authority is coming down to the level of his audience to inspire them.
Shakespeare’s genius is unparalleled, and Henry’s Saint Crispian’s Day Speech is evidence to that understanding. Future leaders such as Presidents Washington, Lincoln, and Reagan would persuade their audience by adapting Henry’s claim that their fights were justified and derived from a moral cause. Henry uses consubstantiality to unite his troops, and in response his army shares a feeling of kinship with their leader. He is able to instill patriotism, and future speakers have looked at the speech for inspiration for their own speeches. These themes are timeless, and Shakespeare understood how rhetoric and persuasion were executed well. His achievement with this speech can be summed up with his own words, “And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by, from this day to the ending of the world, but we in it shall be remember’d.”
Works Cited
Dobson, Michael, and Stanley W. Wells. “Bible.” The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. N. pag. Print.
[1] Crispian and Crispin were actually two different saints, and the holiday (October 25) celebrates twin brothers who represent leather workers, tanners, and cobblers in the third century.
[2] Historically, King Henry V was really reported as saying “We humble few” to refer to his army.