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The St Crispin's Day speech is a part of
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's history play '' Henry V'', Act IV Scene iii(3) 18–67. On the eve of the
Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected victory of the vastly outnumbered English troops agains ...
, which fell on Saint Crispin's Day, Henry V urges his men, who were vastly outnumbered by the French, to imagine the glory and immortality that will be theirs if they are victorious. The speech has been famously portrayed by Laurence Olivier in the 1944 film to raise British spirits during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and by
Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...
in the 1989 film '' Henry V''; it made famous the phrase " band of brothers". The play was written around 1600, and several later writers have used parts of it in their own texts.


The speech


Cultural influence


Comparisons with other speeches

*It has been compared to the Baljuna Covenant, a similar oath of mutual loyalty
Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...
made centuries earlier.


Use and quotation

*In his final general order to his troops, issued on 18 October 1783, George Washington wrote that no one "could imagine that the most violent local prejudices would cease so soon, and that men who came from the different parts of the continent ... would instantly become one patriotic band of brothers." *During the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
, just prior to the Battle of the Nile, Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, then Rear Admiral of the Blue, referred to his captains as his " band of brothers". *
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
' magazine '' Household Words'' (1850–1851) took its name from the speech. *During the
First Barbary War The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the 1801–1815 Barbary Wars, in which the United States fought against Ottoman Tripolitania. Tripolitania had declared war ...
, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, Jr. proclaimed "the fewer men, the greater share of honor," before leading a raiding party to destroy the . *During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Laurence Olivier delivered the speech during a radio programme to boost British morale and
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
found him so inspiring that he asked Olivier to produce the Shakespeare play as a film. Olivier's adaptation appeared in 1944. *The title of British politician
Duff Cooper Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich, (22 February 1890 – 1 January 1954), known as Duff Cooper, was a British Conservative Party politician and diplomat who was also a military and political historian and writer. First elected to Parl ...
's autobiography '' Old Men Forget'' (1953) is taken from the speech. *According to Mark Bowden's book, '' Black Hawk Down'', chronicling the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, general William F. Garrison quoted the speech during a memorial service for the men killed in the battle. *During the legal battle for the U.S. presidential election of 2000, regarding the Florida vote recount, members of the Florida legal team for
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, the eventual legal victor, joined arms and recited the speech during a break in preparation, to motivate themselves. *On the day of the result of the
2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, was a referendum that took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar under the provisions o ...
, as the vote to leave became clear, activist and MEP Daniel Hannan is reported to have delivered an edited version of the speech from a table, replacing the names Bedford, Exeter, Warwick and Talbot with other prominent Vote Leave activists. * On March 19, 2023, prior to the kickoff of the Derby della Capitale between
SS Lazio (; ; ''Lazio Sport Club'') is an Italian professional sports club based in Rome, most known for its Football club (association football), football activity. The society, founded in 1900, plays in the Serie A and have spent most of their hist ...
and AS Roma, the ultras of SS Lazio unfurled tifos quoting excerpts from Shakespeare's St. Crispin Day's Speech, as a symbolic gesture of leading the team to the "war" against their arch-rivals. * On January 13, 2024,
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
coach Jim Harbaugh recited most of the speech at a rally to celebrate the 2023 Michigan Wolverines football team's national championship. He replaced the names of Harry the King, Bedford, Exeter, Warwick, Talbot, Salisbury, and Gloucester with key players during Michigan's championship season: J. J. McCarthy, Blake Corum, Mike Sainristil, Trevor Keegan, Zak Zinter, Kris Jenkins, and Michael Barrett.


Film, television, music and literature

Parts and/or versions of the speech appear in films such as '' The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance'' (1962), '' Tombstone'' (1993), '' Renaissance Man'' (1994), ''Tea With Mussolini'' (1999), '' Mystery Men'' (1999), '' This Is England'' (2006), and '' Their Finest'' (2017). It has also been used in television series such as '' Rough Riders'' (1997), ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...
'', '' The Black Adder'', and ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
''. *The phrase "band of brothers" appears in the 1789 song " Hail, Columbia", written for the inauguration of
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
as the first
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
. * During the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, " The Bonnie Blue Flag"—a 1861 Confederate marching song written by Harry McCarthy—began with the words "We are a band of brothers, and native to the soil". * Stephen Ambrose borrowed the phrase "Band of Brothers" for the title of his 1992 book on E Company of the 101st Airborne during World War II; it was later adapted into the 2001 miniseries '' Band of Brothers''. In the closing scene of the series, Carwood Lipton quotes from Shakespeare's speech. * The 2016 videogame '' We Happy Few'' takes its name from the speech. *A part of the speech is quoted in the 2017 novel '' The Ministry of Utmost Happiness'' by
Arundhati Roy Suzanna Arundhati Roy (; born 24 November 1961) is an Indian author best known for her novel ''The God of Small Things'' (1997), which won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the best-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author. ...
as one of the character's mother's favourite passage from Shakespeare which is recited (silently) at her second funeral.


References


Citations


General and cited references

* * *


External links

* {{Wikisource inline, The Life of Henry the Fifth#SCENE III. The English camp., ''The Life of Henry the Fifth'', single=true 16th-century speeches Cultural depictions of Henry V of England Fiction set in the 15th century France in fiction Hundred Years' War in fiction Shakespearean histories War poetry