St. Crispins Day Speech
The St. Crispins day speech (also St. Crispins day speech , Crispins day speech , St. Crispians speech , speech on St. Crispianus day or St. Crispians speech ) is a well-known speech from the royal drama Heinrich V . by William Shakespeare , with which the titular Henry V of England cheers on his troops before the battle of Azincourt on October 25, 1415. October 25th is dedicated to Saints Crispinus and Crispinianus .
Background in the piece
King Heinrich gives the speech in the third scene of act four, which takes place at dawn on St. Crispins' day. The English troops are tired and emaciated after long marches. 12,000 exhausted English soldiers face 60,000 well-rested enemies. Heinrich also assesses the chances of his troops correspondingly poorly ( "Indeed, the French can bet twenty French crowns against one that they will beat us because they carry them on their own shoulders" , King Heinrich, Act IV, Scene 1 ).
Heinrich speaks to them to encourage his desperate officers, vassals, and soldiers. He succeeds in inspiring his men and increasing their morale. You accomplish the seemingly impossible and crush the outnumbered opponent. While ten thousand French fell, the English ended up counting only 29 dead, as found in Act IV, Scene 8.
speech
The king's nobles and officers, Gloster, Bedford, Westmoreland, Exeter and Salisbury, fear the impending onslaught of the French. Heinrich enters. His cousin, the Earl of Westmoreland, implores:
"Oh, if we had
only ten thousand of the people in England who are out of
work today!"
Heinrich initially answers him directly and then leads on to a motivating speech to everyone present.
Original English version | German translation by August Wilhelm von Schlegel |
---|---|
What's he that wishes so? |
Who wished so? |
Literary criticism
The rhetoric of the king's address, like the play itself, is exceptional in the context of Shakespeare's oeuvre. Thematically it is a tour de force and presents motifs from the tetralogy and Aeschylic or Wagnerian transmutations. At the beginning of the speech, Heinrich inverts Westmoreland's desperate desire for more men by grandly wishing that he had fewer ("The smaller the number, the larger honorary part. As God willing! Just don't want one more!"). In order to prove his bravado even more, he wants to disadvantage himself even more. He offers to provide soldiers who do not want to fight with travel documents and even travel money. With such unwillingness to fight, who are not ready to die together with his troops, he does not want to go under either ("We do not want to die in society who shuns community with our death." "). In a startling language, what one Pretending to be in communion between the king and the common soldiers, Heinrich imagines the battle as already fought.
Cultural meaning
The St. Crispin's Day speech is a rousing speech (dt .: rousing speech). Rousing speeches are, in various manifestations and forms, a predominantly widespread convention in television, cinema and literature in the English-speaking cultural area. The St. Crispins Day Speech is one of the most famous and most quoted speeches.
Particularly in the Anglo-American cultural area, reference is made to the St. Crispins Day Speech (English: St. Crispin's Day Speech , sometimes also St. Crispens Day Speech ) when it comes to finding an inferior group (e.g. Soldiers, sports team) for a special challenge.
The phrase "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" from the speech is also a winged word in the English language. He is quoted in a window in Westminster Abbey dedicated to the Royal Air Force's efforts in the Battle of Britain .
Allusions and quotations in other works
Songs
- The Bonnie Blue Flag , the unofficial anthem of the Confederate States of America , begins with the words We are a band of brothers .
literature
- Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose - The book title refers to the speech.
theatre
- We happy few by Imogen Stubbs - the title of the play already refers to the St. Crispins Day speech and also takes up the proverbial character of the quote in the English language.
Movies
- Henry V. (film) - In the 1989 film adaptation by and with Kenneth Branagh, the St. Crispins Day speech is ambiguous. First of all, the famous general speech is addressed both to the soldiers listening and to the nation. Second, Henry V conjures up an anticipated victory before the battle has even begun.
- Mr. Bill - orig. Renaissance Man - Bill Rago ( Danny DeVito ) motivates soldiers through Shakespeare and the St. Crispins Day speech.
- Tombstone - A theater group is performing in the remote village of Tombstone. The performance of the St. Crispins Day speech even inspires the rather cultured cowboys and ranchers.
- The Girls of St. Trinian 2 - Treasure Hunt (2009) - Miss Fritton calls on the schoolgirls to fight the villain Pomfrey.
- The man who shot Liberty Valance (orig .: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance ) - The newspaper editor Peabody ( Edmond O'Brien ) quotes part of the speech, while the bandit Liberty Valance ( Lee Marvin ) is terrorizing the western town of Shinbone.
watch TV
- A Touch of Heaven , Season 7, Episode 19 - "The Penalty Box" - Student Jeff McHenry ( Zachery Ty Bryan ) motivates his ice hockey team with a speech based on the St. Crispins Day speech.
- Band of Brothers - Ten-part US television production about soldiers in World War II . The series title makes reference to the St. Crispins Day speech.
- Blackadder , Season 1, Episode 6 - "The Black Seal" - Especially in the first season of the series there are many quotes from the works of Shakespeare. In this episode in particular, the main character Edmund Black Adder ( Rowan Atkinson ) misrepresents the speech and exclaims: "We few, we happy few, we band of ruthless bastards." .
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer , Season 5, Episode 22 - "The Gift" - Before the protagonists confront a dangerous opponent, Buffy ( Sarah Michelle Gellar ) gives the speech: "Everybody knows their jobs. Remember, the ritual starts, we all die. And I'll kill anyone who comes near Dawn. " . Spike ( James Marsters ) replied : "Well, not exactly the St. Crispin's Day speech, was it?" . Then Giles ( Anthony Head ): "We few, we happy few ..." . Then Spike again: "... we band of buggered." .
Web links
- William Shakespeare: Henry V in Project Gutenberg ( currently not available to users from Germany ) (full text)
- Heinrich V. (German full text)
- Literary criticism of the speech in The Knighthood, Tournaments & Chivalry Resource Library
Individual evidence
- ↑ Norman Rabki: Rabbits, Ducks, and Henry V In: Shakespeare Quarterly No. 3, 1977, p. 279 (286).
- ↑ Norman Rabki: Rabbits, Ducks, and Henry V In: Shakespeare Quarterly No. 3, 1977, p. 279 (286).
- ↑ Donald Hedrick: Advantage, Affect, History, "Henry V." In: PMLA No. 3, 2003, p. 470 (472).
- ↑ Donald Hedrick: Advantage, Affect, History, "Henry V." In: PMLA No. 3, 2003, p. 470 (473).
- ↑ Rousing speeches . In: tvtropes.org .
- ↑ Simon Maier: Inspire !: Insights and lessons from 100 of the greatest speeches from film and theater . Marshall Cavendish c / o Times E, 2010, ISBN 978-981-4302-62-3 .
- ^ Paul Massari: Enduring inspiration . In: Harvard Gazette October 26, 2011.
- ↑ Stephen E. Ambrose: Band of Brothers, E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne: From Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest . 2nd Edition. Simon & Schuster, New York 2001, ISBN 0-7432-1645-8 .
- ^ Imogen Stubbs: We happy few . Nick Hern Books, London 2004, ISBN 1-85459-813-9 .
- ↑ Mark Berninger: Visualizing the war at the end of the post-war period . In: Alfred Gall (Hrsg.): Turning times: Historical turning points in drama and film (= Mainz research on drama and theater ). No. 44 . Francke, Tübingen 2011, ISBN 978-3-7720-8417-1 , p. 290 f .
- ↑ Johan Schloemann: We will be proud. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .