Analysis Of St. Crispin's Day Speech

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In William Shakespeare’s Henry V, the character of King Henry delivers some powerful verbiage, known as St. Crispin’s Day Speech, to his troops in order to rally the men for battle. In this speech, King Henry chooses to invoke themes such as glory, religion, and comradery to make the battle they are about to fight immortal in the soldiers’ minds and to motivate them to fight together. These themes draw similar emotions in all men, no matter their background; all men have the need for honour, the urge to please the deity they believe in, and the need to trust in their fellow men. Every man wants his story to be remembered. King Henry promises this by telling the soldiers that “from this day to the ending of the world, / But we in it shall be remembered” (ll. 58-59). Henry is letting his troops know that their victory (if they should win) will be so legendary that their story will be eternal. Additionally, Henry not only immortalizes the men, but he also promises them nobility, as “this day shall gentle his condition”, promising to lift the status of these men no matter what class they were born into (l. 63).To make this day even more memorable, Henry connects the battle to St. Crispin’s Day, giving the battle a significant title, making it more likely to be memorialized. Henry references St. Crispin in the beginning and end of this section of speech, surrounding his main points with the idea of this saint. He also connects the men to St. Crispin by calling himself and his

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