St. Crispin Day Speech

St. Crispin’s Day Speech

The St. Crispin’s Day Speech is one of the most well known speeches written by Shakespeare. The speech is delivered by Henry V to his troops just before the Battle of Agincourt. The English troops were heavily outnumbered by the French and Henry V needed to convince his men to stay in the fight. The speech is used to motivate those fighting by appealing to the men’s sense of community as well as their emotions.

Aristotle thinks one of the kinds of representation is to represent men as the “same kind of people as ourselves” (59). This is the method that King Henry V uses to motivate his troops. By using this method, the troops will feel as if they are on the same level as the king. This serves as a kind of motivation to fight as hard as possible. Henry tells his troops that they are a “band of brothers” and that those who fight with him “shall be my brother” (Henry V). This causes the men to transcend the superior soldier relationship and instead creates as makeshift family. The reason this works is that the men were more willing to risk their lives for people they cared about, rather than an impersonal authority figure.

Aristotle also thinks that people learn their “earliest lessons by imitation” (60). By being brave and appeaking to the soldier’s sense of pride, Henry V has won his own battle with his men. When seeing an extemely lopsided situation, people will often times become discouraged with the sitatuation. The speech appeals to the men because Henry V is going through the situation with them. Through their imitation, they will be similar to the king and will become more than just men, they will be part Henry V’s legacy.

“Henry V.” 2 Feb. 2009.

“Aristotle: Poetics.” Classical Literary Criticism. Penguin: New York, 2004. 57-97.

“St. Crispin’s Day Speech.” 2 Feb. 2009.