Copy Book Archive

‘Not one more!’ The prospect of facing daunting odds made his cousin quail, but Henry V acted like a true King.
Set in 1415
King Henry V 1413-1422
Music: Muzio Clementi and Sir Charles Hubert Parry

© Mike Quinn, Geograph. Licence: CC-BY-SA 2.0. Source

Sheep in Allendale, Northumberland.

About this picture …

“There’s five to one; ’tis a fearful odds.” A flock of oddly menacing sheep near Allendale, Northumberland.

‘Not one more!’
The centrepiece of William Shakespeare’s play Henry V (?1599) is the Battle of Agincourt on October 25th, 1415, when Henry V clashed with the Dauphin (heir to the French crown) in a winner-takes-all struggle for England’s estates in France. That morning, an edgy Duke of Westmoreland regrets not bringing more men from England; but his cousin, King Henry, will have none of such talk.

O DO not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart. His passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse.
We would not die in that man’s company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.

This day is call’d the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.

He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say, ‘To-morrow is Saint Crispian.’

Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say, ‘These wounds I had on Crispian's day.’
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day.

Précis

Faced with the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, King Henry V’s courtiers wished they had brought more men. But Henry, mindful of morale, assured them that, on the contrary, he would pay for any quaking heart’s passage home, and promised that to their dying day, veterans of the campaign would be revered as heroes. (53 / 60 words)

Source

From ‘Henry V’, by William Shakespeare (1564-1616).

Related Video

Kenneth Branagh gives a stirring rendition of the famous speech.

Suggested Music

1 2

Symphony No. 4 in D Major

4: Finale: Allegro vivace

Muzio Clementi (1752-1832)

Played by the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Francesco d’Avalos.

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Symphony No. 2 in F major ‘The Cambridge’ (1883)

1: Andante sostenuto - Allegro moderato

Sir Charles Hubert Parry (1848-1914)

Performed by the London Philharmonic, conducted by Matthias Bamert.

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How To Use This Passage

You can use this passage to help improve your command of English.

IRead it aloud, twice or more. IISummarise it in one sentence of up to 30 words. IIISummarise it in one paragraph of 40-80 words. IVMake notes on the passage, and reconstruct the original from them later on. VJot down any unfamiliar words, and make your own sentences with them later. VIMake a note of any words that surprise or impress you, and ask yourself what meaning they add to the words you would have expected to see. VIITurn any old-fashioned English into modern English. VIIITurn prose into verse, and verse into prose. IXAsk yourself what the author is trying to get you to feel or think. XHow would an artist or a photographer capture the scene? XIHow would a movie director shoot it, or a composer write incidental music for it?

For these and more ideas, see How to Use The Copy Book.

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