It's October 25th, which means it's the feast day of Saints Crispin and Cripsian, and, more importantly, the 598th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, the thrilling set-piece around which Shakespeare's Henry V is constructed. Of course, today St. Crispin's Day is mostly remembered for the famous speech Shakespeare gives Henry in order to inspire his bedraggled troops before the great battle begins. It goes something like this:
For some proper Crispin's Day speeches, check out the following:
Laurence Olivier (Film, 1944)
Richard Burton (1951)
Mark Rylance (Globe Theater, 1997)
Jamie Parker (Globe Theater, 2012)
Kenneth Branagh (Film, 1989)
Hm. Can't seem to find a clip of Tom Hiddleston's version from the recent Hollow Crown series. If anyone finds it, drop me a comment and I'll put it up.
Edit: Some Hiddleston, courtesy of vigilant readers! Not the complete speech, sadly, but better than nothing!
Tom Hiddlestone (The Hollow Crown, 2012)