I’ve literally been waiting ALL MONTH to get to today’s 30 Days of Shakespeare highlight.
I've been attracted to this speech ever since seeing Felix Aylmer's adorably bumbling performance of it in Olivier's film adaptation Henry V. It's a totally comedic scene with him dropping papers and losing his place, while Robert Helpmann's Bishop of Ely gets increasingly frustrated and eventually just gives up.
For some reason, not all productions of Henry V play it this way, which has been a source of continual disappointment to me. But that doesn't change my love of the stupid speech itself. I went so far as to memorize it, so I could trot it out in case anyone asked me what my favorite lines from Shakespeare were. Nobody has, but that hasn't stopped me from reciting it anyways.