Speeches from Film: Henry V

William Shakespeare wrote many inspirational speeches for his different characters. One of the best known is the St. Crispin’s Day speech delivered by King Henry to his troops in the classic Henry V.

Henry V

To set the stage, prior to the epic battle of Agincourt on 25 October 1415, Henry V had led his army across northern France, seizing Harfleur, Calais and other cities in an attempt to win back land in France that had once been in English possession. By the time they reached Agincourt, Henry’s men were exhausted from the fighting, the strenuous conditions and the bouts of dysentery that plagued them.

Sensing that the English were in a weakened state, the French, who greatly outnumbered them, moved their troops to intercept Henry and men. Matters came to a head on the muddy fields near Agincourt.

As the English looked upon the much larger — and rested — forces of the French, their morale must have been low. Realizing that he needed to inspire his troops, Henry encouraged his men and they won a stunning victory that day. (Historical anecdote: Several factors helped the English including their advantageous battlefield position, the fact that the French wore heavier armour that slowed their progress through the mud, and the ability of the English archers to strike their enemy from a great distance.)

Although the speech below is a work of fiction, Shakespeare captured perfectly the spirit of leadership in Henry’s character. Kenneth Branagh’s performance as Henry in the 1989 film adaptation of Henry V is brilliant and earned him an Academy Award nomination.

What makes this speech (which is actually an abridged version of the full speech written by Shakespeare) a great one? A few thoughts:

  • Branagh (Henry) delivers it with passion. And while most speakers today would neither want nor need that particular type of passion, it is sometimes entirely appropriate, as it was in this scene.
  • Branagh’s use of vocal variety is wonderful. At times, he speaks in normal tone; at times his voice rises in a crescendo of emotion; at times he speaks in a whisper. Each time, the tone fits the words perfectly.
  • He uses gestures appropriately.
  • He uses the “stage” well. He climbs the wagon to give himself the greatest accessibility to his audience.
  • His message is focused and clear throughout: We don’t need any more men from England to fight with us. We can do the job ourselves.
  • He knows when to pause for effect.
  • The underlying theme of the speech — honour — is also consistent throughout.

If we are mark’d to die, we are enough to do our country loss; and if to live, the fewer men, the greater share of honour.” … “I would not lose so great an honour as one man more methinks would share from me.” … “And gentlemen in England now-a-bed shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks that fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”

  • After some comments from his men—the mediaeval equivalent of questions from the audience—he concludes with a call to action.

Like this article?

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on Linkdin
Share on Pinterest
mannerofspeaking

mannerofspeaking

  1. Hi John,

    Perhaps in modern times Shakespeare would have been a speech writer and not a playwright. Probably more lucrative. LOL Love this idea of speeches from film – guess like me you are always listening for those great lines in films. There is a similar situation in Lord of the Rings when Aragorn addresses his men. His speech starts with something like…
    “The day will come when men’s courage will desert them. That day is not this day… ”

    Thought that was a great intro.

    1. Keith, thanks for the comment. I know the speech to which you are referring. It is a good one and, perhaps, a subject for a future post. In fact, you can see it (and 39 others) in a brilliant two-minute montage by clicking here.
      Cheers!
      John

      1. Brilliant, John, absolutely brilliant. I’ll bookmark that one. You must be like me. Whilst my wife is watching the film … I’m listening for lines that I can use in speeches. LOL BTW – looks as though I didn’t get the wording quite right.

  2. Yes John, anyone who has read Shakespeare cannot fail to imagine what a great speech writer he was. King Henry V’s call to action shows all the qualities of what a great leader should be. He inspires and lifts his exhausted troops to commit with all their might to defeat the French, which they do.

    1. Thanks for the comment, Chris. Shakespeare was indeed a master wordsmith – the finest in the English language. And that’s why his plays are as relevant today as they were centuries ago.
      Cheers!

  3. One of many excellent speeches to be found in Shakespeare.
    I’m pretty sure you meant bouts of dysentery rather than boughts of dysentery.

    1. Greg, thanks for the comment and for holding me to account on “bouts”. I am fairly fastidious when it comes to English grammar and spelling, but every now and again something slips by. Always happy to stand corrected. (And I have now corrected the error.)
      Cheers!
      John

  4. This speech catches something we know public speaking makes possible – the ability to persuade people to attach themselves to a cause greater than themselves. The reality for any person going into battle is that you would be crazy not to think about going the other way – especially when the odds are against you and in all probability you will die – in this speech, Henry needs to turn this instinct around and first and foremost, he leads by example – he will fight with them – he will lead them on the field of battle and he is prepared to die there rather than give ground to the enemy. The image of a ‘band of brothers’ fighting for the honour of their country supercedes their own personal interests in surviving and the scene is set by this great speech for an even greater victory.

    1. Thanks for the great comment! Harry’s ethos and pathos win the day in this speech even when — as you have pointed out — logic (logos) dictates that fighting against such odds is a suicide mission.

  5. This is the substance of which we suffer from the lack of in these troubling and dangerous times … men of courage…willing to lead and be lead into the breach … the inspiration of glory derived from the moment of brave intention.

    1. I believe there are such men and women today. However, they are fewer in number than what the world needs.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

18 + 15 =

Testimonials

John delivered a keynote address about the importance of public speaking to 80 senior members of Gore’s Medical Device Europe team at an important sales event. He was informative, engaging and inspirational. Everyone was motivated to improve their public speaking skills. Following his keynote, John has led public speaking workshops for Gore in Barcelona and Munich. He is an outstanding speaker who thinks carefully about the needs of his audience well before he steps on stage.

Karsta Goetze

TA Leader, Gore and Associates

I first got in touch with John while preparing to speak at TED Global about my work on ProtonMail. John helped me to sharpen the presentation and get on point faster, making the talk more focused and impactful. My speech was very well received, has since reached almost 1.8 million people and was successful in explaining a complex subject (email encryption) to a general audience.

Andy Yen

CEO, Proton Technologies

John gave the opening keynote on the second day of our unit’s recent offsite in Geneva, addressing an audience of 100+ attendees with a wealth of tips and techniques to deliver powerful, memorable presentations. I applied some of these techniques the very next week in an internal presentation, and I’ve been asked to give that presentation again to senior management, which has NEVER happened before. John is one of the greatest speakers I know and I can recommend his services without reservation.

David Lindelöf

Senior Data Scientist, Expedia Group

After a morning of team building activities using improvisation as the conduit, John came on stage to close the staff event which was organised in Chamonix, France. His energy and presence were immediately felt by all the members of staff. The work put into the preparation of his speech was evident and by sharing some his own stories, he was able to conduct a closing inspirational speech which was relevant, powerful and impactful for all at IRU. The whole team left feeling engaged and motivated to tackle the 2019 objectives ahead. Thank you, John.

Umberto de Pretto

Secretary General, World Road Transport Organization

I was expecting a few speaking tips and tricks and a few fun exercises, but you went above and beyond – and sideways. You taught me to stand tall. You taught me to anchor myself. You taught me to breathe. You taught me to open up. You taught me to look people in the eye. You taught me to tell the truth. You taught me to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. I got more than I bargained for in the best possible way.

Thuy Khoc-Bilon

World Cancer Day Campaign Manager, Union for International Cancer Control

John gave a brilliant presentation on public speaking during the UN EMERGE programme in Geneva (a two days workshop on leadership development for a group of female staff members working in the UN organizations in Geneva). His talk was inspirational and practical, thanks to the many techniques and tips he shared with the audience. His teaching can dramatically change our public speaking performance and enable us as presenters to have a real and powerful impact. Thank you, John, for your great contribution!

Sara Canna

HR Specialist, World Health Organization

John is a genuine communication innovator. His seminars on gamification of public speaking learning and his interactive Rhetoric game at our conference set the tone for change and improvement in our organisation. The quality of his input, the impact he made with his audience and his effortlessly engaging style made it easy to get on board with his core messages and won over some delegates who were extremely skeptical as to the efficacy of games for learning. I simply cannot recommend him highly enough.

Thomas Scott

National Education Director, Association of Speakers Clubs UK

John joined our Global Sales Meeting in Segovia, Spain and we all participated in his "Improv(e) your Work!" session. I say “all” because it really was all interactive, participatory, learning and enjoyable. The session surprised everybody and was a fresh-air activity that brought a lot of self-reflection and insights to improve trust and confidence in each other inside our team. It´s all about communication and a good manner of speaking!"

Jon Lopez

General Manager Europe, Hayward Industries

Thank you very much for the excellent presentation skills session. The feedback I received was very positive. Everyone enjoyed the good mix of listening to your speech, co-developing a concrete take-away and the personal learning experience. We all feel more devoted to the task ahead, more able to succeed and an elevated team spirit. Delivering this in a short time, both in session and in preparation, is outstanding!

Henning Dehler

CFO European Dairy Supply Chain & Operations, Danone

Thanks to John’s excellent workshop, I have learned many important tips and techniques to become an effective public speaker. John is a fantastic speaker and teacher, with extensive knowledge of the field. His workshop was a great experience and has proven extremely useful for me in my professional and personal life.

Eric Thuillard

Senior Sales Manager, Sunrise Communications

John’s presentation skills training was a terrific investment of my time. I increased my skills in this important area and feel more comfortable when speaking to an audience. John provided the right mix between theory and practice.

Diego Brait

Director of the Jura Region, BKW Energie AG

Be BOLD. Those two words got stuck in my head and in the heads of all those ADP leaders and associates that had the privilege to see John on stage. He was our keynote speaker at our annual convention in Barcelona, and his message still remains! John puts his heart in every word. Few speakers are so credible, humble and yet super strong with large audiences!

Guadalupe Garcia

Senior Director and Talent Partner, ADP International