We Few, We Happy Few

[WilliamPitt]

With sincere apologies to each and every woman - whom Shakespeare chose to ignore in this speech, and whose votes will likely (and hopefully) be the margin of victory on Tuesday - I offer these words for consideration.

===

But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.

No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. 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 nam'd,
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.

Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.

This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
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.

http://www.chronique.com/Library/Knights/crispen.htm

[shain from kane]

1. Death to Kings. n/t

[patcox2]

2. The line of self parody has been broken.

For years, Will, I have laughed at your histrionic tendencies, and I have even posted mockingly of how you are so hyperventilatingly over the top that you sound as if you imagine yourself Henry at Agincourt.

Keep up the good work, apparently there is an audience for whom the combination of drama and cliche is just the ticket.

[WilliamPitt]

5. Not sure what to make of your words

(well, yeah, I'm quite sure what you mean)

But you should know, for the sake of simple data, that I posted the speech above after being asked to do so:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2561698&mesg_id=2561988

So.

[Marnieworld]

6. well this is certainly award-winning writing

I can see how you could be so judgemental. :sarcasm:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2562243

[deaniac21]

12. Methinks, thou doest know him too well

[Homer Wells]

3. Truly

One of my favorite quotes from perhaps my favorite play of the Old Bard.

Are the days of that sentiment totally gone, or are the sentiments behind those words merely slumbering, waiting for better men to come along and re-awaken them?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. These rank among the most inspired and inspiring words

ever written.......

Even now, I can hear Branaugh speak them, and the music accompany him...

Speaking only for myself....I must say that I do not feel left out...

The words grab me, and make me part of them.....

Thanks for posting them, Will.........

:patriot:

[Generator]

7. Is there a line in Shakespeare

"So long as the ghostly machines don't covet y'r votes, my squire"?

[Midlodemocrat]

8. My favorite quote from the Bard.

And, as a true lover of Shakespeare, (you'll note I say lover, not expert because half the time I have no idea what he is saying, but God no one puts words together better), I appreciate your posting this.

[catmandu57]

9. Thanks Will

Someday in the future I'll bare my sleeve to show the scars of this fight, and raise my glass to toast all of us here we few we happy few.

[bleever]

10. I feel honored to have joined, in words and actions, with DU members

to advance the cause of pushing back those who have usurped the powers of the people, and undermined the values and principles codified in the Constitution.

Once, a small handful of people gathered in DU's 2004 Election Results and Discussion forum were the only group on the internet devoted to uncovering the planned vulnerability of the voting machines and the co-ordinated efforts at disenfranchising tens of thousands of Democratic voters that resulted in the spurious re-election of the Bush regime. We were reviled as "conspiracy theorists". We were undeterred.

Six years later, CNN, MSNBC, and other major news sources devote significant attention to these problems. A Zogby poll has show that only about 10% of Americans are confident their votes are counted fairly and accurately, and a large percentage of Americans are unsure of whether or not Bush really won the 2004 election.

Mr. Pitt, I thank you, and share with you the privilege and honor.

Onward.

[TahitiNut]

11. Somebody's been watching Danny DeVito movies.

:rofl:




It should be keenly noted that this is the speech from Henry V regarding the Battle of Agincourt ... a particularly bloody encounter.

"Band of Brothers" became part of the vocabulary of combat veterans as a result of Shakespeare's Henry V.

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother;
:cry:

[shain from kane]

13. Boy King to troops in Iraq---

"...You many, you unhappy many, you band of suckers..."

They may be inspiring words to some, but it should be remembered that he was a king, with an army that was forced into combat according to his whims, whether it was to claim land from a neighboring country, separated by the sea, or for a woman that he had never met, or over an insult in the form of tennis balls.