Saint Crispin's Day Speech

Ever since we watched that clip in class about Shakespeare's Saint Crispin's Day Speech as it appears in Henry V, I've been thinking about it and seeing how it applies various persuasive tools to make its point - and moreover how I can use them myself. Here's a transcript of the speech (thanks, Wikipedia):

WESTMORELAND. O that we now had here
But one ten thousand of those men in England
That do no work to-day!

KING. What's he that wishes so?
My cousin, Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
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 Crispin'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.


One of the more recent thoughts I've had on this is how interesting it is that he ends the speech on the note of "and people who weren't here, they're going to feel terrible!" Besides that minor detail, one of the parts that has been confounding me a bit is where is says "If we are mark'd to die, we are enow to do our country loss". My impression is that a modern translation would be "if we die, our sacrifice is worthy enough to be considered honorable in itself," but I'm not entirely sure. I also took note of what parts were omitted from the video, namely coveting honor rather than gold or clothes. Showing that his interests are in the gain of honor rather than the accretion of material wealth would increase my trust in him on a personal level, since honor would be achieved by gaining as much advantage against the enemy as possible, which aligns with my interests, as opposed to increasing his own personal wealth.

I also read up on the battle itself, known as the Battle of Agincourt. Having read the Art of War several times with and without commentaries, I was interested in the strategies used to overcome the odds. Of course there are disagreements on the exact numbers, but the estimates are that the English were outnumbered four or five to one, yet the outcome of the battle is estimated to be approximately 8000 French killed compared to only 100 Englishmen.