Remember Remember the Fifth of November

Remember Remember the Fifth of November

Guy Fawkes & the Gunpowder Plot
Words of "Remember Remember" refer to Guy Fawkes with origins in 17th century English history. On the 5th November 1605 Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament with several dozen barrels of gunpowder. Guy Fawkes was subsequently tried as a traitor with his co-conspirators for plotting against the government. He was tried by Judge Popham who came to London specifically for the trial from his country manor Littlecote House in Hungerford, Gloucestershire. Fawkes was sentenced to death and the form of the execution was one of the most horrendous ever practised (hung ,drawn and quartered) which reflected the serious nature of the crime of treason.

The Tradition begins...
The following year in 1606 it became an annual custom for the King and Parliament to commission a sermon to commemorate the event. Lancelot Andrewes delivered the first of many Gunpowder Plot Sermons. This practice, together with the nursery rhyme, ensured that this crime would never be forgotten! Hence the words " Remember , remember the 5th of November" The poem is sometimes referred to as 'Please to remember the fifth of November'. It serves as a warning to each new generation that treason will never be forgotten. In England the 5th of November is still commemorated each year with fireworks and bonfires culminating with the burning of effigies of Guy Fawkes (the guy). The 'guys' are made by children by filling old clothes with crumpled newspapers to look like a man. Tradition allows British children to display their 'guys' to passers-by and asking for " A penny for the guy".

Many popular contemporary verses were written in condemnation of Fawkes. The most well-known verse begins:

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.


The Fawkes story continued to be celebrated in poetry. The Latin verse In Quintum Novembris was written c. 1626. John Milton’s Satan in book six of Paradise Lost was inspired by Fawkes—the Devil invents gunpowder to try to match God's thunderbolts. Post-Reformation and anti–Catholic literature often personified Fawkes as the Devil in this way. From Puritan polemics to popular literature, all sought to associate Fawkes with the demonic. However, his reputation has since undergone a rehabilitation, and today he is often toasted as, "The last man to enter Parliament with honourable intentions." William Harrison Ainsworth's 1841 historical romance Guy Fawkes; or, The Gunpowder Treason, portrays Fawkes, and Catholic recusancy in general, in a sympathetic light and was one of the first accounts to challenge the official depiction of the plot.

V for Vendetta speech 2

* Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of every day routine- the security, the familiar, the tranquility, repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration, thereby those important events of the past usually associated with someone's death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, a celebration of a nice holiday, I thought we could mark this November the 5th, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.

There are of course those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones, and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the annunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance, and depression. And where once you had the freedom to object, think, and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillence coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myraid of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent. Last night I sought to end that silence.

Last night I destroyed the Old Bailey, to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four hundred years ago a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you then I would suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament, and together we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever be forgot.

V for Vendetta Speech with meanings

Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate.This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.

voila - There you are

view - The visual percept of a region

vaudevillian - A performer who works in vaudeville (A variety show with songs and comic acts etc.)

veteran - An experienced person; someone who has given long service

vicariously - Indirectly, as, by, or through a substitute

victim - An unfortunate person who suffers from some adverse circumstance

villain - A wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately

vicissitudes - A variation in circumstances or fortune at different times in your life or in the development of something

visage - The appearance conveyed by a person's face

veneer - Coating consisting of a thin layer of superior wood glued to a base of inferior wood

vanity - Feelings of excessive pride

vestige - A clue that something has been present

vox populi- - A belief or sentiment shared by most people; the voice of the people

vacant - Void of thought or knowledge

vanished - Cease to exist

valorous - Having or showing valor (The qualities of a hero or heroine; exceptional or heroic courage when facing danger)

visitation - An annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event, Any disaster or catastrophe

vexation - Anger produced by some annoying irritation

vivified - Give new life or energy to

vowed - Make a vow; promise

vanquish - Come out better in a competition, race, or conflict

venal - Capable of being corrupted

virulent - Extremely poisonous or injurious; producing venom

vermin - An irritating or obnoxious person

vanguarding - The position of greatest advancement; the leading position in any movement or field

vice - Moral weakness

vouchsafing - Grant in a condescending manner (Do something that one considers to be below one's dignity)

violently - Acting with or marked by or resulting from great force or energy or emotional intensity

vicious - Marked by deep ill will; deliberately harmful

voracious - Excessively greedy and grasping

violation - A crime less serious than a felony

volition - The capability of conscious choice and decision and intention

verdict - (law) the findings of a jury on issues of fact submitted to it for decision; can be used in formulating a judgment

vengeance - The act of taking revenge (harming someone in retaliation for something harmful that they have done) especially in the next life

vendetta - A feud in which members of the opposing parties murder each other

votive - Dedicated in fulfillment of a vow

vain - Unproductive of success

value - The quality (positive or negative) that renders something desirable or valuable

veracity - Unwillingness to tell lies

vindicate - Maintain uphold, or defend

vigilant - Carefully observant or attentive; on the lookout for possible danger

virtuous - Behaving according to standards of what is right or just

verily - In truth; beyond doubt or question

vichyssoise - A creamy potato soup flavored with leeks and onions; usually served cold

verbiage - Overabundance of words

veers - Turn sharply; change direction abruptly

verbose - Using or containing too many words

vis-à-vis - Face to face with; opposite to. Compared with. In relation to.