Henry V "vile" vs "base"

[pqr]

Act IV Scene III

 

The 1944 Olivier's version. The "band of brothers" speech has the line

..be he ne'er so base.. 1:57 in the clip.

 

 

My versions as well as other cinematic portrayals say ...be he ne'er so vile...2:54 in the clip.

 

 

Even my Shakespeare compendium uses "vile." Why the difference? Was Olivier wrong?

[Laura Corin]

There could be a variation in the different published texts from Shakespeare's time or shortly thereafter: our modern 'definitive' texts are often a combination of more than one 16th/17th century version. These versions were sometimes the equivalent of pirate videos, filmed from the back of the cinema: actors or spectators wrote down the words from memory and errors/variations crept in.

 

Laura

[Mrs Mungo]

Every edition I own uses "vile."

 

I would guess it's dramatic interpretation on the part of Olivier.

 

eta: I do agree with Laura that our copies of some plays are composed of several pirated copies of the play. :D

[pqr]

Does anyone have a compendium or even just a copy of the play that was published in the 19th Century? Perhaps more recent scholarship has led to the change.

[Mrs Mungo]

They basically meant the same thing at the time, they meant low-born., hence, the next line, "This day shall gentle his condition."

Edited December 14, 2010 by Mrs Mungo

[pqr]

They basically meant the same thing at the time, they meant low-born., hence, the next line, "This day shall gentle his condition."

 

....understood, I was asking about the why the use of the two words words not their meaning.

 

Most productions of Shakespeare are extremely careful to use the words as written, I was going for which word Shakespeare actually wrote and if scholarship is now questioning an earlier assumption or ....

[pqr]

As an aside one of my favorite Shakespeare sites.

 

http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/Shaker/

[justamouse]

As an aside one of my favorite Shakespeare sites.

 

http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/Shaker/

 

*snerk*

 

mine uses vile. The Complete Pelican Shakespeare, Penguin Publishing 1969.

Edited December 14, 2010 by justamouse

[Laura Corin]

....understood, I was asking about the why the use of the two words words not their meaning.

 

Most productions of Shakespeare are extremely careful to use the words as written, I was going for which word Shakespeare actually wrote and if scholarship is now questioning an earlier assumption or ....

 

....that that was just the best take when they were filming, despite Olivier having made a slip of the tongue. The production was filmed under difficult circumstances in Ireland during WWII - they might have just gone with it.

 

Laura

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

As an aside one of my favorite Shakespeare sites.

 

http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/Shaker/

 

 

I'm rather fond of the do it yourself version.

 

http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/shake_rule.html

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I'm rather fond of the do it yourself version.

 

http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/shake_rule.html

 

I needed a good laugh this morning. Waiting for the last packers and wondering how to get everything to fall into place. (Man they make it hard to check out of here.)

[Mrs Mungo]

I needed a good laugh this morning. Waiting for the last packers and wondering how to get everything to fall into place. (Man they make it hard to check out of here.)

 

I know what you mean. Only 3 weeks until the packers for us. Bleh.

 

pqr: http://www.chsbs.cmich.edu/Robert_Root/Background/Visual.htm

 

applicable bit of the essay:

Let's take another example, this time from drama. One of the most memorable and moving speeches in all of theatrical history is the one Shakespeare gives Henry V to address his beleaguered and outnumbered troops just before the battle of Agincourt, which has been filmed by both Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh, each directing himself in the role. It is a powerful and persuasive speech, and both men have responded to it as screenwriters by amending it in similar ways for performance--both cut lines 24-33 (“By Jove! . . . O, do not wish one more!â€), possibly to shorten the speech, take the focus off the issue of honor, and avoid a convoluted argumentative passage. Olivier further omits the line “This day shall gentle his condition†(line 63), changes “vile†to “base†(line 62), probably because the original word has changed meaning since Shakespeare penned it, and reads “be he ne’er so base†as modifying “Shall be my brother†at the beginning of that line.

 

There is more deconstruction of the two scenes, if you are interested. I don't want to copy too much from the site.

[pqr]

pqr: http://www.chsbs.cmich.edu/Robert_Root/Background/Visual.htm

 

applicable bit of the essay:

 

 

There is more deconstruction of the two scenes, if you are interested. I don't want to copy too much from the site.

 

 

Fascinating. Thank you.