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Agincourt

Battles
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A 1415 English victory over the French during the Hundred Years’ War, notable for the use of longbows.

Detailed Definition
Agincourt became legendary for the outnumbered English army’s triumph, immortalized in Shakespeare’s Henry V. In poetry, it symbolizes courage against odds, national pride, and the chivalric ideal, often evoking themes of divine favor and martial honor.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Shakespeare’s Henry V, the Battle of Agincourt is immortalized in the St. Crispin’s Day speech: “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers”; Michael Drayton’s “Ballad of Agincourt” celebrates English valor with lines like “God and Saint George! Agincourt fight!”; Alfred Tennyson references Agincourt in “The Charge of the Light Brigade” as a historical echo of heroic sacrifice; modern poets use Agincourt to symbolize underdog triumph against overwhelming odds; Agincourt appears in war poetry as a metonym for English national identity and medieval chivalry; contemporary verse sometimes contrasts Agincourt’s glory with the futility of later wars.
Additional Notes
Agincourt (1415) was a pivotal English victory in the Hundred Years’ War, famously dramatized in Shakespeare’s Henry V. Poets often invoke Agincourt to explore themes of divine favor, underdog triumph, and national identity. Its muddy battlefield and outnumbered English longbowmen make it a rich symbol of tactical ingenuity and chivalric myth. For poetry students, studying Michael Drayton’s “Ballad of Agincourt” alongside Shakespeare reveals how historical battles are mythologized through verse. Note that Agincourt is frequently contrasted with later, more mechanized battles to highlight evolving attitudes toward war.
Other Meanings of “Agincourt”
Also Known As
Battle of Agincourt
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