Sunday, November 4, 2012

Remember, remember the fifth of November...


 Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night



In 1605, thirteen young men planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Among them was Guy Fawkes, Britain's most notorious traitor. 

After Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, English Catholics who had been persecuted under her rule had hoped that her successor, James I, would be more tolerant of their religion. James I had, after all, had a Catholic mother. Unfortunately, James did not turn out to be more tolerant than Elizabeth and a number of young men, 13 to be exact, decided that violent action was the answer.

RULE = mandato
TURN OUT = resultar

(...) The thing to do was to blow up the Houses of Parliament. In doing so, they would kill the King, maybe even the Prince of Wales, and the Members of Parliament who were making life difficult for the Catholics. 

BLOW UP = estallar, hacer volar
(...) But Guy Fawkes and the other conspirators got caught before trying to ignite the powder.

IGNITE THE POWER = prender fuego a la pólvora

(...) On the very night that the Gunpowder Plot was foiled, on November 5th, 1605, bonfires were set alight to celebrate the safety of the King. Since then, November 5th has become known as Bonfire Night.

FOIL = frustar
BONFIRE = hoguera

...........................................................................From: http://www.bonfirenight.net/gunpowder.php 



This fragment of the movie "V for Vendetta" shows the beginning of a very old traditional rhyme which says (in one of its versions):

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

Remember, remember, the fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot.
A stick or a stake for King James' sake
Will you please to give us a fagot
If you can't give us one, we'll take two;
The better for us and the worse for you!










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