PRESENTATION ON THE SUBJECT OF THE GUNPOWDER PLOT

1. GUY FAWKES' DAY
1. ORIGINS OF THE STORY
2. THE MAN
3. THE CELEBRATION I & II
4. REFLECTIONS IN ART I, II& III
5. BIBLIOGRAPHY
6. INTERNET LINKS
GO TO 1

2. 1. ORIGINS OF THE STORY
In 1604 Fawkes became involved with a small group of English Catholics, who
planned to assassinate the Protestant King James and replace him with his
daughter, Princess Elizabeth. Fawkes was "pleasant of approach and cheerful
of manner, opposed to quarrels and strife ... loyal to his friends (...)a man
highly skilled in matters of war".
The first meeting of the five central conspirators (Catesby, Wintour, Wright, Percy
and Fawkes) took place on Sunday 20 May 1604. Catesby proposed to kill the
King and his government by blowing up "the Parliament House with
gunpowder".
On 28 July,1605, the ever-present threat of the plague delayed the opening of
Parliament until Tuesday, 5 November.
GO TO INDEX
GO TO 2

3. 2. The man
He was an English Catholic, the most famous
name of an important conspiracy. He was
caught red-handed in the House of Lords’
cellar on November 5th, 1605, when he was
about to blow up the Parliament and the king
to provoke chaos and try to restore the
Catholic faith in England.
GO TO 3
GO BACK TO 1

4. 3. The celebration
Guy Fawkes' Night, also known as Bonfire Night, Fireworks Night and Plot Night, is an
annual celebration (but not a public holiday ) on the evening of the 5th of November
primarily in the United Kingdom , but also in New Zealand , South Africa , Canada and
formerly in Australia . It celebrates the failure of the Gunpowder Plot , in which a group of
Catholic conspirators attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London on the
evening of 5 November 1605 , when the Protestant King James I (James VI of Scotland)
was within its walls. The celebrations, which in the United Kingdom take place in towns
and villages across the country, involve fireworks displays and the building of bonfires
on which "guys", or dummies, representing, Guy Fawkes , the most famous of the
conspirators, and the Pope are burnt (see Guy Fawkes' Day at Lewes, Surrey)
GO BACK TO 2 GO TO 4

5. 3. The celebration (cont)
Before the fifth, children use the dummies to beg for money with the chant "Penny for the guy", but now this tradition
is not so popular as it once was. The night is closely associated with the popular rhyme which begins:
Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot /
I see no reason why gunpowder treason/should ever be forgot./
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,/'twas his intent/to blow up the King and the Parliament./
Three score barrels of powder below,/ Poor old England to overthrow:
By God's providence he was catch'd/With a dark lantern and burning match./
Holloa boys, holloa boys, make the bells ring./Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!/
Hip hip hoorah!
GO BACK TO 2 GO TO 4 (I)

6. 4. Reflections in Art
The gunpowder plot has appeared as a recurrent topic in many art forms:
Comics (V for Vendetta comic series 1982)
Films (V for Vendetta 2006, based on the comic, Harry Potter series)
Plays (Pantomimes like Harlequin and Guy Fawkes,19th century)
Poems ( Milton, Wordsworth)
History sites (www.historylearningsite.co.uk)
Use of "Guy Fawkes" mask in anti-establishment protests
Political blogs as in the "Guido Fawkes" blog written by Paul Staines
Opinion articles in press on the national celebration
http://www.examiner.com/holiday-in-national/just-what-is-guy-fawkes-day
GO TO 4 (II)
GO BACK TO 3

7. 4. Reflections in art (II)
GO TO 4 (III)
GO BACK TO 4

8. 4. Reflections in art (III)
GO TO 4 (II) GO TO BIBLIOGRAPHY

9. 5. Bibliography
Northcote Parkinson, C. (1976), Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
Weidenfeld and Nicolson, ISBN 0-297-77224-4
Sharpe, J. A. (2005), Remember, Remember: A Cultural History of
Guy Fawkes Day (illustrated ed.), Harvard University
Press, ISBN 0-674-01935-0
Haynes, Alan (2005) [1994], The Gunpowder Plot: Faith in
Rebellion, Hayes and Sutton, ISBN 0-7509-4215-0
GO TO INTERNET LINKS
GO TO 4 (III)

10. 5. Internet links
The Tudors “The Pope wants France to invade England”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D2qufuu6oA&feature=related
Lewes Bonfire Night 2010 - Commercial Square Fire site
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGR9-q2Y97Q&feature=related
Pope Burning in England: A True Brits Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc1lwKfSQ1g&feature=related
Videos on the Gunpowder Plot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNdlAizdKFQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ux7JvZJbJPU&feature=related
GO BACK TO BIBLIOGRAPHY