Gunpowder Plot in popular culture facts for kids
The Gunpowder Plot was a plan that failed to kill King James I of England in 1605. A group of English Catholics, led by Robert Catesby, wanted to blow up the House of Lords during the opening of Parliament. The king and many important people would have been inside. The person most remembered from this plot is Guy Fawkes, who was supposed to light the explosives.
Contents
The Gunpowder Plot in Stories and Art
Books and Novels
The Gunpowder Plot has inspired many writers over the centuries.
Early Poems and Stories
When he was just 17, the famous poet John Milton wrote a poem about the Gunpowder Plot in 1626. This poem showed how people felt about the event on 5 November, which was a national holiday for Protestants in England. Later, critics thought the plot even influenced his most famous poem, Paradise Lost.
In 1841, William Harrison Ainsworth wrote a historical novel called Guy Fawkes; or, The Gunpowder Treason. This book made Guy Fawkes seem like a hero, even though it added made-up details for drama. After this novel, Fawkes started appearing in children's books and cheap stories called "penny dreadfuls." For example, a book from 1905, The Boyhood Days of Guy Fawkes, showed him as an "action hero."
The poet T. S. Eliot also mentioned Guy Fawkes in his 1925 poem "The Hollow Men" with the line, "A penny for the Old Guy." This refers to the straw figures of Guy Fawkes burned on bonfires each year.
Modern Takes on the Plot
The main character in the comic book series V for Vendetta, which started in 1982, wears a Guy Fawkes mask. In the comic and its 2006 film, the character "V" actually succeeds in blowing up the Houses of Parliament on 5 November. The film even shows a dramatic scene of Fawkes's arrest and execution.
The Gunpowder Plot has also appeared in Doctor Who novels and games. In the novel "The Plotters", the First Doctor and his friends get involved. They find out the plot was helped by someone in the king's court and a group of "warlocks." Guy Fawkes dies before 5 November in this story, but someone else is tried in his place to keep history mostly the same.
In the Doctor Who: The Adventure Games computer game, the Eleventh Doctor and his companions also get mixed up in the plot. Here, aliens called Sontarans and Rutans are using the plot to get a spaceship that crashed under where Parliament was built. The Doctor has to stop them from using powerful weapons. He tells Fawkes that the world will remember him, but doesn't say he will fail.
The children's novel Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones is set in a world with magic. It's revealed that in this world, the Gunpowder Plot succeeded, which caused magic to exist. When the bombing is erased from history, their world merges with ours, and magic disappears.
In the Harry Potter series, Dumbledore, the headmaster, has a phoenix named Fawkes, after Guy Fawkes. Phoenixes are mythical birds that burn at the end of their lives.
In the novel Martin Chuzzlewit, it's suggested that a member of the Chuzzlewit family was involved in the Gunpowder Plot.
Spy Thrillers
Two recent novels imagine the Gunpowder Plot as a spy thriller set in the 1600s. They mostly stick to history but add fictional characters and fill in unknown details.
- Ken Follett's 2017 novel A Column of Fire shows the Gunpowder Plot as the final part of a long battle between a Catholic plotter, Rollo Fitzgerald, and the Royal spymaster, Ned Willard. Follett says Rollo started the plot and hired Guy Fawkes. Ned Willard discovers the plot just in time to stop it.
- Christie Dickason's 2005 novel The Firemaster's Mistress focuses on Francis Quoynt, the "Firemaster" (gunpowder expert) who provided the gunpowder. In this book, the Secretary of State, Robert Cecil, knew about the plot early on. He wanted the plot to almost succeed so he could catch the plotters and make King James I and himself look stronger. The book also suggests another plot by Cecil's rival, Francis Bacon, to kill the King after the Gunpowder Plot was foiled. This second plot is stopped by Quoynt and his mistress.
In both these spy novels, the Monteagle letter (which warned someone not to go to Parliament) is written by the main character's love interest. This character is a Catholic woman who doesn't support blowing up Parliament but is loyal to her faith.
Plays and Shows
By the 1800s, Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot were used in pantomimes, which are fun, musical plays. One early example was Harlequin and Guy Fawkes: or, the 5th of November in 1835. After the plot is found out, Fawkes turns into a character called Harlequin, and the plot leader, Robert Catesby, becomes Pantaloon, and then the comedy begins.
Another pantomime, Guy Fawkes, or a Match for a King (1855), shows an argument between Catesby and Fawkes about Lord Monteagle, who received the warning letter. Catesby wants to save his friend Monteagle, but Fawkes wants him blown up with everyone else.
A play called Guido Fawkes: or, the Prophetess of Ordsall Cave (1840) showed Fawkes as someone who cared about the common people. Ainsworth's novel was also made into a film in 1923, starring Matheson Lang as Fawkes.
In August 2005, a play called 5/11 was performed. It explained the social and political situation leading up to the plot. The name "5/11" was a clear reference to "9/11," the name for the September 11 attacks. The play was praised for being relevant and educational.
The 2009 play Equivocation by Bill Cain is also about the Gunpowder Plot. It explores how hard it is to tell the truth in tough times. The play imagines a world where the British government asks William Shakespeare to write a play about the plot.
Music Inspired by the Plot
After the plot failed, some music was written to celebrate the king's survival. For example, the anthem O Lord how joyful is the King by Thomas Weelkes and Hearken ye Nations by Edmund Hooper were created to remember the day.
At the end of his song "Remember", John Lennon says, "Remember, remember the fifth of November," followed by an explosion sound.
The band Pitchshifter's song "Un-United Kingdom" includes the line, "and we could [all/still] learn a thing or two from Guy Fawkes."
"Blow It Up, Start Again" is an orchestral piece by Jonathan Newman, first played in 2012. Newman mentioned Guy Fawkes's attempt to blow up Parliament as his inspiration.
In 2019, Epic Rap Battles of History released "Guy Fawkes Vs Che Guevara" on YouTube, showing the two revolutionaries in a rap battle.
A new musical called Treason, with music and lyrics by Ricky Allan, is being developed. Songs from it started being released in 2020.
Radio Shows
On 5 November 1945, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce starred as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in a radio episode called "The Gunpowder Plot." Their client, a descendant of King James I, fears his cousin is recreating the plot to kill him.
On 1 November 1980, BBC Radio 4 broadcast Gunpowder Treason and Plot, a play about the events.
To mark the 400th anniversary of the plot in 2005, BBC Radio 3 aired The Gunpowder Plot, a play by Jonathan Davidson.
Also in 2005, BBC Radio 4 presented a series of five 15-minute plays called Gunpowder Women. Each play focused on a woman connected to the plot, linked by the questioning of Anne Vaux, a cousin of Robert Catesby. The plays explored different perspectives:
- "The Pilgrim" wondered if Anne Vaux was involved.
- "The Mother" showed Robert Catesby's mother worrying about his plans.
- "The Sister" explored if Lord Monteagle's sister, Mary, sent him the warning letter.
- "The Princess" imagined the King's nine-year-old daughter as a target after the plot failed.
- "The Wife" showed Thomas Bates's wife desperate to speak with him before his execution.
On 5 November 2009, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a funny, slightly inaccurate play about Fawkes and the plot by the comedy group The Penny Dreadfuls.
Film and Television
The Gunpowder Plot is a main part of the 2004 TV miniseries Gunpowder, Treason & Plot, with Robert Carlyle as King James and Michael Fassbender as Guy Fawkes.
On 22 October 2014, BBC Two aired Gunpowder 5/11: The Greatest Terror Plot. This dramatization used the actual words of Thomas Wintour, Guy Fawkes, and their questioners. It showed the events from Wintour recruiting Fawkes to the conspirators' final days. Like the play, it used "5/11" to connect it to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks.
The plot and the famous rhyme were mentioned in the BBC Sherlock episode "The Empty Hearse" in 2014. Sherlock and Dr. Watson have to stop a terrorist attack on the House of Lords on 5 November.
In October/November 2017, the BBC broadcast a 3-part drama called Gunpowder, starring Kit Harington as Robert Catesby and Tom Cullen as Fawkes.
In the 2015 TV series Mr. Robot, the hacker group F-Society uses a mask similar to the Guy Fawkes mask, like the group Anonymous.
An episode of the animated series Carmen Sandiego, called The Jolly Good Show Caper, takes place on 5 November. It explains the history of the date and compares Carmen to Guy Fawkes, showing how he could be seen as a villain or a hero. Guy Fawkes Night causes chaos during a heist by the villains, VILE.
Video Games
A fictional version of the plot was a key part of the Doctor Who: The Adventure Games video game series in an episode called "The Gunpowder Plot". In this game, aliens called Rutans help the plotters by providing 40 barrels of gunpowder to free their ship buried underground. Their enemies, the Sontarans, try to stop them because the Rutan ship has a weapon that could destroy the Sontarans. The game was made for education and includes many facts about life in the 1600s and the plotters.
Traditional Rhymes and Songs
Several traditional rhymes are sung during Guy Fawkes Night celebrations. "Remember, remember the Fifth of November" is a very well-known one.
Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
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.
Holla boys, Holla boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
And what should we do with him? Burn him!
Another common version changes the last few lines:
A traitor to the Crown by his action,
No Parli'ment mercy from any faction,
His just end should'st be grim,
What should we do? Burn him!
Holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring,
Holler boys, holler boys, God save the King!
Some groups in Lewes use an older verse that talks about the struggle between Protestants and Catholics. It's not used as much now because of its anti-Catholic tone.
A penny loaf to feed the Pope
A farthing o' cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down.
A fagot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar.
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head.
Then we'll say ol' Pope is dead.
Hip hip hoorah!
Hip hip hoorah hoorah!
Here's another version:
Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason, why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
Remember, remember, the fifth of November,
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!
A short, popular rhyme is:
Guy, guy, guy
Poke him in the eye,
Put him on the bonfire,
And there let him die
Sometimes "Put him on the bonfire" is changed to "Hang him on a lamppost."
Children in Lancashire sometimes sing this when asking for money for fireworks:
Remember, remember the fifth of November
It's Gunpowder Plot, we never forgot
Put your hand in your pocket and pull out your purse
A ha'penny or a penny will do you no harm
Who's that knocking at the window?
Who's that knocking at the door?
It's little Mary Ann with a candle in her hand
And she's going down the cellar for some coal
In South Lancashire, people sing this song when asking for money or things to burn on the bonfire (called "Cob-coaling"):
We come a Cob-coaling for Bonfire time,
Your coal and your money we hope to enjoy.
Fal-a-dee, fal-a-die, fal-a-diddly-i-do-day.
For down in yon' cellar there's an owd umberella
And up on yon' cornish there's an owd pepperpot.
Pepperpot! Pepperpot! Morning 'till night.
If you give us nowt, we'll steal nowt and bid you good night.
Up a ladder, down a wall, a cob o'coal would save us all.
If you don't have a penny a ha'penny will do.
If you don't have a ha'penny, then God bless you.
We knock at your knocker and ring at your bell
To see what you'll give us for singing so well.
From Calderdale, there's "The Ryburn Valley Gunpowder Plot Nominy Song":
Here comes three jolly rovers, all in one row.
We're coming a cob-coiling for t' Bon Fire Plot.
Bon Fire Plot from morning till night !
If you'll give us owt, we'll steal nowt, but bid you goodnight.
Fol-a-dee, fol-a-die, fol-a-diddle-die-do-dum !
(Repeated after each verse.)
The next house we come to is a sailor you see.
He sails over the ocean and over the sea,
Sailing from England to France and to Spain,
And now he's returning to England again.
The next house we come to is an old tinker's shop,
And up in one rook there's an old pepper-box-
An old pepper-box from morning till night-
If you'll give us owt, we'll steal nowt, but bid you good-night.
Guy Fawkes Mask in Protests
Since the 2006 film V for Vendetta came out, the "Guy Fawkes" mask from the movie has become very popular around the world. Many groups who protest against the government wear it. The artist who drew the original V for Vendetta comic books, David Lloyd, said that the character V chose to "adopt the persona and mission of Guy Fawkes – our great historical revolutionary."
Public Opinion on Guy Fawkes
In a BBC poll for "100 Greatest Britons", Guy Fawkes was ranked 30th. He was also on a list of the 50 greatest people from Yorkshire.
See also
- Paul Staines, who writes the "Guido Fawkes" blog.
