Remember, Remember the Fifth of November: From Bonfire Prayer to Symbol of Revolution

Every November 5th, the night sky glows with bonfires and fireworks across the United Kingdom. Children recite the familiar words:

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason, and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

This short rhyme—known as the Bonfire Prayer—dates back over four centuries to the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when a group of English Catholics, including Guy Fawkes, attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament and assassinate King James I. Their goal was to end Protestant rule and restore a Catholic monarchy. The plan failed, and Fawkes was captured, tortured, and executed.

From Thanksgiving to Tradition

In the years that followed, November 5th became known as Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night. The government declared it a national day of thanksgiving for the King’s survival. Communities lit bonfires, rang church bells, and later burned effigies of Guy Fawkes in public squares. The annual celebrations served as a ritual of national unity and religious loyalty, reinforcing Protestant dominance and the authority of the Crown.

Thus, the original intent of the rhyme was far from rebellious. It was an act of loyal remembrance—a warning against treason and a celebration of divine deliverance. Yet, over the centuries, the tone and symbolism of the poem have shifted dramatically.

Transformation of Meaning

As time passed, Guy Fawkes himself transformed from villain to antihero. The political landscape changed, and what was once a state-sanctioned reminder of obedience slowly evolved into a folk celebration of defiance and irony. The rhyme endured, but the meaning inverted.

By the 20th century, the figure of Fawkes had become a symbol of protest—a man who dared to challenge corruption and power, even if his methods failed. This reinterpretation found new life in the 1980s graphic novel V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and artist David Lloyd, later adapted into the 2006 film directed by James McTeigue and starring Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman.

V for Vendetta and the Rebirth of the Bonfire Prayer

In the film, a masked revolutionary known only as V fights against a totalitarian government that has stripped citizens of freedom and truth. His mask—modeled on the face of Guy Fawkes—becomes the symbol of rebellion. The movie opens with the haunting cadence of the old rhyme, reclaiming it as a rallying cry for liberty:

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot.
I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

Whereas the original poem warned citizens to obey authority, in V for Vendetta it becomes a call to question authority. The bonfire is no longer lit to celebrate the survival of government, but to signal its downfall. The rhyme is reimagined as a meditation on the thin line between justice and vengeance, obedience and conscience.

The Central Theme: Power, Memory, and Identity

At its core, both the historical rhyme and its modern reinterpretation grapple with the same enduring question: What should a society remember, and why? The poem’s transformation mirrors our evolving relationship with power—how yesterday’s traitor can become today’s hero, and how collective memory shapes national identity.

In V for Vendetta, the bonfire becomes a metaphor for purification. Fire destroys, but it also renews. The film’s closing scenes—citizens unmasking themselves as V—suggest that rebellion is not about a single man but about the awakening of a people. The rhyme’s persistence reminds us that memory itself can be revolutionary.

From Fear to Freedom

What began as a loyalist prayer of fear has become a universal cry for freedom. The Bonfire Prayer stands as a testament to how language, when repeated across centuries, can evolve beyond its origins to reflect the moral struggles of each new generation.

So, on every Fifth of November, as sparks rise into the night sky, we might do more than remember a failed plot. We might reflect on the deeper message the poem has come to carry: that ideas, once ignited, can never be extinguished.

“Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof.” — V

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