Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety

“Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety” is a line from Hotspur in Henry IV that Neville Chamberlain uses to express cautious hope amid the crisis. In his departure speech, the image turns danger into something from which safety might be actively gathered, while Chamberlain makes that possibility conditional on his return.

Shakespearean Source and Image

The line is spoken by Hotspur in Henry IV. Its central contrast is between the nettle, an image of danger, and the flower of safety. The verb “pluck” makes safety something to be won from a threatening situation rather than something already assured. Chamberlain’s use of the phrase preserves that tension: the danger remains present even as he names a possible outcome.

Use in Chamberlain’s Speech

Before leaving to meet Adolf Hitler, Chamberlain addresses a crowd gathered around microphones at the airfield. He first recalls a childhood maxim about trying again, then says, “When I come back, I hope I may be able to say” the line from Henry IV. He briefly checks the small piece of paper in his hand, looks up, and delivers the Shakespearean quotation; his emphatic nod is followed by cheers. The allusion gives his departure a public, hopeful frame without presenting the hoped-for safety as a certainty.

Meaning in the Scene

The speech places the phrase between Chamberlain’s appeal to persistence and the crowd’s acclaim. Its “we” makes the hope sound shared, while the conditional prospect of saying it on his return leaves the outcome unresolved. The line thus carries both reassurance and risk: safety is imaginable, but it must still be plucked from danger.