Presented to the LIBRARY of the
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
},y The Estate of the late
PROFESSOR A. S. P. WOODHOUSE
Head of the
Department of English
University College
1944-1964
(Etiitton
THE WORKS
OF
SHAKESPEARE
VOL. VII
THE WORKS
OF
SHAKESPEARE
EDITED WITH INTRODUCTIONS AND NOTES
BY
C H. HERFORD
LITT.D., HON. LITT.D. (ViCT.)
PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE IN TH1 UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF WALES, ABERYSTWYTH
IN TEN VOLS. VOL. VII
Nefo got* THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD.
1902 All rights reserved
PR 1153
1102
1047249
CONTENTS
KING HENRY THE FIFTH — PAGE
Introduction .
*«* ..:::: ; ; ; ,55
KING HENRY THE EIGHTH—
Introduction . . . .
TITUS ANDRONICUS Introduction .
ROMEO AND JULIET Introduction .
THE LIFE OF
KING HENRY THE FIFTH
VOL. VII
DRAMATIS PERSONS
KING HENRY the Fifth.
DUKE OF GLOUCESTER, 1 ,
DUKE OF BEDFORD, } brothers to the Km%'
DUKE OF EXETER, uncle to the King.
DUKE OF YORK, cousin to the King.
EARLS OF SALISBURY, WESTMORELAND, and WARWICK.
ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.
BISHOP OF ELY.
EARL OF CAMBRIDGE.
LORD SCROOP.
SIR THOMAS GREY.
SIR THOMAS ERPINGHAM, GOWER, FLUELLEN, MACMORRIS,
JAMY, officers in King Henry's army. BATES, COURT, WILLIAMS, soldiers in the same. PISTOL, NYM, BARDOLPH. Boy.
A Herald.
CHARLES the Sixth, King of France. LEWIS, the Dauphin.
DUKES OF BURGUNDY, ORLEANS, and BOURBON. The Constable of France. RAMBURES and GRANDPRE, French Lords. Governor of Harfleur. MONTJOY, a French Herald. Ambassadors to the King of England.
ISABEL, Queen of France. KATHARINE, daughter to Charles and Isabel. ALICE, a lady attending on her.
Hostess of a tavern in Eastcheap, formerly Mistress Quickly, and now married to Pistol.
Lords, Ladies, Officers, Soldiers, Citizens, Messengers, and Attendants.
Chorus. SCENE : England ; afterwards France.
3
King Henry the Fifth
DURATION OF TIME
Dramatic Time. — Ten days with intervals (P. A. Daniel, 'Time Analysis,' Trans. N. Sh. Soc., 1877-79, p. 290!".).
Day i. I. i., 2. Interval.
,, 2. II. i. Interval.
,, 3. II. 2., 3. Interval.
„ 4. II. 4. Interval [? in the interval, III. 4].1
,, 5. III. i. -3. Interval.
,, 6. III. 5. Interval.
,, 7. III. 6. Interval.
,, 8. III. 7. Interval. IV. i.-8. Interval.
„ 9. [V. !.-].« ,, 10. V. 2.
Historic Time. — From 1414, the year after Henry's accession, to May 20, 1420, the date of his betrothal. Of this, five years (1415-20) pass between days 8 and 10.
1 Daniel assigns this scene to Act III.
(the princess's English lesson) 2 This appears to be on the
to the time between the French morrow of St. David's Day,
king's offer of her hand to i.e. March 2 ; hence after the
Henry and his rejection of it, — battle, and before the betrothal
both referred to in the Chorus (v. 2.).
INTRODUCTION
THE earliest edition of Henry V. was printed in Quarto in 1600, with the following title : —
The | Cronicle | History of Henry the fift, | with his battell fought at Agin Court in France. Togither with Auntient \ Pistoll. | As it hath bene sundry times playd by the Right Honorable \ the Lord Chamberlaine his seruants. \ LONDON. | Printed by Thomas Creede, for Tho. Milling- 1 ton, and John Busby. . . . 1600.'
Other editions of this Quarto (printed for Thomas Pavier instead of for Millington) appeared in 1602 and 1608.
All these texts, however, differed widely from that published by Shakespeare's executors in the Folio of 1623, and their relation to it was for long a burning question, as in the analogous cases of Romeo and Juliet, The Merry Wives, Henry VL, and Hamlet. But the problem is here a relatively simple one, and scholars are now almost unanimous in holding the Folio text to represent substantially Shakespeare's MS., and the Quarto to be a surreptitious version of the acting edition, ' hastily made up from notes taken at the theatre during the performance and subsequently patched together.' The variations in the Quarto are all, with the trifling exceptions noticed below, easily explicable from one of these two sources of corruption
5
King Henry the Fifth
(1) The five Choruses and Epilogue, with three unessential scenes (i. i., iii. i., iv. 2.), are omitted. This would be an obvious expedient for curtailing a lengthy play. It is certain from the allusion in Prol. v. to Essex, that these are as old as March to September 1599, the probable date of the entire play. It is pretty safe to assume then that they formed part of the original draft and were omitted in performance.
(2) Several characters are omitted, their speeches being sometimes omitted also, sometimes transferred. Thus in i. 2. Canterbury and Ely coalesce in a single 'Bishop,' though a tell-tale stage direction at the head of the scene describes the entry of ' 2 bishops.' Similarly in iv. 3. Westmoreland's part is made over to Warwick, while Erpingham, save for a mutilated semblance of his name in a stage direction ('Eping- ham') disappears altogether. These changes were an obvious stage-manager's shift to reduce the number of actors required. It is less easy to explain why in the same scene a new character, Clarence, should be introduced (for Bedford), and in iii. 7. another new one, 'Gebon,' for Rambure, and why in the latter scene and in iv. 5. Bourbon should take the place of the Dauphin.1 These serve no obvious stage interest, nor are they the kind of changes which occur to a botching editor or a speculative printer. It is difficult to resist the inference that Shakespeare did perform some slight redistribution among these in the main faintly distinguished parts. But even this was not thorough-going, — witness the inconsistency still re maining in v. 2. 84, where the Duke of Clarence is addressed as present.
1 Besides the characters men- and iv. 2.), and the French tioned, Britany, Grandpr6, Mac- queen have no speeches in the morris, Jamy, Messenger (ii. 4. Qq.
6
Introduction
(3) The whole text of the Quarto is barely half the length of the Folio ; l and its brevity is not that of a first sketch, but of imperfect note-taking. It is not an unexpanded germ, but a cento of scraps. Scarcely a single passage of more than a few lines is reported continuously ; catching phrases reappear, complexities of thought or phrase vanish, fidelity for a line or two is purchased by the total loss of the following lines.
The date of Henry V. falls within narrow limits. The reference to Essex's expected return from Ire land (Prol. to Act V.) shows that it was acted, and in part at least written, between March 27, 1599, when he left London, and September 28, the date of his summary and fatal return. In the Epilogue to 2 Henry IV. Shakespeare had promised to * continue the story, with Sir John in it, and make you merry with fair Katharine of France ' ; and the promise is so imperfectly kept that it is clear the entire plan of Henry V. had still to be formed when the Epilogue was written. But, as we have seen, the Second Part of Henry IV. belongs to the latter half of 1598; while this part of the Epilogue, written after the change from Oldcastle to Falstaff had been made, may be yet later. Hence the general conclusion can scarcely be assailed, that Henry V. was written in the early part of 1599, and acted with prologues and epilogue that summer. It is probable, however, that a fragment of one of the least striking scenes in the play as we have it was added at a time when the , accession of James had given an occasion for com plaisance to the Scotch such as we know that Shake speare did not always disdain to display.2 The
1 1623 lines to nearly 3479 or not contradicted, by other (Daniel). items of evidence : — the allusions
2 The conclusion is confirmed, in Prol. to Act I. to the Globe
7
King Henry the Fifth
dialogue of the Scotch and Irish captains in iii. 2. 72 f. is not represented in Qq, and the presence of a Scottish captain in Henry's army is undoubtedly surprising after the strong anti-Scottish animus ex hibited in i. 2. — an animus not entirely supported by Holinshed. Simpson saw in this colloquy of the four, captains — English, Scotch, Welsh, Irish — a dramatic plea for Essex's policy of composing drastic differences, and especially of uniting Scotland with England. Mr. Fleay prefers to regard the passage as an inser tion for the Court performance, Christmas 1605, 'to please King James, who had been annoyed that year by depreciation of Scots on the stage.' l
In Henry V. as in Henry IV.^ its magnificent and long-drawn prelude, Shakespeare follows the Chronicles of Holinshed and Hall with singular fidelity, adding, as there, a few touches from The Famous Victories. The 'Harry' of the Chronicles is in substance his. Here, in a fuller sense than in any other of the Histories, Shakespeare meant to recall the actual past. It was the real Harry that he strove to paint, the real Agincourt that he bade his audience recon struct in imagination from his 'cockpit' and 'vile and ragged foils/ ' Minding true things by what their mockeries be.'2 But these two, the great king and the great victory, exhaust Shakespeare's interest in the reign. All personality in the play is pale beside Henry's, and all event is ancillary to the French campaign.
Even as described in Holinshed the reign was
(built by Burbage early in 1599); been seen, upon the acting
the fact that Meres in the version.
Palladis Tamia, 1598, does not i e
mention one of the most famous See note to ^, fcrMeas
of Shakespeare's Histories; and \*\ 68' Llfe and Work °f
the publication in 1600 of the ****<#«*"• P- 2°6.
Quarto edition, founded, as has 2 Chorus to Act IV.
Introduction
remarkably poor in opportunities for the dramatist, and it would seem that Shakespeare deliberately made light of some that he found, in order to give his heroic subject in its magnificent simplicity full way without the distractions of intrigue and counterplot. The play is strictly no drama, but an epic in • dramatic form. Shakespeare seems to hint as much by the use of the Chorus, an expedient to which he no longer resorted when dealing with the vaster distances and the more colossal warfare of Julius Cczsar and Antony and Cleopatra.
Only one other drama entirely his own — The Winters Tale — contains a chorus ;f and there it serves to an nounce an interval of dramatic time far greater than Shakespeare has anywhere else approached. Except in a single instance (Act V.), the Chorus in Henry V. announces only trifling intervals either of space or time, — a journey from London to Southampton, from Southampton to Harfleur, and so on. But the Chorus to Act IV. has no such role to perform ; and this Chorus, the most splendid and high-wrought of all, serves to show that Shakespeare introduced this machinery not for the sake of bridging intervals of time and space, — which elsewhere his audience crossed 1 on imagined wings ' with the utmost unconcern, — but as the most obvious means of bringing home the outward semblance of an event of absorbing interest.1 In Coriolanus, in Antony and Cleopatra, there are brief
1 It is curious that Shake- were needed, and recommended
speare nowhere else betrays any his own Every Klan in His
irritation — such as certainly Humour (written before Henty
breathes in the close of Prol. iv. V.} in a prologue (1601-1616),
— at the imperfect resources of with a probable allusion to
the Elizabethan stage. He Shakespeare's work : — solved the difficulty here by the ... be pleased to see
Chorus; Jonson, as is well known, One such to-day as other plays
preferred to solve it by not writ- ^SfSgS chorus wafts you o'er ing plays in which great resources the seas, etc.
King Henry the Fifth
Dursts of battle-poetry exceeding in sublimity anything in Henry V. ; but that is chiefly because they are penetrated with a dramatic passion for which in Henry V. there was simply no room. The subject was epic, and Shakespeare fell back upon the epic poet's method. No scene in the drama paints so vividly as a few lines in the Chorus the transforming spell of the master presence, which made the handful of worn-out men a weapon of adamant against the serried ranks of chivalry : —
A largess universal like the sun
His liberal eye doth g^ive to every one,
Thawing cold fear, that mean and gentle all
Behold, as may unworthiness define,
A little touch of Harry in the night.
Henry's own character is devoid of strictly dramatic elements. It derives none of its extraordinary fascina tion from inner conflict. He is at one with himself. Even the inherited sin of his house, so burdensome to his father, passes completely into the background. In none of the Histories does it play so slight a part. His naive faith in his right to France is perplexed by no scruple about his right to England. Mortimer, the legitimate heir, is never mentioned ; and the conspiracy of Cambridge and Scroop and Grey on his behalf is credited to the gold of the French king.1 Before Agincourt Henry prays that the guilt of his father's usurpation may not that day be visited upon him; but his fervour is not troubled like Claudius' by any suspicion that he ought to resign the usurped throne. Not only is there no foreboding of the tragic
1 Shakespeare's Cambridge The sooner to effect what I in- hints darkly at an ulterior pur- tended.
pose in 11. 155-157 : — In reality, Mortimer himself ap-
For me, the gold of France did not Pears to have betrayed the plot
seduce ; to Henry. S. Remy's Mdmoirest
Although I did admit it as a motive cit. Stone's Holinshed, p. 174.
10
Introduction
Nemesis which the authors of Henry VL read in the impending ruin of the house of Lancaster ; we move in a world in which tragic Nemesis has no place, and another, more Shakespearean, conception of human affairs controls the action. Henry is not irrevocably bound by the guilt of his ancestors : his sheer sound ness and strength of character emancipate him at once from the inherited taint and the paralysing self- distrust ; if ruin follows in the next reign, it is not the guilt of the dead but the weakness of the living that brings it on.
All the other characters serve in their degree to set off the king's ; but none are even distantly his rivals. The English commanders, the prelates, the traitor nobles, are slightly sketched, and either implicitly fall in with or but faintly disturb the onward sweep of Henry's course. The conspiracy of Cam bridge and Scroop was in reality a dangerous symptom of distrust : a dramatist bent upon plot-interest would have made us tremble for the king's life. Shakespeare announces it with a quiet assurance that there is no danger, for all is known, and the conspirators them selves hasten to deprecate any further anxiety by expressing their heart-felt penitence. The whole episode serves simply to exhibit Henry's bearing as man and king, — the stern Roman fortitude humanised with Germanic pity and regret — when discharging the duty of sentencing an old comrade and friend to death.
The one formidable rival of the king is no single figure, but the ' bad neighbour ' at whom he dashes his little force, the assembled power of France. And the French are drawn collectively, in slightly modu lated shades of the same conventional hue. The brush which had painted the rival of Henry's youth, now dashes off with far less care and delicacy the foes of ii
King Henry the Fifth
his manhood. The vapouring chivalry, the fantastic self-conceit which so fatally alloyed Hotspur's sturdy Saxon strength, reappear with more of blatant flourish in men of finer wit but weaker fibre. The Dauphin, less original than Hotspur, but without a spark of his real heroism, misconstrues Henry as completely ; and Shakespeare plays with visible pleasure upon the tennis-ball motive which he found in Holinshed. He makes the English envoys to the French camp deliver a special message of scorn to the Dauphin (ii. 4. no f.); and the Dauphin, in spite of history and his father's orders, figures in the French camp at Agincourt.1 But the Dauphin is only an extreme type of the fatuous intoxication which possesses the whole host, and is chiefly responsible for its overthrow. Agincourt is the duel of Shrewsbury, writ large ; with the difference that there is here no counterpart to the pathos of the mourning for Hotspur. A few wild curses and cries of rage suffice to sum up the immea surably greater tragedy of the French rout. And in the fifth Act the French themselves seem to share in the exultation of England over their own surrender. In painting Henry's own attitude towards the enemy, however, Shakespeare's touch is not quite so firm as when he limned Prince Hal. The speeches before Harfleur to Montjoy, and after the battle, are hardly in keeping with the modesty of true valour which makes him forbid the display of his bruised helmet and bent sword in the London streets. In his actual treatment of Harfleur he shows a humanity not recorded of the historic Henry, who allowed the town to be sacked. On the other hand, his ferocious slaughter of the prisoners at Agincourt has not a whit
1 Holinshed relates that ' the prohibited by his father ' (iii. Dolphin sore desired to have 552). been at the battell, but he was
12
Introduction
more excuse in the play than in the chronicle. And it is hard, lastly, to resist the wonder, as we listen to the bourgeois jocularities of the last Act, that the con summate master of words and of thoughts, who had shown himself so easily equal to every situation of statecraft and war, should become so obviously the bluff, plain soldier in his wooing. In these scenes we return within a measurable distance of The Famous Victories, where Henry approaches the French princess with —
How saiest thou, Kate, canst thou love the King of England ?
Kate. How should I love thee, which is my father's enemy?
Hen. Tut, stand not upon these points, 'Tis you must make us friends. I know, Kate, thou art not a little proud that I love thee ?
No such inequality marks his Bearing to his own men. The group of English soldiery in the fore ground are, after Henry, by far the most detailed figures, and altogether Shakespeare's creation. They provide a new Eastcheap in which the king indulges the humanities, without the riots, of the old ; and one which, in its relation to the old, gives us a subtle measure of the king's relation to his past. Pistol and Bardolph, the old victims of Falstaffs wit, reap pear in their disreputable decay with a congenial third, Nym ; but Bardolph promptly falls a victim to Henry's insistence on honour and discipline, and Pistol's moment of hollow triumph l is but a prelude to his final humiliation ; while the Boy, once a promis ing pupil of Bardolph's, sums up their characteristics at the outset (iii. 2.) with the honest indignation and the merciless candour of youth. Falstaff himself was deliberately excluded, and the omission is the more glaring since the historic Sir John Fastolfe actually
1 The scene between Pistol suggested by The Famous Vic- and the French soldier (iv. 4.) is fortes.
13
King Henry the Fifth
accompanied the expedition, and, as Shakespeare read in Holinshed, was left by Exeter in charge of Har- fleur.1 But with Falstaff, Shakespeare must have felt, there was no middle way between banishment and the old camaraderie. His powerful personality would have violently disturbed the focus of the play, and threatened the supremacy of Henry. In his place we have Fluellen, a less wonderful, but hardly a less finished, creation of comic genius. Falstaffs humour is a dazzling solvent of truth : Fluellen's a whimsical enforcement of it. Falstaff's finest jests are rooted in dishonour and breach of trust ; Fluellen's quaint analogies from ancient history are arguments for valour, discipline, and hero-worship. It was not in irony, we may be sure, that Shakespeare let him com pare Harry of Monmouth with Alexander of Macedon; and there is weighty significance in the grotesque ' parallel ' by which he supports it, that * as Alexander killed his friend Cleitus, being in his ales and his cups; so also Harry Monmouth, being in his right wits and his good judgements, turned away the fat knight with the great-belly doublet.'
1 Exeter in the play is first the discrepancy be due to Fas- made governor of Harfleur and tolfe having originally been in- theji found (i., iii. 6) defending troduced and then omitted? the bridge near Agincourt. Can
THE LIFE OF
KING HENRY THE FIFTH
PROLOGUE.
Enter Chorus.
Chor. O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention, A kingdom for a stage, princes to act And monarchs to behold the swelling scene ! Then should the warlike Harry, like himself, Assume the port of Mars ; and at his heels, Leash'd in like hounds, should famine, sword and
fire
Crouch for employment. But pardon, gentles all, The flat unraised spirits that have dared On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth 10
So great an object : can this cockpit hold The vasty fields of France ? or may we cram
7. famine, sword and fire. that Bellona, the goddess of
This trio is probably suggested battle, had three handmaidens
by a speech of Henry's, as re- ... blood, fire, and famine,
ported by Holinshed, in which all of which were at his choice
he replies to suppliant citizens, to use (Hoi. iii. 367, ed. Stone), during his siege of Rouen (1419),
I5
King Henry the Fifth
Within this wooden O the very casques
That did affright the air at Agincourt ?
O, pardon ! since a crooked figure may
Attest in little place a million ;
And let us, ciphers to this great accompt,
On your imaginary forces work.
Suppose within the girdle of these walls
Are now confined two mighty monarchies, 20
Whose high upreared and abutting fronts
The perilous narrow ocean parts asunder :
Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts ;
Into a thousand parts divide one man,
And make imaginary puissance ;
Think, when we talk of horses, that you see them
Printing their proud hoofs i' the receiving earth ;
For 'tis your thoughts that now must deck our
kings,
Carry them here and there ; jumping o'er times, Turning the accomplishment of many years 30
Into an hour-glass : for the which supply, Admit me Chorus to this history; Who prologue-like your humble patience pray, Gently to hear, kindly to judge, our play. \Exit.
13. this -wooden O; the narrow on the opposite (city) side of
circular interior of the newly the river.
erected Globe Theatre on the I3. the very (casques^ the
Bankside, where the play was very same first performed. It was
'wooden,' being built of timber T7- ^compt, account,
taken from the older 'theater' 25. puissance (three syllables).
16
ACT I
King Henry the Fifth
ACT I.
SCENE I. London. An ante-chamber in the KING'S palace.
Enter the ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, and the BISHOP OF ELY.
Cant. My lord, I'll tell you; that self bill is
urged,
Which in the eleventh year of the last king's reign Was like, and had indeed against us pass'd, But that the scambling and unquiet time Did push it out of farther question.
Ely. But how, my lord, shall we resist it now ?
Cant. It must be thought on. If it pass
against us,
We lose the better half of our possession : For all the temporal lands which men devout By testament have given to the church K
Would they strip from us ; being valued thus : As much as would maintain, to the king's honour, Full fifteen earls and fifteen hundred knights, Six thousand and two hundred good esquires ; And, to relief of lazars and weak age, Of indigent faint souls past corporal toil, A hundred almshouses right well supplied ; And to the coffers of the king beside,
Sc. i. Canterbury. This was king's attention from his confis- Henrie Chichele. Shakespeare cation bill. follows the chronicles in attribut- j Je^ same ing to him the chief share in the clerical plot for diverting the 4. scambling, turbulent.
VOL. VII 17 C
T-T1
ing Henry the- r ifth ACT i
A thousand pounds by the year : thus runs the bill.
Ely. This would drink deep.
Cant. 'T would drink the cup and all. 20
Ely. But what prevention ?
Cant. The king is full of grace and fair regard.
Ely. And a true lover of the holy church.
Cant. The courses of his youth promised it not. The breath no sooner left his father's body, But that his wildness, mortified in him, Seem'd to die too ; yea, at that very moment Consideration, like an angel, came And whipp'd the offending Adam out of him, Leaving his body as a paradise, 30
To envelope and contain celestial spirits. Never was such a sudden scholar made ; Never came reformation in a flood, With such a heady currance, scouring faults ; Nor never Hydra-headed wilfulness So soon did lose his seat and all at once As in this king.
Ely. We are blessed in the change.
Cant. Hear him but reason in divinity, And all-admiring with an inward wish You would desire the king were made a prelate : 40 Hear him debate of commonwealth affairs, You would say it hath been all in all his study : List his discourse of war, and you shall hear A fearful battle render'd you in music : Turn him to any cause of policy, The Gordian knot of it he will unloose, Familiar as his garter : that, when he speaks,
19. A thousand pounds by the interest therefore at five per
year. ' Hall and Holinshed the cent ' (Wright),
principal sum "And the king ^ Consideration, serious re-
to have clerely to his cofers flection twentie thousand poundes "
(Hall). Shakespeare reckons 34. currance, current. 18
sc. i King Henry the Fifth
The air, a chartered libertine, is still,
And the mute wonder lurketh in men's ears,
To steal his sweet and honey'd sentences ; 5o
So that the art and practic part of life
Must be the mistress to this theoric :
Which is a wonder how his grace should glean it,
Since his addiction was to courses vain,
His companies unletter'd, rude and shallow,
His hours fill'd up with riots, banquets, sports,
And never noted in him any study,
Any retirement, any sequestration
From open haunts and popularity.
Ely. The strawberry grows underneath the
nettle, 60
And wholesome berries thrive and ripen best Neighbour'd by fruit of baser quality : And so the prince obscured his contemplation Under the veil of wildness ; which, no doubt, Grew like the summer grass, fastest by night, Unseen, yet crescive in his faculty.
Cant. It must be so ; for miracles are ceased And therefore we must needs admit the means How things are perfected.
Ely. But, my good lord,
51. the art and practic part that Montaigne expresses this of life, etc. The practical life idea more explicitly in a passage must with him have been the (iii. 9) which Shakespeare per- source of theoretical knowledge, haps knew in the original. In instead of the field for its Florio's translation (1603) it application ; he must have runs : ' Roses and Violets are learnt the principles of life by ever the sweeter and more living. odoriferous, that grow neere
52. theoric, theory. under Garlike and Onions, for-
55. companies, companions. af,Tch,fS they SU°,k *nd ^ . . all the ill savours of the ground
• I9' K Wu'ar>^> associatlon unto them. • with the public. 66 erexive in his faculfy>
61, 62. wholesome berries, increasing in virtue of its latent etc. It has been pointed out capacity.
King Henry the Fifth ACT i
How now for mitigation of this bill 7o
Urged by the commons ? Doth his majesty Incline to it, or no ?
Cant. He seems indifferent,
Or rather swaying more upon our part Than cherishing the exhibiters against us ; For I have made an offer to his majesty, Upon our spiritual convocation And in regard of causes now in hand, Which I have open'd to his grace at large, As touching France, to give a greater sum Than ever at one time the clergy yet 80
Did to his predecessors part withal.
Ely. How did this offer seem received, my lord?
Cant. With good acceptance of his majesty ; Save that there was not time enough to hear, As I perceived his grace would fain have done, The severals and unhidden passages Of his true titles to some certain dukedoms And generally to the crown and seat of France Derived from Edward, his great-grandfather.
Ely. What was the impediment that broke this off? 9o
Cant. The French ambassador upon that instant Craved audience; and the hour, I think, is come To give him hearing : is it four o'clock ?
Ely. It is.
Cant. Then go we in, to know his embassy ; Which I could with a ready guess declare, Before the Frenchman speak a word of it.
Ely. I '11 wait upon you, and I long to hear it.
[Exeunt.
74. exhibiters, introducers of 86. unhidden passages, mani- the bill in Parliament. fest courses or channels of
86. severals, details. descent.
20
sc. ii King Henry the Fifth
SCENE II. The same. The Presence chamber.
Enter KING HENRY, GLOUCESTER, BEDFORD, EXETER, WARWICK, WESTMORELAND, and Attendants.
K. Hen. Where is my gracious Lord of Can terbury ?
Exe. Not here in presence. K. Hen. Send for him, good uncle.
West. Shall we call in the ambassador, my
liege ? K. Hen. Not yet, my cousin : we would be
resolved,
Before we hear him, of some things of weight That task our thoughts, concerning us and France.
Enter the ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, and the BISHOP OF ELY.
Cant. God and his angels guard your sacred
throne And make you long become it !
K. Hen. Sure, we thank you.
My learned lord, we pray you to proceed And justly and religiously unfold 10
Why the'law Salique that they have in France Or should, or should not, bar us in our claim : And God forbid, my dear and faithful lord, That you should fashion, wrest, or bow your
reading, Or nicely charge your understanding soul
4. cousin. Westmoreland Gaunt, half sister of Henry IV.,
was a cousin only by marriage. and aunt of the king. He had married, as his second 14. bow, warp,
wife, a daughter of John of 15. nicely, sophistically.
21
King Henry the Fifth ACTI
With opening titles miscreate, whose right
Suits not in native colours with the truth ;
For God doth know how many now in health
Shall drop their blood in approbation
Of what your reverence shall incite us to. 20
Therefore take heed how you impawn our person,
How you awake our sleeping sword of war :
We charge you, in the name of God, take heed ;
For never two such kingdoms did contend
Without much fall of blood ; whose guiltless drops
Are every one a woe, a sore complaint
'Gainst him whose wrongs give edge unto the
swords
That make such waste in brief mortality. Under this conjuration speak, my lord ; For we will hear, note and believe in heart 3o
That what you speak is in your conscience wash'd As pure as sin with baptism.
Cant. Then hear me, gracious sovereign, and
you peers,
That owe yourselves, your lives and services, To this imperial throne. There is no bar To make against your highness' claim to France But this, which they produce from P'haramond, * In terram Salicam mulieres ne succedant : ' ' No woman shall succeed in Salique land : ' Which Salique land the French unjustly glose 4o
To be the realm of France, and Pharamond The founder of this law and female bar. Yet their own authors faithfully affirm That the land Salique is in Germany, Between the floods of Sala and of Elbe ;
19. in approbation of, in 33 f. The whole of the arch-
proving, making good. bishop's exposition is taken from
32. As pure as sin, (concisely Holinshed, in parts almost word expressed for) ' as pure as the for word, heart from sin.' 40. glose, explain.
22
sc. ii King Henry the Fifth
Where Charles the Great, having subdued the
Saxons,
There left behind and settled certain French ; Who, holding in disdain the German women For some dishonest manners of their life, Establish'd then this law ; to wit, no female 50
Should be inheritrix in Salique land : Which Salique, as I said, 'twixt Elbe and Sala, Is at this day in Germany calPd Meisen. Then doth it well appear the Salique law Was not devised for the realm of France ; Nor did the French possess the Salique land Until four hundred one and twenty years After defunction of King Pharamond, Idly supposed the founder of this law ; Who died within the year of our redemption 60
Four hundred twenty-six ; and Charles the Great Subdued the Saxons, and did seat the French Beyond the river Sala, in the year Eight hundred five. Besides, their writers say, King Pepin, which deposed Childeric, Did, as heir general, being descended Of Blithild, which was daughter to King Clothair, Make claim and title to the crown of France. Hugh Capet also, who usurp'd the crown Of Charles the duke of Lorraine, sole heir male 7o Of the true line and stock of Charles the Great, To find his title with some shows of truth, Though, in pure truth, it was corrupt and naught, Convey'd himself as heir to the Lady Lingare,
49. dishonest, uncTiaste. 72. find, furnish, provide.
57,61,64. The numbers and 74. Convey'd himself as, stole
the reckoning are from Holin- into the position of, contrived to
shed. As Rolfe pointed out, pass himself off as. he seems to have deducted 405 74. Lingare. Holinshed has
from 826, instead of 426 from 'Lingard.' Her actual name
805. was Liutgard
23
King Henry the Fifth ACTI
Daughter to Charlemain, who was the son
To Lewis the emperor, and Lewis the son
Of Charles the Great. Also King Lewis the Tenth,
Who was sole heir to the usurper Capet,
Could not keep quiet in his conscience,
Wearing the crown of France, till satisfied 80
That fair Queen Isabel, his grandmother,
Was lineal of the Lady Ermengare,
Daughter to Charles the foresaid duke of Lorraine :
By th.e which marriage the line of Charles the
Great
Was re-united to the crown of France. So that, as clear as is the summer's sun, King Pepin's title and Hugh Capet's claim, King Lewis his satisfaction, all appear To hold in right and title of the female : So do the kings of France unto this day ; 90
Howbeit they would hold up this Salique law To bar your highness claiming from the female, And rather choose to hide them in a net Than amply to imbar their crooked titles Usurp'd from you and your progenitors.
75. Charlemain, i.e. Carlo- and Theobald ' imbare,' which man (Carlman). Historically has been widely adopted, and it was Charles the Bold. forms a plausible antithesis to
76. Lewis (monosyllabic 'hide.' But the antithesis in- throughout). tended is not merely between
77. Lewis the Tenth. So frankness and subterfuge, but Holinshed. Historically it was between an open and a crafty Lewis IX. method of defence. Hence
82. lineal of, directly de- Knight properly restored
scended from. ' imbar ' from Ff, in the sense
88. Lewis his satisfaction, of 'bar in,' 'fortify,' 'secure.'
Lewis's conviction, release from The Fren?h prefer ' to shelter
uncertainty. themselves under a delusive
93. a net, i.e. of flimsy appeal to the Salic law, which sophistries. excludes their claim as well as
94. amply to imbar. Fj F2 ours, instead of directly and 'imbarre'; Qq 'imbace,' 'em- unreservedly defending their title brace.' Roweread ' make bare' as nevertheless the better.'
24
sc. ii King Henry the Fifth
K. Hen. May I with right and conscience make this claim ?
Cant. The sin upon my head, dread sovereign ! For in the book of Numbers is it writ, When the man dies, let the inheritance Descend unto the daughter. Gracious lord, 100
Stand for your own ; unwind your bloody flag ; Look back into your mighty ancestors : Go, my dread lord, to your great-grandsire's tomb, From whom you claim ; invoke his warlike spirit, And your great-uncle's, Edward the Black Prince, Who on the French ground play'd a tragedy, Making defeat on the full power of France, Whiles his most mighty father on a hill Stood smiling to behold his lion's whelp Forage in blood of French nobility. no
O noble English, that could entertain With half their forces the full pride of France And let another half stand laughing by, All out of work and cold for action !
Ely. Awake remembrance of these valiant dead And with your puissant arm renew their feats : You are their heir ; you sit upon their throne ; The blood and courage that renowned them Runs in your veins ; and my thrice-puissant liege Is in the very May-morn of his youth, 120
Ripe for exploits and mighty enterprises.
Exe. Your brother kings and monarchs of the
earth
Do all expect that you should rouse yourself, As did the former lions of your blood.
98. in the book of Numbers. 114. cold for action, ie. in
This is from Holinshed. He respect of action ; nearly ' for
refers to the case of the daughters want of action '; not heated by
of Zelophehad, xxvii. i-n. taking part in the fight.
101. bloody flag, flag of war.
25
King Henry the Fifth ACT i
West. They know your grace hath cause and
means and might ;
So hath your highness ; never king of England Had nobles richer and more loyal subjects, Whose hearts have left their bodies here in England And lie pavilion'd in the fields of France.
Cant. O, let their bodies follow, my dear liege, i30 With blood and sword and fire to win your right ; In aid whereof we of the spiritualty Will raise your highness such a mighty sum As never did the clergy at one time Bring in to any of your ancestors.
K. Hen. We must not only arm to invade the
French,
But lay down our proportions to defend Against the Scot, who will make road upon us With all advantages.
Cant. They of those marches, gracious sovereign, 140 Shall be a wall sufficient to defend Our inland from the pilfering borderers.
K. Hen. We do not mean the coursing snatchers
only,
But fear the main intendment of the Scot, Who hath been still a giddy neighbour to us ; For you shall read that my great-grandfather Never went with his forces into France But that the Scot on his unfurnish'd kingdom Came pouring, like the tide into a breach, With ample and brim fulness of his force, 150
126. So hath your highness ; 144. the main intendment, the
the emphasis is on ' hath ' ; there attack in chief ; a formal Scottish
is no antithesis between ' high- invasion, ness' and 'grace.' 145. giddy, untrustworthy.
137 •. lay down our proportions ; 150. brim fulness; 'brim'
assign the number of troops from its use as an adverbial
requisite. determinant in ' brimful ' is here
143. coursing snatchers, used as an adjectival determi-
raiders. nant to fulness.
26
sc. ii King Henry the Fifth
Galling the gleaned land with hot assays, Girding with grievous siege castles and towns ; That England, being empty of defence, Hath shook and trembled at the ill neighbourhood.
Cant. She hath been then more fear'd than
harm'd, my liege ;
For hear her but exampled by herself: When all her chivalry hath been in France And she a mourning widow of her nobles, She hath herself not only well defended But taken and impounded as a stray 160
The King of Scots ; whom she did send to France, To fill King Edward's fame with prisoner kings And make her chronicle as rich with praise As is the ooze and bottom of the sea With sunken wreck and sumless treasuries.
West. But there 's a saying very old and true, ' If that you will France win,
Then with Scotland first begin : ' For once the eagle England being in prey, To her unguarded nest the weasel Scot 170
Comes sneaking and so sucks her princely eggs, Playing the mouse in absence of the cat, To tear and havoc more than she can eat.
Exe. It follows then the cat must stay at home : Yet that is but a crush'd necessity,
151. gleaned, bare of de- i66f. Westmoreland. In Ff
fenders. the following speech is given to
151. assays, assaults. Exeter, in Qq to 'a lord.' In
155. fear'd, frightened. Holinshed the corresponding
161. The King of Scots , King speech is spoken by Westmore- David, taken at Neville's Cross, land ; hence Capell restored his 1346. name here.
162. prisoner kings ; King 173. tear. Rowe's emenda- John of France was likewise tion for Ff ' tame,' Qq ' spoyle. ' taken. 175. crush'd necessity, one
163. her chronicle ; Capell's that is overborne, annihilated, correction of Ff ' their chronicle.' by contrary reasons. So Ff;
165. treasuries, treasures. Qq' curst.'
27
King Henry the Fifth ACT i
Since we have locks to safeguard necessaries,
And pretty traps to catch the petty thieves.
While that the armed hand doth fight abroad,
The advised head defends itself at home ;
For government, though high and low and lower, 180
Put into parts, doth keep in one consent,
Congreeing in a full and natural close,
Like music.
Cant. Therefore doth heaven divide The state of man in divers functions, Setting endeavour in continual motion ; To which is fixed, as an aim or butt, Obedience : for so work the honey-bees, Creatures that by a rule in nature teach The act of order to a peopled kingdom. They have a king and officers of sorts ; 190
Where some, like magistrates, correct at home, Others, like merchants, venture trade abroad, Others, like soldiers, armed in their stings, Make boot upon the summers velvet buds, Which pillage they with merry march bring home To the tent-royal of their emperor ; Who, busied in his majesty, surveys The singing masons building roofs of gold, The civil citizens kneading up the honey, The poor mechanic porters crowding in 200
Their heavy burdens at his narrow gate, The sad-eyed justice, with his surly hum, Delivering o'er to executors pale The lazy yawning drone. I this infer, That many things, having full reference To one consent, may work contrariously :
181. farts, i.e. musical parts. 190. of sorts, of various ranks ib. consent, harmony. or classes.
182. Congreeing, agreeing. 194. Make boot, prey.
ib. close, cadence. 202. sad-eyed, of grave aspect.
189. act, practice. 203. executors, executioners.
sc. n King Henry the Fifth
As many arrows, loosed several ways,
Come to one mark ; as many ways meet in one
town ;
As many fresh streams meet in one salt sea ; As many lines close in the dial's centre ; 210
So may a thousand actions, once afoot, End in one purpose, and be all well borne Without defeat. Therefore to France, my liege. Divide your happy England into four ; Whereof take you one quarter into France, And you withal shall make all Gallia shake. If we, with thrice such powers left at home, Cannot defend our own doors from the dog, Let us be worried and our nation lose The name of hardiness and policy. 220
K. Hen. Call in the messengers sent from the Dauphin. \Exeunt some Attendants.
Now are we well resolved ; and, by God's help, And yours, the noble sinews of our power, France being ours, we '11 bend it to our awe, Or break it all to pieces : or there we '11 sit, Ruling in large and ample empery O'er France and all her almost kingly dukedoms, Or lay these bones in an unworthy urn, Tombless, with no remembrance over them : Either our history shall with full mouth 23o
Speak freely of our acts, or else our grave, Like Turkish mute, shall have a tongueless mouth, Not worshipp'd with a waxen epitaph.
Enter Ambassadors of France. Now are we well prepared to know the pleasure
220. hardiness, valour. shall be undistinguished, ' with
no remembrance over it,' not
231, 232. our grave, like honoured even by the most Turkish mute, etc. , our grave ephemeral epitaph. 29
King Henry the Fifth ACT i
Of our fair cousin Dauphin ; for we hear Your greeting is from him, not from the king.
First Amb. May 't please your majesty to give
us leave
Freely to render what we have in charge ; Or shall we sparingly show you far off The Dauphin's meaning and our embassy ? 24o
K. Hen. We^ja£e_jiio_ tyrant, but a Christian
king;
Unto whose grace our passion is as subject As are our wretches fetter' d in our prisons : Therefore with frank and with uncurbed plainness Tell us the Dauphin's mind.
First Amb. Thus, then, in few.
Your highness, lately sending into France, Did claim some certain dukedoms, in the right Of your great predecessor, King Edward the
Third.
In answer of which claim, the prince our master Says that you savour too much of your youth, 250 And bids you be advised there 's nought in France That can be with a nimble galliard won ; You cannot revel into dukedoms there. He therefore sends you, meeter for your spirit, This tun of treasure ; and, in lieu of this, Desires you let the dukedoms that you claim Hear no more of you. This the Dauphin speaks.
K. Hen. What treasure, uncle?
Exe. Tennis-balls, my liege.
K. Hen. We are glad the Dauphin is so pleasant
with us ;
His present and your pains we thank you for : 260 When we have match'd our rackets to these balls,
252. galliard, a light, quick 255. in lieu of this, in con- dance, sideration of this. 255. tun ; probably a keg.
30
sc. ii King Henry the Fifth
We will, in France, by God's grace, play a set Shall strike his father's crown into the hazard. Tell him he hath made a match with such a
wrangler
That all the courts of France will be disturb'd With chaces. And we understand him well, How he comes o'er us with our wilder days, Not measuring what use we made of them. We never valued this poor seat of England ; And therefore, living hence, did give ourself 270
To barbarous license ; as 'tis ever common That men are merriest when they are from home. But tell the Dauphin I will keep my state, Be like a king and show my sail of greatness When I do rouse me in my throne of France : For that I have laid by my majesty And plodded like a man for working-days, But I will rise there with so full a glory That I will dazzle all the eyes of France, Yea, strike the Dauphin blind to look on us. 280
And tell the pleasant prince this mock of his Hath turn'd his balls to gun-stones ; and his soul Shall stand sore charged for the wasteful venge ance
That shall fly with them : for many a thousand widows
263. the hazard. The ' lower 266. chaces ; technically, in
hazard ' was the technical name, tennis, 'matches,' also 'strokes' ;
in tennis, for a certain hole in but likewise with a reference to
the wall of the tennis-court, near the sense, pursuits,
the ground. ' A stroke into the 267. comes o'er us, taunts
lower hazard would be a winning us.
stroke ' (J. Marshall, Annals of 276. For that. So Ff ; Qq
Tennis). Hence the expression 'for this."
is literally equivalent to ' win the 282. gun - stones. Cannon- game. ' But there is, as through- balls were at first made of stone, out the passage, a reference to 283. wasteful, wasting, de- the ordinary sense of the word. structive.
31
King Henry the Fifth ACT r
Shall this his mock mock out of their dear hus-
bancjs •
Mock mothers from their sons, mock castles down ; And some are yet ungotten and unborn That shall have cause to curse the Dauphin's scorn. But this lies all within the will of God, To whom I do appeal ; and in whose name 290
Tell you the Dauphin I am coming on, To venge me as I may and to put forth My rightful hand in a well-hallow'd cause. So get you hence in peace ; and tell the Dauphin His jest will savour but of shallow wit, When thousands weep more than did laugh at it. Convey them with safe conduct. Fare you well.
[Exeunt Ambassadors.
Exe. This was a merry message.
K. Hen. We hope to make the sender blush
at it.
Therefore, my lords, omit no happy hour 300
That may give furtherance to our expedition ; For we have now no thought in us but France, Save those to God, that run before our business. Therefore let our proportions for these wars Be soon collected and all things thought upon That may with reasonable swiftness add More feathers to our wings ; for, God before, We '11 chide this Dauphin at his father's door. Therefore let every man now task his thought, That this fair action may on foot be brought. 310
[Exeunt, flourish.
304. proportions. Cf. v. 137 formly intelligent action, above.
306. reasonable, intelligent ; 307. God before, with God's
a swiftness consistent with uni- guidance.
ACT ii King Henry the Fifth
ACT II.
PROLOGUE.
Flourish. Enter Chorus.
Chor. Now all the youth of England are on fire, And silken dalliance in the wardrobe lies : Now thrive the armourers, and honour's thought Reigns solely in the breast of every man : They sell the pasture now to buy the horse, Following the mirror of all Christian kings, With winged heels, as English Mercuries. For now sits Expectation in the air, And hides a sword from hilts unto the point With crowns imperial, crowns and coronets, J0
Promised to Harry and his followers. The French, advised by good intelligence Of this most dreadful preparation, Shake in their fear and with pale policy Seek to divert the English purposes. O England ! model to thy inward greatness, Like little body with a mighty heart, What mightst thou do, that honour would thee do, Were all thy children kind and natural ! But see thy fault ! France hath in thee found out 20 A nest of hollow bosoms, which he fills With treacherous crowns; and three corrupted men, One, Richard Earl of Cambridge, and the second,
16. model to, image in little father of Richard Duke of York,
of. The physical and material and grandfather of Edmund IV.
England is but a miniature re- He conspired in favour of his
flection of her giant spirit. brother-in-law, Edmund Mor-
19. kind, filial. timer, whose superior title to the
23. Richard Earl of Cam- crown (admitted in Henry W.)
bridge, cousin of Henry IV. , is here ignored.
VOL. VII 33 D
King Henry the Fifth ACT n
Henry Lord Scroop of Masham, and the third,
Sir Thomas Grey, knight, of Northumberland,
Have, for the gilt of France, — O guilt indeed ! —
Confirm'd conspiracy with fearful France ;
And by their hands this grace of kings must die,
If hell- and treason hold their promises,
Ere he take ship for France, and in Southampton. 3o
Linger your patience on, and we '11 digest
The abuse of distance, force a play :
The sum is paid ; the traitors are agreed ;
The king is set from London ; and the scene
Is now transported, gentles, to Southampton ;
There is the playhouse now, there must you sit :
And thence to France shall we convey you safe,
And bring you back, charming the narrow seas
To give you gentle pass ; for, if we may,
We '11 not offend one stomach with our play. 40
But, till the king come forth, and not till then,
Unto Southampton do we shift our scene. \_Exit.
SCENE I. London. A street.
Enter Corporal NYM and Lieutenant BARDOLPH. Bard. Well met, Corporal Nym.
24. Henry Lord Scroop ; son 32. force a play, compel the
of Sir Stephen Scroop in R ichard reluctant material to assume
//. , and step-brother of the Earl dramatic form. Some corrup-
of Cambridge. tion is however probable, from
26. gilt, gold. the imperfect metre.
27. fearful, timid. set Qut 31. Li nger on , prolong.
ib. digest the abuse of distance, 41. But, till the king come
manage, dispose of, the awk- forth, and not till then, etc. An
wardness imposed by the vast elliptical sentence: 'Till the king
and rapid movements of the comes (our scene remains in
action. Others interpret, ' ar- London); when becomes, and
range, or contrive, the illusion not till then, we shift it to
of distance. ' Southampton. '
34
sc. i King Henry the Fifth
Nym. Good morrow, Lieutenant Bardolph.
Bard. What, are Ancient Pistol and you friends yet?
Nym. For my part, I care not : I say little ; but when time shall serve, there shall be smiles ; but that shall be as it may. I dare not fight ; but I will wink and hold out mine iron : it is a simple one ; but what though ? it will toast cheese, and it will endure cold as another man's sword will : i0 and there 's an end.
Bard. I will bestow a breakfast to make you friends ; and we '11 be all three sworn brothers to France : let it be so, good Corporal Nym.
Nym. Faith, I will live so long as I may, that 's the certain of it ; and when I cannot live any longer, I will do as I may : that is my rest, that is the rendezvous of it.
Bard. It is certain, corporal, that he is married to Nell Quickly : and certainly she did you 20 wrong ; for you were troth-plight to her.
Nym. I cannot tell :, things must be as they may: men may sleep, and they may have their throats about them at that time ; and some say knives have edges. It must be as it may : though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. There must be conclusions. Well, I cannot tell.
Enter PISTOL and Hostess. Bard. Here comes Ancient Pistol and his
8. wink, shut my eyes. the game of primero, — make my
13. sworn brothers to France, wager, stand to win or lose, comrades pledged to share all 26. mare; Theobald's correc-
fortunes in the French expedi- tion for ' name. ' tion. 27. conclusions, attempts.
17. my rest, my resolve ; from Nym cautiously avails himself
the phrase ' set up my rest,' in of the antiquity of the word.
35
King Henry the Fifth ACT n
wife : good corporal, be patient here. How now, mine host Pistol ! 30
Pist. Base tike, call'st thou me host ? Now, by this hand, I swear, I scorn the term ; Nor shall my Nell keep lodgers.
Host. No, by my troth, not long ; for we can not lodge and board a dozen or fourteen gentle women that live honestly by the prick of their needles, but it will be thought we keep a bawdy house straight. \Nyrn and Pistol draw.] O well a day, Lady, if he be not drawn now ! we shall see wilful adultery and murder committed. 40
Bard. Good lieutenant ! good corporal ! offer nothing here.
Nym. Pish!
Pist. Pish for thee, Iceland dog ! thou prick- ear'd cur of Iceland !
Host. Good Corporal Nym, show thy valour, and put up your sword.
Nym. Will you shog off? I would have you solus.
Pist. ' Solus/ egregious dog ? O viper vile ! The 'solus' in thy most mervailous face; 50
The ' solus ' in thy teeth, and in thy throat, And in thy hateful lungs, yea, in thy maw, perdy, And, which is worse, within thy nasty mouth ! I do retort the ' solus ' in thy bowels ; For I can take, and Pistol's cock is up, And flashing fire will follow.
Nym. I am not Barbason ; you cannot conjure
31. tike, cur. 50. mervailous; Pistol affects
39. drawn; Theobald" sprob- an archaic accent in the high- able emendation for Ff ' hewn. ' sounding word.
44. Iceland dog, white, long haired dogs, in favour with ladies 55- take, take fire. as lapdogs. 57. Barbason, the name of a
47. shog off, be packing. fiend.
36
SC. I
King Henry the Fifth
me. I have an humour to knock you indifferently well. If you grow foul with me, Pistol, I will scour you with my rapier, as I may, in fair terms : 60 if you would walk off, I would prick your guts a little, in good terms, as I may : and that 's the humour of it.
Pist. O braggart vile and damned furious
wight !
The grave doth gape, and doting death is near ; Therefore exhale.
Bard. Hear me, hear me what I say : he that strikes the first stroke, I '11 run him up to the hilts, as I am a soldier. \Draws.
Pist. An oath of mickle might ; and fury shall
abate. 7o
Give me thy fist, thy fore-foot to me give : Thy spirits are most tall.
Nym. I will cut thy throat, one time or other, in fair terms : that is the humour of it.
Pist. * Couple a gorge ! ' That is the word. I thee defy again.
0 hound of Crete, think'st thou my spouse to get ? No ; to the spital go,
And from the powdering-tub of infamy
Fetch forth the lazar kite of Cressid's kind, So
Doll Tearsheet she by name, and her espouse :
1 have, and I will hold, the quondam Quickly For the only she ; and — pauca, there 's enough. Go to.
66. exhale, draw your sword. in the treatment of a disease.
72. tall, sturdy, valiant. 80. lazar kite of Cressid's
75. 'Couple a gorge' \ prob- kind; Troilus' faithless mistress"
ably designed corruption. Cressida, according to Henry-
77. hound of Crete; the hunt- son's Testament of Creseide,
ing-dogs of Crete were famous ; ended her days as a leper in the
but the term to Pistol is merely 'spital. The phrase ' kite of
a sounding phrase. Cressid's kind ' had already been
79. the powdering- tub } used used by Gascoigne.
37
King Henry the Fifth ACTH
Enter the Boy.
Boy. Mine host Pistol, you must come to my master, and you, hostess : he is very sick, and would to bed. Good Bardolph, put thy face between his sheets, and do the office of a warm ing-pan. Faith, he 's very ill.
Bard. Away, you rogue ! 9o
Host. By my troth, he'll yield the crow a pudding one of these days. The king has killed his heart. Good husband, come home presently. \Exeunt Hostess and Boy.
Bard. Come, shall I make you two friends? We must to France together : why the devil should we keep knives to cut one another's throats ?
Pist. Let floods o'erswell, and fiends for food howl on !
Nym. You '11 pay me the eight shillings I won of you at betting ?
Pist. Base is the slave that pays. 100
Nym. That now I will have : that 's the humour of it.
Pist. As manhood shall compound : push home.
\They draw.
Bard. By this sword, he that makes the first thrust, I '11 kill him ; by this sword, I will.
Pist. Sword is an oath, and oaths must have their course.
Bard. Corporal Nym, an thou wilt be friends, be friends : an thou wilt not, why, then, be enemies with me too. Prithee, put up.
Nym. I shall have my eight shillings I won of no you at betting ?
TOO. Base is the slave that no, in. Nym's speech is
pays ; probably a play - house omitted in Ff, clearly by scrap. accident.
38
SC. I
King Henry the Fifth
Pist. A noble shalt thou have, and present pay ; And liquor likewise will I give to thee, And friendship shall combine, and brotherhood : I '11 live by Nym, and Nym shall live by me ; Is not this just ? for I shall sutler be Unto the camp, and profits will accrue. Give me thy hand.
Nym. I shall have my noble ?
Pist. In cash most justly paid. 120
Nym. Well, then, that 's the humour oft.
Re-enter Hostess.
Host. As ever you came of women, come in quickly to Sir John. Ah, poor heart ! he is so shaked of a burning quotidian tertian, that it is most lamentable to behold. Sweet men, come to him.
Nym. The king hath nmjbad. humours on the I knight : thaL^LJ-lie even oflt /
Pist. NymT thou hast spoke, thfi-.right ; \ His heart is fracted and corroborate. 130
Nym. The king is a good king : but it must be as it may ; he passes some humours and careers.
Pist. Let us condole the knight ; for, lambkins, we will live.
112. A noble; i.e. six shillings 130. fracted, broken,
and eightpence. ib. corroborate (used in a
115. Nym; a play on the blundering way), probably for
sense ' nimming,' ' theft. corrupted.
. ,. , 132. passes . . . careers, in-
124. quotidian, tertian, for dulges in sallies of wit ; • to pass
quotidian or tert.an fever. carfers . was a phrase of ^^
128. the even of it, just what manship, meaning to gallop to it is. and fro.
39
King Henry the Fifth ACT n
SCENE II. Southampton. A council-chamber.
Enter EXETER, BEDFORD, and WESTMORELAND.
Bed. 'Fore God, his grace is bold, to trust these
traitors.
Exe. They shall be apprehended by and by. West. How smooth and even they do bear
themselves !
As if allegiance in their bosoms sat, Crowned with faith and constant loyalty.
Bed. The king hath note of all that they intend, By interception which they dream not of.
Exe. Nay, but the man that was his bedfellow, Whom he hath dull'd and cloy'd with gracious
favours,
That he should, for a foreign purse, so sell J0
His sovereign's life to death and treachery.
Trumpets sound. Enter KING HENRY, SCROOP, CAMBRIDGE, GREY, and Attendants.
K. Hen. Now sits the wind fair, and we will
aboard. My Lord of Cambridge, and my kind Lord of
Masham,
And you, my gentle knight, give me your thoughts : Think you not that the powers we bear with us Will cut their passage through the force of France, Doing the execution and the act For which we have in head assembled them ? Scroop. No doubt, my liege, if each man do
his best.
8. the man that was his bed- a mark of his intimacy with the fellow, i.e. Lord Scroop, of king, whom Holinshed reports this as 18. in head, in force.
40
sc. ii King Henry the Fifth
K. Hen. I doubt not that ; since we are well
persuaded 20
We carry not a heart with us from hence That grows not in a fair consent with ours, Nor leave not one behind that doth not wish Success and conquest to attend on us.
Cam. Never was monarch better fear'd and
loved Than is your majesty : there 's not, I think, a
subject
That sits in heart-grief and uneasiness Under the sweet shade of your government.
Grey. True : those that were your father's
enemies Have steep'd their galls in honey, and do serve
you 3o
With hearts create of duty and of zeal.
K. Hen. We therefore have great cause of
thankfulness ;
And shall forget the office of our hand, Sooner than quittance of desert and merit According to the weight and worthiness.
Scroop. So service shall with steeled sinews toil, And labour shall refresh itself with hope, To do your grace incessant services.
K. Hen. We judge no less. Uncle of Exeter, Enlarge the man committed yesterday, 4o
That rail'd against our person : we consider It was excess of wine that set him on ; And on his more advice we pardon him.
Scroop. That 's mercy, but too much security : Let him be punish'd, sovereign, lest example Breed, by his sufferance, more of such a kind. K. Hen. O, let us yet be merciful.
22. consent, accord. 43. his more advice, his think-
33. office, use. ing better of it.
41
King Henry the FiftH ACT n
Cam. So may your highness, and yet punish too. Grey. Sir,
You show great mercy, if you give him life, 50
After the taste of much correction.
K. Hen. Alas, your too much love and care
of me
Are heavy orisons 'gainst this poor wretch ! If little faults, proceeding on distemper, Shall not be wink'd at, how shall we stretch our
eye
When capital crimes, chew'd, swallow'd and di gested,
Appear before us ? We '11 yet enlarge that man, Though Cambridge, Scroop and Grey, in their
dear care
And tender preservation of our person, Would have him punish'd. And now to our
French causes : 60
Who are the late commissioners ?
Cam. I one, my lord : Your highness bade me ask for it to-day. Scroop. So did you me, my liege. Grey. And I, my royal sovereign. K. Hen. Then, Richard Earl of Cambridge,
there is yours ; There yours, Lord Scroop of Masham ; and, sir
knight,
Grey of Northumberland, this same is yours : Read them; and, know, I know your worthiness. My Lord of Westmoreland, and uncle Exeter, 70
We will aboard to night. Why, how now, gen tlemen ! What see you in those papers that you lose
54. proceeding on distemper, cause.
proceeding from a mental dis- 61. late, lately appointed,
turbance due to a physical 63. it, viz. his commission, 42
sc. ii King Henry the Fifth
So much complexion ? Look ye, how they change ! Their cheeks are paper. Why, what read you
there,
That hath so cowarded and chased your blood Out of appearance ?
Cam. I do confess my fault ;
And do submit me to your highness' mercy.
~ *' • To which we all appeal.
A". Hen. The mercy that was quick in us but
late,
By your own counsel is suppress'd and kill'd : 80
You must not dare, for shame, to talk of mercy ; For your own reasons turn into your bosoms, As dogs upon their masters, worrying you. See you, my princes and my noble peers, These English monsters ! My Lord of Cambridge
here,
You know how apt our love was to accord To furnish him with all appertinents Belonging to his honour ; and this man Hath, for a few light crowns, lightly conspired, And sworn unto the practices of France, co
To kill us here in Hampton : to the which This knight, no less for bounty bound to us Than Cambridge is, hath likewise sworn. But, O, What shall I say to thee, Lord Scroop? thou
cruel,
Ingrateful, savage and inhuman creature ! Thou that didst bear the key of all my counsels, That knew'st the very bottom of my soul, That almost mightst have coin'd me into gold, Wouldst thou have practised on me for thy use ! May it be possible, that foreign hire J0o
Could out of thee extract one spark of evil
90. practices, plots. 91. Hampton, Southampton.
43
King Henry the Fifth ACT n
That might annoy my finger ? 'tis so strange,
That, though the truth of it stands off as gross
As black and white, my eye will scarcely see it.
Treason and murder ever kept together,
As two yoke-devils sworn to cither's purpose,
Working so grossly in a natural cause,
That admiration did not hoop at them :
But thou, 'gainst all proportion, didst bring in
Wonder to wait on treason and on murder : no
And whatsoever cunning fiend it was
That wrought upon thee so preposterously
Hath got the voice in hell for excellence :
All other devils that suggest by treasons
Do botch and bungle up damnation
With patches, colours, and with forms being
fetch'd
From glistering semblances of piety ; But he that temper'd thee bade thee stand up, Gave thee no instance why thou shouldst do
treason,
Unless to dub thee with the name of traitor. 120
If that same demon that hath gull'd thee thus Should with his lion gait walk the whole world, He might return to vasty Tartar back, And tell the legions ' I can never win A soul so easy as that Englishman's.' O, how hast thou with jealousy infected The sweetness of affiance ! Show men dutiful ? Why, so didst thou : seem they grave and learned ? Why, so didst thou : come they of noble family? Why, so didst thou : seem they religious ? 130
Why, so didst thou : or are they spare in diet
103. stands off, stands out. 114. suggest, tempt.
108. That admiration, etc., 119. instance, ground,
that wonder did not cry out at 123. Tartar, Tartarus, Hell,
them ; they excited no surprise. 127. affiance, confidence.
44
SC. II
King Henry the Fifth
Free from gross passion or of mirth or anger,
Constant in spirit, not swerving with the blood,
Garnish'd and deck'd in modest complement,
Not working with the eye without the ear,
And but in purged judgement trusting neither?
Such and so finely bolted didst thou seem :
And thus thy fall hath left a kind of blot,
To mark the full-fraught man and best-indued
With some suspicion. I will weep for thee ; i40
For this revolt of thine, methinks, is like
Another fall of man. Their faults are open :
Arrest them to the answer of the law ;
And God acquit them of their practices !
Exe. I arrest thee of high treason, by the name of Richard Earl of Cambridge.
I arrest thee of high treason, by the name of Henry Lord Scroop of Masham.
I arrest thee of high treason, by the name of Thomas Grey, knight, of Northumberland. 150
Scroop. Our purposes God justly hath discover'd; And I repent my fault more than my death ; Which I beseech your highness to forgive, Although my body pay the price of it.
Cam. For me, the gold of France did not
seduce ;
Although I did admit it as a motive The sooner to effect what I intended :
133. blood, impulse of passion. 139. full-fraught, equipped
134. complement, outward de- with all excellences, meanour, manners. 148. Henry ; so Qq. Ff
135. Not working with the eye ' Thomas /corrected by Malone. •without the ear, not judging by 152. more than my death, the looks of men without having more than I regret my death, had intercourse with them. 157. what I intended. Halle
137. bolted, sifted, purified in this place indicates that (as
from dross. 'diverse writer') his real aim
139. mark the, Theobald's was to secure the crown to the
correction for Ff ' make thee.' Earl of March.
45
King Henry the Fifth • ACT H
But God be thanked for prevention ; Which I in sufferance heartily will rejoice, Beseeching God and you to pardon me. 160
Grey. Never did faithful subject more rejoice At the discovery of most dangerous treason Than I do at this hour joy o'er myself, Prevented from a damned enterprise : My fault, but not my body, pardon, sovereign. K. Hen. God quit you in his mercy ! Hear
your sentence.
You have conspired against our royal person, Join'd with an enemy proclaim'd and from his
coffers
Received the golden earnest of our death ; Wherein you would have sold your king to
slaughter, ,70
His princes and his peers to servitude, His subjects to oppression and contempt And his whole kingdom into desolation. Touching our person seek we no revenge ; But we our kingdom's safety must so tender, Whose ruin you have sought, that to her laws We do deliver you. Get you therefore hence, Poor miserable wretches, to your death : The taste whereof, God of his mercy give You patience to endure, and true repentance 180
Of all your dear offences ! Bear them hence.
\Exeunt Cambridge, Scroop and Grey,
guarded.
Now, lords, for France ; the enterprise whereof Shall be to you, as us, like glorious.
1 58. for prevention, for having letter addressed to the queen in forestalled me. 1585 by Parry, after his con-
159. rejoice, rejoice at. viction of treason : ' Discharge
me A culpa, but not A pazna, 165. My fault, but not my good ladie. '
body. Probably derived from a 169. earnest, earnest-money.
46
sc. in King Henry the Fifth
We doubt not of a fair and lucky war,
Since God so graciously hath brought to light
This dangerous treason lurking in our way
To hinder our beginnings. We doubt not now
But every rub is smoothed on our way.
Then forth, dear countrymen : let us deliver
Our puissance into the hand of God,
Putting it straight in expedition.
Cheerly to sea ; the signs of war advance :
No king of England, if not king of France.
\Exeunt.
SCENE III. London. Before a tavern.
Enter PISTOL, Hostess, NYM, BARDOLPH, and Boy.
Host. Prithee, honey-sweet husband, let me bring thee to Staines.
Pist. No ; for my manly heart doth yearn. Bardolph, be blithe : Nym, rouse thy vaunting
veins :
Boy, bristle thy courage up ; for FalstarT he is dgad, And we must yearn therefore.
Bard. Would I were with him, wheresome'er he is, either in heaven or in hell !
Host. Nay, sure, He 's not in hell : he 's in Arthur's bosom, if ever man went to Arthur's bosom. A' made a finer end and went away an it had been any christom child; a' parted even
191. in expedition, in march. ' Christom ' is Mrs. Quickly's
2. to Staines, the first stage mixture of ' christen ' and
on the road to Southampton. ' chrisome, ' the latter being the
11. finer, the Hostess' blunder white cloth bound round the for 'final.' head of the newly christened
12. christom child, a child child and removed at the end dying within a month of birth. of the first month.
47
King Henry the Fifth ACT n
just between twelve and one, even at the turning o' the tide : for after I saw him fumble with the sheets and play with flowers and smile upon his fingers' ends, I knew there was but one way; for his nose was as sharp as a pen, and a' babbled of green fields. ' How now, Sir John ! ' quoth I : 'what, man! be o' good cheer.' So a' cried out ' God, God, God ! ' three or four times. Now I, 20 to comfort him, bid him a' should not think of God ; I hoped there was no need to trouble him self with any such thoughts yet. So a' bade me lay more clothes on his feet : I put my hand into the bed and felt them, and they were as cold as any stone ; then I felt to his knees, and they were as cold as any stone, and so upward jand upward,^] and all was as cold as any stone.
Nym. They say he cried out of sack.
Host. Ay, that a' did. 3o
Bard. And of women.
Host. Nay, that a' did not.
Boy. Yes, that a' did; and* said they were devils incarnate.
Host. A' could never abide carnation; 'twas a colour he never liked.
Boy. A' said once, the devil would have him about women.
Host. A' did in some sort, indeed, handle women ; but then he was rheumatic, and talked 40 of the whore of Babylon.
13. at the turning <? the tide ; fields.' Delius, almost alone according to a current belief, death among recent editors, retains took place only during the ebb. the Folio reading, on account
14. fumble with the sheets, a of Mrs. Quickly 's habitual prone- supposed symptom of approach- ness to nonsense. But her ing death. nonsense is always intelligible.
17. a babbled of green fields ; 29. of, 'on,1 at ; he cried out
Theobald's famous correction of against it. Ff ' and a Table of greene 40. rheumatic, i.e. lunatic.
48
sc. in King Henry the Fifth
Boy. Do you not remember, a' saw a flea stick upon Bardolph's nose, and a' said it was a black soul burning in hell-fire ?
Bard. Well, the fuel is gone that maintained that fire : that 's all the riches I got in his service.
Nym. Shall we shog ? the king will be gone from Southampton.
Pist. Come, let's away. My love, give me
thy lips.
Look to my chattels and my movables : 50
Let senses rule ; the word is ' Pitch and Pay : ' Trust none ;
For oaths are straws, men's faiths are wafer-cakes, And hold-fast is the only dog, my duck : Therefore, Caveto be thy counsellor. Go, clear thy crystals. Yoke-fellows in arms, Let us to France ; like horse-leeches, my boys, To suck, to suck, the very blood to suck !
Boy. And that 's but unwholesome food, they say. 60
Pist. Touch her soft mouth, and march.
Bard. Farewell, hostess. \Kissing her.
Nym. I cannot kiss, that is the humour of it ; but, adieu.
Pist. Let housewifery appear : keep close, I thee command.
Host. Farewell; adieu. [Exeunt.
47. shog, be off. required) at the same time the
51. 'Pitch and Pay,' 'pay fee or hallage. down' ready money ; originally it
seems a phrase of the London 54. hold-fast is the only dog.
cloth-trade, meaning 'pitch' (or Douce quotes a contemporary
deposit) the cloth in the cloth- proverb : ' Brag is a good dog,
hall, and pay (as a statute but Hold-fast is a better. '
VOL. vii 49
King Henry the Fifth ACTH
SCENE IV. France. The KING'S palace.
Flourish. Enter the FRENCH KING, the DAUPHIN, the DUKES OF BERRI and BRETAGNE, the CONSTABLE, and others.
Fr. King. Thus comes the English with full
power upon us ;
And more than carefully it us concerns To answer royally in our defences. Therefore the Dukes of Berri and of Bretagne, Of Brabant and of Orleans, shall make forth, And you, Prince Dauphin, with all swift dispatch, To line and new repair our towns of war With men of courage and with means defendant ; For England his approaches makes as fierce As waters to the sucking of a gulf. I0
It fits us then to be as provident As fear may teach us out of late examples Left by the fatal and neglected English Upon our fields.
Dau. My most redoubted father,
It is most meet we arm us 'gainst the foe ; For peace itself should not so dull a kingdom, Though war nor no known quarrel were in question, But that defences, musters, preparations, Should be maintain'd, assembled and collected, As were a war in expectation. 20
Therefore, I say 'tis meet we all go forth To view the sick and feeble parts of France : And let us do it with no show of fear ; No, with no more than if we heard that England
Sc. 4. The French King, d'Albret.
Charles VI. (1380-1422). 13. fatal and neglected, made
Sc. 4. The Constable, Charles light of to our ruin.
5°
sc. iv King Henry the Fifth
Were busied with a Whitsun morris-dance : For, my good liege, she is so idly king'd, Her sceptre so fantastically borne By a vain, giddy, shallow, humorous youth, That fear attends her not.
Con. O peace, Prince Dauphin !
You are too much mistaken in this king : 30
Question your grace the late ambassadors, With what great state he heard their embassy, How well supplied with noble counsellors, How modest in exception, and withal How terrible in constant resolution, And you shall find his vanities forespent Were but the outside of the Roman Brutus, Covering discretion with a coat of folly ; As gardeners do with ordure hide those roots That shall first spring and be most delicate. 40
Dau. Well, 'tis not so, my lord high constable ; But though we think it so, it is no matter : In cases of defence 'tis best to weigh The enemy more mighty than he seems : So the proportions of defence are fill'd ; Which of a weak and niggardly projection Doth, like a miser, spoil his coat with scanting A little cloth.
Fr. King. Think we King Harry strong ; And, princes, look you strongly arm to meet
him. The kindred of him hath been flesh'd upon us ; 50
28. humorous, whimsical. projection, if planned on a mean
34. modest in exception, tern- scale. The subject of ' doth ' is
perate in raising objection. the ' projector, ' implied in ' pro-
37 the Roman Brutus; the o.^/ to 'flesh' was to
assailant of Tarqum ; cf. Lu- giye ft hound Us first crece, 11. 1809-15. flesh of thg animal u
46. of a weak and niggardly trained to hunt. L. 51
King Henry the Fifth ACT H
And he is bred out of that bloody strain
That haunted us in our familiar paths :
Witness our too much memorable shame
When Cressy battle fatally was struck,
And all our princes captived by the hand
Of that black name, Edward, Black Prince of
Wales ; Whiles that his mountain sire, on mountain
standing,
Up in the air, crown'd with the golden sun, Saw his heroical seed, and smiled to see him, Mangle the work of nature and deface 60
The patterns that by God and by French fathers Had twenty years been made. This is a stem Of that victorious stock ; and let us fear The native mightiness and fate of him.
Enter a Messenger.
Mess. Ambassadors from Harry King of
England Do crave admittance to your majesty.
J?r. King. We'll give them present audience. Go, and bring them.
\Exeunt Messenger and certain Lords. You see this chase is hotly follow'd, friends.
Dau. Turn head, and stop pursuit ; for coward
dogs Most spend their mouths when what they seem
to threaten 7o
Runs far before them. Good my sovereign, Take up the English short, and let them know
54. struck, fought (battle the following line, which makes
being from ' battre ' ; cf. Ger. the setting sun his crown. ' eine Schlacht schlagen ').
57. his mountain sire. Prob- 70. Most spend their mouths,
ably a bold image for ' his give tongue loudest ; a technical
mighty father,' in keeping with term of hunting.
52
sc. iv King Henry the Fifth
Of what a monarchy you are the head : Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin As self-neglecting.
Re-enter Lords, with EXETER and train.
Fr. King. From our brother England ?
Exe. From him ; and thus he greets your
majesty.
He wills you, in the name of God Almighty, That you divest yourself, and lay apart The borrow'd glories that by gift of heaven, By law of nature and of nations, 'long 80
To him and to his heirs ; namely, the crown And all wide-stretched honours that pertain By custom and the ordinance of times Unto the crown of France. That you may know 'Tis no sinister nor no awkward claim, Pick'd from the worm-holes of long-vanish'd days, Nor from the dust of old oblivion raked, He sends you this most memorable line, In every branch truly demonstrative ; Willing you overlook this pedigree : 90
And when you find him evenly derived From his most famed of famous ancestors, Edward the Third, he bids you then resign Your crown and kingdom, indirectly held From him the native and true challenger. t
Fr. King. Or else what follows ?
Exe. Bloody constraint ; for if you hide the crown Even in your hearts, there will he rake for it : Therefore in fierce tempest is he coming, In thunder and in earthquake, like a Jove, zoo
That, if requiring fail, he will compel ;
85. sinister, unfair. 95. challenger, claimant,
ib. awkward, perverse. 99. fierce (two syllables).
94. indirectly, wrongfully. 101. requiring, demanding.
53
King Henry the Fifth ACT n
And bids you, in the bowels of the Lord,
Deliver up the crown, and to take mercy
On the poor souls for whom this hungry war
Opens his vasty jaws ; and on your head
Turning the widows' tears, the orphans' cries,
The dead men's blood, the pining maidens' groans,
For husbands, fathers and betrothed lovers,
That shall be swallow'd in this controversy.
This is his claim, his threatening and my message ; no
Unless the Dauphin be in presence here,
To whom expressly I bring greeting too.
Fr. King. For us, we will consider of this
further :
To-morrow shall you bear our full intent Back to our brother England.
Dau. For the Dauphin,
I stand here for him : what to him from England ?
Exe. Scorn and defiance ; slight regard, con tempt,
And any thing that may not misbecome The mighty sender, doth he prize you at. Thus says my king ; an if your father's highness 120 Do not, in grant of all demands at large, Sweeten the bitter mock you sent his majesty, He '11 call you to so hot an answer of it, That caves and womby vaultages of France Shall chide your trespass and return your mock In second accent of his ordinance.
Dau. Say, if my father render fair return, It is against my will ; for I desire Nothing but odds with England : to that end, As matching to his youth and vanity, 130
I did present him with the Paris balls.
102. in the bowels of the Lord, 124. womby vaultages, hollow
in the name of the divine mercy caverns. (Holinshed's phrase).
54
ACT in King Henry the Fifth
Exe. He '11 make your Paris Louvre shake for it, Were it the mistress-court of mighty Europe : And, be assured, you '11 find a difference, As we his subjects have in wonder found, Between the promise of his greener days And these he masters now : now he weighs time Even to the utmost grain : that you shall read In your own losses, if he stay in France.
Fr. King. To-morrow shall you know our mind
at full. Exe. Dispatch us with all speed, lest that our
king
Come here himself to question our delay ; For he is footed in this land already.
Fr. King. You shall be soon dispatch'd with
fair conditions :
A night is but small breath and little pause To answer matters of this consequence.
{Flourish. Exeunt.
ACT III.
PROLOGUE.
Enter Chorus.
Chor. Thus with imagined wing our swift scene
flies
In motion of no less celerity Than that of thought. Suppose that you have
seen
137. masters, possesses, dis- i. imagined wing, on wings
poses of. of imagination.
145. breath, breathing-space.
55
King Henry the Fifth ACT m
The well-appointed king at Hampton pier
Embark his royalty ; and his brave fleet
With silken streamers the young Phoebus fanning :
Play with your fancies, and in them behold
Upon the hempen tackle ship-boys climbing;
Hear the shrill whistle which doth order give
To sounds confused ; behold the threaden sails, 10
Borne with the invisible and creeping wind,
Draw the huge bottoms through the furrovv'd sea,
Breasting the lofty surge : O, do but think
You stand upon the rivage and behold
A city on the inconstant billows dancing ;
For so appears this fleet majestical,
Holding due course to Harfleur. Follow, follow :
Grapple your minds to sternage of this navy,
And leave your England, as dead midnight still,
Guarded with grandsires, babies and old women, 20
Either past or not arrived to pith and puissance ;
For who is he, whose chin is but enrich'd
With one appearing hair, that will not follow
These cull'd and choice-drawn cavaliers to France ?
Work, work your thoughts, and therein see a
siege ;
Behold the ordnance on their carriages, With fatal mouths gaping on girded Harfleur. Suppose the ambassador from the French comes
back;
Tells Harry that the king doth offer him Katharine his daughter, and with her, to dowry, 3o Some petty and unprofitable dukedoms.
4. Hampton. Theobald's cor- 17. Harfleur. Qq Ff give the rection. Ff (through an over- popular form of the name ' Har- sight) read 'Dover.' flew' (Holinshed, 'Harflue').
5. brave, gaily decked. 18. to sternage of, astern of.
6. the young Phoebus fanning, 28. Suppose, etc. This em- flutteririg in the morning sun. bassy actually met Henry at
14. rivage, shore. Winchester.
SC. I
King Henry the Fifth
The offer likes not : and the nimble gunner With linstock now the devilish cannon touches,
\Alarum, and chambers go off. And down goes all before them. Still be kind, And eke out our performance with your mind.
[Exit.
SCENE I. France, before Harfleur.
Alarum. Enter KING HENRY, EXETER, BED FORD, GLOUCESTER, and Soldiers, with scaling- ladders.
K. Hen. Once more unto the breach, dear
friends, once more ;
Or close the wall up with our English dead. In peace there 's nothing so becomes a man As modest stillness and humility : % But when the blast of war blows in our ears, Then imitate the action of the tiger ; Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage ; Then lend the eye a terrible aspect ; Let it pry through the portage of the head xo
Like the brass cannon ; let the brow o'erwhelm it As fearfully as doth a galled rock O'erhang and jutty his confounded base, Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean. Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide, Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
33. linstock, the stick to which 10. portage, ' port-holes,' i.e.
the gunner's match was attached. eye-sockets.
33. chambers, small cannon, 13. jutty, jet or project over,
loaded by a movable 'chamber' ib. confounded, destroyed,
at the breech. swallowed up.
8. hard-favour'd, grim-look- 16. bend up; as in stringing
ing. a bow.
57
King Henry the Fifth ACT m
To his full height. On, on, you noblest English,
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,
Have in these parts from morn till even fought 20
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument :
Dishonour not your mothers ; now attest
That those whom you call'd fathers did beget you.
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you, good
yeomen,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here The mettle of your pasture ; let us swear That you are worth your breeding ; which I doubt
not;
For there is none of you so mean and base, That hath not noble lustre in your eyes. 30
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, Straining upon the start. The game 's afoot : Follow your spirit* and upon this charge Cry ' God for Harry, England, and Saint George ! ' [Exeunt. Alarum, and chambers go off.
SCENE II. The same.
Enter NYM, BARDOLPH, PISTOL, and Boy.
Bard. On, on, on, on, on ! to the breach, to the breach !
Nym. Pray thee, corporal, stay: the knocks are too hot ; and, for mine own part, I have not
1 8. fet, fetched, derived. to fight for' is meant; none
21. argument, matter. The being left to oppose them, parallel to Alexander makes it 31. slips, leash,
probable that lack of enemies to 32. Straining. Rowe's cor-
conquer rather than of 'cause rection for Ff ' straying.'
58
sc. ii King Henry the Fifth
a case of lives : the humour of it is too hot, that is the very plain-song of it.
Pist. The plain-song is most just ; for humours
do abound :
Knocks go and come ; God's vassals drop and die ; And sword and shield, In bloody field, xo
Doth win immortal fame.
Boy. Would I were in an alehouse in London ! I would give all my fame for a pot of ale and safety.
Pist. And I :
If wishes would prevail with me, My purpose should not fail with me,
But thither would I hie. Boy. As duly, but not as truly,
As bird doth sing on bough. 20
Enter FLUELLEN.
Flu. Up to the breach, you dogs ! avaunt, you cullions ! \Driving them forward.
Pist. Be merciful, great duke, to men of
mould.
Abate thy rage, abate thy manly rage, Abate thy rage, great duke !
Good bawcock, bate thy rage ; use lenity, sweet chuck !
Nym. These be good humours ! your honour wins bad humours. \Exeunt all but Boy.
Boy. As young as I am, I have observed these
5. case of lives, a set of lives. 6. plain-song, simple melody
Nym's further allusion to ' plain- without variations, song' makes it likely that the 22. cullions, noodles, dolts, allusion is to the ' case of four 23. duke, general, musical instruments making up 26. bawcock (Fr. 'beaucoq'),
the ' consort ' of four parts, not a term of endearment, to the case of (two) pistols. 28. wins, prevails over.
59
King Henry the Fifth ACT m
three swashers. I am boy to them all three : but 3o all they three, though they would serve me, could not be man to me ; for indeed three such antics do not amount to a man. For Bardolph, he is white-livered and red-faced ; by the means where of a' faces it out, but fights not. For Pistol, he hath a killing tongue and a quiet sword ; by the means whereof a' breaks words, and keeps whole weapons. For Nym, he hath heard that men of few words are the best men ; and therefore he scorns to say his prayers, lest a' should be thought 4o a coward : but his few bad words are matched with as few good deeds ; for a' never broke any man's head but his own, and that was against a post when he was drunk. They will steal any thing, and call it purchase. Bardolph stole a lute-case, bore it twelve leagues, and sold it for three half-pence. Nym and Bardolph are sworn brothers in filching, and in Calais they stole a fire-shovel : I knew by that piece of service the men would carry coals. They would have me as 50 familiar with men's pockets as their gloves or their handkerchers : which makes much against my manhood, if I should take from another's pocket to put into mine ; for it is plain pocketing up of wrongs. I must leave them, and seek some better service : their villany goes against my weak stomach, and therefore I must cast it up. [Exit*
Re-enter FLUELLEN, GCWEB. following.
Gow. Captain Fluellen, you must come pre sently to the mines; the Duke of Gloucester would speak with you. 60
32. antics, buffoons. ing service, submit to insults.
55. wrongs (a play upon the 45. purchase, acquisition. twQ senses* Jnjuries received>
50. <rarrytt7fl/.y,doanydegrad- and injuries done). 60
sc. ii King Henry the Fifth
Flu. To the mines ! tell you the duke, it is not so good to come to the mines ; for, look you, the mines is not according to the disciplines of the war : the concavities of it is not sufficient ; for, look you, th' athversary, you may discuss unto the duke, look you, is digt himself four yard under the countermines : by Cheshu, I think a' will plow up all, if there is not better directions.
Gow. The Duke of Gloucester, to whom the order of the siege is given, is altogether directed 7o by an Irishman, a very valiant gentleman, i' faith.
Flu. It is Captain Macmorris, is it not ?
Gow. I think it be.
Flu. By Cheshu, he is an ass, as in the world : I will verify as much in his beard : he has no more directions in the true disciplines of the wars, look you, of the Roman disciplines, than is a puppy-dog.
Enter MACMORRIS and Captain JAMY.
Gow. Here a' comes ; and the Scots captain, Captain Jamy, with him. 80
Flu. Captain Jamy is a marvellous falorous gentleman, that is certain ; and of great expedition and knowledge in th' aunchient wars, upon my particular knowledge of his directions : by Cheshu, he will maintain his argument as well as any military man in the world, in the disciplines of the pristine wars of the Romans.
Jamy. I say gud-day, Captain Fluellen.
Flu. God -den to your worship, good Captain James. 90
66. digt himself four yard digged countermines four yards •under the countermines, prob- under (the mines), ably Fluellen' s perversion for
61
King Henry the Fifth ACT m
Gow. How now, Captain Macmorris ! have you quit the mines ? have the pioners given o'er ?
Mac. By Chrish, la ! tish ill done : the work ish give over, the trompet sound the retreat. By my hand, I swear, and my father's soul, the work ish ill done ; it ish give over : I would have blowed up the town, so Chrish save me, la ! in an hour : O, tish ill done, tish ill done; by my hand, tish ill done !
Flu. Captain Macmorris, I beseech you now, 100 will you voutsafe me, look you, a few disputa tions with you, as partly touching or concerning the disciplines of the war, the Roman wars, in the way of argument, look you, and friendly com munication ; partly to satisfy my opinion, and partly for the satisfaction, look you, of my mind, as touching the direction of the military discipline ; that is the point.
Jamy. It sail be vary gud, gud feith, gud captains bath : and I sail quit you with gud leve, no as I may pick occasion ; that sail I, marry.
Mac. It is no time to discourse, so Chrish save me: the day is hot, and the weather, and the wars, and the king, and the dukes : it is no time to discourse. The town is beseeched, and the trumpet call us to the breach ; and we talk, and, be Chrish, do nothing : 'tis shame for us all : so God sa' me, 'tis shame to stand still ; it is shame, by my hand : and there is throats to be cut, and works to be done ; and there ish nothing done, so 120 Chrish sa' me, la !
Jamy. By the mess, ere theise eyes of mine take themselves to slomber, ay '11 de gud service, or ay '11 lig i' the grund for it ; ay, or go to death ; and ay '11 pay't as valorously as I may, that sail
no. quit, requite. 62
sc. ii King Henry the Fifth
I suerly do, that is the breff and the long. Marry, I wad full fain heard some question 'tween you tway.
Flu. Captain Macmorris, I think, look you, under your correction, there is not many of your 130 nation —
Mac. Of my nation ! What ish my nation ? Ish a villain, and a bastard, and a knave, and a rascal — What ish my nation ? Who talks of my nation ?
Flu. Look you, if you take the matter other wise than is meant, Captain Macmorris, perad- venture I shall think you do not use me with that affability as in discretion you ought to use me, look you ; being as good a man as yourself, both 140 in the disciplines of war, and in the derivation of my birth, and in other particularities.
Mac. I do not know you so good a man as myself: so Chrish save me, I will cut off your head.
Gow. Gentlemen both, you will mistake each other.
Jamy. A ! that 's a foul fault.
[A parley sounded.
Gow. The town sounds a parley.
Flu. Captain Macmorris, when there is more 150 better opportunity to be required, look you, I will be so bold as to tell you I know the disciplines of war ; and there is an end. [Exeunt.
127. wad full fain heard, Northern and Scandinavian wad . . . have heard. The idiom. So Ff. The Camb. omission of ' have ' is a common editors wrongly alter to ' hear. '
King Henry the Fifth ACT
SCENE III. The same. Before the gates.
The Governor and some Citizens on the walls ; the English forces below. Enter KING HENRY and his train.
K. Hen. How yet resolves the governor of the
town?
This is the latest parle we will admit : Therefore to our best mercy give yourselves ; Or like to men proud of destruction Defy us to our worst : for, as I am a soldier, A name that in my thoughts becomes me best, If I begin the battery once again, I will not leave the half-achieved Harfleur Till in her ashes she lie buried.
The gates of mercy shall be all shut up, J0
And the flesh'd soldier, rough and hard of heart, In liberty of bloody hand shall range With conscience wide as hell, mowing like grass Your fresh-fair virgins and your flowering infants. What is it then to me, if impious war, Array'd in flames like to the prince of fiends, Do, with his smirch'd complexion, all fell feats Enlink'd to waste and desolation ? What is 't to me, when you yourselves are cause, If your pure maidens fall into the hand 20
Of hot and forcing violation ? What rein can hold licentious wickedness When down the hill he holds his fierce career? We may as bootless spend our vain command Upon the enraged soldiers in their spoil As send precepts to the leviathan To come ashore. Therefore, you men of Harfleur. ii. JlesKd, inured, hardened. 26. precepts, legal summonses.
sc. in King Henry the Fifth
Take pity of your town and of your people,
Whiles yet my soldiers are in my command ;
Whiles yet the cool and temperate wind of grace 3o
O'erblows the filthy and contagious clouds
Of heady murder, spoil and villany.
If not, why, in a moment look to see
The blind and bloody soldier with foul hand
Defile the locks of your shrill-shrieking daughters ;
Your fathers taken by the silver beards,
And their most reverend heads dash'd to the walls,
Your naked infants spitted upon pikes,
Whiles the mad mothers with their howls confused
Do break the clouds, as did the wives of Jewry 40
At Herod's bloody-hunting slaughtermen.
What say you ? will you yield, and this avoid,
Or, guilty in defence, be thus destroy 'd ?
Gov. Our expectation hath this day an end : The Dauphin, whom of succours we entreated, Returns us that his powers are yet not ready To raise so great a siege. Therefore, great king, We yield our town and lives to thy soft mercy. Enter our gates ; dispose of us and ours ; For we no longer are defensible. 5o
K, Hen. Open your gates. Come, uncle Exeter, Go you and enter Harfleur ; there remain, And fortify it strongly 'gainst the French : Use mercy to them all. For us, dear uncle, The winter coming on and sickness growing Upon our soldiers, we will retire to Calais. To-night in Harfleur will we be your guest ; To-morrow for the march are we addrest.
[Flourish. The King and his train enter
the town.
31. O'erblows, disperses. 50. defensible, capable of resisting.
VOL. VII 65
King Henry the Fifth ACT m
SCENE IV. The FRENCH KING'S palace.
Enter KATHARINE and ALICE.
Kath. Alice, tu as ete en Angleterre, et tu paries bien le langage.
Alice. Un peii, madame.
Kath. Je te prie, m'enseignez ; il faut que j'apprenne a parler. Comment appelez-vous la main en Anglois ?
Alice. La main ? elle est appelee de hand.
Kath. De hand. Et les doigts ?
Alice. Les doigts ? ma foi, j'oublie les doigts ; mais je me souviendrai. Les doigts? je pense 10 qu'ils sont appeles de fingres ; oui, de fingres.
Kath. La main, de hand ; les doigts, de fingres. Je pense que je suis le bon ecolier; j'ai gagne deux mots d' Anglois vitement. Comment appelez-vous les ongles ?
Alice. Les ongles ? nous les appelons de nails.
Kath. De nails. £coutez ; dites-moi, si je parle bien : de hand, de fingres, et de nails.
Alice. C'est bien dit, madame; il est fort bon Anglois. 20
Kath. Dites-moi PAnglois pour le bras.
Alice. De arm, madame.
Kath. Et le coude ?
Alice. De elbow.
Kath. De elbow. Je m'en fais la repetition
Scene 4. Successive editors in the absence of any criteria of
have substituted approximately his French scholarship, it is
correct modern French for the hardly worth while to insist on
imperfect and corrupted French a few cases in which the incor-
of the Folio text. Probably rectness of the Folio version
what Shakespeare wrote was less cannot be due to mere corrup-
correct than what we read ; but tion. 66
sc. iv King Henry the Fifth
de tous les mots que vous m'avez appris des a present.
Alice. II est trop difficile, madame, comme je pense.
Kath. Excusez-moi, Alice ; ecoutez : de hand, 3o de fingres, de nails, de arma, de bilbow.
Alice. De elbow, madame.
Kath. O Seigneur Dieu, je m'en oublie ! de elbow. Comment appelez-vous les col?
Alice. De neck, madame.
Kath. De nick. Et le menton?
Alice. De chin.
Kath. De sin. Le col, de nick ; le menton, de sin.
Alice. Oui. Sauf votre honneur, en verite, 40 vous prononcez les mots aussi droit que les natifs d'Angleterre.
Kath. Je ne doute point d'apprendre, par la grace de Dieu, et en peu de temps.
Alice. N'avez vous pas de"ja oublie ce que je vous ai enseigne?
Kath. Non, je reciterai a vous promptement : de hand, de fingres, de mails, —
Alice. De nails, madame.
Kath. De nails, de arm, de ilbow. 50
Alice. Sauf votre honneur, de elbow.
Kath. Ainsi dis-je ; de elbow, de nick, et de sin. Comment appelez-vous le pied et la robe ?
Alice. De foot, madame ; et de coun.
Kath. De foot et de coun ! O Seigneur Dieu ! ce sont mots de son mauvais, corruptible, gros, et impudique, et non pour les dames d'honneur d'user : je ne voudrais prononcer ces mots devant les seigneurs de France pour tout le monde. Foh ! le foot et le coun ! Neanmoins, je reciterai &> une autre fois ma legon ensemble : de hand, de 67
King Henry the Fifth ACT
fingres, de nails, de arm, de elbow, de nick, de sin, de foot, de coun.
Alice. Excellent, madame !
Kath. C'est assez pour une fois : allons-nous a diner. [Exeunt.
SCENE V. The same.
Enter the KING OF FRANCE, the DAUPHIN, the DUKE OF BOURBON, the CONSTABLE OF FRANCE, and others.
Fr. King. 'Tis certain he hath pass'd the river Somme.
Con. And if he be not fought withal, my lord, Let us not live in France ; let us quit all And give our vineyards to a barbarous people.
Dau. O Dieu vivant ! shall a few sprays of us, The emptying of our fathers' luxury, Our scions, put in wild and savage stock, Spirt up so suddenly into the clouds, And overlook their grafters ?
Bour. Normans, but bastard Normans, Norman
bastards ! 10
Mort de ma vie ! if they march along Unfought withal, but I will sell my dukedom, To buy a slobbery and a dirty farm In that nook-shotten isle of Albion.
5. a few sprays of us, i.e. the 14. nook-shotten. Probably French who ' came over with the ' full of sharp angles and corners,' Conqueror,' himself a bastard. i.e. invaded on all sides by estu-
6. luxury, lust. aries and inlets of the sea, so ii. vie. The final (' mute ') as to be naturally watery and
e of French still had a syllabic 'slobbery.' This is a well-attested
value in ordinary pronunciation, meaning of 'nook-shotten' in
as it still has in verse. Similarly dialects ; hence this interpreta-
1 batailles ' below. tion is sounder than Knight's
68
sc. v King Henry the Fifth
Con. Dieu de batailles ! where have they this
mettle ?
Is not their climate foggy, raw and dull, On whom, as in despite, the sun looks pale, Killing their fruit with frowns ? Can sodden water, A drench for sur-rein'd jades, their barley-broth, Decoct their cold blood to such valiant heat ? 20
And shall our quick blood, spirited with wine, Seem frosty ? O, for honour of our land, Let us not hang like roping icicles Upon our houses' thatch, whiles a more frosty
people
Sweat drops of gallant youth in our rich fields ! Poor we may call them in their native lords.
Dau. By faith and honour, Our madams mock at us, and plainly say Our mettle is bred out and they will give Their bodies to the lust of English youth 3o
To new-store France with bastard warriors.
Bour. They bid us to the English dancing- schools,
And teach lavoltas high and swift corantos ; Saying our grace is only in our heels, And that we are most lofty runaways.
Fr. King. Where is Montjoy the herald ? speed
him hence :
Let him greet England with our sharp defiance. Up, princes ! and, with spirit of honour edged
and Staunton's ' spawned or 19. drench, physic,
shot into a nook,' though this ib. sur-rein'd, jaded from
gives a vigorous sense. The being over-ridden. Dauphin's point, moreover, is
not that England is remote, but 26' tn f^ir *"*i™ lords, in
that it is wet and uncomfort- res?ect of the Poor show which
able to live in. ' Nook-shotten ' the'r owners make compared
aptly contrasts England with the Wlth the Engllsh- compact, four-square contour of 33. lavoltas and corantos,
France. quick, lively dances. 69
King Henry the Fifth ACT m
More sharper than your swords, hie to the field : Charles Delabreth, high constable of France ; 40
You Dukes of Orleans, Bourbon, and of Berri, Alengon, Brabant, Bar, and Burgundy; Jaques Chatillon, Rambures, Vaudemont, Beaumont, Grandpre, Roussi, and Fauconberg, Foix, Lestrale, Bouciqualt, and Charolois ; High dukes, great princes, barons, lords and
knights, For your great seats now quit you of great
shames.
Bar Harry England, that sweeps through our land With pennons painted in the blood of Harfleur : Rush on his host, as doth the melted snow 50
Upon the valleys, whose low vassal seat The Alps doth spit and void his rheum upon : Go down upon him, you have power enough, And in a captive chariot into Rouen Bring him our prisoner.
Con. This becomes the great.
Sorry am I his numbers are so few, His soldiers sick and famish'd in their march, For I am sure, when he shall see our army, He '11 drop his heart into the sink of fear And for achievement offer us his ransom. 60
Fr. King. Therefore, lord constable, haste on
Montjoy,
And let him say to England that we send To know what willing ransom he will give. Prince Dauphin, you shall stay with us in Rouen.
Dau. Not so, I do beseech your majesty.
40. Delabreth, properly ' Foix.' Both forms were re-
D'Albret ; but Shakespeare took stored from Holinshed.
the name from Holinshed. 47. feats, signorial castles.
44. Fauconberg, anglicised 48. England ; Henry's title as
by Ff to ' Faulconbridge. ' In king, as in v. 37 and elsewhere,
the next line Ff read ' Loys ' for 60. for, instead of.
70
sc. vi King Henry the Fifth
Fr. King. Be patient, for you shall remain with us. Now forth, lord constable and princes all, And quickly bring us word of England's fall.
[Exeunt.
SCENE VI. The English camp in Picardy.
Enter GOWER and FLUELLEN, meeting.
Gow. How now, Captain Fluellen ! come you from the bridge?
Flu. I assure you, there is very excellent services committed at the bridge.
Gow. Is the Duke of Exeter safe ?
Flu. The Duke of Exeter is as magnanimous as Agamemnon ; and a man that I love and honour with my soul, and my heart, and my duty, and my life, and my living, and my utter most power : he is not — God be praised and 10 blessed ! — any hurt in the world ; but keeps the bridge most valiantly, with excellent discipline. There is an aunchient lieutenant there at the pridge, I think in my very conscience he is as valiant a man as Mark Antony ; and he is a man of no estimation in the world ; but I did see him do as gallant service.
2. the bridge. The import- their arrival they found the ance of the fight at the bridge French already at work break- hardly appears from the play, ing down the bridge, but ' as- but is quite clear in Holinshed's sailed them so vigorously that narrative. The bridge spanned they discomfited them ' (Hoi. the little river Ternoise, which iii. 552, ed. Stone), lay in the way of Henry's march
upon Calais. Henry accordingly 13. an aunchient lieutenant,
' appointed certain captains with ' ensign -lieutenant. ' Fluellen's
their bands to go thither with imperfect English betrays him
all speed before him, and to into a counterpart of Mrs.
take possession thereof,' On Quickly' s ' quotidian tertian.'
King Henry the Fifth ACT m
Gow. What do you call him ?
Flu. He is called Aunchient Pistol.
Gow. I know him not. 20
Enter PISTOL.
Flu. Here is the man.
Pist. Captain, I thee beseech to do me favours : The Duke of Exeter doth love thee well.
Flu. Ay, I praise God ; and I have merited some love at his hands.
Pist. Bardolph, a soldier, firm and sound of
heart,
And of buxom valour, hath, by cruel fate, And giddy Fortune's furious fickle wheel, That goddess blind, That stands upon the rolling restless stone — 30
Flu. By your patience, Aunchient Pistol. Fortune is painted blind, with a muffler afore his eyes, to signify to you that Fortune is blind ; and she is painted also with a wheel, to signify to you, which is the moral of it, that she is turning, and inconstant, and mutability, and variation: and her foot, look you, is fixed upon a spherical stone, which rolls, and rolls, and rolls : in good truth, the poet makes a most excellent descrip tion of it : Fortune is an excellent moral. 4o
Pist. Fortune is Bardolph's foe, and frowns on
him ; For he hath stolen a pax, and hanged must a' be :
27. buxom (used with no is hi (pronounced ' he ').
definite sense). 4I fortune is Bardolph's foe;
33. his; so Ff. In most referring to the ballad- editions altered to ' her.' But
the mistake was no doubt in- Fortune, my foe, why dost thou tended, confusions of pronoun
gender being constant in Welsh- 42. pax; probably Shake- English, in part owing to the speare's error for 'pix,' which fact that the Welsh for ' she ' is given by Holinshed. The 72
sc. vi King Henry the Fifth
A damned death !
Let gallows gape for dog ; let man go free
And let not hemp his wind-pipe suffocate :
But Exeter hath given the doom of death
For pax of little price.
Therefore, go speak : the duke will hear thy
voice ;
And let not Bardolph's vital thread be cut With edge of penny cord and vile reproach : 5o
Speak, captain, for his life, and I will thee requite.
Flu. Aunchient Pistol, I do partly understand your meaning.
Pist. Why then, rejoice therefore.
Flu. Certainly, aunchient, it is not a thing to rejoice at : for if, look you, he were my brother, I would desire the duke to use his good pleasure, and put him to execution ; for discipline ought to be used.
Pist. Die and be damn'd ! and figo for thy friendship ! 60
Flu. It is well.
Pist. The fig of Spain ! [Exit.
Flu. Very good.
Gow. Why, this is an arrant counterfeit rascal ; I remember him now ; a bawd, a cutpurse.
Flu. I '11 assure you, a' uttered as prave words at the pridge as you shall see in a summer's day. But it is very well ; what he has spoke to me, that is well, I warrant you, when time is serve.
Gow. Why, 'tis a gull, a fool, a rogue, that 70 now and then goes to the wars, to grace himself
' pix ' (pyx) was the box in 60. figo, an insulting gesture which the host or consecrated derived from Spain, wafer was preserved. ' Pax * 62. The fig of Spain, prob- was a small picture of Christ ably equivalent to 'figo.' Ae on wood or metal, 'solemnly cording to others, a reference tendered to all people to kiss.' to poisoned figs.
73
King Henry the Fifth ACTHI
at his return into London under the form of a soldier. And such fellows are perfect in the great commanders' names : and they will learn you by rote where services were done ; at such and such a sconce, at such a breach, at such a convoy ; who came off bravely, who was shot, who disgraced, what terms the enemy stood on ; and this they con perfectly in the phrase of war, which they trick up with new-tuned oaths : and what a beard 80 of the general's cut and a horrid suit of the camp will do among foaming bottles and ale-washed wits, is wonderful to be thought on. But you must learn to know such slanders of the age, or else you may be marvellously mistook.
Flu. I tell you what, Captain Gower; I do perceive he is not the man that he would gladly make show to the world he is : if I find a hole in his coat, I will tell him my mind. {Drum heard.} Hark you, the king is coming, and I must speak 9o with him from the pridge.
Drum and colours. Enter KING HENRY, GLOUCESTER, and Soldiers.
God pless your majesty !
K. Hen. How now, Fluellen ! earnest thou from the bridge?
Flu. Ay, so please your majesty. The Duke of Exeter has very gallantly maintained the pridge : the French is gone off, look you ; and there is gallant and most prave passages ; marry, th' athversary was have possession of the pridge ; but he is enforced to retire, and the Duke of
80. new-tuned, to a new tune ; 90. speakivith him from, bring
new-fangled. him news from (i.e. of).
84. slanders of, scandals to.
74
sc. vi King Henry the Fifth
Exeter is master of the pfidge : I can tell your 100 majesty, the duke is a prave man.
K. Hen. What men have you lost, Fluellen ?
Flu. The perdition of th' athversary hath been very great, reasonable great : marry, for my part, I think the duke hath lost never a man, but one that is like to be executed for robbing a church, one Bardolph, if your majesty know the man : his face is all bubukles, and whelks, and knobs, and flames o' fire : and his lips blows at his nose, and it is like a coal of fire, sometimes plue and no sometimes red ; but his nose is executed, and his fire 's out.
K. Hen. We would have all such offenders so cut off: and we give express charge, that in our marches through the country, there be nothing compelled from the villages, nothing taken but paid for, none of the French upbraided or abused in disdainful language ; for when lenity and cruelty play for a kingdom, the gentler gamester is the soonest winner. 120
Tucket. Enter MONTJOY.
Mont. You know me by my habit.
K. Hen. Well then I know thee : what shall
I know of thee ? Mont. My master's mind. K. Hen. Unfold it.
Mont. Thus says my king : Say thou to Harry of England : Though we seemed dead, we did but
108. bubukles; a coinage of Ireland, and are in any case
Fluellen's, for 'carbuncles.' significant of Shakespeare's judg-
118. lenity. Rowe's correc- ment upon the harsh policy com-
tion from Qq Ff ' levity. ' These monly pursued there, lines appear to convey a pointed allusion to Essex's campaign in 120. Tucket, trumpet- blast.
75
King Henry the Fifth ACTHI
•sleep : advantage is a better soldier than rashness. Tell him we could have rebuked him at Harfleur, but that we thought not good to bruise an injury till it were full ripe : now we speak upon our cue, 130 and our voice is imperial : England shall repent his folly, see his weakness, and admire our suffer ance. Bid him therefore consider of his ransom ; which must proportion the losses we have borne, the subjects we have lost, the disgrace we have digested ; which in weight to re-answer, his petti ness would bow under. For our losses, his exche quer is too poor ; for the effusion of our blood, the muster of his kingdom too faint a number; and for our disgrace, his own person, kneeling at our i40 feet, but a weak and worthless satisfaction. To this add defiance : and tell him, for conclusion, he hath betrayed his followers, whose condemnation is pronounced. So far my king and master; so much my office.
K. Hen. What is thy name? I know thy quality.
Mont. Montjoy.
K. Hen. Thou dost thy office fairly. Turn thee
back,
And tell thy king I do not seek him now ; But could be willing to march on to Calais i50
Without impeachment : for, to say the sooth, Though 'tis no wisdom to confess so much Unto an enemy of craft and vantage, My people are with sickness much enfeebled, My numbers lessened, and those few I have
127. advantage, favourable to repay in full measure, opportunity. 151. impeachment, hindrance.
130. upon our cue, i.e. at the *& f craft and vantage,
due moment. who has both a natural suPen'
ority and the cunning to make
136. in weight to re-answer, the best of it. 76
sc. vi King Henry the Fifth
Almost no better than so many French ;
Who when they were in health, I tell thee, herald,
I thought upon one pair of English legs
Did march three Frenchmen. Yet, forgive me,
God,
That I do brag thus ! This your air of France 160 Hath blown that vice in me ; I must repent. Go therefore, tell thy master here I am ; My ransom is this frail and worthless trunk, My army but a weak and sickly guard ; Yet, God before, tell him we will come on, Though France himself and such another neighbour Stand in our way. There 's for thy labour, Montjoy. Go, bid thy master well advise himself: If we may pass, we will ; if we be hinder'd, We shall your tawny ground with your red blood 170 Discolour : and so, Montjoy, fare you well. The sum of all our answer is but this : We would not seek a battle, as we are ; Nor, as we are, we say we will not shun it : So tell your master.
Mont. I shall deliver so. Thanks to your
highness. [Exit.
Glou. I hope they will not come upon us now. K. Hen. We are in God's hand, brother, not in
theirs.
March to the bridge ; it now draws toward night : Beyond the river we '11 encamp ourselves, 180
And on to-morrow bid them march away.
[Exeunt.
167. There' s for thy labour. that the king gave the herald Shakespeare found in Holinshed ' a princely reward."
77
King Henry the Fifth ACT m
SCENE VII. The French camp, near Agincourt.
Enter the CONSTABLE OF FRANCE, the LORD RAM- BURES, ORLEANS, DAUPHIN, with others.
Con. Tut ! I have the best armour of the world. Would it were day !
Orl. You have an excellent armour; but let my horse have his due.
Con. It is the best horse of Europe.
Orl. Will it never be morning?
Dau. My Lord of Orleans, and my lord high constable, you talk of horse and armour ?
Orl. You are as well provided of both as any prince in the world. 10
Dau. What a long night is this ! I will not change my horse with any that treads but on four pasterns. £a, ha ! he bounds from the earth, as if his entrails were hairs ; le cheval volant, the Pegasus, chez les narines de feu ! When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk : he trots the air ; the earth sings when he touches it ; the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes.
Orl. He 's of the colour of the nutmeg. 20
Dau. And of the heat of the ginger. It is a beast for Perseus : he is pure air and fire ; and the dull elements of earth and water never appear in him, but only in patient stillness while his rider mounts him : he is indeed a horse ; and all other jades you may call beasts.
13. pasterns; for Yi' postures.' Much Ado, iii. 2. 47. ib. as if his entrails were 18. the pipe of Hermes ; with
hairs, like a tennis-ball. Cf. which he charmed Argos.
73
sc. vii King Henry the Fifth
Con. Indeed, my lord, it is a most absolute and excellent horse.
Dan. It is the prince of palfreys ; his neigh is like the bidding of a monarch and his countenance 30 enforces homage.
Orl. No more, cousin.
Dau. Nay, the man hath no wit that cannot, from the rising of the lark to the lodging of the lamb; vary deserved praise on my palfrey : it is a theme as fluent as the sea : turn the sands into . eloquent tongues, and my horse is argument for them all : 'tis a subject for a sovereign to reason on, and for a sovereign's sovereign to ride on ; and for the world, familiar to us and unknown, to 4o lay apart their particular functions and wonder at him. I once writ a sonnet in his praise and began thus : ' Wonder of nature,'—
OrL I have heard a sonnet begin so to one's mistress.
Dau. Then did they imitate that which I com posed to my courser, for my horse is my mistress.
OrL Your mistress bears well.
Dau. Me well ; which is the prescript praise and perfection of a good and particular mistress. 50
Con. Nay, for methonght yesterday your mis tress shrewdly shook your back.
Dau. So perhaps did yours.
Con. Mine was not bridled.
Dau. O then belike she was old and gentle ; and you rode, like a kern of Ireland, your French hose off, and in your strait strossers.
Con. You have good judgement in horsemanship.
Dau. Be warned by me, then : they that ride 60
49. prescript, prescribed. in tight trousers ; i.e. with none.
The ' French hose ' were wide 57. in your strait strossers, and loose.
79
King Henry the Fifth ACT m
so and ride not warily, fall into foul bogs. I had rather have my horse to my mistress.
Con. I had as lief have my mistress a jade.
Dau. I tell thee, constable, my mistress wears his own hair.
Con. I could make as true a boast as that, if I had a sow to my mistress.
Dau. 'Le chien est retourn£ a son propre vomissement, et la truie lavee au bourbier : ' thou makest use of any thing.
Con. Yet do I not use my horse for my mistress, or any such proverb so little kin to the purpose.
Ram. My lord constable, the armour that I saw in your tent to-night, are those stars or suns upon it?
Con. Stars, my lord.
Dau. Some of them will fall to-morrow, I hope.
Con. And yet my sky shall not want.
Dau. That may be, for you bear a many superfluously, and 'twere more honour some were 80 away.
Con. Even as your horse bears your praises ; who would trot as well, were some of your brags dismounted.
Dau. Would I were able to load him with his desert ! Will it never be day ? I will trot to morrow a mile, and my way shall be paved with English faces.
Con. I will not say so, for fear I should be faced out of my way : but I would it were morn- 9o ing; for I would fain be about the ears of the English.
Ram. Who will go to hazard with me for twenty prisoners?
68. ' Le chien est retournt,' etc., quoted from the French Bible (2 Pet. ii. 22).
80
sc. vii King Henry the Fifth
Con. You must first go yourself to hazard, ere you have them.
Dau. 'Tis midnight ; I '11 go arm myself. [Exit.
Orl. The Dauphin longs for morning.
Ram. He longs to eat the English.
Con. I think he will eat all he kills. 100
Orl. By the white hand of my lady, he's a gallant prince.
Con. Swear by her foot, that she may tread out the oath.
Orl. He is simply the most active gentleman of France.
Con. Doing is activity ; and he will still be doing.
Orl. He never did harm, that I heard of.
Con. Nor will do none to-morrow : he will uo keep that good name still.
Orl. I know him to be valiant.
Con. I was told that by one that knows him better than you.
Orl. What 'she?
Con. Marry, he told me so himself; and he said he cared not who knew it.
Orl. He needs not ; it is no hidden virtue in him.
Con. By my faith, sir, but it is ; never any 120 body saw it but his lackey : 'tis a hooded valour ; and when it appears, it will bate.
Orl. Ill will never said well.
Con. I will cap that proverb with ' There is flattery in friendship.'
121. ' its a hooded valour ; and 'bated' or flapped its wings
•when it appears, it will bate. before flying. The Constable
Both phrases are from falconry. quibbles on the last word, mean-
His valour is compared to the ing that the Dauphin's hidden
hawk, which was 'hooded' until valour, when exposed, will
the game was in view, and then abate.
VOL. VII 8 1 G
King Henry the Fifth ACT m
OrL And I will take up that with 'Give the devil his due.'
Con. Well placed : there stands your friend for the devil : have at the very eye of that proverb with ' A pox of the devil.' i30
Or I. You are the better at proverbs, by how much ' A fool's bolt is soon shot.'
Con. You have shot over.
OrL Tis not the first time you were overshot.
Enter a Messenger.
Mess. My lord high constable, the English lie within fifteen hundred paces of your tents.
Con. Who hath measured the ground ?
Mess. The Lord Grandpre.
Con. A valiant and most expert gentleman. Would it were day ! Alas, poor Harry of England !i4o he longs not for the dawning as we do.
OrL What a wretched and peevish fellow is this king of England, to mope with his fat-brained followers so far out of his knowledge !
Con. If the English had any apprehension, they would run away.
OrL That they lack ; for if their heads had any intellectual armour, they could never wear such heavy head-pieces.
Ram. That island of England breeds very i50 valiant creatures ; their mastiffs are of unmatch- able courage.
OrL Foolish curs, that run winking into the mouth of a Russian bear and have their heads crushed like rotten apples ! You may as well say, that 's a valiant flea that dare eat his breakfast on the lip of a lion.
153. winking, with their eyes shut. 82
ACT iv King Henry the Fifth
Con. Just, just ; and the men do sympathize with the mastiffs in robustious and rough coming on, leaving their wits with their wives : and then 160 give them great meals of beef, and iron and steel, they will eat like wolves and fight like devils.
Orl. Ay, but these English are shrewdly out of beef.
Con. Then shall we find to-morrow they have only stomachs to eat and none to fight. Now is it time to arm : come, shall we about it ?
Orl. It is now two o'clock : but, let me see,
by ten We shall have each a hundred Englishmen.
[Exeunt.
ACT IV.
PROLOGUE.
Enter Chorus.
Chor. Now entertain conjecture of a time When creeping murmur and the poring dark Fills the wide vessel of the universe. From camp to camp through the foul womb of
night
The hum of either army stilly sounds, That the fix'd sentinels almost receive The secret whispers of each other's watch : Fire answers fire, and through their paly flames Each battle sees the other's umber'd face ;
158. sympathize with, corre- i. conjecture, imaginat on.
spond to. 2. poring, purblind.
163. shrewdly, sorely. 9. battle, army.
83 '
King Henry the Fifth ACT iv
Steed threatens steed, in high and boastful neighs 10
Piercing the night's dull ear ; and from the tents
The armourers, accomplishing the knights,
With busy hammers closing rivets up,
Give dreadful note of preparation :
The country cocks do crow, the clocks do toll,
And the third hour of drowsy morning name.
Proud of their numbers and secure in soul,
The confident and over-lusty French
Do the low-rated English play at dice ;
And chide the cripple tardy-gaited night 20
Who, like a foul and ugly witch, doth limp
So tediously away. The poor condemned English,
Like sacrifices, by their watchful fires
Sit patiently and inly ruminate
The morning's danger, and their gesture sad
Investing lank-lean cheeks and war-worn coats
Presenteth them unto the gazing moon
So many horrid ghosts. O now, who will behold
The royal captain of this ruin'd band
Walking from watch to watch, from tent to tent, 3o
Let him cry c Praise and glory on his head ! '
For forth he goes and visits all his host,
Bids them good morrow with a modest smile
And calls them brothers, friends and countrymen.
Upon his royal face there is no note
How dread an army hath enrounded him ;
Nor doth he dedicate one jot of colour
Unto the weary and all-watched night,
But freshly looks and over-bears attaint
With cheerful semblance and sweet majesty; 40
That every wretch, pining and pale before,
11. dull, drowsy. Ff'nam'd.'
12. accomplishing the knights, 19. play, play for. completing their equipment. 38. all -watched, spent with
1 6. name. So Theobald, for watching.
84
SC. I
King Henry the Fifth
Beholding him, plucks comfort from his looks : A largess universal like the sun His liberal eye doth give to every one, Thawing cold fear, that mean and gentle all Behold, as may unworthiness define, A little touch of Harry in the night. And so our scene must to the battle fly ; Where — O for pity ! — we shall much disgrace With four or five most vile and ragged foils, 50
Right ill-disposed in brawl ridiculous, The name of Agincourt. Yet sit and see, Minding true things by what their mockeries be.
[Exit.
SCENE I. The English camp at Agincourt.
Enter KING HENRY, BEDFORD, and GLOUCESTER.
K, Hen. Gloucester, 'tis true that we are in great
danger ;
The greater therefore should our courage be. Good morrow, brother Bedford. God Almighty ! There is some soul of goodness in things evil, ?l Would men observingly distil it out. For our bad neighbour makes us early stirrers, Which is both healthful and good husbandry : Besides, they are our outward consciences, And preachers to us all, admonishing That we should dress us fairly for our end. 10
Thus may we gather honey from the weed, And make a moral of the devil himself.
45. that, so that. Sc. i. Bedford. The histori-
46. as may unworthiness de- cal Duke of Bedford, left as fine, as far as their unworthy ' Gustos ' in England, was not natures permit. at Agincourt.
53. Minding, recalled to the memory of. 10. dress, prepare.
85
King Henry the Fifth ACTIV
Enter ERPINGHAM.
Good morrow, old Sir Thomas Erpingham : A good soft pillow for that good white head Were better than a churlish turf of France.
Erp. Not so, my liege : this lodging likes me * better, •Since I may say ' Now lie I like a king.'
K. Hen. 'Tis good for men to love their present
pains
JUpon example ; so the spirit is eased : Knd when the mind is quicken'd, out of doubt, 20 •*The organs, though defunct and dead before, Break up their drowsy grave and newly move, With casted slough and fresh legerity. Lend me thy cloak, Sir Thomas. Brothers both, Commend me to the princes in our camp ; Do my good morrow to them, and anon Desire them all to my pavilion. Glou. We shall, my liege. Erp. Shall I attend your grace ? K. Hen. No, my good knight ;
Go wfth my brothers to my lords of England : 3o
I anatomy bosom must debate a while, And then I would no other company.
Erp. The Lord in heaven bless thee, noble Harry ! [Exeunt all but King.
K. Hen. God-a-mercy, old heart ! thou speak' st cheerfully.
Enter PISTOL.
Pist. Qui va la ? K. Hen. A friend.
Pist. Discuss unto me ; art thou officer ? Or art thou base, common and popular ?
19. Upon, in consequence of. 23. legerity, lightness.
86
sc. i King Henry the Fifth
K. Hen. I am a gentleman of a company.
Pist. Trail'st thou the puissant pike ? 40
K. Hen. Even so. What are you ?
Pist. As good a gentleman as the emperor.
K. Hen. Then you are a better than the king.
Pist. The king 's a bawcock, and a heart of gold, A lad of life, an imp of fame ; «
Of parents good, of fist most valiant. I kiss his dirty shoe, and from heart-string I love the lovely bully. What is thy name ?
K. Hen. Harry le Roy.
Pist. Le Roy ! a Cornish name : art thou of Cornish crew ? 50
K. Hen. No, I am a Welshman.
Pist. Know'st thou Fluellen ?
K. Hen. Yes.
'Pist. Tell him, I '11 knock his leek about his pate Upon Saint Davy's day.
K. Hen. Do not you wear your dagger in your cap that day, lest he knock that about yours.
Pist. Art thou his friend?
K. Hen. And his kinsman too.
Pist. The figo for thee, then ! 60
K. Hen. I thank you : God be with you !
Pist. My name is Pistol calPd. [Exit.
K. Hen. It sorts well with your fierceness.
Enter FLUELLEN and GO'WER.
Gow. Captain Fluellen !
Flu. So ! in the name of Jesu Christ, speak lower. It is the greatest admiration in the uni versal world, when the true and aunchient pre- rogatifes and laws of the wars is not kept : if you would take the pains but to examine the wars of Pompey the Great, you shall find, I warrant you, 7o
48. bully, ' dashing fellow. ' 66. lower; so Q3. Ff ' fewer.'
87
King Henry the Fifth ACTIV
that there is no tiddle taddle nor pibble pabble in Pompey's camp ; I warrant you, you shall find the ceremonies of the wars, and the cares of it, and the forms of it, and the sobriety of it, and the modesty of it, to be otherwise.
Gow. Why, the enemy is loud ; you hear him all night.
Flu. If the enemy is an ass and a fool and a prating coxcomb, is it meet, think you, that we should also, look you, be an ass and a fool and a 80 prating coxcomb? in your own conscience, now?
Gow. I will speak lower.
Flu. I pray you and beseech you that you will. \Exeunt Gower and Fluellen.
K. Hen. Though it appear a little out of fashion, There is much care and valour in this Welshman.
Enter three soldiers, JOHN BATES, ALEXANDER COURT, and MICHAEL WILLIAMS.
Court. Brother John Bates, is not that the morning which breaks yonder ?
Bates. I think it be : but we have no great cause to desire the approach of day. 90
Will. We see yonder the beginning of the day, but I think we shall never see the end of it. Who goes there ?
K. Hen. A friend.
Will. Under what captain serve you ?
K. Hen. Under Sir Thomas Erpingham.
Will. A good old commander and a most kind gentleman : I pray you, what thinks he of our estate ?
K. Hen. Even as men wrecked upon a sand, 100 that look to be washed off the next tide.
96. Sir Thomas. Theobald's correction for Ff ' Sir John. 99. estate, condition.
88
sc. i King Henry the Fifth
Bates. He hath not told his thought to the king?
K. Hen. No ; nor it is not meet he should. For, though I speak it to you, I think the king is but a man, as I am : the violet smells to him as it doth to me ; the element shows to him as it doth to me ; all his senses have but human condi tions : his ceremonies laid by, in his nakedness he appears but a man ; and though his affections no are higher mounted than ours, yet, when they stoop, they stoop with the like wing. Therefore when he sees reason of fears, as we do, his fears, out of doubt, be of the same relish as ours are : yet, in reason, no man should possess him with any appearance of fear, lest he, by showing it, should dishearten his army.
Bates. He may show what outward courage he will ; but I believe, as cold a night as 'tis, he could wish himself in Thames up to the neck; 120 and so I would he were, and I by him, at all ad ventures, so we were quit here.
K. Hen. By my troth, I will speak my con science of the king : I think he would not wish himself any where but where he is.
Bates. Then I would he were here alone ; so should he be sure to be ransomed, and a many poor men's lives saved.
K. Hen. I dare say you love him not so ill, to wish him here alone, howsoever you speak this 130 to feel other men's minds : methinks I could not die any where so contented as in the king's company ; his cause being just and his quarrel honourable.
Will. That 's more than we know.
107. element, sky. 115. possess him with, com-
108. conditions, qualities. municate to him.
89
King Henry the Fifth ACTIV
Bates. Ay, or more than we should seek after ; for we know enough, if we know we are the king's subjects : if his cause be wrong, our obedience to the king wipes the crime of it out of us.
Will. But if the cause be not good, the king i40 himself hath a heavy reckoning to make, when all those legs and arms and heads, chopped off in a battle, shall join together at the latter day and cry all ' We died at such a place ; ' some swearing, some crying for a surgeon, some upon their wives left poor behind them, some upon the debts they owe, some upon their children rawly left. I am afeard there are few die well that die in a battle ; for how can they charitably dispose of any thing, when blood is their argument? Now, if these 150 men do not die well, it will be a black matter for the king that led them to it ; whom to disobey were against all proportion of subjection.
K. Hen. So, if a son that is by his father sent about merchandise do sinfully miscarry upon the sea, the imputation of his wickedness, by your' rule, should be imposed upon his father that sent him : or if a servant, under his master's command transporting a sum of money, be assailed by robbers and die in many irreconciled iniquities, 160 you may call the business of the master the author of the servant's damnation : but this is not so : the king is not bound to answer the particular endings of his soldiers, the father of his son, nor the master of his servant; for they purpose not their death, when they purpose their services. Besides, there is no king, be his cause never so
147. rawly, hastily, without 155. sinfully miscarry, perish
preparation ; and hence without in his sins, making due provision.
150. ttteir argument ', their 157. imposed upon, charged
business in hand. against.
90
sc. i King Henry the Fifth
spotless, if it come to the arbitrement of swords, can try it out with all unspotted soldiers : some peradventure have on them the guilt of premedi- 170 tated and contrived murder; some, of beguiling virgins with the broken seals of perjury ; some, making the wars their bulwark, that have before gored the gentle bosom of peace with pillage and robbery. Now, if these men have defeated the law and outrun native punishment, though they can outstrip men, they have no wings to fly from God : war is his beadle, war is his vengeance ; so that here men are punished for before-breach of the king's laws in now the king's quarrel : where 180 they feared the death, they have borne life away ; and where they would be safe, they perish : then if they die unprovided, no more is the king guilty of their damnation than he was before guilty of those impieties for the which they are now visited. Every subject's duty is the king's ; but every sub ject's soul is his own. Therefore should every soldier in the wars do as every sick man in his bed, wash every mote out of his conscience : and dying so, death is to him advantage ; or not 190 dying, the time was blessedly lost wherein such preparation was gained : and in him that escapes, it were not sin to think that, making God so free an offer, He let him outlive that day to see His ' greatness and to teach others how they should prepare.
Will. 'Tis certain, every man that dies ill, the ill upon his own head, the king is not to answer it.
176. native punishment, that 183. unprovided, unprepared,
inflicted in their own country. 189. mote; Ff 'moth,' a
179. before- breach, previous common but not general spelling
breach. of the word.
91
King Henry the Fifth ACT iv
Bates. I do not desire he should answer for 20o me ; and yet I determine to fight lustily for him.
K. Hen. I myself heard the king say he would not be ransomed.
Will, Ay, he said so, to make us fight cheer fully : but when our throats are cut, he may be ransomed, and we ne'er the wiser.
K. Hen. If I live to see it, I will never trust his word after.
Will. You pay him then. That's a perilous shot out of an elder-gun, that a poor and a private 210 displeasure can do against a monarch ! you may as well go about to turn the sun to ice with fan ning in his face with a peacock's feather. You '11 never trust his word after ! come, 'tis a foolish saying.
K. Hen. Your reproof is something too round : I should be angry with you, if the time were convenient.
Will. Let it be a quarrel between us, if you live. 220
K. Hen. I embrace it
Will. How shall I know thee again ?
K. Hen. Give me any gage of thine, and I will wear it in my bonnet : then, if ever thou darest acknowledge it, I will make it my quarrel.
Will. Here 's my glove : give me another of thine.
K. Hen. There.
Will. This will I also wear in my cap : if ever thou come to me and say, after to-morrow, ' This 230 is my glove,' by this hand, I will take thee a box on the ear.
K. Hen. If ever I live to see it, I will chal lenge it.
216.. round, blunt. 92
sc. i King Henry the Fifth
Wi!!. Thou darest as well be hanged.
K. Hen. Well, I will do it, though I take thee in the king's company.
Will. Keep thy word : fare thee well.
Bates. Be friends, you English fools, be friends : we have French quarrels enow, if you could tell 240 how to reckon.
K. Hen. Indeed, the French may lay twenty French crowns to one, they will beat us ; for they bear them on their shoulders : but it is no English treason to cut French crowns, and to morrow* the king himself will be a clipper.
\Exeunt Soldiers.
Upon the king ! let us our lives, our souls, Our debts, our careful wives, Our children and our sins lay on the king ! We must bear all. O hard condition, 250
Twin-born with greatness, subject to the breath Of every fool, whose sense no more can feel But his own wringing ! What infinite heart's-ease Must kings neglect, that private men enjoy ! And what have kings, that privates have not too, Save ceremony, save general ceremony? And what art thou, thou idol ceremony? What kind of god art thou, that suffer'st more Of mortal griefs than do thy worshippers ? What are thy rents ? what are thy comings in ? 260 O ceremony, show me but thy worth ! What is thy soul of adoration ? Art thou aught else but place, degree and form, Creating awe and fear in other men ? Wherein thou art less happy being fear'd Than they in fearing.
248. careful, anxious. the soul (essence or inner
ground) of thy adoration (of 262. thy soul of adoration, the adoration paid to thee).
93
King Henry the Fifth ACTIV
What drink'st them oft, instead of homage sweet,
But poison'd flattery ? O, be sick, great greatness,
And bid thy ceremony give thee cure !
Think'st thou the fiery fever will go out 27o
With titles blown from adulation ?
Will it give place to flexure and low bending ?
Canst thou, when thou command'st the beggar's
knee,
Command the health of it? No, thou proud dream, That play'st so subtly with a king's repose ; I am a king that find thee, and I know 'Tis not the balm, the sceptre, and the ball, - The sword, the mace, the crown imperial, The intertissued robe of gold and pearl, The farced title running 'fore the king, 280
The throne he sits on, nor the tide of pomp That beats upon the high shore of this world, No, not all these, thrice-gorgeous ceremony, Not all these, laid in bed majestical, Can sleep so soundly as the wretched slave, Who with a body fill'd and vacant mind Gets him to rest, cramm'd with distressful bread ; Never sees horrid night, the child of hell, But, like a lackey, from the rise to set Sweats in the eye of Phoebus and all night 290
Sleeps in Elysium ; next day after dawn, Doth rise and help Hyperion to his horse, And follows so the ever-running year, With profitable labour, to his grave : And, but for ceremony, such a wretch, Winding up days with toil and nights with sleep, Had the fore-hand and vantage of a king.
277. balm, the consecrated 280. farced, stuffed out (with
oil used in anointing at corona- solemn and pompous epithets). toon. 287. distressful, won by
279. intertissued robe of, robe grievous toil, interwoven with. 292. i.e. rises at dawn.
94
SC. I
King Henry the Fifth
The slave, a member of the country's peace, Enjoys it ; but in gross brain little wots What watch the king keeps to maintain the peace, 300 Whose hours the peasant best advantages.
Enter ERPINGHAM.
Erp. My lord, your nobles, jealous of your
absence, Seek through your camp to find you.
K. Hen. Good old knight,
Collect them all together at my tent : I '11 be before thee.
Erp. I shall do 't, my lord. [Exit.
K. Hen. O God of battles ! steel my soldiers'
hearts ;
Possess them not with fear ; take from them now The sense of reckoning, if the opposed numbers Pluck their hearts from them. Not to-day, O Lord, O, not to-day, think not upon the fault 3io
My father made in compassing the crown ! I Richard's body have interred new; And on it have bestow'd more contrite tears Than from it issued forced drops of blood : Five hundred poor I have in yearly pay, Who twice a-day their wither' d hands hold up Toward heaven, to pardon blood; and I have
built Two chantries, where the sad and solemn priests
301. advantages, benefit (the shed relates that Richard's body peasant). The singular after was removed from Langley, ' hours ' is probably due to the ' with all funeral dignity con- notion of 'peace,' the real source venient for his estate,' to West- of the benefit. minster.
308. if the opposed numbers ; &*' T™ '*""'""'' "** Theobald's emendation for • of,' <»™ents of Bethlehem at Sheen et and of Sion (on the opposite
sides of the Thames), both
312. interred new. Holin- founded by Henry.
95
King Henry the Fifth ACT
Sing still for Richard's soul. More will I do ; Though all that I can do is nothing worth,' Since that my penitence comes after all, Imploring pardon.
Enter GLOUCESTER.
Glou. My liege !
K. Hen. My brother Gloucester's voice ? Ay ; I know thy errand, I will go with thee : The day, my friends and all things stay for me.
[Exeunt.
SCENE II. The French camp.
Enter the DAUPHIN, ORLEANS, RAMBURES, and others.
Orl. The sun doth gild our armour; up, my
lords ! Dau. Montez a cheval ! My horse ! varlet !
laquais ! ha ! Orl. O brave spirit ! Dau. Via ! les eaux et la terre. Orl. Rien puis ? Pair et le feu. Dau. Ciel, cousin Orleans.
Enter CONSTABLE. Now, my lord constable !
Con. Hark, how our steeds for present service neigh!
321. 'Since after all my acts of to suggest ostentatious valour,
atonement it remains needful for probably somewhat to this effect :
my pardon that I should repent.' 'Water and earth I will ride
4. Via, an exclamation of through—' ; to which Orleans
encouragement, current in replies ironically : ' Anything
English. The incoherent French further ? Air and fire ? ' — ' Ay,
scraps are in any case meant and heaven, cousin Orleans.'
sc. ii King Henry the Fifth
Dau. Mount them, and make incision in their
hides,
That their hot blood may spin in English eyes, 10 And dout them with superfluous courage, ha ! Ram. What, will you have them weep our horses'
blood ? How shall we, then, behold their natural tears ?
Enter Messenger.
Mess. The English are embattled, you French
peers. Con. To horse, you gallant princes ! straight to
horse !
Do but behold yon poor and starved band, And your fair show shall suck away their souls, Leaving them but the shales and husks of men. There is not work enough for all our hands ; Scarce blood enough in all their sickly veins 20
To give each naked curtle-axe a stain, That our French gallants shall to-day draw out, And sheathe for lack of sport : let us but blow on
them,
The vapour of our valour will o'erturn them. 'Tis positive 'gainst all exceptions, lords, That our superfluous lackeys and our peasants, Who in unnecessary action swarm About our squares of battle, were enow To purge this field of such a hilding foe, Though we upon this mountain's basis by 30
Took stand for idle speculation : But that our honours must not. What 's to say ? A very little little let us do, And all is done. Then let the trumpets sound
ii. dout, put out, extinguish. 29. hilding, base, mean.
31. for idle speculation, as 18. shales, shells. idle lookers-on.
VOL. VII 97 H
King Henry the Fifth ACT iv
The tucket sonance and the note to mount ; For our approach shall so much dare the field That England shall couch down in fear and yield.
Enter GRANDPRI:.
Grand. Why do you stay so long, my lords of
France ?
Yon island carrions, desperate of their bones, Ill-favouredly become the morning field : 4o
Their ragged curtains poorly are let loose, And our air shakes them passing scornfully : Big Mars seems bankrupt in their beggar'd host And faintly through a rusty beaver peeps : The horsemen sit like fixed candlesticks, With torch-staves in their hand; and their poor
jades
Lob down their heads, dropping the hides and hips, The gum down-roping from their pale-dead eyes, And in their pale dull mouths the gimmal bit Lies foul with chew'd grass, still and motionless ; 50 And their executors, the knavish crows, Fly o'er them, all impatient for their hour. Description cannot suit itself in words To demonstrate the life of such a battle In life so lifeless as it shows itself.
Con. They have said their prayers, and they
stay for death.
35. The tucket sonance, etc., 45. like fixed candlesticks; the flourish of trumpets which candlesticks were often made in gives the signal to mount. the form of a figure holding a
36. dare (technical term of torch ; sometimes the figure was fowling), frighten and cause to a mailed warrior.
crouch on the earth, — as birds 47. Lob, droop.
do when the hawk hovers over 49. gimmal bit ; probably a
them. bit made of intertwisted rings
40. Ill-favouredly become, like chain armour, make a poor show upon. 56. prayers (two syllables).
98
sc. in King Henry the Fifth
Dau. Shall we go send them dinners and fresh
suits,
And give their fasting horses provender, And after fight with them ?
Con. I stay but for my guidon : to the field ! 60 I will the banner from a trumpet take, And use it for my haste. Come, come, away ! The sun is high, and we outwear the day.
[Exeunt.
SCENE III. The English camp.
Enter GLOUCESTER, BEDFORD, EXETER, ERPING- HAM, with all his host: SALISBURY and WESTMORELAND.
Glou. Where is' the king ?
Bed. The king himself is rode to view their
battle. West. Of fighting men they have full three
score thousand. Exe. There 's five to one ; besides, they all are
fresh.
60. guidon, standard or The historical Salisbury and banner. A generally accepted Westmoreland (as well as Bed- correction of Ff 'guard; on," ford) were not present at supported by a passage in Agincourt (Stone's Holinshed, Holinshed which apparently p. 187). But Shakespeare suggested this : ' The Duke of hardly had access to the evi- Brabant, when his standard was dence that they were not.
not come, caused a baner to 4. There ' sfive to one. Holin-
be taken from a trumpet.' shed, who also gives the French
61. the banner from a trum- numbers as 60,000, reckons pet; the • trum pet -banner' was <hem to have been ' six to one'' attached to the trumpet, being But he estimates Henry's force displayed when the trumpet was °n the march to Calais as T^oo. blown Shakespeare would seem to have
taken a mean between these Sc. j. Enter Gloucester, etc. proportions.
99
King Henry the Fifth ACT iv
Sal. God's arm strike with us ! 'tis a fearful
odds.
God be wi' you, princes all ; I '11 to my charge : If we no more meet till we meet in heaven, Then, joyfully, my noble Lord of Bedford, My dear Lord Gloucester, and my good Lord
Exeter,
And my kind kinsman, warriors all, adieu ! *>
Bed. Farewell, good Salisbury; and good luck
go with thee !
JEoce. Farewell, kind lord; fight valiantly to-day: And yet I do thee wrong to mind thee of it, For thou art framed of the firm truth of valour.
{Exit Salisbury.
Bed. He is as full of valour as of kindness ; Princely in both.
Enter the KING.
West. O that we now had here
But one ten thousand of those men in England That do no work to-day !
K. Hen. What 's he that wishes so ?
My cousin Westmoreland ? No, my fair cousin : If we are mark'd to die, we are enow v>
To do our country loss ; and if to live, The fewer men, the greater share of honour. God's will ! I pray thee, wish not one man more. By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
10. my kind kinsman, i.e. to Westmoreland, who (as Westmoreland. stated) was not present at
11-14. In Ff vv. 13, 14 are *S™™« at all. In Qq it is given to Bedford, and placed attributed to Warwick, who was before v. 12. The present *ls° absent' bemS Governor of arrangement is due to Thirlby. Calais' Hohnshed merely re-
ports that Henry ' heard one of
16. O that we now had here, the host utter his wish ' thus. It etc. Shakespeare had no au- is known from the Gesta to have thority for assigning this wish been Sir Walter Hungerford. IOO
sc. in King Henry the Fifth
.Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost ; It yearns me not if men my garments wear ; Such outward things dwell not in my desires : But if it be a sin to covet honour, I am the most offending soul alive. No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England : 30 God's peace ! I would not lose so great an honour As one man more, methinks, would share from me, For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one
more !
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host, That he which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him depart ; his passport shall be made And crowns for convoy put into his purse : We would not die in that man's company That fears his fellowship to die with us. This day is call'd the feast of Crispian : 40
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home, Will stand a tip-toe when this day is named, And rouse him at the name of Crispian. He that shall live this day, and see old age, Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours, And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian :' Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars, And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.' Old men forget ; yet all shall be forgot, But he '11 remember with advantages 5o
What feats he did that day : then shall our names,
26. yearns, grieves. for ' He that shall see this day,
39. his fellowship to die and live."
with us, to be our comrade in 48. This line is omitted in Ff,
death. but it follows v. 47 in Qq and,
40. tJie feast of Crispian. if not strictly necessary to the October 25 was the feast diy sense, is indispensable to the of the two brothers Crispinus picture. It was rightly restored and Crispianus. by Malone.
44. He that shall live this 50. with advantages, in day, and see ; Pope's reading heightened colouring. 101
King Henry the Fifth ACTIV
Familiar in his mouth as household words,
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son ;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered ;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers ; 60
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother ; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition :
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not
here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
Re-enter SALISBURY.
Sal. My sovereign lord, bestow yourself with
speed :
The French are bravely in their battles set, And will with all expedience charge on us. 70
K. Hen. All things are ready, if our minds be so.
West. Perish the man whose -mind is back ward now !
K. Hen. Thou dost not wish more help from England, coz?
53. Bedford and Exeter, etc. the good man taught his son '
Of these ' names, ' only Gloucester was a proverbial title for maxims
and Exeter were at Agincourt. of morality and edification. Talbot, not elsewhere mentioned 63. gentle his condition, raise
in this connexion, is no doubt him to gentle rank, the hero of i Hen. VI. 68. bestow yourself, take up
56. the good man, the good your position, man, head of the family. 'How 70. expedience, swiftness. 102
sc. in King Henry the Fifth
West. God's will ! my liege, would you and
I alone,
Without more help, could fight this royal battle ! K. Hen. Why, now thou hast unwish'd five
thousand men ;
Which likes me better than to wish us one. You know your places : God be with you all !
Tucket. Enter MONTJOY.
Mont. Once more I come to know of thee,
King Harry,
If for thy ransom thou wilt now compound, 80
Before thy most assured overthrow : For certainly thou art so near the gulf, Thou needs must be englutted. Besides, in mercy, The constable desires thee thou wilt mind Thy followers of repentance ; that their souls May make a peaceful and a sweet retire From off these fields, where, wretches, their poor
bodies Must lie and fester.
K. Hen. Who hath sent thee now ?
Mont. The Constable of France.
K. Hen. I pray thee, bear my former answer
back : 9o
Bid them achieve me and then sell my bones. Good God ! why should they mock poor fellows
thus?
The man that once did sell the lion's skin While the beast lived, was killed with hunting
him. A many of our bodies shall no doubt
76. five thousand men; i.e. of miscalculation, roundly, a host ; it is not 83. englutted, swallowed, necessary to accuse Shakespeare 86. retire, retreat.
I03
King Henry the Fifth ACT iv
Find native graves ; upon the which, I trust, Shall witness live in brass of this day's work : And those that leave their valiant bones in France, Dying like men, though buried in your dunghills, They shall be famed ; for there the sun shall greet
them, ioo
And draw their honours reeking up to heaven ; Leaving their earthly parts to choke your clime, The smell whereof shall breed a plague in France. Mark then abounding valour in our English, That being dead, like to the bullet's grazing, Break out into a second course of mischief, Killing in relapse of mortality. Let me speak proudly : tell the constable We are but warriors for the working-day ; Our gayness and our gilt are all besmirch'd no
With rainy marching in the painful field ; There 's not a piece of feather in our host — Good argument, I hope, we will not fly — And time hath worn us into slovenry : But, by the mass, our hearts are in the trim ; And my poor soldiers tell me, yet ere night They '11 be in fresher robes, or they will pluck The gay new coats o'er the French soldiers'
heads
And turn them out of service. If they do this, — As, if God please, they shall, — my ransom then J20 Will soon be levied. Herald, save thou thy
labour ;
Come thou no more for ransom, gentle herald : They shall have none, I swear, but these my joints ;
96. native, i.e. English. 105. grazing, glancing off,
102. clime, air. after infljcting a wound.
107. in relapse of mortality,
104. abounding ; used with in the very act of being resolved a consciousness of the (false) into their mortal elements ; as etymology from ' bound. ' they decompose. L.
104
sc. iv King Henry the Fifth
Which if they have as I will leave 'em them, Shall yield them little, tell the constable.
Mont. I shall, King Harry. And so fare thee
well :
Thou never shalt hear herald any more. [Exit. K. Hen. I fear thou 'It once more come again for ransom.
Enter YORK.
York. My lord, most humbly on my knee I beg
The leading of the vaward. 130
K. Hen. Take it, brave York. Now, soldiers,
march away : And how thou pleasest, God, dispose the day !
[Exeunt.
SCENE IV. The field of battle.
Alarum. Excursions. Enter PISTOL, French Soldier, and Boy.
Pist. Yield, cur !
Fr. Sol. Je pense que vous etes gentilhomme de bonne qualite.
Pist. Qualtitie caline custure me ! Art thou a gentleman ? what is thy name ? discuss.
128. York. Edward, Duke it with an Irish refrain of some-
of York, the Aumerle of Richard what similar sound, which we
//. Holinshed mentions that know to have been current in
he was appointed to lead the Elizabethan song-books. It is
van, but not that he sought this there written ' Calen o custure
honour. This was, however, me,' or ' Callino casturame,' —
described in almost identical both phonetic reproductions of
words by Lydgate, and the the Irish ' Colleen, oge astore,'
tradition may have reached young girl, my treasure. The
Shakespeare's ear. Ff give ' calmie,' which the
3. Qualtitie caline custure me ! Camb. and other editors adopt.
Pistol, confronted with the But it is more likely the Ff
Frenchman's 'gibberish,' caps blundered in the strange word.
King Henry the Fifth ACT iv
Fr. Sol. O Seigneur Dieu !
Pist. O, Signieur Dew should be a gentleman : Perpend my words, O Signieur Dew, and mark ; O Signieur Dew, thou diest on point of fox, Except, O signieur, thou do give to me 10
Egregious ransom.
Fr. Sol. O, prenez misericorde ! ayez pitie de moi !
Pist. Moy shall not serve; I will have forty
moys ;
Or I will fetch thy rim out at thy throat In drops of crimson blood.
Fr. Sol. Est-il impossible d'echapper la force de ton bras?
Pist. Brass, cur !
Thou damned and luxurious mountain goat, 20
Offer'st me brass ?
Fr. Sol. O pardonnez moi !
Pist. Say'st thou me so ? is that a ton of moys ? Come hither, boy : ask me this slave in French What is his name.
Boy. £coutez : comment etes-vous appele ?
Fr. Sol. Monsieur le Fer.
Boy. He says his name is Master Fer.
Pist. Master Fer ! I '11 fer him, and firk him, and ferret him : discuss the same in French unto 3o him.
Boy. I do not know the French for fer, and ferret, and firk.
Pist. Bid him prepare ; for I will cut his throat.
Fr. Sol. Que dit-il, monsieur?
Boy. II me commande de vous dire que vous
9. fox, the English broad- 15. rim, midriff,
sword. 29. fer, probably a mean-
13. may, a measure (commonly ingless play upon Le Fer's of wheat) ; according to Douce name. 27 moys made 2 tons. 29. Jirk, drub, beat.
1 06
sc. iv King Henry the Fifth
faites vous pret ; car ce soldat ici est dispose tout a cette heure de couper votre gorge.
Pist. Owy, cuppele gorge, permafoy, Peasant, unless thou give me crowns, brave
crowns ; <0
Or mangled shalt thou be by this my sword.
Fr. Sol. O, je vous supplie, pour Tamour de Dieu, me pardonner ! Je suis gentilhomme de bonne maison : gardez ma vie, et je vous don- nerai deux cents dcus.
Pist. What are his words ?
Boy. He prays you to save his life : he is a gentleman of a good house ; and for his ransom he will give you two hundred crowns.
Pist. Tell him my fury shall abate, and I So
The crowns will take.
Fr. Sol. Petit monsieur, que dit-il ?
Boy. Encore qu'il est contre son jurement de pardonner aucun prisonnier, neanmoins, pour les 6cus que vous 1'avez promis, il est content de vous donner la liberte, le franchisement.
Fr. Sol. Sur mes genoux je vous donne mille remercimens ; et je m'estime heureux que je suis tombe entre les mains d'un chevalier, je pense, le plus brave, vaillant, et tres distingue seigneur 60 d'Angleterre.
Pist. Expound unto me, boy.
Boy. He gives you, upon his knees, a thou sand thanks ; and he esteems himself happy that he hath fallen into the hands of one, as he thinks, the most brave, valorous, and thrice -worthy signieur of England.
Pist. As I suck blood, I will some mercy show. Follow me !
Boy. Suivez-vous le grand capitaine. [Exeunt 70 Pistol^ and French Soldier.} I did never know
107
King Henry the Fifth ACT iv
so full a voice issue from so empty a heart : but the saying is true, * The empty vessel makes the greatest sound.' Bardolph and Nym had ten times more valour than this roaring devil i' the old play, that every one may pare his nails with a wooden dagger ; and they are both hanged ; and so would this be, if he durst steal any thing adventurously. I must stay with the lackeys, with the luggage of our camp : the French might 80 have a good prey of us, if he knew of it ; for there is none to guard it but boys. [Exit.
SCENE V. Another part of the field
Enter CONSTABLE, ORLEANS, BOURBON, DAUPHIN, and RAMBURES.
Con. O diable !
OrL O seigneur! le jour est perdu, tout est perdu !
Dau. Mort de ma vie ! all is confounded, all ! Reproach and everlasting shame Sits mocking in our plumes. O mechante fortune ! Do not run away. \A short alarum.
Con. Why, all our ranks are broke.
Dau. O perdurable shame ! let 's stab ourselves. Be these the wretches that we play'd at dice for?
OrL Is this the king we sent to for his ransom ?
Bour. Shame and eternal shame, nothing but shame ! J0
75. this roaring devil i' the Twelfth Night, iv. 2. 134) ; the
old play; referring to encounters 'wooden dagger' being the
between ' the devil ' and ' the Vice's weapon.
Vice,' which were a stock in- 3. confounded, ruined,
gredient of the Moralities (cf. 7. perdurable, lasting.
1 08
sc. vi King Henry the Fifth
Let us die in honour : once more back again ; And he that will not follow Bourbon now, Let him go hence, and with his cap in hand, Like a base pandar, hold the chamber-door Whilst by a slave, no gentler than my dog, His fairest daughter is contaminated.
Con. Disorder, that hath spoil'd us, friend us
now i Let us on heaps go offer up our lives.
Orl. We are enow yet living in the field To smother up the English in our throngs, If any order might be thought upon.
Bour. The devil take order now ! I '11 to the
throng : Let life be short ; else shame will be too long.
[Exeunt.
SCENE VI. Another part of the field.
Alarums. Enter KING HENRY and/orces, EXETER, and others.
K. Hen. Well have we done, thrice valiant
countrymen :
But all 's not done ; yet keep the French the field. Exe. The Duke of York commends him to
your majesty. K. Hen. Lives he, good uncle? thrice within
this hour
I saw him down ; thrice up again, and fighting ; From helmet to the spur all blood he was.
Exe. In which array, brave soldier, doth he lie, Larding the plain ; and by his bloody side,
n. die in honour: once. So 15. no gentler, of no higher
Knight. Ff ' dye in once,' birth.
' flye in once. ' 8. Larding, fattening, wi
nching. I09
King Henry the Fifth ACT iv
Yoke-fellow to his honour-owing wounds,
The noble Earl of Suffolk also lies. I0
Suffolk first died : and York, all haggled over,
Comes to him, where in gore he lay insteep'd,
And takes him by the beard ; kisses the gashes
That bloodily did yawn upon his face ;
And cries aloud ' Tarry, dear cousin Suffolk !
My soul shall thine keep company to heaven ;
Tarry, sweet soul, for mine, then fly abreast,
As in this glorious and well-foughten field
We kept together in our chivalry ! '
Upon these words I came and cheer'd him up : 2o
He smiled me in the face, raught me his hand,
And, with a feeble gripe, says ' Dear my lord,
Commend my service to my sovereign.'
So did he turn and over Suffolk's neck
He threw his wounded arm and kiss'd his lips ;
And so espoused to death, with blood he seal'd
A testament of noble-ending love..
The pretty and sweet manner of it forced
Those waters from me which I would have stopp'd ;
But I had not so much of man in me, 3o
And all my mother came into mine eyes
And gave me up to tears.
K. Hen. . I blame you not ;
For, hearing this, I must perforce compound With mistful eyes, or they will issue too.
^Alarum.
But, hark ! what new alarum is this same ? The French have reinforced their scatter'd men : Then every soldier kill his prisoners ; Give the word through. \Exeunt.
9. honour-owing, honourable. 37. On this order, see Intro-
ii. haggled, mangled. duction, and note to vii. 57.
110
sc. vn King Henry the Fifth
/
ScENEVIL Another part of the field.
Enter FLUELLEN and GOWER.
Flu. Kill the poys and the luggage ! 'tis ex pressly against the law of arms : 'tis as arrant a piece of knavery, mark you now, as can be offer't > in your conscience, now, is it not ?
Gow. 3Tis certain there 's not a boy left alive ; and the cowardly rascals that ran from the battle ha' done this slaughter : besides, they have burned and carried away all that was in the king's tent ; wherefore the king, most worthily, hath caused every soldier to cut his prisoner's throat. O, 'tis 10 a gallant king !
Flu. Ay, he was porn at Monmouth, Captain Govver. What call you the town's name where Alexander the Pig was born !
Gow. Alexander the Great.
Flu. Why, I pray you, is not pig great? the pig, or the great, or the mighty, or the huge, or the magnanimous, are all one reckonings, save the phrase is a little variations.
Gow. I think Alexander the Great was born 20 in Macedon : his father was called Philip of Macedon, as I take it.
Flu. I think it is in Macedon where Alexander is porn. I tell you, captain, if you look in the maps of the 'orld, I warrant you sail find, in the comparisons between Macedon and Monmouth,
Sc. 7. Holinshed relates that distant from the army, without some six hundred French horse- any sufficient guard, entered the men, 'being the first that fled,' camp, slew the servants, and 'hearing that the English tents plundered the treasure.' and pavilions were a good way
III
King Henry the Fifth ACT iv
that the situations, look you, isj>oth alike. There is a jriver in Macedon ; and thqje is also moreover a river at Monmouth : it is called Wye at Mon- mouth ; but it is out of my prains what is the 3o name of the other river ; but /tis all one, 'tis alike as my fingers is .to my fingers, and there' is sal mons in both. If you mark Alexander's life well, Harry of Monmouth's life is come after it indif ferent well ; for there is figures in all things. Alexander, God knows, and you know, in« his rages, and his furies, and his wraths, and his cholers, and his moods, and his displeasures, and his indignations, and also being a little intoxicates in his prains, did, in his ales and his angers, look 4o you, kill his best friend, Cleitus.
Gow. Our king is not like him in that : he never killed any of his friends.
Flu, It is not well done, mark you now, to take the tales out of my mouth, ere it is made and finished. I speak but in the figures and comparisons of it : as Alexander killed his friend Cleitus, being in his ales and his cups; so also Harry Monmouth, being in his right wits and his good judgements, turned away the fat knight 50 with the great-belly doublet : he was full of jests, and gipes, and knaveries, and mocks ; I have forgot his name.
Gow. Sir John Falstaff.
Flu. That is he: I'll tell you there is good men porn at Monmouth.
Gow. Here comes his majesty.
112
sc. vii King Henry the Fifth
Alarum. Enter KING HENRY, with BOURBON and prisoners ; WARWICK, GLOUCESTER, EXETER, and others.
K. Hen. I was not angry since I came to
France
Until this instant. Take a trumpet, herald ; Ride thou unto the horsemen on yon hill : 60
If they will fight with us, bid them come down, Or void the field ; they do offend our sight : If they '11 do neither, we will come to them, And make them skirr away, as swift as stones Enforced from the old Assyrian slings : Besides, we '11 cut the throats of those we have, And not a man of them that we shall take Shall taste our mercy. Go and tell them so.
Enter MONTJOY.
Exc. Here comes the herald of the French,
my liege. Glo. His eyes are humbler than they used
to be. 7o
K. Hen. How now ! what means this, herald ?
know'st thou not That I have fined these bones of mine for ransom ?
57. Enter King Henry, -with Bourbon and others are taken.
Bourbon and prisoners. So Ff. Henry has thus a new batch of
Most modern edd. omit the prisoners, and it is these whose
reference to the prisoners. But slaughter he threatens in v. 66,
it was clearly intended. Holin- as a deterrent to the ' horsemen
shed describes a renewal of the on yon hill.' This, as Mr.
battle after the slaughter of Stone has shown, disposes of
the prisoners previously taken Johnson's sarcasm : ' the King
(iii. 555). It is pretty clear is of a very bloody disposition,
that Shakespeare meant to He has already cut the throats
represent this by the fight en- of his prisoners ; and now
suing on the desperate charge threatens to cut them again.' of Bourbon at the close of 72. Jined, agreed to pay as a
Scene 5. As the result of that, fine.
VOL. VII 113 I
King Henry the Fifth ACT iv
Comest thou again for ransom ?
Mont. No, great king:
I come to thee for charitable license, That we may wander o'er this bloody field To book our dead, and then to bury them ; To sort our nobles from our common men. For many of our princes — woe the while ! — Lie drown'd and soak'd in mercenary blood ; So do our vulgar drench their peasant limbs 80
In blood of princes ; and their wounded steeds Fret fetlock deep in gore and with wild rage Yerk out their armed heels at their dead masters, Killing them twice. O, give us leave, great king, To view the field in safety and dispose Of their dead bodies !
K. Hen. I tell thee truly, herald,
I know not if the day be ours or no ; For yet a many of your horsemen peer And gallop o'er the field.
Mont. The day is yours.
K. Hen. Praised be God, and not our strength,
for it ! 9o
What is this castle call'd that stands hard by?
Mont. They call it Agincourt.
K. Hen. Then call we this the field of Agincourt, Fought on the day of Crispin Crispianus.
Flu. Your grandfather of famous memory, an 't please your majesty, and your great- uncle Edward the Plack Prince of Wales, as I have read in the chronicles, fought a most prave pattle here in France.
K. Hen. They did, Fluellen. J0o
Flu. Your majesty says very true : if your
76. book, enter on the list of 94. Crispin Crispianus ; pro-
killed, perly Crispin and Crispinian ;
83. Yerk, jerk, kick. and so Holinshed.
114
sc. vii King Henry the Fifth
majesties is remembered of it, the Welshmen did good service in a garden where leeks did grow, wearing leeks in their Monmouth caps ; which, your majesty know, to this hour is an honourable badge of the service ; and I do believe your ma jesty takes no scorn to wear the leek upon Saint Tavy's day.
K. Hen. I wear it for a memorable honour ; For I am Welsh, you know, good countryman. no
Flu. All the water in Wye cannot wash your majesty's Welsh plood out of your pody, I can tell you that : God pless it and preserve it, as long as it pleases his grace, and his majesty too !
K. Hen. Thanks, good my countryman.
Flu. By Jeshu, I am your majesty's country man, I care not who know it ; I will confess it to all the 'orld : I need not to be ashamed of your majesty, praised be God, so long as your majesty is an honest man. 120
K. Hen. God keep me so ! Our heralds go
with him :
Bring me just notice of the numbers dead On both our parts. Call yonder fellow hither.
[Points to Williams. Exeunt Heralds with Mont joy.
Exe. Soldier, you must come to the king.
K. Hen. Soldier, why wearest thou that glove in thy cap ?
Will. An 't please your majesty, 'tis the gage • of one that I should fight withal, if he be alive.
K. Hen. An Englishman?
Will. An 't please your majesty, a rascal that 130
104. Monmouth caps. Ac- manufacture was, shortly before cording to Fuller ' the best caps he wrote, moved into Worcester- were made at Monmouth,' and shire. They were specially worn they continued to be called by soldiers. Monmouth caps even when the
"5
King Henry the Fifth ACT iv
swaggered with me last night ; who, if alive and ever dare to challenge this glove, I have sworn to take him a box o' th' ear : or if I can see my glove in his cap, which he swore, as he was a soldier, he would wear if alive, I will strike it out soundly.
K. Hen. What think you, Captain Fluellen ? is it fit this soldier keep his oath ?
Flu. He is a craven and a villain else, an't please your majesty, in my conscience. 140
K. Hen. It may be his enemy is a gentleman of great sort, quite from the answer of his degree.
Flu. Though he be as good a gentleman as the devil is, as Lucifer and Belzebub himself, it is necessary, look your grace, that he keep his vow and his oath : if he be perjured, see you now, his reputation is as arrant a villain and a Jacksauce, as ever his black shoe trod upon God's ground and his earth, in my conscience, la ! iSO
K. Hen. Then keep thy vow, sirrah, when thou meetest the fellow.
Will. So I will, my liege, as I live.
K. Hen. Who servest thou under?
Will. Under Captain Gower, my liege.
Flu. Gower is a good captain, and is good knowledge and literatured in the wars.
K. Hen. Call him hither to me, soldier.
Will. I will, my liege. [Exit.
K. Hen. Here, Fluellen ; wear thou this favour 160 for me and stick it in thy cap : when Alengon and
142. quite from the answer the devil is; this was proverbial ; of his degree, removed by his cf. Lear's ' The prince of dark- rank from all possibility of ness is a gentleman ' (King Le a r, answering the challenge of a iii. 4. 148). man of Williams' station. 161. -when Aletifon and my-
144. as good a gentleman as self were down together. The
116
sc. vii King Henry the Fifth
myself were down together, I plucked this glove from his helm : if any man challenge this, he is a friend to Alen^on, and an enemy to our person ; if thou encounter any such, apprehend him, an thou dost me love.
Flu. Your grace doo's me as great honours as can be desired in the hearts of his subjects : I would fain see the man, that has but two legs, that shall find himself aggriefed at this glove ; i70 that is all ; but I would fain see it once, an please God of his grace that I might see.
K. Hen. Knowest thou Gower?
Flu. He is my dear friend, an please you.
K. Hen. Pray thee, go seek him, and bring him to my tent.
Flu. I will fetch him. [Exit.
K. Hen. My Lord of Warwick, and my brother
Gloucester,
Follow Fluellen closely at the heels : The glove which I have given him for a favour 180 May haply purchase him a box o' th' ear ; It is the soldier's ; I by bargain should Wear it myself. Follow, good cousin Warwick : If that the soldier strike him, as I judge By his blunt bearing he will keep his word, Some sudden mischief may arise of it ; For I do know Fluellen valiant And, touch'd with choler, hot as gunpowder, And quickly will return an injury : Follow, and see there be no harm between them. 190 Go you with me, uncle of Exeter. [Exeunt.
encounter thus lightly alluded Alen9on ; yet with plain strength
to is related by Holinshed in a he slew two of the Duke's com-
paragraph headed : ' A Valiant pany, and felled the Duke
King.' Henry himself was himself (Stone's Holinshed ',
'almost felled by the Duke of p. 195).
117
King Henry the Fifth ACT iv
SCENE VIII. Before KING HENRY'S pavilion.
Etiter GOWER and WILLIAMS. Will. I warrant it is to knight you, captain.
Enter FLUELLEN.
Flu. God's will and his pleasure, captain, I beseech you now, come apace to the king : there is more good toward you peradventure than is in your knowledge to dream of.
Will. Sir, know you this glove?
Flu. Know the glove ! I know the glove is a glove.
" Will. I know this ; and thus I challenge it.
\Strikes him.
Flu. 'Sblood ! an arrant traitor as any is in the 10 universal world, or in France, or in England !
Gow. How now, sir ! you villain !
Will. Do you think I '11 be forsworn ?
Flu. Stand away, Captain Gower; I will give treason his payment into plows, I warrant you.
Will. I am no traitor.
Flu. That 's a lie in thy throat. I charge you in his majesty's name, apprehend him : he 's a friend of the Duke Alenc/m's.
Enter WARWICK and GLOUCESTER. War. How now, how now ! what 's the matter ? 30 Flu. My Lord of Warwick, here is — praised be God for it ! — a most contagious treason come to light, look you, as you shall desire in a summer's day. Here is his majesty.
22. contagious, for ' outrageous.
sc. vin King Henry the Fifth
Enter KING HENRY and EXETER.
K. Hen, How now ! what 's the matter ?
Flu. My liege, here is a villain and a traitor, that, look your grace, has struck the glove which your majesty is take out of the helmet of Alen^on. Will. My liege, this was my glove ; here is the fellow of it ; and he that I gave it to in change 3o promised to wear it in his cap : I promised to strike him, if he did : I met this man with my glove in his cap, and I have been as good as my word.
flu. Your majesty hear now, saving your majesty's manhood, what an arrant, rascally, beg garly, lousy knave it is : I hope your majesty is pear me testimony, and witness, and will avouch- ment, that this is the glove of Alen^on, that your majesty is give me ; in your conscience, now. 40
K. Hen. Give me thy glove, soldier : look, here is the fellow of it.
'Twas I, indeed, thou promised'st to strike ; And thou hast given me most bitter terms.
Flu. And please your majesty, let his neck answer for it, if there is any martial law in the world.
K. Hen. How canst thou make me satisfaction ?
Will. All offences, my lord, come from the heart : never came any from mine that might 50 offend your majesty.
K. Hen. It was ourself thou didst abuse. Will. Your majesty came not like yourself: you appeared to me but as a common man ; witness the night, your garments, your lowliness ; and what your highness suffered under that shape, I beseech you take it for your own fault and not mine : for had you been as I took you for, I made 119
King Henry the Fifth ACT iv
no offence; therefore, I beseech your highness, pardon me. 60
K. Hen. Here, uncle Exeter, fill this glove with
crowns,
And give it to ihis fellow. Keep it, fellow; And wear it for an honour in thy cap Till I do challenge it. Give him the crowns : And, captain, you must needs be friends with him.
Flu. By this day and this light, the fellow has mettle enough in his belly. Hold, there is twelve pence for you ; and I pray you to serve God, and keep you out of prawls, and prabbles, and quarrels, and dissensions, and, I warrant you, it is the better 70 for you.
Will. I will none of your money.
flu. It is with a good will ; I can tell you, it will serve you to mend your shoes : come, where fore should you be so pashful ? your shoes is not so good : 'tis a good silling, I warrant you, or I will change it.
Enter an English Herald.
K. Hen. Now, herald, are the dead number'd ? Her. Here is the number of the slaughter'd
French. K. Hen. What prisoners of good sort are taken,
uncle ? 80
Exe. Charles Duke of Orleans, nephew to the
king;
John Duke of Bourbon, and Lord Bouciqualt : Of other lords and barons, knights and squires, Full fifteen hundred, besides common men.
K. Hen. This note doth tell me of ten thousand French
8 1 f. The catalogue closely follows Holinshed both in names and numbers.
1 2O
sc. viii King Henry the Fifth
That in the field lie slain : of princes, in this
number,
And nobles bearing banners, there lie dead One hundred twenty six : added to these, Of knights, esquires, and gallant gentlemen, Eight thousand and four hundred ; of the which, 9o Five hundred were but yesterday dubb'd knights : So that, in these ten thousand they have lost, There are but sixteen hundred mercenaries ; The rest are princes, -barons, lords, knights, squires, And gentlemen of blood and quality. The names of those their nobles that lie dead : Charles Delabreth, high constable of France ; Jacques of Chatillon, admiral of France ; The master of the cross-bows, Lord Rambures ; Great Master of France, the brave Sir Guichard
Dolphin, ioo
John Duke of Alenc.on, Anthony Duke of Brabant. The brother to the Duke of Burgundy, And Edward Duke of Bar : of lusty earls, Grandpre and Roussi, Fauconberg and Foix, Beaumont and Marie, Vaudemont and Lestrale. Here was a royal fellowship of death ! Where is the number of our English dead ?
\Herald shews him another paper. Edward the Duke of York, the Earl of Suffolk, Sir Richard Ketly, Davy Gam, esquire : None else of name ; and of all other men no
But five and twenty. O God, thy arm was here ; And not to us, but to thy arm alone, Ascribe we all ! When, without stratagem, But in plain shock and even play of battle,
98. Jacques (monosyllable). report of ' some ' ; adding, ' but
99. cross - bows, cross - bow other writers of greater credit men. affirm, that there were slain
in. But five and twenty. above five or six hundred Holinshed gives this as the persons.' 121
King Henry the Fifth AC
Was ever known so great and little loss
On one part and on the other ? Take it, God,
For it is none but thine !
Exe. 'Tis wonderful !
K. Hen. Come, go we in procession to the village And be it death proclaimed through our host To boast of this or take that praise from God Which is his only.
Flu. Is it not lawful, an please your majesty, to tell how many is killed ?
K. Hen. Yes, captain; but with this acknow ledgement, That God fought for us.
Flu. Yes, my conscience, he did us great good.
K. Hen. Do we all holy rites ; Let there be sung ' Non nobis ' and * Te Deum ; ' The dead with charity enclosed in clay : And then to Calais ; and to England then ; Where ne'er from France arrived more happy men.
\Exeunt.
ACT V
PROLOGUE.
Enter Chorus.
Chor. Vouchsafe to those that have not read
the story,
That I may prompt them : and of such as have, I humbly pray them to admit the excuse Of time, of numbers and due course of things, Which cannot in their huge and proper life
122
PROL. King Henry the Fifth
Be here presented. Now we bear the king Toward Calais : grant him there ; there seen, Heave him away upon your winged thoughts Athwart the sea. Behold, the English beach Pales in the flood with men, with wives and boys, 10 Whose shouts and claps out-voice the deep-mouth'd
sea,
Which like a mighty whiffler 'fore the king Seems to prepare his way : so let him land, And solemnly see him set on to London. So swift a pace hath thought that even now You may imagine him upon Blackheath ; Where that his lords desire him to have borne His bruised helmet and his bended sword Before him through the city : he forbids it, Being free from vainness and self-glorious pride ; 20 Giving full trophy, signal and ostent Quite from himself to God. But now behold, In the quick forge and working-house of thought, How London doth pour out her citizens ! The mayor and all his brethren in best sort, Like to the senators of the antique Rome, With the plebeians swarming at their heels, Go forth and fetch their conquering Caesar in : As, by a lower but loving likelihood, Were now the general of our gracious empress, 30 As in good time he may, from Ireland coming, Bringing rebellion broached on his sword, How many would the peaceful city quit, •
12. ivhifflcr, one who marched 29. by a lower but loving
or rode at the head of a pro- likelihood, to compare Henry's
cession to clear the way, fur- triumphal entry with another,
nished with a staff, or lath less momentous, but not less
sword. The ' whiffle ' was welcome,
probably a fife. 30. the general, the Earl of
21. signal and ostent, sign Essex, who had been sent in
and outward show of triumph. March 1599 to suppress the Irish
25. sort, array. revolt. See the Introduction.
King Henry the Fifth ACTV
To welcome him ! much more, and much more
cause,
Did they this Harry. Now in London place him; As yet the lamentation of the French Invites the king of England's stay at home ; The emperor 's coming in behalf of France, To order peace between them ; and omit All the occurrences, whatever chanced, 40
Till Harry's back-return again to France : There must we bring him ; and myself have
play'd
The interim, by remembering you 'tis past. Then brook abridgement, and your eyes advance, After your thoughts, straight back again to France.
\Exit.
SCENE I. France. The English camp.
Enter FLUELLEN and GOWER.
Gow. Nay, that 's right ; but why wear you your leek to-day ? Saint Davy's day is past.
Flu. There is occasions and causes why and wherefore in all things : I will tell you, asse my friend, Captain Gower : the rascally, scauld, beg garly, lousy, pragging knave, Pistol, which you and yourself and all the world know to be no petter than a fellow, look you now, of no merits, he is come to me and prings me pread and salt yester day, look you, and bid me eat my leek : it was in 10 a place where I could not breed no contention with him ; but I will be so bold as to wear it in my cap till I see him once again, and then I will tell him a little piece of my desires.
38. The emperor; Sigismund, England in May 1416. Emperor of Germany, landed in 5. scauld, scabby. 124
sc. i King Henry the Fifth
Enter PISTOL.
Gow. Why, here he comes, swelling like a turkey-cock.
Flu. Tis no matter for his swellings nor his turkey-cocks. God pless you, Aunchient Pistol ! you scurvy, lousy knave, God pless you !
Pist. Ha ! art thou bedlam ? dost thou thirst,
base Trojan, 20
To have me fold up Parca's fatal web ? Hence ! I am qualmish at the smell of leek.
Flu. I peseech you heartily, scurvy, lousy knave, at my desires, and my requests, and my petitions, to eat, look you, this leek : because, look you, you do not love it, nor your affections and your appetites and your disgestions doo's not agree with it, I would desire you to eat it.
Pist. Not for Cadwallader and all his goats.
Flu. There is one goat for you. [Strikes him.'] 30 Will you be so good, scauld knave, as eat it ?
Pist. Base Trojan, thou shalt die.
Flu. You say very true, scauld knave, when God's will is : I will desire you to live in the mean time, and eat your victuals : come, there is sauce for it. [Strikes him.'] You called me yesterday mountain-squire ; but I will make you to day a squire of low degree. I pray you, fall to : if you can mock a leek, you can eat a leek.
G&w. Enough, captain : you have astonished 40 him.
Flu. I say, I will make him eat some part of my leek, or I will peat his pate four days. Bite, I pray you ; it is good for your green wound and your ploody coxcomb.
29. Cadwallader, a legendary 38. a squire of low degree;
Welsh king. alluding to the burlesque
32. Trojan, knave. romance so entitled.
"5
King Henry the Fifth ACTV
Pist. Must I bite ?
flu. Yes, certainly, and out of doubt and out of question too, and ambiguities.
Pist. By this leek, I will most horribly revenge : I eat and eat, I swear — so
Flu. Eat, I pray you : will you have some more sauce to your leek? there is not enough leek to swear by.
Pist. Quiet thy cudgel ; thou dost see I eat.
Flu. Much good do you, scauld knave, heartily. Nay, pray you, throw none away ; the skin is good for your broken coxcomb. When you take occasions to see leeks hereafter, I pray you, mock at 'em ; that is all.
Pist. Good. 60
Flu. Ay, leeks is good: hold you, there is a groat to heal your pate.
Pist. Me a groat !
Flu. Yes, verily and in truth, you shall take it; or I have another leek in my pocket, which you shall eat.
Pist. I take thy groat in earnest of revenge.
Flu. If I owe you any thing, I will pay you in cudgels : you shall be a woodmonger, and buy nothing of me but cudgels. God b' wi' you. and 70 keep you, and rueal your pate. \Exit.
Pist. All hell shall stir for this.
Gow. Go, go; you are a counterfeit cowardly knave. Will you mock at an ancient tradition, begun upon an honourable respect, and worn as a memorable trophy of predeceased valour and dare not avouch in your deeds any of your words? I have seen you gleeking and galling at this gentleman twice or thrice. You thought, because he could not speak English in the native garb, he 80
78. gleeking, scoffing. 126
SC. II
King Henry the Fifth
could not therefore handle an English cudgel: you find it otherwise ; and henceforth let a Welsh correction teach you a good English condition. Fare ye well. [Exit.
Pist. Doth Fortune play the huswife with me
now?
News have I, that my Nell is dead i' the spital Of malady of France ; And there my rendezvous is quite cut off. Old I do wax ; and from my weary limbs Honour is cudgelled. Well, bawd I '11 turn, 90
And something lean to cutpurse of quick hand. To England will I steal, and there I '11 steal : And patches will I get unto these cudgell'd scars, And swear I got them in the Gallia wars. {Exit.
SCENE II. France. A royal palace.
Enter, at one door, KING HENRY, EXETER, BED FORD, GLOUCESTER, CLARENCE, WARWICK, WESTMORELAND, and other Lords ; at another, the FRENCH KING, QUEEN ISABEL, the PRIN CESS KATHARINE, ALICE and other Ladies; the DUKE OF BURGUNDY, and his train.
K. Hen. Peace to this meeting, wherefore we are met !
83. condition, behaviour. at Troyes.
85. huswife, jilt. Clarence. Clarence's name
86. Nell. Ff. have ' Doll ' ; has not hitherto been included but only Pistol's wife, the former in the stage direction or among Mrs. Quickly, can be meant, the dramatis personae, since he though Shakespeare, who ' never does not speak ; but v. 84 im- blotted a line,' may have left plies that he is present. Hun- uncorrected an original slip of tingdon, who is addressed in the the pen. next line, is included among
Sc. 2. The scene of Henry's the ' other Lords. ' betrothal, according to Holin- i. wherefore, for which (viz.
shed, was 'S. Peter's Church' peace). 127
King Henry the Fifth ACTV
Unto our brother France, and to our sister,
Health and fair time of day ; joy and good wishes
To our most fair and princely cousin Katharine ;
And, as a branch and member of this royalty,
By whom this great assembly is contrived,
We do salute you, Duke of Burgundy ;
And, princes French, and peers, health to you all !
JFr. King. Right joyous are we to behold your
face,
Most worthy brother England ; fairly met : 10
So are you, princes English, every one.
Q. Isa. So happy be the issue, brother England, Of this good day and of this gracious meeting, As we are now glad to behold your eyes ; Your eyes, which hitherto have borne in them Against the French, that met them in their bent, The fatal balls of murdering basilisks : The venom of such looks, we fairly hope, Have lost their quality, and that this day Shall change all griefs and quarrels into love. 20
K. Hen. To cry amen to that, thus we appear.
Q. Isa. You English princes all, I do salute you.
Bur. My duty to you both, on equal love, Great Kings of France and England ! That I
have labour'd,
With all my wits, my pains and strong endeavours, To bring your most imperial majesties Unto this bar and royal interview, Your mightiness on both parts best can witness.
ii. So are you, princes play upon the two senses : (i) a
English; Ff1-3 'so are you fabulous animal whose glances
princess (English).' slew ; (2) a large cannon.
16. bent, the direction (or 19. Have ; the plural by at- aim) of an eye- glance (or a traction after ' looks. ' cannon-shot). 27. bar, place of confer-
17. basilisks; used with a ence.
128
sc. ii King Henry the Fifth
Since then my office hath so far prevail'd
That, face to face and royal eye to eye, 3o
You have congreeted, let it not disgrace me,
If I demand, before this royal view,
What rub or what impediment there is,
Why that the naked, poor and mangled Peace,
Dear nurse of arts, plenties and joyful births,
Should not in this best garden of the worlJ,
Our fertile France, put up her lovely visage ?
Alas, she hath from France too long been chased,
And all her husbandry doth lie on heaps,
Corrupting in it own fertility. 40
Her vine, the mersy cheerer of the heart,
Unpruned dies ; her hedges even-pleach'd,
Like prisoners wildly overgrown with hair,
Put forth disorder'd twigs ; her fallow leas
The darnel, hemlock and rank fumitory
Doth root upon, while that the coulter rusts
That should deracinate such savagery ;
The even mead, that erst brought sweetly forth
The freckled cowslip, burnet and green clover,
Wanting the scythe, all uncorrected, rank, 50
Conceives by idleness, and nothing teems
But hateful docks, rough thistles, kecksies, burs,
Losing both beauty and utility.
And as our vineyards, fallows, meads and hedges,
Defective in their natures, grow to wildness,
Even so our houses and ourselves and children
Have lost, or do not learn for want of time,
31. congreeted, greeted one found occasionally elsewhere in
another. Fr
33. rub, hindrance. 42. even-pleach'd, trimmed to
form an even surface.
40. it ; so F! F2. ' Its ' was 49. burnet, a herb used in not yet current till after Shake- stanching wounds, speare's death, and occurs in this 52. kecksies, dry hemlock- passage only in F3and F4> though stalks.
VOL. VII 129 K
King Henry the Fifth ACT v
The sciences that should become our country;
But grow like savages, — as soldiers will
That nothing do but meditate on blood, — 60
To swearing and stern looks, defused attire
And every thing that seems unnatural.
Which to reduce into our former favour
You are assembled : and my speech entreats
That I may know the let, why gentle Peace
Should not expel these inconveniences
And bless us with her former qualities,
K. Hen. If, Duke of Burgundy, you would the
peace,
Whose want gives growth to the imperfections Which you have cited, you must buy that peace 70 With full accord to all our just demands ; Whose tenours and particular effects You have enscheduled briefly in your hands.
Bur. The king hath heard them ; to the which
as yet There is no answer made.
K. Hen. Well then the peace,
Which you before so urged, lies in his answer.
Fr. King. I have but with a cursorary eye O'erglanced the articles : pleaseth your grace To appoint some of your council presently To sit with us once more, with better heed 80
To re-survey them, we will suddenly Pass our accept and peremptory answer.
K. Hen. Brother, we shall. Go, uncle Exeter,
61. defused, disordered. the French king does not
63. reduce, bring back. guarantee that he will accept
8 1. suddenly, promptly. the articles, merely that he will
82. Pass our accept and give a definite decision. Hence peremptory answer, (probably) Mr. W. A. Wright's proposal give the answer upon which we to understand ' accept' as a par- definitely and finally agree. ticiple, — ( ' the answer which 'Accept' has commonly been we have accepted as decisive') understood ' acceptance ' ; but is preferable,
I30
sc. ii King Henry the Fifth
And brother Clarence, and you, brother Glou cester,
Warwick and Huntingdon, go with the king ; And take with you free power to ratify, Augment, or alter, as your wisdoms best Shall see advantageable for our dignity, Any thing in or out of our demands, And we '11 consign thereto. Will you, fair sister, 90 Go with the princes, or stay here with us ?
Q. Isa. Our gracious brother, I will go with
them :
Haply a woman's voice may do some good, When articles too nicely urged be stood on.
K. Hen. Yet leave our cousin Katharine here
with us :
She is our capital demand, comprised Within the fore-rank of our articles.
Q. Isa. She hath good leave.
\Exeunt all except Henry, Katharine, and Alice.
K. Hen. Fair Katharine, and most fair,
Will you vouchsafe to teach a soldier terms Such as will enter at a lady's ear 100
And plead his love-suit to her gentle heart ?
Kath. Your majesty shall mock at me ; I can not speak your England.
K. Hen. O fair Katharine, if you will love me soundly with your French heart, I will be glad to hear you confess it brokenly, with your English tongue. Do you like me, Kate ?
Kath. Pardonnez-moi, I cannot tell vat is ' like me.'
K. Hen. An angel is like you, Kate, and you no are like an angel.
90. consign thereto, confirm 94. too nicely, with trivial and
it with our seal captious arguments.
King Henry the Fifth ACTV
Kath. Que dit-il? que je suis semblable a les anges ?
Alice. Oui, vraiment, sauf votre grace, ainsi dit-il.
K. Hen. I said so, dear Katharine ; and I must not blush to affirm it.
Kath. O bon Dieu ! les langues des hommes sont pleines de tromperies.
K. Hen. What says she, fair one ? that the 120 tongues of men are full of deceits ?
Alice. Oui, dat de tongues of de mans is be full of deceits : dat is de princess.
K. Hen. The princess is the better English woman. I' faith, Kate, my wooing is fit for thy understanding : I am glad thou canst speak no better English ; for, if thou couldst, thou wouldst find me such a plain king that thou wouldst think I had sold my farm to buy my crown. I know no ways to mince it in love, but directly to say 130 * I love you : ' then if you urge me farther than to say ' do you in faith ? ' I wear out my suit. Give me your answer ; i' faith, do : and so clap hands and a bargain : how say you, lady ?
Kath. Sauf votre honneur, me understand veil.
K. Hen. Marry, if you would put me to verses or to dance for your sake, Kate, why, you undid me : for the one, I have neither words nor mea sure, and for the other, I have no strength in J4o measure, yet a reasonable measure in strength. If I could win a lady at leap-frog, or by vaulting into my saddle with my armour on my back,
123. dat is de princess ; prob- 138. undid, would undo,
ably incomplete. Alice may be
supposed to wish to qualify the 141. measure is played upon
candour of the sentiment, when in three senses : (i) metre ; (2) the king cuts her short a stately dance ; (3) amount.
I32
sc. ii King Henry the Fifth
under the correction of bragging be it spoken, I should quickly leap into a wife. Or if I might buffet for my love, or bound my horse for her favours, I could lay on like a butcher and sit like a jack-a-napes, never off. But, before God, Kate, I cannot look greenly nor gasp out my eloquence, nor I have no cunning in protestation ; only down- 150 right oaths, which I never use till urged, nor never break for urging. If thou canst love a fellow of this temper, Kate, whose face is not worth sun-burning, that never looks in his glass for love of any thing he sees there, let thine eye be thy cook. I speak to thee plain soldier : if thou canst love me for this, take me; if not, to say to thee that I shall die, is true ; but for thy love, by the Lord, no ; yet I love thee too. And while thou livest, dear Kate, take a fellow of 160 plain and uncoined constancy ; for he perforce must do thee. right, because he hath not the gift to woo in other places : for these fellows of in finite tongue, that can rhyme themselves into ladies' favours, they do always reason themselves out again. What ! a speaker is but a prater ; a rhyme is but a ballad. A good leg will fall ; a straight back will stoop ; a black beard will turn white ; a curled pate will grow bald ; a fair face will wither ; a full eye will wax hollow : but a good 170 heart, Kate, is the sun and the moon ; or rather the sun and not the moon ; for it shines bright and never changes, but keeps his course truly. If thou would have such a one, take me ; and
146. buffet, box. constancy, one whose love is
., , , . .. . constant because like a plain, un-
,b. bound, leap (,.*. make stamped coin it is not ' current,'
leap).
1 60. of plain and uncoined objects. 133
i.e. readily transferred to new
King Henry the Fifth ACTV
take me, take a soldier ; take a soldier, take a king. And what sayest thou then to my love? speak, my fair, and fairly, I pray thee.
Kath. Is it possible dat I sould love de enemy of France ?
K. Hen. No ; it is not possible you should x&> love the enemy of France, Kate : but, in loving me, you should love the 'friend of France; for I love France so well that I will not part with a village of it ; I will have it all mine : and, Kate, when France is mine and I am yours, then yours - is France and you are mine.
Kath. I cannot tell vat is dat.
K. Hen. No, Kate ? I will tell thee in French ; which I am sure will hang upon my tongue like a new -married wife about her husband's neck, i90 hardly to be shook off. Je quand sur le posses sion de France, et quand vous avez le possession de moi, — let me see, what then ? Saint Denis be my speed ! — done votre est France et vous etes mienne. It is as easy for me, Kate, to conquer the kingdom as to speak so much more French : I shall never move thee in French, unless it be to laugh at me.
Kath. Sauf votre honneur, le Francois que vous parlez, il est meilleur que 1'Anglois lequel 200 je parle.
K. Hen. No, faith, is't not, Kate: but thy speaking of my tongue, and I thine, most truly- falsely, must needs be granted to be much at one. But, Kate, dost thou understand thus much English, canst thou love me ?
Kath. I cannot tell.
K. Hen. Can any of your neighbours tell, Kate ? I '11 ask them. Come, I know thou
204. much at one, much alike.
sc. ii King Henry the Fifth
lovest me : and at night, when you come into 210 your closet, you '11 question this gentlewoman about me ; and I know, Kate, you will to her dispraise those parts in me that you love with your heart : but, good Kate, mock me mercifully ; the rather, gentle princess, because I love thce cruelly. If ever thou beest mine, Kate, as I have a saving faith within me tells me thou shalt, I get thee with scambling, and thou must therefore needs prove a good soldier-breeder : shall not thou and I, between Saint Denis and Saint George, 220 compound a boy, half French, half English, that shall go to Constantinople and take the Turk by the beard? shall we not? what sayest thou, my fair flower-de-luce?
Kath. I do not know dat.
K. Hen. No ; 'tis hereafter to know, but now to promise : do but now promise, Kate, you will endeavour for your French part of such a boy ; and for my English moiety take the word of a king and a bachelor. How answer you, la plus 230 belle Katharine du monde, mon tres cher et devin deesse ?
Kath. Your majestee ave fausse French enough to deceive de most sage demoiselle dat is in France.
K. Hen. Now, fie upon my false French ! By mine honour, in true English, I love thee, Kate : by which honour I dare not swear thou lovest me; yet my blood begins to flatter me that thou dost, notwithstanding the poor and 240
218. scambling, fighting. the project of the Emperor Sigis- 221-223. An unconsciously mund, who visited Henry in ironical reference to Henry's England, with a view to a Euro- actual successor, of whom no pean alliance against the Turk, such exploit is recorded. But Shakespeare could have read there may be also an allusion to this in Halle.
135
King Henry the Fifth ACTV
untempering effect of my visage. Now, be- shrevv my father's ambition ! he was thinking of civil wars when he got me : therefore was I created with a stubborn outside, with an aspect of iron, that, when I come to woo ladies, I fright them. But, in faith, Kate, the elder I wax, the better I shall appear : my comfort is, that old age, that ill layer up of beauty, can do no more spoil upon my face : thou hast me, if thou hast me, at the worst ; and thou shalt wear 250 me, if thou wear me, better and better : and therefore tell me, most fair Katharine, will you have me? Put off your maiden blushes; avouch the thoughts of your heart with the looks of an empress ; take me by the hand, and say ' Harry of England, I am thine : ' which word thou shalt no sooner bless mine ear withal, but I will tell thee aloud ' England is thine, Ireland is thine, France is thine, and Henry Plantagenet is thine ; ' who, though I speak it before his face, if he be 260 not fellow with the best king, thou shalt find the best king of good fellows. Come, your answer in broken music -} for thy voice is music and thy English broken ; therefore, queen of all, Katha rine, break thy mind to me in broken English ; wilt thou have me ?
Kath. Dat is as it sail please de roi mon pere.
K. Hen. Nay, it will please him well, Kate ; it shall please him, Kate.
241. untempering,unsoften\ng. made in sets of four, which
263. broken music. Chappell when played together formed a
gives the most authoritative "consort." If one or more of
explanation of this phrase, thrice the instruments of one set were
used by Shakespeare, in a com- substituted for the corresponding
municationtoMr. W.A.Wright: ones of another set, the result
'Some instruments, such as was no longer a " consort " but
viols, flutes, etc., were formerly "broken music." '
'36
sc. ii King Henry the Fifth
Kath. Den it sail also content me. 27o
K. Hen. Upon that I kiss your hand, and I call you my queen.
Kath. Laissez, mon seigneur, laissez, laissez : ma foi, je nc veux point que vous abaissiez votre grandeur, en baisant la main d'une de votre sei- gneurie indigne serviteur ; excusez-moi, je vous supplie, mon tres-puissant seigneur.
K. Hen. Then I will kiss your lips, Kate.
Kath. Les dames et demoiselles pour etre baisees devant leur noces, il n'est pas la coutume 280 de France.
K. Hen. Madam my interpreter, what says she?
Alice. Dat it is not be de fashion pour les ladies of France, — I cannot tell vat is baiser en Anglish.
K. Hen. To kiss.
Alice. Your majesty entendre bettre que moi.
K. Hen. It is not a fashion for the maids in France to kiss before they are married, would 290 she say ?
Alice. Oui, vraiment.
K. Hen. O Kate, nice customs curtsy to great kings. Dear Kate, you and I cannot be confined within the weak list of a country's fashion : we are the makers of manners, Kate ; , and the liberty that follows our places stops the mouth of all find-faults ; as I will do yours, for upholding the nice fashion of your country in denying me a kiss : therefore, patiently and 3oo yielding. [Kissing her.} You have witchcraft in your lips, Kate : there is more eloquence in a sugar touch of them than in the tongues of the French council ; and they should sooner persuade
295. list, barrier, limit. 137
King Henry the Fifth ACTV
Harry of England than a general petition of monarchs. Here comes your father.
Re-enter the FRENCH KING and his QUEEN, BURGUNDY, and other Lords.
•
Bur. God save your majesty ! my royal cousin, teach you our princess English ?
K. Hen. I would have her learn, my fair cousin, how perfectly I love her ; and that is 310 good English.
Bur. Is she not apt ?
K. Hen. Our tongue is rough, coz, and my condition is not smooth; so that, having neither the voice nor the heart of flattery about me, 1 cannot so conjure up the spirit of love in her, that he will appear in his true likeness.
Bur. Pardon the frankness of my mirth if I answer you for that. If you would conjure in her, you must make a circle ; if conjure up love 320- in her in his true likeness, he must appear naked and blind. Can you blame her then, being a maid yet rosed over with the virgin crimson of modesty, if she deny the appearance of a naked blind boy in her naked seeing self? It were, my lord, a hard condition for a maid to consign to.
^ K. Hen. Yet they do wink and yield, as love is blind and enforces.
Bur. They are then excused, my lord, when they see not what they do. 33»
K. Hen. Then, good my lord, teach your cousin to consent winking.
Bur. I will wink on her to consent, my lord, if you will teach her to know my meaning : for maids, well summered and warm kept, are like
314. condition, disposition. 327. wink, close their eyes.
138
sc. ii King Henry the Fifth
flies at Bartholomew-tide, blind, though they have their eyes ; and then they will endure handling, which before would not abide looking on.
K. Hen. This moral ties me over to time and a hot summer ; and so I shall catch the fly, your 340 cousin, in the latter end and she must be blind too.
Bur. As love is, my lord, before it loves.
K. Hen. It is so : and you may, some of you, thank love for my blindness, who cannot see many a fair French city for one fair French maid that stands in my way.
Fr. King. Yes, my lord, you see them per- spectively, the cities turned into a maid ; for they are all girdled with maiden walls that war hath never entered. 350
K. Hen. Shall Kate be my wife ?
Fr. King. So please you.
K. Hen. I am content ; so the maiden cities you talk of may wait on her: so the maid that stood in the way for my wish shall show me the way to my will.
Fr. King. We have consented to all terms of reason.
K. Hen. Is 't so, my lords of England ? •
West. The king hath granted every article : 360 His daughter first, and then in sequel all, According to their firm proposed natures.
Exe. Only he hath not yet subscribed this : Where your majesty demands, that the King of France, having any occasion to write for matter of grant, shall name your highness in this form and with this addition, in French, Notre tres- cher fils Henri, Roi d'Angleterre, Heritier de
347. perspective 'ly, as in a 'perspective,' or glass producing optical illusion.
139
King Henry the Fifth ACTV
France; and thus in Latin, Praeclarissimus filius noster Henricus, Rex Anglias, et Haeres Franciae. 370
Fr. King. Nor this I have not, brother, so denied, But your request shall make me let it pass.
K. Hen. I pray you then, in love and dear
alliance,
Let that one article rank with the rest ; And thereupon give me your daughter.
Fr. King. Take her, fair son, and from her
blood raise up
Issue to me ; that the contending kingdoms Of France and England, whose very shores look
pale
With envy of each other's happiness, May cease their hatred, and this dear conjunction 38o Plant neighbourhood and Christian-like accord In their sweet bosoms, that never war advance His bleeding sword 'twixt England and fair France.
All. Amen !
K. Hen. Now, welcome, Kate : and bear me
witness all, That here I kiss her as my sovereign queen.
{Flourish.
Q. Isa. God, the best maker of all marriages, Combine your hearts in one, your realms in one ! As man and wife, being two, are one in love, So be there 'twixt your kingdoms such a spousal, 39o That never may ill office, or fell jealousy, Which troubles oft the bed of blessed marriage, Thrust in between the paction of these kingdoms, To make divorce of their incorporate league ; That English may as French, French Englishmen, Receive each other. God speak this Amen !
369. Prceclarissimus. Shake- natural^ having ' praecaris- speare took this word from simus.' Holinshed, the original treaty 393. paction, compact. 140
King Henry the Fifth
All. Amen!
K. Hen. Prepare we for our marriage : on which
day,
My Lord of Burgundy, we '11 take your oath, And all the peers', for surety of our leagues. Then shall I swear to Kate, and you to me ; And may our oaths well kept and prosperous be !
[Sennet. Exeunt.
EPILOGUE.
Enter Chorus
Chor. Thus far, with rough and all-unable pen,
Our bending author hath pursued the story, In little room confining mighty men,
Mangling by starts the full course of their glory. Small time, but in that small most greatly lived
This star of England : Fortune made his sword ; By* which the world's best garden he achieved,
And of it left his son imperial lord. Henry the Sixth, in infant bands crown'd King
Of France and England, did this king succeed ; 10 Whose state so many had the managing,
That they lost France and made his England
bleed : Which oft our stage hath shown ; and, for their
sake, In your fair minds let this acceptance take.
[Exit.
2. bending, i.e. under the continuity, involved in the scenic weight of his task. method of drama.
4. by starts, i.e. by breaks of
THE FAMOUS HISTORY OF THE LIFE OF
KING HENRY THE EIGHTH
143
DRAMATIS PERSONS
KING HENRY the Eighth.
CARDINAL WOLSEY.
CARDINAL CAMPEIUS.
CAPUCIUS, Ambassador from the Emperor Charles V.
CRANMER, Archbishop of Canterbury.
DUKE OF NORFOLK.
DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM.
DUKE OF SUFFOLK.
EARL OF SURREY.
Lord Chamberlain.
Lord Chancellor.
GARDINER, Bishop of Winchester.
Bishop of Lincoln.
LORD ABERGAVENNY.
LORD SANDS.
SIR HENRY GUILDFORD.
SIR THOMAS LOVELL.
SIR ANTHONY DENNY.
SIR NICHOLAS VAUX.
Secretaries to Wolsey.
CROMWELL, Servant to Wolsey.
GRIFFITH, Gentleman-usher to Queen Katharine.
Three Gentlemen.
DOCTOR BUTTS, Physician to the King.
Garter King-at-Arms.
Surveyor to the Duke of Buckingham.
BRANDON, and a Sergeant-at-Arms.
Door-keeper of the Council-chamber. Porter, and his Man.
Page to Gardiner. A Crier.
QUEEN KATHARINE, wife to King Henry, afterwards divorced. ANNE BULLEN, her Maid of Honour, afterwards Queen. An old Lady, friend to Anne Bullen. PATIENCE, woman to Queen Katharine.
Several Lords and Ladies in the Dumb Shows ; Women at tending upon the Queen ; Scribes, Officers, Guards, and other Attendants.
Spirits.
SCENE: London; Westminster ; Kimbolton. VOL. VII 145 L
King Henry the Eighth
DURATION OF TIME
I. Dramatic Time. — Seven days represented on the stage, with indeterminable intervals.
Day x. I. i. -4.
Interval. „ 2. II. I.-3. „ 3- II. 4. „ 4- HI- I-
Interval. „ 5. III. 2.
Interval. „ 6. IV. i., 2.
Interval. „ 7- V. i.-S.
II. Historic Time. — From June 1520 to September 1533 (the christening of Elizabeth). But two later events are included, the death of Katharine, January 1536, and the summons of Cranmer before the Council, in 1544. The following table (from Daniel's Time Analysis, p. 346) gives the historic dates, arranged in the order of the play : —
1520, June. — Field of the Cloth of Gold 1522, Mar. — War declared with France
, , May-July. — Visit of the Emperor to the English Court.
1521, April 16. — Buckingham brought to the Tower. 1527. — Henry becomes acquainted with Ann Bullen
1521, May. — Arraignment and execution (May 17) of Buckingham.
1527, Aug. — Commencement of proceedings for divorce.
1528, Oct. — Campeius arrives in London.
1532, Sept. — Ann Bullen created Marchioness of Pembroke.
1529, May. — Assembly of Court at Blackfriars. 1529-33. — Cranmer abroad working for the divorce.
1533, Jan. — Marriage of Henry with Ann Bullen.
1529, Oct. — Wolsey deprived of the Great Seal. ,, Oct. 25. — More chosen Lord Chancellor.
1533, Mar. 30. — Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. ,, May 23. — Marriage with Katharine declared nulL
1530, Nov. 29. — Death of Wolsey. 1533, June i. — Coronation of Ann. 1536, June. — Death of Katharine. 1533. Sept. 7. — Birth of Elizabeth.
1544. — Cranmer called before the Council. 1533. Sept. — Christening of Elizabeth.
146
INTRODUCTION
THE Famous History of the Life of Henry VIIL was first published in the Folio of 1623. The text is unusually accurate, and was printed from a MS. prepared with equally unusual care for the press. As became a drama in which ceremony plays so large a part, the stage directions are full and ac curate. In two of them (the coronation-scene, iv. i., and the baptism, v. 5.) the elaborate and precise historical realism of the modern stage seems to be more nearly anticipated than in any other play of Shakespeare's time. The costly and magnificent masques of Whitehall had stimulated kindred tend encies in the regular drama; and the Globe Company now controlled stage -resources very different from the ' four or five most vile and ragged foils ' that had done duty for Agincourt in its early days. The spectacular elaboration of Henry VIIL was, how ever, evidently extraordinary and unprecedented. It involved, incidentally, the destruction of the first Globe Theatre.
On June 29, 1613, the Globe was burnt down during the performance of a play which a series of contemporary descriptions enable us with practical certainty to identify as Henry VIIL The most salient of these are as follows : —
(i) A MS. letter from Thomas Lorkin, dated ' this 147
King Henry the Eighth
last of June' 1613, relates: 'No longer since than yesterday, while Bourbege his companie were acting at the Globe the play of Hen. 8, and there shoot ing of certain chambers in way of triumph ; the fire catch'd and fasten'd upon the thatch of the house and there burn'd so furiously as it consumed the whole house and all in less than two hours (the people having enough to do to save themselves).'
(ii) Sir Henry Wotton, writing to his nephew on July 2, gives a more detailed account of the fire and adds important particulars of the play. 'The king's players had a new play, called All is True, re presenting some principal pieces of the reign of Henry the Eighth, which was set forth with many extraordinary circumstances of pomp and majesty, even to the matting of the stage • the Knights of the Order, with their Georges and Garter, the guards with their embroidered coats, and the like; sufficient in truth within a while to make greatness very familiar if not ridiculous. Now King Henry, making a mask at the Cardinal Wolsey's House, and certain cannons being shot off at his entry, some of the paper, or other stuff, wherewith one of them was stopped, did light on the thatch,' etc.
(iii) A third allusion, in a letter from John Chamberlain to Ralph Winwood, July 12, 1613, simply confirms these reports. But the mention of the event by Howes, the continuator of Stowe's Chronicle (1615), adds an important detail. 'The house,' he writes, ' being filled with people to behold the play, viz. Henry the 8.'
In June 1613, then, a play variously known as Henry VIII. and All is True, and corresponding in every particular, so far as described, to the Henry VIIL afterwards published by Shakespeare's Company, was acted, as a new piece, by that company, on their 148
Introduction
own stage. The inclusion of the play in the Folio must be held to prove that Shakespeare had at least some connexion with it ; its qualities of metre and style forbid us to place that connexion earlier than 1 6 10. To hold that Shakespeare's Company, having a Shakespearean Henry VIIL in their repertory, were acting, some two years later, a totally distinct Henry VIIL by some other writer, is an unwarrantable viola tion of economy. i
The grounds hitherto adduced for rejecting the identification are extremely slight. A contemporary ballad on the fire declares that 'the riprobates . . . prayed for the Foole and Henrie Condye,' whereas there is no Fool in Henry VIIL But the Fool may have been in the playhouse (and thus in need of the riprobates' prayers) without being in the play. Mr Fleay relies on the absence of the title All is True. But the Prologue, with its reiterated references to 'truth' (cf. vv. 9, 1 8, 21), reads like an expanded commentary on a vanished text.1
The date 1610-12 is now therefore generally accepted.2
The Prologue seems, however, to have had a more specific and militant purpose than that of enforcing the title. It conveys a thinly veiled allusion to some less authentic version on the same noble story ; and warns the audience that any who took Henry VIIL to be 'a merry bawdy play,' or 'a noise of targets,' or 'such a show as fool and fight is/ — 'will be deceived.'3 The Epilogue similarly
1 Boyle's theory that our v. 5. 52 to the colonisation of
Henry VIII. was written as late Virginia has been thought to
as 1617 depends upon the hypo- imply the date 1612, when the
thesis which he has not made colony received a constitution,
plausible, that it was the joint But cf. note on the passage, work of Massinger and Fletcher. 3 The Prologue has been
- The apparent allusion in often attributed to Jonson, and 149
King Henry the Eighth
•warns off those who came merely ' to hear the City abused extremely.' The previous dozen years had been prolific of plays upon Henry's reign: Chettle's Cardinal Wolsey ; The Rising of Cardinal Wolsey, by Munday, Drayton, and Chettle, 1602 (both known only from Henslowe's Diary); The Chronicle History of Thomas Lord Cromwell (printed 1602, 1613); and finally, Rowley's Chronicle History of Henry VIII. : When you see me you know me, published in 1605, and no doubt identical with the Enterlude of King Henry VIII. entered (by the same publisher, N.. Butter) in the Sta. Reg. in the previous Feb. 12th,1 There is little doubt that the writer of the Prologue had one or more of these productions in view, and the phrases above quoted fasten with peculiar aptness upon Rowley's rollicking travesty of history, with its * bluff King Hal,' its unredeemed Wolsey, its London ruffians and watchmen, and its robust Protestantism acting as a solvent upon all Catholic virtue.
Whether written or not with a deliberate design of vindicating history from these dramatic traducers, there is no question that the Shakespearean Henry VIII. is far more true to the letter of history than any of his earlier Histories. No other preserves so much of the recorded detail of history. Its speeches are often little more than Holinshed transcribed in blank verse ; its pageantries punctiliously reproduce his detailed and picturesque narrative. Holinshed was indeed for this reign unusually full and unusually authentic. It lay but a generation behind him, and
its motive undoubtedly recalls 1 Edited by K. Elze (1874). the Jonsonian habit of preparing Elze held that the Shakespearean his audience ' to see one play pl^y was written during Eliza- to-day as other plays should be.' beth's reign — with subsequent But the schooling is conveyed interpolation of the allusions to with a courtly suavity which be James. This is absolutely nega- did not affect. lived by the style.
150
Introduction
he was able to weave into his own work the first-hand reports of contemporaries like Hall and Cavendish. It is true that his sources were steeped in animus of very different shades, and that their parti-coloured hues give a composite and somewhat indecisive effect to his presentment of men. Holinshed's Wolsey is painted for the most part with the angry Protestant brush of Hall, whose Chronicle was suppressed under Mary; but we detect readily enough the passages transcribed from Wolsey's faithful usher 1 (the valet to whom he was a hero), or from the Jesuit Campion's eulogy upon this great pre-Loyolan member of his Order. Nor have these dissonances been by any means effaced in the drama ; indeed, they are even heightened by the addition of a highly-coloured Pro testant patch from Foxe's Acts and Monuments (1576) — the Cranmer scenes in Act V.
As it stands, the drama presents a strange mingling of reticence and partisanship. We are invited to bestow our sympathies, alternately, on different sides, and are yet denied the definite information needed for judging, or even knowing how the dramatist judged, between them. Critics, according to their bent, have found it equally easy to exhibit the play as a manifesto of the new faith or of the old — a celebration of Elizabeth or a vindication of Katharine. Gervinus explained it to be a paean to the House of Tudor ; it may quite as readily be represented as a satire on them. Henry is tenderly, even obsequi ously, handled ; we see him as the magnanimous father of his people, intervening to remit Wolsey's oppressive taxation (i. 2.), or to rescue the pious
1 G. Cavendish's Life of \Vol- material passed into Holinshed's
sey was still in MS. ; but Stow second edition (1587) used by
had transferred its substance to Shakespeare, his Annales (1580), whence the
King Henry the Eighth
Cranmer from Gardiner's spite (v. 3.). Yet it is diffi cult to describe as an ' apology ' for Henry, a play which draws but the flimsiest of disguises over the sensual motive of his suit for divorce. And note that the dramatist does not here merely follow the Chronicle; he deliberately antedates Henry's favours to Anne Boleyn, so as to emphasise their sinister bearing upon Katharine's fate. Thus the historical date of her sudden elevation to the peerage is 1532. But the scene representing this (ii. 3.), the only one in which she can be said to appear, is placed immediately before the scene representing the trial of 1529. The king's execrations at the close of this scene upon the * dilatory sloth and tricks ? of Rome, thus acquire a significance not apparent -in Holinshed.
A similar ambiguity marks the portrayal of Buck ingham, of Wolsey, of Anne. Was Buckingham the victim of Wolsey's unscrupulous policy or a traitor whom he justly brought to the block ? History pro nounces against him; but Holinshed, without expressly asserting his innocence, speaks bitterly of the ' forged tales and contrived surmises ' which the Cardinal 1 daily put into the king's head ... to the satis fying of his cankered and malicious stomach ' ; and the dramatist (who omits this passage) holds the balance so even that either view may be taken with almost equal plausibility. Each has, in fact, been assumed as obvious by modern critics of insight.1 In Wolsey's case the dramatist has not so much held the balance between two views as enforced them with equal vigour in succession. The psychological hiatus between the churchman of boundless ambition and the saint who only upon his overthrow 'felt himself,
1 Thus Kreyssig speaks ingham is condemned ; while Mr. (Varies, i. 361) of ' the palpably Boasholdsthathissummaryarrest false evidence' on which Buck- 'is proved to be fully justified.' 152
Introduction
and found the blessedness of being little,' is, if any thing, somewhat more violent than in Holinshed. On the most favourable view, it must be allowed that the fundamental features of his character are wholly suppressed until his part is played out — to be then suddenly announced, as in a funeral eloge, by the devoted Griffith.
Alone, among the persons of the drama, the noble and pathetic figure of Katharine is drawn with perfect harmony and precision, and here the effect is due far less to any imaginative reconstruction of the materials than to a faithful preservation of the profuse and animated detail they supplied. It was not Shake speare's way to abandon his authorities merely for the sake of asserting his originality, so long as they gave him what he wanted. Julius Ccesar follows Plutarch almost as closely as Henry VIII. follows Holinshed. But the fidelity of Henry VIII. is of a lower kind than that of Julius Cccsar ; it is more literal and less imaginative ; in a word, less Shakespearean.
No doubt the nature of the subject imposed enormous difficulties on an Elizabethan dramatist. To render with imaginative sympathy the moving story of the divorce, and yet to remember that the glory of his own time had flowered from that malign plant, was to be under a continual provocation to the conflict of interests which the play, as we see, has not escaped. Regarded near by, the divorce of Katharine was a pitiful tragedy ; regarded in retro spect it seemed big with the destinies of England. Yet the earlier Histories had presented a parallel difficulty without involving a parallel failure. The glories of Henry V. like those of Elizabeth were rooted in a crime, but no such rent yawns across the tragedy of Richard II. as that which so fatally divides Henry VIII. against itself. After making all allow-
153
King Henry the Eighth
ance for such obstacles, it remains true that the total effect of the drama is insignificant in proportion to the splendour of detail and the superb power of single scenes. Nothing more damning can be said of any play, and nothing like it can be said of any play which is wholly Shakespeare's work. Hence, in point simply of dramatic quality, the play justifies a suspicion that it is not entirely Shakespeare's work- That suspicion was, however, first suggested by the more palpable evidence of style and metre. Already, in 1758, Roderick called attention to three striking metrical peculiarities of the play, viz. (i) the frequency of verses ending with a redundant syllable; (2) the unusual quality of the ccesura or pause within the line ; x (3) the frequent clashing of sense-emphasis and musical cadence.2 For him, however, these remained merely mysterious vagaries of Shakespeare. Nearly a century passed before the idea of composite authorship occurred to any one as the solution of the anomaly, and then, as commonly happens in such cases, it occurred to several minds at once — to Emerson, Tennyson, Hickson, and Spedding. Acting on a hint of Tennyson's to the effect that c many passages were very much in the manner of Fletcher,'3 Spedding read the play through with an eye to this especial point, and succeeded in demonstrating beyond question that two hands, if not three, were con cerned. This division of the play between them was immediately confirmed in every detail by Hickson,4
1 The pause after two em- edition of Edwardes's Canons of phatic monosyllables, the first of Criticism.
which bears the verse stress, is 3 Gentleman s Magazine, \§t,p\
common within the line, as well reprinted in New Shakespere
as at the end, and is very rare Soc. Transactions, 1874.
in Shakespeare. E.g. ' Remem- 4 Notes and Queries, Aug. 24,
ber your bold life too,' v. 2. 1850. Also reprinted in N. Sh.
85. Soc. Transactions^ after Sped-
2 Notes published in the sixth ding's paper.
154
Introduction
and has received the almost unanimous assent of later English critics. So glaring, indeed, is the dis tinction between the two metrical and stylistic schemes that any qualified reader who applies it may be trusted to arrive, within narrow limits of divergence, at Spedding's division of the play.1 Spedding's own vivid analysis of the two styles, as seen in two typical scenes (i. i. and i. 3.), can hardly be improved. The former scene ' seemed to have the full stamp of Shakespeare in his latest manner; the same close- packed expression ; the same life, and reality, and freshness ; the same rapid and abrupt turnings of thought, so quick that language can hardly follow fast enough ; the same impatient activity of intellect and fancy, which having once disclosed an idea cannot wait to work it orderly out ; the same daring confidence in the resources of language, which plunges headlong into a sentence without knowing how it is to come forth ... the same entire freedom from book language and commonplace. . . . But the instant I entered upon the third scene ... I was conscious of a total change. I felt as if I had passed suddenly out of the language of nature into the language of the stage, or of some conventional mode of conversation. . . . The expression became suddenly diffuse and languid. The wit wanted mirth and character.' Of the metrical distinction nothing better has been said than Emerson's remark apropos of the Wolsey-Cromwell scene (iii. 2.) — that while
1 He assigned to Shakespeare Shakespeare's part as i in 3, in
the following scenes only: — L 'Fletcher's' as i in 1.7; the
i., 2., ii. 3., iii. 2. (to the exit of proportion of ' unstopped lines'
the king only), and v. i. The as i in 2.03 and i in 3.79. Of
application of the well-known ' light ' and ' weak ' endings
'verse-tests' by Professor Ingram 'Shakespeare's' 1146 verses
in 1874 fully confirmed the contain 82, ' Fletcher's ' 1467
division ; the proportion of contain 8. 1 double endings ' being in
King Henry the Eighth
Shakespeare's secret is ' that the thought constructs the tune, so that reading for the sense best brings out the rhythm, — here the lines are constructed on a given tune.' l To these differences may perhaps be added a certain divergence from Shakespeare's practice in the use of prose and verse. Thus the blank verse conversation of the two gentlemen in ii. i. 1-50, and again in iv. i. 1-36, is in the matter-of- fact tone for which Shakespeare regularly used prose (cf. V. F. Janssen, Die Prosa in Shakespeare's Dmmen, p. 103).
The second writer, denoted by these striking mannerisms, Spedding, like Tennyson, confidently identified with Fletcher, the most mannered of all Contemporary dramatists. More recently a claim has been advanced for Massinger — the chosen de pository, in our time, of Shakespearean work not wholly worthy of Shakespeare; but on indecisive grounds.2
It remains to ask how the play came to be thus divided between the two writers. Spedding, with his unfailing ingenuity, supplied an elaborately fanciful solution : ' I should rather conjecture that [Shake speare] had conceived the idea of a great historical drama on the subject of Henry VIII. which would have included the divorce of Katharine, the fall of Wolsey, the rise of Cranmer, the coronation of Anne Bullen, and the final separation of the English from the Roman Church . . . that he had proceeded in the execution of this idea as far perhaps as the third Act, which might have included the establishment of Cranmer in the seat of highest ecclesiastical authority (the council-chamber scene in the fifth being designed
1 Representative Men. has been accepted by Mr. Fleay
2 Boyle, in Transactions of (Life and Work of Shakespeare, N. Sh. Soc. 1885. His view p. 250).
156
Introduction
as an introduction to that); when, finding that his fellows of the Globe were in distress for a new play to honour the marriage of the Lady Elizabeth with, he thought that his half-finished work might help them, and accordingly handed them his manuscript to make what they could of it : that they put it into the hands of Fletcher (already in high repute as a popular and expeditious playwright), who finding the original design not very suitable to the occasion, and utterly beyond his capacity, expanded the three acts into five by interspersing scenes of show and magni ficence, and passages of description, and long poetical conversations, in which his strength lay ... and so turned out a splendid "historical masque or show- play."' It is hard to believe that Shakespeare, so tenacious of his rights in the cummin of land and corn, thus easily surrendered his interest in the fruits of his genius. If Fletcher completed the play, we may infer pretty confidently that Shakespeare had pre viously abandoned it. Whatever the explanation may be of that mysterious withdrawal, before he was fifty, to the provincial amenities of Stratford, there is little doubt that his life's work on his departure was not so completely rounded off as the Tempest Epilogue tempts us to imagine ; that he left some projects unfulfilled, some dramatic schemes half-wrought. It is not difficult to understand how Henry VIII. should have been among these. The pathetic story of Katharine, so vividly told by Holinshed, must have been familiar to him from boyhood ; but it appealed with a new fascination to the recent creator of Hermione. Unless appearances wholly deceive, he intended to blend her fortunes in the same drama with those of Cranmer and the Protestant Reforma tion (v. i.). Events so recent and familiar could not be handled with the freedom of a tragic myth
157
King Henry the Eighth
or a lawless romance, or boldly embroidered with imaginary character and incident like the remote reign of King John.
The task of bringing these two conflicting lines of interest and sympathy into focus was not insuper able. But it may well have been hard enough, with material not of gossamer romance but of intractable history, to check the impetus of an imagination which, to judge by even the finest work in this drama, had already lost something of its shaping power, something of its marvellous mastery of soul- character. The fragment was abandoned, and passed, probably in company with the twin fragment of The Two Noble Kinsmen, into the hands of Shakespeare's brilliant successor, whose facile pen and lax artistic con science lightly dared the problem which Shakespeare had declined, piecing out the interrupted destinies of his persons with death-scenes of a ready and fluent pathos, but contriving to lift into prominence all the lurking weaknesses of the plot. It was reserved for Fletcher to render Shakespeare's work fairly liable to Hertzberg's summary of it as 'a chronicle -history with three and a half catastrophes, varied by a marriage and a coronation-pageant,' and to mingle the memory of the English Hermione's unavenged and unrepented wrongs with the dazzling coronation of her rival and exuberant prophecies over the cradle of her rival's child.
158
THE FAMOUS HISTORY OF THE LIFE OF
KING HENRY THE EIGHTH
THE PROLOGUE.
I COME no more to make you laugh : things now,
That bear a weighty and a serious brow,
Sad, high, and working, full of state and woe,
Such noble scenes as draw the eye to flow,
We now present. Those that can pity, here
May, if they think it well, let fall a tear ;
The subject will deserve it. Such as give
Their money out of hope they may believe,
May here find truth too. Those that come to see
Only a show or two, and so agree 10
The play may pass, if they be still and willing,
I '11 undertake may see away their shilling
Richly in two short hours. Only they
That come to hear a merry bawdy play,
A noise of targets, or to see a fellow
In a long motley coat guarded with yellow,
Will be deceived ; for, gentle hearers, know,
3. working, moving. Elizabethan theatre.
la. their shilling, the usual 16. guarded, faced. The
price for a seat on the stage, yellow- faced motley coat was
the most privileged place in the the garb of the Fool.
King Henry the Eighth ACT
To rank our chosen truth with such a show
As fool and fight is, beside forfeiting
Our own brains, and the opinion that we bring,
To make that only true we now intend,
Will leave us never an understanding friend.
Therefore, for goodness' sake, and as you are
known
The first and happiest hearers of the town, Be sad, as we would make ye : think ye see The very persons of our noble story As they were living ; think you see them great, And follow'd with the general throng and sweat Of thousand friends ; then in a moment, see How soon this mightiness meets misery: And, if you can be merry then, I '11 say A man may weep upon his wedding-day.
ACT I.
SCENE I. London. An ante-chamber in the palace
Enter the DUKE OF NORFOLK at one door ; at the other, the DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM and the LORD ABERGAVENNY.
Buck. Good morrow, and well met. How have
ye done Since last we saw in France ?
Nor. I thank your grace,
20. the opinion that -we bring, 24. happiest, best disposed,
the reputation we bring (of readiest to seize and respond to
making our ensuing play in strict the dramatist's intention, accordance with truth). 2. saw, met.
1 60
sc. i King Henry the Eighth
Healthful ; and ever since a fresh admirer Of what I saw there.
Buck. An untimely ague
Stay'd me a prisoner in my chamber when Those suns of glory, those two lights of men, Met in the vale of Andren.
Nor. 'Twixt Guynes and Arde :
I was then present, saw them salute on horseback ; Beheld them, when they lighted, how they clung In their ernbracement, as they grew together ; J0
Which had they, what four throned ones could
have weigh'd Such a compounded one ?
Buck. All the whole time
I was my chamber's prisoner.
Nor. Then you lost
The view of earthly glory : men might say, Till this time pomp was single, but now married To one above itself. Each following day Became the next day's master, till the last Made former wonders its. To-day the French, All clinquant, all in gold, like heathen gods, Shone down the English ; and, to-morrow, they 20
4. An untimely ague stay'd in English and French territory,
me a prisoner, etc. The historic both in Picardy. Duke of Buckingham (Edward ,7> Became the next days
Stafford, d. 1521) took an im- master, taught and transmitted
portant part in the meeting. its triumphs to the next day. On June 17 he formed part of
the English escort of the French l8' tfs> lts own- One of the
king (so Holinshed, iii. 860). rare undoubted occurrences of
The Duke of Norfolk on the the word m Shakespeare's text,
other hand was in England The Ff Prmt 1{ (Cal. Hen. VIII. iii. i. 873, cit. 19. clinquant, glittering with
Stone, p. 425) ; but it does not gold. The word was properly
appear that Shakespeare could used of thin sheets of gold, and
have known this. hence already suggests the golden
7. 'Twixt Guynes and Arde ; sheen made more definite by the
these places being respectively next words.
VOL. VII l6l M
King Henry the Eighth ACTI
Made Britain India : every man that stood Show'd like a mine. Their dwarfish pages were As cherubins, all gilt : the madams too, Not used to toil, did almost sweat to bear The pride upon them, that their very labour Was to them as a painting : now this masque Was cried incomparable ; and the ensuing night Made it a fool and beggar. The two kings, Equal in lustre, were now best, now worst, As presence did present them ; him in eye, 30
Still him in praise: and, being present both, 'Twas said they saw but one; and no discerner Durst wag his tongue in censure. When these
suns —
For so they phrase 'em — by their heralds chal lenged
The noble spirits to arms, they did perform Beyond thought's compass; that former fabulous
story,
Being now seen possible enough, got credit, That Bevis was believed.
Buck. O, you go far.
Nor. As I belong to worship and affect In honour honesty, the tract of every thing 40
Would by a good discourser lose some life, Which action's self was tongue to. All was royal ; To the disposing of it nought rebell'd, Order gave each thing view ; the office did
25. pride, splendid vesture. ton, the hero of the famous
ib. their, -very labour was to Middle English romance of that
them as a painting ; i.e. the name. His battle with the
exertion inflamed their cheeks. giant Ascapart is referred to in
32. saw but one; their ap- the Contention (^^ corre- pearance was indistinguishable sPondin& to 2 "<*> *"• »• 3-93)-
40. tract, course.
33. ** censure, in drawing 44 ^«, officers, the officials • comparisons. charged with the arrangement
38. Bevis; Bevis of Hamp- of procedure. 162
SC. I
King Henry the Eighth
Distinctly his full function.
Buck. Who did guide,
I mean, who set the body and the limbs Of this great sport together, as you guess ?
Nor. One, certes, that promises no element In such a business.
Buck. I pray you, who, my lord ?
Nor. All this was order'd by the good dis cretion 5o Of the right reverend Cardinal of York.
Buck. The devil speed him ! no man's pie is
freed
From his ambitious finger. What had he To do in these fierce vanities ? I wonder That such a keech can with his very bulk Take up the rays o' the beneficial sun And keep it from the earth.
Nor. Surely, sir,
There 's in him stuff that puts him to these ends ; For, being not propp'd by ancestry, whose grace Chalks successors their way, nor call'd upon 60
For high feats done to the crown ; neither allied To eminent assistants ; but, spider-like, Out of his self-drawing web, he gives us note, The force of his own merit makes his way ; A gift that heaven gives for him, which buys A place next to the king.
Aber. I cannot tell
What heaven hath given him, — let some graver eye Pierce into that ; but I can see his pride
45. Distinctly, so that each 55. keech, beef fat rolled in a
item of the ceremonies received lump for the manufacture of
equal attention and secured its tallow : here with allusion to
due effect. Wolsey's parentage.
48. promises no element, 63. self-drawing, drawn from
would not be suspected of any itself ; there is a somewhat harsh
concern. change of construction.
163
King Henry the Eighth ACT i
Peep through each part of him : whence has he
that,
If not from hell ? the devil is a niggard, 7o
Or has given all before, and he begins A new hell in himself.
Buck. Why the devil,
Upon this French going out, took he upon him, Without the privity o' the king, to appoint Who should attend on him? He makes up the
file
Of all the gentry ; for the most part such To whom as great a charge as little honour lie meant to lay upon : and his own letter, The honourable board of council out, Must fetch him in he papers.
Aber. I do know 80
Kinsmen of mine, three at the least, that have By this so sicken'd their estates, that never They shall abound as formerly.
Buck. O, many
Have broke their backs with laying manors on 'em For this great journey. What did this vanity But minister communication of A most poor issue ?
Nor. Grievingly I think,
The peace between the French and us not values The cost that did conclude it.
Buck. Every man,
73. going out, expedition. an insignificant result. The
80. Must fetch him in he thought is more lucidly expressed
papers; (his independent letter by Holinshed : (Buckingham de-
of summons, drawn up without clared that) 'he knew not for
concurrence of the council), what cause so much money
must call in the man whom he should be spent about the sight
sets in his list. of a vain talk to be had, and
86. minister communication communication to be ministered
of a most poor issue, give occasion of things of no importance'
to a conference which has led to (iii. 855).
164
sc. i King Henry the Eighth
After the hideous storm that follovv'd, was 9o
A thing inspired ; and, not consulting, broke Into a general prophecy ; That this tempest, Dashing the garment of this peace, aboded The sudden breach on 't.
Nor. Which is budded out ;
For France hath flaw'd the league, and hath
attach'd Our merchants' goods at Bourdeaux.
Aber. Is it therefore
The ambassador is silenced ?
Nor. Marry, is 't.
Aber. A proper title of a peace ; and purchased At a superfluous rate ! t
Buck. Why, all this business
Our reverend cardinal carried.
Nor. Like it your grace, 100
The state takes notice of the private difference Betwixt you and the cardinal. I advise you — And take it from a heart that wishes towards you Honour and plenteous safety — that you read The cardinal's malice and his potency Together ; to consider further that What his high hatred would effect wants not A minister in his power. You know his nature, That he 's revengeful, and I know his sword
90. the hideous storm that league, etc. This ' breach of follow d. Holinshed relates that the alliance ' occurred nearly two-
on Monday, June 18, ' was such years later (March 6, 1522), an hideous storm of wind and when Francis ordered the seizure weather that many did prognos- of all English goods at Bordeaux, ticate trouble and hatred shortly 97. The ambassador, i.e. the after to follow' (iii. 860). The French ambassador at the meeting of the kings ended a English court. He was ' corn- week later. manded to keep his house [in
91. not consulting, sponta- silence] and not come in presence neously. till he was sent for ' (ib. 872 ;
93. aboded, foreboded. Halle, 632).
95. France hath Jlaw'd the 100. carried, carried out.
'65
King Henry the Eighth ACT i
Hath a sharp edge : it 's long and, 't may be said, no It reaches far, and where 'twill not extend, Thither he darts it. Bosom up my counsel, You '11 find it wholesome. Lo, where comes that
rock That I advise your shunning.
Enter CARDINAL WOLSEY, the purse borne before him, certain of the Guard, and two Secretaries with papers. The CARDINAL in his passage fixeth his eye on BUCKINGHAM, and BUCKING HAM on him, both full of disdain.
Wol. The Duke of Buckingham's surveyor, ha? Where 's his examination ?
First Seer. Here, so please you.
Wol. Is he in person ready ?
First Seer. Ay, please your grace.
Wol. Well, we shall then know more; and
Buckingham Shall lessen this big look.
[Exeunt Wolsey and his Train.
Buck. This butcher's cur is venom -mouth'd,
and I ' 120
Have not the power to muzzle him ; therefore best Not wake him in his slumber. A beggar's book Outworths a noble's blood.
Nor. What, are you chafed ?
Ask God for temperance ; that 's the appliance only Which your disease requires.
Buck. I read in 's looks
Matter against me ; and his eye reviled Me, as his abject object : at this instant He bores me with some trick : he 's gone to the king;
116. his examination, deposi- 122. look, i.e. book-learning,
tion. 128. bores, undermines.
166
sc. i King Henry the Eighth
I '11 follow and outstare him.
Nor. Stay, my lord,
And let your reason with your choler question 130- What 'tis you' go about : to climb steep hills Requires slow pace at first : anger is like A full-hot horse, who being allovv'd his way, Self-mettle tires him. Not a man in England Can advise me like you : be to yourself As you would to your friend.
Buck. I '11 to the king ;
And from a mouth of honour quite cry down This Ipswich fellow's insolence ; or proclaim There 's difference in no persons.
Nor. Be advised ;
Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot 140
That it do singe yourself: we may outrun, By violent swiftness, that which we run at, And lose by over-running. Know you not, The fire that mounts the liquor till 't run o'er, In seeming to augment it wastes it ? Be advised : I say again, there is no English soul More stronger to direct you than yourself, If with the sap of reason you would quench, Or but allay, the fire of passion.
Buck. Sir,
I am thankful to you ; and I '11 go along 150
By your prescription : but this top-proud fellow, Whom from the flow of gall I name not but From sincere motions, by intelligence, And proofs as clear as founts in July when We see each grain of gravel, I do know To be corrupt and treasonous.
134. Self-mettle, his own high 139. Be advised ,- reflect, spirits.
138. /^.ywzVA/ Wolsey's birth- 153. sincere motions, pure
place. motives.
167
King Henry the Eighth ACT i
Nor. Say not ' treasonous.'
Buck. To the king I '11 say 't ; and make my
vouch as strong
As shore of rock. Attend. This holy fox, Or wolf, or both, — for he is equal ravenous As he is subtle, and as prone to mischief 160
As able to perform 't ; his mind and place Infecting one another, yea, reciprocally — Only to show his pomp as well in France As here at home, suggests the king our master To this last costly treaty, the interview, That swallow'd so much treasure, and like a glass Did break i' the rinsing.
Nor. Faith, and so it did.
Buck. Pray, give me favour, sir. This cunning
cardinal
The articles o' the combination drew As himself pleased ; and they were ratified 170
As he cried ' Thus let be ' : to as much end As give a crutch to the dead : but our count- cardinal
Has done this, and 'tis well ; for worthy Wolsey, Who cannot err, he did it. Now this follows, — Which, as I take it, is a kind of puppy To the old dam, treason, — Charles the emperor, Under pretence to see the queen his aunt, — For 'twas indeed his colour, but he came To whisper Wolsey, — here makes visitation : His fears were, that the interview betwixt 180
England and France might, through their amity, Breed him some prejudice ; for from this league
164. suggests, incites. This visit occurred, according
166. like a glass, i.e. at once to Holinshed, who describes it
brilliant and frail. in similar terms, in May 1520,
171. to as much end, with as a fortnight before Henry's meet- much useful effect. ing with Francis.
176. Charles the emperor, etc. 178. colour, pretext.
168
sc. i King Henry the Eighth
Peep'd harms that menaced him : he privily Deals with our cardinal ; and, as I trow, — Which I go well ; for I am sure the emperor Paid ere he promised ; whereby his suit was granted Ere it was ask'd ; but when the way was made, And paved with gold, the emperor thus desired, That he would please to alter the king's course, And break the foresaid peace. Let the king know, 190 As soon he shall by me, that thus the cardinal Does buy and sell his honour as he pleases, And for his own advantage.
Nor. I am sorry
To hear this of him ; and could wish he were Something mistaken in 't.
Buck. No, not a syllable :
I do pronounce him in that very shape He shall appear in proof.
Enter BRANDON, a Sergeant-at-arms before him, and two or three of the Guard.
Bran. Your office, sergeant ; execute it.
Serg. Sir,
My lord the Duke of Buckingham, and Earl Of Hereford, Stafford, and Northampton, I 20o
Arrest thee of high treason, in the name Of our most sovereign king.
Buck. Lo, you, my lord,
The net has fall'n upon me ! I shall perish Under device and practice.
Bran. I am sorry
To see you ta'en from liberty, to look on
197. Brandon. Thisisperhaps Henry's coronation (Stone, Hol-
meant for Sir Thomas Brandon, inshed, p. 430 n.).
master of the King's horse, whom 200. Hereford. Ff. ' Hert-
Holinshed and Halle mention as ford. ' The correction was made
in the royal train the day before by Capell.
169
King Henry the Eighth ACT i
The business present : 'tis his highness' pleasure You shall to the Tower.
Buck. It will help me nothing
To plead mine innocence ; for that dye is on me Which makes my whitest part black. The will
of heaven Be done in this and all things ! I obey. 210
0 my lord Abergavenny, fare you well !
Bran. Nay, he must bear you company. The king \To Abergavenny.
Is pleased you shall to the Tower, till you know How he determines further.
Aber. As the duke said,
The will of heaven be done, and the king's pleasure By me obey'd !
Bran. Here is a warrant from
The king to attach Lord Montacute; and the
bodies
Of the duke's confessor, John de la Car, One Gilbert Peck, his chancellor, —
Buck. So, so ;
These are the limbs o' the plot : no more, I hope. 220
Bran. A monk o' the Chartreux.
Buck. O, Nicholas Hopkins?
Bran. He.
Buck. My surveyor is false; the o'er- great
cardinal Hath show'd him gold ; my life is spann'd already :
1 am the shadow of poor Buckingham,
209. whitest (one syllable). Theobald's correction (f om
211. Abergavenny, Ff ' Abur- Holinshea) of Ff ' Mic iael
gany,' and so pronounced Hopkins.' throughout. 224. / am the shadow of fioor
219. chancellor; Ff. coun- Buckingham; used with a dc able
cellour. Holinshed and Halle reference to its unsubsta itial
both give the name as Perke. quality (opposed to vitality and
221. Nicholas Hopkins ; gloom (opposed to sunlight). 170
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
Whose figure even this instant cloud puts on, By darkening my clear sun. My lord, farewell.
[Exeunt.
SCENE II. The same. The council-chamber.
Cornets. Enter the KING, leaning on the CARDINAL'S shoulder, the Nobles, and SIR THOMAS LOVELL ; the CARDINAL places him self under the KING'S^/ on his right side.
King. My life itself, and the best heart of it, Thanks you for this great care : I stood i' the level Of a full-charged confederacy, and give thanks To you that choked it. Let be call'd before us That gentleman of Buckingham's ; in person I '11 hear him his confessions justify; And point by point the treasons of his master He shall again relate.
A noise within, crying ' Room for the Queen ! Enter QUEEN KATHARINE, ushered by the DUKE OF NORFOLK, and the DUKE OF SUF FOLK : she kneels. The KING riseth from his state, takes her up, kisses and placeth her by him.
Q. Kath. Nay, we must longer kneel : I am a suitor.
225. Whose figure, etc. ; levy, its date Is 1525, when
Buckingham is now, by a slightly Henry projected a French war. different image, compared to a Sir Thomas Lovell, Marshal
figure seen dark against the sun, of the Household to Henry
— withdrawn from the sunshine VIII., and Constable of the
of court favour. Tower.
Sc. 2. The scene corresponds i. the best heart, the very
to two historical dates ; in so far core.
as it relates to Buckingham, the 2. i' the level, in the aim. date is shortly before his trial 3. full-charged (carrying on
(May 13, 1521); so far as it the image of a gun), relates to the queen and the 3. confederacy, conspiracy.
171
King Henry the Eighth ACT i
King. Arise, and take place by us : half your
suit 10
Never name to us ; you have half our power : The other moiety, ere you ask, is given ; Repeat your will and take it.
Q. Kath. Thank your majesty.
That you would love yourself, and in that love Not unconsider'd leave your honour, nor The dignity of your office, is the point Of my petition.
King. Lady mine, proceed.
Q. Kath. I am solicited, not by a few, And those of true condition, that your subjects Are in great grievance : there have been com missions 20 Sent down among 'em, which hath flaw'd the
heart
Of all their loyalties : wherein, although, My good lord cardinal, they vent reproaches Most bitterly on you, as putter on Of these exactions, yet the king our master — Whose honour heaven shield from soil ! — even he
escapes not
Language unmannerly, yea, such which breaks The sides of loyalty, and almost appears In loud rebellion.
Nor. Not almost appears,
It doth appear ; for, upon these taxations, 30
The clothiers all, not able to maintain The many to them longing, have put off The spinsters, carders, fullers, weavers, who, Unfit for other life, compell'd by hunger And lack of other means, in desperate manner
13. Repeat, state. what loyalty permits.
27. breaks the sides of loyalty , 32. put off, dismissed,
passes the extremes! verge of 33. spinsters, spinners. 172
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
Daring the event to the teeth, are all in uproar, And danger serves among them.
King. Taxation !
Wherein ? and what taxation ? My lord cardinal, You that are blamed for it alike with us, Know you of this taxation ?
Wol. Please you, sir, 40
I know but of a single part, in aught Pertains to the state ; and front but in that file Where others tell steps with me.
Q. Kath. No, my lord,
You know no more than others ; but you frame Things that are known alike ; which are not
wholesome To those which would not know them, and yet
must
Perforce be their acquaintance. These exactions, Whereof my sovereign would have note, they are Most pestilent to the hearing ; and, to bear 'em, The back is sacrifice to the load. They say so
They are devised by you ; or else you suffer Too hard an exclamation.
King. Still exaction !
The nature of it ? in what kind, let 's know, Is this exaction ?
Q. Kath. I am much too venturous
In tempting of your patience ; but am bolden'd Under your promised pardon. The subjects' grief Comes through commissions, which compel from
each
The sixth part of his substance, to be levied Without delay ; and the pretence for this Is named, your wars in France : this makes bold
mouths : 60
45. alike, to all equally. 48. note, information.
56. grief, grievance.
173
King Henry the Eighth ACT r
Tongues spit their duties out, and cold hearts
freeze
Allegiance in them ; their curses now Live where their prayers did : and it 's come to
pass,
This tractable obedience is a slave To each incensed will. I would your highness Would give it quick consideration, for There is no primer business.
King. By my life,
This is against our pleasure.
Wol. And for me,
I have no further gone in this than by A single voice ; and that not pass'd me but 7o
By learned approbation of the judges. If I am Traduced by ignorant tongues, which neither know My faculties nor person, yet will be The chronicles of my doing, let me say 'Tis but the fate of place, and the rough brake That virtue must go through. We must not stint Our necessary actions, in the fear To cope malicious censurers ; which ever, As ravenous fishes, do a vessel follow That is new-trimm'd, but benefit no further 80
Than vainly longing. What we oft do best, By sick interpreters, once weak ones, is Not ours, or not allow'd ; what worst, as oft, Hitting a grosser quality, is cried up For our best act. If we shall stand still,
67. primer, more urgent. 82. once, once for all, in a
67. business; Warburton's word (Ger. ' einmal,' Schmidt).
correction of Ff ' baseness.' This is a well - authenticated
75. brake, thicket. Shakespearean usage ; other
renderings, such as 'at one time,
78. cope, encounter. , sometimes,' imply a special
82. sick, mentally warped, application to Wolsey's case
prejudiced. which is not intended.
174
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
In fear our motion will be mock'd or carp'd at, We should take root here where we sit, or sit State-statues only.
King. Things done well,
And with a care, exempt themselves from fear; Things done without example, in their issue 90
Are to be fear'd. Have you a precedent Of this commission ? I believe, not any. We must not rend our subjects from our laws, And stick them in our will. Sixth part of each ? A trembling contribution ! Why, we take From every tree lop, bark, and part o' the timber ; And, though we leave it with a root, thus hack'd, The air will drink the sap. To every county Where this is question'd send our letters, with Free pardon to each man that has denied xoo
The force of this commission : pray, look to 't ; I put it to your care.
WoL A word with you.
[To the Secretary.
Let there be letters writ to every shire, Of the king's grace and pardon. The grieved
commons
Hardly conceive of me ; let it be noised That through our intercession this revokement And pardon comes : I shall anon advise you Further in the proceeding. \Exit Secretary.
Enter Surveyor.
Q. Kath. I am sorry that the Duke of Buck ingham
95. trembling, such as one 108. Enter Surveyor. Charles trembled at, to be trembled at, Kuyvett. He had been dis- 1 tremendous. ' missed from Buckingham's
96. lop, the smaller boughs employ. His evidence as here and twigs of trees cut off for given is taken in nearly every firewood. detail from Holinshed.
175
King Henry the Eighth
ACT I
Is run in your displeasure.
King. It grieves many : Iro
The gentleman is learn'd, and a most rare
speaker ;
To nature none more bound ; his training such That he may furnish and instruct great teachers, And never seek for aid out of himself. Yet see, When these so noble benefits shall prove Not well disposed, the mind growing once corrupt, They turn to vicious forms, ten times more ugly Than ever they were fair. This man so complete, Who was enroll'd 'mongst wonders, and when we, Almost with ravish'd listening, could not find 120
His hour of speech a minute ; he, my lady, Hath into monstrous habits put the graces That once were his, and is become as black As if besmear'd in hell. Sit by us; you shall
hear —
This was his gentleman in trust — of him Things to strike honour sad. Bid him recount The fore-recited practices ; whereof We cannot feel too little, hear too much.
Wol. Stand forth, and with bold spirit relate
what you,
Most like a careful subject, have collected 130
Out of the Duke of Buckingham.
King. Speak freely.
Surv. First, it was usual with him, every day It would infect his speech, that if the king Should without issue die, he '11 carry it so To make the sceptre his : these very words I 've heard him utter to his son-in-law, Lord Abergavenny ; to whom by oath he menaced Revenge upon the cardinal.
Wol. Please your highness, note
Iio. in, into.
J76
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
This dangerous conception in this point. Not friended by his wish, to your high person 140. His will is most malignant ; and it stretches Beyond you, to your friends.
Q. Kath. My learn'd lord cardinal,
Deliver all with charity.
King. Speak on :
How grounded he his title to the crown, Upon our fail? to this point hast thou heard him At any time speak aught ?
Surv. He was brought to this
By a vain prophecy of Nicholas Henton.
King. What was that Henton ?
Surv. Sir, a Chartreux friar,
His confessor ; who fed him every minute With words of sovereignty.
King. How know'st thou this ? iS»
Surv. Not long before your highness sped to
France,
The duke being at the Rose, within the parish Saint Lawrence Poultney, did of me demand What was the speech among the Londoners Concerning the French journey : I replied, Men fear'd the French would prove perfidious, To the king's danger. Presently the duke Said, 'twas the fear, indeed ; and that he doubted 'T would prove the verity of certain words Spoke by a holy monk ; 'that oft,' says he, 160
' Hath sent to me, wishing me to permit John de la Car, my chaplain, a choice hour To hear from him a matter of some moment : Whom after under the confession's seal
147. Nicholas Henton; slip is doubtless Shakespeare's. Nicholas Hopkins, ' a monk of 162. choice, carefully chosen,
an house of the Chartreux order 164. confession's. Theoba'd's
beside Bristow [Bristol], called correction (from Holinshed) of
Henton,' Holinshed.iii. 862. The Ff ' commissions.'
VOL. VII 177 N
King Henry the Eighth ACT i
He solemnly had sworn, that what he spoke My chaplain to no creature living, but To me, should utter, with demure confidence This pausingly ensued : Neither the king nor 's
heirs,
Tell you the duke, shall prosper : bid him strive To gain the love o' the commonalty : the duke 170 Shall govern England.'
Q. Kath. If I know you well,
You were the duke's surveyor, and lost your
office
On the complaint o' the tenants : take good heed You charge not in your spleen a noble person And spoil your nobler soul : I say, take heed ; Yes, heartily beseech you.
King. Let him on.
Go forward.
Surv. On. my soul, I '11 speak but truth.
I told my lord the duke, by the devil's illusions The monk might be deceived ; and that 'twas
dangerous for him
To ruminate on this so far, until 180
It forged him some design, which, being believed, It was much like to do : he answer'd, 'Tush, It can do me no damage ; ' adding further, That, had the king in his last sickness fail'd, The cardinal's and Sir Thomas Lovell's heads Should have gone off.
King. Ha ! what, so rank ? Ah ha !
There 's mischief in this man : canst thou say further ?
Surv. I can, my liege.
King. Proceed.
Surv. Being at Greenwich,
170. To gain the love. So F4. The first three Ff have ' to the love.'
I78
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
After your highness had reproved the duke About Sir William Bulraer, —
King. I remember 190
Of such a time : being my sworn servant, The duke retain'd him his. But on ; what hence ? Surv. ' If/ quoth he, ' I for this had been
committed,
As to the Tower I thought, I would have play'd The part my father meant to act upon The usurper Richard ; who, being at Salisbury, Made suit to come in 's presence ; which if
granted,
As he made semblance of his duty, would Have put his knife into him.'
King. A giant traitor !
Wol. Now, madam, may his highness live in
freedom, 20o
And this man out of prison ?
Q. Kath. God mend all !
King. There's something more would out of
thee ; what say'st ? Surv. After 'the duke his father,' with the
' knife,' He stretch'd him, and, with one hand on his
dagger,
Another spread on 's breast, mounting his eyes, He did discharge a horrible oath ; whose tenour Was, — were he evil used, he would outgo His father by as much as a performance Does an irresolute purpose.
190. Sir William Bulmer. Cf. Rich. III. v. i. i, where, Ff ' Blumer.1 Holinshed ' Bui- however, no allusion is made to mer. ' He had offended the king the elder Buckingham's alleged by quitting his service for the design. Holinshed mentions it duke's. in both the corresponding pas
sages of his Chronicle (iii 744 197. Made suit to come, etc. and 864). I79
King Henry the Eighth
ACT I
King. There 's his period,
To sheathe his knife in us. He is attach'd ; Call him to present trial : if he may Find mercy in the law, 'tis his ; if none, Let him not seek 't of us : by day and night ! He 's traitor to the height. [Exeunt.
SCENE III. An antechamber in the palace.
Enter the LORD CHAMBERLAIN and LORD SANDS.
Cham. Is 't possible the spells of France should
juggle Men into such strange mysteries ?
Sands. New customs,
Though they be never so ridiculous, Nay, let 'em be unmanly, yet are follow'd.
Cham. As far as I see, all the good our
English
Have got by the late voyage is but merely A fit or two o' the face; but they are shrewd
ones; For when they hold 'em, you would swear
directly
Their very noses had been counsellors To Pepin or Clotharius, they keep state so. 10
Sands. They have all new legs, and lame
ones : one would take it, That never saw 'em pace before, the spavin
Sc. j. By FLETCHER (Sp.). Carlovingian and Merovingian
2. tnysteries,ia.nias\.\c fashions. dynasties respectively).
7. A fit or two o' the face, a 10. keep state so, affect such
grimace or two. inordinate pomposity.
7. shrewd, knowing. 12. spavin or springhalt, two
10. Pepin or Clotharius, diseases in the legs of horses
ancient French kings (of the causing lameness.
1 80
sc. in King Henry the Eighth
Or springhalt reign'd among 'em.
Cham. Death ! my lord,
Their clothes are after such a pagan cut too, That, sure, they 've worn out Christendom.
Enter SIR THOMAS LOVELL.
How now ! What news, Sir Thomas Lovell ?
Lov. . Faith, my lord,
I hear of none, but the new proclamation That 's clapp'd upon the court-gate.
Cham. What is 't for?
Lov. The reformation of our travel I'd gallants, That fill the court with quarrels, talk, and tailors. 20
Cham. I'm glad 'tis there : now I would pray
our monsieurs
To think an English courtier may be wise, And never see the Louvre.
Lov. They must either,
For so run the conditions, leave those remnants Of fool and feather that they got in France, With all their honourable points of ignorance Pertaining thereunto, as fights and fireworks, Abusing better men than they can be, Out of a foreign wisdom, renouncing clean The faith they have in tennis, and tall stockings, 30 Short blister'd breeches, and those types of travel, And understand again like honest men ; Or pack to their old playfellows : there, I take it, They may, ' cum privilegio,' wear away The lag end of their lewdness and be laugh'd at.
15. worn out, outlasted. 30. The faith they have in
25. fool and feather. A cap tennis ; the game was peculiarly
with showy plumes was a mark in vogue among the French.
of French fashion ; it was also 31. blister 'd, slashed (puff of
part of the characteristic garb silk or satin lining emerging at
of the Jester. the slashes).
181
King Henry the Eighth ACT i
Sands. 'Tis time to give 'em physic, their diseases Are grown so catching.
Cham. What a loss our ladies
Will have of these trim vanities !
Lov. Ay, marry,
There will be woe indeed, lords : the sly whore sons
Have got a speeding trick to lay down ladies ; 4o
A French song and a fiddle has no fellow.
Sands. The devil fiddle 'em ! I am glad they
are going,
For, sure, there 's no converting of 'em : now An honest country lord, as I am, beaten A long time out of play, may bring his plain-song And have an hour of hearing ; and, by'r lady,, Held current music too.
Cham. Well said, Lord Sands ;
Your colt's tooth is not cast yet.
Sands. No, my lord ;
Nor shall not, while I have a stump.
Cham. Sir Thomas,
Whither were you a-going ?
Lov. To the cardinal's : so
Your lordship is a guest too.
Cham. O, 'tis true :
This night he makes a supper, and a great one, To many lords and ladies ; there will be The beauty of this kingdom, I '11 assure you.
Lov. That churchman bears a bounteous mind
indeed,
A hand as fruitful as the land that feeds us ; His dews fall every where.
Cham. No doubt he 's noble ;
He had a black mouth that said other of him.
45. plain-song, simple melody, without variations.
55. churchman, ecclesiastic.
182
sc. iv King Henry the Eighth
Sands. He may, my lord ; 'has wherewithal :
in him
Sparing would show a worse sin than ill doctrine : 60 Men of his way should be most liberal ; They are set here for examples.
Cham. True, they are so ;
But few now give so great ones. My barge stays ; Your lordship shall along. Come, good Sir Thomas,. We shall be late else ; which I would not be, For I was spoke to, with Sir Henry Guildford This night to be comptrollers.
Sands. I am your lordship's. \Exeunt..
SCENE IV. A Hall in York Place.
Hautboys. A small table under a state for the CARDINAL, a longer table for the guests. Then enter ANNE BULLEN and divers other Ladies and Gentlemen as guests, at one door ; at another door, enter SIR HENRY
CUILDFORD.
Guild. Ladies, a general welcome from his
grace
Salutes ye all ; this night he dedicates To fair content and you : none here, he hopes, In all this noble bevy, has brought with her One care abroad ; he would have all as merry
59. 'has, he has. Ff ' ha's. ' Sc. 4. By FLETCHER (Sp. ).
63. My barge stays. They are The account of Wolsey's ban- in the king's palace at Bridewell, quet was ultimately derived from and proceed thence down the Cavendish's Life of Wolsey. river to York Place (White- The historical date was January hall). 3, 1527.
67. comptrollers, ie. of the under a state, a canopied
entertainment. chair.
King Henry the Eighth ACT i
As, first, good company, good wine, good wel come,
Can make good people. O, my lord, you 're tardy :
Enter LORD CHAMBERLAIN, LORD SANDS, and SIR THOMAS LOVELL.
The very thought of this fair company Clapp'd wings to me.
Cham. You are young, Sir Harry Guildford.
Sands. Sir Thomas Lovell, had the cardinal 10
But half my lay thoughts in him, some of these Should find a running banquet ere they rested, I think would better please 'em : by my life, They are a sweet society of fair ones.
Lov. O, that your lordship were but now con fessor To one or two of these !
Sands. I would I were;
They should find easy penance.
Lov. Faith, how easy ?
Sands. As easy as a down-bed would afford it.
Cham. Sweet ladies, will it please you sit ? Sir
Harry,
Place you that side ; I '11 take the charge of this ™ His grace is entering. Nay, you must not freeze ; Two women placed together makes cold weather : My Lord Sands, you are one will keep 'em waking ; Pray, sit between these ladies.
Sands. By my faith,
And thank your lordship. By your leave, sweet ladies ;
6. As, first, good company, provide the favouring conditions, etc., i.e. apart from the special 12. a running banquet, a
matter of the mirth for which hasty refreshment or dessert at company, wine, and welcome the conclusion of a feast. 184
sc. iv King Henry the Eighth
If I chance to talk a little wild, forgive me ; I had it from my father.
Anne. Was he mad, sir?
Sands. O, very mad, exceeding mad, in love too : But he would bite none ; just as I do now, He would kiss you twenty with a breath.
[Kisses her.
Cham. Well said, my lord. 30
So, now you're fairly seated. Gentlemen, The penance lies on you, if these fair ladies Pass away frowning,
Sands. For my little cure,
Let me alone.
Hautboys. Enter CARDINAL WOLSEY, and takes his state.
Wol. You 're welcome, my fair guests : that
noble lady,
Or gentleman, that is not freely merry, Is not my friend : this, to confirm my welcome ; And to you all, good health. [Drinks.
Sands. Your grace is noble :
Let me have such a bowl may hold my thanks, And save me so much talking.
Wol. My Lord Sands, 4o
I am beholding to you : cheer your neighbours. Ladies, you are not merry : gentlemen, Whose fault is this ?
Sands. The red wine first must rise
In their fair cheeks, my lord ; then we shall have
'em Talk us to silence.
Anne. You are a merry gamester,
30. twenty, i.e. women. 45. gamester, frolicsome
33. cure, charge ('cure of fellow. Sands plays on the souls ' ). word.
King Henry the Eighth ACT i
My Lord Sands.
Sands. Yes, if I make my play.
Here 's to your ladyship : and pledge it, madam, For 'tis to such a thing, —
Anne. You cannot show me.
Sands. I told your grace they would talk anon. \Drum and trumpet^ chambers discharged.
WoL What 's that ?
Cham. Look out there, some of ye.
[Exit Servant.
WoL What warlike voice, 50
And to what end, is this ? Nay, ladies, fear not ; By all the laws of war you 're privileged.
Re-enter Servant.
Cham. How now ! what is 't ? Serv. A noble troop of strangers ;
For so they seem : they 've left their barge and
landed ;
And hither make, as great ambassadors From foreign princes.
Wol. Good lord chamberlain,
Go, give 'em welcome ; you can speak the French
tongue ;
And, pray, receive 'em nobly, and conduct 'em Into our presence, where this heaven of beauty Shall shine at full upon them. Some attend him. 6c* [Exit Chamberlain^ attended. All rise, and tables removed.
You have now a broken banquet ; but we '11 mend it. A good digestion to you all : and once more I shower a welcome on ye ; welcome all.
46. make my flay, win my was this discharge of cannon game. that caused the destruction of
the first Globe Theatre. Cf. 49. chambers discharged. It Introduction.
186
sc. iv King Henry the Eighth
Hautboys. Enter the KING and other s^ as masquers, habited like shepherds, ushered by the LORD CHAMBERLAIN. They pass directly before the CARDINAL, and gracefully salute him.
A noble company ! what are their pleasures ? Cham. Because they speak no English, thus
they pray'd
To tell your grace, that, having heard by fame Of this so noble and so fair assembly This night to meet here, they could do no less, Out of the great respect they bear to beauty, But leave their flocks ; and, under your fair con duct, 70 Crave leave to view these ladies and entreat An hour of revels with 'em.
Wol. Say, lord chamberlain,
They have done my poor house grace ; for which
I pay 'em
A thousand thanks, and pray 'em take their pleasures.
\They choose Ladies for the dance. The
King chooses Anne Bullen.
King. The fairest hand I ever touch'd ! O
beauty,
Till now I never knew thee ! [Music. Dance. Wol. My lord ! Cham. Your grace?
Wol. Pray, tell 'em thus much from me :
There should be one amongst 'em, by his person, More worthy this place than myself; to whom, If I but knew him, with my love and duty 80
I would surrender it.
Cham. I will, my lord.
[ Whispers the Masquers. 79. this place, i.e. the seat of honour. I87
King Henry the Eighth ACT i
WoL What say they?
Cham. Such a one, they all confess,
There is* indeed; which they would have your
grace Find out, and he will take it.
Wol. Let me see, then.
By all your good leaves, gentlemen ; here I '11
make My royal choice.
King. Ye have found him, cardinal :
[ Unmasking.
You hold a fair assembly ; you do well, lord : You are a churchman, or, I '11 tell you, cardinal, I should judge now unhappily.
WoL I am glad
Your grace is grown so pleasant.
King. My lord chamberlain, 90
Prithee, come hither : what fair lady 's that ?
Cham. An 't please your grace, Sir Thomas
Bullen's daughter, —
The Viscount Rochford, — one of her highness' women.
King. By heaven, she is a dainty one. Sweet heart,
I were unmannerly, to take you out, And not to kiss you. A health, gentlemen ! Let it go round.
Wol. Sir Thomas Lovell, is the banquet ready I' the privy chamber?
Lov. Yes, my lord.
Wol. Your grace,
I fear, with dancing is a little heated. 100
King. I fear, too much.
Wol. There 's fresher air, my lord,
In the next chamber.
89. unhappily, mischievously.
188
ACT ii King Henry the Eighth
King. Lead in your ladies, every one : sweet
partner,
I must not yet forsake you : let 's be merry : Good my lord cardinal, I have half a dozen healths To drink to these fair ladies, and a measure To lead 'em once again ; and then let 's dream Who 's best in favour. Let the music knock it.
\Exeunt with trumpets.
ACT II
SCENE I. Westminster. A street.
Enter two Gentlemen, meeting.
First Gent. Whither away so fast ?
Sec. Gent. O, God save ye !
Even to the hall, to hear what shall become Of the great Duke of Buckingham.
First Gent. I '11 save you
That labour, sir. All 's now done, but the cere mony Of bringing back the prisoner.
Sec. Gent. Were you there ?
First Gent. Yes, indeed, was I.
Sec. Gent. Pray, speak what has happened.
First Gent. You may guess quickly what.
Sec. Gent. Is he found guilty ?
First Gent. Yes, truly is he, and condemn'd upon 't.
Sec. Gent. I am sorry for '.t.
108. knock it, beat time. 2. the hall, Westminster
Sc. i. By FLETCHER (Sp.). Hall.
189
King Henry the Eighth ACT n
First Gent. So are a number more.
Sec. Gent. But, pray, how pass'd it ? 10
first Gent. I '11 tell you in a little. The great
duke
Came to the bar ; where to his accusations He pleaded still not guilty and alleged Many sharp reasons to defeat the law. The king's attorney on the contrary Urged on the examinations, proofs, confessions Of divers witnesses ; which the duke desired To have brought viva voce to his face : At which appear'd against him his surveyor ; Sir Gilbert Peck his chancellor ; and John Car 20 Confessor to him ; with that devil-monk, Hopkins, that made this mischief.
Sec. Gent. That was he
That fed him with his prophecies. ?
First Gent. The same.
All these accused him strongly ; which he fain Would have flung from him, but, indeed, he could
not :
And so his peers, upon this evidence, Have found him guilty of high treason. Much He spoke, and learnedly, for life ; but all Was either pitied in him or forgotten.
Sec. Gent. After all this, how did he bear him self? 3o
first Gent. When he was brought again to the
bar, to hear
His knell rung out, his judgement, he was stirr'd With such an agony, he sweat extremely, And something spoke in choler, ill, and hasty :
ii. in a little, in brief, 'in cal learning of the lawyer, few. ' 29. pitied or forgotten, aroused
17. which, i. e. the witnesses. merely ineffectual pity or passed
28. learnedly, with the techni- altogether unheeded.
SC. I
King Henry the Eighth
But he fell to himself again, and sweetly In all the rest show'd a most noble patience.
Sec. Gent. I do not think he fears death.
First Gent. Sure, he does not :
He never was so womanish ; the cause He may a little grieve at.
Sec. Gent. Certainly
The cardinal is the end of this.
First Gent. Tis likely, 40
By all conjectures : first, Kildare's attainder, Then deputy of Ireland ; who removed, Earl Surrey was sent thither, and in haste too, Lest he should help his father.
Sec. Gent. That trick of state
Was a deep envious one.
First Gent. At his return
No doubt he will requite it. This is noted, And generally, whoever the king favours, The cardinal instantly will find employment, And far enough from court too.
Sec. Gent. All the commons
Hate him perniciously, and, o' my conscience, 50
Wish him ten fathom deep : this duke as much They love and dote on ; call him bounteous
Buckingham, The mirror of all courtesy ; —
First Gent. Stay there, sir,
And see the noble ruin'd man you speak of.
39. grieve at, feel resentment of Kildare, had been recalled against. from the Deputyship of Ireland
40. the end, the bottom, the ™ ^o. Surrey had married prime mover. Buckingham s daughter, Katha rine Stafford.
41. Kildare; Fitzgerald, Earl 45. envious, malicious.
King Henry the Eighth ACT n
Enter BUCKINGHAM from his arraignment ; tip staves before him ; the axe with the edge towards him; halberds on each side: accom panied with SIR THOMAS LOVELL, SIR NICHO LAS VAUX, SIR WILLIAM SANDS, and common people.
Sec. Gent. Let 's stand close, and behold him.
Buck. All good people,
You that thus far have come to pity me, Hear what I say, and then go home and lose me. I have this day received a traitor's judgement, And by that name must die : yet, heaven bear
witness,
And if I have a conscience, let it sink me, 60
Even as the axe falls, if I be not faithful ! The law I bear no malice for my death ; 'T has done, upon the premises, but justice : But those that sought it I could wish more Christians : Be what they will, I heartily forgive 'em : Yet let 'em look they glory not in mischief, Nor build their evils on the graves of great men ; For then my guiltless blood must cry against 'em. For further life in this world I ne'er hope, Nor will I sue, although the king have mercies 7o More than I dare make faults. You few that
loved me,
And dare be bold to weep for Buckingham, His noble friends and fellows, whom to leave Is only bitter to him, only dying, Go with me, like good angels, to my end ; And, as the long divorce of steel falls on me,
54. Sir William Sands ; so 74. only, alone.
Holinshed. Ff have ' (Sir) Wai- 76. the long divorce of steel, ter Sands. ' the body - and - soul - divorcing
57. lose, forget, axe. (' Divorce' is, as often, con-
67. evils, privies. crete = instrument of divorce).
I92
SC. I
King Henry the Eighth
Make of your prayers one sweet sacrifice, And lift my soul to heaven. Lead on, o' God's name.
Lov. I do beseech your grace, for charity, If ever any malice in your heart 80
Were hid against me, now to forgive me frankly.
Buck. Sir Thomas Lovell, I as free forgive you As I would be forgiven : I forgive all ; There cannot be those numberless offences 'Gainst me, that I cannot take peace with : no
black envy
Shall mark my grave. Commend me to his grace ; And, if he speak of Buckingham, pray, tell him You met him half in heaven : my vows and prayers Yet are the king's ; and, till my soul forsake, Shall cry for blessings on him : may he live 90
Longer than I have time to tell his years ! Ever beloved and loving may his rule be ! And when old time shall lead him to his end, Goodness and he fill up one monument !
Lov. To the water side I must conduct your grace Then give my charge up to Sir Nicholas Vaux, Who undertakes you to your end.
Vaux. Prepare there,
The duke is coming : see the barge be ready ; And fit it with such furniture as suits The greatness of his person.
Buck. Nay, Sir Nicholas, 100
Let it alone ; my state now will but mock me. When I came hither, I was lord high constable And Duke of Buckingham; now, poor Edward Bohun :
99. furniture, equipment. 103. Edward Bohun. So
Holinshed speaks of ' cushions Holinshed, The duke was de- and carpet ' on which Lovell scended from the Bohuns, but his desired the duke to sit down. own family name was Stafford.
VOL. VII 193 O
King Henry the Eighth ACT n
Yet I am richer than my base accusers,
That never knew what truth meant : I now seal it ;
And with that blood will make 'em one day groan
for 't.
My noble father, Henry of Buckingham, Who first raised head against usurping Richard, Flying for succour to his servant Banister, Being distress'd, was by that wretch betray'd, no
And without trial fell ; God's peace be with him ! Henry the Seventh succeeding, truly pitying My father's loss, like a most royal prince, Restored me to my honours, and, out of ruins, Made my name once more noble. Now his son, Henry the Eighth, life, honour, name and all That made me happy at one stroke has taken For ever from the world. I had my trial, And, must needs say, a noble one ; which makes
me
A little happier than my wretched father : iao
Yet thus far we are one in fortunes : both Fell by our servants, by those men we loved most, A most unnatural and faithless service ! Heaven has an end in all : yet, you that hear me, This from a dying man receive as certain : Where you are liberal of your loves and counsels Be sure you be not loose; for those you make
friends
And give your hearts to, when they once perceive The least rub in your fortunes, fall away Like water from ye, never found again 130
But where they mean to sink ye. All good people, Pray for me ! I must now forsake ye : the last hour
106. that blood, the blood in armed force.
which I now seal (attest) my n9. noble, i.e. he was tried
truth- by his peers. Cf. ii. 2. 92.
108. raised head, levied an 129. rub, check, hitch.
194
SC. I
King Henry the Eighth
Of my long weary life is come upon me. Farewell :
And when you would say something that is sad, Speak how I fell. I have done ; and God forgive me ! \Exeunt Duke and Train.
First Gent. O, this is full of pity ! Sir, it calls, I fear, too many curses on fheir heads That were the authors.
Sec. Gent. If the duke be guiltless,
'Tis full of woe : yet I can give you inkling Of an ensuing evil, if it fall, Greater than this.
First Gent. Good angels keep it from us !
What may it be? You do not doubt my faith> sir?
Sec. Gent. This secret is so weighty, 'twill require A strong faith to conceal it.
First Gent. Let me have it ;
I do not talk much.
Sec. Gent. I am confident ;
You shall, sir : did you not of late days hear A buzzing of a separation Between the king and Katharine ?
First Gent. Yes, but it held not :
For when the king once heard it, out of anger He sent command to the lord mayor straight To stop the rumour, and allay those tongues That durst disperse it.
Sec. Gent. But that slander, sir,
Is found a truth now : for it grows again Fresher than e'er it was ; and held for certain The king will venture at it. Either the cardinal, Or some about him near, have, out of malice
143. faith, good faith, secrecy. 148. buzzing, whisper.
146. am confident^ put my confidence in you. 152. allay, restrain.
'95
King Henry the Eighth ACTU
To the good queen, possess'd him with a scruple That will undo her : to confirm this too, Cardinal Campeius is arrived, and lately ; 160
As all think, for this business.
First Gent. 'Tis the cardinal ;
And merely to revenge him on the emperor For not bestowing on him, at his asking, The archbishopric of Toledo, this is purposed.
Sec. Gent. I think you have hit the mark : but
is 't not cruel That she should feel the smart of this? The
cardinal Will have his will, and she must fall.
First Gent 'Tis woful.
We are too open here to argue this ; Let 's think in private more. [Exeunt.
SCENE II. An ante-chamber in the palace.
Enter the LORD CHAMBERLAIN, reading a letter.
Cham. ' My lord, the horses your lordship sent for, with all the care I had, I saw well chosen, ridden, and furnished. They were young and handsome, and of the best breed in the north. When they were ready to set out for London, a man of my lord cardinal's, by commission and main power, took 'em from me ; with this reason : His master would be served before a subject, if not before the king; which stopped our mouths, sir.'
1 68. argue \ discuss. 6. by commission and main
power, in virtue of a warrant and Sc. 2. By FLETCHER (Sp. ). by means of main force.
196
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
I fear he will indeed : well, let him have them : He will have all, I think.
Enter , to the LORD CHAMBERLAIN, the DUKES OF NORFOLK and SUFFOLK.
Nor. Well met, my lord chamberlain.
Cham. Good day to both your graces.
Suf. How is the king employ'd?
Cham. I left him private,
Full of sad thoughts and troubles.
Nor. What 's the cause ?
Cham. It seems the marriage with his brother's
wife Has crept too near his conscience.
Suf. No, his conscience
Has crept too near another lady.
Nor. 'Tis so :
This is the cardinal's doing, the king-cardinal : 20
That blind priest, like the eldest son of fortune, Turns what he list. The king will know him one day.
Suf. Pray God he do ! he '11 never know him self else.
Nor. How holily he works in all his business ! And with what zeal ! for, now he has crack'd the
league Between us and the emperor, the queen's great
nephew,
He dives into the king's soul, and there scatters Dangers, doubts, wringing of the conscience, Fears, and despairs ; and all these for his marriage : And out of all these to restore the king, 30
He counsels a divorce ; a loss of her That, like a jewel, has hung twenty years
21. That blind priest, etc. and like Fortune herself disposes Wolsey is Fortune's favourite, blindly of human affairs. I97
King Henry the Eighth ACT u
About his neck, yet never lost her lustre ; Of her that loves him with that excellence That angels love good men with ; even of her That, when the greatest stroke of fortune falls, Will bless the king : and is not this course pious ?
Cham. Heaven keep me from such counsel !
'Tis most true These news are every where ; every tongue speaks
'em,
And every true heart weeps for 't : all that dare 40 Look into these affairs see this main end, The French king's sister. Heaven will one day
open
The king's eyes, that so long have slept upon This bold bad man.
Suf. And free us from his slavery.
Nor. We had need pray, And heartily, for our deliverance ; Or this imperious man will work us all From princes into pages : all men's honours Lie like one lump before him, to be fashion'd Into what pitch he please.
Suf. For me, my lords, 50
I love him not, nor fear him ; there 's my creed : As I am made without him, so I '11 stand, If the king please ; his curses and his blessings Touch me alike, they 're breath I not believe in. I knew him, and I know him ; so I leave him To him that made him proud the pope.
^r. Let 'sin;
42. The French king's sister, ever (October 1528), she had
Margaret, Duchess of Aler^on, been married for nearly two
more celebrated as Queen of years to Henry of Navarre. Navarre. Holinshed reports the
tradition that Wolsey had 43- slept upon, been blind to
planned this marriage. At the the faults of- time of Campeggio's visit, how- 50. pitch, height. 198
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
And with some other business put the king
From these sad thoughts, that work too much upon
him : My lord, you '11 bear us company ?
Cham. Excuse me ;
The king has sent me otherwhere : besides, 60
You '11 find a most unfit time to disturb him : Health to your lordships.
Nor. Thanks, my good lord chamberlain.
\Exit Lord Chamberlain ; and the King
draws the curtain, and sits reading
pensively.
Suf. How sad he looks ! sure, he is much
afflicted.
King. Who 's there, ha ?
Nor. Pray God he be not angry.
King. Who's there, I say? How dare you
thrust yourselves Into my private meditations ? Who am I ? ha ?
Nor. A gracious king that pardons all offences Malice ne'er meant : our breach of duty this way Is business of estate ; in which we come 7o
To know your royal pleasure.
King. Ye are too bold :
Go to ; I '11 make ye know your times of business : Is this an hour for temporal affairs, ha ?
Enter WOLSEY and CAMPEIUS, with a com mission.
Who's there? my good lord cardinal? O my
Wolsey,
The quiet of my wounded conscience ; Thou art a cure fit for a king. [To Camp.]
You 're welcome,
Most learned reverend sir, into our kingdom : 199
King Henry the Eighth ACTH
Use us and it. [To Wo!.~\ My good lord, have
great care I be not found a talker.
Wol. Sir, you cannot.
I would your grace would give us but an hour 80 Of private conference.
King. [To Nor. and Suf} We are busy ; go.
Nor. [Aside to Suf} This priest has no pride in him ?
Suf. [Aside to Nor.} Not to speak of: I would not be so sick though for his place : But this cannot continue.
Nor. [Aside to Suf.} If it do, I '11 venture one have-at-him.
Suf. [Aside to Nor.} I another.
[Exeunt Nor. and Suf.
Wol. Your grace has given a precedent of
wisdom
Above all princes, in committing freely Your scruple to the voice of Christendom : Who can be angry now ? what envy reach you ? The Spaniard, tied by blood and favour to her, 90 Must now confess, if they have any goodness, The trial just and noble. All the clerks, I mean the learned ones, in Christian kingdoms Have their free voices : Rome, the nurse of judge ment,
Invited by your noble self, hath sent One general tongue unto us, this good man, This just and learned priest, Cardinal Campeius; Whom once more I present unto your highness.
King. And once more in mine arms I bid him welcome,
83. sick, consumed with 94. Have their free voices,
pride. can speak their opinion un-
85. have-at-him, assault restrained.
200
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
And thank the holy conclave for their loves : too
They have sent me such a man I would have
wish'd for. Cam. Your grace must needs deserve all
strangers' loves,
You are so noble. To your highness' hand I tender my commission ; by whose virtue, The court of Rome commanding, you, my lord Cardinal of York, are join'd with me their servant In the unpartial judging of this business.
King. Two equal men. The queen shall be
acquainted Forthwith for what you come. Where 's Gardiner?
Wol. I know your majesty has always loved her no So dear in heart, not to deny her that A woman of less place might ask by law : Scholars allow'd freely to argue for her.
King. Ay, and the best she shall have ; and my
favour
To him that does best : God forbid else. Cardinal, Prithee, call Gardiner to me, my new secretary : I find him a fit fellow. \Exit Wolsey.
Re-enter WOLSEY, with GARDINER.
Wol. [Aside to Gardl\ Give me your hand :
much joy and favour to you ; You are the king's now.
Gard. [Aside to WolJ] But to be commanded For ever by your grace, whose hand has raised me. 120 King. Come hither, Gardiner.
[ Walks and whispers. Cam. My Lord of York, was not one Doctor
Pace In this man's place before him ?
Wol. Yes, he was.
Cam. Was he not held a learned man ? 201
King Henry the Eighth ACT n
WoL Yes, surely.
Cam. Believe me, there 's an ill opinion spread
then Even of yourself, lord cardinal.
WoL How ! of me ?
Cam. They will not stick to say you envied him, And fearing he would rise, he was so virtuous, Kept him a foreign man still ; which so grieved
him, That he ran mad and died.
Wol. Heaven's peace be with him ! i30
That 's Christian care enough : for living murmurers There 's places of rebuke. He was a fool ; For he would needs be virtuous : that good fellow, If I command him, follows my appointment : I will have none so near else. Learn this, brother, We live not to be grip'd by meaner persons.
King. Deliver this with modesty to the queen.
[Exit Gardiner.
The most convenient place that I can think of For such receipt of learning is Black-Friars ; There ye shall meet about this weighty business. 140 My Wolsey, see it furnish'd. O, my lord, Would it not grieve an able man to leave So sweet a bedfellow? But, conscience, con science ! O, 'tis a tender place ; and I must leave her.
{Exeunt.
129. Kept him a foreign man 139. such receipt of learning,
still, employed him continually the reception of such learning, on foreign embassies, ' and the 142. able, in the vigour of his
same oftentimes not necessary' prime. (Holinshed).
2O2
sc. in King Henry the Eighth
SCENE III. An ante-chamber of the Queen's apartments.
Enter ANNE BULLEN and an Old Lady.
Anne. Not for that neither : here.'s the pang
that pinches : His highness having lived so long with her, and
she
So good a lady that no tongue could ever Pronounce dishonour of her ; by my life, She never knew harm-doing : O, now, after So many courses of the sun enthroned, Still growing in a majesty and pomp, the which To leave a thousand-fold more bitter than 'Tis sweet at first to acquire, — after this process, To give her the avaunt ! it is a pity *>
Would move a monster.
Old L. Hearts of most hard temper
Melt and lament for her.
Anne. O, God's will ! much better
She ne'er had known pomp: though 't be temporal, Yet, if that quarrel, fortune, do divorce It from the bearer, 'tis a sufferance panging As soul and body's severing.
Old L. Alas, poor lady !
She 's a stranger now again.
Anne. So much the more
Must pity drop upon her. Verily, I swear, 'tis better to be lowly born, And range with humble livers in content, *>
Than to be perk'd up in a glistering grief,
14. quarrel (abstract for con- 17. stranger, alien, crete), quarreller. 20. range, be ranked.
15. panging, causing such a 21. perk'd up, dressed up, pang. adorned.
203
King Henry the Eighth ACT H
And wear a golden sorrow.
Old L. Our content
Is our best having.
'Anne. By my troth and maidenhead,
I would not be a queen.
Old L. Beshrew me, I would,
And venture maidenhead for 't ; and so would you, For all this spice of your hypocrisy : You, that have so fair parts of woman on you, Have too a woman's heart ; which ever yet Affected eminence, wealth, sovereignty ; Which, to say sooth, are blessings; and which
gifts, 3o
Saving your mincing, the capacity Of your soft cheveril conscience would receive, If you might please to stretch it.
Anne. Nay, good troth.
Old L. Yes, troth, and troth ; you would not be a queen ?
Anne. No, not for all the riches under heaven.
Old L. Tis strange : a three-pence bow'd would
hire me,
Old as I am, to queen it : but, I pray you, What think you of a duchess ? have you limbs To bear that load of title ?
Anne. No, in truth.
Old L. Then you are weakly made : pluck off
a little ; 40
I would not be a young count in your way, For more than blushing comes to : if your back Cannot vouchsafe this burthen, 'tis too weak Ever to get a boy.
23. having, possession. ference to ratifying an agreement
32. cheveril, like kid-skin, with a bent coin.
pliable, elastic. 40. pluck off a little; i.e.
36. a three-pence bow'd, a bent instead of ' duchess ' suppose
three- pence ; probably with re- ' countess. ' 204
sc. in King Henry the Eighth
Anne. How you do talk !
I swear again, I would not be a queen For all the world.
Old L. In faith, for little England
You 'Id venture an emballing : I myself Would for Carnarvonshire, although there long'd No more to the crown but that. Lo, who comes here?
Enter the LORD CHAMBERLAIN.
Cham. Good morrow, ladies. What were 't
worth to know 50
The secret of your conference ?
Anne. My good lord,
Not your demand ; it values not your asking : Our mistress' sorrows we were pitying.
Cham. It was a gentle business, and becoming The action of good women : there is hope All will be well.
Anne. Now, I pray God, amen !
Cham. You bear a gentle mind, and heavenly
blessings
Follow such creatures. That you may, fair lady, Perceive I speak sincerely, and high note's Ta'en of your many virtues, the king's majesty 60 Commends his good opinion of you, and Does purpose honour to you no less flowing Than Marchioness of Pembroke ; to which title
46. little England ; probably 48. Carnarvonshire ; as a a covert allusion to Pembroke- mountainous and barren country shire, which was known as 'little of little value (an antithesis to England beyond Wales. ' the fertilising ' mud in Egypt '
47. emballing, investment below, v. 92, as well as, probably, with the ball ; one of the insignia to the cultivated ' little England ' of royalty, used with the sceptre above).
and crown at the coronation. 52. values not, is not worth.
205
King Henry the Eighth ACT n
A thousand pound a year, annual support, Out of his grace he adds.
Anne. I do not know
What kind of my obedience I should tender ; More than my all is nothing : nor my prayers Are not words duly hallo w'd, nor my wishes More worth than empty vanities ; yet prayers and
wishes
Are all I can return. Beseech your lordship, ?0
Vouchsafe to speak my thanks and my obedience, As from a blushing handmaid, to his highness ; Whose health and royalty I pray for.
Cham. Lady,
I shall not fail to approve the fair conceit The king hath of you. [Aside] I have perused
her well ;
Beauty and honour in her are so mingled That they have caught the king : and who knows
yet
But from this lady may proceed a gem To lighten all this isle ? I '11 to the king, And say I spoke with you.
\_Exit Lord Chamberlain.
Anne. My honour'd lord. 80
Old L. Why, this it is ; see, see ! I have been begging sixteen years in court, Am yet a courtier beggarly, nor could Come pat betwixt too early and too late For any suit of pounds ; and you, O fate ! A very fresh-fish here — fie, fie, fie upon This compell'd fortune ! — have your mouth fill'd up Before you open it.
Anne. This is strange to me.
84. Come, pat betwixt too early any petition.
and too late for any suit, hit the 87. compell'd, thrust upon
right moment for presenting you.
206
sc. HI King Henry the Eighth
Old L. How tastes it? is it bitter? forty
pence, no.
There was a lady once, 'tis an old story, 9o
That would not be a queen, that would she not, For all the mud in Egypt : have you heard it ?
Anne. Come, you are pleasant.
Old L. With your theme, I could
O'ermount the lark. The Marchioness of Pem broke !
A thousand pounds a year for pure respect ! No other obligation ! By my life, That promises moe thousands : honour's train Is longer than his foreskirt. By this time I know your back will bear a duchess : say, Are you not stronger than you were ?
Anne. Good lady, 100
Make yourself mirth with your particular fancy, And leave me out on 't. Would I had no being, If this salute my blood a jot : it faints me, To think what follows. The queen is comfortless, and we forgetful In our long absence : pray, do not deliver What here you 've heard to her.
Old Z. What do you think me ?
\_Exeunt.
89. forty pence ; a common 103. salute, quicken, ex-
wager, hilarate.
101. particular, own.
207
King Henry the Eighth ACT n
SCENE IV. A hall In Black-Friars.
Trumpets, sennet, and cornets. Enter two Vergers, with short silver wands ; next them, two Scribes, in the habit of doctors ; after them, the ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY alone; after him, the BISHOPS OF LINCOLN, ELY, ROCHESTER, and SAINT ASAPH ; next them, with some small distance, follows a Gentleman bearing the purse, with the great seal, and a cardinal's hat ; then two Priests, bearing each a silver cross ; then a Gentleman-usher bare headed, accompanied with a Sergeant-at-arms bearing a silver mace ; then two Gentlemen bearing two great silver pillars ; after them, side by side, the two CARDINALS ; two Noble men with the sword and mace. The KING takes place under the cloth of state; the two CARDINALS sit under him as judges. The QUEEN takes place some distance from the KING. The Bishops place themselves on each side the court, in manner of a consistory ; below them, the Scribes. The Lords sit next the Bishops. The rest of the Attendants stand in convenient order about the stage.
Wol. Whilst our commission from Rome is
read, Let silence be commanded.
King. What 's the need ?
It hath already publicly been read,
Sc. 4. two silver pillars ; the of cardinal. Wolsey was
insignia of a cardinal. The commonly attended by two
pillar, with the hat and the 'pillar-bearers.' habit, were the official insignia
208
sc. iv King Henry the Eighth
And on all sides the authority allow'd ; You may, then, spare that time.
Wol. Be 't so. Proceed.
Scribe. Say, Henry King of England, come into the court.
Crier. Henry King of England, etc.
King. Here.
Scribe. Say, Katharine Queen of England, come into the court.
Crier. Katharine Queen of England, etc.
\The Queen makes no answer, rises out of her chair, goes about the court, comes to the King, and kneels at his feet ; then speaks.
Q. Kath. Sir, I desire you do me right and
justice ;
And to bestow your pity on me : for I am a most poor woman, and a stranger, Born out of your dominions ; having here No judge indifferent, nor no more assurance Of equal friendship and proceeding. Alas, sir, In what have I offended you ? what cause Hath my behaviour given to your displeasure, That thus you should proceed to put me off, And take your good grace from me? Heaven
witness,
I have been to you a true and humble wife, At all times to your will conformable ; Ever in fear to kindle your dislike, Yea, subject to your countenance, glad or sorry As I saw it inclined : when was the hour I ever contradicted your desire, Or made it not mine too? Or which of your
friends Have I not strove to love, although I knew
17. indifferent, impartial. VOL. VII 209 p
King Henry the Eighth ACTH
He were mine enemy ? what friend of mine
That had to him derived your anger, did I
Continue in my liking ? nay, gave notice
He was from thence discharged ? Sir, call to mind
That I have been your wife, in this obedience,
Upward of twenty years, and have been blest
With many children by you : if, in the course
And process of this time, you can report,
And prove it too, against mine honour aught,
My bond to wedlock, or my love and duty, 40
Against your sacred person, in God's name,
Turn me away ; and let the foul'st contempt
Shut door upon me, and so give me up
To the sharp'st kind of justice. Please you, sir,
The king, your father, was reputed for
A prince most prudent, of an excellent
And unmatch'd wit and judgement : Ferdinand,
My father, king of Spain, was reckoned one
The wisest prince that there had reign'd by many
A year before : it is not to be question'd 5o
That they had gather'd a wise council to them
Of every realm, that did debate this business,
Who deem'd our marriage lawful : wherefore I
humbly
Beseech you, sir, to spare me, till I may Be by my friends in Spain advised ; whose counsel I will implore : if not, i' the name of God, Your pleasure be fulfilled !
Wol. You have here, lady,
And of your choice, these reverend fathers ; men Of singular integrity and learning, Yea, the elect o' the land, who are assembled 60
32. to him derived your anger, wisest (an obsolescent partitive drawn it upon himself. construction). Holinshed has
the more current form, ' one of 48. one the wisest, one of the the wittiest princes.'
210
sc. iv King Henry the Eighth
•To plead your cause : it shall be therefore bootless That longer you desire the court ; as well For your own quiet, as to rectify What is unsettled in the king.
Cam. His grace
Hath spoken well and justly : therefore, madam, It 's nt this royal session do proceed ; And that, without delay, their arguments Be now produced and heard.
Q. Kath. Lord Cardinal,
To you I speak.
Wol, Your pleasure, madam ?
Q. Kath. Sir,
I am about to weep ; but, thinking that 70
We are a queen, or long have dream'd so, certain The daughter of a king, my drops of tears I '11 turn to sparks of fire.
Wol. Be patient yet.
Q. Kath. I will, when you are humble ; nay,
before,
Or God will punish me. I do believe, Induced by potent circumstances, that You are mine enemy, and make my challenge You shall not be my judge : for it is you Have blown this coal betwixt my lord and me ; Which God's dew quench ! Therefore I say again, 80 I utterly abhor, yea, from my soul Refuse you for my judge ; whom, yet once more, I hold my most malicious foe, and think not At all a friend to truth.
Wol. I do profess
62. That longer you desire 81. abhor, protest against ;
the court, that you desire the according to Blackstone, a
proceedings to be delayed ; i.e. technical term of Canon Law
the interval before the final de- (detestor). cision to be prolonged.
2H
King Henry the Eighth ACT n
You speak not like yourself; who ever yet Have stood to charity, and display'd the effects Of disposition gentle, and of wisdom O'ertopping woman's power. Madam, you do me
wrong :
I have no spleen against you ; nor injustice For you or any : how far I have proceeded, 9o
Or how far further shall, is warranted By a commission from the consistory, Yea, the whole consistory of Rome. You charge me That I have blown this coal : I do deny it : The king is present : if it be known to him That I gainsay my deed, how may he wound, And worthily, my falsehood ! yea, as much As you have done my truth. If he know That I am free of your report, he knows I am not of your wrong. Therefore in him 100
It lies to cure me : and the cure is, to Remove these thoughts from you : the which
before
His highness shall speak in, I do beseech You, gracious madam, to unthink your speaking And to say so no more.
Q. Kath. My lord, my lord,
I am a simple woman, much too weak To oppose your cunning. You 're meek and
humble-mouth'd ;
You sign your place and calling, in full seeming, With meekness and humility ; but your heart
99. free of your report, inno- 104. unthink your speaking, cent of what you allege. cancel in thought what you have
100. I am not (free] of your said. wrong, I am not unaffected by
your injurious charge. Wolsey 108. You sign . . . in full
escapes the accusation in so far seeming, ostentatiously display
as it is not true, but suffers from your official and professional at-
it proportionally as slander. tribute of humility.
212
sc. iv King Henry the Eighth
Is cramm'd with arrogancy, spleen, and pride. no
You have, by fortune and his highness' favours, Gone slightly o'er low steps and now are mounted Where powers are your retainers, and your words, Domestics to you, serve your will as 't please Yourself pronounce their office. I must tell you, You tender more your person's honour than Your high profession spiritual : that again I do refuse you for my judge ; and here, Before you all, appeal unto the pope, To bring my whole cause 'fore his holiness, 120
And to be judged by him.
[She curtsies to the King, and offers to depart.
Cam. The queen is obstinate,
Stubborn to justice, apt to accuse it, and Disdainful to be tried by 't : 'tis not well. She 's going away.
King. Call her again.
Crier. Katharine Queen of England, come into the court.
Grif. Madam, you are call'd back.
Q. Kath. What need you note it? pray you,
keep your way :
W'hen you are call'd, return. Now, the Lord help, They vex me past my patience ! Pray you,
pass on : 130
I will not tarry ; no, nor ever more Upon this business my appearance make In any of their courts.
[Exeunt Queen, and her Attendants.
112. Gone slightly o'er, lightly But Griffith is clearly meant.
and swiftly passed. Holinshed, whose account is
116. tender, regard. here closely followed, adds after
the Crier's summons, 'with that
122. apt, ready. quoth maister Griffith, madame,
127. Griffith. Ff give this you be called againe.' Griffith line to a ' gentleman -usher.' was her General Receiver.
2I3
King Henry the Eighth ACT n
King. Go thy ways, Kate :
That man i' the world who shall report he has A better wife, let him in nought be trusted, For speaking false in that : thou art, alone, If thy rare qualities, sweet gentleness, Thy meekness saint-like, wife-like government, Obeying in commanding, and thy parts Sovereign and pious else, could speak thee out, 140 The queen of earthly queens : she 's noble born ; And, like her true nobility, she has Carried herself towards me.
Wol. Most gracious sir,
In humblest manner I require your highness, That it shall please you to declare, in hearing Of all these ears, — for where I am robb'd and
bound,
There must I be unloosed, although not there At once and fully satisfied, — whether ever I Did broach this business to your highness ; or Laid any scruple in your way, which might 150
Induce you to the question on 't ? or ever Have to you, but with thanks to God for such A royal lady, spake one the least word that might Be to the prejudice of her present state, Or touch of her good person ?
King. My lord cardinal,
I do excuse you ; yea, upon mine honour, I free you from 't. You are not to be taught That you have many enemies, that know not Why they are so, but, like to village-curs, Bark when their fellows do : by some of these 160 The queen is put in anger. You 're excused : But will you be more justified ? you ever Have wish'd the sleeping of this business ; never desired
144. require, entreat. 214
sc. iv King Henry the Eighth
It to be stirr'd ; but oft have hinder'd, oft, The passages made toward it : on my honour, I speak my good lord cardinal to tins point, And thus far clear him. Now, what moved me to 't, I will be bold with time and your attention : Then mark the inducement. Thus it came ; give
heed to 't :
My conscience first received a tenderness, 170
Scruple, and prick, on certain speeches utter'd By the Bishop of Bayonne, then French ambas sador ;
Who had been hither sent on the debating A marriage 'twixt the Duke of Orleans and Our daughter Mary : i' the progress of this business, Ere a determinate resolution, he, I mean the bishop, did require a respite : Wherein he might the king his lord advertise Whether our daughter were legitimate, Respecting this our marriage with the dowager, 180 Sometimes our brother's wife. This respite shook The bosom of my conscience, enter'd me, Yea, with a splitting power, and made to tremble The region of my breast ; which forced such way, That many mazed considerings did throng And press'd in with this caution. First, methought I stood not in the smile of heaven ; who had Commanded nature, that my lady's womb, If it conceived a male child by me, should Do no more offices of life to 't than 190
The grave does to the dead ; for her male issue
172. the Bishop of Bayonne. of my conscience," which led
So Holinshed. It was actually Theobald to propose ' bottom '
Grammont, Bishop of Tarbes. for 'bosom.' This is plausible ;
174. the Duke of Orleans; but the dramatist does not
second son of Francis I. follow Holinshed' s imagery so
182. bosom of my conscience. implicitly that it can be said to
Holinshed has ' the secret bottom be certain.
2I5
King Henry the Eighth ACTH
Or died where they were made, or shortly after This world had air'd them : hence I took a
thought,
This was a judgement on me ; that my kingdom, Well worthy the best heir o' the world, should not Be gladded in 't by me : then follows, that I weigh'd the danger which my realms stood in By this my issue's fail ; and that gave to me Many a groaning throe. Thus hulling in The wild sea of my conscience, I did steer 200
Toward this remedy, whereupon we are Now present here together ; that 's to say, I meant to rectify my conscience, — which I then did feel full sick, and yet not well, — By all the reverend fathers of the land And doctors learn'd : first I began in private With you, my Lord of Lincoln ; you remember How under my oppression I did reek, When I first moved you.
Lin. Very well, my liege.
King. I have spoke long : be pleased yourself
to say 210
How far you satisfied me.
Lin. So please your highness,
The question did at first so stagger me, Bearing a state of mighty moment in 't And consequence of dread, that I committed The daring'st counsel which I had to doubt ;
199. hulling, tossing to and counsel 'which 1 'had to doubt, etc.;
fro like a dismasted hulk. instead of directly advising on
204. yet, even now. the queen's case, Lincoln only
209. moved you, broached the advised further counsel. This is
matter to you. more clearly put by Holinshed,
213. Bearing a state of mighty where the king says, addressing moment in V, etc. , involving him : ' for so much as then you momentous issues and formi- yourself were in some doubt, you dable consequences. moved me to ask the counsel of
214. committed the daring'st all these my lords' (iii. 907).
2l6
sc. iv King Henry the Eighth
And did entreat your highness to this course Which you are running here.
King. I then moved you,
My Lord of Canterbury ; and got your leave To make this present summons : unsolicited I left no reverend person in this court ; 220
But by particular consent proceeded Under your hands and seals : therefore, go on ; For no dislike i' the world against the person Of the good queen, but the sharp thorny points Of my alleged reasons, drive this forward : Prove but our marriage lawful, by my life And kingly dignity, we are contented To wear our mortal state to corne with her, Katharine our queen, before the primest creature That 's paragon'd o' the world.
Cam. So please your highness, 230
The queen being absent, 'tis a needful fitness That we adjourn this court till further day : Meanwhile must be an earnest motion Made to the queen, to call back her appeal She intends unto his holiness.
King. [Aside] I may perceive
These cardinals trifle with me : I abhor This dilatory sloth and tricks of Rome. My learn'd and well-beloved servant, Cranmer, Prithee, return : with thy approach, I know, My comfort comes along. Break up the court : 24o I say, set on.
[Exeunt in manner as they entered.
238. Cranmer, prithee* return, was absent on an embassy A mental apostrophe. Cranmer (cf. iii. 2. 63).
217
King Henry the Eighth ACT m
ACT III.
SCENE I. London. The QUEEN'S apartments.
Enter the QUEEN and her Women, as at work.
Q. Kath. Take thy lute, wench : my soul
grows sad with troubles ;
Sing, and disperse 'em, if thou canst : leave working.
SONG.
Orpheus with his lute made trees, And the mountain tops that freeze,
Bow themselves when he did sing : To his music plants and flowers Ever sprung ; as sun and showers
There had made a lasting spring.
Every thing that heard him play, Even the billows of the sea,
Hung their heads, and then lay by. In sweet music is such art, Killing care and grief of heart
Fall asleep, or hearing, die.
Enter a Gentleman. Q. Kuth. How now ! Gent. An't please your grace, the two great
cardinals Wait in the presence.
Q. Kath. Would they speak with me ?
Gent. They will'd me say so, madam. Sc. i. By FLETCHER (Sp.). 218
sc. i King Henry the Eighth
Q. Kath. Pray their graces
To come near. [Exit Gent.~\ What can be their
business With me, a poor weak woman, fall'n from
favour ? 20
I do not like their coming. Now I think on 't, They should be good men ; their affairs as
righteous : But all hoods make not monks.
Enter the two Cardinals, WOLSEY and CAMPEIUS.
Wol. Peace to your highness !
Q. Kath. Your graces find me here part of a housewife,
I would be all, against the worst may happen.
What are your pleasures with me, reverend
lords ?
Wol. May it please you, noble madam, to withdraw
Into your private chamber, we shall give you
The full cause of our coming.
Q. Kath. Speak it here :
There 's nothing I have done yet, o' my con science, 3o
Deserves a corner : would all other women
Could speak this with as free a soul as I do !
My lords, I care not, so much I am happy
Above a number, if my actions
Were tried by every tongue, every eye saw 'em,
Envy and base opinion set against 'em,
I know my life so even. If your business
Seek me out, and that way I am wife in,
Out with it boldly : truth loves open dealing.
31. Deserves a corner, i.e. to 37. If your business, etc. ; if be told secretly. it be your business to investigate
37. even, blameless. my conduct as a wife.
2I9
King Henry the Eighth ACT m
WoL Tanta est erga te mentis integritas, 40 regina serenissima, —
Q. Kath. O, good my lord, no Latin ; I am not such a truant since my coming, As not to know the language I have lived in : A strange tongue makes my cause more strange,
suspicious ; Pray, speak in English : here are some will thank
you,
If you speak truth, for their poor mistress' sake ; Believe me, she has had much wrong : lord
cardinal,
The willing'st sin I ever yet committed May be absolved in English.
WoL Noble lady, 5o
I am sorry my integrity should breed, And service to his majesty and you, So deep suspicion, where all faith was meant. We come not by the way of accusation, To taint that honour every good tongue blesses, Nor to betray you any way to sorrow, You have too much, good lady ; but to know How you stand minded in the weighty difference Between the king and you ; and to deliver, Like free and honest men, our just opinions 60
And comforts to your cause.
Cam. Most honour'd madam,
My Lord of York, out of his noble nature, Zeal and obedience he still bore your grace, Forgetting, like a good man, your late censure Both of his truth and him, which was too far, Offers, as I do, in a sign of peace, His service and his counsel.
Q. Kath. [Aside] To betray me.—
My lords, I thank you both for your good wills ; Ye speak like honest men ; pray God, ye prove so ! 220
sc. i King Henry the Eighth
But how to make ye suddenly an answer, 70
In such a point of weight, so near mine honour, —
More near my life, I fear, — with my weak wit,
And to such men of gravity and learning,
In truth, I know not I was set at work
Among my maids ; full little, God knows, looking
Either for such men or such business.
For her sake that I have been, — for I feel
The last fit of my greatness, — good your graces,
Let me have time and counsel for my cause :
Alas, I am a woman, friendless, hopeless ! s0
Wol. Madam, you wrong the king's love with
these fears : Your hopes and friends are infinite.
Q. Kath. In England
But little for my profit : can you think, lords, That any Englishman dare give me counsel ? Or be a known friend, 'gainst his highness*
pleasure,
Though he be grown so desperate to be honest, And live a subject ? Nay, forsooth ! My friends, They that must weigh out my afflictions, They that my trust must grow to, live not here : They are, as all my other comforts, far hence In mine own country, lords.
Cam. I would your grace
Would leave your griefs, and take my counsel.
Q. Kath. How, sir?
Cam. Put your main cause into the king's
protection ;
He 's loving and most gracious : 'twill be much Both for your honour better and your cause ;
86. ' Though he (the English- and dare to live where Henry man) be grown so reckless as to has sway. L.
be honest." 88. -weigh out, outweigh,
87. And live a subject, i.e. counterbalance.
221
King Henry the Eighth ACT
For if the trial of the law o'ertake ye, You '11 part away disgraced.
Wol. He tells you rightly.
Q. Kath. Ye tell me what ye wish for both, —
my ruin :
Is this your Christian counsel ? out upon ye ! Heaven is above all yet ; there sits a judge That no king can corrupt.
Cam. Your rage mistakes us.
Q. Kath. The more shame for ye : holy men
I thought ye,
Upon my soul, two reverend cardinal virtues ; But cardinal sins and hollow hearts I fear ye : Mend 'em, for shame, my lords. Is this your
comfort ?
The cordial that ye bring a wretched lady, A woman lost among ye, laugh'd at, scorn'd ? I will not wish ye half my miseries ; I have more charity : but say, I warn'd ye ; Take heed, for heaven's sake, take heed, lest at
once The burthen of my sorrows fall upon ye.
Wol. Madam, this is a mere distraction ; You turn the good we offer into envy.
Q. Kath. Ye turn me into nothing : woe upon ye And all such false professors ! would you have
me —
If you have any justice, any pity; If ye be any thing but churchmen's habits — Put my sick cause into his hands that hates me ? Alas, has banish'd me his bed already, His love, too long ago ! I am old, my lords, And all the fellowship I hold now with him Is only my obedience. What can happen To me above this wretchedness ? all your studies Make me a curse like this.
sc. i King Henry the Eighth
Cam. Your fears are worse.
Q. Kath. Have I 'lived thus long — let me
speak myself,
Since virtue finds no friends — a wife, a true one? A woman, I dare say without vain-glory, Never yet branded with suspicion ? Have I with all my full affections Still met the king? loved him next heaven?
obeyrd him ? 130
Been, out of fondness, superstitious to him ? Almost forgot my prayers to content him ? And am I thus rewarded ? 'tis not well, lords. Bring me a constant woman to her husband, One that ne'er dream'd a joy beyond his pleasure ; And to that woman, when she has done most, Yet will I add an honour, — a great patience. Wol. Madam, you wander from the good we
aim at. Q. Kath. My lord, I dare not make myself so
guilty,
To give up willingly that noble title 140
Your master wed me to : nothing but death Shall e'er divorce my dignities.
Wol. Pray, hear me.
Q. Kath. Would I had never trod this English
earth,
Or felt the flatteries that grow upon it ! Ye have angels' faces, but heaven knows your
hearts.
What will become of me now, wretched lady ! I am the most unhappy woman living. Alas, poor wenches, where are now your fortunes !
134. a constant woman, a hers, woman constant (to . . .). 145. angels' faces; perhaps
137. add an honour, I will an allusion to Gregory's ' non show a merit in addition to all Angli sed angeli ' (Dyce). 223
King Henry the Eighth ACT m
Shipwreck'd upon a kingdom, where no pity,
No friends, no hope ; no kindred weep for me j 150
Almost no grave allow'd me : like the lily,
That once was mistress of the field and flourish'd,
I '11 hang my head and perish.
Wol. If your grace
Could but be brought to know our ends are honest, You 'Id feel more comfort : why should we, good
lady,
Upon what cause, wrong you ? alas, our places, The way of our profession is against it : We are to cure such sorrows, not to sow 'em. . For goodness' sake, consider what you do ; How you may hurt yourself, ay, utterly 160
Grow from the king's acquaintance, by this carriage. The hearts of princes kiss obedience, So much they love it ; but to stubborn spirits They swell, and grow as terrible as storms. I know you have a gentle, noble temper, A soul as even as a calm : pray, think us Those we profess, peace -makers, friends, and
servants. Cam. Madam, you '11 find it so. You wrong
your virtues
With these weak women's fears : a noble spirit, As yours was put into you, ever casts 170
Such doubts, as false coin, from it. The king
loves you ;
Beware you lose it not : for us, if you please To trust us in your business, we are ready To use our utmost studies in your service.
Q. Kath. Do what ye will, my lords : and,
pray, forgive me, If I have used myself unmannerly ;
159. For goodness' sake. In solemn adjuration: 'for God's Shakespeare's time this was a sake.'
224
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
You know I am a woman, lacking wit
To make a seemly answer to such persons.
Pray, do my service to his majesty :
He has my heart yet ; and shall have my prayers 180
While I shall have my life. Come, reverend
fathers,
Bestow your counsels on me : she now begs, That little thought, when she set footing here, She should have bought her dignities so dear.
\Exeunt.
SCENE II. Ante-chamber to the KING'S apartment.
Enter the DUKE OF NORFOLK, the DUKE OF SUFFOLK, the EARL OF SURREY, and the LORD CHAMBERLAIN.
Nor. If you will now unite in your complaints, And force them with a constancy, the cardinal Cannot stand under them : if you omit The offer of this time, I cannot promise But that you shall sustain moe new disgraces, With these you bear already.
Sur. I am joyful
To meet the least occasion that may give me Remembrance of my father-in-law, the duke, To be revenged on him.
Suf. Which of the peers
Have uncontemn'd gone by him, or at least 10
Strangely neglected ? when did he regard The stamp of nobleness in any person Out of himself?
2. force, urge. ham.
4. offer, favourable oppor- n. Strangely neglected. The tunity. negative 'un' in 'uncontemn'd'
8. the duke, i.e. Bucking- is understood with both clauses. VOL. VII, 225 Q
King Henry the Eighth ACT m
Cham. My lords, you speak your pleasures : What he deserves of you and me I know ; What we can do to him, though now the time Gives way to us, I much fear. If you cannot Bar his access to the king, never attempt Any thing on him ; for he hath a witchcraft Over the king in 's tongue.
Nor. O, fear him not ;
His spell in that is out : the king hath found 20
Matter against him that for ever mars The honey of his language. No, he 's settled, Not to come off, in his displeasure.
Sur. Sir,
I should be glad to hear such news as this Once every hour.
Nor. Believe it, this is true:
In the divorce his contrary proceedings Are all unfolded ; wherein he appears As I would wish mine enemy.
Sur. How came
His practices to light ?
Suf. Most strangely.
Sur. O, how, how?
Suf. The cardinal's letters to the pope miscarried, 30 And came to the eye o' the king : wherein was read, How that the cardinal did entreat his holiness To stay the judgement o' the divorce ; for if It did take place, ' I do,' quoth he, ' perceive My king is tangled in affection to A creature of the queen's, Lady Anne Bullen.1 Sur. Has the king this ? Suf. Believe it.
Sur. Will this work?
Cham. The king in this perceives him, how
he coasts
16. way, scope, opportunity. 38. coasts, cautiously feels his way. 226
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
And hedges his own way. But in this point
All his tricks founder, and he brings his physic 4o
After his patient's death : the king already
Hath married the fair lady.
Sur. Would he had !
Sttf. May you be happy in your wish, my lord ! For, I profess, you have it.
Sur. Now, all my joy
Trace the conjunction !
Suf. My amen to 't !
Nor. All men's 1
Suf. There 's order given for her coronation : Marry, this is yet but young, and may be left To some ears unrecounted. But, my lords, She is a gallant creature, and complete In mind and feature : I persuade me, from her 50 Will fall some blessing to this land, which shall In it be memorized.
Sur. But, will the king
Digest this letter of the cardinal's ? The Lord forbid !
Nor. Marry, amen !
Suf. No, no ;
There be moe wasps that buzz about his nose Will make this sting the sooner. Cardinal Campeius Is stol'n away to Rome ; hath ta'en no leave ;' Has left the cause o' the king unhandled ; and Is posted, as the agent of our cardinal, To second all his plot. I do assure you 60
The king cried Ha ! at this.
Cham. Now, God incense him,
And let him cry Ha ! louder !
45. Trace, follow. astrology.
ib. conjunction ; with an 47. young, fresh, allusion to the auspicious ' con- 52. memorized, made memor- junction' of two planets in able. 227
King Henry the Eighth ACT m
Nor. But, my lord,
When returns Cranmer?
Suf. He is return'd in his opinions ; which Have satisfied the king for his divorce, Together with all famous colleges Almost in Christendom : shortly, I believe, His second marriage shall be publish'd, and Her coronation. Katharine no more Shall be call'd queen, but princess dowager ?0
And widow to Prince Arthur.
Nor. This same Cranmer 's
A worthy fellow, and hath ta'en much pain In the king's business.
Suf. He has ; and we shall see him
For it an archbishop.
Nor. So I hear.
Suf. Tis so.
The cardinal !
Enter WOLSEY and CROMWELL.
Nor. Observe, observe, he's moody.
Wol. The packet, Cromwell, Gave 't you the king ?
Crom. To his own hand, in 's bedchamber.
Wol. Look'd he o' the inside of the paper ?
Crom. Presently
He did unseal them : and the first he view'd, He did it with a serious mind ; a heed So
64. return'd in his opinions, junction with his, satisfied the
i.e. he has sent home in advance king. Foxe, whom Shakespeare
the opinions he has collected clearly used for this part of the
regarding the divorce. These play, mentions certain German
opinions coincided with Cran- scholars ' who, very ambiguously
mer's own ; hence by an easy heretofore conceiving the cause,
transition the latter becomes the were fully resolved and satisfied
implied subject of v. 66; Cran- by him' (Foxe, ii. 1754, cit.
mer's opinion satisfied the Stone's Holinshed, p. 478). colleges, and theirs, in con-
228
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
Was in his countenance. You he bade Attend him here this morning.
Wol. Is he ready
To come abroad ?
Crorn. I think, by this he is.
Wol. Leave me awhile. \Exit Cromwell.
\Aside\ It shall be to the Duchess of Alengon, The French king's sister : he shall marry her. Anne Bullen ! No ; I '11 no Anne Bullens for him : There 's more in 't than fair visage. Bullen ! No, we '11 no Bullens. Speedily I wish To hear from Rome. The Marchioness of Pem broke ! 9o
Nor. He's discontented.
Suf. May be, he hears the king
Does whet his anger to him.
Sur. Sharp enough,
Lord, for thy justice !
Wol. [Aside] The late queen's gentlewoman,
a knight's daughter,
To be her mistress' mistress ! the queen's queen ! This candle burns not clear : 'tis I must snuff it ; Then out it goes. What though I know her
virtuous
And well deserving ? yet I know her for A spleeny Lutheran ; and not wholesome to Our cause, that she should lie i' the bosom of 100 Our hard-ruled king. Again, there is sprung up An heretic, an arch one, Cranmer ; one Hath crawl'd into the favour of the king, And is his oracle.
Nor. He is vex'd at something.
Sur. I would 'twere something that would
fret the string, The master-cord on 's heart !
101. hard-ruled, hard to rule. 106. on's, of his.
229
King Henry the Eighth ACT m
Enter the KING, reading of a schedule, and LOVELL.
Suf. The king, the king !
King. What piles of wealth hath he accumulated To his own portion ! and what expense by the hour Seems to flow from him ! How, i' the name of
thrift,
Does he rake this together ! Now, my lords, no
Saw you the cardinal ?
Nor. My lord, we have
Stood here observing him : some strange com motion
Is in his brain : he bites his lip, and starts ; Stops on a sudden, looks upon the ground, Then lays his finger on his temple ; straight Springs out into fast gait ; then stops again, Strikes his breast hard, and anon he casts His eye against the moon: in most strange postures We have seen him set himself.
King. It may well be ;
There is a mutiny in 's mind. This morning 120
Papers of state he sent me to peruse, As I required : and wot you what I found There, — on my conscience, put unwittingly ? Forsooth, an inventory, thus importing : The several parcels of his plate, his treasure, Rich stuffs, and ornaments of household ; which I find at such proud rate, that it out-speaks Possession of a subject.
Nor. It 's heaven's will :
Some spirit put this paper in the packet, To bless your eye withal.
King. If we did think 130
109. thrift, gain. something beyond (what a
127. out- speaks, expresses subject may rightly possess). 230
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
His contemplation were above the earth, And fix'd on spiritual object, he should still Dwell in his musings : but I am afraid His thinkings are below the moon, not worth His serious considering.
[King takes his seat ; whispers LOT ell, who goes to the Cardinal.
Wol. Heaven forgive me !
Ever God bless your highness !
King. Good my lord,
You are full of heavenly stuff, and bear the in ventory
Of your best graces in your mind ; the which You were now running o'er : you have scarce time To steal from spiritual leisure a brief span J4o
To keep your earthly audit : sure, in that I deem you an ill husband, and am glad To have you therein my companion.
Wol. ' Sir,
For holy offices I have a time ; a time To think upon jhe part of business which I bear i' the state ; and nature does require Her times of preservation, which perforce I, her frail son, amongst my brethren mortal, Must give my tendance to.
King. You have said well.
Wol. And ever may your highness yoke to gether, ,5o As I will lend you cause, my doing well With my well saying !
King. 'Tis well said again ;
And 'tis a kind of good deed to say well : And yet words are no deeds. My father loved
you : He said he did ; and with his deed did crown
142. husband, manager. 231
King Henry the Eighth ACT m
His word upon you. Since I had my office, I have kept you next my heart ; have not alone Employ'd you where high profits might come home, But pared my present havings, to bestow My bounties upon you.
Wol. [Aside] What should this mean ? 160
Sur \Asidi\ The Lord increase this business !
King. Have I not made you
The prime man of the state ? I pray you, tell me, If what I now pronounce you have found true : And, if you may confess it, say withal, If you are bound to us or no. What say you ?
WoL My sovereign, I confess your royal graces, Shower'd on me daily, have been more than could My studied purposes requite ; which went Beyond all man's endeavours : my endeavours Have ever come too short of my desires, i70
Yet filed with my abilities : mine own ends Have been mine so that evermore they pointed To the good of your most sacred person and The profit of the state. For your great graces Heap'd upon me, poor undeserver, I Can nothing render but allegiant thanks, My prayers to heaven for you, my loyalty, Which ever has and ever shall be growing, Till death, that winter, kill it.
King. Fairly answer'd ;
A loyal and obedient subject is 180
Therein illustrated : the honour of it Does pay the act of it ; as, i' the contrary, The foulness is the punishment. I presume
1 68. -which; i.e. the requital correction for ftfiltd. of such favours as the king's. 176. allegiant, loyal.
171. filed; kept pace with. 181. the honour of it does pay
A ' file ' is technically two soldiers the act of it ; the honour attach-
one standing behind another at ing to such loyalty sufficiently
a proper interval. Hanmer's rewards it. 232
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
That, as my hand has open'd bounty to you, My heart dropp'd love, my power rain'd honour,
more
On you than any ; so your hand and heart, Your brain, and every function of your power, Should, notwithstanding that your bond of duty, As 'twere in love's particular, be more To me, your friend, than any.
Wol. I do profess 190
That for your highness' good I ever labour'd More than mine own ; that am, have, and will be — Though all the world should crack their duty to
you,
And throw it from their soul ; though perils did Abound, as thick as thought could make 'em, and Appear in forms more horrid, — yet my duty, As doth a rock against the chiding flood, Should the approach of this wild river break, And stand unshaken yours.
King. 'Tis nobly spoken :
Take notice, lords, he has a loyal breast, 200
For you have seen him open 't. Read o'er this ;
[ Giving him papers.
And after, this : and then to breakfast with What appetite you have.
[Exit King, frowning upon Cardinal Wolsey : the nobles throng after him, smiling and whispering. Wol. What should this mean ?
192. that ant, have, and will pleting his broken phrase with
fa, etc. Wolsey is beginning a ' dutiful," he begins afresh: 'yet
passionate asseveration that he my duty, etc.' The confusion
is, has been, and will be dutiful is characteristic of Wolsey's
to the king though all others growing embarrassment. A
deserted him, etc., but the ac- large number of critics have
cumulated subordinate sentences sought to make him coherent at
break the thread of his thought, some cost to dramatic effect, and at v. 196, instead of com- 203-459. By FLETCHER (Sp.).
233
King Henry the Eighth ACT m
What sudden anger 's this ? how have I reap'd it ? He parted frowning from me, as if ruin Leap'd from his eyes : so looks the chafed lion Upon the daring huntsman that has gall'd him ; Then makes him nothing. I must read this
paper ;
I fear, the story of his anger. 'Tis so ; This paper has undone me : 'tis the account 210
Of all that world of wealth I have drawn together For mine own ends ; indeed, to gain the pope-
dom,
And fee my friends in Rome. O negligence I Fit for a fool to fall by : what cross devil Made me put this main secret in the packet I sent the king ? Is there no way to cure this ? No new device to beat this from his brains ? I know 'twill stir him strongly ; yet I know A way, if it take right, in spite of fortune Will bring me off again. What 's this ? { To the
Pope ! '
The letter, as I live, with all the business I writ to 's holiness. Nay then, farewell ! I have touch'd the highest point of all my great ness;
And, from that full meridian of my glory, I haste now to my setting : I shall fall Like a bright exhalation in the evening, And no man see me more.
210. 'tis the account, etc. Shakespeare, not without poetic
Holinshed records that an in- justice, makes him here play
advertence of this kind was his victim's part, committed by the Bishop of
Durham in 1523, which Wolsey 2I4- fross> thwarting,
used to procure his disgrace. 226. exhalation, meteor.
234
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
Re-enter to WOLSEY, the DUKES OF NORFOLK and SUFFOLK, the EARL OF SURREY, and the LORD CHAMBERLAIN.
Nor. Hear the king's pleasure, cardinal : who
commands you
To render up the great seal presently Into our hands ; and to confine yourself 230
To Asher House, my Lord of Winchester's, Till you hear further from his highness.
Wol. Stay :
Where 's your commission, lords ? words cannot
carry Authority so weighty.
Suf. Who dare cross 'em,
Bearing the king's will from his mouth expressly ? Wol. Till I find more than will or words to
do it,
I mean your malice, know, officious lords, I dare and must deny it. Now I feel Of what coarse metal ye are moulded, envy : How eagerly ye follow my disgraces, 240
As if it fed ye ! and how sleek and wanton Ye appear in every thing may bring my ruin ! Follow your envious courses, men of malice ; You have Christian warrant for 'em, and, no doubt, In time will find their fit rewards. That seal,
227. The Earl of Surrey. son of the third duke.
The dramatic 'Surrey' stands 231. Asher House; the later
for two historic persons whom Esher House, near Hampton
the dramatist probably confused: Court, the property of the
viz. (i) the Earl of Surrey who bishopric of Winchester. Wol-
married Buckingham's daughter sey had held this see since 1528
and succeeded Kildare as 'in commendam. ' Mr. Stone
Deputy of Ireland (ii. i. 42); (Hoi. p. 474 n.) thinks that
in 1524 he became third Duke Gardiner, Wolsey's successor,
of Norfolk, i.e. the ' Norfolk' may here be meant by ' my lord
of this scene. (2) The famous of Winchester's.
235
King Henry the Eighth ACT m
You ask with such a violence, the king,
Mine and your master, with his own hand gave
me;
Bade me enjoy it, with the place and honours, During my life ; and, to confirm his goodness, Tied it by letters-patents : now, who '11 take it ?
Sur. The king, that gave it. 250
Wol. It must be himself, then.
Sur. Thou art a proud traitor, priest.
Wol. Proud lord, thou liest :
Within these forty hours Surrey durst better Have burnt that tongue than said so.
Sur. Thy ambition,
Thou scarlet sin, robb'd this bewailing land Of noble Buckingham, my father-in-law : The heads of all thy brother cardinals, With thee and all thy best parts bound together, Weigh'd not a hair of his. Plague of your policy ! You sent me deputy for Ireland ; 260
Far from his succour, from the king, from all That might have mercy on the fault thou gavest
him ;
Whilst your great goodness, out of holy pity, Absolved him with an axe.
Wol. This, and all else
This talking lord can lay upon my credit, I answer is most false. The duke by law Found his deserts : how innocent I was From any private malice in his end, His noble jury and foul cause can witness. If I loved many words, lord, I should tell you 270 You have as little honesty as honour, That in the way of loyalty and truth Toward the king, my ever royal master,
262. gavest, didst impute to.
269. His noble jury, the jury of his peers.
236
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
Dare mate a sounder man than Surrey can be, And all that love his follies.
Sur. By my soul,
Your long coat, priest, protects you ; thou shouldst
feel
My sword i' the life-blood of thee else. My lords, Can ye endure to hear this arrogance ? And from this fellow ? If we live thus tamely, To be thus jaded by a piece of scarlet, 280
Farewell nobility ; let his grace go forward, And dare us with his cap like larks.
Wol. All goodness
Is poison to thy stomach.
Sur. Yes, that goodness
Of gleaning all the land's wealth into one, Into your own hands, cardinal, by extortion ; The goodness of your intercepted packets You writ to the pope against the king : your good ness,
Since you provoke me, shall be most notorious. My Lord of Norfolk, as you are truly noble, As you respect the common good, the state 29o
Of our despised nobility, our issues, Who, if he live, will scarce be gentlemen, Produce the grand sum of his sins, the articles Collected from his life. I '11 startle you Worse than the sacring bell, when the brown
wench Lay kissing in your arms, lord cardinal.
Wol. How much, methinks, I could despise
this man, But that I am bound in charity against it !
282. dare, cause to cower. 295. sacring bell, the little
Larks were often ' dared ' by a bell rung to give notice of the
piece of scarlet cloth. Wolsey's approach of the Host when it
scarlet cap is to serve the same is borne in procession, purpose.
237
King Henry the Eighth ACT m
Nor. Those articles, my lord, are in the king's
hand : But, thus much, they are foul ones.
Wol. So much fairer 3oo
And spotless shall mine innocence arise, When the king knows my truth.
Sur. This cannot save you :
I thank my memory, I yet remember Some of these articles ; and out they shall. Now, if you can blush and cry * guilty,' cardinal, You '11 show a little honesty.
Wol. Speak on, sir;
I dare your worst objections : if I blush, It is to see a nobleman want manners.
Sur. I had rather want those than my head.
Have at you !
First, that, without the king's assent or knowledge, 310 You wrought to be a legate ; by which power You maim'd the jurisdiction of all bishops.
Nor. Then, that in all you writ to Rome, or else To foreign princes, ' Ego et Rex meus ' Was still inscribed ; in which you brought the king To be your servant.
Suf. Then that, without the knowledge
Either of king or council, when you went Ambassador to the emperor, you made bold To carry into Flanders the great seal.
Sur. Item, you sent a large commission 320
To Gregory de Cassado, to conclude,
314. 'Ego et Rex metis. ' This, himself with the king ( « the king
like the other charges, is from and I'), 'using himself more
Holinshed. The point of his like a fellow to [his] Highness
offence was, in reality, not that than a subject.' Calend. (Hen.
he had mentioned himself before VIII. ) quoted Stone, Hoi.
the king ' as who would say p. 476 n.
that the king were his servant' 321. Cassado; so Halle and
(Hoi.), but that he mentioned Holinshed. Sir Gregory Casale.
238
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
Without the king's will or the state's allowance, A league between his highness and Ferrara.
Suf. That, out of mere ambition, you have
caused Your holy hat to be stamp'd on the king's coin.
Sur. Then that you have sent innumerable
substance —
By what means got, I leave to your own con science —
To furnish Rome, and to prepare the ways You have for dignities ; to the mere undoing Of all the kingdom. Many more there are ; 330
Which, since they are of you, and odious, I will not taint my mouth with.
Cham. O my lord,
Press not a falling man too far ! 'tis virtue : His faults lie open to the laws ; let them, Not you, correct him. My heart weeps to see him So little of his great self.
Sur. I forgive him.
Suf. Lord cardinal, the king's further pleasure
is,
Because all those things you have done of late, By your power legatine, within this kingdom, Fall into the compass of a praemunire, 34o
That therefore such a writ be sued against you ; To forfeit all your goods, lands, tenements, Chattels, and whatsoever, and to be Out of the king's protection. This is my charge.
Nor. And so we '11 leave you to your medi tations
340. Fall into the compass of and confiscation of goods.
a frcemunire ; i.e. come within 'Chattels.' the word actually
the scope of the laws which used in the legal writ of prae-
restrained the introduction of a munire, was substituted by
foreign authority into England. Theobald for Ff 'castles.' The punishment was outlawry
239
King Henry the Eighth ACT m
How to live better. For your stubborn answer
About the giving back the great seal to us,
The king shall know it, and, no doubt, shall thank
you. So fare you well, my little good lord cardinal.
[Exeunt all but Wolsey.
WoL So farewell to the little good you bear me. 350 Farewell ! a long farewell, to all my greatness ! This is the state of man : to-day he puts forth The tender leaves of hopes ; to-morrow blossoms, And bears his blushing honours thick upon him ; The third day comes a frost, a killing frost, And, when he thinks, good easy man, full surely His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root, And then he falls, as I do. I have ventured, Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders, This many summers in a sea of glory, 36o
But far beyond my depth : my high-blown pride At length broke under me and now has left me, Weary and old with service, to the mercy Of a rude stream, that must for ever hide me. Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye : I feel my heart new open'd. O, how wretched Is that poor man that hangs on princes' favours ! There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to, That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin, More pangs and fears than wars or women have : 370 And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer, Never to hope again.
Enter CROMWELL, and stands amazed.
Why, how now, Cromwell ! Crom. I have no power to speak, sir. WoL What, amazed
At my misfortunes ? can thy spirit wonder A great man should decline ? Nay, an you weep, 240
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
I am fall'n indeed.
Crom. How does your grace ?
Wol. Why, well
Never so truly happy, my good Cromwell. I know myself now ; and I feel within me A peace above all earthly dignities, A still and quiet conscience. The king has cured
me, 38o
I humbly thank his grace ; and from these
shoulders,
These ruin'd pillars, out of pity, taken A load would sink a navy, too much honour : O, 'tis a burthen, Cromwell, 'tis a burthen Too heavy for a man that hopes for heaven !
Crom. I am glad your grace has made that right use of it.
Wol. I hope I have : I am able now, methinks, Out of a fortitude of soul I feel, To endure more miseries and greater far Than my weak-hearted enemies dare offer. 39o
What news abroad ?
Crom. The heaviest and the worst
Is your displeasure with the king.
Wol. God bless him !
Crom. The next is, that Sir Thomas More is
chosen Lord Chancellor in your place.
Wol. That 's somewhat sudden :
But he 's a learned man. May he continue Long in his highness' favour, and do justice For truth's sake and his conscience ; that his bones, When he has run his course and sleeps in blessings, May have a tomb of orphans' tears wept on 'em ! What more?
Crom. That Cranmer is return'd with welcome, 400
392. displeasuret disgrace. VOL. VII 241 R
King Henry the Eighth ACT m
Install'd lord archbishop of Canterbury.
WoL That Js news indeed.
Crom. ' Last, that the Lady Anne,
Whom the king hath in secrecy long married, This day was view'd in open as his queen, Going to chapel ; and the voice is now Only about her coronation.
WoL There was the weight that pull'd me down.
O Cromwell,
The king has gone beyond me : all my glories In that one woman I have lost for ever : No sun shall ever usher forth mine honours, 4io
Or gild again the noble troops that waited Upon my smiles. Go, get thee from me, Crom well ;
I am a poor fall'n man, unworthy now To be thy lord and master : seek the king ; That sun, I pray, may never set ! \ have told him What and how true thou art : he will advance thee ; Some little memory of me will stir him — I know his noble nature — not to let Thy hopeful service perish too : good Cromwell, Neglect him not ; make use now, and provide 420 For thine own future safety.
Crom. O my lord,
Must I, then, leave you ? must I needs forgo So good, so noble and so true a master ? Bear witness, all that have not hearts of iron, With what a sorrow Cromwell leaves his lord. The king shall have my service ; but my prayers For ever and for ever shall be yours.
WoL Cromwell, I did not think to shed a tear In all my miseries ; but thou hast forced me, Out of thy honest truth, to play the woman. 430
404. in open, in public. reached me.
408. gone beyond tne, over- 430. truth, fidelity. 242
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
Let 's dry our eyes : and thus far hear me, Cromwell ; And, when I am forgotten, as I shall be, And sleep in dull cold marble, where no mention Of me more must be heard of, say, I taught thee, Say, Wolsey, that once trod the ways of glory, And sounded all the depths and shoals of honour, Found thee a way, out of his wreck, to rise in ; A sure and safe one, though thy master miss'd it. Mark but my fall, and that that ruin'd me. Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition : 4+0 By that sin fell the angels ; how can man, then, The image of his Maker, hope to win by it ? Love thyself last : cherish those hearts that hate
thee ;
Corruption wins not more than honesty. Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace, To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not : Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's, Thy God's, and truth's; then if thou fall'st, O
Cromwell,
Thou fall'st a blessed martyr ! Serve the king ; And, — prithee, lead me in : 4So
There take an inventory of all I have, To the last penny ; 'tis the king's : my robe, And my integrity to heaven, is all I dare now call mine own. O Cromwell, Cromwell ! Had I but served my .God with half the zeal I served my king, he would not in mine age Have left me naked to mine enemies. Crom. Good sir, have patience. WoL So I have. Farewell
The hopes of court ! my hopes in heaven do
dwell. {Exeunt.
455. Had 1 'but served my God, in his last hours to 'Master etc. Holinshed reports these Kingston.' words as addressed by Wolsey
243
ACT rr
King Henry the Eighth
ACT IV.
SCENE I. A street in Westminster.
Enter two Gentlemen, meeting one another.
First Gent. You 're well met once again.
Sec. Gent. So are you.
First Gent. You come to take your stand here,
and behold The Lady Anne pass from her coronation ?
Sec. Gent. 'Tis all my business. At our last
encounter, The Duke of Buckingham came from his trial.
First Gent. 'Tis very true : but that time offer'd
sorrow ; This, general joy.
Sec. Gent. 'Tis well : the citizens,
I am sure, have shown at full their royal minds — As, let 'em have their rights, they are ever for ward —
In celebration of this day with shows, Pageants and sights of honour.
First Gent. Never greater,
Nor, I '11 assure you, better taken, sir.
Sec. Gent. May I be bold to ask what that
contains, That paper in your hand?
First Gent. Yes ; 'tis the list
Of those that claim their offices this day By custom of the coronation. The Duke of Suffolk is the first, and claims
Sc. z. By FLETCHER (Sp. ).
8. royal minds, devotion to the king, 'loyalty.
244
sc. i King Henry the Eighth
To be high-steward ; next, the Duke of Norfolk, He to be earl marshal : you may read the rest.
Sec. Gent. I thank you, sir : had I not known
those customs, 20
I should have been beholding to your paper. But, I beseech you, what's become of Katharine, The princess dowager ? how goes her business ?
First Gent. That I can tell you too. The
Archbishop
Of Canterbury, accompanied with other Learned and reverend fathers of his order, Held a late court at Dunstable, six miles off From Ampthill where the princess lay ; to which She was often cited by them, but appear'd not : And, to be short, for not appearance and 3o
The king's late scruple, by the main assent Of all these learned men she was divorced, And the late marriage made of none effect : Since which she was removed to Kimbolton, Where she remains now sick.
Sec. Gent. Alas, good lady !
{Trumpets.
The trumpets sound : stand close, the queen is coming. \Hautboys.
THE ORDER OF THE CORONATION.
1. A. lively flourish of Trumpets.
2. Then, two Judges.
3. Lord Chancellor, with the purse and mace
before him.
4. Choristers, singing. [Music.
5. Mayor of London, bearing the mace. Then
31. main, general. 34. Kimbolton; then pro-
33. late marriage, the mar- nounced, as Ff print it, ' Kim- riage till lately held valid. malton. '
245
King Henry the Eighth
ACT IV
Garter, in his coat of arms, and on his head a gilt copper crown.
6. Marquess DORSET, bearing a sceptre of gold,
on his head a demi-coronal of gold. With him, the Earl of SURREY, bearing the rod of silver with the dove, crowned with an earl's coronet. Collars of SS.
7. Duke of SUFFOLK, in his robe of estate, his
coronet on his head, bearing a long white wand, as high -steward. With him, the Duke of NORFOLK, with the rod of mar- shalship, a coronet on his head. Collars ofSS.
8. A canopy borne by four of the Cinque-ports ;
under it, the Queen in her robe; in her hair richly adorned with pearl, crowned. On each side her, the Bishops of London and Winchester.
9. The old Duchess of NORFOLK, in a coronal
of gold, wrought with flowers, bearing the Queen's train.
10. Certain Ladies or Countesses, with plain
circlets of gold without flowers. They pass over the stage in order and state.
Sec. Gent. A royal train, believe me. These
I know : Who 's that that bears the sceptre ?
First Gent. Marquess Dorset :
And that the Earl of Surrey, with the rod.
Sec. Gent. A bold brave gentleman. That
should be 4o
The Duke of Suffolk ?
First Gent. 'Tis the wime : high-steward.
Stage dir. 6. SS. (i.e. 'Esses,' as the Ff print), pieces shaped like the letter S.
246
sc. i King Henry the Eighth
Sec. Gent. And that my Lord of Norfolk ? First Gent. Yes.
Sec. Gent. Heaven bless thee !
\Looking on the Queen.
Thou hast the sweetest face I ever look'd on. Sir, as I have a soul, she is an angel ; Our king has all the Indies in his arms, And more and richer, when he strains that lady : I cannot blame his conscience.
First Gent. They that bear
The cloth of honour over her, are four barons Of the Cinque-ports.
Sec. Gent. Those men are happy; and so are
all are near her. 50
I take it, she that carries up the train Is that old noble lady, the Duchess of Norfolk. First Gent. It is ; and all the rest are countesses. Sec. Gent. Their coronets say so. These are
stars indeed ; And sometimes falling ones.
First Gent. No more of that.
[Exit procession, and then a great flourish
of trumpets.
Enter a third Gentleman.
First Gent. God save you, sir ! where have you
been broiling? Third Gent. Among the crowd i' the Abbey ;
where a finger
Could not be wedged in more : I am stifled With the mere rankness of their joy.
Sec. Gent. You saw
The ceremony ?
Third Gent. That I did.
First Gent. How was it ? 60
46. strains, clasps. 58. stifled (three syllables).
247
King Henry the Eighth ACT iv
Third Gent. Well worth the seeing.
Sec. Gent. Good sir, speak it to us.
Third Gent. As well as I am able. The rich
stream
Of lords and ladies, having brought the queen To a prepared place in the choir, fell off A distance from her ; while her grace sat down To rest awhile, some half an hour or so, In a rich chair of state, opposing freely The beauty of her person to the people. Believe me, sir, she is the goodliest woman That ever lay by man : which when the people 70 Had the full view of, such a noise arose As the shrouds make at sea in a stiff tempest, As loud, and to as many tunes : hats, cloaks, — Doublets, I think, — flew up ; and had their faces Been loose, this day they had been lost. Such joy I never saw before. Great-bellied women, That had not half a week to go, like rams In the old time of war, would shake the press, And make 'em reel before 'em. No man living Could say * This is my wife ' there ; all were woven So strangely in one piece. 80
Sec. Gent. But, what follow'd ?
Third Gent. At length her grace rose, and
with modest paces
Came to the altar ; where she kneel'd, and saintlike Cast her fair eyes to heaven and pray'd devoutly. Then rose again and bow'd her to the people : When by the Archbishop of Canterbury She had all the royal makings of a queen ; As holy oil, Edward Confessor's crown, The rod, and bird of peace, and all such emblems Laid nobly on her : which perform'd, the choir, 90 With all the choicest music of the kingdom, Together sung ' Te Deum.' So she parted, 248
sc. i King Henry the Eighth
And with the same full state paced back again To York-place, where the feast is held.
First Gent. Sir,
You must no more call it York-place, that 's past ; For, since the cardinal fell, that title 's lost : 'Tis now the king's, and call'd Whitehall.
Third Gent. I know it ;
But 'tis so lately alter' d, that the old name Is fresh about me.
Sec. Gent. What two reverend bishops
Were those that went on each side of the queen ?
Third Gent. Stokesly and Gardiner ; the one of
Winchester,
Newly preferr'd from the king's secretary, The other, London.
Sec. Gent. He of Winchester
Is held no great good lover of the archbishop's, The virtuous Cranmer.
Third Gent. All the land knows that :
However, yet there is no great breach ; when it
comes, Cranmer will find a friend will not shrink from him.
Sec. Gent. Who may that be, I pray you ?
Third Gent. Thomas Cromwell ;
A man in much esteem with the king, and truly A worthy friend. The king has made him master O' the jewel house, And one, already, of the privy council.
Sec. Gent. He will deserve more.
Third Gent. Yes, without all doubt.
Come, gentlemen, ye shall go my way, which Is to the court, and there ye shall be my guests : Something I can command. As I walk thither, I '11 tell ye more.
Both. You may command us, sir. [Exeunt.
10 1. the one, viz. Gardiner. 249
King Henry the Eighth ACT
SCENE II. Kimbolton.
Enter KATHARINE, Dowager, sick; led between GRIFFITH, her gentleman usher, and PA TIENCE, her woman.
Grif. How does your grace ?
Kath. O Griffith, sick to death !
My legs, like loaden branches, bow to the earth, Willing to leave their burthen. Reach a chair. So ; now, methinks, I feel a little ease. Didst thou not tell me, Griffith, as thou led'st me, That the great child of honour, Cardinal Wolsey, Was dead ?
Grif. Yes, madam ; but I think your grace, Out of the pain you suffer'd, gave no ear to 't.
Kath. Prithee, good Griffith, tell me how he died : If well, he stepp'd before me, happily 10
For my example.
Grif. Well, the voice goes, madam :
For after the stout Earl Northumberland Arrested him at York, and brought him forward, As a man sorely tainted, to his answer, He fell sick suddenly, and grew so ill He could not sit his mule.
Kath. Alas, poor man !
Grif. At last, with easy roads, he came to
Leicester,
Lodged in the abbey ; where the reverend abbot, With all his covent, honourably received him ; To whom he gave these words, ' O father abbot, 20 An old man, broken with the storms of state,
Sc. 2. By FLETCHER (Sp. ). 14. to his answer, to stand
10. happily, haply. trial.
11. voice, report. 19. covent, convent.
25o
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
Is come to lay his weary bones among ye ;
Give him a little earth for charity ! '
So went to bed ; where eagerly his sickness
Pursued him still ; and three nights after this,
About the hour of eight, which he himself
Foretold should be his last, full of repentance,
Continual meditations, tears and sorrows,
He gave his honours to the world again,
His blessed part to heaven, and slept in peace. 3o
Kath. So may he rest ; his faults lie gently on him ! Yet thus far, Griffith, give me leave to speak him, And yet with charity. He was a man Of an unbounded stomach, ever ranking Himself with princes ; one that by suggestion Tied all the kingdom : simony was fair-play : His own opinion was his law : i' the presence He would say untruths, and be ever double Both in his words and meaning : he was never, But where he meant to ruin, pitiful : 40
His promises were, as he then was, mighty ; But his performance, as he is now, nothing : Of his own body he was ill, and gave The clergy ill example.
Grif. Noble madam,
Men's evil manners live in brass ; their virtues We write in water. May it please your highness To hear me speak his good now ?
34. stomach, arrogance. Holinshed's phrase, ' he was
35- sti^gestion, crafty, under- vicious of his body,' is slightly
hand practices. more specific (iii. 922).
47. hear me speak his good.
36. Tted, brought into bond- Griffith-s defence of Wolstv is
age. But Holmshed s phrase based the character of 'him
•by crafty suggestions gat into m Edmund C*mp\*n's History of
his hands innumerable treasure, Ireland> M d b Holinshe(£
gives some plausibility to Han- The n-s indictment of him
mer s conjecture ' tithed. expresses the view conveyed by
43. Of his own body he was ill. Halle, also quoted in Holinshed.
251
King Henry the Eighth ACT iv
Kath. Yes, good Griffith ;
I were malicious else.
Grif. This cardinal,
Though from an humble stock, undoubtedly Was fashion'd to much honour from his cradle. 50 He was a scholar, and a ripe and good one ; Exceeding wise, fair-spoken, and persuading : Lofty and sour to them that loved him not ; But to those men that sought him sweet as summer. And though he were unsatisfied in getting, Which was a sin, yet in bestowing, madam, He was most princely : ever witness for him Those twins of learning that he raised in you, Ipswich and Oxford ! one of which fell with him, Unwilling to outlive the good that did it ; 60
The other, though unfinished, yet so famous, So excellent in art, and still so rising, That Christendom shall ever speak his virtue. His overthrow heap'd happiness upon him ; For then, and not till then, he felt himself, And found the blessedness of being little : And, to add greater honours to his age Than man could give him, he died fearing God.
Kath. After my death I wish no other herald, No other speaker of my living actions, 7o
To keep mine honour from corruption, But such an honest chronicler as Griffith. Whom I most hated living, thou hast made me, With thy religious truth and modesty, Now in his ashes honour : peace be with him ! Patience, be near me still ; and set me lower :
59. Ipswich and Oxford ; viz. goodness (i.e. the benefactor) ' Wolsey's College ' at Ipswich, that founded it. The Ipswich and Christ Church (originally college, as Holinshed says, was Cardinal College), Oxford. 'overthrown with his fall.' A
60. the good that did it, the single gateway remains.
252
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
I have not long to trouble thee. Good Griffith, Cause the musicians play me that sad note I named my knell, whilst I sit meditating On that celestial harmony I go to.
[Sad and solemn music. Grif. She is asleep : good wench, let 's sit down
quiet, For fear we wake her : softly, gentle Patience.
The vision. Enter, solemnly tripping one after another, six personages, clad in white robes, wearing on their heads garlands of bays, and golden vizards on their faces ; branches of bays or palm in their hands. They first con gee unto her, then dance; and, at certain changes, the first two hold a spare garland over her head ; at which the other four make reverent curtsies ; then the two that held the garland deliver the same to the other next two, who observe the same order in their changes, and holding the garland over her head : which done, they deliver the same gar land to the last two, who likewise observe the same order : at which, as it were by in spiration, she makes in her sleep signs of rejoicing, and holdeth up her hands to heaven : and so in their dancing vanish, carrying the garland with them. The music continues.
Kath. Spirits of peace, where are ye ? are ye all
gone, And leave me here in wretchedness behind ye ?
Grif. Madam, we are here.
Kath. It is not you I call for :
Saw ye none enter since I slept ?
Grif. None, madam.
253
King Henry the Eighth ACT iv
Kath. No ? Saw you not, even now, a blessed
troop
Invite me to a banquet ; whose bright faces Cast thousand beams upon me, like the sun ? They promised me eternal happiness ; 90
And brought me garlands, Griffith, which I feel I am not worthy yet to wear : I shall, assuredly.
Grif. I am most joyful, madam, such good dreams Possess your fancy.
Kath. Bid the music leave,
They are harsh and heavy to me. [Music ceases.
Pat. Do you note
How much her grace is alter'd on the sudden ? How long her face is drawn ? how pale she looks, And of an earthy cold ? Mark her eyes !
Grif. She is going, wench : pray, pray.
Pat. Heaven comfort her !
Enter a Messenger.
Mess. An 't like your grace, — Kath. You are a saucy fellow : too
Deserve we no more reverence ?
Grif. You are to blame,
Knowing she will not lose her wonted greatness, To use so rude behaviour ; go to, kneel.
Mess. I humbly do entreat your highness'
pardon ;
My haste made me unmannerly. There is staying A gentleman, sent from the king, to see you. Kath. Admit him entrance, Griffith: but this
fellow Let me ne'er see again.
\Exeunt Griffith and Messenger.
Re-enter GRIFFITH, with CAPUCIUS. If my sight fail not, 254
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
You should be lord ambassador from the emperor, My royal nephew, and your name Capucius.
Cap. Madam, the same ; your servant.
Kath. O, my lord,
The times and titles now are alter'd strangely With me since first you knew me. But, I pray
you, What is your pleasure with me ?
Cap. Noble lady,
First, mine own service to your grace ; the next, The king's request that I would visit you ; Who grieves much for your weakness, and by me Sends you his princely commendations, And heartily entreats you take good comfort.
Kath. O my good lord, that comfort comes too
late ;
'Tis like a pardon after execution : That gentle physic, given in time, had cured me ; But now I am past all comforts here, but prayers. How does his highness ?
Cap. Madam, in good health.
Kath. So may he ever do ! and ever flourish, When I shall dwell with worms, and my poor name Banish'd the kingdom ! Patience, is that letter, I caused you write, yet sent away ?
Pat. No, madam.
\Giving it to Katharine.
Kath. Sir, I most humbly pray you to deliver This to my lord the king.
Cap. Most willing, madam.
Kath. In which I have commended to his
goodness
The model of our chaste loves, his young daughter : The dews of heaven fall thick in blessings on her ! Beseeching him to give her virtuous breeding, —
132. model, image in little. 255
King Henry the Eighth ACT iv
She is young, and of a noble modest nature,
I hope she will deserve well, — and a little
To love her for her mother's sake, that loved him,
Heaven knows how dearly. My next poor petition
Is, that his noble grace would have some pity
Upon my wretched women, that so long 140
Have followed both my fortunes faithfully :
Of which there is not one, I dare avow,
And now I should not lie, but will deserve,
For virtue and true beauty of the soul,
For honesty and decent carriage,
A right good husband, let him be a noble :
And, sure, those men are happy that shall have 'em.
The last is, for my men ; they are the poorest,
But poverty could never draw 'em from me ;
That they may have their wages duly paid 'em, 150
And something over to remember me by :
If heaven had pleased to have given me longer
life
And able means, we had not parted thus. These are the whole contents : and, good my
lord,
By that you love the dearest in this world, As you wish Christian peace to souls departed, Stand these poor people's friend, and urge the
king To do me this last right
Cap. By heaven, I will,
Or let me lose the fashion of a man !
Kath. I thank you, honest lord. Remember me 160 In all humility unto his highness : Say his long trouble now is passing Out of this world ; tell him, in death I bless'd him, For so I will. Mine eyes grow dim. Farewell, My lord. Griffith, farewell. Nay, Patience, You must not leave me yet : I must to bed ;
256
ACT v King Henry the Eighth
Call in more women. When I am dead, good
wench,
Let me be used with honour : strew me over With maiden flowers, that all the world may know I was a chaste wife to my grave : embalm me, Then lay me forth : although unqueen'd, yet like A queen, and daughter to a king, inter me. I can no more. \Exeunt, leading Katharine.
ACT V.
SCENE I. London. A gallery in the palace.
Enter GARDINER, Bishop of Winchester, a Page with a torch before him, met by SIR THOMAS LOVELL.
Gar. It 's one o'clock, boy, is 't not ?
Boy. It hath struck.
Gar. These should be hours for necessities, Not for delights ; times to repair our nature With comforting repose, and not for us To waste these times. Good hour of night, Sir
Thomas ! Whither so late ?
Lov. Came you from the king, my lord ?
Gar. I did, Sir Thomas ; and left him at primero With the Duke of Suffolk.
Lov. I must to him too,
Before he go to bed. I '11 take my leave.
Gar. Not yet, Sir Thomas Lovell. What 's the
matter ? It seems you are in haste : an if there be
7. primero, a game of cards. VOL. VII 257 S
King Henry the Eighth 'ACTV
No great offence belongs to 't, give your friend Some touch of your late business : affairs, that
walk,
As they say spirits do, at midnight, have In them a wilder nature than the business That seeks dispatch by day.
Lov. My lord, I love you ;
And durst commend a secret to your ear Much weightier than this work. The queen 's in
labour,
They say, in great extremity ; and fear'd She '11 with the labour end.
Gar. The fruit she goes with 20
I pray for heartily, that it may find Good time, and live : but for the stock, Sir
Thomas, I wish it grubb'd up now.
Lov. Methinks I could
Cry the amen ; and yet my conscience says She 's a good creature, and, sweet lady, does Deserve our better wishes.
Gar. But, sir, sir,
Hear me, Sir Thomas : you ;re a gentleman Of mine own way ; I know you wise, religious ; And, let me tell you, it will ne'er be well, 'Twill not, Sir Thomas Lovell, take 't of me, 3o
Till Cranmer, Cromwell, her two hands, and she, Sleep in their graves.
Lov. Now, sir, you speak of two
The most remark'd i' the kingdom. As for Crom well,
Beside that of the jewel house, is made master O' the rolls, and the king's secretary ; further, sir,
13. touch, hint. at midnight.'
ib. your late business, i.e. 28. Of mine own way, of my
business that ' seeks despatch own religious faith.
sc. i King Henry the Eighth
Stands in the gap and trade of moe preferments, With which the time will load him. The arch bishop Is the king's hand and tongue ; and who dare
speak One syllable against him ?
Gar. Yes, yes, Sir Thomas,
There are that dare ; and I myself have ventured 4o To speak my mind of him : and indeed this day, Sir, I may tell it you, I think I have Incensed the lords o' the council, that he is, For so I know he is, they know he is, A most arch heretic, a pestilence That does infect the land : with which they moved Have broken with the king; who hath so far Given ear to our complaint, of his great grace And princely care foreseeing those fell mischiefs Our reasons laid before him, hath commanded 50 To-morrow morning to the council-board He be convented. He 's a rank weed, Sir Thomas, And we must root him out. From your affairs I hinder you too long : good night, Sir Thomas. Lov. Many good nights, my lord : I rest your servant. [Exeunt Gardiner and Page.
Enter the KING and SUFFOLK.
King. Charles, I will play no more to-night ; My mind 's not on 't ; you are too hard for me.
Suf. Sir, I did never win of you before.
King. But little, Charles ; Nor shall not, when my fancy 's on my play. 60
36. in the gap and trade of ments, ' gap ' to their inevitable-
moe preferments, i.e. in the ness ; Cromwell occupying, as
beaten track where preferment it were, a narrow pass where
must needs befall him. 'Trade* 'preferment' cannot evade
(trodden path) refers to the him. rapid succession of the appoint- 52. convented, convened,
259
King Henry the Eighth ACT v
Now, Lovell, from the queen what is the news ?
Lov. I could not personally deliver to her What you commanded me, but by her woman I sent your message : who return'd her thanks In the great'st humbleness, and desired your high ness Most heartily to pray for her.
King. What say'st thou, ha ?
To pray for her ? what, is she crying out ?
Lov. . So said her woman ; and that her suffer ance made Almost each pang a death.
King. Alas, good lady !
Suf. God safely quit her of her burthen, and 7o With gentle travail, to the gladding of Your highness with an heir !
King. 'Tis midnight, Charles ;
Prithee, to bed ; and in thy prayers remember The estate of my poor queen. Leave me alone ; For I must think of that which company Would not be friendly to.
Suf. I wish your highness
A quiet night ; and my good mistress will Remember in my prayers.
King. Charles, good night. [Exit Suffolk.
Enter SIR ANTHONY DENNY. Well, sir, what follows ?
Den. Sir, I have brought my lord the archbishop, 80 As you commanded me.
King. Ha! Canterbury?
Den. Ay, my good lord.
King. 'Tis true : where is he, Denny ?
Den. He attends your highness' pleasure.
Bring him to us. [Exit Denny* 260
sc. i King Henry the Eighth
Lov. \Aside\ This is about that which the
bishop spake : I am happily come hither.
Re-enter DENNY, with CRANMER.
King. Avoid the gallery. \Lovell seems to stay.]
Ha ! I have said. Be gone.
What ! \Exeunt Lorell and Denny.
Cran. [Aside] I am fearful : wherefore frowns
he thus? Tis his aspdct of terror. All 's not well.
King. How now, my lord ! you do desire to
know Wherefore I sent for you.
Cran. \Kneeling\ It is my duty 9o
To attend your highness' pleasure.
King. Pray you, arise,
My good and gracious Lord of Canterbury. Come, you and I must walk a turn together ; I have news to tell you : come, come, give me
your hand.
Ah, my good lord, I grieve at what I speak, And am right sorry to repeat what follows : I have, and most unwillingly, of late Heard many grievous, I do say, my lord, Grievous complaints of you ; which, being con-
sider'd,
Have moved us and our council, that you shall 100 This morning come before us ; where, I know, You cannot with such freedom purge yourself, But that, till further trial in those charges Which will require your answer, you must take Your patience to you, and be well contented To make your house our Tower : you a brother of us,
85. Avoid, quit.
106. a brother of us, i.e. a member of our Privy Council. 26l
King Henry the Eighth ACT
It fits we thus proceed, or else no witness Would come against you.
Cran. {Kneeling] I humbly thank your highness ; And am right glad to catch this good occasion Most throughly to be winnow'd, where my chaff And corn shall fly asunder : for, I know, There's none stands under more calumnious
tongues Than I myself, poor man.
King. Stand up, good Canterbury :
Thy truth and thy integrity is rooted In us, thy friend : give me thy hand, stand up : Prithee, let 's walk. Now, by my holidame, What manner of man are you ? My lord, I look'd You would have given me your petition, that I should have ta'en some pains to bring together Yourself and your accusers ; and to have heard
you, Without indurance, further.
Cran. Most dread liege,
The good I stand on is my truth and honesty : If they shall fail, I, with mine enemies, Will triumph o'er my person ; which I weigh not, Being of those virtues vacant. I fear nothing . What can be said against me.
King. Know you not
How your state stands i' the world, with the whole
world ? Your enemies are many, and not small; their
practices
Must bear the same proportion ; and not ever The justice and the truth o' the question carries i3 The due o' the verdict with it : at what ease
121. indurance, confinement. ground. The word is from Holinshed.
122. The good, the vantage- 129. not ever, not always.
262
sc. i King Henry the Eighth
Might corrupt minds procure knaves as corrupt To swear against you ? such things have been done. You are potently opposed ; and with a malice Of as great size. Ween you of better luck, I mean, in perjured witness, than your master, Whose minister you are, whiles here he lived Upon this naughty earth ? Go to, go to ; You take a precipice for no leap of danger, And woo your own destruction.
Cran. God and your majesty
Protect mine innocence, or I fall into The trap is laid for me !
King. Be of good cheer ;
They shall no more prevail than we give way to. Keep comfort to you ; and this morning see You do appear before them : if they shall chance, In charging you with matters, to commit you, The best persuasions to the contrary Fail not to use, and with what vehernency The occasion shall instruct you : if entreaties Will render you no remedy, this ring Deliver them, and your appeal to us There make before them. Look, the good man
weeps ! He 's honest, on mine honour. God's blest
mother !
I swear he is true-hearted ; and a soul None better in my kingdom. Get you gone, And do as I have bid you. \Exit Cranmer.~\
He has strangled His language in his tears.
Enter Old Lady, LOVELL following.
Gent. [ Within\ Come back : what mean you ? Old L. I '11 not come back ; the tidings that I bring
263
King Henry the Eighth
ACT V
Will make my boldness manners. Now, good angels Fly o'er thy royal head, and shade thy person 160
Under their blessed wings !
King. Now, by thy looks
I guess thy message. Is the queen deliver'd ? Say, ay ; and of a boy.
Old L. Ay, ay, my liege ;
And of a lovely boy : the God of heaven Both now and ever bless her ! 'tis a girl, Promises boys hereafter. Sir, your queen Desires your visitation, and to be Acquainted with this stranger : 'tis as like you As cherry is to cherry.
King. Lovell !
Lov. Sir ?
King. Give her an hundred marks. I '11 to the queen. [Exit. i70
Old L. An hundred marks ! By this light, I '11
ha' more.
An ordinary groom is for such payment. I will have more, or scold it out of him. Said I for this, the girl was like to him ? I will have more, or else unsay 't ; and now, While it is hot, I '11 put it to the issue.
\Exeunt.
SCENE II. Before the council-chamber. Pursuivants^ Pages, etc. attending.
Enter CRANMER, Archbishop of Canterbury.
Cran. I hope I am not too late; and yet the
gentleman
That was sent to me from the council pray'd me 167. and to be, i.e. and you to be. Sc. 2. By FLETCHER (Sp. ). 264
sc. ii King Henry the Eighth
To make great haste. All fast? what means
this? ^Ho! Who waits there ? Sure, you know me ?
Enter Keeper.
Keep. Yes, my lord ;
But yet I cannot help you. Cran. Why?
Enter DOCTOR BUTTS. Keep. Your grace must wait till you be
call'd for. Cran. So.
Butts. [Aside] This is a piece of malice. I
am glad
I came this way so happily : the king Shall understand it presently. [Exit.
Cran. [Aside] Tis Butts, 10
The king's physician : as he pass'd along, How earnestly he cast his eyes upon me ! Pray heaven, he sound not my disgrace ! For
certain,
This is of purpose laid by some that hate me — God turn their hearts ! I never sought their
malice — To quench mine honour : they would shame to
make me
Wait else at door, a fellow-counsellor, 'Along boys, grooms, and lackeys. But their pleasures Must be fulfill'd, and I attend with patience.
Enter the KING and BUTTS at a window above.
Butts. I '11 show your grace the strangest sight — King. What 's that, Butts ? 20
Butts. I think your highness saw this many a day.
13. sound, proclaim. The metre suggests a scornful
1 8. ' Mong boys, grooms, etc. emphasis on ' grooms.' L.
265
King Henry the Eighth ACTV
King. Body o' me, where is it ?
Butts. Thf re> ™y lord :
The high promotion of his grace of Canterbury ; Who holds his state at door, 'mongst pursuivants, Pages, and footboys.
King. Ha ! 'tis he, indeed :
Is this the honour they do one another ? Tis well there's one above 'em yet. I had
thought
They had parted so much honesty among 'em, At least, good manners, as not thus to suffer A man of his place, and so near our favour, 3o
To dance attendance on their lordships' pleasures, And at the door too, like a post with packets. By holy Mary, Butts, there 's knavery : Let 'em alone, and draw the curtain close : We shall hear more anon. [Exeunt.
SCENE III. The Council- Chamber.
Enter LORD CHANCELLOR ; places himself at the upper end of the table on the left hand ; a seat being left void above him, as for CANTER BURY'S seat. DUKE OF SUFFOLK, DUKE OF NORFOLK, SURREY, LORD CHAMBERLAIN, GARDINER, seat themselves in order on each side. CROMWELL at lower end, as secretary. Keeper at the door.
Chan. Speak to the business, master secretary :
Sc. j. By FLETCHER (Sp.). and placed under the State
In Ff no change of scene [throne]. Enter, etc.' This
is indicated, but the present nai've procedure of course indi-
stage direction is preceded by cates that the audience were to
the words : ' A council table suppose the scene changed to the
brought in with chairs and stools inside of the council-chamber. 266
sc. in King Henry the Eighth
Why are we met in council ?
Crom. Please your honours,
The chief cause concerns his grace of Canterbury.
Gar. Has he had knowledge of it ?
Crom, Yes.
Nor. Who waits there?
Keep. Without, my noble lords ?
Gar. Yes.
Keep. My lord archbishop ;
And has done half an hour, to know your pleasures.
Chan. Let him come in.
Keep. Your grace may enter now.
[Cranmer enters and approaches the council-table.
Chan. My good lord archbishop, I 'm very sorry To sit here at this present, and behold That chair stand empty : but we all are men, J0
In our own natures frail, and capable Of our flesh ; few are angels : out of which
frailty
And want of wisdom, you, that best should teach us, Have misdemean'd yourself, and not a little, Toward the king first, then his laws, in filling The whole realm, by your teaching and your
chaplains,
For so we are inform'd, with new opinions, Divers and dangerous ; which are heresies, And, not reform'd, may prove pernicious.
Gar. Which reformation must be sudden too, 20 My noble lords ; for those that tame wild horses Pace 'em not in their hands to make 'em gentle, But stop their mouths with stubborn bits, and spur 'em,
ii. capable of our flesh, easily 22. Pace in their hands,
succumbing to our human teach their paces by merely failings. leading with a bridle.
267
King Henry the Eighth
ACT V
Till they obey the manage. If we suffer,
Out of our easiness and childish pity
To one man's honour, this contagious sickness,
Farewell all physic : and what follows then ?
Commotions, uproars, with a general taint
Of the whole state : as, of late days, our neighbours,
The upper Germany, can dearly witness, 3o
Yet freshly pitied in our memories.
Cran. My good lords, hitherto, in all the
progress
Both of my life and office, I have labour'd, And with no little study, that my teaching And the strong course of my authority Might go one way, and safely ; and the end Was ever, to do well : nor is there living, I speak it with a single heart, my lords, A man that more detests, more stirs against, Both in his private conscience and his place, 4o
Defacers of a public peace, than I do. Pray heaven, the king may never find a heart With less allegiance in it ! Men that make Envy and crooked malice nourishment Dare bite the best. I do beseech your lordships, That, in this case of justice, my accusers, Be what they will, may stand forth face to face, And freely urge against me.
Stif. Nay, my lor<J,
That cannot be : you are a counsellor, And, by that virtue, no man dare accuse you. 5o
Gar. My lord, because we have business of
more moment,
We will be short with you. 'Tis his highness' pleasure,
24. manage, control (regularly allusion to the peasant revolt led used of horsemanship). by Thomas Munzer in Thiiringen
30. The -upper Germany ; an and Saxony in 1525. 268
sc. in King Henry the Eighth
And our consent, for better trial of you, From hence you be committed to the Tower; Where, being but a private man again, You shall know many dare accuse you boldly, More than, I fear, you are provided for.
Cran. Ah, my good Lord of Winchester, I
thank you ;
You are always my good friend ; if your will pass, I shall both find your lordship judge and juror, 60 You are so merciful : I see your end ; Tis my undoing : love and meekness, lord, Become a churchman better than ambition : Win straying souls with modesty again, Cast none away. That I shall clear myself, Lay all the weight ye can upon my patience, I make as little doubt, as you do conscience In doing daily wrongs. I could say more, But reverence to your calling makes me modest.
Gar. My lord, my lord, you are a sectary, 7o
That 's the plain truth : your painted gloss discovers, To men that understand you, words and weakness.
Crom. My Lord of Winchester, you are a little, By your good favour, too sharp ; men so noble, However faulty, yet should find respect For what they have been : 'tis a cruelty To load a falling man.
Gar. Good master secretary,
I cry your honour mercy ; you may, worst Of all this table, say so.
Crom. Why, my lord ?
Gar. Do not I know you for a favourer 80
Of this new sect? ye are not sound.
Crom. Not sound?
Gar. Not sound, I say.
Crom. Would you were half so honest !
59. pass, prevail. 69. modest, self-restrained.
269
King Henry the Eighth ACTV
Men's prayers then would seek you, not their fears.
Gar. I shall remember this bold language.
Crom. Do-
Remember your bold life too.
Chan. This is too much ;
Forbear, for shame, my lords.
Gar. I have done.
Crom. And I.
Chan. Then thus for you, my lord : it stands
agreed,
I take it, by all voices, that forthwith You be convey'd to the Tower a prisoner ; There to remain till the king's further pleasure- 90 Be known unto us : are you all agreed, lords ?
All. We are.
Cran. Is there no other way of mercy,
But I must needs to the Tower, my lords ?
Gar. What other
Would you expect ? you are strangely troublesome. Let some o' the guard be ready there.
Enter Guard.
Cran. For me ?
Must I go like a traitor thither ?
Gar. Receive him,
And see him safe i' the Tower.
Cran. Stay, good my lords,
I have a little yet to say. Look there, my lords ; By virtue of that ring, I take my cause Out of the gripes of cruel men, and give it 100
To a most noble judge, the king my master.
Cham. This is the king's ring.
Sur. Tis no counterfeit.
Sttf. 'Tis the right ring, by heaven : I told
ye all,
When we first put this dangerous stone a-rolling, 270
sc. in King Henry the Eighth
'Twould fall upon ourselves.
Nor. Do you think, my lords,
The king will suffer but the little finger Of this man to be vex'd ?
Chan. 'Tis now too certain :
How much more is his life in value with him ? Would I were fairly out on 't !
Crom. My mind gave me,
In seeking tales and informations no
Against this man, whose honesty the devil And his disciples only envy at, Ye blew the fire that burns ye : now have at ye !
Enter KING, frowning on them ; takes his seat.
Gar. Dread sovereign, how much are we bound
to heaven
In daily thanks, that gave us such a prince ; Not only good and wise, but most religious : One that, in all obedience, makes the church The chief aim of his honour ; and, to strengthen That holy duty, out of dear respect, His royal self in judgement comes to hear 120
The cause betwixt her and this great offender. King. You were ever good at sudden com mendations,
Bishop of Winchester. But know, I come not To hear such flattery now, and in my presence ; They are too thin and bare to hide offences. To me you cannot reach, you play the spaniel, And think with wagging of your tongue to win me ; But, whatsoe'er thou takest me for, I 'iff sure Thou hast a cruel nature and a bloody.
109. gave me, suggested the 125. They, i.e. the ' corn- suspicion, misgave me. mendations.'
119. dear respect, profound 125. bare; Ff 'base, 'emended
regard. by Malone.
271
King Henry the Eighth ACT
[To Cranmer} Good man, sit down. Now let me
see the proudest 1
He, that dares most, but wag his finger at thee : By all that 's holy, he had better starve Than but once think this place becomes thee not. Sur. May it please your grace, — King. No, sir, it does not please me.
I had thought I had had men of some under standing
And wisdom of my council ; but I find none. Was it discretion, lords, to let this man, This good man, — few of you deserve that title, — This honest man, wait like a lousy footboy At chamber-door ? and one as great as you are ? 1 Why, what a shame was this ! Did my commission Bid ye so far forget yourselves ? I gave ye Power as he was a counsellor to try him, Not as a groom : there 's some of ye, I see, More out of malice than integrity, Would try him to the utmost, had ye mean ; Which ye shall never have while I live.
Chan. Thus far,
My most dread sovereign, may it like your grace To let my tongue excuse all. What was purposed Concerning his imprisonment, was rather, If there be faith in men, meant for his trial, And fair purgation to the world, than malice, I 'm sure, in me.
King. Well, well, my lords, respect him ; Take him, and use him well, he 's worthy of it I will say thus much for him, if a prince May be beholding to a subject, I Am, for his love and service, so to him. Make me no more ado, but all embrace him : Be friends, for shame, my lords ! My Lord of Canterbury,
272
sc. in King Henry the Eighth
I have a suit which you must not deny me ; That is, a fair young maid that yet wants baptism, You must be godfather, and answer for her.
Cran. The greatest monarch now alive may
glory
In such an honour : how may I deserve it, That am a poor and humble subject to you ?
King. Come, come, my lord, you 'Id spare your spoons : you shall have two noble partners with you ; the old Duchess of Norfolk, and Lady Marquess Dorset : will these please you ? 170
Once more, my Lord of Winchester, I charge you, Embrace and love this man.
Gar. With a true heart
And brother-love I do it.
Cran. And let heaven
Witness, how dear I hold this confirmation.
King. Good man, those joyful tears show thy
true heart :
The common voice, I see, is verified Of thee, which says thus, ' Do my Lord of Can terbury
A shrewd turn, and he is your friend for ever.' Come, lords, we trifle time away ; I long To have this young one made a Christian. Z8o
As I .have made ye one, lords, one remain ; So I grow stronger, you more honour gain.
[Exeunt.
167. spare your spoons; i.e. They were commonly gilt, with the ' 'postle spoons' presented figures and emblems of the by the sponsors at baptism. apostles carved on the handles.
VOL. VII 273
King Henry the Eighth ACTV
SCENE IV. The palace yard. •
Noise and tumult within. Enter Porter and his Man.
Port. You '11 leave your noise anon, ye rascals : do you take the court for Paris-garden ? ye rude slaves, leave your gaping.
[ Within\ Good master porter, I belong to the larder.
Port. Belong to the gallows, and be hanged, ye rogue ! is this a place to roar in ? Fetch me a dozen crab -tree staves, and strong ones : these are but switches to 'em. I '11 scratch your heads : you must be seeing christenings ? do you look for 10 ale and cakes here, you rude rascals ?
Man. Pray, sir, be patient : 'tis as much im possible —
"Unless we sweep 'em from the door with cannons — To scatter 'em, as 'tis to make 'em sleep On May-day morning ; which will never be : We may as well push against Powle's, as stir 'em.
Port. How got they in, and be hang'd ?
Man. Alas, I know not ; how gets the tide in ? As much as one sound cudgel of four foot — You see the poor remainder — could distribute, 20 I made no spare, sir.
Port. You did nothing, sir.
Sc. 4. By FLETCHER (Sp. ). • Parish Garden. ' 2. Paris-garden, a well- 3. gaping, bawling,
known popular resort on the 15. On May-day morning,
Bankside, proverbial for its when it was the universal custom
disorders. Its associations live to rise betimes ' and walk into
in the modern ' bear-garden.' the sweet meadows and green
Ff have (perhaps with intention) woods ' (Stowe). 274
sc. iv King Henry the Eighth
Man. I am not Samson, nor Sir Guy, nor
Colbrand,
To mow 'em down before me : but if I spared any That had a head to hit, either young or old, He or she, cuckold or cuckold-maker, Let me ne'er hope to see a chine again ; And that I would not for a cow, God save her !
[ Within] Do you hear, master porter ?
Port. I shall be with you presently, good master puppy. Keep the door close, sirrah. 30
Man. What would you have me do?
Port. What should you do, but knock 'em down by the dozens? Is this Moorfields to muster in ? or have we some strange Indian with the great tool come to court, the women so be siege us ? Bless me, what a fry of fornication is at door ! On my Christian conscience, this one christening will beget a thousand ; here will be father, godfather, and all together.
Man. The spoons will be the bigger, sir. 40 There is a fellow somewhat near the door, he should be a brazier by his face, for, o' my con science, twenty of the dog-days now reign in's nose ; all that stand about him are under the line, they need no other penance : that fire-drake did I hit three times on the head, and three times
22. Sir Guy, nor Colbrand; 34. some strange Indian. Five
Guy of Warwick's principal feat American Indians came to
was the overthrow of the Danish London in 1611. Nearly at
giant Colbrand in single combat. the same time Shakespeare, in
27. / would not for a cow. The Tempest, ii. 2. , speaks of the
God save her! a proverbial popular curiosity excited even
formula of rustic asseveration, by ' a dead Indian."
current (in several versions) in 42. brazier (with a play
South and South- West England. upon the two senses).
33. Moorfields; the open fields 44. the line, the equator,
north of the city, where the 45. fire- drake, ' fiery dragon ';
trainbands mustered for drill. commonly a term for a meteor.
275
King Henry the Eighth ACTV
was his nose discharged against me; he stands there, like a mortar -piece, to blow us. There was a haberdasher's wife of small wit near him, that railed upon me till her pinked porringer fell off 50 her head, for kindling such a combustion in the state. I missed the meteor once, and hit that woman ; who cried out ' Clubs ! ' when I might see from far some forty truncheoners draw to her succour, which were the hope o' the Strand, where she was quartered. They fell on ; I made good my place : at length they came to the broom- staff to me ; I defied 'em still : when suddenly a file of boys behind 'em, loose shot, delivered such a shower of pebbles, that I was fain to draw mine 60 honour in, and let 'em win the work : the devil was amongst 'em, I think, surely.
Port. These are the youths that thunder at a playhouse, and fight for bitten apples ; that no audience, but the tribulation of Tower-hill, or the limbs of Limehouse, their dear brothers, are able to endure. I have some of 'em in Limbo Patrum,
48. blow us, blow us up. been explained. Johnson and
49. a haberdasher s wife of Steevens thought of Puritan as- small wit ; probably with a play semblies, where the latter ' could on the phrase ' haberdasher of easily conceive that the tur- small wit," i.e. dealer in trifling bulence of the most clamorous jests. theatre had been exceeded by . .
50. pinked porringer, her cap bellowings against surplices and (or, according to Fairholt, the farthingales.' But the context fashionable Milan bonnet), rather suggests a cant term for shaped as if ' moulded on a some local pest akin to the porringer,' and pierced with ruffianly ' limbs of Limehouse,' holes for fastening on ornaments. who frequented low entertain-
53. 'Clubs/' the usual cry ments in those neighbourhoods, for summoning persons to part 67. in Limbo Patrum, in
the combatants in a street affray. prison. The ' Limbus Patrum '
59. loose shot, irregular marks- in scholastic theology was the
raen. region bordering on hell occu-
65. the tribulation of Tower- pied by the Hebrew patriarchs.
hill, etc. The allusion has not Cf. Dante, Inf. iv. 45.
276
sc. iv King Henry the Eighth
and there they are like to dance these three days ; besides the running banquet of two beadles that is to come. 7o
Enter LORD CHAMBERLAIN.
Cham. Mercy o' me, what a multitude are here ! They grow still too; from all parts they are coming, As if we kept a fair here ! Where are these
porters, These lazy knaves ? Ye have made a fine hand,
fellows :
There 's a trim rabble let in : are all these Your faithful friends o' the suburbs ? We shall
have
Great store of room, no doubt, left for the ladies, When they pass back from the christening.
Port. An ;t please your honour,
We are but men ; and what so many may do, Not being torn a-pieces, we have done : BO
An army cannot rule 'em.
Cham. As I live,
If the king blame me for 't, I '11 lay ye all By the heels, and suddenly ; and on your heads Clap round fines for neglect : ye are lazy knaves ; And here ye lie baiting of bombards, when Ye should do service. Hark! the trumpets sound; They 're come already from the christening :
69. running banquet; cf. The meaning of 'bait' is not
i. 4. 12 ; here, of a whipping, altogether certain. The phrase
probably as a 'dessert' to crown suggests that it is transitive verb
the feast of durance in limbo. equivalent to ' set abroach ' ; but
74. made a fine hand, played this sense of 'bait,' though a
a pretty game. very natural one, cannot be
82. lay by the heels, put in the paralleled. It is safer then to
stocks. fall back on the common sense,
85. baiting of bombards, ' feeding, ' drinking. ' [Perhaps
drinking deep. Bombards were ' crowding round for drinks, like
long leather vessels of liquor. dogs about a bear. ' L. ]
277
King Henry the Eighth ACTV
Go, break among the press, and find a way out
To let the troop pass fairly ; or I '11 find
A Marshalsea shall hold ye play these two months. 90
Port. Make way there for the princess.
Man. You great fellow,
Stand close up, or I '11 make your head ache.
Port. You i' the camlet, get up o' the rail ; I '11 peck you o'er the pales else. \Exeunt.
SCENE V. The palace.
Enter trumpets, sounding ; then two Aldermen, LORD MAYOR, GARTER, CRANMER, DUKE OF NORFOLK with his marshal's staff, DUKE OF SUFFOLK, two Noblemen bearing great stand ing-bowls for the christening-gifts ; then four Noblemen bearing a canopy, under which the DUCHESS OF NORFOLK, godmother, bearing the child richly habited in a mantle, etc., train borne by a Lady ; then follows the MARCHIONESS DORSET, the other godmother, and Ladies. The troop pass once about the stage, and GARTER speaks.
Gart. Heaven, from thy endless goodness,
send prosperous life, long, and ever happy, to
the high and mighty princess of England, Elizabeth !
Flourish. Enter KING and Guard.
Cran. [Kneeling] And to your royal grace, and the good queen,
90. Marshalsea, the prison in 94. peck, pitch.
Southward $c. j. By FLETCHER (Sp.).
93. camlet, a light woollen Standing-bowls, bowls supported
stuff on feet.
278
SC. V
King Henry the Eighth
My noble partners, and myself, thus pray : All comfort, joy, in this most gracious lady, Heaven ever laid up to make parents happy, May hourly fall upon ye !
King. Thank you, good lord archbishop :
What is her name ?
Cran. Elizabeth.
King. Stand up, lord. 10
[The King kisses the child.
With this kiss take my blessing: God protect thee! Into whose hand I give thy life.
Cran. Amen.
King. My noble gossips, ye have been too
prodigal :
I thank ye heartily ; so shall this lady, When she has so much English.
Cran. Let me speak, sir,
For heaven now bids me ; and the words I utter Let none think flattery, for they '11 find 'em truth. This royal infant — heaven still move about her ! — Though in her cradle, yet now promises Upon this land a thousand thousand blessings, 20 Which time shall bring to ripeness : she shall be But few now living can behold that goodness — A pattern to all princes living with her, And all that shall succeed : Saba was never More covetous of wisdom and fair virtue Than this pure soul shall be : all princely graces, That mould lip such a mighty piece as this is, With all the virtues that attend the good, Shall still be doubled on her : truth shall nurse her, Holy and heavenly thoughts still counsel her : 30
13. gossips, sponsors. served in the older English
translations.
24. Saba, the queen of Sheba. 27. piece, creation, — ' mighty '
Saba is the Vulgate form pre- in virtue of her destiny.
279
King Henry the Eighth ACT v
She shall be loved and fear'd : her own shall
bless her ;
Her foes shake like a field of beaten corn, And hang their heads with sorrow : good grows
with her :
In her days every man shall eat in safety, Under his own vine, what he plants; and sing The merry songs of peace to all his neighbours : God shall be truly known ; and those about her 'From her shall read the perfect ways of honour, And by those claim their greatness, not by blood. Nor shall this peace sleep with her : but as when 4o The bird of wonder dies, the maiden phoenix, Her ashes new create another heir, As great in admiration as herself; So shall she leave her blessedness to one, When heaven shall call her from this cloud of
darkness,
Who from the sacred ashes of her honour Shall star-like rise, as great in fame as she was, And so stand fix'd : peace, plenty, love, truth,
terror,
That were the servants to this chosen infant, Shall then be his, and like a vine grow to him : 50 Wherever the bright sun of heaven shall shine, His honour and the greatness of his name Shall be, and make new nations : he shall flourish, And, like a mountain cedar, reach his branches To all the plains about him : our children's children Shall see this, and bless heaven.
King. Thou speakest wonders.
Cran. She shall be, to the happiness of England,
41. maiden, i.e. mateless. colony had received a constitu-
53. make new nations; an tion in 1612, but the allusion
allusion probably to the settle- cannot be definitely referred to
ment of Virginia in 1607. The this.
280
King Henry the Eighth
An aged princess ; many days shall see her,
And yet no day without a deed to crown it.
Would I had known no more ! but she must die, 60
She must, the saints must have her ; yet a virgin,
A most unspotted lily shall she pass
To the ground, and all the world shall mcurn her.
King. O lord archbishop,
Thou hast made me now a man ! never, before This happy child, did I get any thing : This oracle of comfort has so pleased me, That when I am in heaven I shall desire To see what .this child does, and praise my Maker. I thank ye all. To you, my good lord mayor, ?0 And your good brethren, I am much beholding ; I have received much honour by your presence, And ye shall find me thankful. Lead the way,
lords :
Ye must all see the queen, and she must thank ye, She will be sick else. This day, no man think 'Has business at his house ; for all shall stay : This little one shall make it holiday. Exeunt.
EPILOGUE.
'Tis ten to one this play can never please All that are here : some come to take their ease, And sleep an act or two ; but those, we fear, We have frighted with our trumpets ; so, 'tis clear, They '11 say 'tis naught : others, to hear the city Abused extremely, and to cry ' That 's witty ! ' Which we have not done neither : that, I lear, All the expected good we 're like to hear
71. brethren, i.e. the aldermen. 76. 'Has, he has. So Ff.
28l
King Henry the Eighth EPIL.
For this play at this time, is only in
The merciful construction of good women ; ic
For such a one we show'd 'em : if they smile,
And say 'twill do, I know, within a while
All the best men are ours ; for 'tis ill hap,
If they hold when their ladies bid 'em clap.
282
TITUS ANDRONICUS
283
DRAMATIS PERSONS
SATURNINUS, son to the late Emperor of Rome, and after
wards declared Emperor.
BASSIANUS, brother to Saturninus ; in love with Lavinia. TITUS ANDRONICUS, a noble Roman, general against the
Goths. MARCUS ANDRONICUS, tribune of the people, and brother
to Titus. Lucius, "
MUTIUS,
YOUNG Lucius, a boy, son to Lucius.
PUBLIUS, son to Marcus the Tribune.
SEMPRONIUS, "j
CAIUS, j- kinsmen to Titus.
VALENTINE, J
^EMILIUS, a noble Roman.
ALAR BUS, "i
DEMETRIUS, j- sons to Tamora.
CHIRON, J
AARON, a Moor, beloved by Tamora.
A Captain, Tribune, Messenger, and Clown ; Romans.
Goths and Romans.
TAMORA, Queen of the Goths. LAVINIA, daughter to Titus Andronicus. A Nurse.
Senators, Tribunes, Officers, Soldiers, and Attendants. SCENE : Rome, and the country near it
DURATION OF TIME Four days represented on the stage, with, possibly, two intervals.
Day i. I., II. i. „ 2. II. 2. -4., III. i.
Interval. „ 3- "I- 2.
Interval. „ 4. IV., V.
Dramatis Persons. First supplied, imperfectly, by Rowe. The Ff mark the Acts but not the Scenes. The Qq mark neither Acts nor Scenes.
284
INTRODUCTION
THE first known edition of Titus Andronicus appeared in 1600, with the following title-page : —
1 The most lamenta-| ble Romaine Tragedie of Titus | Andronicus. \ As it hath sundry times been playde by the | Right Honourable the Earl of Pem- brooke, the | Earl of Darbie, the Earle of Sussex, and the | Lorde Chamberlaine theyr Seruants. | AT LONDON, | Printed by I. R. for Edward White | and are to be solde at his shoppe, at the little | North doore of Paules, at the signe of | the Gun. 1 600. |
Another Quarto (Q9), printed from this, appeared in 1611.
The First Folio text was printed from a copy of the Second Quarto, in which a few MS. alterations and additions seem to have been made for stage purposes. The Folio text also contains a whole scene (iii. 2.) not found in the Quartos, and probably, since it does not contribute to the action, omitted in performance.
An adaptation of the play by Ravenscroft was published in 1687 under the title Titus Andronicus^ or the Rape of Lavinia.
Our first explicit evidence of an ' Andronicus ' play belongs to the year 1594. On January 23 Henslowe recorded the performance of a l tittus and ondronicus ' as a ' new * play. In February a play Titus Androni- cus was entered in the Stationers' Register, as well
Titus Andronicus
as a ballad, doubtless occasioned by its success, ' A noble Roman historic of Titus Andronicus.' It is very probable that this may be identified with the play of 1600; for Langbaine1 records an edition of this printed in 1594. The play is there declared to have been played by the servants of the Earls of Derby, Pembroke, and Essex. Henslowe has how ever certain earlier entries which possibly relate to an 'Andronicus' play; thus : Tittus and Vesparia, 1 1 April, 1591-2, and repeatedly afterwards during the follow ing May and June ; as well as Titus (tittus] on January 6, 15, 29, 1592-3. Little reliance can be placed on these entries ; but we have other evidence that towards the close of the eighties the story of Titus Andronicus was embodied in a popular play which long remained a landmark in the annals of the stage. * He that will swear Jeronimo or Androni cus are the best plays yet,' Jonson could write in 1614, 'shall pass unexcepted at here, as a man whose judgment shows it is constant, and hath stood still these twenty-five or thirty years.'2 We may infer that, in 1614, only one play currently known as Andronicus existed, and that this dated from 1584-9. This favours the view that there never had sub stantially been more than one play on the story, whatever slight variations in detail it may have under gone. The series of Andronicus tragedies in German and Dutch indicate no variation in any point of the plot.3 The most important of them for the student
1 Account of English Dra- dige actiones gefunden \ (2) Jan matick Poets, 1691, p. 464. Vos.Aranen Titus, ofwraaken
2 Induction to Bartholomew weer-wraak ( ' or Vengeance and frair. counter- vengeance ') (performed
3 These are: (i) Eine sehr 1641); (3) German versions of kldgliche Tragoedia von Tito Vos. One of these, performed Andronico und der hoffertigen at Linz in 1699, is known to us Kayscrin, darinnen denck-wur- by the detailed programme.
286
Introduction
of Shakespeare is the German comedy played about 1600 by the English actors abroad under the title: ' A very lamentable tragedy of Titus Andronicus and the haughty empress.' This piece abounds in super ficial divergences from the English text. Most of the names are different. Lavinia is called Andronica, Lucius Vespasianus, Marcus Victoriates, Aaron Morian, Tamora's sons Helicates and Saphonus, and Tamora herself Aetiopissa; while the Goths are replaced by Moors. These names suggest that the German play was derived from a rival version of the story, designed to attract the public by a specious air of novelty, while keeping the name of the hero.1 Henslowe's entry of a ' tittus and Vespacia,' mentioned above, is certainly noticeable in connexion with the 'Ves pasianus,' who in the German play replaces Lucius; but the structure of hypothesis thus erected is of perilous frailty, and quite incapable of supporting any conclusion. As Creizenach points out,2 Hen slowe's play may quite as well have dealt with the two emperors so named. But in any case the German version contains no trace of organic diverg ence from the English. Its eight ' acts ' follow in rude epitome the same course, omitting, together with everything distinctively learned, much that was needed to make the plot coherent and intelligible.3
1 How slight a bearing the 3 Thus the sacrifice of Ta- names have upon the literary mora's son disappears from the history of the piece may be in- first Act, and with it the ground ferred from the fact that the and justification of the queen's nameof Titus' daughter, Lavinia insatiable thirst for vengeance, in the English play, is Andronica Titus'1 epistolary summons to the in the German, Rozelyne in Vos, gods is in a style of humour too and Lavinia again in the pro- learned for the purpose of the gramme of 1699 of a play other- English comedians, and dis- wise wholly founded on Vos. appears from the play ; but an
2 W. Creizenach : Schauspiele accidental allusion to it later on der tnglischen Comoedianten, (Act VII.) shows that it occurred p. 5. in the original.
287
Titus Andronicus
At the most a few unimportant details of an earlier version of the story (perhaps a novel) neglected in our play, possibly survive.1 The play seems in all essentials to be merely a mutilated and simplified version of the English text.
It remains to discuss the claims of this play to be included among the works of Shakespeare. The strength of the external evidence is beyond dispute. Meres in 1598 mentioned Titus Andronicus among the plays on which Shakespeare's fame was founded ; every other play in his list being of unquestioned authenticity. The inclusion of the play in the First Folio at least guarantees that Shakespeare had some share in it. Not much weight can be allowed to a late tradition recorded by Ravenscroft, who tells us (Preface to Titus Andronicus^ 1687) that he had heard from * some anciently conversant with the Stage, that it was not originally his (Shakespeare's) but brought by a private author to be acted, and he only gave some master-touches to one or two of the principal parts and characters.' This tradition may of course be authentic ; but it may have originated merely in the inevitable attempt to explain how a play in many ways so unlike Shakespeare came to bear his name. A similar hypothesis has commended itself to most English critics who have allowed Shakespeare any participation in the play at all. But the attempts which have been made to specify Shakespearean additions are very unconvincing. To single out a melodious line or a telling image here and there as Shakespeare's, presupposes a theory of literary pro duction which would render every man's title hazardous to the work of his most brilliant moments. The little
1 The most palpable addition with the queen of ' Mehrenland,' to the matter is Morian ( Aaron)' s and the conquest of the land by account of his previous relations the Romans. 288
Introduction
groups of three or six lines which have thus been singled out x do not stand off from the context by any discrepancy of manner ; the same style and movement merely acquire a somewhat heightened vivacity and colouring. It is at least a delicate criticism which will assign, for instance, the opening phrases of Titus' .lament over his ravished Lavinia to Shakespeare : —
he that wounded her
Hath hurt me more than had he kill'd me dead : For now I stand as one upon a rock Environ'd with a wilderness of sea, Who marks the waxing tide grow wave by wave, Expecting ever when some envious surge Will in his brinish bowels swallow him —
(iii. I. q I f.)
and yet permit the 'author of the rude original which Shakespeare touched up ' to have written, a few lines farther on, —
Look, Marcus ! ah, son Lucius, look on her ! When I did name her brothers, then fresh tears Stood on her cheeks, as doth the honey-dew Upon a gather'd lily almost wither'd.
(iii. I. HO f.)
Difficult, however, as any ' touching up ' theory is to make plausible in detail, the view that the whole is Shakespeare's work is not to be lightly adopted. Neither in the choice of subject nor in the structure of the plot is there much that recalls Shakespeare. In his later dealings as a dramatist with the Roman world he either re-created history, as in the three great Roman tragedies, or frankly ignored it, as in Cymbeline ; he never attempted to reproduce or emu late the bizarre invention of Titus, where quasi-historic figures from the age of the Goths play their part in
1 The following have been 3. 10-15; iii. i. 82-86, 91-7; specified: i. 1.9,70-6, 117-119, iv. 4. 81-6; v. 2. 21-27; 3- 141, 142 ; ii. i. 82, 83 ; 2. 1-6 ; 160-8.
VOL. VII 289 U
Titus Andronicus
stories borrowed from classic mythology or legend and steeped in the artificial literary atmosphere of Ovid and Seneca. Ignorant as we are of the source of the story,1 we can hardly be wrong in assuming that the tragic fortunes of Lavinia are modelled on those of the Ovidian Philomela, and the grim venge ance of Titus on the legend of Atreus. The haunted, sunless wood where Atreus slays his nephews (Sen. Tkyestes, 650 f.) has passed over into the 'barren detested vale ' where Bassianus is slain and Lavinia ravished.2 In the death of Lavinia at her father's hands the memory of Virginia seems to be blended, if not confused, with that of Lucrece ; and the con fusion may diminish the difficulty we otherwise feel in associating the profuse classical learning of the play with Shakespeare's small Latin and less Greek. In the bloodthirsty Tamora, lastly, who »so terribly avenges her slaughtered son, we may perhaps find a reminiscence of the Scythian queen Tomyris, who wreaked her son's death not less grimly upon Cyrus. A promiscuous aggregation of materials like this strikes us as un-Shakespearean. Yet it is not unlike, in the tragic sphere, what the author of Love's Labour 's Lost attempted in the sphere of comic satire. The same alert mind which there assembled oddities and extravagances from every phase of contemporary life, may have gratified the same instinct for profusion and multiplicity by weaving from its school-reminis cences this horrible fantasia of classical legends. Moreover, with all the extravagance of certain in cidents, Titus Andronicus bears marks of the sanity and self-control which distinguish even the most
1 The often - repeated state- to rest on an error. There is ment (first made by Steevens) no evidence that the story existed that Painter in the Palace of in any form before the play. Pleasure (1567) mentions 'Titus 2 Cunliffe, Influence of Seneca
Andronicus and Tamora ' seems on Elizabethan Tragedy, p. 70. 290
Introduction
daring work of the young Shakespeare. Though perilously full of matter, the plot is clear and compact ; the immense tragic forces which are let loose contend for dominance in interest as well as for the triumph of their cause ; but their encounters are adequately motived, and with all their energy of wrath they do not lose themselves in the annihilating frenzy which blurs the outlines of Marlowe's Barabas. The three great contrivers of the harms, Titus, Tamora, .and Aaron, are shaped with a rude and somewhat uncertain hand ; but a trait here and there suggests the future author of Richard III., of Lear, and Othello in this resolute emulator of Marlowe and Kyd.1 Titus and Tamora bear the stamp of the Kydian tragedy of Revenge. Their tragic career is provoked by a deadly, unpardonable wrong. Aaron, on the other hand, is related rather to the Marlowesque tragedy of daemonic energy, — virtu — which dooms its victims out of pure malignancy.2 But Titus has touches of a Shakespearean magnanimity which remove him far from the blind pursuer of vengeance. His generous disclaimer of the imperial crown in the opening scene fitly preludes the nobly-imagined scene in which he hews off his hand to save his sons. The scene (iii. 2.) where the two brothers so passion ately moralise the death of a fly, already heralds those apparently trivial moments of pause which the mature Shakespeare is wont to make pregnant of
1 These faint affinities have motive for crime from his un- been worked out with much in genuity by Prof. A. Schroer in
his interesting study of the play Uber Titus Andronicus (Mar burg, 1891).
2 There are curious analogies in detail between Aaron and Richard III. He also derives a
promising exterior : —
Let fools do good, and fair men call-
for grace, Aaron will have his soul black like
his face.
Cf. also his monologue in ii. i. with Richard's opening solilo quy. (Schroer, N.S., p. 115.)
2QI
Titus Andronicus
tragic suggestion. And the tenderness for his child which so suddenly and strangely intrudes upon the fiendish malignity of Aaron, is a trait which might well escape from the pen of the future delineator of Shylock and his daughter. Most critics have recog nised Shakespearean touches in the style. Certainly, the bookish allusions which are so abundantly woven into its texture are tempered with many touches caught from the open-air life of nature such as no where fail in the young Shakespeare. A woodland brake — a ' pleasant chase ' — is the scene of the most tragic deed in the whole play, and we are not allowed to forget over the sufferings of Lavinia the morning dew upon the leaves or their chequered shadow upon the ground l as they quiver in the breeze.
The data for a conclusive case on the authorship of Titus Andronicus are wholly wanting. English criticism has too peremptorily decided against Shake speare's claim on the ground of the palpable defects of the plot, and the difficulty of bringing this grim tragedy into relation with the bright and joyous comedy which apparently occupied Shakespeare's early manhood. But we know far too little of that early manhood to be entitled to exclude from it whatever will not fall in with a particular scheme of development ; and, in view of the strong external evidence, the more critical course appears to be a qualified acceptance.
1 It has been pointed out by Shakespearean passages. Cf.
Dr. Cunliffe in his valuable study e.g. with this passage (ii. 3. ) the
of the. Influence of Seneca on lines : —
Elizabethan Tragedy, that some hlc aves querulse frcmunt
of the most striking of the Sene- ramique veutis lene percussi tremunt can parallels with which this Hippolytus, 516.
play abounds occur in the more
292
TITUS ANDRONICUS
ACT I.
SCENE I. Rome. Before the Capitol.
TJie Tomb of the ANDRONICI appearing ; the Tribunes and Senators aloft. Enter, below, from one side, SATURNINUS and his Followers ; and, from the other side, BASSIANUS and his Followers ; with drum and colours.
Sat. Noble patricians, patrons of my right, Defend the justice of my cause with arms, And, countrymen, my loving followers, Plead my successive title with your swords : I am his first-born son, that was the last That wore the imperial diadem of Rome ; Then let my father's honours live in me, Nor wrong mine age with this indignity.
Bas. Romans, friends, followers, favourers of my
right,
If ever Bassianus, Caesar's son, Were gracious in the eyes of royal Rome, Keep then this passage to the Capitol
Sc. i. aloft, i.e. in thecapitol. succeed.
4. successive title, title to 8. age, seniority.
293
Titus Andronicus ACT
And suffer not dishonour to approach
The imperial seat, to virtue consecrate,
To justice, continence and nobility ;
But let desert in pure election shine,
And, Romans, fight for freedom in your choice.
Enter MARCUS ANDRONICUS, aloft^ with the crown.
Marc. Princes, that strive by factions and by
friends
Ambitiously for rule and empery, Know that the people of Rome, for whom we stand A special party, have, by common voice, In election for the Roman empery, Chosen Andronicus, surnamed Pius For many good and great deserts to Rome : A nobler man, a braver warrior, Lives not this day within the city walls : He by the senate is accited home From weary wars against the barbarous Goths , That, with his sons, a terror to our foes, Hath yoked a nation strong, train'd up in arms. Ten years are spent since first he undertook This cause of Rome and chastised with arms Our enemies' pride : five times he hath return'd Bleeding to Rome, bearing his valiant sons In coffins from the field ; And now at last, laden with honour's spoils, Returns the good Andronicus to Rome, Renowned Titus, flourishing in arms. Let us entreat,, by honour of his name, Whom worthily you would have now succeed, And in the Capitol and Senate's right, Whom you pretend to honour and adore, That you withdraw you and abate your strength ; 27. accited, summoned. 42. pretend, claim.
294
sc. i Titus Andronicus
Dismiss your followers and, as suitors should, Plead your deserts in peace and humbleness.
Sat. How fair the tribune speaks to calm my thoughts !
Bas. Marcus Andronicus, so I do affy In thy uprightness and integrity, And so I love and honour thee and thine, Thy noble brother Titus and his sons, 5c
And her to whom my thoughts are humbled all, Gracious Lavinia, Rome's rich ornament, That I will here dismiss my loving friends, And to my fortunes and the people's favour Commit my cause in balance to be weigh'd.
\Exeunt the Followers of Bassianus.
Sat. Friends, that have been thus forward in
my right,
I thank you all and here dismiss you all, And to the love and favour of my country Commit myself, my person and the cause. , [Exeunt the Followers of Saturninus.
Rome, be as just and gracious unto me 60
As I am confident and kind to thee. Open the gates, and let me in.
Bas. Tribunes, and me, a poor competitor.
[Flourish. Saturninus and Bassianus go up into the Capitol.
Enter a Captain.
Cap. Romans, make way : the good Andronicus, Patron of virtue, Rome's best champion, Successful in the battles that he fights, With honour and with fortune is return'd From where he circumscribed with his sword, And brought to yoke, the enemies of Rome.
47. affi, confide. 65. Patron, advocate, appointed defender (Lat. ' patronus').
295
Titus Andronicus ACTI
Drums and trumpets sounded. Enter MAR- TIUS and MUTIUS ; after them, two Men bearing a coffin covered with black; then Lucius and QUINTUS. After them, TITUS ANDRONICUS ; and then TAMORA, with ALAR- BUS, DEMETRIUS, CHIRON, AARON, and other Goths, prisoners ; Soldiers and People follow ing. The Bearers set down the coffin, and TITUS speaks.
Tit. Hail, Rome, victorious in thy mourning
weeds ! 70
Lo, as the bark, that hath discharged her fraught, Returns with precious lading to the bay From whence at first she weigh'd her anchorage, Cometh Andronicus, bound with laurel boughs, To re-salute his country with his tears, Tears of true joy for his return to Rome. Thou great defender of this Capitol, Stand gracious to the rites that we intend ! Romans, of five and twenty valiant sons, Half of the number that King Priam had, 80
Behold the poor remains, alive and dead ! These that survive let Rome reward with love ; These that I bring unto their latest home, With burial amongst their ancestors : Here Goths have given me leave to sheathe my
sword.
Titus, unkind and careless of thine own, Why suffer'st thou thy sons, unburied yet, To hover on the dreadful shore of Styx ? Make way to lay them by their brethren.
\The tomb is ope?ied.
There greet in silence, as the dead are wont, 90
And sleep in peace, slain in your country's wars ! O sacred receptacle of my joys, 296
SC. I
Titus Andronicus
Sweet cell of virtue and nobility,
How many sons of mine hast thou in store,
That thou wilt never render to me more !
Luc. Give us the proudest prisoner of the Goths, That we may hew his limbs, and on a pile Ad manes fratrum sacrifice his flesh, Before this earthy prison of their bones; That so the shadows be not unappeased, Nor we disturb'd with prodigies on earth.
Tit. I give him you, the noblest that survives, The eldest son of this distressed queen.
Tarn. Stay, Roman brethren ! Gracious con queror,
Victorious Titus, rue the tears I shed, A mother's tears in passion for her son : And if thy sons were ever dear to thee, O, think my son to be as dear to me ! Sufficeth not that we are brought to Rome, To beautify thy triumphs and return, Captive to thee and to thy Roman yoke, But must my sons be slaughter'd in the streets, For valiant doings in their country's cause ? O, if to fight for king and commonweal Were piety in thine, it is in these. Andronicus, stain not thy tomb with blood : Wilt thou draw near the nature of the gods ? Draw rear them then in being merciful : Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge : Thrice noble Titus, spare my first-born son.
Tit. Patient yourself, madam, and pardon me. These are their brethren, whom you Goths beheld Alive and dead, and for their brethren slain Religiously they ask a sacrifice : To this your son is mark'd, and die he must, To appease their groaning shadows that are gone.
121. Patient yourself , have patience. 297
Titus Andronicus
Luc. Away with him ! and make a fire straight ; And with our swords, upon a pile of wood, Let 's hew his limbs till they be clean consumed. [Exeunt Lucius, Quintus, Martins, and Mutius> with Alarbus.
Tarn. O cruel, irreligious piety ! 130
Chi. Was ever Scythia half so barbarous ?
Dem. Oppose not Scythia to ambitious Rome. Alarbus goes to rest ; and we survive To tremble under Titus' threatening looks. Then, madam, stand resolved, but hope withal The self-same gods that arm'd the Queen of Troy With opportunity of sharp revenge Upon the Thracian tyrant in his tent, May favour Tamora, the Queen of Goths — When Goths were Goths and Tamora was queen — 140 To quit the bloody wrongs upon her foes.
Re-enter Lucius, QUINTUS, MARTIUS, and MUTIUS, with their swords bloody.
Luc. See, lord and father, how we have perform'd Our Roman rites : Alarbus' limbs are lopp'd, And entrails feed the sacrificing fire, W^hose smoke, like incense, doth perfume the sky. Remaineth nought, but to inter our brethren, And with loud 'larums welcome them to Rome.
Tit. Let it be so ; and let Andronicus Make this his latest farewell to their souls.
\Trumpets sounded, and the coffin laid in
the tomb.
In peace and honour rest you here, my sons ; 150
Rome's readiest champions, repose you here in rest,
138. the Thracian tyrant, la ted, in vengeance for his Polymnestor, whom Hecuba, murder of her son Polydorus. according to one tradition, be- Hence Theobald proposed ' her guiled into her tent and muti- tent.' 298
sc. i Titus Andronicus
Secure from worldly chances and mishaps !
Here lurks no treason, here no envy swells,
Here grow no damned drugs ; here are no storms,
No noise, but silence and eternal sleep :
In peace and honour rest you here, my sons !
E?iter LAVINIA.
Lav. In peace and honour live Lord Titus long ; My noble lord and father, live in fame ! Lo, at this tomb my tributary tears I render, for my brethren's obsequies ; 160
And at thy feet I kneel, with tears of joy, Shed on the earth, for thy return to Rome : O, bless me here with thy victorious hand, Whose fortunes Rome's best citizens applaud !
Tit. Kind Rome, that hast thus lovingly reserved The cordial of mine age to glad my heart ! Lavinia, live ; outlive thy father's days, And fame's eternal date, for virtue's praise !
Enter, below, MARCUS ANDRONICUS and Tri bunes ; re-enter SATURN INUS and BASSIANUS, attended.
Marc. Long live Lord Titus, my beloved brother, Gracious triumpher in the eyes of Rome ! 170
Tit. Thanks, gentle tribune, noble brother Marcus.
Marc. And welcome, nephews, from successful
wars,
You that survive, and you that sleep in fame ! Fair lords, your fortunes are alike in all, That in your country's service drew your swords : But safer triumph is this funeral pomp,
154. drugs; so Qj ; 'grudges,' 170. Gracious, i.e. 'in the
Q.j Ff. eyes of Rome.'
299
Titus Andronicus ACTI
That hath aspired to Solon's happiness
And triumphs over chance in honour's bed.
Titus Andronicus, the people of Rome,
Whose friend in justice thou hast ever been, X8o
Send thee by me, their tribune and their trust,
This palliament of white and spotless hue ;
And name thee in election for the empire,
With these our late-deceased emperor's sons :
Be candidatus then, and put it on,
And help to set a head on headless Rome.
Tit. A better head her glorious body fits Than his that shakes for age and feebleness : What should I don this robe, and trouble you ? Be chosen with proclamations to-day, 190
To-morrow yield up rule, resign my life, And set abroad new business for you all ? Rome, I have been thy soldier forty years, And led my country's strength successfully, And buried one and twenty valiant sons, Knighted in field, slain manfully in arms, In right and service of their noble country : Give me a staff of honour for mine age, But not a sceptre to control the world : Upright he held it, lords, that held it last. 200
Marc. Titus, thou shalt obtain and ask the
' empery.
Sat. Proud and ambitious tribune, canst thou tell?
Tit. Patience, Prince Saturninus.
Sat. Romans, do me right :
Patricians, draw your swords, and sheathe them not Till Saturninus be Rome's emperor.
177. Solon's happiness; hap- 182. palliament, Roman
piness as conceived by Solon, mantle (a coinage from ' pal-
who declared that no man was lium1).
to be called happy before he 201. obtain and ask, obtain
died. merely by asking.
sc. i Titus Andronicus
Andronicus, would thou wert shipp'd to hell, Rather than rob me of the people's hearts !
Luc. Proud Saturnine, interrupter of the good That noble-minded Titus means to thee !
Tit. Content thee, prince ; I will restore to thee 210 The people's hearts, and wean them from them selves.
Bas. Andronicus, I do not flatter thee, But honour thee, and will do till I die : My faction if thou strengthen with thy friends, I will most thankful be ; and thanks to men Of noble minds is honourable meed.
Tit. People of Rome, and people's tribunes here, I ask your voices and )rour suffrages : Will you bestow them friendly on Andronicus ?
Tribunes. To gratify the good Andronicus, 220
And gratulate his safe return to Rome, The people will accept whom he admits.
Tit. Tribunes, I thank you : and this suit I
make,
That you create your emperor's eldest son, Lord Saturnine ; whose virtues will, I hope, Reflect on Rome as Titan's rays on earth. And ripen justice in this commonweal : Then, if you will elect by my advice, Crown him, and say 'Long live our emperor!'
Marc. With voices and applause of every sort, 230 Patricians and plebeians, we create Lord Saturninus Rome's great emperor, And say ' Long live our Emperor Saturnine ! '
[A long flourish till they come down.
Sat. Titus Andronicus, for thy favours done To us in our election this day, I give thee thanks in part of thy deserts,
221. graiulate, mark our 224. create, elect,
satisfaction at. 230. sort, class (of citizens).
3OI
Titus Andronicus ACT i
And will with deeds requite thy gentleness :
And, for an onset, Titus, to advance
Thy name and honourable family,
Lavinia will I make my empress, 24o
Rome's royal mistress, mistress of my heart,
And in the sacred Pantheon her espouse :
Tell me, Andronicus, doth this motion please thee ?
Tit. It doth, my worthy lord ; and in this match I hold me highly honour'd of your grace : And here in sight of Rome to Saturnine, King and commander of our commonweal, The wide world's emperor, do I consecrate My sword, my chariot and my prisoners ; Presents well worthy Rome's imperial lord : 250
Receive them then, the tribute that I owe, Mine honour's ensigns humbled at thy feet.
Sat. Thanks, noble Titus, father of my life ! How proud I am of thee and of thy gifts Rome shall record, and when I do forget The least of these unspeakable deserts, Romans, forget your fealty to me.
Tit. [To Tamord\ Now, madam, are you
prisoner to an emperor ;
To him that, for your honour and your state, Will use you nobly and your followers. 200
Sat. A goodly lady, trust me ; of the hue That I would choose, were I to choose anew. Clear up, fair queen, that cloudy countenance : Though chance of war hath wrought this change
of cheer,
Thou comest not to be made a scorn in Rome : Princely shall be thy usage every way. Rest on my word, and let not discontent Daunt all your hopes : madam, he comforts you
238. onset, first step (Ger. 240. empress (three syllables).
'Ansatz'). 243. motion, proposal.
302
SC. I
Titus Andronicus
Can make you greater than the Queen of Goths. Lavinia, you are not displeased with this ? 27o
Lav. Not I, my lord ; sith true nobility Warrants these words in princely courtesy.
Sat. Thanks, sweet Lavinia. Romans, let us go :
Ransomless here we set our prisoners free :
Proclaim our honours, lords, with trump and drum.
\Flourish. Saturninus courts Tamora
in dumb show.
Bas. Lord Titus, by your leave, this maid is mine. \Seizing Lavinia.
Tit. How, sir ! are you in earnest then, my lord ? Bas. Ay, noble Titus ; and resolved withal To do myself this reason and this right.
Marc. ' Suum cuique ' is our Roman justice : 280 This prince in justice seizeth but his own.
Luc. And that he will, and shall, if Lucius live. Tit. Traitors, avaunt ! Where is the emperor's
guard ?
Treason, my lord ! Lavinia is surprised ! Sat. Surprised ! by whom ? Bas. By him that justly may
Bear his betroth'd from all the world away.
\Exeunt Bassianus and Marcus with Lavinia. Mut. Brothers, help to convey her hence away, And with my sword I '11 keep this door safe.
\Exeunt Lucius. Quintus, and Martius. Tit. Follow, my lord, and I '11 soon bring her back. Mut. My lord, you pass not here. Tit. What, villain boy! 290
Barr'st me my way in Rome ? \Stabbing Mutius. Mut. Help, Lucius, help ! \Dies.
[During the fray, Saturninus, Tamora, Demetrius, Chiron and Aaron go out and re-enter, above.
288. door (disyllabic). 303
Titus Andronicus ACT
Re-enter Lucius.
Luc. My lord, you are unjust, and, more than so, In wrongful quarrel you have slain your son.
Tit. Nor thou, nor he, are any sons of mine ; My sons would never so dishonour me : Traitor, restore Lavinia to the emperor.
Luc. Dead, if you will ; but not to be his wife, That is another's lawful promised love. [Exit.
Sat. No, Titus, no ; the emperor needs her not, Nor her, nor thee, nor any of thy stock : 3oo
I '11 trust, by leisure, him that mocks me once ; Thee never, nor thy traitorous haughty sons, Confederates all thus to dishonour me. Was there none else in Rome to make a stale, But Saturnine? Full well, Andronicus, Agree these deeds with that proud brag of thine, That said'st I begg'd the empire at thy hands.
Tit. O monstrous ! what reproachful words are these ?
Sat. But go thy ways ; go, give that changing
piece
To him that flourish'd for her with his sword : 310 A valiant son-in-law thou shalt enjoy ; One fit to bandy with thy lawless sons, To ruffle in the commonwealth of Rome.
Tit. These words are razors to my wounded heart.
Sat. And therefore, lovely Tamora, queen of
Goths,
That like the stately Phoebe 'mongst her nymphs Dost overshine the gallant'st dames of Rome,
298. That, i.e. Lavinia. dupe. 301. /'// trust, bv leisure, I 309. piece, 'creature.'
shall be in no hurry to trust. 313. ruffle, riot, be turbu-
304. stale, laughing-stock, lent.
3°4
sc. i Titus Andronicus
If thou be pleased with this my sudden choice, Behold, I choose thee, Tamora, for my bride, And will create thee empress of Rome. Speak, Queen of Goths, dost thou applaud my
choice ?
And here I swear by all the Roman gods, Sith priest and holy water are so near, And tapers burn so bright, and every thing In readiness for Hymenaeus stand, I will not re-salute die streets of Rome, Or climb my palace, till from forth this place I lead espoused my bride along with me.
Tarn. And here, in sight of heaven, to Rome I
swear,
If Saturnine advance the Queen of Goths, She will a handmaid be to his desires, A loving nurse, a mother to his youth.
Sat. Ascend, fair queen, Pantheon. Lords,
accompany
Your noble emperor and his lovely bride, Sent by the heavens for Prince Saturnine, Whose wisdom hath her fortune conquered : There shall we consummate our spousal rites.
\Exeuut all but Titus. Tit. I am not bid to wait upon this bride. Titus, when wert thou wont to walk alone, Dishonour'd thus, and challenged of wrongs ?
Re-enter MARCUS, Lucius, QUINTUS, and MARTIUS.
Marc. O Titus, see, O, see what thou hast done ! In a bad quarrel slain a virtuous son.
Tit. No, foolish tribune, no ; no son of mine,
333. Pantheon, the Pantheon ; 338. bid, invited,
the temple built by Agrippa in
the Campus Martius, A.D. 27. 340. challenged, accused.
VOL. VII 305 X
Titus Andronicus ACT i
Nor thou, nor these, confederates in the deed That hath dishonour'd all our family ; Unworthy brother, and unworthy sons !
Luc. But let us give him burial, as becomes ; Give Mutius burial with our brethren.
Tit. Traitors, away ! he rests not in this tomb : This monument five hundred years hath stood, 3So Which I have sumptuously re-edified : Here none but soldiers and Rome's servitors Repose in fame ; none basely slain in brawls : Bury him where you can ; he comes not here.
Marc. My lord, this is impiety in you : My nephew Mutius' deeds do plead for him ; He must be buried with his brethren.
jy. ' > And shall, or him we will accompany.
Tit. l And shall ! ' what villain was it spake that
word? Quin. He that would vouch it in any place but
here. 36o
Tit. What, would you bury him in my despite ? Marc. No, noble Titus, but entreat of thee To pardon Mutius and to bury him.
Tit. Marcus, even thou hast struck upon my crest, And, with these boys, mine honour thou hast
wounded :
My foes I do repute you every one ; So, trouble me no more, but get you gone.
Mart. He is not with himself ; let us withdraw. Quin. Not I, till Mutius' bones be buried.
[ Marcus and the Sons of Titus kneel. Marc. Brother, for in that name doth nature
plead,— 37o
Quin. Father, and in that name doth nature speak,—
368. is not with himself ; is ' beside himself. ' 306
sc. i Titus Andronicus
Tit. Speak thou no more, if all the rest will speed.
Marc. Renowned Titus, more than half my soul, —
Luc. Dear father, soul and substance of us all, —
Marc. Suffer thy brother Marcus to inter His noble nephew here in virtue's nest, That died in honour and Lavinia's cause. Thou art a Roman ; be not barbarous : The Greeks upon advice did bury Ajax That slew himself; and wise Laertes' son 38o
Did graciously plead for his funerals : Let not young Mutius, then, that was thy joy, Be barr'd his entrance here.
Tit. Rise, Marcus, rise.
The dismall'st day is this that e'er I saw, To be dishonour'd by my sons in Rome ! Well, bury him, and bury me the next.
\Mutius is put into the tomb.
Luc. There lie thy bones, sweet Mutius, with thy
friends, Till we with trophies do adorn thy tomb.
All. \Kneeling^\ No man shed tears for noble
Mutius ; He lives in fame that died in virtue's cause. 39o
Marc. My lord, to step out of these dreary
dumps,
How comes it that the subtle Queen of Goths Is of a sudden thus advanced in Rome ?
Tit. I know not, Marcus ; but I know it is : Whether by device or no, the heavens can tell : Is she not then beholding to the man That brought her for this high good turn so far? Yes, and will nobly him remunerate.
372. speed, gain their suit. presented in Sophocles' Ajax.
379. upon advice, after de- 381. funerals, obsequies,
liberation. The incident is re- 396. beholding, indebted.
Titus Andronicus ACTI
Flourish. Re-enter, from one side, SATURNINUS attended, TAMORA, DEMETRIUS, CHIRON, and AARON ; from the other, BASSIANUS, LAVINIA, and others.
Sat. So, Bassianus, you have play'd your prize : God give you joy, sir, of your gallant bride ! 400
Bas. And you of yours, my lord ! I say no more, Nor wish no less ; and so, I take my leave.
Sat. Traitor, if Rome have law or we have power, Thou and thy faction shall repent this rape.
Bas. Rape, call you it, my lord, to seize my own, My true-betrothed love and now my wife ? But let the laws of Rome determine all ; Meanwhile I am possess'd of that is mine.
Sat. 'Tis good, sir : you are very short with us ; But, if we live, we '11 be as sharp with you. 4i0
Bas. My lord, what I have done, as best I may, Answer I must and shall do with my life. Only thus much I give your grace to know : By all the duties that I owe to Rome, This noble gentleman, Lord Titus here, Is in opinion and in honour wrong' d ; That in the rescue of Lavinia With his own hand did slay his youngest son, In zeal to you and highly moved to wrath To be controll'd in that he frankly gave : 420
Receive him, then, to favour, Saturnine, That hath express'd himself in all his deeds A father and a friend to thee and Rome.
Tit. Prince Bassianus, leave to plead my deeds : 'Tis thou and those that have dishonour'd me. Rome and the righteous heavens be my judge, How I have loved and honour'd Saturnine !
399. flay'd your prize, won schools.
the match, a term of the fencing- 416. opinion, reputation. 308
sc. i Titus Andronicus
Tarn. My worthy lord, if ever Tamora Were gracious in those princely eyes of thine, Then hear me speak indifferently for all ; 43o
And at my suit, sweet, pardon what is past.
Sat. What, madam ! be dishonour'd openly, And basely put it up without revenge ?
Tarn. Not so, my lord ; the gods of Rome
forfend
I should be author to dishonour you ! But on mine honour dare I undertake For good Lord Titus' innocence in all ; Whose fury not dissembled speaks his griefs : Then, at my suit, look graciously on him ; Lose not so noble a friend on vain suppose, 440
Nor with sour looks afflict his gentle heart. [Aside to Sat^\ My lord, be ruled by me, be won
at last ;
Dissemble all your griefs and discontents : You are but newly planted in your throne ; Lest, then, the people, and patricians too, Upon a just survey, take Titus' part, And so supplant you for ingratitude, Which Rome reputes to be a heinous sin, Yield at entreats ; and then let me alone : I '11 find a day to massacre them all 45o
And raze their faction and their family, The cruel father and his traitorous sons, To whom I sued for my dear son's life, And make them know what 'tis to let a queen Kneel in the streets and beg for grace in vain.
Come, come, sweet emperor ; come, Andronicus ; Take up this good old man, and cheer the heart
430. indifferently, imparti- honour. ally. 436. undertake, become
435. author to dishonour you, surety, author (Lat. auctor] of your dis- 449. entreats, entreaties.
Titus Andronicus
That dies in tempest of thy angry frown.
Sat. Rise, Titus, rise; my empress hath pre- vail'd.
Tit. I thank your majesty, and her, my lord : 46o These words, these looks, infuse new life in me.
Tarn. Titus, I am incorporate in Rome, A Roman now adopted happily, And must advise the emperor for his good. This day all quarrels die, Andronicus ; And let it be mine honour, good my lord, That I have reconciled your friends and you. For you, Prince Bassianus, I have pass'd My word and promise to the emperor, That you will be more mild and tractable. 47o
And fear not, lords, and you, Lavinia ; By my advice, all humbled on your knees, You shall ask pardon of his majesty.
Luc. We do, and vow to heaven and to his
highness,
That what we did was mildly as we might, Tendering our sister's honour and our own.
Marc. That, on mine honour, here I do protest.
Sat. Away, and talk not ; trouble us no more.
Tarn. Nay, nay, sweet emperor, we must all be
friends :
The tribune and his nephews kneel for grace ; 480 I will not be denied : sweet heart, look back.
Sat. Marcus, for thy sake and thy brother's here, And at my lovely Tamora's entreats, I do remit these young men's heinous faults : Stand up.
Lavinia, though you left me like a churl, I found a friend, and sure as death I swore I would not part a bachelor from the priest. Come, if the emperor's court can feast two brides,
476. Tendering, having regard for. 310
ACT ii Titus Andronicus
You are my guest, Lavinia, and your friends. 490
This day shall be a love-day, Tamora.
Tit. To-morrow, an it please your majesty To hunt the panther and the hart with me, With horn and hound we '11 give your grace bonjour.
Sat. Be it so, Titus, and gramercy too.
\Flourish. Exeunt.
ACT II.
SCENE I. Rome. Before the palace.
Enter AARON.
Aar. Now climbeth Tamora Olympus' top, Safe out of fortune's shot ; and sits aloft, Secure of thunder's crack or lightning flash ; Advanced above pale envy's threatening reach. As when the golden sun salutes the morn, And, having gilt the ocean with his beams, Gallops the zodiac in his glistering coach, And overlooks the highest-peering hills ; So Tamora :
Upon her wit doth earthly honour wait, 10
And virtue stoops and trembles at her frown. Then, Aaron, arm thy heart, and fit thy thoughts, To mount aloft with thy imperial mistress, And mount her pitch, whom thou in triumph long Hast prisoner held, fetter'd in amorous chains And faster bound to Aaron's charming eyes
491. love-day, day of recon- in falconry for the greatest
ciliation. height of a hawk's flight.
3. Secure, fearless. 16. charming, constraining
14. pitch ; a technical terra as by a charm.
3"
Titus Andronicus ACT n
Than is Prometheus tied to Caucasus.
Away with slavish weeds and servile thoughts !
I will be bright, and shine in pearl and gold,
To wait upon this new-made empress. 20
To wait, said I ? to wanton with this queen,
This goddess, this Semiramis, this nymph,
This siren, that will charm Rome's Saturnine,
And see his shipwreck and his commonweal's.
Holloa ! what storm is this ?
Enter DEMETRIUS and CHIRON, braving.
Dem. Chiron, thy years want wit, thy wit wants
edge,
And manners, to intrude where I am graced, And may, for aught thou know'st, affected be.
Chi. Demetrius, thou dost over-ween in all ; ^ And so in this, to bear me down with braves. 3o
'Tis not the difference of a year or two Makes me less gracious or thee more fortunate : I am as able and as fit as thou To serve, and to deserve my mistress' grace ; And that my sword upon thee shall approve, And plead my passions for Lavinia's love.
Aar. [Aside] Clubs, clubs ! these lovers will not keep the peace.
Dem. Why, boy, although our mother, unadvised, Gave you a dancing-rapier by your side, Are you so desperate grown, to threat your friends ? 4o Go to ; have your lath glued within your sheath Till you know better how to handle it.
Chi. Meanwhile, sir, with the little skill I have, Full well shalt thou perceive how much I dare.
28. affected, loved. 38. unadvised, injudiciously.
35- approve, prove. 39. dancing -rapier, a sword
37. Clubs, clubs; cf. note to worn only for ornament in i Hen. VI. i. 3. 84. dancing.
312
sc. i Titus Andronicus
Dem. Ay, boy, grow ye so brave? [They draw.
Aar. [Coming forward] Why, how now, lords ! So near the emperor's palace dare you draw, And maintain such a quarrel openly? Full well I wot the ground of all this grudge : I would not for a million of gold The cause were known to them it most concerns ; 5o Nor would your noble mother for much more Be so dishonour'd in the court of Rome. For shame, put up.
Dem. Not I, till I have sheathed
My rapier in his bosom and withal Thrust these reproachful speeches down his throat That he hath breathed in my dishonour here.
Chi. For that I am prepared and full resolved. Foul -spoken coward, that thunder'st with thy
tongue, And with thy weapon nothing darest perform !
Aar. Away, I say ! 60
Now, by the gods that warlike Goths adore, This petty brabble will undo us all. Why, lords, and think you not how dangerous It is to jet upon a prince's right ? What, is Lavinia then become so loose, Or Bassianus so degenerate, That for her love such quarrels may be broach'd Without controlment, justice, or revenge ? Young lords, beware ! an should the empress know This discord's ground, the music would not please. 70
Chi. I care not, I, knew she and all the world : I love Lavinia more than all the world.
Dem. Youngling, learn thou to make some
meaner choice : Lavinia is thine elder brother's hope.
Aar. Why, are ye mad ? or know ye not, in Rome
64. jet, insolently trample on.
313
Titus Andronicus ACT "
How furious and impatient they be, And cannot brook competitors in love ? I tell you, lords, you do but plot your deaths By this device.
Chi. Aaron, a thousand deaths
Would I propose to achieve her whom I love. 80
Aar. To achieve her ! how ?
Dem. Why makest thou it so strange ?
She is a woman, therefore may be woo'd ; She is a woman, therefore may be won ; She is Lavinia, therefore must be loved. What, man ! more water glideth by the mill Than wots the miller of; and easy it is Of a cut loaf to steal a shive, we know : Though Bassianus be the emperor's brother, Better than he have worn Vulcan's badge.
Aar. [Aside] Ay, and as good as Saturninus may. 90
Dem. Then why should he despair that knows
to court it
With words, fair looks and liberality ? What, hast not thou full often struck a doe, And borne her cleanly by the keeper's nose ?
Aar. Why, then, it seems, some certain snatch
or so Would serve your turns.
Chi. Ay, so the turn were served
Dem. Aaron, thou hast hit it.
Aar. Would you had hit it too !
Then should not we be tired with this ado. Why, hark ye, hark ye ! and are you such fools To square for this ? would it offend you, then, 100 That both should speed ?
Chi. Faith, not me.
87. shive, slice. 89. Vulcan's badge, as the deluded husband of Venus.
3*4
SC. I
Titus Andronicus
Dem. Nor me, so I were one.
Aar. For shame, be friends, and join for that
you jar :
'Tis policy and stratagem must do That you affect ; and so must you resolve, That what you cannot as you would achieve, You must perforce accomplish as you may. Take this of me : Lucrece was not more chaste Than this Lavinia, Bassianus' love. A speedier course than lingering languishment no Must we pursue, and I have found the path. My lords, a solemn hunting is in hand ; There will the lovely Roman ladies troop : The forest walks are wide and spacious ; And many unfrequented plots there are Fitted by kind for rape and villany : Single you thither then this dainty doe, And strike her home by force, if not by words : This way, or not at all, stand you in hope. Come, come, our empress, with her sacred wit 120 To villany and vengeance consecrate, Will we acquaint with all that we intend ; And she shall file our engines with advice, That will not suffer you to square yourselves, But to your wishes' height advance you both. The emperor's court is like the house of Fame, The palace full of tongues, of eyes, and ears : The woods are ruthless, dreadful, deaf, and dull ; There speak, and strike, brave boys, and take your
turns ;
There serve your lusts, shadow'd from heaven's eye, 130 And revel in Lavinia's treasury.
116. by kind, by nature. line.
120. sacred (an epithet of 123. file our engines, polish
royalty), imperial ; the irony our instruments, sharpen our
becoming apparent in the next wits.
315
Titus Andronicus AC
Chi. Thy counsel, lad, smells of no cowardice.
Dem. Sit fas aut nefas, till I find the stream To cool this heat, a charm to calm these fits, Per Styga, per manes vehor. [Exeunt.
SCENE II. A forest near Rome. Horns and cry of hounds heard.
Enter TITUS ANDRONICUS, with Hunters, etc., MARCUS, Lucius, QUINTUS, and MARTIUS.
Tit. The hunt is up, the morn is bright and
grey,
The fields are fragrant and the woods are green : Uncouple here and let us make a bay And wake the emperor and his lovely bride And rouse the prince and ring a hunter's peal, That all the court may echo with the noise. Sons, let it be your charge, as it is ours, To attend the emperor's person carefully : I have been troubled in my sleep this night, But dawning day new comfort hath inspired.
A cry of hounds, and horns winded in a peal. Enter SATURNINUS, TAMORA, BASSIANUS, LAVINIA, DEMETRIUS, CHIRON, and Attendants.
Many good morrows to your majesty ; Madam, to you as many and as good : I promised your grace a hunter's peal.
Sat. And you have rung it lustily, my lord ; Somewhat too early for new-married ladies.
Bas. Lavinia, how say you ?
Lav. I say, no ;
I have been broad awake two hours and more.
3. bay, of hounds. 316
sc. in Titus Andronicus
Sat. Come on, then ; horse and chariots let us
have, And to our sport. [To Tamord\ Madam, now
shall ye see Our Roman hunting.
Marc. I have dogs, my lord,
Will rouse the proudest panther in the chase, And climb the highest promontory top.
Tit. And I have horse will follow where the
game
Makes way, and run like swallows o'er the plain. Dem. Chiron, we hunt not, we, with horse nor
hound, But hope to pluck a dainty doe to ground.
\Exeunt.
SCENE III. A lonely part of the forest.
Enter AARON, with a bag of gold.
Aar. He that had wit would think that I had
none,
To bury so much gold under a tree, And never after to inherit it Let him that thinks of me so abjectly Know that this gold must coin a stratagem, Which, cunningly effected, will beget A very excellent piece of villany : And so repose, sweet gold, for their unrest
[Hides the gold. That have their alms out of the empress' chest.
Enter TAMORA.
Tarn. My lovely Aaron, wherefore look'st thou sad, I0
3. inherit, take possession of.
Titus Andronicus ACT n
When every thing doth make a gleeful boast ?
The birds chant melody on every bush,
The snake lies rolled in the cheerful sun,
The green leaves quiver with the cooling wind
And make a chequer'd shadow on the ground :
Under their sweet shade, Aaron, let us sit,
And, whilst the babbling echo mocks the hounds,
Replying shrilly to the well-tuned horns,
As if a double hunt were heard at once,
Let us sit down and mark their yelping noise ; 20
And, after conflict such as was supposed
The wandering prince and Dido once enjoy'd,
When with a happy storm they were surprised
And curtain'd with a counsel-keeping cave,
We may, each wreathed in the other's arms,
Our pastimes done, possess a golden slumber ;
Whiles hounds and horns and sweet melodious
birds
Be unto us as is a nurse's song Of lullaby to bring her babe asleep.
Aar. Madam, though Venus govern your
desires, 30
Saturn is dominator over mine : What signifies my deadly-standing eye, My silence and my cloudy melancholy, My fleece of woolly hair that now uncurls Even as an adder when she doth unroll To do some fatal execution ? No, madam, these are no venereal signs : Vengeance is in my heart, death in my hand, Blood and revenge are hammering in my head.
ii. make a gleeful boast, vies 31. Saturn ; the planet under
in glee. whom men of morose, ' satur-
20. yelping, so Ff. Qq have nine ' temperament were born, 'yellowing/ a word unrecorded
in any sense here possible ; but 32. deadly- standing, of death- retained by Camb. edd. portending fixity
318
sc. in Titus Andronicus
Hark, Tamora, the empress of my soul, 40
Which never hopes more heaven than rests in
thee,
This is the day of doom for Bassianus : His Philomel must lose her tongue to-day, Thy sons make pillage of her chastity And wash their hands in Bassianus' blood. Seest thou this letter ? take it up, I pray thee, And give the king this fatal-plotted scroll. Now question me no more ; we are espied ; Here comes a parcel of our hopeful booty, Which dreads not yet their lives' destruction. so
Tarn. Ah, my sweet Moor, sweeter to me than life!
Aar. No more, great empress ; Bassianus
comes :
Be cross with him ; and I '11 go fetch thy sons To back thy quarrels, whatsoe'er they be. \Exit.
Enter BASSIANUS and LAVINIA.
Bas. Who have we here ? Rome's royal empress, Unfurnish'd of her well-beseeming troop? Or is it Dian, habited like her, Who hath abandoned her holy groves To see the general hunting in this forest ?
Tarn. Saucy controller of our private steps ! 60 Had I the power that some say Dian had, Thy temples should be planted presently With horns, as was Actaeon's ; and the hounds Should drive upon thy new-transformed limbs, Unmannerly intruder as thou art !
Lav. Under your patience, gentle empress, Tis thought you have a goodly gift in horning; And to be doubted that your Moor and you
63. Actceon ; transformed by Diana into a hart 68. doubted, suspected.
319
Titus Andronicus ACT n
Are singled forth to try experiments :
Jove shield your husband from his hounds to-day ! 7o
Tis pity they should take him for a stag.
Bas. Believe me, queen, your swarth Cimmerian Doth make your honour of his body's hue, Spotted, detested, and abominable. Why are you sequester'd from all your train, Dismounted from your snow-white goodly steed, And wander'd hither to an obscure plot, Accompanied but with a barbarous Moor, If foul desire had not conducted you ?
Lav. And, being intercepted in your sport, 80
Great reason that my noble lord be rated For sauciness. I pray you, let us hence, And let her joy her raven-colour'd love ; This valley fits the purpose passing well.
Bas. The king my brother shall have note of this.
Lav. Ay, for these slips have made him noted
long: Good king, to be so mightily abused !
Tarn. Why have I patience to endure all this ?
Enter DEMETRIUS and CHIRON.
Dem. How now, dear sovereign, and our
gracious mother !
Why cloth your highness look so pale and wan ? 90 Tarn. Have I not reason, think you, to look
pale?
These two have 'ticed me hither to this place : A barren detested vale, you see it is ; The trees, though summer, yet forlorn and lean, O'ercome with moss and baleful mistletoe :
69. Are singled forth, have emendation for Qq Ff ' notice.' stolen out. 87. abused, deceived.
85. note, intelligence. Pope's 95. O'ercome, covered. 320
sc. in Titus Andronicus
Here .never shines the sun ; here nothing breeds,
Unless the nightly owl or fatal raven :
And when they show'd me this abhorred pit,
They told me, here, at dead time of the night,
A thousand fiends, a thousand hissing snakes, S0o
Ten thousand swelling toads, as many urchins,
Would make such fearful and confused cries
As any mortal body hearing it
Should straight fall mad, or else die suddenly.
No sooner had they told this hellish tale,
But straight they told me they would bind me
here
Unto- the body of a dismal yew, And leave me to this miserable death : And then they call'd me foul adulteress, Lascivious Goth, and all the bitterest terms no
That ever ear did hear to such effect : And, had you not by wondrous fortune come, This vengeance on me had they executed. Revenge it, as you love your mother's life, Or be ye not henceforth call'd my children.
Dem. This is a witness that I am thy son.
[Stabs Bassianus.
Chi. And this for me, struck home to show my strength. \Also stabs J3assianns, who dies.
Lav. Ay, come, Semiramis, nay, barbarous
Tamora, For no name fits thy nature but thy own !
Tarn. Give me thy poniard ; you shall know,
my boys, 120
Your mother's hand shall right your mother's wrong.
Dem. Stay, madam ; here is more belongs to her ;
101. urchins, hedgehogs. Like It, iii. 3. 9. Probably, as
no. Lascivious Goth; with a in mote, moth, the th was pro- quibble on goat, as in As You nounced t.
VOL. VII 321 Y
Titus Andronicus ACT n
First thrash the corn, then after burn the straw :
This minion stood upon her chastity,
Upon her nuptial vow, her loyalty,
And with that painted hope braves your mightiness :
And shall she carry this unto her grave ?
Chi. An if she do, I would I were an eunuch. Drag hence her husband to some secret hole, And make his dead trunk pillow to our lust. 130
Tarn. But when ye have the honey ye desire, Let not this wasp outlive, us both to sting.
Chi. I warrant you, madam, we will make that
sure.
Come, mistress, now perforce we will enjoy That nice-preserved honesty of yours.
Lav. O Tamora ! thou bear'st a woman's face, —
Tarn. I will not hear her speak ; away with her !
Lav. Sweet lords, entreat her hear me but a word.
Dem. Listen, fair madam : let it be your glory To see her tears ; but be your heart to them 140
As unrelenting flint to drops of rain.
Lav. When did the tiger's young ones teach the
dam?
O, do not learn her wrath ; she taught it thee ; The milk thou suck'dst from her did turn to
marble ;
Even at thy teat thou hadst thy tyranny. Yet every mother breeds not sons alike : [To Chiroti\ Do thou entreat her show a woman pity.
Chi. What, wouldst thou have me prove myself a bastard ?
Lav. 'Tis true ; the raven doth not hatch a lark : Yet have I heard, — O, could I find it now ! — 150
126. painted hope, specious confidence. 143. learn, teach.
322
sc. in Titus Andronicus
The lion moved with pity did endure To have his princely paws pared all away : Some say that ravens foster forlorn children, The whilst their own birds famish in their nests : O, be to me, though thy hard heart say no, Nothing so kind, but something pitiful !
Tarn. I know not what it means ; away with her !
Lav. O, let me teach thee ! for my father's sake, That gave thee life, when well he might have slain
thee, Be not obdurate, open thy deaf ears. 160
Tarn. Hadst thou in person ne'er offended me, Even for his sake am I pitiless. Remember, boys, I pour'd forth tears in vain, To save your brother from the sacrifice ; But fierce Andronicus would not relent : Therefore, away with her, and use her as you will, The worse to her, the better loved of me.
Lav. O Tamora, be call'd a gentle queen, And with thine own hands kill me in this place ! For 'tis not life that I have begg'd so long; i70
Poor I was slain when Bassianus died.
Tarn. What begg'st thou, then? fond woman, let me go.
Lav. 'Tis present death I beg; and one thing
more
That womanhood denies my tongue to tell : O, keep me from their worse than killing lust, And tumble me into some loathsome pit, Where never man's eye may behold my body : Do this, and be a charitable murderer.
Tarn. So should I rob my sweet sons of their
fee: No, let them satisfy their lust on thee. 180
Dem. Away ! for thou hast stay'd us here too long.
323
Titus Andronicus ACT n
Lav. No grace ? no womanhood ? Ah, beastly
creature !
The blot and enemy to our general name ! Confusion fall —
Chi. Nay, then I '11 stop your mouth. Bring
thou her husband : This is the hole where Aaron bid us hide him.
[Demetrius throws the body of Bassianus into the pit ; then exeunt Demetrius and Chiron, dragging off Lavinia. Tarn. Farewell, my sons : see that you make
her sure.
Ne'er let my heart know merry cheer indeed, Till all the Andronici be made away. Now will I hence to seek my lovely Moor, x90
And let my spleenful sons this trull deflour.
{Exit.
Re-enter AARON, with QUINTUS and MARTIUS.
Aar. Come on, my lords, the better foot before : Straight will I bring you to the loathsome pit Where I espied the panther fast asleep.
Quin. My sight is very dull, whate'er it bodes. Mart. And mine, I promise you ; were 't not
for shame, Well could I leave our sport to sleep awhile.
[falls into the pit. Quin. What, art thou fall'n ? What subtle hole
is this,
Whose mouth is cover'd with rude-growing briers, Upon whose leaves are drops of new-shed blood aoo As fresh as morning dew distill'd on flowers ? A very fatal place it seems to me. Speak, brother, hast thou hurt thee with the fall ?
Mart. O brother, with the dismall'st object hurt That ever eye with sight made heart lament ! 324
sc. in Titus Andronicus
Aar. [Aside] Now will I fetch the king to find
them 'here,
That he thereby may give a likely guess How these were they that made away his brother.
[Exit.
Mart. Why dost not comfort me, and help me
out From this unhallowed and blood-stained hole? 210
Quin. I am surprised with an uncouth fear : A chilling sweat o'er-runs my trembling joints : My heart suspects more than mine eye can see.
Mart. To prove thou hast a true-divining heart, Aaron and thou look down into this den, And see a fearful sight of blood and death.
Quin. Aaron is gone ; and my compassionate
heart
Will not permit mine eyes once to behold The thing whereat it trembles by surmise : O, tell me how it is ; for ne'er till now 220
Was I a child to fear I know not what.
Mart. Lord Bassianus lies embrewed here, All on a heap, like to a slaughter'd lamb, In this detested, dark, blood-drinking pit.
Quin. If it be dark, how dost thou know 'tis he ?
Mart. Upon his bloody finger he doth wear A precious ring, that lightens all the hole, Which, like a taper in some monument, Doth shine upon the dead man's earthy cheeks, And shows the ragged entrails of the pit : 2,0
So pale did shine the moon on Pyramus When he by night lay bathed in maiden blood. O brother, help me with thy fainting hand —
211. uncouth, strange, un- 227. A precious ring, that
canny. lightens all the hole. This was
222. embrewed, imbrued, a reputed property of the car- steeped in his blood. buncle.
325
Titus Andronicus ACT n
If fear hath made thee faint, as me it hath — Out of this fell devouring receptacle, As hateful as Cocytus' misty mouth.
Quin. Reach me thy hand, that I may help
thee out ;
Or, wanting strength to do thee so much good, I may be pluck'd into the swallowing womb Of this deep pit, poor Bassianus' grave. 240
I have no strength to pluck thee to the brink. Mart. Nor I no strength to climb without thy
help. Quin. Thy hand once more ; I will not loose
again,
Till thou art here aloft, or I below : Thou canst not come to me : I come to thee.
[.Falls in.
Enter SATURNINUS with AARON.
Sat. Along with me : I '11 see what hole is here, And what he is that now is leap'd into it. Say, who art thou that lately didst descend Into this gaping hollow of the earth ?
Mart. The unhappy son of old Andronicus ; 250 Brought hither in a most unlucky hour, To find thy brother Bassianus dead.
Sat. My brother dead ! I know thou dost but
jest :
He and his lady both are at the lodge Upon the north side of this pleasant chase ; 'Tis not an hour since I left him there.
Mart. We know not where you left him all
alive ;
But, out, alas ! here have we found him dead 236. Cocytus ', one of the rivers of Hades.
326
sc. in Titus Andronicus
Re-enter TAMORA, with Attendants ; TITUS ANDRONICUS, and Lucius.
Tarn. Where is my lord the king ?
Sat. Here, Tamora, though grieved with killing grief. c6o
Tarn. Where is thy brother Bassianus ?
Sat. Now to the bottom dost thou search my
wound : Poor Bassianus here lies murdered.
Tarn. Then all too late I bring this fatal writ, The complot of this timeless tragedy ; And wonder greatly that man's face can fold In pleasing smiles such murderous tyranny.
\She giveth Saturnine a letter.
Sat. \Reads\ 'An if we miss to meet him
handsomely —
Sweet huntsman, Bassianus 'tis we mean — Do thou so much as dig the grave for him : 270
Thou know'st our meaning. Look for thy reward Among the nettles at the elder-tree Which overshades the mouth of that same pit Where we decreed to bury Bassianus. Do this, and purchase us thy lasting friends.' O Tamora ! was ever heard the like ? This is the pit, and this the elder-tree. Look, sirs, if you can find the huntsman out That should have murder'd Bassianus here.
Aar. My gracious lord, here is the bag of gold. 280
Sat. [To Tittis] Two of thy whelps, fell curs
of bloody kind,
Have here bereft my brother of his life. Sirs, drag them from the pit unto the prison : There let them bide until we have devised Some never-heard-of torturing pain for them.
265. timeless, untimely. 275. purchase us, win us as.
327
Titus Andronicus ACT n
Tarn. What, are they in this pit ? O wondrous
thing ! How easily murder is discovered !
Tit. High emperor, upon my feeble knee I beg this boon, with tears not lightly shed, That this fell fault of my accursed sons, 290
Accursed, if the fault be proved in them, —
Sat. If it be proved ! you see it is apparent. Who found this letter ? Tamora, was it you ?
Tarn. Andronicus himself did take it up.
Tit. I did, my lord : yet let me be their bail ; For, by my father's reverend tomb, I vow They shall be ready at your highness' will To answer their suspicion with their lives.
Sat. Thou shalt not bail them : see thou follow
me.
Some bring the murder'd body, some the murderers : 3oo Let them not speak a word ; the guilt is plain ; For, by my soul, were there worse end than death, That end upon them should be executed.
Tarn. Andronicus, I will entreat the king : Fear not thy sons ; they shall do well enough.
Tit. Come, Lucius, come ; stay not to talk with them. [Exeunt.
SCENE IV. Another part of the forest.
Enter DEMETRIUS and CHIRON with LAVINIA, ravished ; her hands cut off, and her tongue cut out.
Dem. So, now go tell, an if thy tongue can
speak,
Who 'twas that cut thy tongue and ravish'd thee. 305. Fear not, fear not for. 328
sc. iv Titus Andronicus
Chi. Write down thy mind, bewray thy mean ing so, An if thy stumps will let thee play the scribe.
Dem. See, how with signs and tokens she can scrowl.
Chi. Go home, call for sweet water, wash thy hands.
Dem. She hath no tongue to call, nor hands
to wash ; And so let 's leave her to her silent walks.
Chi. An 'twere my case, I should go hang myself.
Dem. If thou hadst hands to help thee knit the cord. \Exeunt Demetrius and Chiron. 10
Enter MARCUS.
Mar. Who is this ? my niece, that flies away
so fast !
Cousin, a word; where is your husband? If I do dream, would all my wealth would wake
me !
If I do wake, some planet strike me down, That I may slumber in eternal sleep ! Speak, gentle niece, what stern ungentle hands Have lopp'd and hew'd and made thy body bare Of her two branches, those sweet ornaments, Whose circling shadows kings have sought to
sleep in,
And might not gain so great a happiness 20
As have thy love ? Why dost not speak to me ? Alas, a crimson river of warm blood, Like to a bubbling fountain stirr'd with wind, Doth rise and fall between thy rosed lips,
5. scrowl; (doubtful word: 'scrowle'; Ff ' scowl(e).' probably) scrawl, write vaguely and wildly in the air. Qq read 6. sweet, perfumed.
329
Titus Andronicus ACT n
Coming and going with thy honey breath.
But, sure, some Tereus hath deflowered thee,
And, lest thou shouldst detect him, cut thy tongue.
Ah, now thou turn'st away thy face for shame ! \ .
And, notwithstanding all this loss of blood,
As from a conduit with three issuing spouts, 3o
Yet do thy cheeks look red as Titan's face
Blushing to be encounter'd with a cloud.
Shall I speak for thee ? shall I say 'tis so ?
O, that I knew thy heart ; and knew the beast,
That I might rail at him, to ease my mind !
Sorrow concealed, like an oven stopp'd,
Doth burn the heart to cinders where it is.
Fair Philomela, she but lost her tongue,
And in a tedious sampler sew'd her mind :
But, lovely niece, that mean is cut from thee ; 40
A craftier Tereus, cousin, hast thou met,
And he hath cut those pretty fingers off,
That could hav2 better sew'd than Philomel.
O, had the monster seen those lily hands
Tremble, like aspen-leaves, upon a lute,
And make the silken strings delight to kiss them,
He would not then have touch'd them for his life !
Or, had he heard the heavenly harmony
Which that sweet tongue hath made,
He would have dropp'd his knife, and fell asleep 5o
As Cerberus at the Thracian poet's feet.
Come, let us go, and make thy father blind ;
For such a sight will blind a father's eye :
One hour's storm will drown the fragrant meads ;
What will whole months of tears thy father's eyes ?
26. Tereus, the husband of her tongue, made her sifter Procne, violated her sister Procne aware of her husband's Philomela, and then cut her crime by working a representa- tongue out. tion of it in a sampler.
27. detect, betray. 51. the Thracian poet, 38, 39. Philomela, after losing Orpheus.
330
ACT in Titus Andronicus
Do not draw back, for we will mourn with thee : •O, could our mourning ease thy misery !
\Exeunt.
ACT III.
SCENE I. Rome. A street.
Enter Judges, Senators and Tribunes, with MARTIUS and QUINTUS, bound, passi?ig on to the place of execution ; TITUS going before, pleading.
Tit. Hear me, grave fathers ! noble tribunes,
stay !
For pity of mine age, whose youth was spent In dangerous wars, whilst you securely slept; For all my blood in Rome's great quarrel shed ; For all the frosty nights that I have watch'd ; And for these bitter tears, which now you see Filling the aged wrinkles in my cheeks ; Be pitiful to my condemned sons, Whose souls are not corrupted as 'tis thought. For two and twenty sons I never wept, 10
Because they died in honour's lofty bed.
\Lieth down ; the Judges, etc. pass by him, and Exeunt.
For these, tribunes, in the dust I write My heart's deep languor and my soul's sad tears : Let my tears stanch the earth's dry appetite ; My sons' sweet blood will make it shame and blush. O earth, I will befriend thee more with rain, That shall distil from these two ancient urns,
7. aged wrinkles, wrinkles of 17. urns, Hanmer's emenda-
age. tion for Qq Ff ' ruins. '
331
Titus Andronicus ACT m
Than youthful April shall with all his showers :
In summer's drought I '11 drop upon thee still j
In winter with warm tears I '11 melt the snow, 2o
And keep eternal spring-time on thy face,
So thou refuse to drink my dear sons' blood.
Enter Lucius, with his sword drawn.
O reverend tribunes ! O gentle, aged men ! Unbind my sons, reverse the doom of death ; And let me say, that never wept before, My tears are now prevailing orators.
Luc. O noble father, you lament in vain : The tribunes hear you not ; no man is by ; And you recount your sorrows to a stone.
Tit. Ah, Lucius, for thy brothers let me plead. 3o Grave tribunes, once more I entreat of you, —
Luc. My gracious lord, no tribune hears you speak.
Tit. Why, 'tis no matter, man : if they did hear, They would not mark me, or if they did mark, They would not pity me ; yet plead I must,
And bootless unto them
Therefore I tell my sorrows to the stones ; Who, though they cannot answer my distress, Yet in some sort they are better than the tribunes, For that they will not intercept my tale : 40
When I do weep, they humbly at my feet Receive my tears and seem to weep with me ; And, were they but attired in grave weeds, Rome could afford no tribune like to these. A stone is soft as wax, — tribunes more hard than stones ;
36. And bootless unto them. I complain,'. Camb. edd.
Q! marks a period after these mark the loss of some words,
words, and is followed by This, though not absolutely
Delius. Dyce supplies 'since necessary, is most probable.
332
sc. i Titus Andronicus
A stone is silent, and offendeth not,
And tribunes with their tongues doom men to
death [Rises.
But \vherefore stand'st thou with thy weapon
drawn ? Luc. To rescue my two brothers from their
death :
For which attempt the judges have pronounced 50 My everlasting doom of banishment.
Tit. O happy man ! they have befriended thee. Why, foolish Lucius, dost thou not perceive That Rome is but a wilderness of tigers ? Tigers must prey, and Rome affords no prey But me and mine : how happy art thou, then, From these devourers to be banished ! But who comes with our brother Marcus here ?
Enter MARCUS and LAVINIA.
Marc. Titus, prepare thy aged eyes to weep ; Or, if not so, thy noble heart to break : 60
I bring consuming sorrow to thine age.
Tit. Will it consume me ? let me see it, then.
Marc. This was thy daughter.
Tit. Why, Marcus, so she is.
Lite. Ay me, this object kills me !
Tit. Faint-hearted boy, arise, and look upon
her.
Speak, Lavinia, what accursed hand Hath made thee handless in thy father's sight? What fool hath added water to the sea, Or brought a faggot to bright-burning Troy ? My grief was at the height before thou earnest, 7o And now, like Nilus, it disdaineth bounds. Give me a sword, I '11 chop off my hands too ; For they have fought for Rome, and all in vain ; And they have nursed this woe, in feeding life ;
333
Titus Andronicus ACT m
In bootless prayer have they been held up,
And they have served me to effectless use :
Now all the service I require of them
Is that the one will help to cut the other.
Tis well, Lavinia, that thou hast no hands ;
For hands, to do Rome service, are but vain. 80
Luc. Speak, gentle sister, who hath martyr'd thee ?
Marc. O, that delightful engine of her thoughts, That blabb'd them with such pleasing eloquence, Is torn from forth that pretty hollow cage, Where, like a sweet melodious bird, it sung Sweet varied notes, enchanting every ear !
Luc. O, say thou for her, who hath done this deed?
Marc. O, thus I found her, straying in the
park,
Seeking to hide herself, as doth the deer That hath received some unrecuring wound. 90
Tit. It was my deer ; and he that wounded her Hath hurt me more than had he kill'd me dead : For now I stand as one upon a rock Environ'd with a wilderness of sea, Who marks the waxing tide grow wave by wave, Expecting ever when some envious surge Will in his brinish bowels swallow him. This way to death my wretched sons are gone ; Here stands my other son, a banish'd man, And here my brother, weeping at my woes : 100
But that which gives my soul the greatest spurn, Is dear Lavinia, dearer than my soul. Had I but seen thy picture in this plight, It would have madded me : what shall I do Now I behold thy lively body so ? Thou hast no hands, to wipe away thy tears ; Nor tongue, to tell me who hath martyr'd thee :
90. unrecuring, incurable.
334
sc. i Titus Andrunicus
Thy husband he is dead ; and for his death Thy brothers are condemn'd, and dead by this. Look, Marcus ! -ah, son Lucius, look on her ! no
When I did name her brothers, then fresh tears Stood on her cheeks, as doth the honey-dew Upon a gather'd lily almost wither'd.
Marc. Perchance she weeps because they kill'd
her husband ; Perchance because she knows them innocent.
Tit. If they did kill thy husband, then be joyful, Because the law hath ta'en revenge on them. No, no, they would not do so foul a deed ; Witness the sorrow that their sister makes. Gentle Lavinia, let me kiss thy lips ; 120
Or make some sign how I may do thee ease : Shall thy good uncle, and thy brother Lucius, And thou, and I, sit round about some fountain, Looking all downwards, to behold our cheeks How they are stain'd, as meadows, yet not dry, With miry slime left on them by a flood ? And in the fountain shall we gaze so long Till the fresh taste be taken from that clearness, And made a brine-pit with our bitter tears ? Or shall we cut away our hands, like thine? 130
Or shall we bite our tongues, and in dumb shows Pass the remainder of our hateful days ? What shall we do ? let us, that have our tongues, Plot some device of further misery, To make us wonder'd at in time to come.
Luc. Sweet father, cease your tears; for, at
your grief, See how my wretched sister sobs and weeps.
Marc. Patience, dear niece. Good Titus, dry thine eyes.
Tit. Ah, Marcus, Marcus ! brother, well I wot Thy napkin cannot drink a tear of mine, 140
335
Titus Andronicus ACT m
For thou, poor man, hast drown'd it with thine own.
Luc. Ah, my Lavinia, I will wipe thy cheeks.
Tit. Mark, Marcus, mark! I understand her
signs :
Had she a tongue to speak, now would she say That to her brother which I said to thee : His napkin, with his true tears all bewet, Can do no service on her sorrowful cheeks. O, what a sympathy of woe is this, As far from help as Limbo is from bliss !
Enter AARON.
Aar. Titus Andronicus, my lord the emperor 150 Sends thee this word, — that, if thou love thy sons, Let Marcus, Lucius, or thyself, old Titus, Or any one of you, chop off your hand, And send it to the king : he for the same Will send thee hither both thy sons alive ; And that shall be the ransom for their fault.
Tit. O gracious emperor ! O gentle Aaron ! Did ever raven sing so like a lark, That gives sweet tidings of the sun's uprise ? With all my heart, I '11 send the emperor x6o
My hand : Good Aaron, wilt thou help to chop it off?
Luc. Stay, father ! for that noble hand of thine, That hath thrown down so many enemies, Shall not be sent : my hand will serve the turn : My youth can better spare my blood than you ; And therefore mine shall save my brothers' lives.
Marc. Which of your hands hath not defended
Rome, And rear'd aloft the bloody battle-axe,
149. Limbo, the region border- (hence its name Limbus Pat- ing on hell, to which mediaeval rum}; here used loosely for hell belief assigned the patriarchs itself.
336
sc. i Titus Andronicus
Writing destruction on the enemy's castle ? 170
O, none of both but are of high desert :
My hand hath been but idle ; let it serve
To ransom my two nephews from their death ;
Then have I kept it to a worthy end.
Aar. Nay, come, agree whose hand shall go
along,
For fear they die before their pardon come. Marc. My hand shall go.
Luc. By heaven, it shall not go !
Tit. Sirs, strive no more : such wither'd herbs
as these
Are meet for plucking up, and therefore mine. Luc. Sweet father, if I shall be thought thy
son, 180
Let me redeem my brothers both from death. Marc. And, for our father's sake and mother's
care, Now let me show a brother's love to thee.
Tit. Agree between you ; I will spare my hand. Luc. Then I '11 go fetch an axe. Marc. But I will use the axe.
[Exeunt Lucius and Marcus. Tit. Come hither, Aaron ; I '11 deceive them
both:
Lend me thy hand, and I will give thee mine. Aar. [Aside] If that be call'd deceit, I will be
honest,
And never, whilst I live, deceive men so : 190
But I '11 deceive you in another sort, And that you '11 say, ere half an hour pass.
[Cuts off Titus 's hand.
170. castle. The word has not very violent. Titus has
been suspected : Theobald pro- ' defended Rome ' by breaking
posed ' casque,' and Walker down the Gothic strongholds. 1 crest. ' But the expression is
VOL. vii 337 z
Titus Andronicus ACTIII
Re-enter Lucius and MARCUS.
Tit. Now stay your strife : what shall be is
dispatch'd.
Good Aaron, give his majesty my hand : Tell him it was a hand that warded him From thousand dangers ; bid him bury it ; More hath it merited ; that let it have. As for my sons, say I account of them As jewels purchased at an easy price ; And yet dear too, because I bought mine own. 200
Aar. I go, Andronicus : and for thy hand Look by and by to have thy sons with thee. [Aside] Their heads, I mean. O, how this villany Doth fat me with the very thoughts of it ! Let fools do good, and fair men call for grace, Aaron will have his soul black like his face. [Exit.
Tit O, here I lift this one hand up to heaven, And bow this feeble ruin to the earth : If any power pities wretched tears, To that I call ! [To Lav.] What, wilt thou kneel
with me? 210
Do, then, dear heart ; for heaven shall hear our
prayers ;
Or with our sighs we '11 breathe the welkin dim, And stain the sun with fog, as sometime clouds When they do hug him in their melting bosoms.
Marc. O brother, speak with possibilities, And do not break into these deep extremes.
Tit. Is not my sorrow deep, having no bottom ? Then be my passions bottomless with them.
Marc. But yet let reason govern thy lament.
Tit. If there were reason for these miseries, 220 Then into limits could I bind my woes : When heaven doth weep, doth not the earth o'erflow ?
338
SC. I
Titus Andronicus
If the winds rage, doth not the sea wax mad, Threatening the welkin with his big-swoln face? And wilt thou have a reason for this coil ? I am the sea ; hark, how her sighs do blow ! She is the weeping welkin, I the earth : Then must my sea be moved with her sighs ; Then must my earth with her continual tears Become a deluge, overflow'd and drown'd ; 230
For why my bowels cannot hide her woes, But like a drunkard must I vomit them. Then give me leave, for losers will have leave To ease their stomachs with their bitter tongues.
Enter a Messenger, with two heads and a hand.
Mess. Worthy Andronicus, ill art thou repaid For that good hand thou sent'st the emperor. Here are the heads of thy two noble sons ; And here 's thy hand, in scorn to thee sent back ; Thy griefs their sports, thy resolution mock'd ; That woe is me to think upon thy woes 240
More than remembrance of my father's death.
{Exit.
Marc. Now let hot ^Etna cool in Sicily, And be my heart an ever-burning hell ! These miseries are more than may be borne. To weep with them that weep doth ease some
deal; But sorrow flputed at is double death.
Luc. Ah, that this sight should make so deep
a wound,
And yet detested life not shrink thereat ! That ever death should let life bear his name, Where life hath no more interest but to breathe ! 250
\Lavinia kisses Titus.
225. coil, uproar. 226. blow ; so Ff2.4. ' Flow,' Qq Fr
339
Titus Andronicus ACTHI
Marc. Alas, poor heart, that kiss is com fortless As frozen water to a starved snake.
Tit. When will this fearful slumber have an end?
Marc. Now, farewell, flattery : die, Andronicus ; Thou dost not slumber: see, thy two sons'
heads,
Thy warlike hand, thy mangled daughter here ; Thy other banish'd son, with this dear sight Struck pale and bloodless ; and thy brother, I, Even like a stony image, cold and numb. Ah, now no more will I control thy griefs : 260
Rend off thy silver hair, thy other hand Gnawing with thy teeth ; and be this dismal
sight
The closing up of our most wretched eyes : Now is a time to storm ; why art thou still ?
Tit. Ha, ha, ha !
Marc. Why dost thou laugh? it fits not with this hour.
Tit. Why, I have not another tear to shed : Besides, this sorrow is an enemy, And would usurp upon my watery eyes, And make them blind with tributary tears : 270
Then which way shall I find Revenge's cave? For these two heads do seem to speak to me, And threat me I shall never come to bliss Till all these mischiefs be return'd again Even in their throats that have committed them. Come, let me see what task I have to do. You heavy people, circle me about, That I may turn me to each one of you, And swear unto my soul to right your wrongs. The vow is made. Come, brother, take a head ; 280 And in this hand the other will I bear.
340
sc. i Titus Andronicus
Lavinia, thou shalt be employ'd in these things : Bear thou my hand, sweet wench, between thy
teeth.
As for thee, boy, go get thee from my sight ; Thou art an exile, and thou must not stay : Hie to the Goths, and raise an army there : And, if you love me, as I think you do, Let 's kiss and part, for we have much to do.
\Exeunt Titus, Marcus, and Lavinia. Luc. Farewell, Andronicus, my noble father, The wofull'st man that ever lived in Rome : 290
Farewell, proud Rome ; till Lucius come again, He leaves his pledges dearer than his life : Farewell, Lavinia, my noble sister ; O, would thou wert as thou tofore hast been ! But now nor Lucius nor Lavinia lives But in oblivion and hateful griefs. If Lucius live, he will requite your wrongs ; And make proud Saturnine and his empress Beg at the gates, like Tarquin and his queen. Now will I to the Goths, and raise a power, 3oo
To be revenged on Rome and Saturnine. [Exit.
282, 283 ; so Ff. The Qq read been ludicrous in representa-
' imployd in these Arnies. ' The tion,wrote ' Armes ' above ' teeth, '
Camb. edd. conjecture that the as a substitute for the latter ;
original MS. may have run : — ' armes ' being then by the
And thou, Lavinia, shalt be imployd, printer understood as a fragment
Beare thou my hand, sweet wench, of the previous line, and con-
betweene thy teeth. jecturally pieced out.
1 The author, or some other cor- 292. leaves ; Rowe's emenda-
rector, to soften what must have tion for Qq Ff ' loves.'
341
Titus Andronicus ACT m
SCENE II. A room in Titus 's house. A banquet set out.
Enter TITUS, MARCUS, LAVINIA, and young Lucius, a Boy.
Tit. So, so ; now sit : and look you eat no more Than will preserve just so much strength in us As will revenge these bitter woes of ours. Marcus, unknit that sorrow-wreath en knot : Thy niece and I, poor creatures, want our hands, And cannot passionate our tenfold grief With folded arms. This poor right hand of mine Is left to tyrannize upon my breast ; Who, when my heart, all mad with misery, Beats in this hollow prison of my flesh, 10
Then thus I thump it down. [To Lavima.~\ Thou map of woe, that thus dost
talk in signs ! When thy poor heart beats with outrageous
beating,
Thou canst not strike it thus to make it still. Wound it with sighing, girl, kill it with groans ; Or get some little knife between thy teeth, And just against thy heart make thou a hole ; That all the tears that thy poor eyes let fall May run into that sink, and soaking in Drown the lamenting fool in sea-salt tears. 20
Marc. Fie, brother, fie ! teach her not thus
to lay Such violent hands upon her tender life.
Tit. How now ! has sorrow made thee dote
already ?
Sc. 2. This scene is found only in Ff. It was probably omitted in representation.
342
sc. n Titus Andronicus
Why, Marcus, no man should be mad l.ut I.
What violent hands can she lay on her life ?
Ah, wherefore dost thou urge the name of hands ;
To bid y£neas tell the tale twice o'er,
How Troy was burnt and he made miserable?
O, handle not the theme, to talk of hands,
Lest we remember still that we have none. 3o
Fie, fie, how franticly I square my talk,
As if we should forget we had no hands,
If Marcus did not name the word of hands !
Come, let 's fall to ; and, gentle girl, eat this :
Here is no drink ! Hark, Marcus, what she says ;
I can interpret all her martyr'd signs ;
She says she drinks no other drink but tears,
Brew'd with her sorrow, mesh'd upon her cheeks :
Speechless complainer, I will learn thy thought ;
In thy dumb action will I be as perfect 40
As begging hermits in their holy prayers :
Thou shalt not sigh, nor hold thy stumps to
heaven,
Nor wink, nor nod, nor kneel, nor make a sign, But I of these will wrest an alphabet And by still practice learn to know thy meaning. .Boy. Good grandsire, leave these bitter deep
laments : Make my aunt merry with some pleasing tale.
Marc. Alas, the tender boy, in passion moved, Doth weep to see his grandsire's heaviness.
Tit. Peace, tender sapling; thou art made of
tears, 50
And tears will quickly melt thy life away.
\_Marcus strikes the dish with a knife.
What dost thou strike at, Marcus, with thy knife ?
Marc. At that that I have kill'd, my lord ; a fly.
31. square, shape. 38. mesh'd, mashed.
45. still, continual
343
Titus Andronicus ACT m
Tit. Out on thee, murderer ! thou kill'st my
heart ;
Mine eyes are cloy'd with view of tyranny : A deed of death done on the innocent Becomes not Titus' brother : get thee gone ; I see thou art not for my company.
Marc. Alas, my lord, I have but kill'd a fly.
Tit. But how, if that fly had a father and
mother ? 60
How would he hang his slender gilded wings, And buzz lamenting doings in the air ! Poor harmless fly,
That, with his pretty buzzing melody, Came here to make us merry ! and thou hast kill'd him.
Marc. Pardon me, sir ; it was a black ill- fa vour'd fly, Like to the empress' Moor ; therefore I kill'd him.
Tit. O, O, O,
Then pardon me for reprehending thee, For thou hast done a charitable deed. 7o
Give me thy knife, I will insult on him ; Flattering myself, as if it were the Moor Come hither purposely to poison me. — There 's for thyself, and that 's for Tamora. Ah, sirrah !
Yet, I think, we are not brought so low, But that between us we can kill a fly That comes in likeness of a coal-black Moor.
Marc. Alas, poor man ! grief has so wrought
on him, He takes false shadows for true substances. 80
Tit. Come, take away. Lavinia, go with me : I '11 to thy closet ; and go read with thee Sad stories chanced in the times of old.
62. lamenting doings, lamentations. 344
ACT iv Titus Andronicus
Come, boy, and go with me : thy sight is young, And thou shalt read when mine begin to dazzle.
\Exeunt.
ACT IV.
SCENE I. Rome. Titus' s garden.
Enter young Lucius, and LAVINIA running after him, and the boy flies from her, with books under his arm. Then enter TITUS and MARCUS.
Yoiing Luc. Help, grandsire, help ! my aunt
Lavinia
Follows me every where, I know not why : Good uncle Marcus, see how swift she comes. Alas, sweet aunt, I know not what you mean. Marc. Stand by me, Lucius ; do not fear
thine aunt.
Tit. She loves thee, boy, too well to do thee harm. Young Luc. Ay, when my father was in Rome
she did. Marc. What means my niece Lavinia by these
signs ? Tit. Fear her not, Lucius : somewhat doth
she mean :
See, Lucius, see how much she makes of thee : 10 Somewhither would she have thee go with her. Ah, boy, Cornelia never with more care Read to her sons than she hath read to thee Sweet poetry and Tully's Orator.
13. her sons, Tiberius and treatise on the training of an Caius Gracchus. orator (De Oratore).
14. Tully's Orator ; Cicero's
345
Titus Andronicus ACT iv
Marc. Canst thou not guess wherefore she
plies thee thus ? Young Luc. My lord, I know not, I, nor can
I guess,
Unless some fit or frenzy do possess her : For I have heard my grandsire say full oft, Extremity of griefs would make men mad ; And I have read that Hecuba of Troy 20
Ran mad for sorrow : that made me to fear ; Although, my lord, I know my noble aunt Loves me as dear as e'er my mother did, And would not, but in fury, fright my youth : Which made me down to throw my books, and fly, — Causeless, perhaps. But pardon me, sweet aunt : And, madam, if my uncle Marcus go, I will most willingly attend your ladyship. Marc. Lucius, I will.
\Lavinia turns oi>er with her stumps the
books which Lucius has let fall.
Tit. How now, Lavinia ! Marcus, what means
this ? 30
Some book there is that she desires to see. Which is it, girl, of these ? Open them, boy. But thou art deeper read, and better skill'd : Come, and take choice of all my library, And so beguile thy sorrow, till the heavens Reveal the damn'd contriver of this deed. Why lifts she up her arms in sequence thus ? Marc. I think she means that there was more
than one
Confederate in the fact : ay, more there was ; Or else to heaven she heaves them for revenge. 40 Tit. Lucius, what book is that she tosseth so ? Young Luc. Grandsire, 'tis Ovid's Metamor phoses ;
39. fact, crime. 346
sc. i Titus Andronicus
My mother gave it me.
Marc. For love of her that 's gone,
Perhaps she cull'd it from among the rest.
Tit. Soft ! so busily she turns the leaves !
\Helping her.
What would she find ? Lavinia, shall I read ? This is the tragic tale of Philomel, And treats of Tereus' treason and his rape ; And rape, I fear, was root of thine annoy.
Marc. See, brother, see ; note how she quotes the leaves. 5o
Tit. Lavinia, wert thou thus surprised, sweet
girl,
Ravish'd and wrong'd, as Philomela was, Forced in the ruthless, vast, and gloomy woods ? See, see !
Ay, such a place there is, where we did hunt — O, had we never, never hunted there ! — Pattern'd by that the poet here describes, By nature made for murders and for rapes.
Marc. O, why should nature build so foul a den, Unless the gods delight in tragedies? 60
Tit. Give signs, sweet girl, for here are none
but friends,
What Roman lord it was durst do the deed : Or slunk not Saturnine, as Tarquin erst, That left the camp to sin in Lucrece' bed ?
Marc. Sit down, sweet niece : brother, sit down
by me.
Apollo, Pallas, Jove, or Mercury, Inspire me, that I may this treason find ! My lord, look here : look here, Lavinia : This sandy plot is plain ; guide, if thou canst, This after me, when I have writ my name 7o
45. Soft! so busily. So Qq 48. treason, treachery. Ff. 50. quotes, examines.
347
Titus Andronicus ACT iv
Without the help of any hand at all.
\He writes his name with his staff, and guides it with feet and mouth.
Cursed be that heart that forced us to this shift ! Write thou, good niece ; and here display, at last, What God will have discover'd for revenge : Heaven guide thy pen to print thy sorrows plain, That we may know the traitors and the truth !
[She takes the staff in her mouth, and guides it with her stumps, and writes.
Tit. O, do ye read, my lord, what she hath writ ? * Stuprum. Chiron. Demetrius.'
Marc. What, what ! the lustful sons of Tamora Performers of this heinous, bloody deed ? 3o
Tit. Magni Dominator poli, Tarn lentus audis scelera ? tarn lentus vides ?
Marc. O, calm thee, gentle lord; although I
know
There is enough written upon this earth To stir a mutiny in the mildest thoughts And arm the minds of infants to exclaims. My lord, kneel down with me ; Lavinia, kneel ; And kneel, sweet boy, the Roman Hector's hope ; And swear with me, as, with the woful fere And father of that chaste dishonour'd dame, 9o
Lord Junius Brutus sware for Lucrece' rape, That we will prosecute by good advice Mortal revenge upon these traitorous Goths, And see their blood, or die with this reproach.
Tit. 'Tis sure enough, an you knew how. But if you hunt these bear-whelps, then beware : The dam will wake ; and, if she wind you once,
78. Stuprum, i.e. violation. mighty heaven, dost thou so
81. Magni Dominator poli, tardily hear crimes, so tardily
etc. ; from Seneca's ' Hippolytus,' see them ? '
slightly adapted : ' Ruler of the 92. by good advice, deliberately.
348
sc. i Titus Andronicus
She 's with the lion deeply still in league,
And lulls him whilst she playeth on her back,
And when he sleeps will she do what she list. 100
You are a young huntsman, Marcus ; let it alone ;
And, come, I will go get a leaf of brass,
And with a gad of steel will write these words,
And lay it by : the angry northern wind
Will blow these sands, like Sibyl's leaves, abroad,
And where 's your lesson, then ? Boy, what say
you ?
Young Luc. I say, my lord, that if I were a man, Their mother's bed-chamber should not be safe For these bad bondmen to the yoke of Rome.
Marc. Ay, that 's my boy ! thy father hath full oft no For his ungrateful country done the like.
Young Luc. And, uncle, so will I, an if I live. Tit. Come, go with me into mine armoury ; Lucius, I '11 fit thee ; and wfthal, my boy, Shalt carry from me to the empress' sons Presents that I intend to send them both : Come, come ; thou 'It do thy message, wilt thou not ? Young Luc. Ay, with my dagger in their bosoms,
grandsire. Tit. No, boy, not so ; I '11 teach thee another
course.
Lavinia, come. Marcus, look to my house : X2o
Lucius and I '11 go brave it at the court : Ay, marry, will we, sir ; and we '11 be waited on.
\Exeunt Titus, Lavinia, and Young Luc. Marc. O heavens, can you hear a good man
groan, And not relent, or not compassion him ?
103. gad, piercing instrument, ances of the prophetess so called, goad. 109. bondmen, as being
105. Sibyl's leaves, the leaves prisoners of war, and therefore
containing the oracular utter- of the status of slaves.
349
Titus Andronicus ACT
Marcus, attend him in his ecstasy, That hath more scars of sorrow in his heart Than foemen's marks upon his batter'd shield ; But yet so just that he will not revenge. Revenge, the heavens, for old Andronicus ! \Exit.
SCENE II. The same. A room in the palace.
Enter, from one side, AARON, DEMETRIUS, and CHIRON ; from the other side, young Lucius, and an Attendant, with a bundle of weapons and verses writ upon them,
Chi. Demetrius, here 's the son of Lucius ; He hath some message to deliver us.
Aar. Ay, some mad message from his mad
grandfather. *
Young Luc. My lords, with all the humbleness
I may,
I greet your honours from Andronicus. \Aside\ And pray the Roman gods confound you
both! Dem. Gramercy, lovely Lucius : what 's the
news? Young Luc. [Aside] That you are both de-
cipher'd, that 's the news,
For villains mark'd with rape. — May it please you, My grandsire, well advised, hath sent by me 10
The goodliest weapons of his armoury To gratify your honourable youth, The hope of Rome ; for so he bade me say ;
125. ecstasy, frenzy. idiomatic in Elizabethan English
129. Revenge, the heavens; in forms of address.
so Qq Ff. Johnson conjectured 8. Omitted in Ff.
' ye heavens,' and this is retained 10. well advised, in his right
by Camb. edd. But ' the ' is mind.
35°
sc. ii Titus Andronicus
And so I do, and with his gifts present Your lordships, that, whenever you have need, You may be armed and appointed well : And so I leave you both — [Aside] like bloody villains.
[Exeunt young Lucius and Attendant. Dem. What 's here ? A scroll ; and written
round about ? Let 's see : [Reads] * Integer vitae, scelerisque purus, =0
Non eget Mauri jaculis, nee arcu.' Chi. O, 'tis a verse in Horace ; I know it well : I read it in the grammar long ago.
Aar. Ay, just ; a verse in Horace ; right, you
have it.
[Aside] Now, what a thing it is to be an ass ! Here 's no sound jest ! the old man hath found
their guilt ; •
And sends them weapons wrapp'd about with lines, That wound, beyond their feeling, to the quick. But were our witty empress well afoot, She would applaud Andronicus' conceit : 30
But let her rest in her unrest awhile.
And now, young lords, was 't not a happy star Led us to Rome, strangers, and more than so, Captives, to be advanced to this height ? It did me good, before the palace gate To brave the tribune in his brother's hearing.
Dem. But me more good, to see so great a lord Basely insinuate and send us gifts.
Aar. Had he not reason, Lord Demetrius ? Did you not use his daughter very friendly ? 40
26. no sound jest, i.e. jest in out their perceiving it. earnest. 38. insinuate, insinuate him-
28. beyond their feeling, with- self, wind into our favour.
35'
Titus Andronicus ACT
Dem. I would we had a thousand Roman dames At such a bay, by turn to serve our lust. Chi. A charitable wish and full of love. Aar. Here lacks but your mother for to say
amen. Chi. And that would she for twenty thousand
more.
Dem. Come, let us go ; and pray to all the gods For our beloved mother in her pains.
Aar. [Aside] Pray to the devils ; the gods have
given us over.
\Trumpets sound within. Dem, Why do the emperor's trumpets flourish
thus?
Chi. Belike, for joy the emperor hath a son. Dem. Soft ! who comes here ?
Enter a Nurse, with a blackamoor Child in her arms.
Nnr. Good morrow, lords :
O, tell me, did you see Aaron the Moor ?
Aar. Well, more or less, or ne'er a whit at all, Here Aaron is ; and what with Aaron now ? Nur. O gentle Aaron, we are all undone ! Now help, or woe betide thee evermore !
Aar. Why, what a caterwauling dost thou keep 1 What dost thou wrap and fumble in thine arms ? Nur. O, that which I would hide from heaven's
eye,
Our empress' shame, and stately Rome's disgrace ! She is deliver'd, lords ; she is deliver'd. Aar. To whom ?
Nur. I mean, she is brought a-bed.
Aar. Well, God give her good rest ! What hath he sent her ?
42. At such a bay, in such a desperate extreme. 352
sc. ii Titus Andronicus
Nur. A devil.
Aar. Why, then she is the devil's dam ; a joyful issue.
Nur. A joyless, dismal, black, and sorrowful issue: Here is the babe, as loathsome as a toad Amongst the fairest breeders of our clime : The empress sends it thee, thy stamp, thy seal, And bids thee christen it with thy dagger's point. 70
Aar. 'Zounds, ye whore ! is black so base a hue ? Sweet blowse, you are a beauteous blossom, sure.
Dem. Villain, what hast thou done ?
Aar. That which thou canst not undo.
Chi. Thou hast undone our mother.
Aar. Villain, I have done thy mother.
Dem. And therein, hellish dog, thou hast un done.
Woe to her chance, and damn'd her loathed choice ! Accursed the offspring of so foul a fiend !
Chi. It shall not live. 80
Aar. It shall not die.
Nur. Aaron, it must ; the mother wills it so.
Aar. What, must it, nurse? then let no man but I Do execution on my flesh and blood.
Dem. I '11 broach the tadpole on my rapier's
point : Nurse, give it me ; my sword shall soon dispatch it.
Aar. Sooner this sword shall plough thy bowels up. [Takes the Child from the Nurse,
and draws.
Stay, murderous villains! will you kill your brother? Now, by the burning tapers of the sky, That shone so brightly when this boy was got, 90 He dies upon my scimitar's sharp point That touches this my first-born son and heir !
72. blowse, a plump wench. 76. ' Aar. . . . mother. ' Omitted in Ff.
VOL. vii 353 2 A
Titus Andronicus ACTIV
I tell you, younglings, not Enceladus,
With all his threatening band of Typhon's brood,
Nor great Alcides, nor the god of war,
Shall seize this prey out of his father's hands.
What, what, ye sanguine, shallow-hearted boys !
Ye white-limed walls ! ye alehouse painted signs !
Coal-black is better than another hue,
In that it scorns to bear another hue ; 100
For all the water in the ocean
Can never turn the swan's black legs to white,
Although she lave them hourly in the flood.
Tell the empress from me, I am of age
To keep mine own, excuse it how she can.
Dem. Wilt thou betray thy noble mistress thus?
Aar. My mistress is my mistress ; this myself, The vigour and the picture of my youth : This before all the world do I prefer ; This maugre all the world will I keep safe, no
Or some of you shall smoke for it in Rome.
Dem. By this our mother is for ever shamed.
Chi. Rome will despise her for this foul escape.
Nur. The emperor, in his rage, will doom her death.
Chi. I blush to think upon this ignomy.
Aar. Why, there's the privilege your beauty
bears :
Fie, treacherous hue, that will betray with blushing The close enacts and counsels of the heart ! Here 's a young lad framed of another leer : Look, how the black slave smiles upon the father, I20 As who should say 'Old lad, I am thine own.' He is your brother, lords, sensibly fed
93- Enceladus, . . . Typhon, 113. escape, offence,
giants of classic legend, associ- 115. ignomy (a popular con-
ated with the fury of fire and traction of 'ignominy').
1 1 9. leer, hue, complexion.
354
sc. ii Titus Andronicus
Of that self blood that first gave life to you, And from that womb where you imprison'd were He is enfranchised and come to light : Nay, he is your brother by the surer side, Although my seal be stamped in his face.
Nur. Aaron, what shall I say unto the empress ?
Dem. Advise thee, Aaron, what is to be done, And we will all subscribe to thy advice : 130
Save thou the child, so we may all be safe.
Aar. Then sit we down, and let us all consult. My son and I will have the wind of you : Keep there : now talk at pleasure of your safety.
{They sit.
Dem. How many women saw this child of his?
Aar. Why, so, brave lords! when we join in league, I am a lamb : but if you brave the Moor, The chafed boar, the mountain lioness, The ocean swells not so as Aaron storms. But say, again, how many saw the child? 140
Nur. Cornelia the midwife and myself; And no one else but the deliver'd empress.
Aar. The empress, the midwife, and yourself: Two may keep counsel when the third 's away : Go to the empress, tell her this I said.
\He kills the nurse. Weke, weke ! so cries a pig prepared to the spit.
Dem. What mean'st thou, Aaron ? wherefore didst thou this ?
Aar. O Lord, sir, 'tis a deed of policy : Shall she live to betray this guilt of ours, A long-tongued babbling gossip? no, lords, no: 150 And now be it known to you my full intent. Not far, one Muli lives, my countryman ;
123. self, self- same. bethans. 'Muli lives' is
152. Muli, Muley, an Eastern Steevens' conjecture for Qq Ff name well known to the Eliza- 'Muliteus.'
355
Titus Andronicus ACT iv
His wife but yesternight was brought to bed ;
His child is like to her, fair as you are :
Go pack with him, and give the mother gold,
And tell them both the circumstance of all ;
And how by this their child shall be advanced,
And be received for the emperor's heir,
And substituted in the place of mine,
To calm this tempest whirling in the court ; 160
And let the emperor dandle him for his own.
Hark ye, lords ; ye see I have given her physic,
[Pointing to the nurse. And you must needs bestow her funeral ; The fields are near, and you are gallant grooms : This done, see that you take no longer days, But send the midwife presently to me. The midwife and the nurse well made away, Then let the ladies tattle what they please.
Chi. Aaron, I see thou wilt not trust the air With secrets.
Dem. For this care of Tamora, 170
Herself and hers are highly bound to thee.
[Exeunt Dem. and Chi. bearing off the Nurse's body.
Aar. Now to the Goths, as swift as swallow
flies;
There to dispose this treasure in mine arms, And secretly to greet the empress' friends. Come on, you thick-lipp'd slave, I '11 bear you
hence ;
For it is you that puts us to our shifts : I '11 make you feed on berries and on roots, And feed on curds and whey, and suck the goat,
I55- Pock, plot. the completion of a business.
164. gallant grooms, stout 178. feed. The repetition of fellows. the word is suspicious ; but it
165. days, period assigned for cannot be certainly emended.
356
sc. in Titus Andronicus
And cabin in a cave, and bring you up
To be a warrior, and command a camp. \JSxtf. 180
SCENE III. The same. A public place.
Enter TITUS, bearing arrows with letters at the ends of them ; with him, MARCUS, young Lucius, PUBLIUS, SEMPRONIUS, CAIUS, and other Gentlemen, with bows.
Tit. Come, Marcus; come, kinsmen; this is the
way.
Sir boy, now let me see your archery ; Look ye draw home enough, and 'tis there straight. Terras Astraea reliquit :
Be you remember'd, Marcus, she 's gone, she 's fled. Sirs, take you to your tools. You, cousins, shall Go sound the ocean, and cast your nets ; Happily you may catch her in the sea; Yet there 's as little justice as at land : No ; Publius and Sempronius, you must do it 10
'Tis you must dig with mattock and with spade, And pierce the inmost centre of the earth : Then, when you come to Pluto's region, I pray you, deliver him this petition ; Tell him, it is for justice and for aid, And that it comes from old Andronicus, Shaken with sorrows in ungrateful Rome. Ah, Rome ! Well, well ; I made thee miserable What time I threw the people's suffrages On him that thus doth tyrannize o'er me. 20
Go, get you gone ; and pray be careful all, And leave you not a man-of-war unsearch'd :
4. Astrcea, the goddess of 8. Happily, haply. Justice, who of all the gods 16. that; Qq Ff have then, lingered longest among men. a palpable slip or misprint.
357
Titus Andronicus ACT iv
This wicked emperor may have shipp'd her hence ; And, kinsmen, then we may go pipe for justice.
Marc. O Publius, is not this a heavy case, To see thy noble uncle thus distract?
Pub. Therefore, my lord, it highly us concerns By day and night to attend him carefully, And feed his humour kindly as we may, Till time beget some careful remedy. 30
Marc. Kinsmen, his sorrows are past remedy. Join with the Goths ; and with revengeful war Take wreak on Rome for this ingratitude, And vengeance on the traitor Saturnine.
Tit. Publius, how now ! how now, my masters ! What, have you met with her ?
Pub. No, my good lord ; but Pluto sends you
word,
If you will have Revenge from hell, you shall : Marry, for Justice, she is so employ'd, He thinks, with Jove in heaven, or somewhere else, 40 So that perforce you must needs stay a time.
Tit. He doth me wrong to feed me with delays. I '11 dive into the burning lake below, And pull her out of Acheron by the heels. Marcus, we are but shrubs, no cedars we, No big-boned men framed of the Cyclops' size ; But metal, Marcus, steel to the very back, Yet wrung with wrongs more than our backs can
bear:
And, sith there 's no justice in earth nor hell, We will solicit heaven and move the gods 50
To send down Justice for to wreak our wrongs. Come, to this gear. You are a good archer, Marcus ; \_He gives them the arrows.
30. careful; perhaps an error the sense of leading to a cure, due to ' carefully ' above. which would thus'simply enforce Schmidt suggests 'cureful,' in 'remedy.'
353
sc. in Titus Andronicus
* Ad Jovem,' that 's for you: here, 'Ad Apollinem : '
'Ad Martem,' that's for myself:
Here, boy, to Pallas : here, to Mercury :
To Saturn, Caius, not to Saturnine ;
You were as good to shoot against the wind.
To it, boy ! Marcus, loose when I bid.
Of my word, I have written to effect ;
There 's not a god left unsolicited. 60
Marc. Kinsmen, shoot all your shafts into the
court : We will afflict the emperor in his pride.
Tit. Now, masters, draw. \They shoot.'] O, well
said, Lucius ! Good boy, in Virgo's lap ; give it Pallas.
Marc. My lord, I aim a mile beyond the moon ; Your letter is with Jupiter by this.
Tit. Ha, ha !
Publius, Publius, what hast thou done ? See, see, thou hast shot off one of Taurus' horns.
Marc. This was the sport, my lord : when Publius
shot, 70
The Bull, being gall'd, gave Aries such a knock That down fell both the Ram's horns in the court ; And who should find them but the empress' villain ? She laugh'd, and told the Moor he should not
choose But give them to his master for a present.
Tit. Why, there it goes : God give his lordship joy!
Enter a Clown, with a basket, and two pigeons in it.
News, news from heaven ! Marcus, the post is come.
59. Of my word, on my shot into the middle of the con- word, stellation Virgo. So Taurus in 64. in Virgo's lap. He has v. 69.
359
Titus Andronicus ACT iv
Sirrah, what tidings ? have you any letters ? Shall I have justice? what says Jupiter?
Clo. O, the gibbet-maker ! he says that he 80 hath taken them down again, for the man must not be hanged till the next week.
Tit. But what says Jupiter, I ask thee ?
Clo. Alas, sir, I know not Jupiter; I never drank with him in all my life.
Tit. Why, villain, art not thou the carrier?
Clo. Ay, of my pigeons, sir ; nothing else.
Tit. Why, didst thou not come from heaven ?
Clo. From heaven ! alas, sir, I never came there : God forbid I should be so bold to press to 9o heaven in my young days. Why, I am going with my pigeons to the tribunal plebs, to take up a matter of brawl betwixt my uncle and one of the emperial's men.
Marc. Why, sir, that is as fit as can be to serve for your oration ; and let him deliver the pigeons to the emperor from you.
Tit. Tell me, can you deliver an oration to the emperor with a grace ?
Clo. Nay, truly, sir, I could never say grace 100 in all my life.
Tit. Sirrah, come hither : make no more ado, But give your pigeons to the emperor : By me thou shalt have justice at his hands. Hold, hold ; meanwhile here 's money for thy
charges.
Give me pen and ink. Sirrah, can you with a grace deliver a supplication ?
Clo. Ay, sir.
Tit. Then here is a supplication for you. And when you come to him, at the first approach no
92. tribunal plebs, the clown's blunder for ' the tribune of the plebs. '
360
sc. iv Titus Andronicus
you must kneel, then kiss his foot, then deliver up your pigeons, and then look for your reward I '11 be at hand, sir ; see you do it bravely.
Clo. I warrant you, sir, let me alone.
Tit. Sirrah, hast thou a knife? come, let me see it. Here, Marcus, fold it in the oration ; For thou hast made it like an humble suppliant. And when thou hast given it the emperor, Knock at my door, and tell me what he says.
Clo. God be with you, sir ; I will.
Tit. Come, Marcus, let us go. Publius, follow me. [Exeunt.
SCENE IV. The same. Before the palace.
Enter SATURNINUS, TAMORA, DEMETRIUS, CHIRON, Lords, and others ; SATURNINUS with tJie arrows in his hand that TITUS shot.
Sat. Why, lords, what wrongs are these ! was
ever seen
An emperor in Rome thus overborne, Troubled, confronted thus ; and, for the extent Of egal justice, used in such contempt ? My lords, you know, as know the mightful gods, However these disturbers of our peace Buz in the people's ears, there nought hath pass'd, But even with law, against the wilful sons Of old Andronicus. And what an if His sorrows have so overvvhelm'd his wits, 10
Shall we be thus afflicted in his wreaks, His fits, his frenzv, and his bitterness? And now he writes to heaven for his redress :
3. for the extent of egal justice, for having inflicted justice im partially.
36l
Titus Andronicus ACTIV
See, here 's to Jove, and this to Mercury ;
This to Apollo ; this to the god of war :
Sweet scrolls to fly about the streets of Rome !
What 's this but libelling against the senate, '
And blazoning our injustice every where?
A goodly humour, is it not, my lords ?
As who would say, in Rome no justice were. 2o
But if I live, his feigned ecstasies
Shall be no shelter to these outrages :
But he and his shall know that justice lives
In Saturninus' health, whom, if she sleep,
He '11 so awake as she in fury shall
Cut off the proud'st conspirator that lives.
Tarn. My gracious lord, my lovely Saturnine, Lord of my life, commander of my thoughts, Calm thee, and bear the faults of Titus' age, The effects of sorrow for his valiant sons, 30
Whose loss hath pierced him deep and scarr'd his
heart ;
And rather comfort his distressed plight Than prosecute the meanest or the best For these contempts. [Aside] Why, thus it shall
become
High-witted Tamora to gloze with all : But, Titus, I have touch'd thee to the quick, Thy life-blood out : if Aaron now be wise, Then is all safe, the anchor 's in the port.
Enter Clown.
How now, good fellow ! wouldst thou speak with
us?
Clo. Yea, forsooth, an your mistership be emperial. 40
21. ecstasies, madness. drawn out thy life-blood.
35. gloze, make idle words. 40. mistership, for ' mistress
37. Thy life-blood out, i.e. ship.'
362
sc. iv Titus Andronicus
Tarn. Empress I am, but yonder sits the emperor.
Clo. 'Tis he. God and Saint Stephen give you good den : I have brought you a letter and a couple of pigeons here.
\Saturninus reads the letter.
Sat. Go, take him away, and hang him pre sently.
Clo. How much money must I have ?
Tarn. Come, sirrah, you must be hanged.
Clo. Hanged ! by 'r lady, then I have brought up a neck to a fair end. \Exit, guarded.
Sat. Despiteful and intolerable wrongs ! so
Shall I endure this monstrous villany? I know from whence this same device proceeds : May this be borne ? — as if his traitorous sons, That died by law for murder of our brother, Have by my means been butcher'd wrongfully ! Go, drag the villain hither by the hair ; Nor age nor honour shall shape privilege : For this proud mock I '11 be thy slaughter-man ; Sly frantic wretch, that holp'st to make me great, In hope thyself should govern Rome and me. 60
Enter
What news with thee,
jEmil. Arm, arm, my lord ; — Rome never had
more cause.
The Goths have gather'd head ; and with a power Of high-resolved men, bent to the spoil, They hither march amain, under conduct Of Lucius, son to old Andronicus ; Who threats, in course of this revenge, to do As much as ever Coriolanus did.
Sat. Is warlike Lucius general of the Goths ? These tidings nip me, and I hang the head 70
363
Titus Andronicus ACT iv
As flowers with frost or grass beat down with storms : Ay, now begin our sorrows to approach : 'Tis he the common people love so much ; Myself hath often over-heard them say, When I have walked like a private man, That Lucius' banishment was wrongfully, And they have wish'd that Lucius were their emperor.
Tarn. Why should you fear? is not your city strong ?
Sat. Ay, but the citizens favour Lucius, And will revolt from me to succour him. 80
Tarn. King, be thy thoughts imperious, like thy
name.
Is the sun dimm'd, that gnats do fly in it ? The eagle suffers little birds to sing, And is not careful what they mean thereby, Knowing that with the shadow of his wings He can at pleasure stint their melody : Even so mayst thou the giddy men of Rome. Then cheer thy spirit : for know, thou emperor, I will enchant the old Andronicus With words more sweet, and yet more dangerous, go Than baits to fish, or honey-stalks to sheep, When as the one is wounded with the bait, The other rotted with delicious feed.
Saf. But he will not entreat his son for us.
Tarn. If Tamora entreat him, then he will : For I can smooth and fill his aged ear With golden promises ; that, were his heart Almost impregnable, his old ears deaf, Yet should both ear and heart obey my tongue. \To&mUius\ Go thou before, be our ambassador : ,00 Say that the emperor requests a parley Of warlike Lucius, and appoint the meeting
86. stint, cause to cease. 91. honey-stalks, clover flower.
364
ACTV Titus Andronicus
Even at his father's house, the old Andronicus.
Sat. ^Emilius, do this message honourably : And if he stand on hostage for his safety, Bid him demand what pledge will please him best.
&miL Your bidding shall I do effectually.
[Exit.
Tarn. Now will I to that old Andronicus, And temper him with all the art I have, To pluck proud Lucius from the warlike Goths. And now, sweet emperor, be blithe again, And bury all thy fear in my devices.
Sat. Then go successantly, and plead to him.
\Exeunt.
ACT V
SCENE I. Plains near Rome.
Enter Lucius with an army of Goths, with drum and colours.
Luc. Approved warriors, and my faithful friends, I have received letters from great Rome, Which signify what hate they bear their emperor And how desirous of our sight they are. Therefore, great lords, be, as your titles witness, Imperious and impatient of your wrongs, And wherein Rome hath done you any scath, Let him make treble satisfaction.
First Goth. Brave slip, sprung from the great Andronicus,
109. temper, mould. Rowe read 'successfully'
113. successantly. Apparently Capell, 'incessantly.'
a coined word for ' in succession'
(to ^Emilius, just despatched). 7. scath, harm.
365
Titus Andronicus ACTV
Whose name was once our terror, now our comfort ; 10 Whose high exploits and honourable deeds Ingrateful Rome requites with foul contempt, Be bold in us : we '11 follow where thou lead'st, Like stinging bees in hottest summer's day Led by their master to the flowered fields, And be avenged on cursed Tamora.
All the Goths. And as he saith, so say we all with him.
Luc. I humbly thank him, and I thank you all. But who comes here, led by a lusty Goth ?
Enter a Goth, leading AARON with his Child in his arms.
Sec. Goth. Renowned Lucius, from our troops
I stray'd 20
To gaze upon a ruinous monastery ; And, as I earnestly did fix mine eye Upon the wasted building, suddenly I heard a child cry underneath a wall. I made unto the noise ; when soon I heard The crying babe controll'd with this discourse : * Peace, tawny slave, half me and half thy dam ! Did not thy hue bewray whose brat thou art., Had nature lent thee but thy mother's look, Villain, thou mightst have been an emperor : 3o
But where the bull and cow are both milk-white, They never do beget a coal-black calf. Peace, villain, peace ! ' — even thus he rates the
babe, —
' For I must bear thee to a trusty Goth ; Who, when he knows thou art the empress' babe, Will hold thee dearly for thy mother's sake.'
15. master, i.e. the queen bee. palpable contradiction with the 27. tawny, i.e. a hue between previous statement that the black and white. This is in Moor's child is a ' blackamoor.' 366
sc. i Titus Andronicus
With this, my weapon drawn, I rush'd upon him, Surprised him suddenly, and brought him hither, To use as you think needful of the man.
Luc. O worthy Goth, this is the incarnate devil 40 That robb'd Andronicus of his good hand ; This is the pearl that pleased your empress' eye, And here 's the base fruit of his burning lust Say, wall-eyed slave, whither wouldst thou convey This growing image of thy fiend-like face? Why dost not speak? what, deaf? not a word? A halter, soldiers ! hang him on this tree, And by his side his fruit of bastardy.
Aar. Touch not the boy ; he is of royal blood.
Luc. Too like the sire for ever being good. 5o
First hang the child, that he may see it sprawl ; A sight to vex the father's soul withal. Get me a ladder.
[A ladder brought, which Aaron is made to ascend.
Aar. Lucius, save the child,
And bear it from me to the empress. If thou do this, I '11 show thee wondrous things, That highly may advantage thee to hear : If thou wilt not, befall what may befall, I 11 speak no more but ' Vengeance rot you all ! '
Luc. Say on : an if it please me which thou
speak'st, Thy child shall live, and I will see it nourish'd. 60
Aar. An if it please thee ! why, assure thee,
Lucius,
'Twill vex thy soul to hear what I shall speak ; For I must talk of murders, rapes and massacres, Acts of black night, abominable deeds,
42. This is the pearl, etc. man is a pearl in a fair woman's Malone points out that this eye.' alludes to the proverb : ' A black
367
Titus Andronicus ACT v
Complots of mischief, treason, villanies Ruthful to hear, yet piteously perform'd : And this shall all be buried by my death, Unless thou swear to me my child shall live.
Luc. Tell on thy mind ; I say thy child shall live.
Aar. Swear that he shall, and then I will begin. 7o
Luc. Who should I swear by? thou believest
no god : That granted, how canst thou believe an oath ?
Aar. What if I do not ? as, indeed, I do not ; Yet, for I know thou art religious And hast a thing within thee called conscience, With twenty popish tricks and ceremonies, Which I have seen thee careful to observe, Therefore I urge thy oath ; for that I know An idiot holds his bauble for a god And keeps the oath which by that god he swears, 80 To that I '11 urge him : therefore thou shalt vow By that same god, what god soe'er it be, That thou adorest and hast in reverence, To save my boy, to nourish and bring him up ; Or else I will discover nought to thee.
Luc. Even by my god I swear to thee I will.
Aar. First know thou, I begot him on the empress.
Luc. O most insatiate and luxurious woman !
Aar. Tut, Lucius, this was but a deed of charity To that which thou shalt hear of me anon. 90
'Twas her two sons that murder'd Bassianus ; They cut thy sister's tongue and ravish'd her And cut her hands and trimm'd her as thou saw'st.
66. piteously perform d, pitiful was part of the accoutrement of in the doing. the domestic Fool, here identified
79. bauble, the club, with a with the 'idiot.' face carved on the end, which 88. luxurious, lustful. 368
sc. i Titus Andronicus
Lite. O detestable villain ! call'st thou that trimming ?
Aar. Why, she was wash'd and cut and
trimm'd, and 'twas Trim sport for them that had the doing of it.
Luc. O barbarous, beastly villains, like thyself!
Aar. Indeed, I was their tutor to instruct them : That codding spirit had they from their mother, As sure a card as ever won the set ; 100
That bloody mind, I think, they learn'd of me, As true a dog as ever fought at head. Well, let my deeds be witness of my worth. I train'd thy brethren to that guileful hole Where the dead corpse of Bassianus lay : I wrote the letter that thy father found, And hid the gold within the letter mention'd, Confederate with the queen and her two sons : And what not done, that thou hast cause to rue, Wherein I had no stroke of mischief in it ? no
I play'd the cheater for thy father's hand, And, when I had it, drew myself apart And almost broke my heart with extreme laughter : I pry'd me through the crevice of a wall When, for his hand, he had his two sons' heads; Beheld his tears, and laugh'd so heartily, That both mine eyes were rainy like to his : And when I told the empress of this sport, She swooned almost at my pleasing tale, And for my tidings gave me twenty kisses. 120
First Goth. What, canst thou say all this, and never blush ?
Aar. Ay, like a black dog, as the saying is.
Luc. Art thou not sorry for these heinous deeds ?
Aar. Ay, that I had not done a thousand more.
99. codding, lecherous. attacks the bull's or bear's
102. a dog, the mastiff, which head.
VOL. VII 369 2 B
Titus Andronicus ACTV
Even now I curse the day — and yet, I think,
Few come within the compass of my curse —
Wherein I did not some notorious ill,
As kill a man, or else devise his death,
Ravish a maid, or plot the way to do it,
Accuse some innocent and forswear myself, i30
Set deadly enmity between two friends,
Make poor men's cattle break their necks ;
Set fire on barns and hay-stacks in the night,
And bid the owners quench them with their tears.
Oft have I digg'd up dead men from their graves,
And set them upright at their dear friends' doors,
Even when their sorrows almost were forgot j
And on their skins, as on the bark of trees,
Have with my knife carved in Roman letters,
1 Let not your sorrow die, though I am dead.' I40
Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful things
As willingly as one would kill a fly,
And nothing grieves me heartily indeed
But that I cannot do ten thousand more.
Luc. Bring down the devil ; for he must not die So sweet a death as hanging presently.
Aar. If there be devils, would I were a devil, To live and burn in everlasting fire, So I might have your company in hell, But to torment you with my bitter tongue ! ZSo
Luc. Sirs, stop his mouth, and let him speak no more.
Enter a Goth.
Third Goth. My lord, there is a messenger
from Rome
Desires to be admitted to your presence. Luc. Let him come near.
145. Bring down, i.e. from the ladder. 370
sc. ii Titus Andronicus
Enter ^EMILIUS.
Welcome, ^milius : what 's the news from Rome ?
dLmil. Lord Lucius, and you princes of the
Goths,
The Roman emperor greets you all by me ; And, for he understands you are in arms, He craves a parley at your father's house, Willing you to demand your hostages, And they shall be immediately deliver'd.
First Goth. What says our general ?
Luc. v-Emilius, let the emperor give his pledges Unto my father and my uncle Marcus, And we will come. March away. [Exeunt.
SCENE II. Rome. Before Titus s house.
Enter TAMORA, DEMETRIUS, and CHIRON, dis guised.
Tarn. Thus, in this strange and sad habiliment, I will encounter with Andronicus, And say I am Revenge, sent from below To join with him and right his heinous wrongs. Knock at his study, where, they say, he keeps, To ruminate strange plots of dire revenge \ Tell him Revenge is come to join with him, And work confusion on his enemies. [They knock.
Enter TITUS, above.
Tit. Who doth molest my contemplation ? Is it your trick to make me ope the door, That so my sad decrees may fly away, And all my study be to no effect ? You are deceived : for what I mean to do
371
Titus Andronicus ACT v
See here in bloody lines I have set down ; And what is written shall be executed.
Tarn. Titus, I am come to talk with thee.
Tit. No, not a word ; how can I grace my talk, Wanting a hand to give it action ? Thou hast the odds of me ; therefore no more.
Tarn. If thou didst know me, thou wouldest talk with me. 20
Tit. I am not mad ; I know thee well enough : Witness this wretched stump, witness these crim son lines ;
Witness these trenches made by grief and care ; Witness the tiring day and heavy night ; Witness all sorrow, that I know thee well For our proud empress, mighty Tamora : Is not thy coming for my other hand ?
Tarn. Know, thou sad man, I am not Tamora ; She is thy enemy, and I thy friend : I am Revenge ; sent from the infernal kingdom, 3o To ease the gnawing vulture of thy mind, By working wreakful vengeance on thy foes. Come down, and welcome me to this world's light ; Confer with me of murder and of death : There 's not a hollow cave or lurking-place, No vast obscurity or misty vale, Where bloody murder or detested rape Can couch for fear, but I will find them out ; And in their ears tell them my dreadful name, Revenge, which makes the foul offender quake. 4o
Tit Art thou Revenge ? and art thou sent to me, To be a torment to mine enemies ?
Tarn. I am ; therefore come down, and wel come me.
Tit. Do me some service, ere I come to thee. Lo, by thy side where Rape and Murder stands ; Now give some surance that thou art Revenge,
372
sc. ii Titus Andronicus
Stab them, or tear them on thy chariot-wheels ;
And then I '11 come and be thy waggoner,
And whirl along with thee about the globe.
Provide thee two proper palfreys, black as jet, So
To hale thy vengeful waggon swift away,
And find out murderers in their guilty caves :
And when thy car is loaden with their heads,
I will dismount, and by the waggon-wheel
Trot, like a servile footman, all day long,
Even from Hyperion's rising in the east
Until his very downfall in the sea :
And day by day I '11 do this heavy task,
So thou destroy Rapine and Murder there.
Tarn. These are my ministers, and come with me. 60
Tit. Are these thy ministers? what are they call'd ?
Tarn. Rapine and Murder ; therefore called so, Cause they take vengeance of such kind of men.
Tit. Good Lord, how like the empress' sons
they are !
And you, the empress ! but we worldly men Have miserable, mad, mistaking eyes.
0 sweet Revenge, now do I come to thee ; And, if one arm's embracement will content thee,
1 will embrace thee in it by and by. [Exit above.
Tarn. This closing with him fits his lunacy : 70 Whate'er I forge to feed his brain-sick fits, Do you uphold and maintain in your speeches, For now he firmly takes me for Revenge ; And, being credulous in this mad thought, I '11 make him send for Lucius his son ; And, whilst I at a banquet hold him sure, I '11 find some cunning practice out of hand, To scatter and disperse the giddy Goths, Or, at the least, make them his enemies. See, here he comes, and I must ply my theme. 80
373
Titus Andronicus ACTV
Enter TITUS below.
Tit. Long have I been forlorn, and all for thee : Welcome, dread Fury, to my woful house : Rapine and Murder, you are welcome too. How like the empress and her sons you are ! Well are you fitted, had you but a Moor : Could not all hell afford you such a devil ? For well I wot the empress never wags But in her company there is a Moor ; And, would you represent our queen aright, It were convenient you had such a devil : 90
But welcome, as you are. What shall we do ?
Tarn. What wouidst thou have us do, Andro nicus ?
Dem. Show me a murderer, I '11 deal with him.
Chi. Show me a villain that hath done a rape, And I am sent to be revenged on him.
Tarn. Show me a thousand that have done thee
wrong, And I will be revenged on them all.
Tit. Look round about the wicked streets of
Rome ;
And when thou find'st a man that 's like thyself, Good Murder, stab him ; he 's a murderer. X0o
Go thou with him ; and when it is thy hap To find another that is like to thee, Good Rapine, stab him ; he 's a ravisher. Go thou with them ; and in the emperor's court There is a queen, attended by a Moor ; Well mayst thou know her by thy own proportion, For up and down she doth resemble thee : I pray thee, do on them some violent death ; They have been violent to me and mine.
Tarn. Well hast thou lesson'd us ; this shall we do. no
107. up and down, from head to foot.
374
sc. ii Titus Andronicus
But would it please thee, good Andronicus,
To send for Lucius, thy thrice-valiant son,
Who leads towards Rome a band of warlike Goths,
And bid him come and banquet at thy house ;
When he is here, even at thy solemn feast,
I will bring in the empress and her sons,
The emperor himself and all thy foes ;
And at thy mercy shall they stoop and kneel,
And on them shalt thou ease thy angry heart.
What says Andronicus to this device ?
Tit. Marcus, my brother ! 'tis sad Titus calls.
Enter MARCUS.
Go, gentle Marcus, to thy nephew Lucius ; Th»u shalt inquire him out among the Goths : Bid him repair to me, and bring with him Some of the chiefest princes of the Goths ; Bid him encamp his soldiers where they are : Tell him the emperor and the empress too Feast at my house, and he shall feast with them. This do thou for my love ; and so let him, As he regards his aged father's life.
Marc. This will I do, and soon return again.
\Exit.
Tarn. Now will I hence about thy business, And take my ministers along with me.
Tit. Nay, nay, let Rape and Murder stay
with me ;
Or else I '11 call my brother back again, And cleave to no revenge but Lucius.
Tarn. [Aside to her sons] What say you, boys ?
will you bide with him, Whiles I go tell my lord the emperor How I have govern'd our determined jest? Yield to his humour, smooth and speak him fair. And tarry with him till I turn again.
375
Titus Andronicus ACTV
Tit. {Aside} I know them all, though they
suppose me mad,
And will o'erreach them in their own devices : A pair of cursed hell-hounds and their dam !
Dem. Madam, depart at pleasure ; leave us here.
Tarn. Farewell, Andronicus : Revenge now goes To lay a complot to betray thy foes.
Tit. I know thou dost; and, sweet Revenge, farewell. [Exit Tamora.
Chi. Tell us, old man, how shall we be employ'd ?
Tit. Tut, I have work enough for you to do. 150 Publius, come hither, Caius, and Valentine !
Enter PUBLIUS and others.
Pub. What is your will ?
Tit. Know you these two ?
Pub. The empress' sons, I take them, Chiron and Demetrius.
Tit. Fie, Publius, fie ! thou art too much deceived; The one is Murder, Rape is the other's name ; And therefore bind them, gentle Publius. Caius and Valentine, lay hands on them. Oft have you heard me wish for such an hour, 160 And now I find it ; therefore bind them sure, And stop their mouths, if they begin to cry. [Exit. [Publius, etc. lay hold on Chiron and Demetrius.
Chi. Villains, forbear ! we are the empress' sons.
Pub. And therefore do we what we are com manded.
Stop close their mouths, let them not speak a word. Is he sure bound ? look that you bind them fast.
Re-enter TITUS, with LAVINIA ; he bearing a
knife, and she a basin. Tit. Come, come, Lavinia ; look, thy foes are bound.
376
sc. ii Titus Andronicus
Sirs, stop their mouths, let them not speak to me ; But let them hear what fearful words I utter. O villains, Chiron and Demetrius ! J7o
Here stands the spring whom you have stain'd
with mud,
This goodly summer with your winter mix'd. You kill'd her husband, and for that vile fault Two of her brdthers were condemn'd to death, My hand cut off and made a merry jest ; Both her sweet hands, her tongue, and that more
dear
Than hands or tongue, her spotless chastity, Inhuman traitors, you constraint and forced. What would you say, if I should let you speak? Villains, for shame you could not beg for grace. 180 Hark, wretches ! how I mean to martyr you. This one hand yet is left to cut your throats, Whilst that Lavinia 'tween her stumps doth hold The basin that receives your guilty blood. You know your mother means to feast with me, And calls herself Revenge, and thinks me mad : Hark, villains ! I will grind your bones to dust And with your blood and it I '11 make a paste, And of the paste a coffin I will rear And make two pasties of your shameful heads, 190 And bid that strumpet, your unhallow'd dam, Like to the earth swallow her own increase. This is the feast that I have bid her to, And this the banquet she shall surfeit on ; For worse than Philomel you used my daughter, And worse than Progne I will be revenged : And now prepare your throats. Lavinia, come,
[He cuts their throats.
189. coffin, crust (of a pie). avenged her sister Philomel's wrong by serving up to him his 196. Progne, wife of Tereus, son at a banquet.
377
Titus Andronicus AC
Receive the blood : and when that they are dead,
Let me go grind their bones to powder small
And with this hateful liquor temper it ;
And in that paste let their vile heads be baked.
Come, come, be every one officious
To make this banquet ; which I wish may prove
More stern and bloody than the Centaurs' feast.
So, now bring them in, for I '11 play the cook,
And see them ready 'gainst their mother comes.
[Exeunt, bearing the dead bodies.
SCENE III. Court of Titus' s house. A banquet set out.
Enter Lucius, MARCUS, and Goths, with AARON prisoner.
Luc. Uncle Marcus, since it is my father's mind That I repair to Rome, I am content.
First Goth. And ours with thine, befall what fortune will.
Luc. Good uncle, take you in this barbarous
Moor,
This ravenous tiger, this accursed devil ; Let him receive no sustenance, fetter him, Till he be brought unto the empress' face, For testimony of her foul proceedings : And see the ambush of our friends be strong ; I fear the emperor means no good to us. ic
Aar. Some devil whisper curses in mine ear, And prompt me, that my tongue may utter forth The venomous malice of my swelling heart !
202. officious, zealously ac- the Lapithse at the marriage
tive. feast of Pirithous.
204. the Centaurs feast, the 3. ours with thine, it is our
battle between the Centaurs and mind as well as yours.
373
sc. in Titus Andronicus
Luc. Away, inhuman dog ! unhallow'd slave ! Sirs, help our uncle to convey him in.
\Exeunt Goths, with Aaron. Flourish within. The trumpets show the emperor is at hand.
Enter SATURNINUS and TAMORA, with JEui- LIUS, Tribunes, Senators, and others.
Sat. What, hath the firmament more suns than
one?
Luc. What boots it thee to call thyself a sun ? Marc. Rome's emperor, and nephew, break
the parle !
These quarrels must be quietly debated. so
The feast is ready, which the careful Titus Hath ordain'd to an honourable end, For peace, for love, for league, and good to Rome : Please you, therefore, draw nigh, and take your
places. Sat. Marcus, we will.
{Hautboys sound. The Company sit down at
table.
Enter TITUS dressed like a Cook, LAVINIA veiled, young Lucius, and others. TITUS places the dishes on the table.
Tit. Welcome, my gracious lord ; welcome, dread queen ;
Welcome, ye warlike Goths ; welcome, Lucius ;
And welcome, all : although the cheer be poor,
'Twill fill your stomachs ; please you eat of it.
Sat. Why art thou thus attired, Andronicus? 30 Tit. Because I would be sure to have all well,
To entertain your highness and your empress.
19. break the parle, break off and Dyce, suits the context this angry discussion. This better than Johnson's ' open the rendering, proposed by Douce parley."
379
Titus Andronicus ACTV
Tarn. We are beholding to you, good Andro nicus. Tit. An if your highness knew my heart, you
were.
My lord the emperor, resolve me this : Was it well done of rash Virginius To slay his daughter with his own right hand, Because she was enforced, stain'd, and deflower'd ? Sat. It was, Andronicus.
Tit. Your reason, mighty lord ? 4o
Sat. Because the girl should not survive her
shame, And by her presence still renew his sorrows.
Tit. A reason mighty, strong, and effectual ; A pattern, precedent, and lively warrant, For me, most wretched, to perform the like. Die, die, Lavinia, and thy shame with thee ;
[Kills Lavinia.
And, with thy shame, thy father's sorrow die ! Sat. What hast thou done, unnatural and un kind ? Tit. Kill'd her, for whom my tears have made
me blind.
I am as woful as Virginius was, so
And have a thousand times more cause than he To do this outrage : and it now is done.
Sat. What, was she ravish'd ? tell who did the
deed. Tit. Will't please you eat? wilPt please your
highness feed ? Tarn. Why hast thou slain thine only daughter
thus? Tit. Not I ; 'twas Chiron and Demetrius :
38. Because she was enforced, with that of Lucretia. So v. 41. etc. This seems to rest upon a 44. lively, living, actual ; not confusion of the story of Virginia merely one recorded in literature. 380
sc. in Titus Andronicus
They ravish'd her, and cut away her tongue ; And they, 'twas they, that did her all this wrong. Sat. Go fetch them hither to us presently. Tit. Why, there they are both, baked in that pie ; 60 Whereof their mother daintily hath fed, Eating the flesh that she herself hath bred. Tis true, 'tis true ; witness my knife's sharp point.
[Kills Tamora.
Sat. Die, frantic wretch, for this accursed deed !
[Kills Titus.
Luc. Can the son's eye behold his father bleed ?
There's meed for meed, death for a deadly deed !
[Kills Satttrninus. A great tumult.
Lucius, Marcus, and others go up
into the balcony.
Marc. You sad-faced men, people and sons of
Rome,
By uproar sever'd, like a flight of fowl Scatter'd by winds and high tempestuous gusts, O, let me teach you how to knit again yo
This scatter'd corn into one mutual sheaf, These broken limbs again into one body ; Lest Rome herself be bane unto herself, And she whom mighty kingdoms court'sy to, Like a forlorn and desperate castaway, Do shameful execution on herself. But if my frosty signs and chaps of age, Grave witnesses of true experience, Cannot induce you to attend my words, [To Lucius'] Speak, Rome's dear friend, as erst
our ancestor, 80
When with his solemn tongue he did discourse To love-sick Dido's sad attending ear The story of that baleful burning night
73. Lest Rome. Capell's emendation. Qq Ff Let Rome.
77. chaps, deep furrows.
381
Titus Andronicus ACT v
When subtle Greeks surprised King Priam's Troy,
Tell us what Sinon hath bewitch'd our ears,
Or who hath brought the fatal engine in
That gives our Troy, our Rome, the civil wound.
My heart is not compact of flint nor steel ;
Nor can I utter all our bitter grief,
Bat floods of tears will drown my oratory, 90
And break my utterance, even in the time
When it should move you to attend me most,
Lending your kind commiseration.
Here is a captain, let him tell the tale ;
Your hearts will throb and weep to hear him
speak.
Luc. Then, noble auditory, be it known to you, That cursed Chiron and Demetrius Were they that murdered our emperor's brother ; And they it were that ravished our sister : For their fell faults our brothers were beheaded ; X0o Our father's tears despised, and basely cozen'd Of that true hand that fought Rome's quarrel out, And sent her enemies unto the grave. Lastly, myself unkindly banished, The gates shut on me, and turn'd weeping out, To beg relief among Rome's enemies ; Who drown'd their enmity in my true tears, And oped their arms to embrace me as a friend. I am the turned forth, be it known to you, That have preserved her. welfare in my blood ; no And from her bosom took the enemy's point, Sheathing the steel in my adventurous body. Alas, you know I am no vaunter, I ; My scars can witness, dumb although they are, That my report is just and full of truth. But, soft ! methinks I do digress too much. Citing my worthless praise : O, pardon me ; For when no friends are by, men praise themselves. 382
sc. in Titus Andronicus
Marc. Now is my turn to speak. Behold this child : [Pointing to the Child in the arms
of an Attendant.
Of this was Tamora delivered ; 120
The issue of an irreligious Moor, Chief architect and plotter of these woes : The villain is alive in Titus' house, And as he is, to witness this is true. Now judge what cause had Titus to revenge These wrongs, unspeakable, past patience, Or more than any living man could bear. Now you have heard the truth, what say you,
Romans ?
Have we done aught amiss, — show us wherein, And, from the place where you behold us now, 130 The poor remainder of Andronici Will, hand in hand, all headlong cast us down, And on the ragged stones beat forth our brains, And make a mutual closure of our house. Speak, Romans, speak ; and if you say we shall, Lo, hand in hand, Lucius and I will fall.
d5.mil. Come, come, thou reverend man of Rome, And bring our emperor gently in thy hand, Lucius our emperor; for well I know The common voice do cry it shall be so. 140
All. Lucius, all hail, Rome's royal emperor !
Marc. Go, go into old Titus' sorrowful house,
[To Attendants.
And hither hale that misbelieving Moor, To be adjudged some direful slaughtering death, As punishment for his most wicked life.
[Exeunt Attendants.
Lucius, MARCUS, and the others descend.
AIL Lucius, all hail, Rome's gracious governor !
Luc. Thanks, gentle Romans : may I govern so,
383
Titus Andronicus ACTV
To heal Rome's harms, and wipe away her woe
But, gentle people, give me aim awhile,
For nature puts me to a heavy task : i-o
Stand all aloof : but, uncle, draw you near,
To shed obsequious tears upon tfcis trunk.
O, take this warm kiss on thy pale cold lips,
[Kissing Titus.
These sorrowful drops upon thy blood-stain'd face, The last true duties of thy noble son !
Marc. Tear for tear, and loving kiss for kiss, Thy brother Marcus tenders on thy lips : O, were the sum of these that I should pay Countless and in-finite, yet would I pay them !
Luc. Come hither, boy ; come, come, and learn
Of US 160
To melt in showers : thy grandsire loved thee well : Many a time he danced thee on his knee, Sung thee asleep, his loving breast thy pillow ; Many a matter hath he told to thee, Meet and agreeing with thine infancy ; In that respect, then, like a loving child, Shed yet some small drops from thy tender spring, Because kind nature doth require it so : Friends should associate friends in grief and woe : Bid him farewell ; commit him to the grave ; 170
Do him that kindness, and take leave of him. Young Luc. O grandsire, grandsire ! even with
all my heart
Would I were dead, so you did live again ! O Lord, I cannot speak to him for weeping ; My tears will choke me, if I ope my mouth.
Re-enter Attendants with AARON.
&m. You sad Andronici, have done with woes : Give sentence on this execrable wretch, That hath been breeder of these dire events.
384
SC. Ill
Titus Andronicus
Luc. Set him breast-deep in earth, and famish
him ;
There let him stand, and rave, and cry for food: 180 If any one relieves or pities him, For the offence he dies. This is our doom : Some stay to see him fasten'd in the earth.
Aar. O, why should wrath be mute, and fury
dumb?
I am no baby, I, that with base prayers I should repent the evils I have done : Ten thousand worse than ever yet I did Would I perform, if I might have my will : If one good deed in all my life I did, I do repent it from my very soul. 190
Luc. Some loving friends convey the emperor
hence,
And give him burial in his father's grave : My father and Lavinia shall forthwith Be closed in our household's monument. As for that heinous tiger, Tamora, No funeral rite, nor man in mourning weeds, No mournful bell shall ring her burial ; But throw her forth to beasts and birds of prey : Her life was beast-like, and devoid of pity ; And, being so, shall have like want of pity. 200
See justice done on Aaron, that damn'd Moor, By whom our heavy haps had their beginning : Then, afterwards, to order well the state, That like events may ne'er it ruinate. [Exeunt.
VOL. vii 385 2 C
A (p
^
ROMEO AND JULIET
387
DRAMATIS PERSONS
EsCALUS, prince of Verona.
PARIS, a young nobleman, kinsman to the prince.
MONTAGUE, ^ heads of two houses at variance with each
CAPULET, / other.
An old man, cousin to Capulet.
ROMEO, son to Montague.
MERCUTIO, kinsman to the prince, and friend to Romeo.
BENVOLIO, nephew to Montague, and friend to Romeo.
TYBALT, nephew to Lady Capulet.
FRIAR LAURENCE,
FRIAR JOHN,
BALTHASAR, servant to Romeo.
'' > Franciscans.
PETER, servant to Juliet's nurse.
ABRAHAM, servant to Montague.
An Apothecary.
Three Musicians.
Page to Paris ; another Page ; an Officer.
LADY MONTAGUE, wife to Montague. LADY CAPULET, wife to Capulet. JULIET, daughter to Capulet. Nurse to Juliet.
Citizens of Verona ; several Men and Women, relations to both houses ; Maskers, Guards, Watchmen, and Attendants.
Chorus. SCENE : Verona ; Mantua.
DURATION OF TIME (Daniel, Time Analysis, p. 191 f.)
Six consecutive days, beginning on the morning of the first and ending early on the morning of the sixth.
Day i. (Sunday) I., II. i., 2.
,, 2. (Monday) II. 3. -6., III. i.-4.
,, 3. (Tuesday) III. 5., IV. I.-3.
,, 4. (Wednesday) IV. 4., 5.
,, 5. (Thursday) V. i.-3.
,, 6. (Friday) ending of V. 3.
Dramatis Persona. These were first given by Rowe. 388
INTRODUCTION
THE first edition of Romeo and Juliet was a Quarto published in 1597, with the title: —
AN I EXCELLENT I conceited Tragedie \ Of
|
Romeo and juliel, |
As if hath been often (with grej^t |
|
|
applause) plaid uub |
iqueTy. by the rieht Ho- |
noura^ble |
by John Danter.
Two years later a second Quarto appeared, with the title :—
XHE | MOST EX-[ cellent and lamentable : | Tragedte,. of Romeo 1 and Juliet. \ Newly corrected, augmejiSfL, 'and | amended ':^J As it hath been sundry times pub- Jiqueiv actea, oy the | right jionourable the Lord: Chamberlaine | his Seruants. | LONDON | Printed by Thomas Creede, for Cuthbert Burby, and are to | be /
sold at his shop neare the Exchange. | 1599. |
A third Quarto was published in 1609, 'as it bath been sundry times publiquely acted by the Kings Maiesties Seruants at the Globe ' ; a fourth, undated (but probably later than 1623), with the name 'W. Shakespeare ' for the first time mentioned on the title- page, in some copies. A fifth appeared in 1637.
The First Folio was printed from the Third Quarto,, with a number of minute changes ' some accidental, some deliberate, but all generally for the' worse, excepting the changes in punctuation and in the
389
Romeo and Juliet
stage directions' which are usually for the better (Camb. edd.).
The principal textual problem of the play concerns the relation of the first two Quartos. All critics agree \ that tne Jirst i^uarto is a pirated text, made up from **notes taken in the theatre, eked out by occasional access to the MS. The great majority of its countless divergences from the other Qq can be accounted for, as the school of Mommsen would account for all, by omission, mutilation,1 or botching.2 Some of the most superb passages are so far preserved that we can be certain they existed entire in the play as performed in 1597. In a certain proportion of cases the First Qflarto even preserves readings palpably more genuine tKan those of the Second, and*eveTy editor has ad* mitTed m6re or fewer of them into his text3 But a~ considerable residue tends to confirm the assertion of the title-page of the Second Quarto, that its text was 'newly corrected, augmented, and amended.' The Cambridge editors, while expressing their general
accord with Mommsen's view, yet demur in the one
•-• -* . « .* ... *
1 » A good instance (out of gance) by R.«Gericke, /. B. xiv. ,
scores] is iii. i. 202, where the 207. A parallel edition of the
genuine ' Mercy but murders, two texts has also been issued
pardoning those that kill,' be- by Mr. P. A. Daniel (New Sk.
comes : ' Mercy to all but mur- Society, 1874). derers, pardoning none that kill. '
2 Tycho Mommsen : Shake- 3 Thus several entire verses
speare s Romeo und Julia (1859), (e.g. i. 4. 7, 8) are only found
an exemplary critical edition of in Qv Examples of clearly
the two texts printed face to face. genuine readings confined to Qt
Mommsen's too peremptory re- are ii. i. 13, ' Cupid, he that
jection of the revision theory has shot so trim ' ( ' true ' Qq Ff) ;
tended to make this attitude iii. i. 129, lfi re-eyed fury ' (' fire
orthodox in Germany in the an- end ' Q2> ' fire and ' Ff. ) ; iii. 5.
alogous case of Hamlet, where 182, 'nobly train' d' (Q2 'liand,'
that theory has still firmer ground. Q3 Ff 'allied'), etc. Qx gives
His uncompromising advocacy Mercutio's Queen Mab speech
of the Second Quarto has been in verse : all the other Qq in
supported (not without extrava- prose.
39°
Introduction
instance of ii. 6. 16-37, — the meeting of Romeo and Juliet at the Friar's cell, — though they 'know of no other passage of equal length where the same can be affirmed with certainty.' The divergence here is indeed startling. Here are a few lines from the dialogue of the lovers in Qx : —
Jul, Romeo.
Rom. My Juliet welcome. As do waking eyes Closed in Night's mists attend the frolick Day, So Romeo hath expected Juliet, And thou art come.
Jul. I am, if I be Day,
Come to my Sun : shine forth and make me fair.
Rom. All beauteous fairness dwelleth in thine eyes.
Jul. Romeo, from thine all brightness doth arise.
Fri. Come, wantons, come, the stealing hours do pass, Defer embracements till some fitter time. Part for a while, you shall not be alone Till holy Church have joined ye both in one.
Rom. Lead, holy Father, all delay seems long.
Jul. Make haste, make haste, this lingering doth us wrong.
Compare this with the later dialogue : —
Jul. Good even to my ghostly confessor.
Fri. L. Romeo shall thank thee, daughter, for us both.
Jul. As much to him, else is his thanks too much.
Rom. Ah, Juliet, if the measure of thy joy Be heap'd like mine and that thy skill be more To blazon it, then sweeten with thy breath This neighbour air, and let rich music's tongue Unfold the imagined happiness that both Receive in either by this dear encounter.
Jul. Conceit, more rich in matter than in words, Brags of his substance, not of ornament : They are but beggars that can count their worih ; But my true love is grown to such excess I cannot sum up sum of half my wealth.
Fri. L. Come, come with me, and we will make short work ; For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone Till holy church incorporate two in one.
The two dialogues do not differ merely in expres- 391
Romeo and Juliet
siveness and effect ; they embody different concep tions of the lovers' character, and even of the psychology of love. In the first they fling to and fro light lyric phrases of love-longing ; in the second they thrill with a passion too deep for utterance.
A few passages in the final text have perhaps survived from a ' Romeo and Juliet ' conceived throughout in the slighter and more conventional manner of the first passage : e.g. Juliet's antithetical see-saw in iii. 2. 75 : —
Beautiful tyrant ! fiend angelical ! Dove-feather'd raven ! wolvish-ravening lamb !
and Romeo's extravagance in iii. 3. But it is. futile to attempt to distinguish these by a comparison of the two Quartos.1
On the other hand, it is impossible to attribute to Shakespeare the rude travesty offered by the First Quarto of the lamentations over Juliet (iv. 5.). Even in the Qq and Ff the naive iterativeness of simple mourners is carried to the verge of the grotesque; in Qx the writer rings the changes on a few stock phrases of the tragic stage, themselves ignorantly mutilated. 'Cruel, unjust, impartial destinies ' is the burden of Capulet's cry.
The theory of an earlier form of the play receives no support from the German version acted by the English players, under the title * Von Romeo undth
1 How futile is apparent from equal to the emergency. ' So the expedients to which Brandes little did it jar upon Shake- finds himself reduced in his bold speare, ' he explains, ' that Romeo revival of the 'first sketch" theory in the original text should thus {Shakespeare, E. T. p. 91). An- apostrophise love [i. i. 184 f.], other passage in this antithetic that in the course of revision he style (i. i. 184 f. ) is omitted in must needs place in Juliet's Q! ; while that just quoted (iii. mouth these quite analogous 2. 75, 76) is retained. Brandes is ejaculations [iii. 2. 75].'
392
Introduction
Julitha,' at Nordlingen, 1604, as 'Tragoedia von Romeo und Julia,' at Dresden, 1626, and elsewhere in Germany. The extant version is, according to Creizenach, ' obviously of the latter half of the seven teenth century, and local allusions indicate Austria. ... It was clearly not taken from the First Quarto of 1 597, but from the current text ; cf. esp. iii. i.' (Die Schauspiele der englischen Comoedianten, Einl. xli.).1
The probability that the play underwent some kind of revision between 1597 and 1599 gives us little help in approaching the difficult problem of its original date. The most definite datum we have is the sonnet ' Ad Gulielmum Shakespeare ' in which John Weever, probably in 1595, enumerated, among Shakespeare's famous characters
Romeo, Richard, more whose names I know not, Their sugred tongues and power attractive beuty.
Certain straws of evidence point towards an earlier date. The Nurse's allusion to the earthquake (i. 3. 23) suggests 1591 ; and Daniel possibly caught a phrase or two of his description of the dead Rosamond 2 —
Decayed roses of discolour'd cheeks
Do yet retain dear notes of former grace,
And ugly death sits fair within her face —
from Romeo's wonderful dying hymn to Juliet ; which
1 Mr. Fleay, however, knows And death's pale JJag is not ad- that the German play was vanced there, •
' founded on Shakespeare's play with Ros. 773 : —
of 1591' (Life and Work of And nought-respecting death ..
Shakespeare, p. 308). Plac'd his pale colours (th' ensigne
2 Complaint of Rosamond, TT of his might) 1592- A still clearer parallelism Upon his new^ot SP°'L
is Rom. and Jul. v. 3. 94 :— Also Rom. and Jul. v. 3. 112,
beauty's ensign yet '°3' T ^ "f ' ^ *"' *™'
Is crimson in thy lips and in thy 84°- 841, 845, 851, respectively, cheeks, L.
393
Romeo and Juliet
would place the play before 1592. But the arith metic of the Nurse is an insecure trust, and if it were surer, it is very doubtful whether it has any bearing upon the date of the play. Grant that Juliet's age was to be fourteen, and that the story of her weaning and the earthquake had been independently imagined, the number of years which had passed since the earthquake would in any case be eleven or thereabouts. And though Daniel had the reputation of making undue use of others' (and notably of Shakespeare's) wit, it is to be considered that the fine trait of the lingering ' roses ' in the cheeks of the dead Rosa mond lay pretty near at hand for a poet prone to play choicely with his heroine's name : —
Rose of the world, that sweeten'd so the same.
On the other hand, many indications point to a date nearer to that of Weever's sonnet. Weever himself associates it with the Lucrece and the Venus, as well as with * Richard ' — alone of all the dramas. It is in fact linked both with the poems and with Richard //, as well as with the Midsummer-Nighf s Dream, by the lyric style and the lyric conception of character, as well as by many striking echoes of phrase and motive.1
The characteristic speech of Romeo and Juliet is a lyric speech, exhausting the last possibilities of ex pression, but not yet, like the speech of Hamlet,
* J Sarrazin has compared Ju- We will revenge the death of this liet's appeal to the Friar— true wife.
out of thy long-experienced time, Where it is to be noted that
"""behold5™6 PreSCnt COUnSd) °r' Juliet>s intention to stab herself
'Twixt my extremes and me this *s not taken from Brooke. Can
bloody knife this have been suggested by the
ill play the umpire— Lucrece story ? (/. B. xxix. 103).
with £««••*«, 1. 1840,'. .. by this Parallels to the sonnets have
bloody knife ' (in which Lucrece been pointed out by Isaac, /. B.
has stabbed herself) xix. Is7.
394
Introduction
opening up mysterious vistas of the unexpressed, or responsive to the finer nuances of souls. At exalted times it even assumes lyric form ; and Gervinus has pointed out that the lovers exchange their first greet ings in a sonnet, that Juliet utters her own epithalamium or marriage hymn (iii. 2.), and that the lyric dialogue of the lovers as they part at dawn echoes in every thing but its unique splendour of poetry the ' dawn song' (alba, Tagelied) of mediaeval poetry.1 The evidence thus points to"* 1594-5 as the time at which Jtomeo and Jitliet was substantially composed, though it is tolerably certain that some parts of our present text were written as late as 1596-8, and possible that others are as early as 1591.
The story of Romeo and Juliet, as Shakespeare found it, was already a work of art, refined and elaborated by the shaping fancy of several generations. Particular features in it have far-reaching parallels: the legendary poison which produces apparent death ; the love between children of hostile houses. The so-called ' Neapolitan Boccaccio,' Massuccio, in his Novellino, 1476, used the device of the poison to deliver his heroine from a peril like that which threatens Juliet ; but his lovers have other names, live in Siena, and are embarrassed by no family feuds. Luigi da Porto was the first to localise the romance in Verona, to call the lovers Romeo and Giulietta, and to entangle their destinies in the conflicts of noble families.2 Da Porto's novel was widely read
1 How did Shakespeare be- in his Shakespeare und das Tage-
come acquainted with this me- lied. Frankel supposes Shake-
diaeval lyric form, whose home speare to have been introduced
was among the Troubadours and to the German Tagelied by the
Minnesanger ? The problem Hanseatic merchants of London,
has keenly exercised German 2 That the story is not histori-
scholars, and is discussed with cal is now recognised. The
profuse learning but without very historian of Verona, Girolamo
definite result by Ludwig Frankel de la Corte (1594), who relates
395
Romeo and Juliet
in Italy, and presently inspired more pretentious versions of the story. Gherardo Boldiero sang in an epic poem (published 1553) of 'the unhappy love of two faithful lovers Giulia and Romeo/ and the blind dramatist Groto turned it into a tragedy, Hadriana. Both these ambitious pieces, however, were of trifling importance compared with the skilfully elaborated prose version of the story published in 1554 by the novelist Bandello. Bandejlo added a number of dramatic traits, motives, and minor personages : Romeo's Mentor — Benvolio, the Nurse, the love at first sight, the rope-ladder, and Juliet's vision of the horrors of the vault. In Bandello's version the story first gained currency beyond the Alps and the Pyrenees.1 In France it was translated, with several significant changes, by Boaistuau in the Histoires Tragiques (i559).2 In Spain it provided Lope de Vega with the materials of a tragi-comedy Castelvines y Monteses, and somewhat later was dramatised by
it as having happened there in transferred to the Morea, and the
1303, merely took it from the names of the persons changed :
novelist Bandello. The Mon- the lovers, e.g., are called Hal-
tecchi and Cappelletti were his- quadrich and Burglipha. torical families of Verona, but
belonged to the same (Ghibel- 2 Thus ^ the rope. ladder,
line) party ; and as such, not as which in Bandello had served
enemies, they are mentioned to- only for an interview, is put to
gether in a famous line (' Vieni the purpose which it serves in
a veder Montecchi e Cappelletti,' Brooke and Shakespeare; (2)
Purg. vi. 106) by Dante, who the Italians had made Juliet die
lived m Verona but a few years ' of grief ' : Boaistuau, less prone
liter the alleged date of the to sentiment, makes her stab
event. But Shakespeare's ' Es- herself; (3) in Bandello Juliet
s doubtless has his ultimate awakes before Romeo dies, but
Jngm m Bartolommeo della after he has taken the poison ;
bcala, the then Governor of Boaistuau makes Romeo die first
Verona- (Schulze, Entwickelung der Sage
Adrian Sevin had, as early von K. undj.— a minute com-
is 1542, retailed a substantially parison of all the versions ; /. B.
identical story, with the scene xi. 17 3 f.).
396
Introduction
Francesco de Rojas in Los Bandos de Verona}- In England, Bandello's novel was reproduced in two* notaBle" version^. — the metrical Komeus and Juliet QJ Arthur Brooke (i562),2 and the prose translation in Painter's Palace of Pleasure (1567). Of all these forms of the story Shakespeare was probably acquainted only with the two last mentioned ; 3 and the poem of Brooke was virtually the sole source of his own work. But the fame of the story no longer depended on literature when he wrote : the pitiful history of Romeus and Julietta adorned the hangings of chambers, and Juliet figured as a tragic heroine in the sisterhood of Dido and Cleopatra.
It was not for nothing that an Englishman handled the story before Shakespeare. Brooke enriched the Italian romance with a series of homely, realistic
1 Both plays have been excel lently translated by F. W. Cosens.
2 Brooke speaks in his ' Ad dress to the Reader ' of having seen ' the same argument lately set forth on stage with more com mendation than I can look for.' A trace of this has been suspected in the fragments of a Latin tragedy, Romeus et Julietta, pre served in the British Museum (Sloane MS. 1775), an edition of which is announced by Mr. Gollancz. But a madrigal in the same hand, addressed to the author of Ignoramus (first per formed 1615), and written in the midst of what is plainly the ori ginal MS. of the drama, makes it probable that Shakespeare's tragedy preceded (cf. Keller in /. /?. xxxiv. 256).
3 Repeated attempts have
been made to prove Shakespeare indebted to Groto's Hadriana ; most positively by Walker (Hist. Memoir on Ital. Tragedy, 1799) and Klein (Gesch. des Dramas, v. 436). The passage to which they attach most weight is the parting scene (iii. 5.), where Latino (Romeo) bids Hadriana listen to the nightingale. But the whole resemblance reduces itself to the nightingale, while even this is quite differently ap plied. In Groto it is actually the nightingale whose song is heard ; in Shakespeare, Juliet would fain believe the lark to be the night ingale. Groto's play was cer tainly known in England shortly after ; Jonson, in Volpone, iii. 2, makes Lady Politick Would-be enumerate ' Cieco di Hadria vie Groto' among the Italian authors whom she has read (cf. Schulze, Jahrbuch, xi. 197)
397
Romeo and Juliet
traits congenial to the English taste of his time, most "of which reappear, transfigured, in the finer art of Shakespeare. The poison-seller is ^already Shake speare's desperate apothecary; Romeo, on the news of his banishment, already wallows on the ground and tears his hair. Above all, Brooke has struck out a rude but vigorous sketch of the Nurse — in Ban- dello a mere name, — and given hints which Shake speare did not despise : — her rambling garrulity about Juliet's childhood, her acceptance of Romeo's gold and prompt desertion of his cause when he is banished.
The poem, in fact, contains the entire material of the play, and the story of both might be summarised in almost identical words. But in Brooke the material forms a series of moving incidents loosely strung together in a rambling narrative ; in Shakespeare it coalesces in a vital organic whole. The quarrel of the rival houses appears faintly in the background of the poem, contributing casually to the lovers' ill-luck ; in the drama it is an essential condition of their tragic doom. Brooke is possessed with the mediaeval faith in Fortune, and his Romeo and Juliet are alternately lifted and depressed at the bidding of her changing moods ; in Shakespeare an uncontrollable wind of destiny sweeps them through the brief rapture of existence. The most obvious symptom is the enormously heightened temperature and quickened time. In Brooke the action is measured by weeks, in Shakespeare by hours. Brooke's lovers are united and live happily together for three months; then Fortune thinks fit to mingle 'sour with the sweet,' whereupon Tybalt is introduced to make an unpro voked assault upon Romeo. Shakespeare per emptorily rejected this see-saw of joy and sorrow, and made the fatal brawl and Romeo's banishment occur 398
, Introduction
on the very noontide of his marriage, so that the rapture of the lovers is lifted into poetry by the pathos of near parting and mysterious foreboding : —
O God, I have an ill-divining soul ! l
This momentous change is very simply and naturally effected. Tybalt is introduced at Capulet's feast ; Romeo kindles his anger at the same moment as Juliet's love, and he is scarcely married "when he encounters Tybalt's vengeful fury. But Shakespeare drew the toils of his destiny closer yet. Brooke's Romeo, after vainly attempting to pacify Tybalt, kills him in an access of militant fury like his own. Shakespeare's Romeo deals the blow upon which the whole tragic sequel hangs, in response to a deeper and more inexorable prompting. Tybalt's hectoring threats do not disturb his self-control ; he intervenes only to keep the peace. But the fiery Mercutio is not to be restrained. It is only when Mercutio has got his mortal hurt in his behalf that Romeo flings aside respective lenity and falls with fire-eyed fury upon his friend's slayer, — to realise a moment later the abyss into which his destiny has betrayed him : ' O, I am fortune's fool ! ' Then the prince inter venes, and now, once more, it is only the plea that he had drawn his sword in behalf of Mercutio — the prince's kinsman — which converts his sentence of death to banishment.
Thus Mercutio's participation in this critical incident gives it a far subtler coherence, and this is his chief function in the plot. In Brooke his name sake merely passes for a moment before us at the banquet, as
1 Presentiments play an un- of the Capulets (i. 4. 106) ; and
usually prominent part in this Friar Laurence's forebodings are
tragedy. Premonitions haunt mirrored in Romeo's dreams
Romeo as he steps into the hall (v. i. init.)
399
Romeo and Juliet
A courtier that each where was highly had in price,
For he was courteous of his speech and pleasant of device.
Shakespeare's Mercutio is the one brilliant figure in that outer world of hate which enspheres and hurries to its tragic doom the inner world of love. In the hands of previous tellers the story had gathered one after another the motley figures which compose this alien milieu : — Bandello's Benvolio with his temperate counsels against love ; Brooke's Nurse, with her vulgar parody of it ; and now Shakespeare's Mercutio, transfixing love with the shafts of his cynical and reckless wit, a gayer but not less effective negation of romance. But Shakespeare has made the other negations of calm reason and of Philistine grossness sharper and even more decisive than he found them. The Nurse, the Capulet father and mother, are all recognisable in Brooke : Shakespeare alone makes us feel the tragic loneliness of Juliet in their midst ; and that not less by his ruthless insistence on every mean and vulgar trait in them, than by the flamelike purity and intensity in which he has invested Juliet herself. Brooke's Juliet is a conventional heroine of romance, distinguished from other heroines only by the particular cast of her experiences, and not palpably superior to her father, whose unreason even acquires from Brooke's rhetoric a certain Roman dignity of invective. Shakespeare's Juliet resembles an ideal creation of Raphael or Lionardo environed in the bustling domestic scenery, the Flemish plenty and prose, of Teniers or Ostade. We are spared no poignancy of contrast. The last rich cadences of the lovers' dawn-song die into the bluster of old Capulet ; and Juliet's sublime « Romeo, I come ! ' 1 is immediately
1 Juliet's monologue belongs change has completely trans-
in outline to Brooke; but formed the conclusion. In
Shakespeare by an unobtrusive Brooke, after imagining the 400
Introduction
succeeded by the rattling of keys and dishes, and cooks calling for dates and quinces in the ' pastry.'
Thus Shakespeare at once heightened the tragic antagonism of Romeo and Juliet's world and the lyric fervour of passion which sweeps them athwart it. The entire weight of the tragic effect is thrown upon the clashing dissonance of the human elements. In this earliest of the tragedies, alone among them all, there is no guilt, no deliberate contriving of harm. Far from suggesting a moral, Shakespeare seems to contemplate with a kind of fatalist awe the mixture of elements from which so profound a convulsion ensues. He eliminates every pretext for regarding the catastrophe as a retribution upon the lovers. Their love violates no moral law : it springs imperi ously from their youth, and Shakespeare has here significantly gone beyond his source and endowed his Juliet with the single -souled girlhood of four teen ; l neither of them dreams of any illicit union, and their marriage runs counter only to the un natural feud between their houses. The chief agent in their tragic doom is the one wise and actively benign character in the play. The imposing figure of Friar Laurence, so clearly congenial to the poet, has tempted some critics, like Gervinus and Kreyssig, to regard him as a chorus, and to read Shakespeare's judgment upon the lovers in his weighty utterance : —
These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume.
horrors of the vault, she drinks sudden vision of Romeo in the lest her resolution should give vault, and Tybalt vengefully way — seeking him out, drown all con- Dreading that weakness might or sideration but the longing to
foolish cowardise join him there. Hinder the execution of the purposed .
enterprise. (II. 2397-8.) l In the Italian versions she
Shakespeare finely makes the is eighteen, in Brooke sixteen.
VOL. VII 401 2 D
Romeo and Juliet
The love of Romeo and Juliet is in short condemned by its unmeasured intensity. 'Shakespeare on his eagle flight above all the heights and depths of human being and feeling, assuredly did not overlook these romantic abysses of the supreme passion.' l But we have to do not with the Olympian Shakespeare of The Tempest, but with a Shakespeare, who, if we may trust the Sonnets, was not ' flying above ' but plunging strenuously through the heights and depths of human feeling, and to this Shakespeare the matter was hardly so clear. He can never, it is true, have shared the modern Romantic's scorn for the world that lies outside love. He who almost from the outset grasped so profoundly the meaning of national life and the potency of law, could never have complete sympathy for lyric emotion, however entrancing, which defies them. But that he saw an ethical problem in the case is plain from the pathos which gathers, under his handling, about the lyric rebel to law, Richard II. That History presents suggestive analogies to our Tragedy. But Romeo and Juliet's passion, sovran and uncontrolled as it is, has a bearing upon public interests quite other than that of Richard's lyric self-love. His measureless caprice disorganises a great and ordered State ; their passion breaks like a purifying flame upon one rotten with disease. For the lovers themselves the price of that purification is death ; but our pity for them is blended with wonder and even envy. Juliet's glorious womanhood is the creation of her love ; Romeo, a weaker nature, retains more infirmity,2 yet he too stands out in heroic stature
1 Kreyssig, Vorlesungen iiber She wist not if she saw a dream or Shakespeare, ii. 40. sPrite that walked ^y njght.^
2 Juliet's clear vision never Shakespeare's Juliet ' instantly leaves her. Cf. the waking in the addresses the friar :-
vault. Brooke's Juliet is at first O comfortable friar! where is my lord? much amazed to see in tomb I do remember well where I should be, so great a light And there I am. (v. 3. 148.)
402
Introduction
against the suitor par convenance, Paris, and the quondam wooer of Rosalinde. It is easy to dwell upon his despair at banishment, his fatal errors of judgment, as when he fails to suspect life in Juliet's still warm and rosy form.1 But to suppose that he is unmanned by his love of Juliet contradicts the whole tenour of Shakespeare's implicit teaching. Passion for a Cressida or a Cleopatra saps the nerve of Troilus and Antony ; but nowhere does Shakespeare represent a man as made less manly by absolute soul-service of a true woman : rather, this was a condition of that 1 marriage of true minds ' to which, in his loftiest sonnet, he refused to ' admit impediments.'
1 Cf. Bulthaupt, Dramaturgic des Schauspiels, ii. 189 f.
403
ROMEO AND JULIET
PROLOGUE.
Enter Chorus.
Chor. Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life ; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents' strife. The fearful passage of thejr death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage, 10
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage ; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
Prologue. Omitted in Ff. In 'Chorus,' the same person no the Qq (except Qj) the speaker doubt delivering the 'chorus' at of the Prologue is described as the end of Act I.
405
Romeo and Juliet ACT i
ACT I.
SCENE I. Verona. A public place.
Enter SAMPSON and GREGORY, of the house of Capulet, armed with swords and bucklers.
Sam. Gregory, on my word, we'll not carry coals.
Gre. No, for then we should be colliers.
Sam. I mean, an we be in choler, we '11 draw.
Gre. Ay, while you live, draw your neck out of collar.
Sam. I strike quickly, being moved.
Gre. But thou art not quickly moved to strike.
Sam. A dog of the house of Montague moves me. 10
Gre. To move is to stir ; and to be valiant is to stand : therefore, if thou art moved, thou runn'st away.
Sam. A dog of that house shall move me to stand : I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague's.
Gre. That shows thee a weak slave; for the weakest goes to the wall.
Sam. 'Tis true ; and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall : there- 20 fore I will push Montague's men from the wall, pid thrust his maids to the wall.
Gre. The quarrel is between our masters and 1 us their men.
i. carry coals (proverbial), of the collar ,' which Ff and most
stand an indignity, be put upon. modern edd. substitute.
5. out of collar; so Q2, 3. This 15. take the wall, get the
is more idiomatic than the ' out better.
406
SC. I
Romeo and Juliet
Sam. 'Tis all one, I will show myself a tyrant: when I have fought with the men, I will be cruel with the maids ; I will cut off their heads.
Gre. The heads of the maids ?
Sam. Ay, the heads of the maids, or their 3o maidenheads ; take it in what sense ihou wilt.
Gre. They must take it in sense that feel it.
Sam. Me they shall feel while I am able to stand : and 'tis known I am a pretty piece of flesh.
Gre. Tis well thou art not fish ; if thou hadst, thou hadst been poor John. Draw thy tool ; here comes two of the house of Montagues. ^ j
Sam. My naked weapon is out : quarrel ; I will back thee. 4°
Gre. How ! turn thy back and run ?
Sam. Fear me not.
Gre. No, marry ; I fear thee !
Sam. Let us take the law of our sides ; let them begin.
Gre. I will frown as I pass by, and let them take it as they list.
Sam. Nay, as they dare. I will bite my thumb at them, which is disgrace to them, if they bear it. 50
Enter ABRAHAM and BALTHASAR. (Tft cv/^Ttc Abr. Do you bite your thumb at us, sir ? Sam. I do bite my thumb, sir.
27. cruel ; so Qq4, 5. Q2, g used by swaggerers as a means
Ff have ' civil. ' of provoking quarrels. It is
32. sense, physical feeling. more precisely described by
37. poor John, a coarse fish Cotgrave as performed ' by
dried and salted. putting the thumb-nail into the
48. bite my thumb at them, mouth, and with a jerk from the
an insulting gesture, commonly upper teeth make it to knack.'
407
Romeo and Juliet ACT i
Abr. Do you bite your thumb at us, sir ?
Sam. {Aside to Gre.] Is the law of our side, if I say ay ?
Gre. No.
Sam. No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir, but I bite my thumb, sir.
Gre. Do you quarrel, sir ?
Abr. Quarrel, sir ! no, sir. 60
Sam. But if you do, sir, I am for you : I serve as good a man as you.
Abr. No better.
Sam. Well, sir.
Gre. [Aside to Sam.] Say ' better : * here comes one of my master's kinsmen. ^
Sam. Yes, better, sir.
Abr. You lie.
Sam. Draw, if you be men. Gregory, remember thy swashing blow. \Theyjight. 7o
Enter BENVOLIO.
Ben. Part, fools !
Put up your swords ; you know not what you do. [Beats down their swords.
Enter TYBALT.
Tyb. What, art thou drawn among these heart less hinds ? Turn thee, Benvolio, look upon thy death.
66. one of my master's kins- ambiguity.
Imen, i.e. Tybalt. Gregory 70. swashing; so Q4, 5. Q2>3 may be supposed to be looking Fj have 'washing,' which Shake- in the direction from which speare may have written ; ' a Tybalt comes, with his back to washing blow ' is attested in the Benvolio. Mr. Daniel's stage same sense by Harvey's Plaine direction, 'Enter at opposite Percival, 1589 (Daniel's edition), sides, Benvolio and Tibalt,' 73. heartless, timid (with a relieves the otherwise awkward quibble).
408
__ /vrjt'/'Y*-''--1. £/ct- u-J -
:^^ AV rvt3£. t) /v~i : /u -j '< •'-/',
sc. i Romeo and Juliet
Ben. I do but keep the peace: put up thy sword, Or manage it to part these men with me.
Tyb. What, drawn, and talk of peace ! I hate
the word,
As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee : Have at thee, coward ! {They fight.
Enter several of both hotises, who join the fray ; then enter Citizens and Peace-officers with dubs.
First Off. Clubs, bills, and partisans ! strike !
beat them down ! 80
Down with the Capulets ! down with the Mon tagues !
Enter old CAPULET in his gown, and LADY CAPULET.
Cap. What noise is this? Give me my long
sword, ho ! La. Cap. A crutch, a crutch ! why call you for
a sword?
Cap. My sword, I say ! Old Montague is come, And flourishes his blade in spite of me.
Enter MONTAGUE and LADY MONTAGUE.
Mon. Th'ou villain Capulet, — Hold me not,
let me go. La. Mon. Thou shalt not stir one foot to seek
a foe.
Enter PRINCE, with Attendants.
Prin. Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace, Profaners of this neighbour-stained steel, —
80. Clubs, the common cry 80. partisans, halberts.
raised to part a street quarrel. 89. neighbour-stained, stained
80. bills, the usual weapons with the blood of fellow-country-
of watchmen. men.
&
Romeo and Juliet ACT i
Will they not hear ? What, ho ! you men, you
beasts, 90
That quench the fire of your pernicious rage With purple fountains issuing from your veins, On pain of torture, from those bloody hands Throw your mistemper'd weapons to the ground, And hear the sentence of your moved prince. Three civil brawls, bred of an airy word, By thee, old Capulet, and Montague, Have thrice disturb'd the quiet of our streets, And made Verona's ancient citizens Cast by their grave beseeming ornaments, J0o
To wield old partisans, in hands as old, Canker'd with peace, to part your canker'd hate : If ever you disturb our streets again, Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace. For this time, all the rest depart away : You, Capulet, shall go along with me : And, Montague, come you this afternoon, To know our further pleasure in this case, To old Free-town, our common judgement-place. Once more, on pain of death, all men depart. no
[Exeunt all but Montague, Lady Mon tague, and Benvolio.
Mon. Who set this ancient quarrel new abroach ? Speak, nephew, were you by when it began ?
Ben. Here were the servants of your adversary, And yours, close fighting ere I did approach : I drew to part them : in the instant came The fiery Tybalt, with his sword prepared ; Which, as he breathed defiance to my ears, He swung about his head and cut the winds, Who, nothing hurt withal, hiss'd him in scorn :
94. mistemper'd, tempered, in the Ital. original and in
hardened, to an ill end. Painter ; already rendered thus
109. Free-town^ Villa Franca' by Brooke.
,'..rM ^o^lJVr-lU ^/>-
sc. i Romeo and Juliet
While we were interchanging thrusts and blows, 120 Came more and more, and fought on part and part, Till the prince came, who parted either part.
La. Mon. O, where is Romeo? saw you him
to-day ? Right glad I am he was not at this fray.
Ben. Madam, an hour before the worshipp'd sun^x Peer'd forth the golden window of the east, A troubled mind drave me to walk abroad ; k < Where, underneath the grove of sycamore .,- That westward rooteth from the city's side, So early walking did I see your son : 130
Towards him I made ; but he was ware of me And stole into the covert of the wood : I, measuring his affections by my own, . \ *. v. Which then most sought where most might not
be found
Being one too many by my weary self, Pursued my humour not pursuing his, And gladly shunn'd who gladly fled from me.
Mon. Many a morning hath he there been seen, With tears augmenting the fresh morning's dew, Adding to clouds more clouds with his deep sighs • But all so soon as the all-cheering sun i4o
Should in the furthest east begin to draw The shady curtains from Aurora's bed, Away from light steals home my heavy son, And private in his chamber pens himself, Shuts- up his windows, locks fair daylight out And makes himself an artificial night : Black and portentous must this humour prove,
127. drave. Q2 has drive 134. Benvolio sought the (i.e. drtv), a current form of the least frequented places. — This past tense, which Shakespeare verse, given in Q2, is replaced may have written. in most modern editions by one
from Qj : ' That most are busied
133. affections, inclinations. when they're most alone.'
4IT
Romeo and Juliet ACT i
Unless good counsel may the cause remove.
Ben. My noble uncle, do you know the cause ?
Mon. I neither know it nor can learn of him. i50
Ben. Have you importuned him by any means ?
Mon. Both by myself and many other friends : But he, his own affections' counsellor, Is to himself — I will not say how true — But to himself so secret and so close, So far from sounding and discovery, As is the bud bit with an envious worm, Ere he can spread his sweet leaves to the air, oC)r dedicate his beauty to the sun. " Could we but learn from whence his sorrows grow, 160 We would as willingly give cure as know.
Enter ROMEO.
Ben. See, where he comes : so please you step
aside, I '11 know his grievance, or be much denied.
Mon. I would thou wert so happy by thy stay, To hear true shrift. Come, madam, let 's away.
\Exeunt Montague and Lady. Ben. Good morrow, cousin. R°m* Is the day so young ?
Ben. But new struck nine.
Rom- Ay me ! sad hours seem long.
Was that my father that went hence so fast ? Ben. It was. What sadness lengthens Romeo's
hours ? Rom. Not having that which, having, makes
them short. Ben. In love ? Rom. Out — Ben. Of love? Rom. Out of her favour, where I am in love.
159. sun; Theobald's emendation of Qq Ff 'same.' 412
sc. i Romeo and Juliet
Ben. Alas, that love, so gentle in his view, Should be so tyrannous and rough in proof !
Rom. Alas, that love, whose view is muffled still, Should, without eyes, see pathways to his will ! Where shall we dine ? O me ! What fray was
here?
Yet tell me not, for I have heard it all. i8o
Here 's much to do with hate, but more with love. Why, then, O brawling love ! O loving hate ! O any thing, of nothing first created ! O heavy lightness ! serious vanity ! Mis-shapen chaos of well-seeming forms ! Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health ! Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is ! This love feel I, that feel no love in this. Dost thou not laugh ?
Ben. No, coz, I rather weep.
Rom. Good heart, at what ?
Ben. At thy good heart's oppression. — 190
Rom. Why, such is love's transgression. Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast ; Which thou wilt propagate, to have it prest With more of thine : this love that thou hast shown Doth add more grief to too much of mine own. Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs ; Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes ;
176. in proof, in actual ex- 196. made ; so Qq Ff. Most
perience. modern edd. adopt, with Pope,
183. created ; so Qq Ff. The \™^ ' from °-i; But ' ™ade '. form 'create' (Q, FM) is (besides its far better author ,ty)
probably due to the Qx editor's » more m. ^"f Wlt*> 'he
desire for a (quite gratuitous) theory to which the line alludes,
r^ me that the sighs of love as they
rose (did not raise but) became
191. Why, such is love's vapour or 'smoke.'
transgression. [The short line 197. purged, i.e. from the
playfully caps Benvolio's. L. ] fumes of sighs. Cf. ' He shall
Mommsen conjectured, ' Why throughly purge [i.e. fan] his
such is Benvolio, such is,' etc. floor.'
413
Romeo and Juliet ACT i
Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with lovers' tears : What is it else ? a madness most discreet, A choking gall and a preserving sweet. 20o
Farewell, my coz.
Ben. Soft ! I will go along ;
An if you leave me so, you do me wrong.
Rom. Tut, I have lost myself; I am not here; This is not Romeo, he 's some other where. <( Ben. Tell me in sadness, who is that you love.
Rom. What, shall I groan and tell thee ?
Ben. Groan ! why, no ;
But sadly tell me who.
Rom. Bid a sick man in sadness make his will : Ah, word ill urged to one that is so ill ! In sadness, cousin, I do love a woman. 210
Ben. I aim'd so near, when I supposed you loved.
Rom. A right good mark-man ! And she 's fair I love.
Ben. A right fair mark, fair coz, is soonest hit.
Rom. Well, in that hit you miss : she '11 not be hit With Cupid's arrow ; she hath Dian's wit ; And, in strong proof of chastity well arm'd, From love's weak childish bow she lives unharm'd. She will not stay the siege of loving terms, Nor bide the encounter of assailing eyes, Nor ope her lap to saint-seducing gold : 220
O, she is rich in beauty, only poor That, when she dies, with beauty dies her store.
Ben. Then she hath sworn that she will still live chaste ?
Rom. She hath, and in that sparing makes huge waste,
205. sadness, seriousness. 216. proof, armour.
208. Bid a sick man, etc. ; so
Qi- $2 Q.3 Fi have 'a sicke 217. unharm'd; so Qv Qq
man in sadness makes,' etc. Ff ' uncharmd.'
414
sc. ii Romeo and Juliet
For beauty starved with her severity
Cuts beauty off from all posterity.
She is too ifair, too wise, wisely too fair,
To merit bliss by making me despair :
She hath forsworn to love, and in that vow
Do I live dead that live to tell it now. 230
Ben. Be ruled by me, forget to think of her.
Rom. O, teach me how I should forget to think.
Ben. By giving liberty unto thine eyes ; Examine other beauties.
Rom. Tis the way
To call hers, exquisite, in question more : These happy masks that kiss fair ladies' brows Being black put us in mind they hide the fair ; ' He that is strucken blind cannot forget The precious treasure of his eyesight lost : Show me a mistress that is passing fair, ; 'yjo*
What doth her beauty serve but as a note Where I may read who pass'd that passing fair ? Farewell : thou canst not teach me to forget.
Ben. I '11 pay that doctrine, or else die in debt.
[Exeunt.
SCENE II. A street.
Enter CAPULET, PARIS, and Servant.
kl' . ^ Cap. But Montague is bound as well as I,
t In penalty alike ; and 'tis not hard, I think,
For men so old as we to keep the peace. |J\ Par. Of honourable reckoning are you both ; And pity 'tis you lived at odds so long. But now, my lord, what say you to my suit?
235. To call hers, exquisite, comparison, and so make me
in question more, to force that yet more keenly alive to it.
exquisite beauty of hers, yet 244. doctrine, instruction,
more upon my judgment, by 4. reckoning, estimation.
OUfetfc.^ 4I*
Romeo and Juliet ACT i
Cap. But saying o'er what I have said before : My child is yet a stranger in the world ; She hath not seen the change of fourteen years ; Let two more summers wither in their pride, i0
Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.
Par. Younger than she are happy mothers made.
Cap. And too soon marr'd are those so early
made.
The earth hath swallow'd all my hopes but she, She is the hopeful lady of my earth : \ But woo her, gentle Paris, get her heart, My will to her consent is but a part ; An she agree, within her scope of choice Lies my consent and fair according voice. This night I hold an old accustom'd feast, 20
Whereto I have invited many a guest, Such as I love ; and you, among the store, One more, most welcome, makes my number more. At my poor house look to behold this night Earth-treading stars that make dark heaven light : Such comfort as do lusty young men feel When well-apparell'd April on the heel Of limping winter treads, even such delight Among fresh female buds shall you this night Inherit at my house ; hear all, all see, 30
And like her most whose merit most shall be : Which on more view, of many mine being one May stand in number, though in reckoning none.
15. the hopeful lady of my a number is reckoned none."' earth, my heiress. This saying is played upon in
30. Inherit, enjoy. Sonnet cxxxvL :~
Among a number one is reckon'd
32. which, on more view, etc. none :
S° Qq4« 5- These obscure lines Then in the number let me pass appear to mean : ' Of which untold.
number, on closer view, my own • Which,' if right, is a loosely
daughter may be found, not- used relative, with the whole
withstanding that "one among previous sentence as antecedent.
416
sc. ii Romeo and Juliet
Come, go with me. [To Serv., giving a paper.]
Go, sirrah, trudge about Through fair Verona ; find those persons out Whose names are written there, and to them say, My house and welcome on their pleasure stay.
[Exeunt Capulet and Paris. Serv. Find them out whose names are written here ! It is written, that the shoemaker should meddle with his yard, and the tailor with his last, 40 the fisher with his pencil, and the painter with his nets ; but I am sent to find those persons whose names are here writ, and can never find what names the writing person hath here writ. I must to the learned. — In good time.
Enter BENVOLIO and ROMEO.
Ben. Tut, man, one fire burns out another's
burning,
One pain is lessen'd by another's anguish ; Turn giddy, and be holp by backward turning ; One desperate grief cures with another's lan guish :
Take thou some new infection to thy eye, 5o
And the rank poison of the old will die.
Rom. Your plaintain-leaf is excellent for that'- Ben. For what, I pray thee ? Rom. For your broken shin.
Ben. Why, Romeo, art thou mad ? Rom. Not mad, but bound more than a mad man is ;
Shut up in prison, kept without my food, Whipp'd and tormented and — God -den, good
fellow. YH~ C "K^fc, ^-^-t-v^T^x - 5*x* *» Serv. God gi' god-den. I pray, sir, can you read ?
Romeo and Juliet ACT i
Rom. Ay, mine own fortune in my misery. 60
Serv. Perhaps you have learned it without book: but, I pray, can you read any thing you see?
Rom. Ay, if I know the letters and the language.
Serv. Ye say honestly : rest you merry !
Rom. Stay, fellow; I can read. [Reads.
1 Signior Martino and his wife and daughters ; County Anselme and his beauteous sisters ; the lady widow of Vitruvio ; Signior Placentio and his lovely nieces ; Mercutio and his brother Valen- 7o tine; mine uncle Capulet, his wife, and daugh ters; my fair niece -Rosaline ; Livia; Signior Va- lentio and his cousin Tybalt ; Lucio and the lively Helena. ' A fair assembly : whither should they come ?
Serv. Up.
Rom. Whither?
Serv. To supper ; to our house.
Rom. Whose house?
Serv. My master's. 80
Rom. Indeed, I should have ask'd you that before.
Serv. Now I '11 tell you without asking : my master is the great rich Capulet ; and if you be not of the house of Montagues, I pray, come and crush a cup of wine. Rest you merry ! [Exit.
Ben. At this same ancient feast of Capulet's Sups the fair Rosaline whom thou so lovest, With all the admired beauties of Verona : Go thither ; and, with unattainted eye, 90
Compare her face with some that I shall show, And I will make thee think thy swan a crow. Rom. When the devout religion of mine eye f Maintains such falsehood, then turn tears to fires; ~ 4-^-i.v*^fv*
90. unattainted, sincere, impartial. 418
sc. in Romeo and Juliet
i'Q \Lv* A
And these, who often drown'd could never die, • tl r* ^ ^
Transparent heretics, be burnt for liars ! One fairer than my love ! the all-seeing sun Ne'er saw her match since first the world begun.
Ben. Tut, you saw her fair, none else being by, Herself poised with herself in either eye : But in that crystal scales let there be weigh'd Your lady's love against some other maid That I will show you shining at this feast, And she shall scant show well that now shows best.
Rom. I '11 go along, no such sight to be shown, But to rejoice in splendour of mine own.
\Exeunt.
SCENE III. A room in Capulefs house.
Enter LADY CAPULET and Nurse.
La. Cap. Nurse, where 's my daughter ? call her
forth to me. Nurse. Now, by my maidenhead, — at twelve
year old, —
I bade her come. What, lamb ! what, lady-bird I— God forbid !— Where 's this girl ? What, Juliet !
Enter JULIET.
Jul. How now ! who calls ?
Nurse. Your mother.
Jul. Madam, I am here. What is your will ?
La. Cap. This is the matter :' — Nurse, give
leave awhile,
We must talk in secret : — nurse, come back again ; I have remember'd me, thou 's hear our counsel Thou know'st my daughter 's of a pretty age.
9. thou 's, thou shall. 419
Romeo and Juliet
ACT I
Nurse. Faith, I can tell her age unto an hour.
La. Cap. She 's not fourteen.
Nurse. I '11 lay fourteen of my teeth, —
And yet, to my teen be it spoken, I have but
four,— 1T*4
She is not fourteen. How long is it now To Lammas-tide?
La. Cap. A fortnight and odd days.
Nurse. Even or odd, of all days in the year, Come Lammas-eve at night shall she be fourteen. Susan and she — God rest all Christian souls ! — Were of an age : well, Susan is with God ; She was too good for me : — but, as I said, 20
On Lammas-eve at night shall she be fourteen ; That shall she, marry ; I remember it well. 'Tis since the earthquake now eleven years ; And she was wean'd, — I never shall forget it, — Of all the days of the year, upon that day : For I had then laid wormwood to my dug, Sitting in the sun under the dove-house wall ; My lord and you were then at Mantua : — Nay, I do bear a brain : — but, as I said, When it did taste the wormwood on the nipple 3o Of my dug, and felt it bitter, pretty fool, To see it tetchy and fall out with the dug ! Shake, quoth the dove -house : 'twas no need, I
trow,
To bid me trudge : And since that time it is eleven years ;
13. teen, grief. house ; the dove -house shook.
15. Lammas, ist August This use of ' quoth ' for the
23. since the earthquake. action of inanimate things is Perhaps an allusion to the violent said to be a Warwickshire idiom ; earthquake shock which actually so 'Jerk, quoth the plough- occurred in England in 1580. share' (Wise, Shakspeare and,
29. bear a brain, have a good his Birthplace, p. 112; quot.
memory. Deighton, Romeo and Juliet, ad
33. Shake, quoth the dove- loc. ). 420
sc. in Romeo and Juliet
For then she could stand high-lone ; nay, by
the rood,
She could have run and waddled all about ; For even the day before, she broke her brow : And then my husband — God be with his soul ! A' was a merry man — took up the child : 4o
* Yea,' quoth he, ' dost thou fall upon thy face ? Thou wilt fall backward when thou hast more wit ; Wilt thou not, Jule?' and, by my holidame, The pretty wretch left crying and said ' Ay. ' To see, now-, how a jest shall come about ! I warrant, an I should live a thousand years, I never should forget it : ' Wilt thou not, Jule ? '
quoth he ; And, pretty fool, it stinted and said ' Ay.'
La. Cap. Enough of this ; I pray thee, hold
thy peace. Nurse. Yes, madam : yet I cannot choose but
laugh, 50 ^j^.
To think it should leave crying and say 'Ay.' And yet, I warrant, it had upon it brow A bump as big as a young cockerel's stone ; A perilous knock ; and it cried bitterly : ' Yea,' quoth my husband, * fall'st upon thy face ? Thou wilt fall backward when thou comest to age ; Wilt thou not, Jule ? ' it stinted and said ' Ay.' Jul. And stint thou too, I pray thee, nurse,
say I. Nurse. Peace, I have done. God mark thee
to his grace !
Thou wast the prettiest babe that e'er I nursed : 60 An I might live to see thee married once, I have my wish.
36. stand high- lone, stand 52. it, its.
erect, alone.
48. stinted, stopped. 53. cockerel, young cock.
42I
Romeo and Juliet ACT i
La. Cap. Marry, that ' marry ' is the very theme I came to talk of. Tell me, daughter Juliet, How stands your disposition to be married ? Jul. It is an honour that I dream not of. Nurse. An honour ! were not I thine only nurse, I would say thou hadst suck'd wisdom from thy
teat. La. Cap. Well, think of marriage now; younger
than you,
Here in Verona, ladies of esteem, 70
Are made already mothers : by my count, • I was your mother much upon these years That you are now a maid. Thus then in brief: The valiant Paris seeks you for his love.
Nurse. A man, young lady ! lady, such a man As all the world — why, he 's a man of wax.
La. Cap. Verona's summer hath not such a
flower. Nurse. Nay, he's a flower; in faith, a very
flower. La. Cap. What say you? cari you love the
gentleman ?
This night you shall behold him at our feast ; 80
Read o'er the volume of young Paris' face And find delight writ there with beauty's pen ; Examine every married lineament ' And see how one another lends content, * And what obscured in this fair volume lies V&J Find written in the margent of his eyes. This precious book of love, this unbound lover, To beautify him, only lacks a cover : The fish lives in the sea, and 'tis much pride For fair without the fair within to hide : 90
76. a man of wax, i.e. a well- is a quibble on the French legal
modelled, shapely man. phrase for a married woman
88. cover, i.e. binding. There feme covert (' femme couverte ').
422
SC. IV
Romeo and Juliet
That book in many's eyes doth share the glory, That in gold clasps locks in the golden story ; So shall you share all that he doth possess, By having him, making yourself no less.
Nurse. No less ! nay, bigger ; women grow by
men. La. Cap. Speak briefly, can you like of Paris'
love?
Jul. I '11 look to like, if looking liking move : But no more deep will I endart mine eye
Than your consent gives strength to make it fly. |
; /
Enter a Servant.
Serv. Madam, the guests are come, supper 100. served up, you called, my young lady asked for, the nurse cursed in the pantry, and every thing in extremity. I must hence to wait ; I beseech you, follow straight.
La. Cap. We follow thee. {Exit Servant.}
Juliet, the county stays. >L<> i / • Nurse. Go, girl, seek happy nights to happy days. [Exeunt-
SCENE IV. A street.
Enter ROMEO, MERCUTIO, BENVOLIO, with five or six Maskers, Torch-bearers, and others.
Rom. What, shall this speech be spoke for our
excuse ? Or shall we on without apology ?
Ben. The date is out of such prolixity :
98. endart, dart. often spoken by a Cupid, as in
3. such prolixity. It was Timon of Athens, \. 2. 127. The
usual for the masquers to be Cupid there enters and greets
introduced in a formal speech, Timon, begging permission for
423
>»-/>«•« • ''t. tx, a. -r>,
*t> k , -°me° and JullCt ' ACT l
We '11 have no Cupid hoodwink'd with a scarf, Bearing a Tartar's painted bow of lath, Scaring the ladies like a crow-keeper ; Nor no without-book prologue, faintly spoke After the prompter, for our entrance :_ But let them measure us by what they will ; We '11 measure them a measure, and be gone. J0
Rom. Give me a torch : I am not for this
ambling ; Being but heavy, I will bear the light.
Mer. Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you dance.
Rom. Not I, believe me : you have dancing
shoes
With nimble soles : I have a soul of lead So stakes me to the ground I cannot move.
Mer. You are a lover ; borrow Cupid's wings, And soar with them above a cornmon bound.
Rom. I am too sore enpierced with his shaft To soar with his light feathers, and so bound, 20
I cannot bound a patch above dull woe : Under love's heavy "burden do I sink.
Mer. And, to sink in it, should you burden love; Too great oppression for a tender thing.
Rom. Is love a tender thing ? it is too rough, Too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn.
Mer. If love be rough with you, be rough with
love; Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down.
j the masquers to be admitted ; 6. crow-keeper, scarecrow. t . then, on their being made wel- 8. entrance (three syllables), come, withdraws and brings them 10. a measure, a dance, m. Cf. Hen. VI I L \. 4. Neither n. Give me a torch. Torch- example supports the assertion bearers regularly accompanied that the custom was ' out of date ' a troop of masquers, when Romeo and Juliet was 21. pitch, (technically) the written, height of a falcon's flight.
424
SC. IV
Romeo and Juliet
Give me a case to put my visage in : A visor for a visor ! what care I . •' • ^ rt
What curious eye doth quote deformities? Here are the beetle brows shall blush for me.
Ben. Come, knock and enter ; and no sooner in, But every man betake him to his legs.
Rom. A torch for me : let wantons light of heart Tickle the senseless rushes with their heels, For I am proverb'd with a grandsire phrase ; I '11 be a candle-holder, and look on. The game was ne'er so fair, and I am done.
Mer. Tut, dun 's the mouse, the constable's
word : =: f^u^TTJJ^if -'i-n*. If thou art dun, we '11 draw thee from the mire Of this sir-reverence love, wherein thou stick'st Up to the ears. Come, we burn daylight, ho !
Rom. Nay, that 's not so.
Mer. I mean, sir, in delay
We waste our lights in vain, like lamps by day.
31. quote, note.
37. / am proverb'd, etc., the old proverb fits my case, viz. that it is well to leave off when the game is at the fairest. Romeo will accordingly be a looker-on or ' candle-holder. '
40. dun ' s the mouse ; a pro verbial phrase of obscure point, commonly introduced by a quibble on the word ' done,' and probably unflattering to the person who was ' done. ' — Pro verbs were often quoted as the sayings of some vaguely remem bered authority, as in the famous collection of Hendyng's pro verbs.
41. If thou art dun, we 'II draw thee from the mire. This refers to another proverb : ' Dun is the mire,' originally used in
an old Christmas game, where a block of wood stood for a dun-horse stuck in the mire, and was to be forcibly extricated by the company. Hence ' dun is in the mire ' was a jocose appeal for help in a ticklish situation. Here Romeo is to be extricated from the ' mire ' of love.
42. sir-reverence, proposed by Singer from Qx ' sir, reverence. ' The other Qq have ' or save you reverence ' ; Ff ' or save your reverence. '
43. burn daylight, waste time (proverbial).
45. We waste our lights in vain, etc. Capell's emendation. Qq have : ' We waste our lights in vaine, lights lights by day' ; Ff : ' We waste our lights in vaine, lights, lights by day.'
425
Romeo and Juliet ACT i
Take our good meaning, for our judgement sits Five times in that ere once in our five wits.
Rom. And we mean well in going to this mask ; But 'tis no wit to go.
Mer. Why, may one ask ?
Rom. I dream'd a dream to-night, i&ft
Mer. And so did I. 50
Rom. Well, what was yours ?
Mer. That dreamers often lie.
Rom. In bed asleep, while they do dream things true.
Mer. O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been
with you.
She is the fairies' midwife, and she comes In shape no bigger than an agate-stone On the fore-finger of an alderman, Drawn with a team of little atomies .^i^
Athwart men's noses as they lie asleep ; k tJfcp*
Her waggon-spokes made of long spinners' legs, The cover, of the wings of grasshoppers, 60
The traces, of the smallest spider's web, The collars, of the moonshine's watery beams, Her whip, of cricket's bone; the lash, of film, Her waggoner, a small grey-coated gnat, Not half so big as a round little worm Prick'd from the lazy finger of a maid ; Her chariot is an empty hazel-nut Made by the joiner squirrel or old grub, Time out o' mind the fairies' coachmakers. And in this state she gallops night by night 70
Through lovers' brains, and then they dream of love;
47. five wits. These were commonly worn in rings.
popularly held to consist of 57. atomies, atom - like
'common wit, imagination, fan- creatures.
tasy, estimation, memory.' 65, 66. Idle fingers were
55- agate -stone, figures cut popularly believed to breed
in relief on the agate - stones parasites.
426
-
sc. iy A Romeo and Juliet
J
O'er courtiers' knees that dream on court'sies
straight,
O'er lawyers' fingers, who straight dream on fees, O'er ladies' lips, who straight on kisses dream, Which oft the angry Mab with blisters plagues, Because their breaths with sweetmeats tainted are : Sometime she gallops o'er a courtier's nose, And then dreams he of smelling out a suit ; And sometime comes she with a tithe-pig's tail Tickling a parson's nose as a' lies asleep, 80
Then dreams he of another benefice : Sometime she driveth o'er a soldier's neck, And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats, Of breaches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades, Of healths five-fathom deep ; and then anon Drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes, And being thus frighted swears a prayer or two And sleeps again. This is that very Mab That plats the manes of horses in the night, And bakes the elf-locks in foul sluttish hairs, 90
Which, once untangled, much misfortune bodesj^ This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs, That presses them and learns them first to bear, i Making them women of good carriage : This is she —
Rom. Peace, peace, Mercutio, peace!
Thou talk'st of nothing.
Mer. True, I talk of dreams,
Which are the children of an idle brain, Begot of nothing but vain fantasy, Which is as thin of substance as the air And more inconstant than the wind, who wooes 100 Even now the frozen bosom of the north,
90. bakes the elf-locks, cakes locks. ' Hatred of ' sluts and or clots the hair of slovens in sluttery' was one of the most what were thence called ' elf- pronounced traits of elfdom.
*-*
Romeo and Juliet ACT
: And, being anger'd, puffs away from thence, •> Turning his face to the dew-dropping south.
Ben. This wind, you talk of, blows us from
ourselves ; Supper is done, and we shall come too late.
Rom. I fear, too early : for my mind misgives Some consequence yet hanging in the stars . Shall bitterly begin his fearful date With this night's revels, and exgire the term Of a despised life, closed in my breast, By some vile forfeit of untimely death. But He, that hath the steerage of my course, Direct my sail ! On, lusty gentlemen. + ^Ben. Strike, drum. \Exeunt.
SCENE V. A hall in Capulefs house.
• Musicians waiting. Enter Servingmen, with
napkins.
First Serv. Where 's Potpan, that he helps not to take away ? He shift a trencher ! he scrape a trencher !
Sec. Serv. When good manners shall lie all in one or two men's hands, and they unwashed too, 'tis a foul thing.
First Serv. Away with the joint-stools, re move the court-cupboard, look to the plate. Good thou, save me a piece of marchpane ; and, as thou
103. face; soQr QqFP side.' 8. court-cupboard, the side-
ib. dew - dropping, rainy. board, on which the plate was
The south wind was believed to displayed.
becharged with noxious vapours. 9. marchpane, a sweet con-
109. expire, conclude. fection of almonds and sugar,
7. joint-stools, folding-chairs. Ger. ' Marzipan.' 428
sc. v Romeo and Juliet
lovest me, let the porter let in Susan Grindstone fo and Nell. Antony, and Potpan !
Sec. Serv. Ay, boy, ready.
first Serv. You are looked for and called for, asked for and sought for, in the great chamber.
Sec. Serv. We cannot be here and there too. Cheerly, boys ; be brisk awhile, and the longer liver take all.
Enter CAPULET, with JULIET and others of his housC) meeting the Guests and Maskers,
Cap. Welcome, gentlemen ! ladies that have
their toes
Unplagued with corns will have a bout with you. Ah ha, my mistresses ! which of you all 20
Will now deny to dance ? she that makes dainty, She, I '11 swear, hath corns ; am I come near ye
now?
WTelcome, gentlemen ! I have seen the day That I have worn a visor and could tell A whispering tale in a fair lady's ear, Such as would please : 'tis gone, 'tis gone, 'tis
gone: You are welcome, gentlemen ! Come, musicians,
play. A hall, a hall ! give room ! and foot it, girls.
\Music plays, and they dance. ' More light, you knaves ; and turn the tables up, And quench the fire, the room is grown too hot. 30? Ah, sirrah, this unlook'd-for sport comes well. Nay, sit, nay, sit, good cousin Capulet ; For you and I are past our dancing days : How long is 't now since last yourself and I Were in a mask ? I • $ fcfc^,
Sec. Cap. By 'r lady, thirty years.
28. A hall, a. hall! i.e. clear the hall 429
Romeo and Juliet
ACT I
, Cap. What, man ! 'tis not so much, 'tis not so
much :
'Tis since the nuptial of Lucentio, Come pentecost as quickly as it will, Some five and twenty years ; and then we rnask'd.
Sec. Cap. 'Tis more, 'tis more : his son is elder, sir ; 40 His son is thirty.
Cap. Will you tell me that ?
His son was but a ward two years ago.
Rom. \To a Seruingman~\ What lady is that,
which doth enrich the hand Of yonder knight ? Serv. I know not, sir. Rom. O, she doth teach the torches to burn
bright !
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear ; Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear ! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, 50
As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows. The measure done, I '11 watch her place of stand, And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now ? forswear it, sight ! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.
Tyb. This, by his voice, should be a Montague. Fetch me my rapier, boy. What dares the slave Come hither, cover'd with an antic face, To fleer and scorn at our solemnity ? Now, by the stock and honour of my kin, 60
To strike him dead I hold it not a sin.
Cap. Why, how now, kinsman ! wherefore storm
you so ?
Tyb. Uncle, this is a Montague, our foe, A villain that is hither come in spite, To scorn at our solemnity this night.
58. an antic face, a grotesque mask.
43°
:sc. v Romeo and Juliet
Cap. Young Romeo is it ?
Tyb. Tis he, that villain Romeo.
Cap. Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone ; He bears him like a portly gentleman ; And, to say truth, Verona brags of him To be a virtuous and well govern 'd youth : 70
I would not for the wealth of all the town Here in my house do him disparagement : Therefore be patient, take no note of him : It is my will, the which if thou respect, Show a fair presence and put off these frowns, An ill-beseeming semblance for a feast.
Tyb. It fits, when such a villain is a guest : I '11 not endure him.
Cap. He shall be endured :
What, goodman boy ! I say, he shall : go to ; Am I the master here, or you ? go to. 80
You '11 not endure him ! God shall mend my soul ! You '11 make a mutiny among my guests ! You will set cock-a-hoop ! you '11 be the man !
Tyb. Why, uncle, 'tis a shame.
Cap. Go to, go to ;
You are a saucy boy : is 't so, indeed ? This trick may chance to scathe you, I know what : You must contrary me ! marry, 'tis time. Well said, my hearts ! You are a princpx ; go : Be quiet, or — More light, more light ! For shame ! I '11 make you quiet What, cheerly, my hearts ! 9o
Tyb. Patience perforce with wilful choler meeting Makes my flesh tremble in their different greeting. I will withdraw : but this intrusion shall Now seeming sweet convert to bitterest gall
68. portly, of good carriage, 88. princox, pert boy.
-well-bred.
83. set cock-a-hoop, pick a 91. Patience perforce, enforced
quarrel, make a disturbance. patience.
431
Romeo and Juliet ACT i
Rom. [To Juliet] If I profane with my un worthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this : My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. JuL Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this ; 100
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss. Rom. Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too? Jul. Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer. Rom. O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do ;
They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair. JuL Saints do not move, though grant for
prayers' sake. Rom. Then move not, while my prayer's effect
I take.
Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged. Jul. Then have my lips the sin that they have
took. no
Rom. Sin from my lips ? O trespass sweetly urged !
Give me my sin again. JuL You kiss by the book.
Nurse. Madam, your mother craves a word with you.
Rom. What is her mother ?
Nurse. Marry, bachelor,
Her mother is the lady of the house, And a good lady, and a wise and virtuous : I nursed her daughter, that you talk'd withal ; I tell you, he that can lay hold of her
96. the gentle sin ; probably, with the pious pilgrims. The
as Ten Brink (/. B. xiii. 370) sin is thus a 'gentle' one in
suggested, with a play upon spite of its ' profanity. ' L. 'Gentile/ heathen, in contrast 112. by the book, by rule.
432
SC. V
Romeo and Juliet
Shall have the chinks.
Rom. Is she a Capulet ?
0 dear account ! my life is my foe's debt. 120 Ben. Away, be gone ; the sport is at the best. Rom. Ay, so I fear ; the more is my unrest.
Cap. Nay, gentlemen, prepare not to be gone ; We have a trifling foolish banquet towards. Is it e'en so ? why, then, I thank you all ;
1 thank you, honest gentlemen ; good night. More torches here ! Come on then, let 's to bed. Ah, sirrah, by my fay, it waxes late :
I '11 to my rest. \Exeunt all but Juliet and Nurse.
Jul. Come hither, nurse. What is yond gentle man ? 130
Nurse. The son and heir of old Tiberio.
Jul. What 's he that now is going out of door ?
Nurse. Marry, that, I think, be young Petrucio.
Jul. What's he that follows there, that would not dance?
Nurse. I know not.
Jul. Go, ask his name : if he be married, My grave is like to be my wedding bed.
Nurse. His name is Romeo, and a Montague ; The only son of your great enemy.
Jul. My only love sprung from my only hate ! 140 Too early seen unknown, and known too late 1 Prodigious birth of love it is to me, That I must love a loathed enemy.
Nurse. What 's this ? what 's this ?
Jul. A rhyme I learn'd even now
Of one I danced withal. [One calls within * Juliet.'
Nurse. Anon, anon !
Come, let 's away ; the strangers all are gone.
\_Exeunt.
119. chinks (colloquial), coin, 124. banquet, dessert,
money. 142. Prodigious, monstrous.
VOL. vii 433 2 F
Romeo and Juliet ACT
ACT II
PROLOGUE.
Enter Chorus.
Char. Now old desire doth in his death-bed lie,
And young affection gapes to be his heir ; That fair for which love groan'd for and would die,
With tender Juliet match'd, is now not fair. Now Romeo is beloved and loves again,
Alike bewitched by the charm of looks, But to his foe supposed he must complain,
And she steal love's sweet bait from fearful
hooks : Being held a foe, he may not have access
To breathe such vows as lovers use to swear ; And she as much in love, her means much less
To meet her new-beloved any where : But passion lends them power, time means, to
meet, Tempering extremities with extreme sweet. [Exit.
SCENE I. A lane by the wall of Capulefs orchard.
Enter ROMEO.
Rom. Can I go forward when my heart is here ? Turn back, dull earth, and find thy centre out.
[He climbs the wall, and leaps down within #.
2. gapes, longs.
434
SC. I
Romeo and Juliet
Enter BENVOLIO and MERCUTIO.
Ben. Romeo ! my cousin Romeo !
Mer. He is wise ;
And, on my life, hath stol'n him home to bed.
Ben. He ran this way, and leap'd this orchard
wall : Call, good Mercutio.
Mer. Nay, I '11 conjure too.
Romeo ! humours ! madman ! passion ! lover ! Appear thou in the likeness of a sigh : Speak but one rhyme, and I am satisfied ; Cry but * Ay me ! ' pronounce but ' love ' and
' dove ; '
Speak to my gossip Venus one fair word, One nick-name ior her purblind son and heir, Young Adam Cuojd, he that shot so trim, When King Copnetua loved the beggar-maid ! He heareth not, ne stirreth not, he moveth not ; The ape is dead, and I must conjure him. I conjure thee by Rosaline's bright eyes, By her high forehead and her scarlet lip, By her fine foot, straight leg and quivering thigh And the demesnes that there adjacent lie, That in thy likeness thou appear to us !
Ben. An if he hear thee, thou wilt anger him.
Mer. This cannot anger him : 'twould anger him To raise a spirit in his mistress' circle
13. Adam Cupid. Upton's emendation for Qq Ff ' Abraham Cupid. ' The emendation is made almost certain by Much Ado, i. I. 260 : ' He that hits me, let him be clapped on the shoulder, and called Adam,' — the allusion being to Adam Bell, a famous archer whose prowess was cele brated in ballads.
14. King Cophetua. The ballad of King Cophetua and the Beggar - maid contained a stanza : —
The blinded boy that shoots so trim From heaven down did hie ;
He drew a dart and shot at him In place where he did lie.
1 6. ape (used endearingly), ' poor fellow.'
435
Romeo and Juliet ACT n
Of some strange nature, letting it there stand Till she had laid it and conjured it down ; That were some spite : my invocation Is fair and honest, and in his mistress' name I conjure only but to raise up him.
Ben. Come, he hath hid himself among these
trees, 3o
, To be consorted with the humorous night : Blind is his love and best befftsTthe dark.
Mer. If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark. Now will he sit under a medlar tree, And wish his mistress were that kind of fruit As maids call medlars, when they laugh alone. O, Romeo, that she were, O, that she were An open et csetera, thou a poperin pear ! Romeo, good night : I '11 to my truclae-bed ; This field-bed is too cold Tor me to sleep : 4o
Come, shall we go ?
Ben. Go, then ; for 'tis in vain
To seek him here that means not to be found.
[Exeunt.
SCENE II. Capulefs orchard.
Enter ROMEO.
Rom. He jests at scars that never felt a wound. {Juliet appears above at a window. But, soft ! what light through yonder window breaks ?
31. humorous, humid, moist 40-42. The text is here a com-
(with a quibble on the common position of readings from Qt
sense, capricious). and Q2.
39. truckle-bed, a bed running
on wheels, thus able to be 40. field-bed ', i.e. one out of
pushed under another one. doors.
436
sc. ii Romeo and Juliet
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
That thou her maid art far more fair than she :
Be not her maid, since she is envious ;
Her vestal livery is but sick and green
And none but fools do wear it ; cast it off.
It is my lady, O, it is my love ! 10
O, that she knew she were !
She speaks, yet she says nothing : what of that ? r\
Her eye discourses ; I will answer it.
I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks :
Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,
Having some business, do entreat her eyes
To twinkle in their spheres till they return.
What if her eyes were there, they in her head ?
The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,
As daylight doth a lamp ; her eyes in heaven 20
Would through the airy region stream so bright
That birds would sing and think it were not night.
See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand !
O, that I were a glove upon that hand,
That I might touch that cheek !
Jul. Ay me !
Rom. She speaks :
O, speak again, bright angel ! for thou art As glorious to this night, being o'er my head, As is a winged messenger of heaven Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him 3o
When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds And sails upon the bosom of the air.
Jul. O Romeo, Romeo ! wherefore art thou Romeo?
8, 9. Her vestal livery . . . allusion to the white and green wear it ; probably with an livery of the court fool.
437
Romeo and Juliet ACT n
Deny thy father and refuse thy name ; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I '11 no longer be a Capulet.
Rom. [Aside] Shall I hear more, or shall I
speak at this ?
Jul. Tis but thy name that is my enemy ; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What 's Montague ? it is nor hand, nor foot, 4o
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name ! What 's in a name ? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet ; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, Retain that dear perfection which he owes '^r*^* Without that title. 'Romeo, doff thy name, And for thy name, which is no part of thee Take all myself.
Rom. I take thee at thy word :
Call me but love, and I '11 be new baptized ; 50
Henceforth I never will be Romeo.
Jul. What man art thou that, thus bescreen'd
in night, So stumblest on my counsel ?
Rom. By a name
I know not how to tell thee who I am : My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, Because it is an enemy to thee ; Had I it written, I would tear the word.
Jul. My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words Of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound : Art thou not Romeo and a Montague ? 60
Rom. Neither, fair maid, if either thee dislike.
Jul. How earnest thou hither, tell me, and
wherefore ?
The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, 61. dislike, displease.
' m 438
P S
> . .
Romeo and Juliet
fc;-,,, A^.r y&/i '' <#^H ^ '^, ** ' And the place death, considering who thou art, If any of my kinsmen find thee here.
Rom. With love's light wings did I o'er-perch
these walls ; [^
For stony limits cannot hold love out, And what love can do, that dares love attempt ; Therefore thy kinsmen are no let to me. • Jul. If they do see thee, they will murder thee. 7a
Rom. Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye Than twenty of their swords : look thou but
sweet,
And I am proof against their enmity. Jul. I would not for the world they saw thee
here. Rom. I have night's cloak to hide me from
their sight ;
And but thou love me, let them find me here :. My life were better ended by their hate, Than death prorogued, wanting of thy love. /*U
Jiil. By whose direction found'st thou out this ^JJ , | • ei
place ? Rom. By love, who first did prompt me to
inquire ; 80
He lent me counsel and I lent him eyes. I am no pilot ; yet, wert thou as far As that vast shore wash'd with the farthest sea, I would adventure for such merchandise. JuL Thou know'st the mask of night is on my
face,
Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek For that which thou hast heard me speak to night.
Fain would I dwell on form, fain, fain deny What I have spoke : but farewell compliment ! Post thou love me ? I know thou wilt say ' Ay,' 90 And I will take thy word : yet, if thou swear'st,
439
rf* 'V-v~" * v . n /LA*
Romeo and Juliet^' *cru
i o^^ • ' /Y^^ <f
how mayst prove false ; at lovers' perjuries,
They say, Jove laughs. O gentle Romeo,
If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully :
Or if thou think'st I am too quickly won,
I '11 frown and be perverse and say thee nay,
So thou wilt woo ; but else, not for the world.
In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond,
And therefore thou rnayst think my 'haviour light : «
But trust me, gentleman, I '11 prove more true 100
Than those that have more cunning to be strange.
I should have been more strange, I must confess,
But that thou overheard'st, ere I was ware,
My true love's passion : therefore pardon me,
And not impute this yielding to light love,
Which the dark night hath so discovered. ?
Rom. Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops —
Jul. O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant
moon,
That monthly changes in her circled orb, no
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.
Rom. What shall I swear by ?
Jul. Do not swear at all ;
Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, Which is the god of my idolatry, And I '11 believe thee.
Rom. If my heart's dear love —
Jul. Well, do not swear : although I joy in thee, I have no joy of this contract to-night : It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden ; Too like the lightning, which doth cease to be Ere one can say ' It lightens.' Sweet, good night ! 120 This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath,
92. at lovers' perjuries, etc. For Jove himself sits in the azure skies From Marlowe's translation of And laughs below at lovers' perjuries. Ovid's Ars Amat., bk. i : — L.
440
sc. ii Romeo and Juliet
May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet. Good night, good night ! as sweet repose and rest Come to thy heart as that within my breast !
Rom. O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied ?
Jul. What satisfaction canst thou have to-night ?
Rom. The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine.
Jul. I gave thee mine before thou didst re quest it : And yet I would it were to give again.
Rom. Wouldst thou withdraw it ? for what pur pose, love? 130
Jul. But to be frank, and give it thee again. And yet I wish but for the thing I have : My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep ; the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite. I hear some noise within ; dear love, adieu !
\Nurse calls within.
Anon, good nurse ! Sweet Montague, be true. Stay but a little, I will come again. [Exit, above.
Rom. O blessed, blessed night ! I am afeard, Being in night, all this is but a dream, i40
Too flattering-sweet to be substantial.
Re-enter JULIET, above.
Jul. Three words, dear Romeo, and good night
indeed.
If that thy bent of love be honourable, Thy purpose marriage, send me word to-morrow, By one that I '11 procure to come to thee, Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite, And all my fortunes at thy foot I '11 lay And follow thee my lord throughout the world.
124. as that, i.e. as to that 141. substantial (four syl- heart, etc. lables).
441
Romeo and Juliet ACT n
Nurse. [ Within\ Madam !
JuL I come, anon. — But if thou rnean'st not
well, 150
I do beseech thee —
Nurse. [ Within] Madam !
^JuL By and by, I come : —
To cease thy suit, and leave me to my grief : To-morrow will I send.
Rom. So thrive my soul —
JuL A thousand times good night !
[Exit, above. Rom. A thousand times the worse, to want thy
light. Love goes toward love, as schoolboys from their
books,
But love from love, toward school with heavy looks.
[Retiring.
Re-enter JULIET, above.
Jul. Hist ! Romeo, hist ! O, for a falconer's
voice,
To lure this tassel-gentle back again ! 160
Bondage is hoarse, and may not speak aloud ; Else would I tear the cave where Echo lies, And make her airy tongue more hoarse than mine, With repetition of my Romeo's name. Romeo !
Rom. It is my soul that calls upon my name : How silver-sweet sound lovers' tongues by night, Like softest music to attending ears !
JuL Romeo !
Rom. My sweet ?
151. By and by, directly. 'Madam,' Q2> 3 and Fj 'my
160. tassel- gentle, tercel- neece. ' The later Quartos alter
gentle, the male of the falcon. this to 'my dear,' the later
164. Romeo; inserted by Folios to 'my sweet.' The
Camb. edd. from Qr former, though adopted by the
168. My sweet. Qa has Camb. edd., strikes a jarring note. 442
. ii
Romeo and Juliet
JuL At what o'clock to-morrow
Shall I send to thee ?
Rom. At the hour of nine.
JuL I will not fail : 'tis twenty years till then. 170 I have forgot why I did call thee back.
Rom. Let me stand here till thou remember it. JuL I shall forget, to have thee still stand there, Remembering how I love thy company.
Rom. And I '11 still stay, to have thee still forget, Forgetting any other home but this. JuL Tis almost morning ; I would have thee
gone :
And yet no further than a wanton's bird ; Who lets it hop a little from her hand, Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves, 180
And with a silk thread plucks it back again, So loving-jealous of his liberty. Rom. I would I were thy bird. JuL Sweet, so would I :
Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing. I) - Good night, good night ! parting is such sweet
sorrow, That I shall say good night till it be morrow.
\Exit above. Rom. Sleep dwell upon thine eyes, peace in thy
breast !
Would I were sleep and peace, so sweet to rest! . . Hence will I to my ghostly father's cell, ••* r His help to crave, and my dear hap to tell. \Exit. i90
443
r V
Romeo and Juliet ACT n
SCENE III. Friar Laurence's cell. Enter FRIAR LAURENCE, with a basket.
Fri. L. The grey-eyed morn smiles on the
frowning night,
Chequering the eastern clouds with streaks of light, And fleckled darkness like a drunkard reels From forth day's path and Titan's fiery wheels : Now, ere the sun advance his burning eye, The day to cheer and night's dank dew to dry, I must up-fill this osier cage of ours / With baleful weeds and precious-juiced flowers. The earth that 's nature's mother is her tomb ; What is her burying grave, that is her womb ; 10
, And from her womb children of divers kind We sucking on her natural bosom find, Many for many virtues excellent, None but for some, and yet all different.
) O, mickle is the powerful grace that lies In herbs, plants, stones, and their true qualities : For nought so vile that on the earth doth live But to the earth some special good doth give, Nor aught so good but, strain'd from that fair use, Revolts from true birth, stumbling on abuse : 20
Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied ; And vice sometime 's by action dignified. Within the infant rind of this weak flower Poison hath residence, and medicine power :
I. grey-eyed; the epithet 4. fiery; so Qi ; 'burning,' describes the bright clear blue Q2.
of early morning 7. osier cage, osier basket.
3. fleckled; so Qq ( ' fleckeld ) ;
an unexampled but picturesque 23. weak, so Qq Ff. Most
formation from ' flecked ' on the edd. alter with Ql to 'small,'
analogy of ' speckled ' etc. for no sufficient reason.
444
sc. HI Romeo and Juliet
For this, being smelt, with that part cheers each
part;
Being tasted, slays all senses with the heart. Two such opposed kings encamp them still In man as well as herbs, grace and rude will ; And where the worser is predominant, Full soon the canker death eats up that plant. 3o
Enter ROMEO.
Rom. Good morrow, father.
Fri. L. Benedicite !
What early tongue so sweet saluteth me ? Young son, it argues a distemper'd head So soon to bid good morrow to thy bed : Care keeps his watch in every old man's eye, And where care lodges, sleep will never lie ; But where unbruised youth with unstuffd brain Doth couch his limbs, there golden sleep doth
reign :
Therefore thy earliness doth me assure Thou art up-roused by some distemperature ; 40
Or if not so, then here I hit it right, Our Romeo hath not been in bed to-night.
Rom. That last is true; the sweeter rest was mine.
Fri. L. God pardon sin ! wast thou with Rosa line?
Rom. With Rosaline, my ghostly father ? no ; I have forgot that name and that name 's woe.
Fri. L. That 's my good son : but where hast / thou been, then? "Lt-tf
Rom. I '11 tell thee, ere thou ask it me I have been feasting with mine enemy, Where on a sudden one hath wounded me,
40. distemperature, disease. 445
Romeo and Juliet ACT u
That 's by me wounded : both our remedies Within thy help and holy physic lies : I bear no hatred, blessed man, for, lo, My intercession likewise steads my foe.
Fri. L. Be plain, good son, and homely in thy drift; .
Riddling confession finds but riddling shrift.
Rom. Then plainly know my heart's dear love is
set
On the fair daughter of rich Capulet : As mine on hers, so hers is set on mine ; And all combined, save what thou must combine 60 By holy marriage : when and where and how We met, we woo'd and made exchange of vow, I '11 tell thee as we pass ; but this I pray, That thou consent to marry us to-day.
Fri. L. Holy Saint Francis, what a change is
here!
Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear, So soon forsaken ? young men's love then lies Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes. Jesu Maria, what a deal of brine Hath wash'd thy sallow cheeks for Rosaline ! 70
How much salt water thrown away in waste, To season love, that of it doth not taste ! The sun not yet thy sighs from heaven clears, Thy old groans ring yet in my ancient ears ; Lo, here upon thy cheek the stain doth sit Of an old tear that is not wash'd off yet : If e'er thou wast thyself and these woes thine, Thou and these woes were all for Rosaline : And art thou changed? pronounce this sentence then,
51. both our remedies, the commonplace that the sighs of cure of us both. love as they rose formed clouds.
73. Alluding to the poetic Cf. i.'i. 196. 446
sc. iv Romeo and Juliet
Women may fall, when there 's no strength in men. 80
Rom. Thou chid'st me oft for loving Rosaline.
Fri. L. For doting, not for loving, pupil mine.
Rom. And bad'st me bury love.
Fri. L. Not in a grave,
To lay one in, another out to have.
Rom. I pray thee, chide not : she whom I love
now
Doth grace for grace and love for love allow ; The other did not so.
Fri. L. O, she knew well
Thy love did read by rote and could not spell. But come, young waverer, come, go with me, In one respect I '11 thy assistant be ; ^>
For this alliance may so happy prove, To turn your households' rancour to pure love. \[
Rom. O, let us hence ; I stand on sudden haste.
Fri. L. Wisely and slow ; they stumble that run fast. [Exeunt.
SCENE IV. A street.
Enter BENVOLIO and MERCUTIO.
Mer. Where the devil should this Romeo be? Came he not home to-night ?
Ben. Not to his father's ; I spoke with his man.
Mer. Ah, that same pale hard-hearted wench,
that Rosaline, Torments him so, that he will sure run mad.
Ben. Tybalt, the kinsman of old Capulet, Hath sent a letter to his father's house.
Mer. A challenge, on my life.
90. In one respect, in virtue 93. I stand on, have urgent of one consideration. need of.
447
Romeo and Juliet ACT n
Ben. Romeo will answer it.
Mer. Any man that can write may answer a letter. 10 Ben. Nay, he will answer the letter's master, how he dares, being dared.
Mer. Alas, poor Romeo ! he is already dead ; stabbed with a white wench's black eye ; shot thorough the ear with a love-song ; the very pin of his heart cleft with the blind bow-boy's butt- shaft : and is he a man to encounter Tybalt ? Ben. Why, what is Tybalt ? Mer. More than prince of cats, I can tell you. O, he is the courageous captain of compliments. 20 He fights as you sing prick-song, keeps time, rV distance, and proportion; rests me his minim (W -j, rest, one, two, and the third in your bosom : the : ~ very butcher of a silk button, a duellist, a duel- rjtf list; a gentleman of the very first house, of the rk . * first and second cause : ah, the immortal passado ! the punto reverso ! the hai ! Ben. The what?
Mer. The pox of such antic, lisping, affecting fantasticoes ; these new tuners of accents ! ' By 3o Jesu, a very good blade ! a very tall man ! a very good whore ! ' Why, is not this a lament-
14. shot; so Qj. Q2 'run.' an adept in the first and second
15. pin, centre of the target, and other 'causes,' which were bull's-eye. held in duellist etiquette to
1 6. butt-shaft, an arrow used justify a duel. Cf. Touchstone's for shooting at butts. • We met, and found the quarrel
19. More than prince of cats. was upon the seventh cause,1 Tybert, or Tybalt, was the As You Like It, v. 4.
name of the cat in Reynard the 26. passado, thrust, in fencing. F°x- 27. punto r ever so, a back-
20. captain of compliments, handed stroke.
master of etiquette. 27. hai (Ital. ' thou hast it '),
21. prick-song, music sung a home-thrust.
from notes. 29. affecting fantasticoes,
25. of the very first house, etc., affected coxcombs; BO Qi. of the highest rank as a duellist ; Q2,3 Fj ' phantacies.'
448
sc. iv Romeo and Juliet
able thing, grandsire, that we should be thus afflicted with these strange flies, these fashion- mongers, these pardon-me's, who stand so much on the new form, that they cannot sit at ease on the old bench ? O, their bones, their bones ! -
Enter ROMEO.
Ben. Here comes Romeo, here comes Romeo.
Mcr. Without his roe, like a dried herring : O flesh, flesh, how art thou fishified ! Now is he 40 for the numbers that Petrarch flowed in : Laura to his lady was but a kitchen-wench ; marry, she had a better love to be-rhyme her ; Dido a dowdy ; Cleopatra a gipsy ; Helen and Hero hildings and harlots ; Thisbe a grey eye or so, but not to the purpose. Signior Romeo, bon jour ! there 's a French salutation to your French slop. You gave us the counterfeit fairly last night.
Rom. Good morrow to you both. What coun terfeit did I give you ? 50
Mer. The slip, sir, the slip ; can you not con ceive ?
Rom. Pardon, good Mercutio, my business was great ; and in such a case as mine a man may strain courtesy.
Mer. That 's as much as to say, such a case as yours constrains a man to bow in the hams.
Rom. Meaning, to court'sy.
35. pardon-me's, persons con- 37. their bones; perhaps a
tinually saying 'pardon me.' play on Fr. 'bon1 was intended
Q! has ' pardon meas '; Q2 — their continual exclamation,
' pardons mees ' ; Fa ' pardon- ' bon ! ' Some edd. accord-
mee's' ; Q4 ' pardons - mees. ' ingly print 'bon's.'
Camb. edd. make 'perdona- 45. grey, blue,
mi's of the last, Delius ' par- 47. French slop, loose hose,
donnez-mois' ; but the weight a fashion borrowed from France,
of authority is for the English 51. slip, a colloquial term for
phrase. a counterfeit coin.
VOL. vii 449 2 G
omeo and Juliet ACT n
^ , >>
'' 'Mer. Thou hast most kindly hit it.
Rom. A most courteous exposition. 60
Mer. Nay, I am the very pink of courtesy.
Rom. Pink for flower.
Mer. Right.
Rom. Why, then is my pump well flowered.
Mer. Well said: follow me this jest now till thou hast worn out thy pump, that when the single sole of it is worn, the jest may remain after the wearing sole singular.
Rom. 0 single-soled jest, solely singular for the singleness ! 70
Mer. Come between us, good Benvolio; my wits faint.
«-~> <JU*4 R°m* Switch and spurs, switch and spurs ; or ' I '11 cry a match.
Mer. Nay, if thy wits run the wild-goose chase, I have done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five : was I with you there for the goose ?
Rom. Thou wast never with me for any thing when thou was not there for the goose. 80
Mer. I will bite thee by the ear for that jest.
Rom. Nay, good goose, bite not.
Mer. Thy wit is a very bitter sweeting; it is a most sharp sauce.
59. kindly, aptly. over whatever ground the fore-
64. flowered, ' pinked ' with most jockey chose to go holes in the shape of a flower. (Hudson).
65. Well mid; so Q^. Qq 7g. was I with you there for Ff ' sure wit. ' //^ goose ? i. e. was I a match
69. single - soled, simple, for you witn my retort ? childish.
75- wild-goose chase, a kind 8a' *** *°°*> blte not ' a
of horse race. • Two horses ProverD-
were started together, and which- 83. bitter sweeting, a kind of
ever rider could get the lead, the apple in favour for apple-sauce
other was obliged to follow him to a goose.
450
sc. iv Romeo and Juliet
Rom. And is it not well served in to a sweet goose ?
Mer. O, here 's a wit of cheveril, that stretches from an inch narrow to an ell broad !
Rom. I stretch it out for that word * broad ; ' which added to the goose, proves thee far and 90 wide a broad goose.
Mer. Why, is not this better now than groan- [/ ing for love ? now art thou sociable, now art thou I Romeo ; now art thou what thou art, by art as | well as by nature : for this drivelling love is like a great natural, that runs lolling up and down to hide his bauble in a hole.
Ben. Stop there, stop there.
Mer. Thou desirest me to stop in my tale againstjhe hair. - 100
Ben. Thou wouldst else have made thy tale large.
Mer. O, thou art deceived ; I would have made it short : for I was come to the whole depth of my tale ; and meant, indeed, to occupy the argument no longer.
Rom. Here 's goodly gear 1
Enter Nurse and PETER.
Mer. A sail, a sail !
Ben. Two, two ; a shirt and a smock.
Nurse. Peter ! no
Peter. Anon?
Nurse. My fan, Peter.
87. cheveril^ kid-skin, pro- point need be sought in the
verbially pliable and elastic. phrase, for Romeo's preoccupied
90. far and wide a broad mind betrays itself in his harsh
goose ; perhaps ' far and wide and strained wit. abroad, goose ' ; or broad may 97. bauble, the fool's club, be 'flat, arrant.' Stauntonsug- 100. ag ai n st the hair, against
gested ' brood-goose. ' No fine the grain.
451
Romeo and Juliet ACT
Mer. Good Peter, to hide her face ; for her fan 's the fairer facei
Nurse. God ye good morrow, gentlemen.
Mer. God ye good den, fair gentlewoman. ^
Nurse. Is it good den ?
Mer. Tis no less, I tell you, for the bawdy hand of the dial is now upon the prick of noon.
Nurse. Out upon you ! what a man are you ! 120
Rom. One, gentlewoman, that God hath made himself to mar. G? , - /jr-W A-X«**-*-«-^f fc~*~~*^
Nurse. By my troth, it is well said ; ' for him self to mar,' quoth a' ? Gentlemen, can any of you tell me where I may find the young Romeo ?
Rom. I can tell you; but young Romeo will be older when you have found him than he was when you sought him : I am the youngest of that name, for fault of a worse.
Nurse. You say well. 130
Mer. Yea, is the worst well? very well took, i' faith ; wisely, wisely.
Nurse. If you be he, sir, I desire some confi dence with you.
Ben. She will indite him to some supper.
Mer. A bawd, a bawd, a bawd ! So ho !
Rom. What hast thou found ?
Mer. No hare, sir; unless a hare, sir, in a lenten pie, that is something stale and hoar ere it be spent. \Sings. i4o
An old hare hoar, And an old hare hoar, Is very good meat in lent :
116. God ye good den, (God conference
firs* ffisxtss f '*• * k°! arhnidcal term
as it still is in the country). °f thKe <?ase' USed °n dlscover-
119. prick, point. ing the hare.
133. confidence, (blunder for) 139. hoar, mouldy.
452
sc. iv Romeo and Juliet
But a hare that is hoar Is too much for a score, When it hoars ere it be spent. Romeo, will you come to your father's ? we '11 to dinner thither.
Rom. I will follow you.
Mer. Farewell, ancient lady ; farewell, [sing- 150 ing} 'lady, lady, lady.'
\Exeunt Mercutio and Benvolio.
Nurse. Marry, farewell ! I pray you, sir, what saucy merchant was this, that was so full of his ropery ?
Rom. A gentleman, nurse, that loves to hear \ himself talk, and will speak more in a minute i than he will stand to in a month.
Nurse. An a' speak any thing against me, I'll take him down, an a' were lustier than he is, and twenty such Jacks ; and if I cannot, I'll 160 find those that shall. Scurvy knave ! I am none , of his flirt-gills; I am none of his skains-mates. (K And thou must stand by too, and suffer every knave to use me at his pleasure?
Peter. I saw no man use you at his pleasure ; if I had, rny weapon should quickly have been out, I warrant you : I dare draw as soon as another man, if I see occasion in a good quarrel, and the law on my side.
Nurse. Now, afore God, I am so vexed, that i70 every part about me quivers. Scurvy knave !
146. hoars, grows mouldy. 162. skains-mates, com-
151. ' lady, lady, lady.' The panions (perhaps from 'skein,'
burden of the ballad of Susanna. as if originally meaning ' fellow -
154. ropery, roguery (with a spinners.' Malone thought of suggestion of 'rope,' i.e. halter), ' skain,' a short sword ; but the but probably not meant for a word must refer to female corn- blunder, as it occurs elsewhere panions. It occurs nowhere in this sense. Qa has ' rope ripe. ' else, and may be merely one of
162. flirt-gills, loose women. the Nurse's blunders).
453
Romeo and Juliet ACT n
Pray you, sir, a word : and as I told you, my young lady bade me inquire you out; what she bade me say, I will keep to myself: but first let me tell ye, if ye should lead her into a fool's paradise, as they say, it were a very gross kind of behaviour, as they say : for the gentlewoman is young; and, therefore, if you should deal double with her, truly it were an ill thing to be offered to any gentlewoman, and very weak 180 dealing.
Rom. Nurse, commend me to thy lady and mistress. I protest unto thee —
Nurse. Good heart, and, i' faith, I will tell her as much : Lord, Lord, she will be a joyful woman.
Rom. What wilt thou tell her, nurse? thou dost not mark me.
Nurse. I will tell her, sir, that you do pro test ; which, as I take it, is a gentlemanlike offer. 190
Rom. Bid her devise
Some means to come to shrift this afternoon ; And there she shall at Friar Laurence' cell Be shrived and married. Here is for thy pains.
Nurse. No, truly, sir ; not a penny.
Rom. Go to ; I say you shall.
Nurse. This afternoon, sir? well, she shall be there.
Rom. And stay, good nurse, behind the abbey
wall :
Within this hour my man shall be with thee, 200
And bring thee cords made like a tackled stair ; Which to the high top-gallant of my joy Must be my convoy in the secret night. Farewell ; be trusty, and I '11 quit thy pains : Farewell ; commend me to thy mistress. 201. tackled stair, rope ladder. 454
$c. iv Romeo and Juliet
Nurse. Now God in heaven bless thee ! Hark you, sir.
Rom. What say'st thou, my dear nurse ?
Nurse. Is your man secret? Did you ne'er
hear say, Two may keep counsel, putting one away ?
Rom. I warrant thee, my man 's as true as steel.
Nurse. Well, sir; my mistress is the sweetest lady — Lord, Lord ! when 'twas a little prating thing — O, there is a nobleman in town, one Paris, that would fain lay knife aboard ; but she, good soul, had as lief see a toad, a very toad, . as see him. I anger her sometimes and tell her ' , *'' that Paris is the properer man ; but, I '11 warrant you, when I say so, she looks as pale as any clout in the versal world. Doth not rosemary and Romeo begin both with a letter ? 220
Rom. Ay, nurse ; what of that ? both with an R.
Nurse. Ah, mocker ! that 's the dog's name ; R is for the — No ; I know it begins with some other letter — and she hath the prettiest sententious of it, of you and rosemary, that it would do you good to hear it.
Rom. Commend me to thy lady.
Nurse. Ay, a thousand times. [Exit Romeo.} Peter ! 23o
Pet. Anon?
Nurse. Peter, take my fan, and go before, and apace. [Exeunt.
217. properer, handsomer. the old grammars ; and a verb
218. clout, sheet, piece of was even coined, ' to arre,' to linen. growl. Hence the illiterate
223. the dogs name; R, as Nurse takes for 'mockery' the resembling the dog's growl, was suggestion that ' Romeo ' and known as ' the dog's letter ' in ' Rosemary ' begin with ' arre. '
455
Romeo and Juliet ACT
SCENE V, Capukfs orchard.
Enter JULIET.
JuL The clock struck nine when I did send
the nurse;
In half an hour she promised to return. Perchance she cannot meet him : that 's not so. O, she is lame ! love's heralds should be thoughts, Which ten times faster glide than the sun's beams, Driving back shadows over louring hills : Therefore do nimble-pinion'd doves draw love, And therefore hath the wind-swift Cupid wings. Now is the sun upon the highmost hill Of this day's journey, and from nine till twelve Is three long hours, yet she is not come. Had she affections and warm youthful blood, She would be as swift in motion as a ball ; My words would bandy her to my sweet love, And his to me :
But old folks, many feign as they were dead ; Unwieldy, slow, heavy and pale as lead. O God, she comes !
Enter Nurse and Peter.
O honey nurse, what news? Hast thou met with him ? Send thy man away. Nurse. Peter, stay at the gate. [Exit Peter.
JuL Now, good sweet nurse, — O Lord, why
look'st thou sad ?
Though news be sad, yet tell them merrily ; If good, thou shamest the music of sweet news By playing it td' me with so sour a face.
Nurse. I am a-weary, give me leave awhile.
456
sc. v Romeo and Juliet
Fie, how my bones ache ! what a jaunce have
I had! JuL I would thou hadst my bones, and I
thy news. Nay, come, I pray thee, speak ; good, good nurse,
speak. Nurse. Jesu, what haste? can you not stay
awhile ?
Do you not see that I am out of breath ? 3o
Jul. How art thou out of breath, when thou
hast breath
To say to me that thou art out of breath ? The excuse that thou dost make in this delay Is longer than the tale thou dost excuse. Is thy news good, or bad ? answer to that ; Say either, and I '11 stay the circumstance : Let me be satisfied, is 't good or bad ? 4jL f"
Nurse. Well, you have made a simple choice ; you know not how to choose a man : Romeo ! no, not he ; though his face be better than any man's, 40 yet his leg excels all men's ; and for a hand, and a foot, and a body, though they be not to be talked on, yet they are past compare : he is not the flower of courtesy, but, I '11 warrant him, as gentle as a lamb. Go thy ways, wench ; serve God. What, have you dined at home ?
JuL No, no : but all this did I know before. What says he of our marriage ? what of that ? Nurse. Lord, how my head aches ! what a
head have I !
It beats as it would fall in twenty pieces. 50
My back o' t' other side, — O, my back, my
back! Beshrew your heart for sending me about,
26. jaunce, wild ramble, jaunt ; so Q2. Qj 'jaunt.' 36. circumstance, detailed account.
457
jf /jtT \i«»
Romeo and Juliet ACT n
To catch my death with jauncing up and down !
Jul. I' faith, I am sorry that thou art not well. Sweet, sweet, sweet nurse, tell me, what says my love?
Nurse. Your love says, like an honest gentle man, and a courteous, and a kind, and a hand some, and, I warrant, a virtuous, — Where is your mother ?
Jul. Where is my mother ! why, she is within ; 60 Where should she be ? How oddly thou repliest ! ' Your love says, like an honest gentleman, Where is your mother ? '
Nurse. O God's lady dear !
Are you so hot ? marry, come up, I trow ; Is this the poultice for my aching bones ? Henceforward do your messages yourself.
Jul. Here 's such a coil ! come, what says Romeo ?
Nurse. Have you got leave to go to shrift to-day ?
JuL I have.
Nurse. Then hie you hence to Friar Laurence'
cell ; 70
There stays a husband to make you a wife : Now comes the wanton blood up in your cheeks, They '11 be in scarlet straight at any news. Hie you to church ; I must another way, To fetch a ladder, by the which your love Must climb a bird's nest soon when it is dark : I am the drudge and toil in your delight, But you shall bear the burden soon at night. Go ; I '11 to dinner ; hie you to the cell.
Jul- Hie to high fortune ! Honest nurse, fare- well. [Exeunt. 80
67. coil, ado.
458
sc. vr Romeo and Juliet
SCENE VI. Friar Laurence's cell
Enter FRIAR LAURENCE and ROMEO.
Fri. L. So smile the heavens upon this holy
act, That after hours with sorrow chide us not !
Rom. Amen, amen ! but come what sorrow can, It cannot countervail the exchange of joy That one short minute gives me in her sight : Do thou but close our hands with holy words, Then love-devouring death do what he dare ; It is enough I may but call her mine.
Fri. L. These violent delights have violent ends And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, Which as they kiss consume : the sweetest honey Is loathsome in his own deliciousness And in the taste confounds the appetite : Therefore love moderately ; long love doth so ; Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.
Enter JULIET.
Here comes the lady : O, so light a foot Will ne'er wear out the everlasting flint : A lover may bestride the gossamer That idles in the wanton summer air, And yet not fall ; so light is vanity.
Jul. Good even to my ghostly confessor.
Fri. L. Romeo shall thank thee, daughter, for us- both.
Jul. As much to him, else is his thanks too much. (0
Rom. Ah, Juliet, if the measure of thy joy Be heap'd like mine, and that thy skill be more
.»"•
^ v< <
Romeo and Juliet ACT m
To blazon it, then sweeten with thy breath This neighbour air, and let rich music's tongue Unfold the imagined happiness that both Receive in either by this dear encounter.
Conceit, more rich in matter than in words, 30
Brags of his substance, not of ornament : They are but beggars that can count their worth ; But my true love is grown to such excess I cannot sum up sum of half my wealth.
Fri. L. Come, come with me, and we will make
short work ;
For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone Till holy church incorporate two in one.
\Exeunt.
ACT III.
SCENE I. A public place.
Enter MERCUTIO, BENVOLIO, Page, and Servants.
Ben. I pray thee, good Mercutio, let 's retire : The day is hot, the Capulets abroad, And, if we meet, we shall not scape a brawl ; For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.
Mer. Thou art like one of those fellows that when he enters the confines of a tavern claps me his sword upon the table and says * God send me
26. blazon, celebrate. 31. i.e. rejoices in possessing,
not in brilliantly describing its 30. Conceit, imagination. possession.
460
sc. i Romeo and Juliet
no need of thee ! ' and by the operation of the second cup draws it on the drawer, when indeed there is no need. J0
Ben. Am I like such a fellow?
Mer. Come, come, thou art as hot a Jack in thy mood as any in Italy, and as soon moved to be moody, and as soon moody to be moved.
Ben. And what to?
Mer. Nay, an there were two such, we should have none shortly, for one would kill the other. Thou ! why, thou wilt quarrel with a man that hath a hair more, or a hair less, in his be'afd, than thou hast : thou wilt quarrel with a man for 90 cracking nuts, having no other reason but be cause thou hast hazel eyes : what eye but such an eye would spy out such a quarrel? Thy head is as full of quarrels as an egg is full of meat, and yet thy head hath been beaten as addle as an egg for quarrelling : thou hast quar relled with a man for coughing in the street, because he hath wakened thy dog that hath lain asleep in the sun : didst thou not fall out with a tailor for wearing his new doublet before Easter? 30 with another, for tying his new shoes with old riband? and yet thou wilt tutor me from quar relling !
Ben. An I were so apt to quarrel as thou art, any man should buy the fee-simple of my life for an hour and a quarter.
Mer. The fee-simple ! O simple !
Ben. By my head, here come the Capulets.
Mer. By my heel, I care not.
Enter TYBALT and others.
Tyb. Follow me close, for I will speak to them. 40 Gentlemen, good den : a word with one of you. 461
Romeo and Juliet ACT m
Mer. And but one word with one of us ? couple it with something ; make it a word and a blow.
Tyb. You shall find me apt enough to that, sir, an you will give me occasion.
Mer. Could you not take some occasion with out giving?
Tyb. Mercutio, thou consort'st with Romeo, —
Mer. Consort ! what, dost thou make us min strels ? an thou make minstrels of us, look to hear 5o nothing but discords : here 's my fiddlestick ; here 's that shall make you dance. 'Zounds, consort !
Ben. We talk here in the public haunt of men : Either withdraw unto some private place, And reason coldly of your grievances, Or else depart ; here all eyes gaze on us.
Mer. Men's eyes were made to look, and let
them gaze ; I will not budge for no man's pleasure, I.
Enter Romeo.
Tyb. Well, peace be with you, sir : here comes
my man. Mer. But I '11 be hang'd, sir, if he wear your
livery : 60
Marry, go before to field, he '11 be your follower ; Your worship in that sense may call him ' man.' Tyb. Romeo, the hate I bear thee can afford No better term than this, — thou art a villain. Rom. Tybalt, the reason that I have to love
thee
Doth much excuse the appertaining rage To such a greeting : villain am I none ; Therefore farewell ; I see thou know'st me not. Tyb. Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries
49. Consort (a play on the 66, 67. i.e. the rage apper- sense, 'company of musicians'). taining to such a greeting. 462
sc. i Romeo and Juliet
That thou hast done me ; therefore turn and draw. 7o
Rom. I do protest, I never injured thee, But love thee better than thou canst devise, Till thou shalt know the reason of my love : And so, good Capulet, — which name I tender As dearly as my own, — be satisfied.
Mer. O calm, dishonourable, vile submission ! Alia stoccata carries it away. \Draws.
Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk ?
Tyb. What wouldst thou have with me ?
Mer. Good king of cats, nothing but one of go your nine lives ; that I mean to make bold withal, and, as you shall use me hereafter, dry-beat the rest of the eight. Will you pluck your sword out of his pilcher by the ears ? make haste, lest mine be about your ears ere it be out.
Tyb. I am for you. [Drawing.
Rom. Gentle Mercutio, put thy rapier up.
Mer. Come, sir, your passado. \They fight.
Rom. Draw, Benvolio ; beat down their weapons. Gentlemen, for shame, forbear this outrage ! 90
Tybalt, Mercutio, the prince expressly hath Forbidden bandying in Verona streets : Hold, Tybalt ! good Mercutio !
\Tybalt under Romeo s arm stabs Mercutio, and flies with his followers.
Mer. I am hurt.
A plague o' both your houses ! I am sped. Is he gone, and hath nothing?
Ben. What, art thou hurt?
Mer. Ay, ay, a scratch, a scratch ; marry, 'tis enough.
74. tender, regard. 84. pilcher, scabbard (con-
77. Alia stoccata, a rapier- temptuously ; perhaps with an
thrust. Qq Ff ' Alia stucatho,' allusion to 'pilch,' a leather
' Allastucatho. ' jerkin). 82. dry-beat, thrash.
463
8
Romeo and Juliet ACT
Where is my page ? Go, villain, fetch a surgeon.
[Exit Page.
Rom. Courage, man ; the hurt cannot be much.
Mer. No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church-door ; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve : ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man. I am peppered, I warrant, for this world. A plague o' both your houses ! 'Zounds, a dog, a rat, a mouse, a cat, to scratch a man to death ! a braggart, a rogue, a villain, that fights by the book of arithmetic ! Why the devil came you between us ? I was hurt under your arm.
Rom. I thought all for the best.
Mer. Help me into some house, Benvolio, Or I shall faint. A plague o' both your houses ! They have made worms' meat of me : I have it, And soundly too : your houses !
\Exeunt Mercutio and Benvolio.
Rom. This gentleman, the prince's near ally, My very friend, hath got his mortal hurt In my behalf; my reputation stain'd With Tybalt's slander,— Tybalt, that an hour Hath been my kinsman ! O sweet Juliet, Thy beauty hath made me effeminate And in my temper soften'd valour's steel !
Re-enter BENVOLIO.
Ben. O Romeo, Romeo, brave Mercutio 's dead ! That gallant spirit hath aspired the clouds, Which too untimely here did scorn the earth.
Rom. This day's black fate on more days doth
depend ; This but begins the woe others must end.
Ben. Here comes the furious Tybalt back again.
124. depend, impend.
SC. 1
Romeo and Juliet
Rom. Alive, in triumph ! and Mercutio slain ! Away to heaven, respectivejenity, ti-f :«. And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now !
Re-enter TYBALT.
Now, Tybalt, take the * villain ' back again, 130
That late thou gavest me ; for Mercutio's soul Is but a little way above our heads, Staying for thine to keep him company : Either thou, or I, or both, must go with him.
Tyb. Thou, wretched boy, that didst consort
him here, Shalt with him hence.
Rom. This shall determine that.
[They fight ; Tybalt falls. .
Ben. Romeo, away, be gone ! The citizens are up, and Tybalt slain. Stand not amazed: the prince will doom thee death, If thou art taken : hence, be gone, away !
Rom. OLI_am_ fortune's _fpol !
Ben. Why dost thou stay?
\Exit Romeo.
Enter Citizens, etc.
First Cit. Which way ran he that kill'd Mercutio? Tybalt, that murderer, which way ran he ?
Ben. There lies that Tybalt.
First Cit. Up, sir, go with me ;
I charge thee in the prince's name, obey.
• Enter Prince, attended; MONTAGUE, CAPULET,
their Wives, and others.
Prin. Where are the vile beginners of this fray? Ben. O noble prince, I can discover all
128. respective, considerate, 139. amazed, bewildered,
scrupulous. 147. discover, disclose.
VOL. VII 465 2 H
Romeo and Juliet ACT m
The unlucky manage of this fatal brawl : There lies the man, slain by young Romeo, That slew thy kinsman, brave Mercutio. iSO
La. Cap. Tybalt, my cousin ! O my brother's
child ! O prince ! O cousin ! husband ! O, the blood
is spilt
Of my dear kinsman ! Prince, as thou art true, For blood of ours, shed blood of Montague. O cousin, cousin !
Prin. Benvolio, who began this bloody fray? Ben. Tybalt, here slain, whom Romeo's hand
did slay ;
Romeo that spoke him fair, bade him bethink How nice the quarrel was, and urged withal Your high displeasure : all this uttered 160
With gentle breath, calm look, knees humbly
bow'd,
Could not take truce with the unruly spleen Of Tybalt deaf to peace, but that he tilts With piercing steel at bold Mercutio's breast, Who, all as hot, turns deadly point to point, And, with a martial scorn, with one hand beats Cold death aside, and with the other sends It back to Tybalt, whose dexterity Retorts it : Romeo he cries aloud, * Hold, friends ! friends, part ! ' and, swifter than
his tongue, 170
His agile arm beats down their fatal points, And 'twixt them rushes ; underneath whose arm An envious thrust from Tybalt hit the life Of stout Mercutio, and then Tybalt fled ; But by and by comes back to Romeo, Who had but newly entertain'd revenge, And to 't they go like lightning, for, ere I
148. manage, course. 159. nice, trifling.
466
sc. ii Romeo and Juliet
Could draw to part them, was stout Tybalt slain.
And, as he fell, did Romeo turn and fly.
This is the truth, or let Benvolio die. i8o
La, Cap. He is a kinsman to the Montague ; Affection makes him false ; he speaks not true : Some twenty of them fought in this black strife, And all those twenty could but kill one life. I beg for justice, which thou, prince, must give ; Romeo slew Tybalt, Romeo must not live.
Prin. Romeo slew him, he slew Mercutio ; Who now the price of his dear blood doth owe ?
Mon. Not Romeo, prince, he was Mercutio's
friend ;
His fault concludes but what the law should end, 190 The life of Tybalt.
Prin. And for that offence
Immediately we do exile him hence : I have an interest in your hate's proceeding, My blood for your rude brawls doth lie a-bleeding ; But I '11 amerce you with so strong a fine ^i-**-* That you shall all repent the loss of mine : J"C«oc*c*f
I will be deaf to pleading and excuses ; Nor tears nor prayers shall purchase out abuses : Therefore use none : let Romeo hence in haste, Else, when he 's found, that hour is his last. 200
Bear hence this body and attend our will : Mercy but murders, pardoning those that kill.
[Exeunt.
SCENE II. Capulet's orchard.
Enter JULIET.
Jul. Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds, Towards Phcebus' lodging : such a waggoner
193. hate's; Knight's emendation for Qq Ff 'hearts.' 467
Romeo and Juliet ACT m
As Phaethon would whip you to the west,
And bring in cloudy night immediately.
Spread thy close curtain, love-performing night,
That runaways' eyes may wink, and Romeo
Leap to these arms, untalk'd of and unseen.
Lovers can see to do their amorous rites
By their own beauties ; or, if love be blind,
It best agrees wit^ night. Come, civil night, «>
Thou sober-suited matron, all in black,
And learn me how to lose a winning match,
Play'd for a pair of stainless maidenhoods :
Hood my unmann'd blood, bating in my cheeks,
With thy black mantle; till strange love, grown
bold,
Think true love acted simple modesty. Come, night ; come, Romeo ; come, thou day in
night ;
For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night Whiter than new snow on a raven's back. Come, gentle night, come, loving, black-brow'd
night, 20
3. Phaethon, who rashly at- ful phraseology of Elizabethan
tempted to drive the chariot of girls, and savours of the ex-
the Sun. pressive language of children's
6. runaways'. No interpreta- rhymes. ' The latest discussion
tion of this word is satisfactory. of the question is by Professor
Those who retain it commonly Hales, who defends 'runaways"
explain it 'ramblers, vagabonds,' in the sense of 'vagabonds'
whose observation Romeo could (Longmans^ Magazine, Feb.
not defy till it was dark ; a 1892).-.^ .. t.'t, - v ^^ A
prosaic idea. Dyce proposed 10. «fzY, grave, sober.
' rude day ' ; Heath ' Ru- 12. learn, teach,
mour's' ; Halpin thought that 14. The image is from fal-
' Runaway ' meant Cupid ( "Epws conry. A falcon was unmanned
Spa-H-trr)*) ; Warburton that it when not yet brought to endure
referred to Phoebus in his company ; it bated or fluttered
chariot ; and Mr. Gollancz sug- with its wings when the hood
gests, very prettily, that Run- was removed,
away ' may have belonged, in 14. bating ;Qz, 3. Ff 'bayting.1
the sense of " Day," to the play- 15. strange, i.e. untamed, shy.
(D ^ U^jjz^ ^ &-e\ A
'
sc. ii Romeo and Juliet
Give me my Romeo ; and, when he shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun.
O, I have bought the mansion of a love,
But not possess'd it, and, though I am sold,
Not yet enjoy'd : so tedious is this day
As is the night before some festival
To an impatient child that hath new robes 30
And may not wear them. O, here comes my nurse,
And she brings news ; and every tongue that speaks
But Romeo's name speaks heavenly eloquence.
Enter Nurse, with cords.
Now, nurse, what news ? What hast thou there ?
the cords That Romeo bid thee fetch ?
Nurse. Ay, ay, the cords.
\Throws them down. Jul. Ay me ! what news ? why dost thou wring
thy hands ? Nurse. Ah, well-a-day ! he 's dead, he 's dead,
he 's dead !
We are undone, lady, we are undone ! Alack the day ! he 's gone, he 's kill'd, he 's dead ! Jul. Can heaven be so envious ? Nurse. Romeo can, 40
Though heaven cannot : O Romeo, Romeo ! Who ever would have thought it ? Romeo ! Jul. What devil art thou, that dost torment me
thus?
This torture should be roar'd in dismal hell. Hath Romeo slain himself? say thou but ' I/
45. say thou but '/,' i.e. 'ay,' which was commonly written ' I.' 469
Romeo and Juliet ACT m
*^
that bare vowel ' I ' shall poison more Than the death-darting eye of cockatrice : I am not I, if there be such an I ; Or those eyes shut, that make thee answer * I.' If he be slain, say ' I ' ; or if not, no : 50
Brief sounds determine of my weal or woe.
Nurse. I saw the wound, I saw it with mine
eyes- God save the mark ! — here on his manly breast : A piteous corse, a bloody piteous corse ; Pale, pale as ashes, all bedaub'd in blood, All in gore-blood ; I swounded at the sight.
Jul. O, break, my heart ! poor bankrupt, break
at once !
To prison, eyes, ne'er look on liberty ! Vile earth, to earth resign, end motion here, j I And thou and Romeo press one heavy bier ! 60
Nurse. O Tybalt, Tybalt, the best friend I had ! O courteous Tybalt ! honest gentleman ! That ever I should live to see thee dead !
Jul. What storm is this that blows so contrary ? Is Romeo slaughter'd, and is Tybalt dead ? My dear-loved cousin, and my dearer lord ? Then, dreadful trumpet, sound the general doom ! For who is living, if those two are gone ?
Nurse. Tybalt is gone, and Romep banished : Romeo that kill'd him, he is banished. 70
Jul. O God ! did Romeo's hand shed Tybalt's blood ?
Nurse. It did, it did ; alas the day, it did !
Jul. O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face ! Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave ? Beautiful tyrant ! fiend angelical !
53. God save the mark! a a blessing on it ; hence, loosely,
phrase originally used to avert ' God bless us ! '
the evil omen attaching to some 56. gore-blood, blood that has
token or 'mark,' by invoking been shed, clotted blood.
*. ik v^, J?
(X*"1 &_*- fe-lfc U*-*-*--*-*-' h-T^C^- - *-*- /**
Romeo and Juliet ^.^ ^c— £.^0 . n?7
Dove-feather'd raven ! wolvish-ravening lamb !
Despised substance of divinest show !
Just opposite to what thou justly seem'st,
A damned saint, an honourable villain !
O nature, what hadst thou to do in hell, 80
When thou didst bower the spirit of a fiend
In mortal paradise of such sweet flesh?
Was ever book containing such vile matter
So fairly bound ? O, that deceit should dwell
In such a gorgeous palace !
Nurse. There 's no trust,
No faith, no honesty in men ; all perjured, All forsworn, all naught, all dissemblers. Ah, where 's my man ? give me some aqua vitae : These griefs, these woes, these sorrows make me
old. Shame come to Romeo !
Jul. Blister'd be thy tongue 90
For such a wish ! he was not born to shame : Upon his brow shame is ashamed to sit ; For 'tis a throne where honour may be crown'd Sole monarch of the universal earth. O, what a beast was I to chide at him !
Nurse. Will you speak well of him that kill'd your cousin ?
JuL Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband ? Ah, poor my lord, what tongue shall smooth thy
name,
When I, thy three-hours wife, have mangled it ? But, wherefore, villain, didst thou kill my cousin ? 100 That villain cousin would have kill'd my husband : Back, foolish tears, back to your native spring ; Your tributary drops belong to woe,
76. Dove-feather'd raven , etc. ; feathered Raven' ; the later Qq Theobald's restoration. Qc^. 3 and Fj 'ravenous dove, feathred. and Fj have ' ravenous dove- Raven. ' 471
Romeo and Juliet ACT m
Which you, mistaking, offer up to joy.
My husband lives, that Tybalt would have slain ;
And Tybalt 's dead, that would have slain my
husband :
All this is comfort ; wherefore weep I then ? Some word there was, worser than Tybalt's death, That murder'd me : I would forget it fain ; But, O, it presses to my memory, no
Like damned guilty deeds to sinners' minds : 'Tybalt is dead, and Romeo — banished ;/ That ' banished,' that one word * banished,' Hath slain ten thousand Tybalts. Tybalt's death Was woe enough, if it had ended there : Or, if sour woe delights in fellowship And needly will be rank'd with other griefs, Why follow'd not, when she said ' Tybalt 's dead/ Thy father, or thy mother, nay, or both, Which modern lamentation might have moved ? 120 But with a rearward following Tybalt's death, 1 Romeo is banished,' to speak that word, Is father, mother, Tybalt, Romeo, Juliet, All slain, all dead. * Romeo is banished ! ' There is no end, no limit, measure, bound, In that word's death ; no words can that woe sound. Where is my father, and my mother, nurse ?
Nurse. Weeping and wailing over Tybalt's corse : Will you go to them ? I will bring you thither.
Jul. Wash they his wounds with tears : mine
shall be spent, 130
When theirs are dry, for Romeo's banishment Take up those cords : poor ropes, you are beguiled, Both you and I ; for Romeo is exiled : He made you for a highway to my bed ; But I, a maid, die maiden-widowed.
117. needly -will, needs must.
120. modern, common, ordinary.
472
sc. in Romeo and Juliet
Come, cords, come, nurse ; I '11 to my wedding- bed ; And death, not Romeo, take my maidenhead !
Nurse. Hie to your chamber : I '11 find Romeo To comfort you : I wot well where he is. Hark ye, your Romeo will be here at night : I '11 to him ; he is hid at Laurence' cell.
Jul. O, find him ! give this ring to my true knight, And bid him come to take his last farewell.
[Exeunt.
SCENE III. Friar Laurence's cell.
Enter FRIAR LAURENCE.
Fri. L. Romeo, come forth ; come forth, thou
fearful man :
Affliction is enamour'd of thy parts, And thou art wedded to calamity.
Enter ROMEO.
Rom. Father, what news? what is the prince's
doom?
What sorrow craves acquaintance at my hand, That I yet know not ?
Fri. L. Too familiar
Is my dear son with such sour company : I bring thee tidings of the prince's doom.
Rom. What less than dooms-day is the prince's
doom ? Fri. L. A gentler judgement vanish'd from his
lips, Not body's death, but body's banishment.
Rom. Ha, banishment ! be merciful, say ' death ;'
10. vanish'd, issued.
473
«
v V x/ Romeo and Juliet ACT m
For exile hath more terror in his look,
Much more than death : do not say ' banishment.'
Fri. L. Hence from Verona art thou banished : Be patient, for the world is broad and wide.
Rom. There is no world without Verona walls, But purgatory^ torture, hell itself. Hence-banished is banish'd from the world, And world's exile is death : then banished, 20
Is death mis-term'd : calling death banishment, Thou cutt'st my head off with a golden axe, And smilest upon the stroke that murders me.
Fri. L. O deadly sin ! O rude unthankfulness ! Thy fault our law calls death ; but the kind prince, Taking thy part, hath rush'd aside the law, And turn'd that black word death to banishment : This is dear mercy, and thou seest it not.
Rom. 'Tis torture, and not mercy : heaven is
here,
Where Juliet lives ; and every cat and dog 30
And little mouse, every unworthy thing, Live here in heaven and may look on her, But Romeo may not : more validity, More honourable state, more courtship lives In carrion-flies than Romeo : they may seize On the white wonder of dear Juliet's hand And steal immortal blessing from her lips, Who, even in pure and vestal modesty, Still blush, as thinking their own kisses sin ; But Romeo may not ; he is banished : 40
This flies may do, but I from this must fly :
26. rush'd aside the law, with haviour.
impetuous eagerness eluded, or 40-43. This passage is con- contravened, the law. fused in the old editions. Q2
28. dear, in full measure, gives the lines in the order : 41,
genuine. 43, 40, 41 (with the variation,
33. validity, worth. 'Flies may do this'), 42. FI
34. courtship, courtly be- 41, 43, 40.
474
a
They are free men, but I am banished.
And say'st thou yet that exile is not death ?
Hadst thou no poison mix'd, no sharp-ground knife,
No sudden mean of death, though ne'er so mean,
But * banished ' to, kill me ? — ' banished ' ?
O friar, the damned use that word in hell ;
Howling attends it : how hast thou the heart,
Being a divine, a ghostly confessor,
A sin-absolver, and my friend profess'd, 5o
To mangle me with that word ' banished ' ?
Fri* L. Thou fond mad man, hear me but speak a word.
Rom. O, thou wilt speak again of banishment.
Fri. Z. I '11 give thee armour to keep off that
word;
Adversity's sweet milk, philosophy, To comfort thee, though thou art banished.
Rom. Yet * banished ' ? Hang up philosophy ! Unless philosophy can make a Juliet, Displant a town, reverse a prince's doom, It helps not, it prevails not : talk no more. op*1*! ,
Fri. Z. O, then I see that madmen have no ears. uJu. <
Rom. How should they, when that wise men \ ^ have no eyes?
Fri. L. Let me dispute with thee of thy estate.
Rom. Thou canst not speak of that thou dost
not feel :
Wert thou as young as I, Juliet thy love, t**
An hour but married, Tybalt murdered, Doting like me and like me banished, L ^ ^
Then mightst thou speak, then mightst thou tear
thy hair,
And fall upon the ground, as I do now, Taking the measure of an unmade grave. 70 f
eking within.'*
'*
Xt&ftfa
Romeo and Juliet ACT m
Fri. L. Arise ; one knocks ; good Romeo, hide
thyself. Rom. Not I ; unless the breath of heart-sick
groans, Mist-like, infold me from the search of eyes.
[Knocking. Fri. L. Hark, how they knock ! Who 's there ?
Romeo, arise ; Thou wilt be taken. Stay awhile ! Stand up ;
[Knocking.
Run to my study. By and by 1 God's will, What simpleness is this ! I come, I come !
\_Knocking. Who knocks so hard ? whence come you ? what 's
your will ? Nurse. [ Within"] Let me come in, and you shall
know my errand ; I come from Lady Juliet.
Fri. L. Welcome, then. So
Enter Nurse.
Nurse. O holy friar, O, tell me, holy friar, Where is my lady's lord ? where 's Romeo ?
Fri. L. There on the ground, with his own tears made drunk.
Nurse. O, he is even in my mistress' case, Just in her case !
Fri. L. O woful sympathy ! Piteous predicament !
Nurse. Even so lies she,
Blubbering and weeping, weeping and blubbering. Stand up, stand up ; stand, an you be a man : For Juliet's sake, for her sake, rise and stand ; Why should you fall into so deep an O ? 9o
86. O woful sympathy ! Ff include the words in the Piteous predicament. First given Nurse's speech ; but this is by Steevens to the friar. Qq hardly credible.
476
sc. in Romeo and Juliet
Rom. Nurse !
Nurse. Ah sir! ah sir ! Well, death 's the end of all.
Rom. Spakest thou of Juliet? how is it with her? Doth she not think me an old murderer, Now I have stain'd the childhood of our joy With blood removed but little from her own ? Where is she ? and how doth she ? and what says My conceal'd lady to our cancell'd love ?
Nurse. O, she says nothing, sir, but weeps and
weeps ;
And now falls on her bed ; and then starts up, 100 And Tybalt calls ; and then on Romeo cries, And then down falls again.
Rom. As if that name, y-,
Shot from the deadly level of a gun, Did murder her, as that name's cursed hand L fc-.^-Mr.-^., Murder'd her kinsman. O, tell me, friar, tell me, In what vile part of this anatomy Doth my name lodge ? tell me, that I may sack The hateful mansion. [Drawing his sword^ )<a
Fri. L. Hold thy desperate hand :\ (L . ^
Art thou a man ? thy form cries out thou art : / ^ <Lc+^U*j* Thy tears are womanish ; thy wild acts denote ? no The unreasonable fury of a beast : Unseemly woman in a seeming man ! Or ill-beseeming beast in seeming both ! / «ucO) Thou hast amazed me : by my holy order, I thought thy disposition better temper'd. [ \ Hast thou slain Tybalt? wilt thou slay thyself And slay thy lady that in thy life lives, By doing damned hate upon thyself? Why rail'st thou on thy birth, the heaven, and earth ?
94. old, practised, experi- as it stands, has not done this.
enced. But Brooke's Romeus, his ori-
106. anatomv, frame. ginul, had. Shakespeare has
119. Why rail'st tkou on thy obliterated the. offence but re-
birth, etc. Romeo, in the play tained the reproof.
477
Romeo and Juliet ACT m
Since birth, and heaven, and earth, all three do meet 120 In thee at once, which thou at once wouldst lose. Fie, fie, thou shamest thy shape, thy love, thy wit ; Which, like a usurer, abound'st in all, And usest none in that true use indeed Which should bedeck thy shape, thy love, thy wit : Thy noble shape is but a form of wax, Digressing from the valour of a man ; Thy dear love sworn but hollow perjury, Killing that love which thou hast vow'd to cherish ; Thy wit, that ornament to shape and love, 130
Mis-shapen in the conduct of them both, Like powder in a skilless soldier's flask, Is set a-fire. by thine own ignorance, And thou dismember'd with thine own defence. What, rouse thee, man ! thy Juliet is alive, For whose dear sake thou wast but lately dead ; There art thou happy : Tybalt would kill thee, But thou slew'st Tybalt ; there art thou'happy too : The law, that threaten'd death, becomes thy friend, And turns it to exile ; there art thou happy : 140
A pack of blessings lights upon thy back ; Happiness courts thee in her best array ; But, like a misbehaved and sullen wench, •Thou pout'st upon thy fortune and thy love : J( ^"\Take heed, take heed, for such die miserable. Go, get thee to thy love, as was decreed, s Ascend her chamber, hence and comfort her : But look thou stay not till the watch be set, For then thou canst not pass to Mantua ; Where thou shalt live, till we can find a time 150
To blaze your marriage, reconcile your friends, Beg pardon of the prince, and call thee back With twenty hundred thousand times more joy Than thou went'st forth in lamentation.
'. Digressing, deviating. 15;
Jl^l/ 4?8
#V
(tf
sc. iv Romeo and Juliet
Go before, nurse : commend me to thy lady ; And bid her hasten all the house to bed, Which heavy sorrow makes them apt unto : Romeo is coming.
Nurse. O Lord, I could have stay'd here all the
night
To hear good counsel : O, what learning is ! My lord, I '11 tell my lady you will come.
Rom. Do so, and bid my sweet prepare to chide.
Nurse. Here, sir, a ring she bid me give you, sir : Hie you, make haste, for it grows very late. [Exit.
Rom. How well my comfort is revived by this !
Fri. L. Go hence ; good night ; and here stands
all your state :
Either be gone before the watch be set, Or by the break of day disguised from hence : Sojourn in Mantua ; I '11 find out your man, And he shall signify from time to time Every good hap to you that chances here : Give me thy hand ; 'tis late : farewell ; good night.
Rom. But that a joy past joy calls out on me, It were a grief, so brief to part with thee : Farewell. [Exeunt.
SCENE IV. A room in Capulefs house.
Enter CAPULET, LADY CAPULET, and PARIS.
Cap. Things have fall'n out, sir, so unluckily, That we have had no time to move our daughter : Look you, she loved her kinsman Tybalt dearly, And so did I : — Well, we were born to die. 'Tis very late, she '11 not come down to-night : I promise you, but for your company,
1 66. here stands all your upon this. state, your whole fortune depends 2. move, open the matter to.
479
Romeo and Juliet ACT
I would have been a-bed an hour ago.
Par. These times of woe afford no time to woo. Madam, good night : commend me to your daughter.
La. Cap. I will, and know her mind early to morrow ; 10 To-night she is mew'd up to her heaviness.
Cap. Sir Paris, I will make a desperate tender Of my child's love : I think she will be ruled In all respects by me ; nay, more, I doubt it not. Wife, go you to her ere you go to bed ; Acquaint her here of my son Paris' love ; And bid her, mark you me, on Wednesday next — But, soft ! what day is this ?
Par. Monday, my lord.
Cap. Monday ! ha, ha ! Well, Wednesday is
too soon,
O' Thursday let it be : o' Thursday, tell her, 20
She shall be married to this noble earl. Will you be ready ? do you like this haste ? We '11 keep no great ado, — a friend or two ; For, hark you, Tybalt being slain so late, It may be thought we held him carelessly, Being our kinsman, if we revel much : Therefore we '11 have some half a dozen friends, And there an end. But what say you to Thursday ?
Par. My lord, I would that Thursday were to morrow.
Cap. Well, get you gone : o' Thursday be it, then. 30 Go you to Juliet ere you go to bed, Prepare her, wife, against this wedding-day. Farewell, my lord. Light to my chamber, ho ! Afore me ! it is so very very late, That we may call it early by and by. Good night. \Exeunt.
12. desperate tender, bold offer. 480
sc. v Romeo and Juliet
SCENE V. Capulefs orchard.
Enter ROMEO and JULIET above, at the * window.
Jul. Wilt thou be gone ? it is not yet near day : It was the nightingale, and not the lark, That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear ; Nightly she sings on yond pomegranate-tree : Believe me, love, it was the nightingale.
Rom. It was the lark, the herald of the morn, No nightingale : look, love, what envious streaks Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east : Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops. J0
I must be gone and live, or stay and die.
JuL Yon light is not day-light, I know it, I : It is some meteor that the sun exhales, To be to thee this night a torch-bearer, And light thee on thy way to Mantua : Therefore stay yet ; thou need'st not to be gone.
Rom. Let me be ta'en, let me be put to death ; I am content, so thou wilt have it so. I '11 say yon grey -is not the morning's eye, 'Tis but the pale reflex of Cynthia's brow ; 20
Nor that is not the lark, whose notes do beat The vaulty heaven so high above our heads : I have more care to stay than will to go : Come, death, and welcome ! Juliet wills it so. How is 't, my soul ? let 's talk ; it is not day.
JuL It is, it is : hie hence, be gone, away ! It is the lark that sings so out of tune,
13. exhales, draws out (meteors common name, 'exhalations'), being regarded as vapours drawn 20. Cynthia 's brow, i.e. the up by the sun ; hence their moon.
VOL. VII 481 21
Romeo and Juliet ACT m
Straining harsh discords and unpleasing sharps. Some say the lark makes sweet division ; ^TMJpi) tx-€-*v /rf This doth not so, for she divideth us : 3o
Some say the lark and loathed toad change eyes ; O, now I would they had changed voices too ! Since arm from arm that voice doth us affray, Hunting thee hence witli hunt_Vup to the day. O, now be gone ; more light and light it grows. Rom. More light and light ; more dark and dark our woes !
Enter Nurse, to the chamber.
Nurse. Madam !
Jul. Nurse ?
Nurse. Your lady mother is coming to your
chamber : The day is broke ; be wary, look about. [Exit. 40
Jul. Then, window, let day in, and let life out.
Rom. Farewell, farewell ! one kiss, and I '11 descend. \He goeth down
Jul. Art thou gone so ? my lord, my love, my
friend !
I must hear from thee every day in the hour, For in a minute there are many days : O, by this count I shall be much in, years Ere I again behold my Romeo !
Rom. Farewell ! I will omit no opportunity That may convey my greetings, love, to thee. 5°
29. division, modulation (in a common burthen of hunting- music). ballads.
31. change eyes; the lark direction. This is
34. hunt's-up, reveille. 43. my lord. . .friend; so Qr
Originally the tune played to The Qq and Fj have a weaker
wake sportsmen and call them to- reading: 'love, lord, ay, hus-
gether ; the words being thence band, friend.'
482
SC. V
Romeo and Juliet
Jul. O, think'st thou we shall ever meet again ? .'T 3bubt it not; and all these woes shall
serve For sweet discourses in our time to come.
Jul. O God, I have an ill-divining soul ! Methinks I see thee, now thou art below, As one dead in the bottom of a tomb : Either my eyesight fails, or thou look'st pale. \
Rom. And trust me, love, in my eye so do you : ' Dry sorrow drinks our blood. Adieu, adieu !
[Exit.
Jul. O fortune, fortune ! all men call thee fickle : 60 If thou art fickle, what dost thou with him That is renown'd for faith ? Be fickle, fortune ; For then, I hope, thou wilt not keep him long, But send him back.
La. Cap. [ Within] Ho, daughter ! are you up ?
Jul. Who is 't that calls ? it is my lady mother. Is she not down so late, or up so early ? What unaccustorn'd cause procures her hither ?
, Enter LADY CAPULET.
La. Cap. Why, how now, Juliet !
Jul. Madam, I am not well.
La. Cap. Evermore weeping for your cousin's
death ?
What, wilt thou wash him from his grave with tears ? An if thou couldst, thou couldst not make him live : Therefore, have done : some grief shows much of
love ;
But much of grief shows still some want of wit. Jul. Yet let me weep for such a feeling loss. La. Cap. So shall you feel the loss, but not the
friend Which you weep for.
54. ill-divining, foreboding. 65. it is ; so Qq. Ff ' is it.' 483
70
Romeo and Juliet ACT m
Jul. Feeling so the loss,
I cannot choose but ever weep the friend.
La. Cap. Well, girl, thou weep'st not so much
for his death,
As that the villain lives which slaughter'd him. 80
Jul. What villain, madam ? La. Cap. That same villain, Romeo.
Jul. \Aside\ Villain and he be many miles
asunder. —
God pardon him ! I do, with all my heart ; And yet no man like he doth grieve my heart. La. Cap. That is, because the traitor murderer
lives. Jul. Ay, madam, from the reach of these my
hands :
Would none but I might venge my cousin's death. La. Cap. We will have vengeance for it, fear
thou not :
Then weep no more. I '11 send to one in Mantua Where that same banish'd runagate doth live, 90
Shall give. him such an unaccustom'd~"dra.m, ^ That he shall soon keep Tybalt company : And then, I hope, thou wilt be satisfied. Jul. Indeed, I never shall be satisfied , With Romeo, till I behold him — dead — Is my poor heart so for a kinsman vex'd : Madam, if you could find out but a man To bear a poison, I would temper it That Romeo should, upon receipt thereof, Soon sleep in quiet. O, how my heart abhors x<x> To hear him named, and cannot come to him, / To wreak the love I bore my cousin Upon his body that hath slaughter'd him !
La. Cap. Find thou the means, and I '11 find such a man.
86. from, beyond. 484
sc. v Romeo and Juliet
But now I '11 tell thee joyful tidings, girl.
Jul. And joy comes well in such a needy time : What are they, I beseech your ladyship ?
La. Cap. Well, well, thou hast a careful father,
child ;
One who, to put thee from thy heaviness, Hath sorted out a sudden day of joy, no
That thou expect'st not nor I look'd not for.
Jul. Madam, in happy time, what day is that ?
La. Cap. Marry, my child, early next Thursday
morn,
The gallant, young and noble gentleman, The County Paris, at Saint Peter's Church, Shall happily make thee there a joyful bride.
Jul. Now, by Saint Peter's Church and Peter too, He shall not make me there a joyful bride. I wonder at this haste ; that I must wed Ere he, that should be husband, comes to woo. 120 I pray you, tell my lord and father, madam, I will not marry yet ; and, when I do, I swear, ,
It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, Rather than Paris. These are news indeed !
La. Cap. Here comes your father ; tell him so
yourself, And see how he will take it at your hands.
Enter CAPULET and Nurse.
Cap. When the sun sets, the air doth drizzle dew ; But for the sunset of my brother's son It rains downright. How now 1 a conduit, girl ? what, still in tears ? 130
106. needy, joyless. la bonne heure').
no. sorted out, arranged. I3°- & conduit, girl; a human
figure spouting water was a
ib. sudden, speedy. common feature of fountains or
112. in happy time, express- 'conduits.' Cf. As You Like ing ready acquiescence (Fr. 'a //, iv. i. 154.
485
Romeo and Juliet ACT m
Evermore showering? In one little body Thou counterfeit'st a bark, a sea, a wind ; ' For still thy eyes, which I may call the sea, Do ebb and flow with tears ; the bark thy body is, Sailing in this salt flood ; the winds, thy sighs ; Who, rdging with thy tears, and they with them, Without a sudden calm, will overset Thy tempest-tossed body. How now, wife ! Have you deliver'd to her our decree ?
La. Cap. Ay, sir; but she will none, she gives
you thanks. 140
1 I would the fool were married to her grave !
Cap. Soft ! take me with you, take me with
you, wife.
How ! will she none ? doth she not give us thanks ? Is she not proud? doth she not count her blest, Unworthy as she is, that we have wrought So worthy a gentleman to be her bridegroom ?
Jul. Not proud, you have ; but thankful, that
you have :
Proud can I never be of what I hate ; But thankful even for hate, that is meant love.
Cap. How how, how how, chop-logic ! What
is this ? i5o
1 Proud,' and ' I thank you,' and ' I thank you not ; ' And yet ' not proud : ' mistress minion, you, Thank me no thankings, nor proud me no prouds, But fettle your fine joints 'gainst Thursday next, To go"with Paris to Saint Peter's Church, Or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither. Out, you green-sickness carrion ! out, you baggage ! You tallow-face !
La. Cap. Fie, fie ! what, are you mad ?
142. take me with you, ex- now' Ff. plain yourself.
150. How how; soQ2. 'How 154. fettle, dress, prepare. 486
sc. v Romeo and Juliet
Jul. Good father, I beseech you on my knees,
Hear me with patience but to speak a word. W*^
Cap. Hang thee, young baggage! disobedient l<
wretch !
I tell thee what : get thee to church o' Thursday, Or never after look me in the face : Speak not, reply not, do not answer me ; My fingers itch. Wife, we scarce thought us blest That God had lent us but this only child ; But now I see this one is one too much, And that we have a curse in having her : Out on her, hilding !
Nurse. God in heaven bless her !
You are to blame, my lord, to rate her so. ' 170
Cap. And why, my lady wisdom ? hold your
tongue, Good prudence ; smatter with your gossips, go.
Nurse. I speak no treason.
Cap. O, God ye god-den.
Nurse. May not one speak ?
Cap. Peace, you mumbling fool !
Utter your gravity o'er a gossip's bowl ; For here we need it not.
La. Cap. You are too hot
Cap. God's bread ! it makes me mad : Day, night, hour, tide, time, work, play, Alone, in company, still my care hath been To have her match'd : and having now provided x&> A gentleman of noble parentage, Of fair demesnes, youthful, and nobly train'd, Stuff'd, as they say, with honourable parts, Proportion'd as one's thought would wish a man ; And then to have a wretched puling fool,
177-179. Capulet's 'madness' lious metre of these lines, is perhaps reflected in the in coherent expression and rebel- 178. hour, at every hour.
487
Romeo and Juliet ACT m
A whining mammet, in her fortune's tender,
To answer ' I '11 not wed ; I cannot love,
I am too young; I pray you, pardon me.'
But, an you will not wed, I '11 pardon you :
Graze where you will, you shall not house with me : 190
Look to 't, think on 't, I do not use to jest.
Thursday is near ; lay hand on heart, advise :
An you be mine, I '11 give you to my friend ;
An you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets,
For, by my soul, I '11 ne'er acknowledge thee,
Nor what is mine shall never do thee good :
Trust to 't, bethink you ; I '11 not be forsworn.
[Exit.
JuL Is there no pity sitting in the clouds, That sees into the bottom of my grief? O, sweet my mother, cast me not away ! 200
Delay this marriage for a month, a week ; Or, if you do not, make the bridal bed In that dim monument where Tybalt lies.
La. Cap. Talk not to me, for I '11 not speak a
word : Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee. [Exit.
JuL O God ! — O nurse, how shall this be pre vented ?
My husband is on earth, my faith in heaven ; How shall that faith return again to earth, Unless that husband send it me from heaven By leaving earth ? comfort me, counsel me. 210
Alack, alack, that heaven should practise stratagems Upon so soft a subject as myself! What say'st thou ? hast thou not a word of joy ? i Some comfort, nurse.
Nurse. Faith, here it is.
Romeo is banish'd ; and all the world to nothing,
1 86. in her fortune's tender, 192. advise, reflect.
^ when fortune is offered to her. 211. stratagems, afflictions.
488
sc. v Romeo and Juliet
That he dares ne'er come back to challenge you; ^ f\(t
Or, if he do, it needs must be by stealth.
Then, since the case so stands as now it doth,
I think it best you married with the county.
O, he 's a lovely gentleman 1 620 ~
Romeo 's a dishclout to him : an eagle, madam,
Hath not so green, so quick, so fair an eye
As Paris hath. Beshrew my very heart,
I think you are happy in this second match,
For it excels your first : or if it did not.
Your first is dead ; or 'twere as good he were
As living here and you no use of him.
Jul. Speakest thou from thy heart ?
Nurse. And from my soul too :
Pi/
Or else beshrew them both.
Jul. Amen !
Nurse. What ?
Jul. Well, thou hast comforted me marvellous
much. 230
Go in ; and tell my lady I am gone, Having displeased my father, to Laurence' cell, To make confession and to be absolved.
Nurse. Marry, I will ; and this is wisely done.
[Exit.
Jul. Ancient damnation ! O most wicked fiend ! Is it more sin to wish me thus forsworn, Or to dispraise my lord with that same tongue Which she hath praised him with above compare So many thousand times ? Go, counsellor ; Thou and my bosom henceforth shall be twain. 24o I '11 to the friar, to know his remedy : If all else fail, myself have power to die. [Exit.
216. challenge, claim. having been taken down from
notes in the theatre, we doubtless
234. There is a significant have here a direct clue to the stage direction here in Qj : 'She original manner of playing the lookes after Nurse.' This Q part. L. 489
Romeo and Juliet ACT iv
ACT IV.
SCENE I. Friar Laurence's cell.
Enter FRIAR LAURENCE and PARIS.
Fri. L. On Thursday, sir ? the time is very short.
Par. My father Capulet will have it so ; And I am nothing slow to slack his haste.
Fri. L. You say you do not know the lady's
mind : Uneven is the course, I like it not.
Par. Immoderately she weeps for Tybalt's death, And therefore have I little talk'd of love ; For Venus smiles not in a house of tears. Now, sir, her father counts it dangerous That she do give her sorrow so much sway, w
And in his wisdom hastes our marriage, To stop the inundation of her tears ; Which, too much minded by herself alone, May be put from her by society : Now do you know the reason of this haste.
Fri. L. [Aside] I would I knew not why it should
be slow'd. Look, sir, here comes the lady towards my cell.
Enter JULIET.
Par. Happily met, my lady and my wife ! Jul. That may be, sir, when I may be a wife.
3. / am nothing slow, i.e. Qq and Fj, 2 'talke,' which
There is no slowness in me to Mommsen retains, in the sense,
contribute to ' slack his haste. ' ' I get few words of love ' ; but
7. talk'd; so Q5. The other the expression is harsh.
490
sc. i Romeo and Juliet
Par. That may be must be, love, on Thursday next. 20
JuL What must be shall be._
Fri. L. ~ That 's a certain text.
Par. Come you to make confession to this father ?
JuL To answer that, I should confess to you.
Par. Do not deny to him that you love me.
JuL I will confess to you that I love him.
Par. So will ye, I am sure, that you love me.
JuL If I do so, it will be of more price, Being spoke behind your back, than to your face.
Par. Poor soul, thy face is much abused with tears.
JuL The tears have got small victory by that ; 3o For it was bad enough before their spite.
Par. Thou wrong'st it more than tears with that report.
JuL That is no slander, sir, which is a truth, And what I spake, I spake it to my face.
Par. Thy face is mine, and thou hast slander'd it.
JuL It may be so, for it is not mine own. Are you at leisure, holy father, now ; Or shall I come to you at evening mass?
Fri. L. My leisure serves me, pensive daughter,
now. My lord, we must entreat the time alone. 4o
Par. God shield I should disturb devotion ! Juliet, on Thursday early will I rouse ye : Till then, adieu, and keep this holy kiss. \Exit.
29. abused, stained. tions, 1875) that it notwith-
38. evening mass. The standing continued in certain
practice .of saying mass in the places, among the rest at Verona,
afternoon had been prohibited, It was not Shakespeare's way to
a generation before Shake- avail himself of local accidents
speare wrote, by Pius V. (1566- such as this ; but early associa-
72) ; Simpson, however, has tions may have suggested the
shown (N. Sh. Soc. Transac- phrase.
491
Romeo and Juliet ACT
Jul. O, shut the door ! and when thou hast
done so, Come weep with me ; past hope, past cure, past
help!
Fri. L. Ah, Juliet, I already know thy grief; It strains me past the compass of rny wits : I hear thou must, and nothing may prorogue it, On Thursday next be married to this county.
Jul. Tell me not, friar, that thou hear'st of this, 5o Unless thou tell me how I may prevent it : If in thy wisdom thou canst give no help, Do thou but call my resolution wise, And with this knife I '11 help it presently. God join'd my heart and Romeo's, thou our hands \ And ere this hand, by thee to Romeo seal'd, Shall be the label to another deed, Or my true heart with treacherous revolt Turn to another, this shall slay them both : Therefore, out of thy long-experienced time, 60
Give me some present counsel, or, behold, 'Twixt my extremes and me this bloody knife Shall play the umpire, arbitrating that Which the commission of thy years and art Could to no issue of true honour bring. Be not so long to speak ; I long to die, If what thou speak'st speak not of remedy.
Fri. L. Hold, daughter : I do spy a kind of ^ hope,
Which craves as desperate an execution As that is desperate which we would prevent. 70
If, rather than to marry County Paris, Thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself, Then is it likely thou wilt undertake
45. cure; so Qr Qq^, Ff 57. label, seal appended to a
have ' care.' deed.
64. commission, warrant. 492
sc. i Romeo and Juliet
A thing like death to chide away this shame, That copest with death himself to scape from it ; And, if thou darest, I '11 give thee remedy. . ;
Jul. O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, From off the battlements of yonder tower ; Or walk in thievish ways ; or bid me lurk Where serpents are ; chain me with roaring bears ; 80 ( ' Or shut me nightly in a charnel-house, O'er-cover'd quite with dead men's rattling bones, With reeky shanks and yellow chapless skulls ; Or bid me go into a new-made grave And hide me with a dead man in his shroud ; Things that, to hear them told, have made me
tremble ;
And I will do it without fear or doubt, To live an unstain'd wife to my sweet love.
JFri. L. Hold, then ; go home, be merry, give
consent WJU-O.
To marry Paris : Wednesday is to-morrow : ^ pp «
To-morrow night look thaftKoulie alone ; Let not thy nurse lie with thee in thy chamber :' Take thou this vial, being then in bed,
And this distilled liquor drink thou off; c^Ux^^r-ta^
When presently through all thy veins shall run . ,f, A cold and drowsy humour, for no pulse Shall keep his native progress, but surcease : No warmth, no breath, shall testify thou livest ; The roses in thy lips and cheeks shall fade To paly ashes, thy eyes' windows fall, Like death, when he shuts up the day of life ; Each part, deprived of supple government,
Shall, stiff and stark and cold, appear like death : ^ /— ~ And in this borrow'd likeness of shrunk death -^ Thou shalt continue two and forty hours, And then awake as from a pleasant sleep. ^ 4
83. chapless, jawless, 104. borrow 'd, counterfeit.
493
Romeo and Juliet ACT
Now, when the bridegroom in the morning comes To rouse thee from thy bed, there art thou dead : Then, as the manner of our country is, In thy best robes uncover'd on the bier Thou shalt be "borne to that same ancient vault Where all the kindred of the Capulets lie. In the mean time, against thou shalt awake, Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift, And hither shall he come : and he and I Will watch thy waking, and that very night Shall Romeo bear thee hence to Mantua. And this shall free thee from this present shame ; If no inconstant toy, nor womanish fear, Abate thy valour in the acting it. i
////. Give me, give me ! O, tell not me of fear ! Fri. L. Hold ; get you gone, be strong and
prosperous
In this resolve : I '11 send a friar with speed To Mantua, with my letters to thy lord. JuL Love give me strength ! and strength shall
help afford. Farewell, dear father ! {Exeunt.
SCENE II. Hall in Capulefs house.
Enter CAPULET, LADY CAPULET, Nurse, and two Servingmen.
Cap. So many guests invite as here are writ.
\Eocit First Servant. Sirrah, go hire me twenty cunning cooks.
Sec. Serv. You shall have none ill, sir ; for I '11 try if they can lick their fingers.
Cap. How canst thou try them so ?
114. drift, plan. 119. toy, capricious whim.
494
sc. ii Romeo and Juliet
Sec. Serv. Marry, sir, 'tis an ill cook that can not lick his own fingers : therefore he that cannot lick his fingers goes not with me.
Cap. Go, be gone. \Exit Sec. Servant.
We shall be much unfurnish'd for this time. 10
What, is my daughter gone to Friar Laurence ? •
Nurse. Ay, forsooth.
Cap. Well, he may chance to do some good on
her: .
A peevish self-will'd harlotry it is. v*-f,
Nurse. See where she comes fronv'shrift with merry look.
Enter JULIET.
Cap. How now, my headstrong ! where have you been gadding ?
Jul. Where 1 have learn'd me to repent the sin Of disobedient opposition To you and your behests, and am enjoin'd By holy Laurence to fall prostrate here, *>
To beg your pardon : pardon, I beseech you ! Henceforward I am ever ruled by you.
Cap. Send for the county ; go tell him of this : I '11 have this knot knit up to-morrow morning.
Jul. I met the youthful lord at Laurence' cell ; And gave him what becomed love I might, Not stepping o'er the bounds of modesty.
Cap. Why, I am glad on 't; this is well: stand up: This is as 't should be. Let me see the county ; Ay, marry, go, I say, and fetch him hither. 30
Now, afore God ! this reverend holy friar, All our whole city is much bound to him.
Jul. Nurse, will you go with me into my closet, To help me sort such needful ornaments As you think fit to furnish me to-morrow?
14. harlotry, ' baggage.' 26. becomed, becoming.
495
Romeo and Juliet ACT
La. Cap. No, not till Thursday ; there is time .
enough.
t Cap. Go, nurse, go with her : we '11 to church * tf ? to-morrow. \ExeuntJulietandNurse.
La. Cap. We shall be short in our provision : 'Tis now near night.
i Cap. Tush, I will stir about,
And all things shall be well, I warrant thee, wife : !"> Go thou to Juliet, help to deck up her; I '11 not to bed to-night ; let me alone ; I '11 play the housewife for this once. What, ho ! They are all forth. Well, I will walk myself To County Paris, to prepare him up x \ t' Against to-morrow : my heart is wondrous light, Since this same wayward girl is so reclaim'd.
\Exeunt.
SCENE III. Juliet's chamber.
Enter JULIET and Nurse.
Jul. Ay, those attires are best : but, gentle
nurse,
I pray thee, leave me to myself to-night ; For I have need of many orisons To move the heavens to smile upon my state, Which, well thou know'st, is cross and full of sin.
Enter LADY CAPULET.
La. Cap. What, are you busy, ho? need you
my help?
Jul. No, madam ; we have cull'd such neces saries
As are behoveful for our state to-morrow : So please you, let me now be left alone,
8. behoveful, fitting. 496
SC. Ill
Romeo and Juliet
And let the nurse this night sit up with you ; For, I am sure, you have your hands full all, In this so sudden business.
La. Cap. Good night :
Get thee to bed, and rest ; for thou hast need.
[Exeunt Lady Capulet and Nurse.
Jul. Farewell ! God knows when we shall meet '
again.
I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins, That almost freezes up the heat of life : I '11 call them back again to comfort me : Nurse ! — What should she do here ? My dismal scene I needs must act alone. Come, vial.
What if this mixture do not work at all ? Shall I be married then to-morrow morning? No, no : this shall forbid it : lie thou there.
\Laying down a dagger. What if it be a poison, which the friar Subtly hath minister'd to have me dead, Lest in this marriage he should be dishonour'd, Because he married me before to Romeo ? I fear it is : and yet, methinks,1 it should not, For he hath still been tried a holy man. How if, when I am laid into the tomb, I wake before the time that Romeo Come to redeem me ? there 's a fearful point ! Shall I not, then, be stifled in the vault, To whose foul mouth no healthsome air breathes in, And there die strangled ere my Romeo comes ? Or, if I live, is it not very like, The horrible conceit of death and night, Together with the terror of the place, — As in a vault, an ancient receptacle, Where, for these many hundred years, the bones
29. tried, proved. 37. conceit, imagination.
VOL. VII 497 2 K
4o
Romeo and Juliet ACT iv
Of all my buried ancestors are pack'd :
Where bloody Tybalt, yet but green in earth,
Lies festering in his shroud ; where, as they say,
At some hours in the night spirits resort ;
Alack, alack, is it not like that I
So early waking, what with loathsome smells,
And shrieks like mandrakes' torn out of the earth,
That living mortals, hearing them, run mad : —
O, if I wake, shall I not be distraught,
Environed with all these hideous fears? 50
And madly play with my forefathers' joints ?
And pluck the mangled Tybalt from his shroud?
And, in this rage, with some great kinsman's bone,
As with a club, dash out my desperate brains ?
O, look ! methinks I see my cousin's ghost
Seeking out Romeo, that did spit his body
Upon a rapier's point : stay, Tybalt, stay !
Romeo, I come ! this do I drink to thee.
{She falls upon her bed, within the curtains.
Hall in Capulefs house.
Enter LADY CAPULET and Nurse.
La. 'Cap. Hold, take these keys, and fetch
more spices, nurse. Nurse. They call for dates and quinces in the
pastry.
Enter CAPULET.
Cap. Come, stir, stir, stir ! the second cock hath crow'd,
42. green, fresh. from the earth, which caused
47. mandrakes ; the plant madness in those who heard
mandragora, which was thought it.
to resemble the human form and 2. pastry, the room in which
to utter a shriek when plucked pies were made.
1-4 (V&L-MWfc-ft. *-6^ tVN-tfv*- *rfc
\
g, 'tis three o'clock : *• / ^ , good Angelica : J* -
rung
Look to the baked-meats Spare not for cost.
Nurse. Go, you cot-quean, go,
Get you to bed ; faith, you '11 beTsick to-morrow For this night's watching.
Cap. No? not a whit : what ! I have watch'd ere *
now (Q » , I U-»NX*^ jfc^ MMMI I ^
All night for lesser cause, and ne'er been sick/ ^ ify ''" La. Cap. Ay, you have been a mouse-hunt in ^
your time ; But I will watch you from such watching now.
[.Exeunt Lady Capulet a?id Nurse. Cap. A jealous-hood, a jealous-hood !
. oj ^ —
Enter three or four Servingmen, with spits^ logs, < and baskets.
Now, fellow, What 's there ?
First Serv. Things for the cook, sir; but I
know not what. Cap. Make haste, make haste. [Exit first
Serv.~\ Sirrah, fetch drier logs : Call Peter, he will show thee where they are. Sec. Serv. I have a head, sir, that will find out
logs, And never trouble Peter for the matter. \Exit.
Cap. Mass, and well said ; a merry whoreson, ha ! i , Thou shalt be logger-head. Good faith, 'tis day : J> • The county will be here with music straight, For so he said he would : I hear him near. *
[Music within. Nurse ! Wife ! What, ho ! What, nurse, I say !
5. baked-meats, pastry. n. mouse - hunt, wom
6. cot -quean, a man who hunter, busies himself with women's
affairs. 13. jealous-hood, jealousy.
499
Romeo and Juliet ACT
Re-enter Nurse.
Go waken Juliet, go and trim her up ; I '11 go and chat with Paris : hie, make haste, Make haste ; the bridegroom he is come already : Make haste, I say. \Exeunt.
SCENE V. Juliefs chamber.
Enter Nurse.
Nurse. Mistress ! what, mistress ! Juliet ! fast,
I warrant her, she :
Why, lamb ! why, lady ! fie, you slug-a-bed ! Why, love, I say ! madam ! sweet -heart ! why,
bride ! What, not a word? you take your pennyworths
now;
Sleep for a week ; for the next night, I warrant, The County Paris hath set up his rest, That you shall rest but little. God forgive me, ~* Marry, and amen, how sound is she asleep ! I must needs wake her. Madam, madam, madam ! Ay, let the county take you in your bed ; 10
He'll fright you up, i' faith. Will it not be ?
[ Undraws the curtains. What, dress'd ! and in your clothes ! and down
again !
I must needs wake you : Lady ! lady ! lady ! Alas, alas ! Help, help ! my lady 's dead ! O, well-a-day, that ever I was born ! Some aqua-vitae, ho ! My lord ! my lady !
4. pennyworths (pronounced 6. set up his rest, resolved (a ' pen orths ' ). phrase in the game of primero).
500
sc. v Romeo and Juliet
Enter LADY CAPULET.
La. Cap. What noise is here ?
Nurse. O lamentable day !
La. Cap. What is the matter ?
Nurse. Look, look ! O heavy day !
La. Cap. O me, O me ! My child, my only life, Revive, look up, or I will die with thee ! 20
Help, help ! Call help.
Enter CAPULET.
Cap. For shame, bring Juliet forth ; her lord is
come. Nurse. She 's dead, deceased, she 's dead ; alack
the day ! La. Cap. Alack the day, she 's dead, she 's dead,
she 's dead ! Cap. Ha ! let me see her. Out, alas ! she 's
cold ;
Her blood is settled, and her joints are stiff; Life and these lips have long been separated : Death lies on her like an untimely frost U 1 Upon the sweetest flower of all the field. Nurse. O lamentable day !
La. Cap. O woful time ! 30
Cap. Death, that hath ta'en her hence to make
me wail, Ties up my tongue, and will not let me speak.
Enter FRIAR LAURENCE and PARIS, with Musicians.
Fri. L. Come, is the bride ready to go to church?
Cap. Ready to go, but never to return. O son ! the night before thy wedding-day Hath Death lain with thy wife. There she lies,
Romeo and Juliet ACT iv
Flower as she was, deflowered by him.
Death is my son-in-law, Death is my heir ;
My daughter he hath wedded : I will die,
And leave him all ; life, living, all is Death's. 40
Par. Have I thought long to see this morning's
face, And doth it give me such a sight as this ?
La. Cap. Accursed, unhappy, wretched, hateful
day!
Most miserable hour that e'er time saw In lasting labour of his pilgrimage ! But one, poor one, one poor and loving child, But one thing to rejoice and solace in, And cruel death hath catch'd it from my sight I
Nurse. O Woe ! O woful, woful, woful day ! Most lamentable day, most woful day, so
That ever, ever, I did yet behold ! O day ! O day ! O day ! O hateful day ! Never was seen so black a day as this : O woful day, O woful day !
Par. Beguiled, divorced, wronged, spited, slain ! Most detestable death, by thee beguiled, By cruel cruel thee quite overthrown ! O love ! O life ! not life, but love in death !
Cap. Despised, distressed, hated, martyr'd, kill'd ! Uncomfortable time, why earnest thou now 60
To murder, murder our solemnity ? O child ! O child ! my soul, and not my child ! Dead art thou ! Alack ! my child is dead ; And with my child my joys are buried.
Fri. L. Peace, ho, for shame ! confusion's cure
lives not
In these confusions. Heaven and yourself Had part in this fair maid ; now heaven hath all, And all the better is it for the maid : Your part in her you could not keep from death, 502
sc. v Romeo and Juliet
But heaven keeps his part in eternal life. 7o
The most you sought was her promotion ;
For 'twas your heaven she should be advanced :
And weep ye now, seeing she is advanced
Above the clouds, as high as heaven itself?
O, in this love, you love your child so ill,
That you run mad, seeing that she is well :
She 's not well married that lives married long,
But she 's best married that dies married young.
Dry up your tears, and stick your rosemary C^
On this fair corse ; and, as the custom is, j~< 80
In all her best array bear her to church :
For though fond nature bids us all lament,
Yet nature's tears are reason's merriment "
Cap. All things that we ordained festival, ^ Turn from their office to black funeral ; Our instruments to melancholy bells, Our wedding cheer to a sad burial feast, Our solemn hymns to sullen dirges change, Our bridal flowers serve for a buried corse, And all things change them to the contrary. 90
Fri. L. Sir, go you in; and, madam, go with
him :
And go, Sir Paris ; every one prepare To follow this fair corse unto her grave : The heavens do lour upon you for some ill ; Move them no more by crossing their high will.
[Exeunt Capulet, Lady Capulet> Paris, and Friar.
First Mus. Faith, we may put up our pipes, and be gone.
Nurse. Honest good fellows, ah, put up, put up ; For, well you know, this is a pitiful case. [Exit.
First Mus. Ay, by my troth, the case may be i<x> amended.
79. rosemary; habitually used at weddings and funerals. 503
Romeo and Juliet ACT iv
A Enter PETER.
Pet Musicians, O, musicians, 'Heart's ease, Heart's ease : ' O, an you will have me live, play 1 Heart's ease.'
First Mus. Why * Heart's ease ' ? Pet. O, musicians, because my heart itself plays ' My heart is full of woe : ' O, play me some merry dump, to comfort me.
First Mus. Not a dump we; 'tis no time to play now. no
Pet. You will not, then ? First Mus. No.
Pet. I will then give it you soundly. First Mus. What will you give us ? Pet. No money, on my faith, but the gleek ; I will give you the minstrel. /Vj£x^rvf i*~ C-n^Ltucj **Lf»»
First Mus. Then will I give you the serving- » creature.
Pet. Then will I lay the serving- creature's dagger on your pate. I will carry no crotchets : 120 I '11 re you, I '11 fa you ; do you note me ?
First Mus. An you re us and fa us, you note us. Sec. Mus. Pray you, put up your dagger, and put out your wit.
Pet. Then have at you with my wit ! I will dry-beat you with an iron wit, and put up my iron dagger. Answer me like men :
' When griping grief the heart doth wound,
101. Enter Peter. Qq have 115. gleek, a scoff.
'Enter Will Kemp,' the well- 116. give you, i.e. retort by
known clown of the company calling you.
who evidently took this part. 121. note, understand.
102. 'Heart's ease," a popular 128. The stanza is from the ballad. So, ' My heart is full beginning of a poem ' In com- of woe,' below. mendation of music,' by Richard
108. dump, mournful strain Edwards, printed in The Para-
(misused by Peter). dise of Dainty Devices.
504
ACT V
Romeo and Juliet
And doleful dumps the mind oppress, Then music with her silver sound ' — 130
why * silver sound ' ? why ' music with her silver sound ' ? What say you, Simon Catling ?
First Mus. Marry, sir, because silver hath a sweet sound.
Pet. Pretty ! What say you, Hugh Rebeck ?
Sec. Mus. I say 'silver sound,' because musicians sound for silver.
Pet. Pretty too ! What say you, James Sound- post?
Third Mus. Faith, I know not what to say. i40
Pet. O, I cry you mercy ; you are the singer : I will say for you. It is 'music with her silver sound,' because musicians have no gold for sound ing:
' Then music with her silver sound
With speedy help doth lend redress.' [Exit.
First Mus. What a pestilent knave is this same !
Sec Mus. Hang him, Jack ! Come, we '11 in here ; tarry for the mourners, and stay dinner. i50
[Exeunt.
ACT V.
SCENE I. Mantua. A street.
Enter ROMEO.
Rom. If I may trust the flattering truth of sleep. My dreams presage some joyful news at hand : My bosom's lord sits lightly in his throne ;
132. Catling, lit. 'catgut1; so Rebeck; lit. a three -stringed fiddle.
505
Romeo and Juliet
ACT V
And all this day an unaccustom'd spirit Lifts me above the ground with cheerful thoughts. I dreamt my lady came and found me dead — Strange dream, that gives a dead man leave to
think ! —
And breathed such life with kisses in my lips, That I revived, and was an emperor. Ah me ! how sweet is love itself possess'd, When but love's shadows are so rich in joy !
Enter BALTHASAR, booted.
News from Verona ! — How now, Balthasar ! Dost thou not bring me letters from the friar? How doth my lady ? Is my father well ? How fares my Juliet ? that I ask again ; For nothing can be ill, if she be well.
BaL Then she is well, and nothing can be ill : Her body sleeps in Capels' monument, And her immortal part with angels lives. I saw her laid low in her kindred's vault, And presently took post to tell it you : O, pardon me for bringing these ill news, Since you did leave it for my office, sir.
Rom. Is it e'en so ? then I defy you, stars ! Thou know'st my lodging : get me ink and paper, And hire post-horses ; I will hence to-night.
BaL I do beseech you, sir, have patience : Your looks are pale and wild, and do import Some misadventure.
Rom. Tush, thou art deceived :
Leave me, and do the thing I bid thee do. Hast thou no letters to me from the friar ?
Bal. No, my good lord.
Rom. No matter : get thee gone,
And hire those horses ; I '11 be with thee straight.
[Exit Balthasar. 506
sc. i Romeo and Juliet
Well, Juliet, I will lie with thee to-night.
Let 's see for means : — O mischief, thou art swift
To enter in the thoughts of desperate men !
I do remember an apothecary,
And hereabouts a' dwells, which late I noted
In tatter'd weeds, with overwhelming brows,
Culling of simples ; meagre were his looks, 40
Sharp misery had worn him to the bones :
And in his needy shop a tortoise hung,
An alligator stuff'd, and other skins
Of ill-shaped fishes ; and about his shelves
A beggarly account of empty boxes,
Green earthen pots, bladders and musty seeds, £v>vo-^<!
Remnants of packthread and old cakes of roses, k^.f
Were thinly scatter'd, to make up a show.
Noting this penury, to myself I said,
An if a man did need a poison now, so
Whose sale is present death in Mantua,
Here lives a caitiff wretch would sell it him.
O, this same thought did but forerun my need,
And this same needy man must sell it me.
As I remember, this should be the house :
Being holiday, the beggar's shop is shut
What, ho .apothecary!
Enter Apothecary. \pujf kjL t*#** i|v Ap. Who calls so. loud ?
Rom. Come hither, man. I see that thou art ''- '
Hold, there is forty ducats : let me have
A dram of poison, such soon-speeding gear 60
As will disperse itself through all the veins
That the life-weary taker may fall dead
And that the trunk may be discharged of breath
As violently as hasty powder fired
39. overwhelming, projecting. 52. caitiff, miserable.
507
Romeo and Juliet ACT v
Doth hurry from the fatal cannon's womb.
Ap. Such mortal drugs I have ; but Mantua's law Is death to any he that utters them.
Rom. Art thou so bare and full of wretchedness, And fear'st to die ? famine is in thy cheeks, Need and oppression starveth in thy eyes, 70
Contempt and beggary hangs upon thy back ; The world is not thy friend, nor the world's law ; The world affords no law to make thee rich ; Then be not poor, but break it, and take this.
Ap. My poverty, but not my will, consents.
~R&m. I pay thy poverty, and not thy will.
Ap. Put this in any liquid thing you will, And drink it off; and, if you had the strength Of twenty men, it would dispatch you straight.
Rom. There is thy gold, worse poison to men's
souls, 80
Doing more murders in this loathsome world, Than these poor compounds that thou mayst not
sell.
I sell thee poison, thou hast sold me none. Farewell : buy food, and get thyself in flesh. Come, cordial and not poison, go with me To Juliet's grave ; for there must I use thee.
[Exeunt.
SCENE II. Friar Laurence's cell.
Enter FRIAR JOHN. Fri. J. Holy Franciscan friar ! brother, ho !
Enter FRIAR LAURENCE.
Fri. L. This same should be the voice of Friar John.
67. he, man. 67. utters, disposes of.
508
sc. ii Romeo and Juliet
Welcome from Mantua : what says Romeo ? Or, if his mind be writ, give me his letter.
Fri.J. Going to find a bare-foot brother out, One of our order, to associate me, Here in this city visiting the sick, And finding him, the searchers of the town, Suspecting that we both were in a house Where the infectious pestilence did reign, J0
Seal'd up the doors, and would not let us forth ; So that my speed to Mantua there was stay'd.
Fri. L. Who bare my letter then to Romeo ?
Fri. J. I could not send it, — here it is again,— Nor get a messenger to bring it thee, So fearful were they of infection.
Fri. L. Unhappy fortune ! by my brotherhood, The letter was not nice, but full of charge /^CVVVH*- Of dear import, and the neglecting it May do much danger. Friar John, go hence ; ao Get me an iron crow, and bring it straight Unto my cell.
Fri. J. Brother, I '11 go and bring it thee.
\Exit.
Fri. L. Now must I to the monument alone ; Within this three hours will fair Juliet wake : She will beshrew me much that Romeo Hath had no notice of these accidents ; But I will write again to Mantua, And keep her at my cell till Romeo come : Poor living corse, closed in a dead man's tomb !
[Exit.
6. associate, accompany. of constables for neglecting this
9- 1 1. It was a part of the duty.
constable's business to seal up lg ,,,. unimportant
the doors of plague - stricken
houses. The Middlesex Sessions J9- dear, extreme. Rolls contain cases of the trial 26. accidents, events.
5°9
Romeo and Juliet ACTV
SCENE III. A churchyard ; in it a tomb belonging to the Capulets.
Enter PARIS, and his Page bearing flowers and a torch.
Par. Give me thy torch, boy : hence, and stand
aloof :
Yet put it out, for I would not be seen. Under yond yew-trees lay thee all along, Holding thine ear close to the hollow ground ; So shall no foot upon the churchyard tread, Being loose, unfirm, with digging up of graves, But thou shalt hear it : whistle then to me, As signal that thou hear'st something approach. Give me those flowers. Do as I bid thee, go. Page. \Aside\ I am almost afraid to stand
alone Here in the churchyard ; yet I will adventure.
{Retires. Par. Sweet flower, with flowers thy bridal bed
I strew, — O woe ! thy canopy is dust and stones ; —
! Which with sweet water nightly I will dew, Or, wanting that, with tears distill'd by moans The obsequies that I for thee will keep Nightly shall be to strew thy grave and weep.
[The Page whistles.
The boy gives warning something doth approach. What cursed foot wanders this way to-night, To cross my obsequies and true love's rite? What, with a torch ! muffle me, night, awhile.
{Retries.
sc. in Romeo and Juliet
Enter ROMEO and BALTHASAR, with a torch, mattock, etc.
Rom. Give me that mattock and the wrenching
iron.
Hold, take this letter ; early in the morning See thou deliver it to my lord and father. Give me the light : upon thy life, I charge thee, Whate'er thou hear'st or seest, stand all aloof, And do not interrupt me in my course. Why I descend into this bed of death Is partly to behold my lady's face ; But chiefly to take thence from her dead finger A precious ring, a ring that I must use In dear employment : therefore hence, be gone : But if thou, jealous, dost return to pry In what I farther shall intend to do, By heaven, I will tear thee joint by joint And strew this hungry churchyard with thy limbs : The time and my intents are savage-wild, More fierce and more inexorable far Than empty tigers or the roaring sea.
BaL I will be gone, sir, and not trouble you.
Rom. So shalt thou show me friendship. Take
thou that : Live, and be prosperous : and farewell, good fellow.
Bal. [Aside] For all this same, I'll hide me
hereabout : His looks I fear, and his intents I doubt
[Retires.
Rom. Thou detestable maw, thou womb of death, Gorged with the dearest morsel of the earth, Thus I enforce thy rotten jaws to open, And, in despite, I '11 cram thee with more food !
[Opens the tomb.
Par. This is that banish'd haughty Montague,
511
Romeo and Juliet ACT v
That murder'd my love's cousin, with which grief, 5o
It is suppose^, the fair creature died ;
And here is come to do some villanous shame
To the dead bodies : I will apprehend him.
[ Comes forward.
Stop thy unhallow'd toil, vile Montague ! Can vengeance be pursued further than death? Condemned villain, I do apprehend thee : Obey, and go with me ; for thou must die.
Rom. I must indeed ; and therefore came I
hither.
Good gentle youth, tempt not a desperate man ; Fly hence, and leave me : think upon these gone ; 60 Let them affright thee. I beseech thee, youth, Put not another sin upon my head, By urging me to fury : O, be gone ! By heaven, I love thee better than myself; For I come hither arm'd against myself : Stay not, be gone ; live, and hereafter say, A madman's mercy bade thee run away.
Far. I do defy thy conjurations, And apprehend thee for a felon here.
Rom. Wilt thou provoke me? then have at thee, boy ! [They fight. 7o
Page. O Lord, they fight ! I will go call the watch. [Exit.
Par. O, I am slain ! [Falls.'] If thou be merciful, Open the tomb, lay me with Juliet. [Dies.
Rom. In faith, I will. Let me peruse this face. Mercutio's kinsman, noble County Paris ! What said my man, when^my betossed soul Did not attend him as we rode ? I think He told me Paris should have married Juliet : Said he not so ? or did I dream it so ? Or am I mad, hearing him talk of Juliet, 80
To think it was so ? O, give me thy hand,
3**
sc. in Romeo and Juliet
One writ with me in sour misfortune's book ! I '11 bury thee in a triumphant grave ; A grave ? O, no ! a lantern, slaughter'd youth, For here lies Juliet, and her beauty makes This vault a feasting presence full of light. Death, lie thou there, by a dead man interr'd.
[Laying Paris in the monument. How oft when men are at the point of death Have they been merry ! which their keepers call A lightning before death : O, how may I 9o
Call this a lightning ? O my love ! my wife ! Death, that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath, Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty : Thou art not conquer'd ; beauty's ensign yet Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks, And death's pale flag is not advanced there. Tybalt, liest thou there in thy bloody sheet ? O, what more favour can I do to thee, Than with that hand that cut thy youth in twain To sunder his that was thine enemy ? 100
Forgive me, cousin ! Ah, dear Juliet, Why art thou yet so fair? shall I believe That unsubstantial death is amorous, And that the lean abhorred monster keeps Thee here in dark to be his paramour? For fear of that, I still will stay with thee; And never from this palace of dim night Depart again : here, here will I remain With worms that are thy chamber-maids ; O, here Will I set up my everlasting rest, itt
And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars From this world-wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last!
84. lantern, (in its architec- crossing of nave and transepts tural sense) a turret full of at Ely). windows (such as that over the 86. presence, state-chamber.
VOL. VII 513 2 *L
Romeo and Juliet ACT v
Arms, take your last embrace ! and, lips, O you The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss A dateless bargain to engrossing death! Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide ! Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on The dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark ! Here 's to my love ! [Drinks.] O true apothe cary !
Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die. 120
[Dies.
Enter \ at the other end of the churchyard^ FRIAR LAURENCE, with a lantern, crow, and spade.
Fri. Z. Saint Francis be iny speed ! how oft
to-night Have my old feet stumbled at graves ! Who Js
there ? Bal. Here 's one, a friend, and one that knows
you well. Fri. L. Bliss be upon you ! Tell me, good
my friend,
What torch is yond that vainly lends his light To grubs and eyeless skulls ? as I discern, It burneth in the Capels' monument.
BaL It doth so, holy sir; and there's my
master, One that you love.
Fri. L. Who is it?
BaL Romeo.
Fri. L. How long hath he been there ? BaL Full half an hour. 130
Fri. L. Go with me to the vault. Bal. I dare not, sir :
My master knows not but I am gone hence ; And fearfully did menace me with death, If I did stay to look on his intents.
5*4
sc. in Romeo and Juliet
FrL Z. Stay, then ; I '11 go alone. Fear comes
upon me : O, much I fear some ill unlucky thing.
BaL As I did sleep under this yew-tree here, I dreamt my master and another fought, And that my master slew him.
Fri. L. Romeo !
[Advances.
Alack, alack, what blood is this, which stains 140
The stony entrance of this sepulchre ? What mean these masterless and gory swords To lie discolour'd by this place of peace ?
[Enters the tomb.
Romeo ! O, pale ! Who else ? what, Paris too ? And steep'd in blood ? Ah, what an unkind hour Is guilty of this lamentable chance ! The lady stirs. [Juliet wakes.
JuL O comfortable friar ! where is my lord ? I do remember well where I should be, And there I am : where is my Romeo ? 150
[Noise within.
Fri. L. I hear some noise. Lady, come from
that nest
Of death, contagion, and unnatural sleep : A greater power than we can contradict Hath thwarted our intents : come, come away. |\ Thy husband in thy bosom there lies dead ; And Paris too. Come, I '11 dispose of thee Among a sisterhood of holy nuns : Stay not to question, for the watch is coming ; Come, go, good Juliet [Noise again] ; I dare no longer stay.
Jul. Go, get thee hence, for I will not away. 160
[Exit Fri. Z. What's here? a cup, closed in my true love's hand ?
148. comfortable, comforting. 515
Romeo and Juliet
ACT V
Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end :
O churl ! drunk all, and left no friendly drop
To help me after ? I will kiss thy lips ;
Haply some poison yet doth hang on them,
To make me die with a restorative. [Kisses him.
Thy lips are warm.
First Watch. [ Within] Lead, boy : which way ?
Jul. Yea, noise? then I'll be brief. O happy
dagger ! [Snatching Romeo1 s dagger.
This is thy sheath [Stabs herself] ; there rust, and
let me die. 170
\_Falls on Romeo's body, and dies.
Enter Watch, with the Page of PARIS.
Page. This is the place ; there, where the torch doth burn.
First Watch. The ground is bloody; search
about the churchyard : Go, some of you, whoe'er you find attach. Pitiful sight ! here lies the county slam ; And Juliet bleeding, warm, and newly dead, Who here hath lain these two days buried. Go, tell the prince : run to the Capulets : Raise up the Montagues : some others search : We see the ground whereon these woes do lie ; But the true ground of all these piteous woes z&>
We cannot without circumstance descry.
Re-enter some of the Watch, with BALTHASAR.
Sec. Watch. Here 's Romeo's man ; we found
him in the churchyard. First Watch. Hold him in safety, till the
prince come hither.
162. timeless, untimely. 1 8 1. circumstance, further particulars.
516
sc. in Romeo and Juliet
Re-enter others of the Watch, with FRIAR LAURENCE.
Third Watch. Here is a friar, that trembles,
sighs, and weeps :
We took this mattock and this spade from him, As he was coming from this churchyard side. First Watch. A great suspicion : stay the friar too.
Enter the PRINCE and Attendants.
Prince. What misadventure is so early up, That calls our person from our morning rest ?
Enter CAPULET, LADY CAPULET, and others.
Cap. What should it be, that they so shriek
abroad ? 190
La. Cap. The people in the street cry Romeo, Some Juliet, and some Paris ; and all run With open outcry toward our monument.
Prince. What fear is this which startles in our
ears? First Watch. Sovereign, here lies the County
Paris skin ;
And Romeo dead ; and Juliet, dead before, Warm and new kill'd.
Prince. Search, seek, and know how this foul
murder comes. First Watch. Here is a friar, and slaughter'd
Romeo's man,
With instruments upon them fit to open 200
These dead men's tombs.
Cap. O heavens! O wife, look how our
daughter bleeds !
This dagger hath mista'en, for, lo, his house Is empty on the back of Montague,
5*7
Romeo and Juliet ACT v
And it mis-sheathed in my daughter's bosom ! La. Cap. O me ! this sight of death is as a
bell, That warns my old age to a sepulchre.
Enter MONTAGUE and others.
Prince. Come, Montague ; for thou art early up, To see thy son and heir more early down.
Mon. Alas, my liege, my wife is dead to-night ; 210 Grief of my son's exile hath stopp'd her breath : What further woe conspires against mine age ?
Prince. Look, and thou shalt see.
Mon. O thou untaught ! what manners is in
this, To press before thy father to a grave ?
Prince. Seal up the mouth of outrage for a
while,
Till we can clear these ambiguities, And know their spring, their head, their true
descent ;
And then will I be general of your woes, And lead you even to death : meantime forbear, 220 And let mischance be slave to patience. Bring forth the parties of suspicion.
Fri. L. I am the greatest, able to do least, Yet most suspected, as the time and place Doth make against me, of this direful murder ; And here I stand, both to impeach and purge Myself condemned and myself excused.
Prince. Then say at once what thou dost know in this.
Fri. L. I will be brief, for my short date of
breath
Is not so long as is a tedious tale. 230
Romeo, there dead, was husband to that Juliet ;
216. outrage, outcry.
sc. m Romeo and Juliet
And she, there dead, that Romeo's faithful wife :
I married them ; and their stol'n marriage-day
Was Tybalt's dooms-day, whose untimely death
Banish'd the new-made bridegroom from this city,
For whom, and not for Tybalt, Juliet pined.
You, to remove that siege of grief from her,
Betroth'd and would have married her perforce
To County Paris : then comes she to me,
And, with wild looks, bid me devise some mean 24o
To rid her from this second marriage,
Or in my cell there would she kill herself.
Then gave I her, so tutor'd by my art,
A sleeping potion ; which so took effect
As I intended, for it wrought on her
The form of death : meantime I writ to Romeo,
That he should hither come as this dire night,
To help to take her from her borrow'd grave,
Being the time the potion's force should cease.
But he which bore my letter, Friar John, 25o
Was stay'd by accident, and yesternight
Return'd my letter back. Then all alone
At the prefixed hour of her waking,
Came I to take her from her kindred's vault ;
Meaning to keep her closely at my cell,
Till I conveniently could send to Romeo :
But when I came, some minute ere the time
Of her awaking, here untimely lay
The noble Paris and true Romeo dead.
She wakes ; and I entreated her come forth, £6o
And bear this work of heaven with patience :
But then a noise did scare me from the tomb ;
And she, too desperate, would not go with me,
But, as it seems, did violence on herself.
247. as this dire night, this 'as this very day was Cassius dire night. ('As' served to born,' Jul. Cess. v. i. 72 ; 'as define expressions of time, cf. now,' etc.).
Romeo and Juliet ACT v
All this I know ; and to the marriage Her nurse is privy : and, if aught in this Miscarried by my fault, let my old life Be sacrificed, some hour before his time, Unto the rigour of severest law.
Prince. We still have known thee for a holy
man. 270
Where 's Romeo's man ? what can he say in this ?
Bal. I brought my master news of Juliet's death ; And then in post he came from Mantua To this same place, to this same monument This letter he early bid me give his father, And threaten'd me with death, going in the vault, If I departed not and left him there.
Prince. Give me the letter ; I will look on it. Where is the county's page, that raised the watch ? Sirrah, what made your master in this place ? 280
Page. He came with flowers to strew his lady's
grave ;
And bid me stand aloof, and so I did : Anon comes one with light to ope the tomb ; And by and by my master drew on him ; And then I ran away to call the watch.
Prince. This letter doth make good the friar's
words,
Their course of love, the tidings of her death : And here he writes that he did buy a poison Of a poor 'pothecary, and therewithal Came to this vault to die, and lie with Juliet. 290
Where be these enemies ? Capulet ! Montague ! See, what a scourge is laid upon your hate, That heaven finds means to kill your joys with
love.
And I for winking at your discords too Have lost a brace of kinsmen : all are punish'd.
Cap. O brother Montague, give me thy hand : 520
sc in Romeo and Juliet
This is my daughter's jointure, for no more Can I demand.
Mon. But I can give thee more :
For I will raise her statue in pure gold ; That while Verona by that name is known, 300
There shall no figure at such rate be set As that of true and faithful Juliet.
Cap. As rich shall Romeo's by his lady's lie ; Poor sacrifices of our enmity ! Prince. A glooming peace this morning with it brings ;
The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head : Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things ;
Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished : For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo. / [Exeunt. 310
END OF VOL. VII
PR
2753
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v.7
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