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THE THIRD PART OF
KING HENRY VI
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All the unsigned footnotes in this volume are by the
writer of the article to which they are appended. The in-
terpretation of the initials signed to the others is : I. G.
= Israel Gollancz, M.A. ; H. N. H.= Henry Norman
Hudson, A.M. ; C. H. H.= C. H. Herford, Litt.D.
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INTRODUCTION
By Henry Norman Hudson, A.M.
The Third Part of King Henry the Sixth resumes the
course of history just where it paused at the close of the
preceding play» and carries it on from the first battle of
St. Albans, May, 1466, till the death of King Henry, which
took place in May, 1471. And the connection of tiiis play
with the foregoing is much the same as that between the
First Part and the Second^ there being no apparent reason
why the Third should begin where it does, but that the
Second ended there. The parliamentary doings, which re-
sulted in a compromise of the two factions, are here set in
immediate juxtaposition with the first battle of St. Albans,
whereas in fact they were separated by an interval of more
than five years. Nevertheless, the arrangement is a very
judicious one; for that interval was marked by little else
than similar scenes of slaughter, which had no decisive ef-
fect on the relative condition of parties ; so that the rep-
resenting of them w«uld but have encumbered the drama
with details without helping on the purpose of the work.
Not so, however, with the battle of Wakefield, which fol-
lowed hard upon those doings in parliament ; for this bat-
tle, besides that it yielded matter of peculiar dramatic inter-
est in itself, had the eff^ect of kindling that inexpressible
rage and fury of madness, which it took such rivers of
blood to slake. For historians note that from this time
forward the war was conducted with the fiercest rancor
and exasperation, each faction seeming more intent to
butcher than to subdue the other. The cause of this
demoniacal enthusiasm could not well be better presented
than it is in the wanton and remorseless savageix displayed
vii <3
Introduction THE THIRD PART OF
at the battle in question. And the effect is answerably told
in the next battle represented, where the varying fortune
and long-doubtful issue served but to multiply and deepen
the horrors of the tragedy. Even the pauses of the fight
are but occupied in blowing hotter the passion and bracing
firmer the purpose of the combatants; while the reflection
of the King, whose gentle nature suffers alike in the suc-
cess and the defeat of his party, solemnly moralize the
scene, and fender it the more awfully impressive by draw-
ing in a remembrance of the homely rural contentment
which has been scared away. His plaintive and pathetic
musing is aptly followed by a strain of wailing, wafted, as
it were, from the grand chorus of woe and anguish which
the nation strikes up, on finding that in the blind tearing
rage of faction the father has unwittingly been slaughter-
ing his son, and the son his father. And such an elegiac
tone as here swells upon the hearing is in truth the most
natural and fit expression of a meditative patriotism, griev-
ing over wounds which it is powerless to redress.
Thus in these two points of the drama the spirit and
temper of the whole war is concentrated. Nor is it easy
to see how the materials could have been better selected and
disposed, so as to give out their proper significance, with-
out bruising the feelings or distracting the thoughts of the
spectator. By the final overthrow of the Lancastrians
at Towton, the Yorkists were left to the divulsive energy
of their own passions and vices ; for in their previous con-
tests had been generated a virulence of self-will that would
needs set them at strife with one another when they had
no common antagonist to strive against. The overbear-
ing pride and arrogance of Warwick would not brook to
be crossed, and the pampered caprice of Edward would
not scruple to cross it: the latter would not have fought as
he did, but to the end that he might be king; nor would
the former have done so much for him, but that he might
have a king isubject to his control. It is remarkable that
the causes of the deadly feud between the kingmaker and
his royal creature have never been fully explained. His-
Viii ^.y.u.^uuy ^..
KING HENRY VI Introduction
tory having assigned several, the Poet, even if he had
known better, was amply warranted in taking the one that
could be made to tell most on the score of dramatic interest.
And the scene at the court of Lewis justifies his choice, be-
ing, in point of sound stage-effect, probably the best in the
play; while the representation, however untrue to fact, is
true to the temper, the motives, and character of the parties
concerned; so that the Poet may here be said in a justi-
fiable sense to have invented history, gathering up and
bodying forth the spirit and life of several years in the
form of one brief transaction. With such an occasion and
such an assemblage of character, what a piece of work the
Poet would have made in the maturity of his powers, when
experience had armed his genius with a proportionable de-
gree of technical skill !
The marriage of King Edward with the lady Elizabeth
took place in May, 1464r, something more than three years
after the battle of Towton. The queen's influence over her
husband, resulting in the preferment of her family, gave
apt occasion for those discontents and schisms in the fac-
tion, which, in whatever line of conduct he had followed,
could not have been long without pretexts. Of course the
effect of such schisms was to rally and strengthen the
opposite faction into a renewal of the conflict. The cap-
ture of Edward by Warwick occurred in the summer of
1469, and was followed by the restoration bf Henry, who
had been over five years a prisoner in the Tower. The
domineering and dictatorial habit of Warwick was not less
manifest in his alliance with Henry than it had been with
Edward. The earl had given his oldest daughter to Clar-
ence ; and as she was to inherit her father's immense estates,
he thus seemed to have a sure hold on her husband. But
the duke appears to have regarded the marriage as offer-
ing him a prospect of the throne ; so that the main cord be-
tween them was broken when Warwick gave his second
daughter to the son of Henry. In October, 1470, Edward
made his escape to the continent. The following March he
returned, and in about a month was fought the battle of
IntroducUon THE THIRD PART OF
Bamet, where he recovered the throne in spite of War-
wick, and therefore had the better chance of keeping it.
For this success he was much indebted to the perfidy of
Clarence, who, having raised a large body of men by com-
mission from Henry, but with the secret purpose of using
them for Edward, a few days before threw off the mask,
openly renouncing his father-in-law, and rejoining his
brother. The death of Warwick at the battle of Bamet
left Edward little to fear, and his security was scarce dis-
turbed by the arrival of Queen Margaret, on the very day
of that battle, with aid from France; which aid, together
with what remained of Henry's late army, was despatched
a few days after in the battle of Tewksbury. Prince Ed-
ward being murdered at the close of this last battle, and
his father in the Tower about two weeks later, the Lan-
castrian line of princes was now extinct, so that its partisans
had no inducement to prolong the terrible contest.
Further particulars of the history will be given from
time to time in our notes. By a little attention to the dates
it will be seen that throughout this play the- Poet keeps to
the actual order of events. And a more careful observa-
tion will readily perceive, that out of a large mass of ma-
terials Shakespeare judiciously selected such portions, and
arranged them in such fashion, as might well convey in
dramatic form the true historical scope and import of the
whole. As the period brought forth little that was mem-
orable save battles, all of which were marked by much
the same bloodthirstiness of spirit, it was scarce possible to
avoid an unusual degree of sameness in the action of the
play ; and the Poet seems to have made the most of whatever
means were at hand for giving variety to the scenes. Such
are the angry bickerings in parliament at the beginning;
the cruel slaughter of young Rutland, and the fiendish
mockeries heaped upon York, at Wakefield ; the lyrical un-
bosomings of Henry when chidden from the field by Clif-
ford, and when taken prisoner by the huntsmen; the woo-
insr of lady Elizabeth by Edward, and the biting taunts
^rcasms which his brothers vent upon him touching
KING HENRY VI introduction
his marriage; and especially the passages between Lewis,
Margaret, Oxford, and Warwick, at the French court; in
some of which the Poet seems rather to have overworked his
matter of purpose to relieve and diversif jr the representa-
tion. Yet this play is by no means equal to the "Second
Part in variety of interest ; and, but for the pungent sea-
soning sprinkled in here and there from the bad heart and
busy brain of the precocious Richard, would be in some
danger of perishing by its own monotony.
All through this dramatic series the delineation of the
meek and inoffensive Henry is wrought out with sftudious
care and consistency from the character ascribed to him
in the Chronicles. His leading traits and dispositions are
thus siunmed up in Holinshed : " He was of seemly stat-
ure, of body slender ; his face beautiful, wherein contin-
ually was resident the bounty of mind with which he was
inwardly indued. Of his own natural inclination he ab-
horred all the vices as well of the body as of the soul. He
was plain, upright, far from fraud, wholly given to prayer,
reading of Scriptures, and alms-deeds! of such integrity
of life, that the bishop, which had been his confessor ten
years, avouched that he had not all that time committed
any mortal crime; so continent, as suspicion of unchaste
life never touched him. So far he was from covetoiisness,
that when the executors of his uncle, sumamed the rich
cardinal, would have given him two thousand pounds, he
plainly refused it, willing them to discharge the will of the
departed, and would scarcely accept the same sum toward
the endowing of his colleges in Cambridge and Eton.- He
was so pitiful, that when he saw the quarter of a traitor
against his crown over Cripplegate he willed it to be taken
away, with these words, — 'I will not have any Christian so
cruelly handled for my sake.' Many great offenses' he will-
ingly pardoned; and receiving at a time a great blow by
a wicked man which compassed his death, he only said, —
'Forsooth, forsooth, ye do foully to smite a king anointed
so.' "
The Poet's representation is in the main but a temperate
xi • ...... ..^ ^.. ^ —
Introduction THE THIRD PART OF
filling-up and coloring of this historical sketch and outline.
The three plays embrace the whole period of the king's
life; and in the child of the First Part a steady eye will
readily discern the rudiments of wliat afterwards appears
more fully developed in the man; the lines of his indi-
viduality meantime growing imperceptibly firmer, while
years bring with them a riper thoughtf ulness, and a more
considerate, though hardly less passive virtue. At times
he seems quite spirited and energetic, but this is generally
under some sudden external pressure, and passes away as
soon as he has time to temper and adjust his mind to the
exigency. He shows considerable powers of thought and
will, but somehow he cannot bring them to move athwart
his sense of right ; while at the same time such is his moral
and intellectual candor as to render him inaccessible to the
sophistries whereby men usually reconcile their conscience
to the suggestions of interest or passion: so delicate and
sensitive is his rectitude, that he can hardly bear of two
evils to choose the least; and his position has always been
such as obliged him either to act upon a choice of evils, or
else to do nothing. And it is to be noted, withal, that
there has ever been a disproportion between his nature and
his circumstances, so that the latter could not properly
educate the former; whatsoever native principles of energy
there were in him having been rather choked down than
called forth, by the rampant, undisciplined, overbearing
energy of those about him. Thus he is an instance of a
truly good man, altogether out of place ; and himself fully
aware of his unfitness for the place he is in, yet unable to
leave it, for the very reason that the staying there involves
him in continual self-sacrifice. He would still be a peace-
maker, and therefore what he did still resulted in war, be-
cause in his circumstances war was the only effectual means
of peace. The only impartial man in the kingdom, his im-
partiality, however, seems rather the offspring of weakness
than of principle : yet, while his condition moves cur pity,
his piety and innocence secure him a share of respect ; and
we are apt to think of his situation as one where evil has
Digitized by CjOOQIC
KING HENRYi VI introduction
got such head that it must needs take its course and run
itself out, there being no way for the good to conquer but
by suffering.
One is strongly tempted to run a parallel between Henry
VI and Richard II, as delineated by Shakespeare. To this
temptation Hazlitt yielded outright, and perhaps we may
as well follow him so far at least as to start the subject.
The two kings closely resemble each other in a certain
weakness of character, bordering on effeminacy, and this
resemblance is made especially apjmrent by their similarity
of state and fortune. Yet this very circumstance, which
in almost any other hands would have caused a confounding
of the men, seems only to have put Shakespeare upon a
more careful discrimination of them. Richard is as selfish
as he is weak, and weak, perhaps, partly because of his
selfishness. With large and fine powers of mind, still his
thinking never runs clear of self, but is all steeped to the
core in personal regards; and to him a thing seems right
and good only as, for private ends, he wishes to have it so :
he can scarce see things to be true or false, but .as they
serve or thwart his own fancies and pleasures. And be-
cause his thoughts do not rise out of self, and stay in the
contemplation of general and independent truth, therefore
it is that his course of life runs so tearingly a-clash with the
laws and conditions of his place. With Henry, on the
other hand, disinterestedness is pushed to the degree of an
infhrmity. He seems to perceive and own truth all the more
willingly where it involves a sacrifice of his personal inter-
ests and rights; whereas, these being an essential part of
that general truth which maketh strong, a sober and tem-
perate regard to them is among the constituents of wisdom.
For a man, especially a king, cannot be wise for others,
unless he be so for himself. Thus Henry's weakness seems
to spring in part from an excessive disregard of self. He
permits the laws to suffer, and in them the people, partly
because he cannot vindicate them without, in effect, taking
care of his own cause. This trait is finely exemplified in
his talk with the keepers who have taken him captive.
xiii .,y.,..uuy. ^le
Introduction THE THIRD PART OF
he urges the sanctity of an oath the more strictly, that in
this instance it makes against himself. Had he been as
rigid and exacting in his own case, as he is here in be-
half of his rival, their oaths to himself would not have
been broken; and for their breach of faith he blames
his own remissness, as having caused them to wrong them-
selves.
Much has been said by one critic and another about the
Poet's Lancastrian prejudices as manifested in these plays.
One may well be curious to know whether those prejudices
are to be held responsible for the portrait of Queen Mar-
garet, wherein we have, so to speak, an abbreviature and
sum-total of nearly all the worst vices of her time. The
character, however life-like and striking its effect, is colored
much beyond what sober history warrants; though some of
the main features are not without a basis of fact, still
the composition and expression as a whole has hardly
enough of historical truth to render it a caricature. Bold,
ferocious, and tempestuous, void alike of delicacy, of dig-
nity, ajid of. discretion, all the bad passions, out of which
might be . engendered the madness of civil war, seem to
flock and hover about her footsteps. Her speech and ac-
tion, however, impart a wonderful vigpr and lustihood to
the movement i of the drama; and perhaps it was only by
exaggerating her or some other of the persons into a sort
of representatiye character, that the springs and processes
of that long national bear-fight could be developed in a
poetical and dramatic form. Her penetrating intellect and
unrestrainable volubility discourse forth the motives and
principles of the combatant factions; while in her remorse-
less impiety and revengeful ferocity is impersonated, as it
were, the very genius and spirit of the terrible conflict* So
that we may regard her as, in some sort, an ideal concen-
tration of that murderous ecstasy which seized upon the
nation. Nor is it inconsiderable that popular tradition,
sprung from the reports of her enemies, and cherished by
patriotic feeling, had greatly overdrawn her wickedness,
H might have whereon to father the evils resulting
xiv
KING HENRY VI introduction
from her husband's weakness, and the moral distemper of
the times.
The dramatic character of Margaret, whether as trans-
piring at court or in the field, is sustained at the same high
pitch throughout. Affictions do but open in her breast
new founts of embitterment : her speech is ever teeming with
the sharp answer that engenders wrath ; and out of every
wound issues the virulence that is sure to provoke another
blow. And even in the next play, when she is stripped of
arms and Instruments, so that her thoughts can no longer
be embodied in acts, for this very cause her energies con-
centrate themselves more and more in words : she talks with
the greater power and effect, for that she can do nothing
else; and her eloquence, while retaining all its point and
fluency, waxes the more formidable, that it is the only organ
she has left of her will. So that she still appears the same
high-grown, wide-branching tree, rendered leafless indeed,
and therefore all the fitter for the blasts of heaven to howl
and whistle through.
Much might be said by way of explaining how, in the
drama, the union of Henry and Margaret has the effect
of making them both more and more what they ought not to
be ; his doing too little evermore stimulating her activity,
and her doing too much as constantly opiating his. And
by their endeavoring thus to repair each other's excess, that
excess is not only heightened in itself, but rendered on both
sides more mischievous in its effects, forasmuch as it prac-
tically inverts the relation between them: her energy can-
not make up for his imbecility, because in either case the
quality does not fit the person. For in seeking to make his
place good she only displaces both herself and him, and,
of course, the more she does out of her place, the more
she undoes her cause. All which shows that in such mat-
ters it is often of less consequence what is done, than by
whom, and how; for the simple reason that the > issue de-
pends not so much on the form of the act, as on the man-
ner in which it is viewed by those to whom it refers.
Finally, if any one think that Margaret's fero
XV .y„..uuy^OOgIe
Introduction THE THIRD PART OF
strained up to a pitch incompatible with her sex, and un-
necessary for the occasion; perhaps it will be deemed a
sufficient answer, that the spirit of such a war could scarce
be dramatically conveyed without the presence of a fury,
and that the Furies have always been represented as fe-
males.
Warwick and Clifford are appropriate specimens of the
old English feudal baronage in the height of its power and
splendor; a class of men brave, haughty, turbulent, and
rough, accustomed to wield the most despotic authority
on their estates, and therefore spuming at legal restraint in
their public capacity ; and individually able, sometimes, to
overawe and browbeat both king and parliament. In the
play, however, we see little of their personal traits, these
being, for the most part, lost in the common habits and
sentiments of their order; not to mention that, in the col-
lision of such steel-clad champions, individual features are
apt to be kept out of sight, and all distinctive tones are
naturally drowned in the clash of arms. It is mainly what
they stand for in the public action, that the drama con-
cerns itself about, not those characteristic issues which are
the proper elements of a personal acquaintance. Yet they
are somewhat discriminated: Clifford is more fierce and spe-
cial in his revenge, because more tender and warm in his
affections; while Warwick is more free from particular
hate, because his mind is more at ease in the magnitude of
his power, and the feeling of his consequence. It is said
that not less than thirty thousand persons lived daily at
the tables of his different castles and manors. Add to
this, that his hospitality was boundless, his dispositions
magnificent, his manners captivating, his spirit frank,
forthright, and undesigning, and it may well be conceived
why his ^^housekeeping won the greatest favour of the
commons," insomuch that, though but an earl in style, he
could in effect force kings to reign as viceroys under him.
Holinshed speaks of him thus: ^^FuU fraught was this
nobleman with good qualities right excellent and many, all
which a certain natural grace did so far forth recommend.
KING HENRY VI introduction
that with high and low he was in singular favor and good
liking, so as, unsought-f or it seemed, he grew able to com-
mand all alone." And his bearing in the play is answer-
able to the character that history assigns him; though it
were to be wished, that in the doings of the king-maker the
Poet had given us more taste of the individual man.
The representation of Suffolk in the Second Part might
also be cited in disproof of Shakespeare's alleged bias to
the Lancastrian side. Ambitious, unprincipled, impatient
of every one's pride and purpose but his own, a thorough-
paced scoundrelism is depicted in him without mitigation
or remorse. Yet if his dramatic character be compared
with the worst that history has alleged concerning him, the
portrait will probably appear to have rather the overcol-
oring of a young autiior aiming at effect, than the temper-
ance and moderation of conscious strength. Generally,
however, the Second Part and the Third are in effect a
pretty fair revivification of history, in that they set before
us an overgrown nobility, a giant race of iron-bound war-
riors, who being choked off from foreign conquest, and
unused to the arts of peace, their high-strung energies got
corrupted into fierce hatreds and revengeful passions ; and
they had no refuge from the gnawings of pride and ambi-
tion, but to struggle and fight at home for that distinc-
tion which they had been bred to anticipate by fighting
abroad.
In the Second and Third Parts of Henry VI the charac-
ter of Richard is set forth in the processes of development
and formation ; whereas in King Richard III we have little
else than the working-out of his character as already
formed. In Shakespeare's time the prevailing idea of
Richard was derived from the History of his Life and
Reign, put forth by Sir Thomas More, but supposed to
have been partly written by Dr. John Morton, himself a
part of the subject, who was afterwards Cardinal, Primate
of England, and Lord Chancellor to Henry VII. More's
History, as it is commonly called, was adopted by both Hall
and Holinshed into their Chronicles, In that noble " '
XVii ^.y.u.^uuy,^ ^.^
Introduction THE THIRD PART OF
of compQsitipn the main features of the subject are digested
and drawn together as follows :
^^ichaird, the third son, was in wit and courage equal with
either of them, little of stature, ill-featured of limbs, crook-
backed, his left shoulder much higher than his right, hard-
favored of visage; malicious, wrathful, envious, and from
afore his birth ever froward. It is reported that he came
into the world with the feet forward, and not untoothed;
whether men of hatred report above the truth, or else
that nature changed her course in his beginning, which in
his life many things unnaturally committed. Free he was
called of dispense, and somewhat above his power lib-
eral : with large gifts he gat him unsteadf ast friendship, for
which he was fain to pill and spoil in other places, and
gat him steadfast hatred. He was close and secret, a deep
dissembler, lowly of countenance, arrogant of heart; out-
wardly companionable where he inwardly hated, not let-
ting to kiss whom he thought to kill ; despiteous and cruel,
not for evil will always, but of tener for ambition, and either
for the surety or increase of his estate." In another place
he is spoken of thus : ^^His face was small, but such, that
at the first aspect a man would judge it to savor and
smell of malice, fraud, and deceit. When he stood musing,
he would bite and chaw his nether lip;* as who said, that
his fierce nature in his cruel body always chafed, stirred,
and was ever unquiet: besides that, the dagger which he
ware he would, when he studied, with his hand pluck up
and down in the sheath to the midst, never drawing it fully
out." And elsewhere he is noted by the same writer as be-
ing inordinately fond of splendid and showy dress, thus
evincing an intense craving to be "look'd on in the world ;"
to fill the eyes of men, and ride in triumph on their
tongues.
It is evident that this furnished the matter and form of
the Poet's conception ; his character of Richard being little
other than the historian's descriptive analysis reduced
to dramatic li£e and expression. In accordance with
Shakespeare's usual method, at our first meeting with Rich-
xviu
^^.^
KING HENRY VI Introduction
ard, in the Second Part, act v. sc. 1, is suggested the first
principle and prolific germ out of which his action is
mainly evolved. He is called *'f oul stigmatic," because
the stigma set on his person is both to others the handiest
theme of reproach, and to himself the most annoying; like
a huge boil on a man's face, which, because of its un-
sightliness, is the point that his enemies see most, and, be^
cause of its soreness, strike first. And his personal de-
formity is regarded not only as the proper outshaping and
physiognomy of a certain original malignity of soul, but
as yielding the prime motive of his malignant dealing, in
so far as this dealing proceeds from motive as distinguished
from impulse; his shape having grown ugly because his
spirit was bad, and his spirit growing worse because of his
ugly shape. For his ill-looks invite reproach, and re-
proach quickens and heightens his malice ; and because men
hate to look on him, he therefore cares all the more to be
looked on; and as his aspect repels admiration, he has no
way to win it but by power, that so fear may compel what
inclination denies. Thus experience generates in him a most
inordinate lust of power; and the circumstantial impossi-
bility of coming at this, save by crime, puts him upon
such a course of intellectual training and. practice as may
enable him to commit crimes, and still avoid the conse-
quences, thus reversing the natural proportion between suc-
cess and desert.
And his extreme vanity naturally results in a morbid
sensitiveness to any signs of neglect or scorn; and these
terms being especially offensive and hurtful to himself, he
therefore has the greater delight in venting them on oth-
ers: as taunts and scoffs are a form of power which he
feels most keenly, he thence grows to using them as an
apt form whereby to make his power felt. For even so
bad men naturally covet to be wielding upon others the
causes and instruments of their own sufferings. Hence
the bitterly sarcastic humor which Richard indulges so
freely and with such prodigious effect ; as in what he says
to the Cliffords, at his first appearance in the play, and
Introduction THE THIRD PART OF
again in the dialogue that takes places over the dead body
of the younger Clifford. Of course his sensitiveness is
keenest touching the very particular wherein his vanity is
most thwarted and wounded : he thinks of nothing so much
as the ugliness that balks his desire, and resents nothing so
sharply as the opinion or feeling it arrays against him.
Accordingly his first and heaviest shots of sarcasm are at
those who were the first to twit him on that score. And in
the scene where Prince Edward is killed, he seems unmoved
till the prince hits him in that eye, when his wrath takes
fire at once, and bursts out in the reply, — ^''By Heaven,
brat, I'll plague you for that word.*'
AH which indicates the cause of his being so prone to
"descant on his own deformity." his thoughts still brood
upon it, because it is the sorest spot in his condition ; and
because he never forgets it, therefore he is the more in-
tent on turning it into the source of a dearer gratification
than any it withholds from him, the consciousness, namely,
of such an inward power as can bear him onward and up-
ward in spite of such outward clogs. Thus the shame
of personal disgrace, which in a good mind yields apt mo-
tive and occasion of a sweet and virtuous life, in the case
of Richard inverts itself into a most hateful and malig-
nant form of pride, — ^the pride of intellectual force and
mastery. Hence he comes to glory in the very matter of
his shame, to exaggerate it, and hang over it, as serving to
approve, to set off, and magnify the strength and fertility
of wit whereby he is able to triumph over it ; as who would
say, — ^Nature indeed made me the scorn and reproach of
men, nevertheless, I have proved too much for her, and
made myself their wonder and applause; and though my
body be such that men could not bear the sight of me, yet
I have managed to charm their eyes.
It should be remarked that Richard, steeped as he is in
essential villainy, is actuated by no such "motiveless ma-
lignity'* as distinguishes lago. Cruel and unrelenting in
pursuit of his end, yet there is no wanton and gratuitous
cruelty in him : in all his crimes he has a purpose beyond
KING HENRY VI introduction
3
the act itself. Nor does he seem properly to hate those
whom he kills: they stand between him and his ruling
passion, and he **has neither pity, love, nor fear," that he
should blench or scruple to hew them out of the way. And
he has a certain redundant, impulsive, restless activity of
nature, that he never can hold still ; in virtue of which, as
his thought seizes with amazing quickness and sureness
where, and when, and how to cut, so he is equally sudden
and sure of hand: the purpose flashes upon him, and he in-
stantly darts to the crisis of performance, the thought set-
ting his whole being a-stir with executive transport. It
is as if such an excess of life and energy had been rammed
into his little body, as to strain and bulge it out of shape.
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COMMENTS
By Shakespearean Scholars
THE ENGLISH CHRONICLE PLAY
Among the many and diverse forms which the English
drama displayed in the latter part of the sixteenth cen-
tury there is none which was at once so popular in its
day and so distinctively English as that which drew its
subject-matter from the historical lore of the national
chronicles. For years this variety of drama disputed with
Romantic comedy and tragedy the supremacy of the stage,
and only yielded to defeat with the subsidence of the
national spirit of which it was bom. The English Chron-
icle Play began with the tide of patriotism which united
all England to repel the threatened invasion of Philip of
Spain. It ebbed and lost its national character with the
succession of James, an un-English prince, to the throne
of Elizabeth. — Schelung, The English Chronicle Play.
HENRY VI
In prison Henry at last is really happy; now he is re-
sponsible for nothing; he enjoys for the first time tranquil
solitude; he is a bird who sings in his cage. His latter
days he will spend, to the rebuke of sin and the praise of
his Creator, in devotion. Henry's equanimity is not of the
highest kind ; he is incapable of commotion. His peace is
not that which underlies wholesome agitation, a peace which
passes understanding. ^^Quietness is a grace, not in itself;
only when it is grafted on the stem of faith, zeal, self-
abasement, and diligence." If Henry had known the no-
bleness of true kingship, his content in prison mi^t be
xxii .,„_._^^^..
KING HENRY VI Comments
admirable; as it is, the beauty of that content does not
strike us as of a rich or vivid kind. But the end is come,
and that is a gain. Henry has yielded to the house of
York, and the evil time is growing shorter. The words of
the great Duke of York are confirmed by our sense of fact
and right:
King did I call thee? nay, thou art not king.
Give place; by heaven thou shalt rule no more
O'er him whom heaven created for thy ruler.
— ^DowDEN, Shakspere — His Mind and Art.
In the last scene of Richard II his despair lends him
courage : he beats the keeper, slays two of his assassins, and
dies with imprecations in his mouth against Sir Pierce
Exton, who "had staggered his royal person." Henry,
when he is seized by the deer-stealers, only reads them a
moral lecture on the duty of allegiance and the sanctity of
an oath; and when stabbed by Gloucester in the tower, re-
proaches him with his crimes, but pardons him his own
death. — ^Hazmtt, Characters of Shdkespear*s Plays.
LADY GREY
She was a poor widow who came trembling before King
Edward, and begged him to restore to her children the
small estate which, after the death of her husband, had re-
verted to the enemy. The licentious king, who. could not
stir her chastity, was so enchanted by her beauty, that he
placed the crown on her head. Her history, known to all
the world, announces how much misery to both came from
this match. — Heine, Florentine Nights.
THE WARWICKS
The magnificent and exceedingly romantic castle of
Warwick, was the seat of the powerful Earls of Warwick,
a brave and warlike race, which has played a prominen*^
Cammcnte THE THIRD PART OF
part in the history of England. The founder of the fam-
ily is said to have been the legendary Guy of Warwick,
the subduer of the Danish giant Colbrand, who after his
warlike exploits retired to what is now called Guy's Cliff,
Where with my hands I hewed a house
Out of a craggy rocke of stone;
And lived like a palmer poore
Within that cave myself alone:
And daylye came to begg my bread
Of Phelis att my castle gate.
Not knowne unto my loved wiffe
Who dayle mourned for her mate, &c.
The legends and ballads relating to Sir Guy must un-
doubtedly have been told or sung to the boy Shakespeare;
and no doubt he had also seen the statue of the old hero
at Guy's Cliff. Among the famous Norman Earls of
Warwick are the Beauchamps, especially Thomas Beau-
champ, the fourth Earl, whom parliament appointed guard-
ian of Richard II ; and Richard Beauchamp, the fifth Earl,
sumamed the Good (1381—1439)9 who distinguished him-
self in the struggle with Owen Glendower, and at the battle
of Shrewsbury against the Percies; it was he who negoti-
ated the marriage of Henry V with Catherine of France,
and was appointed "tutor" to Henry VI up to his fifteenth
year. This Richard Beauchamp was likewise one of the
heroes of the Wars of the Roses. He died as Regent of
France at Rouen, and his body was brought to Warwick
and buried in St. Mary's Church in the Beauchamp Chapel,
which had been erected there by him; his tomb, which is
said to have cost the extravagant sum of nearly £S,500,
is still an object of admiration to persons visiting War-
wick. His son Henry was not only made Earl of War-
wick, by Henry VI, but subsequently even King of the Isle
of Wight, of Jersey aiid Guernsey. With him the male
line of the Beauchamps became extinct in 1445, and the
lands and possessions passed, through the female line, into
the hands of the Nevilles, the first and mightiest of these
xxiv
KING HENRY VI Comments
being the famous Richard Neville, the "king-maker." He
was the mainstay of the Yorkists (the White Rose) for
whom he gained the victories of St. Albans and North-
ampton. He was less successful at the battle of Wake-
field and at the second battle of ^t. Albans. In conjunc-
tion with the Duke of York, however, he drove the
Lancastrian party back northwards, and in March, 14619
proclaimed his cousin king in London, as Edward IV. By
his victory at Towton he secured the throne for the newly-
made king, who in return, showered honors and rewards
upon him and his family. Nevertheless, discords gradually
arose between the dependent king and his all-powerful vas-
sal, which ended in the latter having to flee to the Conti-
nent in 1470; while there he gave his dau^ter Anne in
marriage to Edward Prince of Wales, the son of Queen
Margaret. Thereupon at the head of a considerable force
he landed at Plymouth, and proclaimed Henry VI king.
Edward IV, meanwhile, fled to Holland, where he likewise
raised an army, which he brought over and landed at
Ravenspurg, in Yorkshire, in March, 1471. At the battle
of Bamet, the Lancastrians were at last thoroughly beaten^
but the King-Maker and his brother Lord Montague lost
their lives on the field of battle. Richard Neville left two
daughters, Isabella, married to the Duke of Clarence, the
brother of Edward IV, and Anne (mentioned above), who
after the murder of her first husband in 1741, married the
Duke of Gloucester, afterwards Richard III.
These were the great historical characters whom young
Shakespeare could not fail to have thought of, when enter-
ing Warwick Castle by the passage cut through the solid
rock, and gazing at its massive towers built to withstand
the wear and tear of hundreds of years, — or when visiting
the Beauchamp Chapel and looking inquisitively at its
monuments and tombstones there. That Shakespeare, even
as a boy, wandered to Warwick, which was only some eight
miles from Stratford, and became acquainted with all the
objects of interest there, will not admit of any reasonable
doubt. At Warwick he would at once be transported to
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Comments THE THIRD PART OF
the time of the Wars of the Roses, to the scene of his His-
tories, and would learn the present as well as the past cir-
cumstances of the famous race of earls who figure in all
of these dramas. Would it be too much to maintain that
the youthful impressions which Warwick made upon Shake-
speare, were the first inspiration of his Histories? — ^Elze,
WiUiam Shakespeare.
RICHARD, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER
If we may call the character of Henry VI Shakespeare's
own creation, that of Richard of Gloucester, on the con-
trary, was wholly prepared for his use in the Third Part.
The aspiring spirit inherited from his father ; the glance of
the eagle at the sun ; the great ambition, the indifference to
the means for an object; the valor, the superstition which
represents in him the voice of conscience; the subtle art
of dissimulation ; the histrionic talent of a "Roscius,** the
faithless policy of a Catiline; these had been already as-
signed to him by Greene in this piece. But how excellent
even here have been Shakespeare's after-touches is evinced
in the soliloquy (Part III Act iii. sc. 2), where the am-
bitious projects of the duke hold counsel as it were with
his means of realizing them; it is the counterpart to the
similar soliloquy of his father York (Part II Act iii. sc.
1), and permits us to anticipate how far the son will sur-
pass the father. The principal figure of the two plays,
Richard of York, is almost throughout delineated as if the
nature of his more fearful son was prefigured in him.
Far-fetched policy and the cunning and dissimulation of a
prudent and determined man are blended in him — not in
the same degree, but in the same apparent contradiction as
in Richard — ^with firmness, with a hatred of flattery, with
inability to cringe, and with bitter and genuine discontent.
With tiie same assurance and superiority as Richard the
son, he is at one time ready to decide at the point of the
sword, and at another to shuffle the cards silently and wait
'Hill time do serve;" both alike are animated by the same
KING HENRY VI Comments
aspirations and ambitions. Had he been endowed with
the same favor of nature as his father, Richard would have
developed the same good qualities which the father pos-
sessed in addition to his dangerous gifts. Ugly, mis-
shapen, and despised, without a right to the throne and
without any near prospect of satisfying his royal projects,
his devouring ambition was poisoned; in his father, called
as he was the flower of the chivalry of Europe, convinced
of his rights and proud of his merits, the aspiring dispo-
sition was moderated into a more legitimate form. At the
death of his son Rutland his better nature bursts forth
forcibly to light. He is honest enough, upon the pre-
tended disgrace of his enemy Somerset, to dismiss his
"powers" and to give his sons as pledges ; had he not been
led away by his sons, he is moderate enough, and is even
ready to suspend his claims to the throne until Henry's
death, whom, in the course of nature, he was not likely to
survive; he labored for his house, and not as his son, for
himself. His claims and those of his house, which he as-
serts in opposition to the helpless and inactive Henry, he
grounds not upon the malicious consciousness of personal
superiority, as his son Richard does subsequently; but
upon a good right, upon his favor with the people, upon
his services in France and Ireland. Contrasted with
Henry, he feels himself more kingly in birth, nature, and
disposition. When he exercises his retaliation on the Lan-
castrians, he utters those words which Bolingbroke had
before more cunningly applied to Richard II: "Let them
obey, that know not how to rule."-— Gebvinus, Shakespeare
Commentaries.
THE TRILOGY
In all three parts we have a reflection of the same law,
of the same conception of history, which again is but a
modification of the fundamental theme of the whole tril-
ogy; &11 the parts gather round one central point and
arrange themselves into one great whole. . . . We
xxvii .. y ed by Google
Comments THE THIRD PART OF
have history represented in its degeneration into civil war,
which is the consequence of the original disturbance of its
course and of the general demoralization which increases
with it. This is the theme upon which the whole trilogy
is based, and which exhibits the two sides of life according
to Shakespeare's conception. The three parts then show
the principal stages in the development of such a state of
things. History, when so degenerate, first of all casts out
those that are good and noble but who are nevertheless not
wholly unaffected by the spirit of their age, and at the
same time shows that the great and pure are not understood
and that they cannot keep themselves entirely pure. This
is exhibited in the First Part by the events belonging to
it (and hence, because appropriate here only, Shakespeare
introduces Talbot's death into this first part in violation of
the laws of chronology). History then continues falling
into a wild state of chaos, where right and wrong flow
into one another and can no longer be distinguished, and
consequently where the bad and the good, or, to speak more
correctly, the bad and those that are less bad are drawn
into the general vortex. This is the second stage of which
we have a representation in the Second Part. Having ar-
rived at this climax, history demands that man shall not
interfere with its course, and refrain from having any de-
termination of his own, and that he shall leave all action to
that man whom it has itself chosen to restore order. It
therefore punishes every uncalled-for interference as un-
authorized presumption, whereas the submissive spirit is in-
wardly exalted and glorified through suffering and death.
This is the thought which connects the events of the Third
Part into an organic unity. — ^Uleici, Shakespeare's Dra-
matic Art.
CONCLUSION
In leaving these plays I would draw attention to the
parallel not only of incident but expression, of the slaugh-
ter of young Rutland by Clifford, and that of Lycaon by
Achilles in the Iliad. The resemblance may be due to the
XXViii L.yu.edbyGOOg.^
KING HENRY VI Comments
dassical knowledge of the original English dramatist, or
bo the sympathy of poetic minds. The rendering of this
passage is one of the worthiest in Pope's translation. Clif-
ford and Achilles are here merciless alike, and yet not ut-
terly pitiless : —
"Cliford. In vain thoa speak'st, poor boy; my father's blood
Hath stopp'd the passage wher^ thy words should enter."
And thus the Greek: —
**Die then, my friend, what boots it to deplore,
Hie great, ihe good Patrodus is no more."
^-Lloyd, Critical Essays.
XXIX
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THE THIRD PART OF,
KING HENRY YI
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DRAMATIS PERSONS
KiKo Hekbt the sixth
Edwabd, Prince of Wales, his son
Lewis XI, King of Prance
Dl7KE OF SOMEBSET
Duke of Exeter
Ba&l of Oxford
Earl of Northumbbrlanb
Earl of Webtmorelaxtd
Lord Clifford
Richard Plaktaoexet, Duke of York
Edward, Earl of March, afterwards King Edward IV,
Edmukd, Earl of Rutland, .
George, afterwards Duke of Clarence, ( *** *^^**
Richard, afterwards Duke of Gloucester,
Duke of Norfolk
Marquess of Montague
Earl of Warwick
Earl of Pembroke
Lord Hastings
Lord Stafford
Sir Jorn Mortimer, 1 , ^ *» »> i. ^ ^ .
Sa Hugh Mo.t««^. j'**''" *" **• ^«*» 'f ^^*
Henry, Earl of Richmond, a youth
Lord Rivers, brother to Lady Grey
Sir William Stanley
Sir John Montgomery
Sir John Somerville
Tutor to Rutland. Mayor of York
Lieutenant of the Tower. A Nobleman
Two Keepers. A Huntsman
A Son that has killed his father
A Father that has killed his son
Queen Margaret
LAdt Grey, afterwards Queen to Edrxard IV
Bona, sister to the French Queen
Soldiers, Attendants, Messengers, Watdimen, i
f
Scene: England and France
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SYNOPSIS
By J. Elus Burdick
ACT I
Before Henry VI reaches London, the Duke of York is
there and is seated on the throne by the Earl of Warwick.
The king enters the Parliament-house and finding threats
of no avail to make York give up the throne, promises
that York shall be his heir. Margaret is very angry that
her son should thus be denied the succession and she her-
self raises an army. A battle takes place between the
forces of the queen and those of York, in which the latter
is defeated and slain.
ACT n
Edward and Richard, York's sons, are much disheart-
ened over the death of their father, but are encouraged
when Warwick joins them. Another battle is fought near
Towton and Henry's forces are routed. Edward and his
followers then proceed to London, there to crown Edward
as king.
ACT m
After Edward's coronation, Warwick journeys to
France to arrange a marriage between the new king and
the Princess Bona, sister of the queen of France. King
Henry is taken prisoner and carried to the London Tower.
At the French court Warwick meets Margaret ; both plead
with Lewis, the first for the hand of Bona for his king and
the latter for aid to restore Henry to his throne. Lewis
has just promised to accede to Warwick's wishes when a
post enters bringing letters. They contain the news of
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Synopsi* KING HENRY VI
Edward^S marriage with Lady Elizabeth Grey. Angry
with Edward for his broken faith, Warwick and Lewis both
turn to Margaret ; Warwick is reconciled to her and Lewis
promises her the French troops she so much needs.
ACT IV
Warwick hastens to England, by forced marches sur-
prises Edward, deposes him, and restores the crown to
Henry. Edward escapes from his captors and flees to
Burgundy, where he succeeds in recruiting fresh troops.
He returns to his dukedom of York in England and is
there joined by his own friends and their followers. They
march upon London and Henry is again seized and im-
prisoned in the Tower.
ACT V
Warwick "the King-maker" and Edward meet in battle
near Bamet and the forces of the Eari are defeated, he
himself being killed. The king then proceeds to Tewks-
bury, where he meets Margaret and her French troops.
The queen is taken prisoner, and the prince, her son,
stabbed to death by York's brother. Edward's brother,
the Duke of Gloucester, hastens to London and kills Henry.
Edward ascends the throne with every prospect of peace
and security for the future were it not for the mutterings
of the Duke of Gloucester.
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THE THIRD PART OF
KING HENRY VI
ACT FIRST
Scene I
London. The ParUament-house.
Alarum. Enter the Duke of York, Edward,
Richard, Norfolk, Montague, Warwick, and
Soldiers.
War. I wonder how the king escaped our hands.
York. While we pursued the horsemen of the
north,
He slily stole away and left his men:
Whereat the great Lord of Northumberland,
Whose warlike ears could never brook retreat,
Cheer'd up the drooping army; and himself.
Lord Clifford and Lord Stafford, all a-breast.
Charged our main battle's front, and breaking
in
Were by the swords of common soldiers slain.
9. It was seen in the note to 1. dO of Act. v. sc. 2, of the preceding
plaj, that the circumstances of old Cliiford*s deatii are here stated
as they really were. As the representation is in both cases the same
in the quarto as in the folio, it is obvious that on the principle of
Malone's reasoning this discrepancy proves the two parts of the
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Act I. Sc. i. THE THIRD PART OF
Edw. Lord Stafford's father, Duke of Bucking-
ham, 10
Is either slain or wounded dangerously;
I cleft his beaver with a downright blow:
That this is true, father, behold his blood
Mont. And, brother, here's the Earl of Wiltshire's
blood.
Whom I encounter'd as the battles join'd.
Rich. Speak thou for me and tell them what I did,
IThrotving down the Duke of Somerset's head.
York. Richard hath best deserved of all my sons.
But is your grace dead, my Lord of Somerset?
Norf. Such hope have all the line of John of
Gaunt 1
quarto to have been by different hands. Of course the personal
fight of York and Clifford in the former play was for dramatic
effect; and here the Poet probably fell back upon the historical
facts without thinking of his preceding fiction. — In the present
scene Shakespeare brings into close juxtaposition events that were
in fact more than five years asunder. The first battle of St. Al-
bans was fought May 22, 1455, and the parliament at Westminster,
whose proceedings are here represented, was opened October 7,
1560. In October, 1459, the Yorkists had been dispersed, and the
duke himself with his son Edmund had fled to Ireland; but they
soon rallied again, and in July, 1460, a terrible battle was fought
at Northampton, wherein the Yorkists were again victorious, and gx)t
the king into their hands, and compelled him soon after to call the
parliament in question. — H. N. H.
11. "dangerously," Theobald's correction (from Qq.); Ff., "danr-
geraus."—!. G.
14. In this play York and Montague are made to address each
other several times as brothers. Perhaps the Poet thought that
John Nevil, marquess of Montague, was brother to York's wife,
whereas he was her nephew. Montague was brother to the earl of
Warwick; and the duchess of York was half-sister to their father,
the earl of Salisbury.— H. N. H.
18. "But 19 your grace"; Pope, "Is his grace"; Capell, "Is your
grac^; Malone (from Qq.)» "What, is your grace"; Steevens, *'What,
*s your grac^*; Lettsom, "What, Is your grace" — I. G.
19. *'hope"; Capell, "end''; Dyce (Anon, conj.), "hap,"—l. G.
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KING HENRY VI Act i. Sc. i.
Rich. Thus do I hope to shake King Henry's head.
War. And so do I* Victorious Prince of York, 21
Before I see tiiee seated in that throne
Which now the house of Lancaster usurps,
I vow by heaven these eyes shall never close.
This is the palace of the fearful king.
And this the regal seat: possess it, York;
For this is thine, and not King Henry's heirs'.
York. Assist me, then, sweet Warwick, and I will;
For hither we have broken in by force.
Norf. We 'U all assist you; he that flies shall die. 30
York. Thanks, g^itle Norfolk: stay by me, my
lords;
And, soldiers, stay and lodge by me this night
IThey go up.
War. And when the king comes, offer him no
violence.
Unless he seek to thrust you out perforce.
York. The queen this day here holds her parUa-
ment.
But little thinks we shall be of her council:
By words or blows here let us win our right.
Sich. Arm'd as we arc, let 's stay within this house.
War. The bloody parliament shall this be call'd.
Unless Plantagenet, Duke of York, be king, 40
And bashful Henry deposed, whose cowardice
Hath made us by-words to our enemies.
34. "thrust you out perforce"; Rowe, "thrust you out by force";
Capell (from Qq.), "put us out by force."— 1. G.
36. "counctl"; Pope's emendation of Ff. 1, 2, "counsaiW; F. 3,
"oounselV; F. 4, "eowiseU"—l. G.
41. "Aiid bashful Henry deposed, whose cowardice"; Qq., "be
deposde"; as the line stands in the Ff. "Henry" must be either dis-
syllabic or monosyllabic. — I. G.
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Act I. Sc. i. THE THIRD PART OF
York. Then leave me not, my lords ; be resolute :
I mean to take possession of my right.
War. Neither the king, nor he that loves him best,
The proudest he that holds up Lancaster,
Dares stir a wing, if Warwick shake his bells.
I '11 plant Plantagenet, root him up who dares :
Resolve thee, Richard; claim the English
crown.
Flourish. Enter King Henry, Clifford, North-
umberland, Westmoreland, Exeter, and the
rest.
K. Hen. My lords, look where the sturdy rebel sits.
Even in the chair of state: belike he means, 51
Back'd by the power of Warwick, that false
peer,
To aspire imto the crown and reign as king.
Earl of Northumberland, he slew thy father,
And thine, Lord Clifford; and you both have
vow'd revenge
On him, his sons, his favorites and his friends.
North. If I be not, heavens be revenged on me!
Clif. The hope thereof makes Clifford mourn in
steel.
West. What, shall we suffer this? let 's pluck him
down:
47. The allusion is to falconry. Hawks had sometimes little bells
hung on them, perhaps to dare the birds; that is, to fright them
from rising. The quarto has **the proudest bird that holds up Lan-
caster."— H. N. H.
55. *'Tou both have vow'd"; F. 4, "you have both vow'd"; Pope,
"you vow'd^'; Collier MS., "you have vow'd**; Collier conj. "both
have vow'd"; Vaughan conj. "you both vow'd'' — I. G.
B^. "favorites"; Capell, ''favorers,"— 1. G.
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KING HENRY VI Act L Sc. i.
My heart for anger bums; I cannot brook it. 60
K. Hen. Be patient, gentle Earl of Westmore-
land.
CUf. Patience is for poltroons, such as he:
He durst not sit there, had your father lived.
My gracious lord, here in the parliament
Let us assail the family of York.
North. Well hast thou spoken, cousin: be it so.
K. Hen. Ah, know you not the city favors them,
And they have troops of soldiers at their beck?
E{ve. But when the duke is slain, they 'U quickly
fly-
K. Hen. Far be the thought of this from Henry's
heart, *70
To make a shambles of the parliament-house 1
Cousin of Exeter, frowns, words and threats
Shall be the war that Henry means to use.
Thou factious Duke of York, descend my
throne,
And kneel for grace and mercy at my feet;
I am thy sovereign.
York. I am thine.
Ecce. For shame, come down: he made thee Duke
of York.
York. 'Twas my inheritance, as the earldom was.
62. "poltroons, such as he"; F. 1, "Poultroones, such as he"; Ff.
2, 3, "Poultroones, and such is he^'; F. 4, "Poltroons, and such is
he^'; Capell, ^'poltroons, and such as he."— I. G.
70. "Far be the thought of this from Henry's hearf*; Capell (from
Qq.)> "Far be it from the thoughts of Henry's heart"— I, G.
76. "I am thine"; Rowe, "Henry, I am thine^*; Theobald (from
Qq.), "Thou^rt deceived, I'm thine."—-!. G.
78. "The earldom was," i^ e. the earldom of March» by which he
daimed the throne; Theobald (from Qq.)> "The kingdom is."
9 -^-^ -^--^.gle
Act I. Sc L THE THIRD PART OF
Exe. Thy father was a traitor to the crown.
War. Exeter, thou art a traitor to the crown, 80
In following this usurping Henry.
Clif. Whom should he follow but his natural king?
War. True, Clifford; and that 's Richard Duke of
York.
K. Hen. And shall I stand, and thou sit in my
throne?
York. It must and shall be so: content thyself.
War. Be Duke of Lancaster; let him be king.
West He is both king and Duke of Lancaster;
And that the Lord of Westmoreland shall
maintain.
War. And Warwick shall disprove it. You for-
get.
That we are those which chased you from the
field, 90
And slew your fathers, and with colors spread
March'd through the city to the palace gates.
North. Yes, Warwick, I remember it to my grief;
And, by his soul, thou and thy house shall rue it.
West. Plantagenet, of thee and these thy sons.
Thy kinsmen and thy friends, I '11 have more
lives
Than drops of blood were in my father's veins.
Clif. Urge it no more; lest that, instead of words,
I send thee, Warwick, such a messenger
As shall revenge his death before I stir. 100
War. Poor Clifford I how I scorn his worthless
threats!
83. "and ihafs," the reading of Ff. 2, 3, 4; F. 1, *' that's"; Qq.,
"and that is"; Collier, ''that is/'
10 Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act I. Sc. i.
York. Will you we show our title to the crown?
If not, our swords shall plead it in the field.
K. Hen. What title hast thou, traitor, to the
crown?
Thy father was, as thou art, Duke of York;
Thy grandfather, Roger Mortimer, Earl of
March:
I am the son of Henry the Fifth,
Who made the Dauphin and the French to
stoop.
And seized upon their towns and provinces.
War. Talk not of France, sith thou hast lost it all.
105. "Thy father^; "Thy," Rowe's correction (from Qq.) of Ff.,
"U^*; "father"'; Capell conj. "uncled—I. G.
It will be remembered tiiat his father was not duke of York,
but earl of Cambridge, and that even that title was forfeited, leaT-
ing the present duke plain liichard Piantagenet, until he was ad-
vanced by the present king. Accordingly, Exeter has said, a few
lines before, — "He made thee duke of York." So that here we
have another discrepancy, and that not in different plays or scenes,
but in different parts of the same scene. — H. N. H.
110. "Sith," since; a contraction of sithence. — ^The following ex-
tracts from the Chronicles will show the historical basis of these
proceedings. "During the time of this parlement, the duke of Yorkc
with a bold countenance entered into the chamber of the peeres,
and sat downe in the throne roiall, under the cloth of estate, which
is the kings peculiar seat, and in the presence of the nobilitie, as
well spirituall as temporall, after a pause made, he began to de-
clare his title to the crowne." Then follows the speech which York
was said to have made, after which the chroniclers add, — "When
the duke had made an end of his oration, the lords sat still as
men striken. into a certeine amazednesse, neither whispering nor
speaking foorth a word, as though their mouthes had been sowed
up. The duke, not verie well content with their silence, advised
them to consider throughlie, and ponder the whole effect of his
words and scuengs; and so neither fullie displeased, nor yet alto-
gither content, departed to his lodgings in the kings palace. The
lords forgot not the dukes demand, and, to take some direction
therein, diverse of them as spirituall and tem|^rall, with manie grave
and sage persons of the commonaltie, dailie assembled at the Blacke-
11 ^^.^>'^^^'.^y^ a^- .^^
Act I. Sc L THE THIRD PART OF
K. Hen. The lord protector lost it, and not I : 111
When I was crown'd I was but nine months
old.
Itich. You are old enough now, and yet, me-
thinks, you lose.
Father, tear the crown from the usurper's
head.
Edwo. Sweet father, do so; set it on your head.
Mont. Good brother, as thou lovest and honorest
arms.
Let 's fight it out and not stand caviling thus.
Rich. Sound drums and trumpets, and the king
wiUfly.
York. Sons, peace!
K. Hen. Peace, thou! and give King Henry leave
to speak.
War. Plantagenet shall speak first: hear him,
lords; 121
And be you silent and attentive too.
For he that interrupts him shall not live.
K. Hen. Think'st thou that I will leave my kingly
throne.
Wherein my grandsire and my father sat?
No: first shall war unpeople this my realm;
Ay, and their colors, often borne in France,
And now in England to oxir heart's great sor-
row,
friers and other places, to treat of this matter. During which time
the duke of Yorke, although he and the king were both lodged
in the palace of Westminster, would not for anie praiers or re-
quests once visit the king, till some conclusion were taken in this
matter; saieng that he was subject to no man, but only to God,
under whose mercie none here superiour but he." — H. N. H.
12 Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act i. Sc. i.
Shall be my winding-sheet. Why faint you,
lords?
My title 's good, and better far than his. 130
War. Prove it, Henry, and thou shalt be king.
K. Hen. Henry the Fourth by conquest got the
crown.
York. 'Twas by rebellion against his king.
K. Hen. [^Asidel I know not what to say; my
title 's weak.
Tell me, may not a king adopt an heir?
York. What then?
K. Hen. An if he may, then am I lawful king;
For Richard, in the view of many lords.
Resigned the crown to Henry the Fourth,
Whose heir my father was, and I am his. 140
York. He rose against him, being his sovereign.
And made him to resign his crown perforce.
War. Suppose, my lords, he did it unconstrained.
Think you 'twere prejudicial to his crown?
Ea^e. No; for he could not so resign his crown
But that the next heir should succeed and reign.
K. Hen. Art thou against us, Duke of Exeter?
Ea^e. His is the right, and therefore pardon me.
York. Why whisper you, my lords, and answer
not?
Exe. My conscience tells me he is lawful king. 150
K. Hen. lAside'] All will revolt from me, and turn
to him.
North. Plantagenet, for all the claim thou lay'st,
144. "his er<ywvf'; Johnson, "hit 9oi^; Dr. Percy pointed out that
Richard II had no son; Capell (from Qq.)» '^the erawt^; Vaughan,
'Tkit VintT; Wordsworth, ^'iU efcroiw/'— I. G.
^^ Digitized by Google
Act I. Sc. i. THE THIRD PART OF
Think not that Henry shall be so deposed.
War. Deposed he shall be, in despite of all.
North. Thou art deceived: 'tis not thy southern
power.
Of Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, nor of Kent,
Which makes thee thus presumptuous and
proud.
Can set the duke up in despite of me.
Clif. King Henry, be thy title right or wrong.
Lord CUfford vows to fight in thy defense: 160
May that ground gape and swallow me alive.
Where I shall kneel to him that slew my father!
K. Hen. O Clifford, how thy words revive my
heart!
York. Henry of Lancaster, resign thy crown.
What mutter you, or what conspire you, lords?
War. Do right unto this princely Duke of York,
Or I will fill the house with armed men.
And over the chair of state, where now he sits.
Write up his title with usurping blood.
[He stamps with his foot, and the Soldiers
show themselves.
K. Hen. My Lord of Warwick, hear me but one
word:
Let me for this my life-time reign as king. 171
York. Confirm the crown to me and to mine heirs,
And thou shalt reign in quiet while thou livest.
King. I am content: Richard Plantagenet,
Enjoy the kingdom after my decease.
171. "for this my life-time reign as king," the reading of F. 1;
Ff. 9, 3, 4, "for this time," &c.; Theobald (from Qq.), ''but reign in
quiet, trhile I live." — I. G.
14
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KING HENRY VI Act i. Sc. i.
CUf. What wrong is this unto the prince your son!
War. What good is this to England and himself I
West. Base, fearful and despairing Henry 1
CUf. How hast thou injured both thyself and us!
West. I cannot stay to hear these articles. 180
North. Nor I.
CUf. Come, cousin, let us tell the queen these news.
West. Farewell, faint-hearted and degenerate
king,
In whose cold blood no spark of honor bides.
North. Be thou a prey unto the house of York,
And die in bands for this unmanly deed!
CUf. In dreadful war mayst thou be overcome,
Or live in peace abandoned and despised!
lExeunt North., CUff., and West.
War. Turn this way, Henry, and regard them not.
Ewe. They seek revenge and therefore will not
yield. 190
K. Hen. Ah, Exeter!
War. Why should you sigh, my lord?
K. Hen. Not for myself. Lord Warwick, but my
son.
Whom I unnaturally shall disinherit.
But be it as it may: I here entail
The crown to thee and to thine heirs for ever;
Conditionally, that here thou take an oath
To cease this civil war, and, whilst I Uve,
To honor me as thy king and sovereign.
And neither by treason nor hostility
To seek to put me down and reign thyself. 200
York. This oath I willingly take and will perform.
15 Digitized by Google
Act I. Sc. L THE THIRD PART OF
War. Long live King Henry! Plantagenet, em-
brace him.
K. Hen. And long live thou and these thy forward
sons I
York. Now York and Lancaster are reconciled.
Exe. Accursed be he that seeks to make them foes!
ISennet. Here they come down.
York. Farewell, my gracious lord; I 'U to my
castle.
War. Arid I '11 keep London with my soldiers.
Norf. And I to Norfolk with my followers.
Mont. And I unto the sea from whence I came.
{^Eiveunt York and his SonSj Warwick j
Norfolk, Montague, their Soldiers,
and Attendants.
205. The terms of this compromise are thus given in Hall and
Holinshed: "After long debating of the matter amongest the peeres,
prelats, and commons, upon the vigill of AU-saints it was conde-
scended, for so much as king Henrie had beene taken as king by
the space of thirtie and eight yeares and more, that he should injoy
the name and title of king, and have possession of the realme during
his naturall life. And if he either died, or resigned, or forfeited
the same by breaking or going against anie point of this concord,
then the said crowne and authoritie roiall should immediately be
devoluted and come to the duke of Yorke, if he then lived; or else
to the next heire of his linage. And that the duke of Yorke from
thense foorth should be protectour and regent of the land. This
agreement, put in articles, was ingrossed, sealed, and sworne unto
by the two parties, and also enacted in the parlement. For joy
whereof the king, having in his companie the duke of Yorke, rode
to the cathedrall church of scant Paule in London, and there on the
day of All-saints with the crowne on his head went solemnlie in
procession, and was lodged a good space in the bishops palace, neere
to the said church. And upon the Saturdaie next insuing, Richard
duke of Yorke was by sound of trumpet solemnlie proclaimed heire
apparent to the crowne of England, and protectour of the realme."
AU-saints day is November 1. — H. N. H.
206. Sandal Castle, near Wakefield, in Yorkshire.— H. N. H.
16
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KING HENRY VI Act I. Sc. i.
K. Hen. And I, with grief and sorrow, to the
court. 210
Enter Queen Margaret and the Prince of Wales.
Exe. Here comes the queen, whose looks bewray
her anger:
I '11 steal away.
K. Hen. Exeter, so will I.
Q. Mar. Nay, go not from me; I will follow thee.
K. Hen. Be patient, gentle queen, and I will stay.
Q. Mar. Who can be patient in such extremes?
Ah, wretched man! would I had died a maid.
And never seen thee, never borne thee son.
Seeing thou hast proved so imnatural a father 1
Hath he deserved to lose his birthright thus?
Hadst thou but loved him half so well as 1, 220
Or felt that pain which I did for him once.
Or nourished him as I did with my blood.
Thou wouldst have left thy dearest heart-blood
there.
Rather than have made that savage duke thine
heir.
And disinherited thine only son.
Prince. Father, you cannot disinherit me:
If you be king, why should not I succeed?
K. Hen. Pardon me, Margaret; pardon me, sweet
son:
The Earl of Warwick and the duke enforced
me.
Q. Mar. Enforced theel art thou king, and wilt
be forced? 230
211. "Bewray" is an old form of betray, meaning to disc^
H. N. H. r- T
IV 2 17 Digitized by LnOOglC
Act I. Sc i. THE THIRD PART OF
I shame to hear thee speak. Ah, timorous
wretch 1
Thou hast undone thyself, thy son, and me;
And given unto the house of York such head.
As thou shalt reign but by their sufferance.
To entail him and his heirs unto the crown.
What is it, but to make thy sepulcher,
And creep into it far before lliy time?
Warwick is chancellor and the lord of Calais;
Stem Falconbridge commands the narrow seas;
The duke is made protector of tlie realm; 240
And yet shalt thou be safe? such safety finds
The trembling lamb environed with wolves.
Had I been there, which am a silly woman.
The soldiers should have toss'd me on their pikes.
Before I would have granted to that act.
But thou pref err'st thy Uf e before thine honor :
389. This was Thomas, natural son of William Nevil Lord Fal-
conbridge, who was uncle to Warwick and Montague. This Thomas
Nevil, says Hall, was ''a man of no lesse corage than audacitie,
who for his crud condicions was such an apte person, that a more
meter could not be chosen to set all the world in a broyle, and to
put the estate of the realme on an ill hazard." He had been ap-
pointed by Warwick vice admiral of the sea, and had in charge so
to keep the passage between Dover and Calais, that none which either
favored King Henry or his friends should escape untaken or un-
drowned: such at least were his instructions with respect to the
friends and favorers of King Edward after the rupture between
him and Warwidc On Warwick's death he fell into poverty, and
robbed, both by sea and land, as well friends as enemies. He once
brought his ships up the Thames, and with a considerable body of
the men of Kent and Essex, made a spirited assault on the city, with
a view to plunder and pillage, which was not repelled but after a
sharp conflict, and the loss of many lives; and, had it happened at
a more critical period, might have been attended with fatal conse-
quences to Edward. After roving on the sea some little time longer,
he ventured to land at Southampton, where he was taken and be-
headed.—H. N. H.
18
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ized by Google
XING HENRY VI Act i. Sc. l
And seeing thou dost, I here divorce myself
Both from thy table, Henry, and thy bed.
Until that act of parliament be repeaFd,
Whereby my son is disinherited. 250
The northern lords that have forsworn thy
colors
Will follow mine, if once they see them spread;
And spread they shall be, to thy foul disgrace
And utter ruin of the house of York.
Thus do I leave thee. Come, son, let 's away;
Our army is ready; come, we 11 after them.
K. Hen. Stay, gentle Margaret, and hear me
speak.
Q. Mar. Thou hast spoke too much already: get
thee gone.
K. Hen. Gentle son Edward, thou wilt stay with
me?
Q- Mar. Aye, to be murder'd by his enemies. 260
Prince. When I return with victory from the field
I 'U see your grace: till then I 'U follow her.
Q. Mar. Come, son, away ; we may not linger thus.
[Exeunt Queen Margaret and the Prince.
K. Hen. Poor queen! how love to me and to her
son
Hath made her break out into terms of ragel
Revenged may she be on that hateful duke.
Whose haughty spirit, winged with desire.
Will cost my crown, and like an empty eagle
561. "from," the reading of Ff. 2, 3, 4, and Qq.; F. 1, "«o/'— I. G.
268. **co8t," so Ff.; Hanmer, **trus^'; Warburton, "cooBt'' t. e.
"watch and follow, or hover round'*; Stecvens, "cote"; Jackson,
^*c<mri^'; Dyce, "souse" Warburton's emendation is generally
adopted by modern editors. — I. G. r^
^g ..u.edbyLiOOg.^
Act I. Sc. iL THE THIRD PART OF
Tire on the flesh of me and of my sonl
The loss of those three lords torments my
heart: 270
I 'U write mito them and entreat them fair.
Come, cousin, you shall be the messenger.
Exe. And I, I hope, shall reconcile them all.
[Exeunt.
Scene II
Sandal Cattle.
Enter Richard^ Edward^ Montague.
Rich. Brother, though I be youngest, give me leave.
Edw. No, I can better play the orator.
269. To "tire" is to tear, to feed like a bird of prey; from the
Anglo-Saxon tiriar^ Thus in the Poet's Venus and Adonis:
'*Even as an empty eagle, sharp by fast.
Tires with her beak on feathers, flesh, and bone." — H. N. H.
270. That is, of Northumberland, Westmoreland, and Cliflford, who
had left him in disgust.
979. "Cousin"; Henry Holland, the present duke of Exeter, was
cousin german to the king, his grandfather, John Holland, earl of
Huntingdon and duke of Exeter in the time of Richard II, having
married Elizabeth Plantagenet, daughter to John of Ghent by his
first wife. The earldom of Huntingdon was his inheritance, and
he was created duke of Exeter in 1444, at the same time that
Suffolk was made marquess. His grandfather, the first earl of
Huntingdon in that line, was half-brother to Richard II, being son
to Joan the Fair Maid of Kent by her first husband. Sir Thomas
Holland. He was made duke of Exeter by King Richard in 1397,
his brother Thomas and Henry of Bolingbroke being at the same
time made dukes of Surrey and Hereford; but, being a fast friend
to Richard, he was deprived of that title in 1399, soon after Boling-
broke mounted the throne; and, being engaged in the first conspiracy
against that king, was taken and beheaded the next year. However,
his son John, the second earl of Huntingdon, was in favor with
Henry V, and was with him in France. — H. N. H.
^^ Digitized by G^'^^^T^
KING HENRY VI Act I. Sc, ii.
Mont But I have reasons strong and forcible.
Enter the Duke of York.
York. Why, how now, sons and brother ! at a strife?
What is your quarrel? how began it first?
Edw. No quarrel, but a slight contention.
York. About what?
Rich. About that which concerns your grace and
us;
The crown of England, father, which is yours.
York. Mine, boy? not till King Henry be dead. 10
Rich. Your right depends not on his life or death.
Edw. Now you are heir, therefore enjoy it now:
By giving the house of Lancaster leave to
breathe.
It will outrun you, father, in the end.
York. I took an oath that he should quietly reign.
Edtv. But for a kingdom any oath may be broken:
I would break a thousand oaths to reign one
year.
Rich. No; God forbid your grace should be for-
sworn.
York. I shall be, if I claim by open war.
Rich. I '11 prove the contrary, if you '11 hear me
speak.
York. Thou canst not, son; it is impossible. 21
Rich. An oath is of no moment, being not took
Before a true and lawful magistrate,
That hath authority over him that swears:
Henry had none, but did usurp the place;
16. "any"; Dyce, **an," (?) ''But for a kingdom may an oath be
broken/'— J. G.
Digitized by CjOOQIC
Act I. Sc. ii. THE THIRD PART OF
Then, seeing 'twas he that made you to depose.
Your oath, my lord, is vain and frivolous.
Therefore, to arms ! And, father, do but think
How sweet a thing it is to wear a crown ;
Within whose circuit is Elysium, 30
And all that poets feign of bliss and joy.
Why do we linger thus? I cannot rest
Until the white rose that I wear be dyed
Even in the lukewarm blood of Henry's heart.
York. Richard, enough ; I will be king, or die.
Brother, thou shalt to London presently.
And whet on Warwick to this enterprise.
Thou, Richard, shalt to the Duke of Norfolk,
And tell him privily of our intent.
You, Edward, shall unto my Lord Cobham, 40
With whom the Kentishmen will willingly rise :
In them I trust; for they are soldiers.
Witty, courteous, liberal, full of spirit.
While you are thus employed, what resteth more.
But that I seek occasion how to rise.
And yet the king not privy to my drift.
Nor any of the house of Lancaster?
Enter a Messenger.
27, The obligation of an oath is here eluded by a very despica-
ble sophistry. A lawful magistrate alone has the power to exact
an oath, but the oath derives no part of its force from the magis-
trate. The plea against the obligation of an oath obliging to main-
tain a usurper, (taken from the unlawfulness of the oath itself,)
in the foregoing play, was rational and just (Johnson). — H. N. H.
88. "»halt to the Duke of Norfolhf'; the reading of Ft. 1, 2, 3;
F. 4, "shalt be D. of N."; Rowe, "shall go to the D. of N."; Pope,
"shalt to th* D. of N. go"; Steevens, "shalt unto the D. of N.";
Vaughan, "shalt straight to the D. of N."—!. G.
40. "Lord Cobham"; Hanmer, "Lord of Cobham."—!. G.
4R- The folio reads "Enter Gabriel" It was the name of the
22 Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act i. Sc. ii.
But, stay: what news? Why comest thou in
such post?
Mesa. The queen with all the northern earls and
lords
Intend here to besiege you in your castle: ^^
She is hard by with twenty thousand men;
And therefore fortify your hold, my lord.
York. Aye, with my sword. Whatl think'st thou
that we fear them?
Edward and Richard, you shall stay with me;
My brother Montague shall post to London:
Let noble Warwick, Cobham, and the rest.
Whom we have left protectors of the king.
With powerful policy strengthen themselves,
And trust not simple Henry nor his oaths.
actor, probably Oabriel Singer, who played this insignificant part.
The emendation is from the quarto. — H. N. H.
59. From the hollow reconciliation of the foregoing scene, both
parties went directly to preparing for war. The preliminaries to
the battle of Wakefield, which followed soon after, are thus deliv-
ered in the Chronicles: "The duke of Yorke, well knowing that the
queene would spume against all this, caused both hir and hir sonne
to be sent for by the king. But she, as woont rather to rule than
be ruled, not onelie denied to come, but assembled a great armie,
intending to take the king by force out of the lords hands. The
protectour in London, having knowledge of all these dooings, as-
signed the duke of Norffolke, and erle of Warwick, his trustie
f reends, to be about the king, whiles he with the carles of Saiisburie
and Rutland, and a convenient number, departed out of London the
second dale of December northward, and appointed the earle of
March, his eldest sonne, to follow him with all his power. The duke
came to his casteli of Sandall beside Wakefield on Christmasse eeven,
and there began to make muster of his tenants and freends. The
queene, thereof ascerteined, determined to cope with him yer his
succour were come. Having in hir companie the prince hir sonne,
the dukes of Excester and Summerset, the lord Clifford, and in
effect all the lords of the north parts, with eighteene thousand men,
she marched from Yorke to Wakefield, and bad base to the duke,
23 Digitized by CjOOQIC
Act I. Sc. ii. THE THIRD PART OF
Mont Brother, I go; I 'U win them, fear it not: 60
And thus most hmnbly I do take my leave.
lEmt.
Enter Sir John Mortimer and Sir Hugh Mortimer,
York. Sir John and Sir Hugh Mortimer, mine
uncles,
You are come to Sandal in a happy hour;
The army of the queen means to besiege us-
Sir John. She shall not need; we 'U meet her in the
field.
York. What, with five thousand men?
Rich. Aye, with five hundred, father, for a need:
A woman's general; what should we fear?
lA march afar off.
Edw. I hear their drums: let 's set our men in or-
der, 70
And issue forth and bid them battle straight.
York. Five men to twenty! though the odds be
great,
I doubt not, uncle, of our victory.
Many a battle have I won in France,
When as the enemy hath been ten to one :
Why should I not now have the like success?
[Alarum. Exeunt.
even before his castell gates." — Prince Edward was at that time ki
his eighth year, having been bom October IS, 1453.--H. N. H.
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KING HENRY VI Act I. Sc iiL
Scene III
Field of battle betwuvt Sandal Castle and
Wakefield.
Alarums. Enter Rutland and His Tutor.
Rut. Ah, whither shall I fly to 'scape their hands?
Ah, tutor, look where bloody Clifford comes I
Enter Clifford and Soldiers.
CUf. Chaplain, away I thy priesthood saves thy life.
As for the brat of tlus accursed duke.
Whose father slew my father, he shall die.
Tut. And I, my lord, will bear him company.
CUf. Soldiers, away with him I
Tut. Ah, Clifford, murder not this innocent child.
Lest thou be hated both of God and man I
[Eccit^ dragged off by Soldiers.
CUf. How now I is he dead already? or is it fear 10
That makes him close his eyes? 1 11 open them.
Rut. So looks the pent-up lion o'er the wretch
That trembles under his devouring paws;
And so he walks, insulting o'er his prey.
And so he comes, to rend his limbs asunder.
Ah, gentle Clifford, kill me with thy sword.
And not with such a cruel threatening look.
Sweet Clifford, hear me speak before I die.
I am too mean a subject for thy wrath:
"Enter Rvtkmd and hia Tutor." Rutland is described by HaUe as
''scarce of the age of xii yeares, a faire gentleman and maidenlike
person." He was in reality seventeen. The *tutor*s" name was Rob-
ert Aspall.— C. H. H.
^^ .Digitized by Google
Act I. Sc. iii. THE THIRD PART OF
Be thou revenged on men, and let me live. 20
CUf. In vain thou speak'st, poor boy; my father's
blood
Hath stopp'd the passage where thy words
should enter.
Rut. Then let my father's blood open it again:
He is a man, and, Clifford, cope with him.
CUf. Had I thy brethren here, their lives and thine
Were not revenge suflBldent for me;
No, if I digged up thy forefathers' graves.
And hung their rotten coffins up in chains,
It could not slake mine ire, nor ease my heart.
The sight of any of the house of York 30
Is as a fury to torment my soul;
And till I root out their accursed line
And leave not one alive, I live in hell.
Therefore — [lAfting his hand.
But. O, let me pray before I take my death I
To thee I pray; sweet Clifford, pity mel
CUf. Such pity as my rapier's point affords.
But. I never did thee harm: why wilt thou slay me?
CUf. Thy father hath.
But. But 'twas ere I was bom.
Thou hast one son; for his sake pity me, 40
Lest in revenge thereof, sith Gk>d is just.
He be as miserably slain as I.
Ah, let me live in prison all my days;
And when I give occasion of offense.
Then let me die, for now thou hast no cause.
CUf. No cause I
Thy father slew my father; therefore, die.
{^Stdbs him
20 Digitized by v_.-^x_^ ,11.'.^
KING HENRY VI Act i. Sc. iv.
Rut. Di faciant laudis summa sit ista tuse! IDies.
CUf. Plantagenet! I come, Plantagenet!
And this thy son's blood cleaving to my blade 50
Shall rust upon my weapon, till thy blood.
Congealed with this, do make me wipe off both.
lEwit.
Scene IV
Another part of the field.
Alarum. Enter Richard, Duke of York.
York. The army of the queen hath got the field:
My uncles both are slain in rescuing me;
And all my followers to the eager foe
48. "Di faciant Umdis swnma sit ista twx^; i. e. 'The gods grant
that this be the sum of thy glory"; (Ovid, Efistle from Phillis to
Demophoon), — I. G.
This scrap of Latin appeared first in the folio; but as Maione
would needs argue that the original play was not Shakespeare^s, from
its having several Latin quotations, he did not see fit to adorn this
line with a star. — ^This savage slaughter of Rutland id thus re-
lated by Hall: '^Whilst this battle was in fighting, a priest called
Sir Robert Aspall, chaplain and schoolmaster to the young earl
of Rutland, perceiving that flight was more safeguard than tarry-
ing^ both for himself and his master, secretly conveyed the earl
out of the field, by the lord Clifford's band, towards the town: but
ere he could enter into a house he was by the said lord Clifford
espied, followed, and taken, and by reason of his apparel demanded
what he was. The young gentleman, dismayed, had not a word to
speak, but kneeled on his knees imploring mercy, and desiring grace,
both with holding up his hands and making dolorous countenance;
for his speech was gone for fear. Save him, said his chaplain, for
he is a prince's son, and peradventure may do you good hereafter.
With that word, the lord Clifford marked him, and said. By God's
blood, thy father slew mine, and so I will do thee and all thy Idn:
and with that word he struck the earl to the heart with his dagger,
and bade his chaplain bear the earl's mother and brother word what
he had said and done."~H. N. H.
27
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Act I. Sc. iv. THE THIRD PART OF
Turn back and fly, like ships before the wind.
Or lambs pursued by hunger-starved wolves.
My sons, God knows what hath bechanced them :
But this I know, they have demean'd themselves
Like men bom to renown by life or death.
Three times did Richard make a lane to me,
And thrice cried 'Courage, father I fight it outl'
And full as oft came Edward to my side, H
With purple falchion, painted to the hilt
In blood of those that had encounter'd him:
And when the hardiest warriors did retire,
Richard cried, *ChargeI and give no foot of
groimdl'
And cried, *A crown, or else a glorious tomb I
A scepter, or an earthly sepuldierT
iWith this, we charged again: but, out, alas I
We bodged again; as I have seen a swan
With bootless labor swim against the tide 20
And spend her strength with over-matching
waves. lA short alarum within.
Ah, hark I the fatal followers do pursue;
And I am faint, and cannot fly their fury:
And were I strong, I would not shun their fury :
The sands are nmnber'd that make up my life;
Here must I stay, and here my life must end.
Q6. The story of this battle is thus told in the Chronicles: 'The
duke of Summerset and the queenes part appointed the lord Clif-
ford to lie in one stale, and the earle of Wiltshire in another, and
the duke with the other to keepe the maine battell. The duke of
Yorke descended downe the hill in good order and arraie; but when
he was in the plaine betweene his castdl and the towne of Wake-
field, he was invironed on everie side, like fish in a net, so that,
though he fought manfuUie, yet was he within halfe an houre slaine,
amd his whole armie discomfited. With him died his two bastard
28 Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act i. Sc. iv.
Enter Queen Margaret, Clifford, Northumberland,
the young Prince, and Soldiers.
Come, bloody Clifford, rough Northumberland,
I dare your quenchless fury to more rage:
I am your butt, and I abide your shot.
North. Yield to our mercy, proud Plantagenet. 30
CUf. Aye, to such mercy as his ruthless arm.
With downright payment, showed unto my
father.
Now Phaethon hath tumbled from his car.
And made an evening at the noontide prick.
York. My ashes, as the phoenix, may bring forth
A bird that will revenge upon you all :
And in that hope I throw mine eyes to heaven.
Scorning whate'er you can afflict me with.
Why come you not? what I multitudes, and fear?
CUf. So cowards fight when they can fly no
further; 40
So doves do peck the falcon's piercing talons;
So desperate thieves, all hopeless of their lives.
Breathe out invectives 'gainst the officers.
York. O Clifford, but bethink thee once again.
And in thy thought o'er-run my former time;
And, if thou canst for blushing, view this face,
And bite thy tongue, that slanders him with
cowardice
Whose frown hath made thee faint and fly ere
this I
uncles, sir John and sir Hugh Mortimer, and two thousand and
eight hundred others, whereof manie were yoong gentlemen, and
heirs of great parentage in the south parts, whose kin revenged their
deaths within four months next." — H. N. H.
OQ Digitized by CjOOQIC
Act I. Sc. iv. THE THIRD PART OF
CUf. I will not bandy with thee word for word.
But buckle with thee blows, twice two for one. 50
Q. Mar. Hold, valiant Clifford! for a thousand
causes
I would prolong awhile the traitor's life.
Wrath makes him deaf: speak thou, Northum-
berland.
North. Hold, Clifford I do not honor him so much
To prick thy finger, though to wound his heart :
What valor were it, when a cur doth grin.
For one to thrust his hand between his teeth,
When he might spurn him with his foot away ?
It is war's prize to take all vantages;
And ten to one is no impeach of valor. 60
[They lay hands on York, who struggles.
CUf. Aye, aye, so strives the woodcock with the
gin.
North. So doth the cony struggle in the net.
York. So triumph thieves upon their conquer'd
booty;
So true men yield, with robbers so o'er-
match'd.
North. What would your grace have done unto him
now?
Q. Mar. Brave warriors, Clifford and Northum-
berland,
Come, make him stand on this molehill here.
That raught at mountains with outstretched
arms.
Yet parted but the shadow with his hand.
What I was it you that would be England's
O • Digitized by GOOQIC
30 ' ' ^
JKING HENRY VI Act i. Sc. iv.
Was 't you that revel'd in our parliament.
And made a preachment of your high descent?
Where are your mess of sons to back you now?
The wanton Edward, and the lusty George?
And where 's that valiant crook-back prodigy,
Dicky your boy, that with his grumbling voice
Was wont to cheer his dad in mutinies?
Or, with the rest, where is your darling Rut-
land?
Look, York : I stain'd this napkin with the blood
That valiant Clifford, with his rapier's point, 80
Made issue from the bosom of the boy;
And if thine eyes can water for his death,
I give thee this to dry thy cheeks withal.
Alas, poor York! but that I hate thee deadly,
I should lament thy miserable state.
I prithee, grieve, to make me merry, York.
What, hath thy fiery heart so pardi'd thine en-
trails
That not a tear can fall for Rutland's death?
Why art thou patient, man? thou shouldst be
mad;
And I, to make thee mad, do mock thee thus. ^
Stamp, rave, and fret, that I may sing and
dance.
Thou wouldst be fee'd, I see, to make me
sport:
York cannot speak, unless he wear a crown.
A crown for York I and, lords, bow low to him:
73. "mess of sons" four sons; the company at great dinners being
arranged in "messes" or sets of four. — C. H. H.
31
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Act I. Sc. iv. THE THIRD PART OF
Hold you his hands, whilst I do set it on,
^Putting a paper crown on his head.
Aye, marry, sir, now looks he like a king!
Aye, this is he that took King Henry's chair;
And this is he was his adopted heir.
But how is it that great Plantagenet
Is erown'd so soon, and hroke his solemn oath?
As I bethink me, you should not be king 101
Till our King Henry had shook hands with
death.
And will you pale your head in Henry's glory,
And rob his temples of the diadem.
Now in his life, against your holy oath?
O, 'tis a fault too too unpardonable I
Off with the crown; and, with the crown, his
head;
And, whilst we breathe, take time to do him
dead.
108. The piece of exquisite inhumanity, which furnished the basis
of this scene, is thus narrated in the Chronicles: ''The same lord
Clifford came to the place where the dead corpse of the duke of
Yorke laie, caused his head to be striken off, and set on it a crowne
of paper, fixed it on a pole, and presented it to the queene, not
lieng farre from the field, in great despite; at which great rejois-
ing was showed: but they laughed then that shortlie after la-
mented, and were glad then of other mens deaths, that knew not
their owne to be so neere at hand." Thus far Holinshed copies
Hall, and then adds the following: "Some write that the duke
was taken alive, and in derision caused to stand upon a molehill;
on whose head they put a garland in steed of a crowne, which
they had fashioned and made of sedges or bulrushes; and, having
so crowned him, they kneeled downe afore him, as tiie Jewes did
unto Christ, in scorne, saieng to him, — ^'Haile, king without rule,
haile, king without heritage, haile, duke and prince without people
or possessions.' And at length, having thus scorned him with these
and diverse other the like despitefuU words, they stroke off his head,
which they presented to the queene." It should be remarked, fur-
32 .,y,u.edbyG00g.^
KING HENRY VI Act i. Sc. iv.
CUf. That is my oflSce, for my father's sake.
Q.Mar. Nay, stay; let's hear the orisons he
makes. 110
York. She-wolf of France, but worse than wolves
of France,
Whose tongue more poisons than the adder's
tooth I
How ill-beseeming is it in thy sex
To triumph, like an Amazonian trull,
Upon their woes whom fortune captivates I
But that thy face is, visard-like, unchanging.
Made impudent with use of evil deeds,
I would assay, proud queen, to make thee blush.
To tell thee whence thou camest, of whom de-
rived.
Were shame enough to shame thee, wert thou
not shameless. 120
Thy father bears the type of King of Naples,
Of both the Sicils and Jerusalem,
Yet not so wealthy as an English yeoman.
Hath that poor monarch taught thee to insult?
It needs not, nor it boots thee not, proud queen.
Unless the adage must be verified.
That beggars mounted run their horse to death.
'Tis beauty that doth oft make women proud;
But, God He knows, thy share thereof is small:
'Tis virtue that doth make them most admired;
The contrary doth make thee wondered at: 131
ther, that HoUnshed took this account from Whethamstede, who was
a bitter enemy to the Lancastrians. It should be noted, in Justice
to womanhood, that according to the latter account the queen had
no part in the blasphemous mockery of the living duke. — H. N
109. "#aJfc«"; Capell (from Qq.), "death."— 1. G.
rv— 3 33 ^ ,
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Act I. Sc. iv. THE THIRD PART OF
'Tis government that makes them seem divine;
The want thereof makes thee abominable:
Thou art as opposite to every good
As the Antipodes are unto us,
Or as the south to the septentrion.
O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hidel
How eouldst thou drain the life-blood of the
child,
To bid the father wipe his eyes withal.
And yet be seen to bear a woman's face? 140
Women are soft, mild, pitiful and flexible;
iThou stern, obdurate, flinty, rough, remorseless.
Bid'st thou me rage? why, now thou hast thy
wish:
Wouldst have me weep? why, now thou hast thy
will:
For raging wind blows up incessant showers.
And when the rage allays, the rain begins.
These tears are my sweet Rutland's obsequies :
And every drop cries vengeance for his death,
'Gainst, thee, fell Clifford, and thee, false
Frenchwoman.
North. Beshrew me, but his passion moves me so 150
That hardly can I check my eyes from tears.
York. That face of his the hungry cannibals
150. "passion moves"; Ff. 2, 3, 4, "passions move^'; F. 1, "pas-
sions moues," — I. G.
159, 153. "That face of his the hungry cannibals Would not have
touch' d, would not have stain' d with blood"; Warburton's arrange-
ment (from Qq.) ; printed as three lines in Ff., ending his ...
toucht . . . blood. For "with blood" Ff. 3, 3, 4 reads "the rosfs
just with bloocP'; Theobald, "the roses juiced with blood"; Hanmer,
"iho roses just i' th' buc^'; Collier MS., "the rose's hues with blood."
— I. G.
S4 Digitized by GOOglC
KING HENRY VI Act i. Sc. iv.
Would not have touch'd, would not have stained
with blood:
But you are more inhuman, more inexorable,
O, ten times more, than tigers of Hyrcania.
See, ruthless queen, a hapless father's tears:
This cloth thou dip'dst in blood of my sweet boy.
And I with tears do wash the blood away.
Keep thou the napkin, and go boast of this :
And if thou tell'st the heavy story right, 160
Upon my soul, the hearers will shed tears;
Yea, even my foes will shed fast-falling tears.
And say, *Alas, it was a piteous deedT
There, take the crown, and, with the crown, my
curse;
And in thy need such comfort come to thee
As now I reap at thy too cruel hand!
Hard-hearted Clifford, take me from the world:
My soul to heaven, my blood upon your heads I
North. Had he been slaughter-man to all my kin,
I should not for my life but weep with him, I'^O
To see how inly sorrow gripes his soul.
Q. Mar. What, weeping-ripe, my Lord Northum-
berland?
Think but upon the wrong he did us all,
And that will quickly dry thy melting tears.
Clif. Here 's for my oath, here 's for my father's
death. IStabbing him.
Q. Mar. And here 's to right our gentle-hearted
king. [^Stabbing him.
York. Open Thy gate of mercy, gracious God!
169. ''to all"; Capell (from Qq.), "of all"—h G.
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Act I. Sc. iv. THE THIRD PART OF
My soul flies through these wounds to seek out
Thee. IDies.
Q.Mar. Off with his head, and set it on York
gates;
So York may overlook the town of York. 180
IFUmrish. Exeunt.
180. So in Holinshed: ''After this victorie, the earle of Salisburie
and all the prisoners were sent to Pomfret, and there beheaded;
whose headSy togither with the duke of Yorkes head, were con-
▼eied to Yorke, and there set on poles over the gate of the city."
— All, it should seem, must needs agree that this scene is one of
the very best in the whole play. Its logic and its pathos are em-
inently Shakespearean; and tiie coloring of Margaret bespeaks,
throughout, the same hand which, after a few years more of prac-
tice, wrought out the terrible portrait of lady Macbeth. Yet of
the 180 lines which the scene contains, only 26 were altered from
the quarto, and 19 added in the folio. And of those additions 15
lines are in York's speech at the beginning, while many of the
alterations are of a very trifling kind, such as the following:
Quarto, "So doves do peck the raven's piercing talons."
Folio. "So doves do peck the falcon's piercing talons."
Quarto. "That aim'd at mountains with outstretched arm,"
Folio. "That raught at mountains with outstretched arms,"
Quarto. "Look, York: I dipp'd this napkin in the blood."
Folio, "Look, York: I stain'd this napkin with the blood."
Quarto. "Is crown'd so soon, and broke his holy oath."
Folio. "Is crown'd so soon, and broke his solemn oath."
Moreover, nearly all the pith, marrow, and spirit of the scene are
in the quarto, there being even less of improvement than of en-
largement in the folio. And yet, according to the more current
notion, of this, undoubtedly the most Shakespearean scene but one
in the play, only 19 lines were original with Shakespeare; if, in-
deed, that can be called originality, which gives no new thoughts,
but merely amplifies the old. And Malone's celebrated argument
was to vindicate Shakespeare from the reproach of having written,
into the honor of having stolen, the 161 lines of this scene, either
taken whole or slightly altered from the quarto I— H. N. H.
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KING HENRY VI Act ii. Sc- i.
ACT SECOND
Scene I.
[d plain near Mortimer's Cross in Herefordshire.
A march. Enter Edward, Richard, and
their power.
Edw. I wonder how our princely father 'scaped.
Or whether he be 'scaped away or no
From Clifford's and Northumberland's pursuit.
Had he been ta'en, we should have heard the
news;
Had he been slain, we should have heard the
news;
Or had he 'scaped, methinks we should have
heard
The happy tidings of his good escape.
How fares my brother? why is he so sad?
Rich. I cannot joy, until I be resolved
Where our right valiant father is become. 10
I saw him in the battle range about;
And watch'd him how he singled Clifford forth.
Methought he bore him in the thickest troop
As doth a lion in a herd of neat;
Or as a bear, encompass'd roimd with dogs,
14. "Neat," says Richardson, ''seems properly to denote homed
cattle, from the A. S. Hnit-an, comu petere» to butt or strike with
the *ori»."— H. N. H.
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Act II. Sc. L THE THIRD PART OF
Who having pinch'd a few and made them cry.
The rest stand all aloof, and bark at him.
So fared our father with his enemies;
So fled his enemies my warUke father:
Methinks, 'tis prize enough to be his son. 20
See how the morning opes her golden gates.
And takes her farewell of the glorious sun!
How well resembles it the prime of youth,
Trimm'd like a younker prancing to his love !
Edw. Dazzle mine eyes, or do I see three suns?
Rich. Three glorious suns, each one a perfect sun ;
Not separated with the racking clouds,
But sever'd in a pale clear-shining sky.
See, see! they join, embrace, and seem to kiss,
As if they vow'd some league inviolable: 30
Now are they but one lamp, one light, one sun.
In this the heaven figures some event.
Edw. ^Tis wondrous strange, the like yet never
heard of,
I think it cites us, brother, to the field.
That we, the sons of brave Plantagenet,
Each one already blazing by our meeds,
Should notwithstanding join our lights to-
gether,
20. "Methinks, 'tis prize enough to he his son"; Ff.; Warburton
(from Qq.), ''pride/'— I. G.
33. The battle of Mortimer's Cross took place February 9, 1461,
and the event of the text is spoken of by the chroniclers as having
happened on the morning of that day: "At which time the sunne,
as some write, appeared to the earle of March like three sunnes,
and suddenlie joined altogither in one. Upon which sight he tooke
such courage, that he fiercelie setting on his enemies put them to flight:
and for this cause men imagined, that he gave the sunne in his full
brigfatnesse for his badge or cognizance." — H. N. H.
^^ Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act IL Sc. i.
And over-shine the earth as this the world.
Whate'er it bodes, henceforward will I bear
Upon my target three fair-shining suns. 40
Rich. Nay, bear three daughters: by your leave I
speak it,
You love the breeder better than the male*
Enter a Messenger.
But what art thou, whose heavy looks foretell
Some dreadful story hanging on thy tongue?
Mess. Ah, one that was a wof ul looker-on
When as the noble Duke of York was slain.
Your princely father and my loving lordl
Edw. O, speak no more, for I have heard too much.
Rich. Say how he died, for I will hear it all.
Mess. Environed he was with many foes, 50
And stood against them, as the hope of Troy
Against the Greeks that would have enter'd
Troy.
But Hercules himself must jrield to odds ;
And many strokes, though with a little axe.
Hew down and fell the hardest-timber'd oak.
By many hands your father was subdued;
But only slaughter'd by the ireful arm
Of unrelenting Clifford and the queen.
Who crowned the gracious duke in high despite.
Laughed in his face; and when with grief he
wept.
The ruthless queen gave him to dry his cheeks 61
A napkin steeped in the harmless blood
Of sweet young Rutland, by rough Clifford
slain :
39 Digitized by Google
Act IL Sc. i. THE THIRD PART OF
And after many scorns, many foul taunts,
They took his head, and on the gates of York
They set the same ; and there it doth remain,
The saddest spectacle that e'er I view'd.
Edw. Sweet Duke of York, our prop to lean upon.
Now thou art gone, we have no staff, no stay.
O Clifford, boisterous Clifford 1 thou hast slain
The flower of Europe for his chivalry; 71
And treacherously hast thou vanquished him.
For hand to hand he would have vanquished thee.
Now my soul's palace is become a prison:
Ah, would she break from hence, that this my
body
Might in the ground be closed up in resti
For never henceforth shall I joy again.
Never, O never, shall I see more joy!
Rich. I cannot weep; for all my body's moisture
Scarce serves to quench my furnace-burning
heart: 80
Nor can my tongue xmload my heart's great
burthen;
For selfsame wind that I should speak withal
Is kindling coals that fires all my breast,
And bums me up with flames that tears would
quench.
To weep is to make less the depth of grief:
Tears then for babes; blows and revenge for
mel
Richard, I bear thy name; I 'U venge thy death,
Or die renowned by attempting it.
Vdnjo. His name that valiant duke hath left with
thee:
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KING HENRY VI Act II. Sc i.
His dukedom and his chair with me is left 90
Rich. Nay, if thou be that princely eagle's bird.
Show thy descent by gazing 'gainst the sun:
For chair and dukedom, throne and kingdom
say;
Either that is thine, or else thou wert not his.
March. Enter Warwick, Marquess of Montagibe,
and their army.
War. How now, fair lords I What fare? what
news abroad?
Rich. Great Lord of Warwick, if we should re-
count
Our baleful news, and at each word's deliver-
ance
Stab poniards in our flesh till all were told.
The words would add more anguish than the
wounds.
valiant lord, the Duke of York is slain I 100
Edw. O Warwick, Warwick 1 that Plantagenet,
Which held thee dearly as his soul's redemption.
Is by the stem Lord Clifford done to death.
War. Ten days ago I drown'd these news in tears;
And now, to add more measure to your woes,
1 come to tell you things sith then bef all'n.
After the bloody fray at Wakefield fought.
Where your brave father breathed his latest
gasp.
Tidings, as swiftly as the posts could run.
Were brought me of your loss and his depart.
I, then in London, keeper of the king, m
JMuster'd my soldiers, gather'd flocks of f rie
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Act 11. Sc. L THE THIRD PART OF
And very well appointed, as I thought,
Mardh'd toward Saint Alban's to intercept the
queen.
Bearing the king in my behalf along;
For by my scouts I was advertised,
That she was coming with a full intent
To dash our late decree in parliament.
Touching King Henry's oath and your succes-
sion.
Short tale to make, we at Saint Alban's met, 120
Our battles join'd, and both sides fiercely
fought:
But whether 'twas the coldness of the king.
Who look'd full gently on his warlike queen.
That robb'd my soldiers of their heated spleen ;
Or whether 'twas report of her success;
Or more than common fear of Clifford's rigor.
Who thimders to his captives blood and death,
I cannot judge: but, to conclude with truth.
Their weapons like to lightning came and went ;
Our soldiers', like the night-owl's lazy flight, 130
Or like an idle thresher with a flails
Fell gently down, as if they struck their
friends.
I cheer'd them up with justice of our cause.
With promise of high pay and great rewards:
But all in vain; they had no heart to fight,
And we in them no hope to win the day;
So that we fled; the king unto the queen;
113. Omitted in Ff., added by Steevens (from Qq.).— I. G.
131. "idle/* Capdrs emendation (from Qq.) of Ff., '^tosy."—
I. G.
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KING HENRY VI Act IL Sc, i.
Lord George your brother, Norfolk and my-
self.
In haste, post haste, are come to join with you;
For in the marches here we heard you were, 140
Making another head to fight again.
Edw. Where is the Duke of Norfolk, gentle War-
wick?
And when came George from Burgundy to
England?
War. Some six miles off the duke is With the sol-
diers;
And for your brother, he was lately sent
From your kind aunt. Duchess of Burgundy,
. With aid of soldiers to this needful war.
Rich. ^Twas odds, belike, when valiant Warwick
fled:
141. The second battle of St Albans, of which Warwick here
tells the story, took place February 17, 1461. The account is for
the most part historically true. Of course it will be understood that
the king was at that time in the keeping of those who were really
^ghting against him, though nominally with his sanction; and the
effect of the battle was to release him from their hands, and restore
him to his friends, who under the leading of the queen were seeking
to break up the compromise that had been forced through in the
late parliament. The course and issue of the fight are thus de-
scribed in the Chronicles: "These (the Yorkists) gave the onset so
fiercelie at the beginning, that the victorie rested doubtfull a cer-
teine time; but after they had stood it a pretie while they began to
faint, and, turning their backes, fled amaine over hedge and ditch,
through thick and thin, woods and bushes, seeking to escape the
hands of their cruell enimies, that followed them with eger minds,
to make slaughter upon them, and bare downe manie, and more had
doone, if the night comming on had not stayed them." — H. N. H.
146. "Your kind aunt. Duchess of Burgundy/* i. e. Isabel, daughter
of John I, King of Portugal, by Philippa of Lancaster, eldest
daughter of John of Gaunt; she was, therefore, really third cousin
to Edward, and not aunt. — I. G.
147. This is slightly at variance with fact. York's sons, '
48
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Act II. Sc. i. THE THIRD PART OF
Oft have I heard his praises in pursuit.
But ne'er till now his scandal of retire. 150
War. Nor now my scandal, Richard, dost thou
hear;
For thou shalt know this strong right hand of
mine
Can pluck the diadem from faint Henry's
head.
And wring the awful scepter from his fist.
Were he as famous and as bold in war,
As he is famed for mildness, peace, and prayer.
'Rich. I know it well. Lord Warwick; blame me
not:
'Tis love I bear thy glories makes me speak.
But in this troublous time what 's to be done?
Shall we go throw away our coats of steel, 160
And wrap our bodies in black mourning gowns,
Numbering our Ave-Maries with our beads?
Or shall we on the helmets of our foes
Tell our devotion with revengeful arms?
If for the last, say aye, and to it, lords.
Wot. Why, therefore Warwick came to seek you
out;
And therefore comes my brother Montague.
Attend me, lords. The proud insulting queen,
With Clifford and the haught Northumberland,
And of their feather many moe proud birds, 170
Have wrought the easy-melting king like wax.
and Richard, the one being then in his twelfth year, the other in
his ninth, were sent into Flanders immediately after the battle of
Wakefield, and did not return till Edward had taken the crown.—
H. N. H.
44
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KING HENRY VI Act ii Sc. i.
He swore consent to your succession.
His oath enrolled in llie parliament;
And now to London all the crew are gone.
To frustrate both his oath and what beside
May make against the house of Lancaster.
Their power, I think, is thirty thousand strong:
Now, if the help of Norfolk and myself.
With all the friends that thou^ brave Earl of
March, 179
Amongst the loving Welshmen canst procure,
Will but amoimt to five and twenty thousand.
Why, Vial to London will we march amain.
And once again bestride our foaming steeds.
And once again cry 'Charge upon our foesl'
But never once again turn back and fly.
Bich. Aye, now methinks I hear great Warwick
speak:
Ne'er may he live to see a sunshine day.
That cries 'Retire,' if Warwick bid him stay.
Edw. Lord Warwick, on thy shoulder will I lean;
And when thou f ail'st — as Grod forbid the
hourl —
Must Edward fall, which peril heaven for-
fendl 191
War. No longer Earl of March, but Duke of
York:
The next degree is England's royal throne;
For King of England shalt thou be proclahn'd
181^ ''to London toUl we march amain"; Theobald's emendation
(from Qq.) ; Ff. read "to London vnU we march"; Hanmer, "itraigkt
to London will we march" — I. G.
190. "icXeef; Steevens, "fidVae'; Qq., "fainte:'—!. G.
45 Digitized by CjOOQIC
Act II. Sc. ii. THE THIRD PART OF
In every borough as we pass along;
And he that throws not up his cap for joy
Shall for the fault make forfeit of his head.
King Edward, valiant Richard, Montague,
Stay we no longer, dreaming of renown.
But sound the trumpets, and about our task. 200
Rich. Then, Clifford, were thy heart as hard as
steel.
As thou hast shown it flinty by thy deeds,
I come to pierce it, or to give thee mine.
Edw. Then strike up drums: God and Saint
George for us!
Enter a Messenger.
War. How now! what news?
Mess. The Duke of Norfolk sends you word by
me,
The queen is coming with a puissant host;
And craves your company for speedy counsel.
War. Why then it sorts, brave warriors, let 's away.
lEiveunt.
Scene II
Before York
Flourish. Enter King Henry, Queen Margaret,
the Prince of Wales, Clifford, and Northum-
berland, with drum and trumpets,
Q. Mar. Welcome, my lord, to this brave town of
York.
209. "it sorts," things are as they should be; it falls but right—
H. N. H.
46 Digitized by Google
KING HENRY YI Act ii. Sc. ii.
Yonder 's the head of that arch-enemy
That sought to he encompass'd with your
crown:
Doth not the object cheer your heart, my lord?
K. Hen. Aye, as the rocks dieer them that fear
their wreck:
To see this sight, it irks my very soul.
Withhold revenge, dear Gk)dl 'tis not my fault,
Nor wittingly have I infringed my vow.
CUf. My gracious liege, this too much lenity
And harmful pity must be laid aside. 10
To whom do lions cast their gentle looks?
Not to the beast that would usurp their den.
Whose hand is that the forest bear doth lick?
Not his that spoils her young before her face.
Who 'scapes the lurking serpent's mortal sting?
Not he that sets his foot upon her back.
The smallest worm will turn being trodden on,
And doves will peck in safeguard of their
brood.
Ambitious York did level at thy crown.
Thou smiling while he knit his angry brows : 20
He, but a duke, would have his son a king,
And raise his issue, like a loving sire;
Thou, being a king, blest with a goodly son.
Didst yield consent to disinherit him.
Which argued thee a most unloving father.
Unreasonable creatures feed their young;
And though man's face be fearful to their eyes.
Yet, in protection of their tender ones.
Who hath not seen them, even with those wings
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Act 11. Sc. ii. THE THIRD PART OF
Which sometime they have used with fearful
flight, 30
Make war with him that climb'd unto their nest,
Offering their own lives in their young's de-
fense?
For shame, my liege, make them your prece-
dent!
Were it not pity that this goodly boy
Should lose his birthright by his father's fault.
And long hereafter say unto his child,
'What my great-grandfather and grandsire got
My careless father fondly gave away'?
Ah, what a shame were thisl Look on the boy ;
And let his manly face, which promiseth ^
Successful fortune, steel thy melting heart
To hold thine own, and leave thine own with
him.
K. Hen. Full well hath Clifford play'd the orator,
Inferring arguments of mighty force.
But, Clifford, tell me, didst thou never hear
That things ill-got had ever bad success?
And happy always was it for that son
Whose father for his hoarding went to hell?
4 I '11 leave my son my virtuous deeds behind;
And would my father had left me no morel 50
For all the rest is held at such a rate
As brings a thousand-fold more care to keep
Than in possession any jot of pleasure.
Ah, cousin York I would thy best friends did
know
47-48. cp, Greene's Royal Exchange: — "It hath been an old prpverb,
that happy is that son whose father goes to the devil," &c. — T. G.
48
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KING HENRY VI Act ii. Sc. ii
How it doth grieve me that thy head is here!
Q. Mar. My lord, cheer up your spirits: our foes
are nigh,
And this soft courage makes your followers
faint.
You promised knighthood to our forward son:
Unsheathe your sword, and dub him presently.
Edward, kneel down. 60
K. Hen. Edward Flantagenet, arise a knight;
And learn this lesson, draw thy sword in right.
Prince. My gracious father, by your kingly leave,
I 'U draw it as apparent to the crown.
And in that quarrel use it to the death.
CUf. Why, that is spoken like a toward prince.
Enter a Messenger.
Mess. Royal commanders, be in readiness:
For with a band of thirty thousand men
Comes Warwick, backing of the Duke of York;
And in the towns, as they do march along, 70
Proclaims him king, and many fly to him
Darraign your battle, for they are at hand.
CUf. I would your highness would depart the field:
The queen hath best success when you are ab-
sent.
Q. Mar. Aye, good my lord, and leave us to our
fortune.
74. So in Holinshed: 'Thus was the queene fortunate in hir two
battels, but unfortunate was the king in all his enterprises; for
where his person was present the victorie still fled from him to the
contrarie part. The queene caused the king to dub hir sonne prince
Edward knight, with thirtie other persons, which the day before
fouj^t on hir side against his part" — H. N. H.
^"^ 49 Digitized by GoOglC
Act II. Sc. ii. THE THIRD PART OF
K. Hen. Why, that's my fortune too; therefore
I 'U stay.
North. Be it with resolution then to fight.
Prince. My royal father, cheer these noble lords.
And hearten those that fight in your defense:
Unsheathe your sword, good father; cry *Saint
George!' 80
March. Enter Edward, George^ Richard, War-
wick, Norfolk, Montague, and Soldiers.
Edw. Now, perjured Henry! wilt thou kneel for
grace.
And set thy diadem upon my head;
Or bide the mortal fortune of the field?
Q. Mar. Go, rate thy minions, proud insulting boy !
Becomes it thee to be thus bold in terms
Before thy sovereign and thy lawful king?
Edw. I am his king, and he should bow his knee;
I was adopted heir by his consent:
Since when, his oath is broke; for, as I hear.
You, that are king, though he do wear the
crown.
Have caused him, by new act of parliament, 91
To blot out me, and put his own son in.
Clif. And reason too:
Who should succeed the father but the son?
Rich. Are you there, butcher? O, I cannot speak!
Clif. Aye, crook-back, here I stand to answer thee,
Or any he the proudest of thy sort.
89. This of course refers to the late compromise or agreement,
which was "tuxyme unto by the two parties,'' In the folio, this and
the three following lines are assigned to Clarence; but the words, *to
blot out me," show that they were meant to be a part of Edwar^e
8peech.~H. N. H.
^^ Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act ii. Sc. ii.
Rich. ^Twas you that kill'd young Rutland, wa^ it
not?
Ctif. Aye, and old York, and yet not satisfied.
Rich. For God's sake, lords, give signal to the
fight. 100
War. What say'st thou, Henry, wilt thou yield the
crown?
Q. Mar. Why, how now, long-tongued Warwick!
dare you speak?
When you and I met at Saint Alban's last,
Your legs did better service than your hands.
War. Then 'twas my turn to fly, and now 'tis thine.
CUf. You said so much before, and yet you fled.
War. 'Twas not your valor, Clifi^ord, drove me
thence*
North. No, nor your manhood that durst make you
> stay.
Rich. Northumberland, I hold thee reverently.
Break ofi^ the parley; for scarce I can refrain
The execution of my big-swoln heart m
Upon that Clifford, that cruel child-killer.
CUf. I slew thy father, call'st thou him a child?
Rich. Aye, like a dastard and a treacherous coward,
As thou didst kill our tender brother Rutland;
But ere sunset I 'U make thee curse the deed.
K. Hen. Have done with words, my lords, and hear
me speak.
Q. Mar. Defy them then, or else hold close thy lips.
K. Hen. I prithee, give no limits to my tongue:
I am a king, and privileged to speak. ^^o
CUf. My liege, the wound that bred this i
here
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Act 11. Sc. n. THE THIRD PART OF
Cannot be cured by words; therefore be still.
Rich. Then, executioner, unsheathe thy sword:
By Him that made us all, I am resolved
That Clifford's manhood lies upon his tongue.
Edw. Say, Henry, shall I have my right, or no?
A thousand men have broke their fasts to-day.
That ne'er shall dine xmless thou yield the crown.
War. If thou deny, their blood upon thy head;
For York in justice puts his armor on. 130
Prince. If that be right which Warwick says is
right.
There is no wrong, but every thing is right.
Rich. Whoever got thee, there thy mother stands;
For, well I wot, thou hast thy mother's tongue.
Q. Mar. But thou art neither like thy sire nor dam;
But like a foul mis-shapen stigmatic,
Mark'd by the destinies to be avoided.
As venom toads, or lizards' dreadful stings.
Rich. Iron of Naples hid with English gilt,
Whose father bears the title of a king, — 140
As if a channel should be call'd the sea, —
Shamest thou not, knowing whence thou art ex-
traught.
To let thy tongue detect thy base-bom heart?
Edw. A wisp of straw were worth a thousand
crowns.
To make this shameless callet know herself.
Helen of Greece was fairer far than thou,
134. In the folio this speech is assigned to Warwick, in the quarto
to Richard. The queen's reply shows that the quarto is rig^t —
H. N. H.
"* "A toiip of straw" was set as an ignominious badge on tbe
' scolds.— C. H. H.
52
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KING HENRY VI Act ll. Sc. ii.
Although thy husband may be Menelaus;
And ne'er was Agamemnon's brother wrong'd
By that false woman, as this king by thee.
His father revel'd in the heart of France, 150
And tamed the king, and made the dauphin
stoop;
And had he match'd according to his state.
He might have kept that glory to this day;
But when he took a beggar to his bed,
And graced thy poor sire with his bridal-day.
Even then that sunshine brew'd a shower for
him.
That wash'd his father's fortunes forth of
France,
And heap'd sedition on his crown at home.
For what hath broach'd this tumult but thy
pride?
Hadst thou been meek, our title still had slept ;
And we, in pity of the gentle king, 161
Had slipp'd our claim imtil another age.
Geo. But when we saw our sunshine made thy
spring.
And that thy summer bred us no increase.
We set the axe to thy usurping root;
And though the edge hath something hit our-
selves.
Yet, know thou, since we have begun to strike.
We '11 never leave till we have hewn thee down,
Or bathed thy growing with our heated bloods.
147. "Although thy husband may be Menelaus," ep. TroUus and
Gressida, V. L 61, where Thersites calls Menelaus ''the prlmltiTe gtatuc
and oblique memorial of cuckolds." — I. G.
53
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Act II. Sc. iii. THE THIRD PART OF
Edw. And, in this resolution, I defy thee; 170
Not willing any longer conference,
Since thou deniest the gentle king to speak.
Sound trumpets! let our bloody colors wave!
And either victory, or else a grave.
Q. Mar. Stay-^ Edward.
Edw. No, wrangling woman, we '11 no longer stay :
These words will cost ten thousand lives this day.
[Exeunt.
Scene III
A field of battle between Towton and SaMon,
in Yorkshire.
Alarum. Excursions. Enter Warwick.
War. Forspent with toil, as runners with a race,
I lay me down a little while to breathe;
For strokes received, and many blows repaid.
Have robb'd my strong-knit sinews of their
strength,
172. "deniest," Warburton's correction (from Qq.); F^- 1» ^»
"deniec^st"; Ff. 3, 4, "deni'dst:'—!. G.
177. "these"; CapeU (from Qq.), "thy,"—l. G.
Scene III, Yorkshire, Soon after the second battle of St. Albans,
Edward, coming fresh from his victory at Mortimer's Cross, united
his forces with those under Warwick and Montague, and marched
straight to London, which he knew was altogether of his faction.
A few days later, a great council being held, it was resolved that
Henry, by joining the queen's forces, had broken the late compact,
and forfeited the crown to Edward, the heir to Richard late duke of
York. Edward then made harangues to the people, who with shouts
and acclamations ratified the sentence of the council; whereupon
he was proclaimed king. This was done March 4, 1461. The 13th
of the same month he started northward with a large army, in-
tending to finish the war at one stroke. The immediate pi^dimi-
54 Digitized by CjOOQIC
KING HENRY VI Act ii. Sc. m.
And spite of spite needs must I rest awhile.
Enter Edward, running.
Edw. Smile, gentle heaven! or strike, migentle
death!
For this world frowns, and Edward's smi is
clouded.
War. How now, my lordl what hap? what hope of
good?
Enter George.
Geo. Our hap is loss, our hope but sad despair;
Our ranks are broke, and ruin follows us: 10
What counsel give you? whither shall we fly?
Edrv. Bootless is flight, they follow us with wings;
And weak we are and cannot shun pursuit.
Enter Richard.
Rich. Ah, Warwick, why hast thou withdrawn thy-
self?
Thy brother's blood the thirsty earth hath drunk,
Broach'd with the steely point of Clifford's
lance;
And in the very pangs of death he cried.
Like to a dismal clangor heard from far,
'Warwick, revenge! brother, revenge my death!'
naries to the action of the following scene are thus given in Holin-
shed: ''His armie and ail things prepared, he departed out of Lon-
don the twelfe dale of March, and by easie journies came to the
casteli of Pomfret, where he rested, appointing the lord Fits Walter
to keepe the passage of Ferrybridge with a good number of tall
men. King Henrie on the other part, having his armie in readinesse,
committed the governance thereof to the duke of Summerset, the
earle of Northumberland, and the lord Clifford, as men desiring to
revenge the death of their parents, slaine at the first battell at saint
Albons."— H. N. H.
55 Digitized by CjOOQIC
Act II. Sc. iii. THE THIRD PART OF
So, underneath the belly of their steeds, 20
That stain'd their fetlocks in his smoking blood.
The noble gentleman gave up the ghost.
War. Then let the earth be drunken with our blood :
I '11 kill my horse, because I will not fly.
Why stand we like soft-hearted women here.
Wailing our losses, whiles the foe doth rage;
And look upon, as if the tragedy
Were play'd in jest by counterfeiting actors?
Here on my knee I vow to God above,
I ^11 never pause again, never stand still, 30
Till either death hath closed these eyes of mine.
Or fortune given me measure of revenge.
Edw. O Warwick, I do bend my knee with thine;
And in this vow do chain my soul to thine!
And, ere my knee rise from the earth's cold
face,
I thrbw my hands, mine eyes, my heart to Thee,
33. *The lord Clifford determined to make a charge upon them
that kept the passage of Ferrybridge; and so he departed with his
light horssemen, and earlie, yer his enimies were aware, slue the keep-
ers, and wan the bridge. The lord Fitz Walter, hearing the noise,
suddenlie rose out of his bed, and, thinking it had beene a fraie
amongst his men, came downe to appease the same; but yer he knew
what the matter meant was slaine^ and with him the bastard of Salis-
burie, brother to the earle of Warwicke, a valiant yoong gentleman,
and of great audacitie." — Holinshed, — H. N. H.
33. ^'When the earle of Warwicke was informed hereof, like a
man desperat, he mounted on his hacknie, and hasted puffing and
blowing to king Edward, saieng,— 'Sir, I praie God to have mercie of
their soules, which in the beginning of your enterprise have lost their
lives.' With that he lighted downe, and slue his horse with his
sword, saieng, — *Let him flee that will, for surelie I will tarrie with
him that will tarrie with me*; and kissed the crosse of his sword, as
it were for a vow to the promise." — Holinshed, — H. N. H.
"* "Thou setter up and pJucker down of kinps"; ep, Daniel li. 31,
inoveth kings and setteth up kings." — I. G.
56 Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act ii. Sc. m.
Thou setter up and plucker down of kings,
Beseeching Thee, if with Thy will it stands
That to my foes this body must be prey,
Yet that Thy brazen gates of heaven may
ope, 40
And give sweet passage to my sinful soull
Now, lords, take leave until we meet again.
Where'er it be, in heaven or in earth.
Rich. Brother, give me thy hand; and, gentle War-
wick,
Let me embrace thee in my weary arms:
I, that did never weep, now melt with woe
That winter should cut off our spring-time so.
War. Away, away I Once more, sweet lords, fare-
well.
Geo. Yet let us all together to our troops,
And give them leave to fly that will not stay; ^0
And call them pillars that will stand to us;
And, if we thrive, promise them such rewards
As victors wear at the Olympian games:
This may plant courage in their quailing
breasts;
For yet is hope of life and victory.
Forslow no longer, make we hence amain.
[Exemit.
43. "in earth"; the reading of Ff. 1, 2; Ff. 3, 4, "i» the earth";
Pope, "on earth" — I. G.
49. "all together," Rowe's emendation of Ff., ''altogetherf—l. G.
53. "wear"; CoUier MS., "wor^'; CoUier (ed. 2), ''ware."— I. G.
56. "King Edward, perceiving the courage of his trustie friend the
earle of Warwike, made proclamation, that all men which were
afraid to fight should depart; and to all those that tarried the batteU
he promised great rewards, with addition, that anie souldier which
ToluntariUe would abide, and afterwards, either in or before the
57 .yu.ed by Google
Act 11. Sc. iv. THE THIRD PART OF
Scene IV
Another part of the field.
Ewcursions. Enter Richard and Clifford.
Rich. Now, Clifford, I have singled thee alone:
Suppose this arm is for the Duke of York,
And this for Rutland; both bound to revenge,
Wert thou environed with a brazen wall.
CUf. Now, Richard, I am with thee here alone:
This is the hand that stabbed thy father York;
And this the hand that slew thy brother Rut-
land;
And here's the heart that triumphs in their
death.
And cheers these hands that slew thy sire and
brother
To execute the like upon thyself; 10
And so, have at thee!
{They fight. Warwick comes; Clifford flies.
Rich. Nay, Warwick, single out some other chase;
For I myself will hunt this wolf to death.
[Exeunt.
fighty should seeme to flee or tume his backe, then he that could
kill him should have a great reward and double wages." — Holinshed.
—H. N. H.
58
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KING HENRY VI Act li. Sc, t.
Scene V
Another part of the field.
Alarum. Enter King Henry alone.
King. This battle faxes like to the morning's war,
When dying clouds contend with growing light.
What time the shepherd, blowing of his nails.
Can neither call it perfect day nor night.
Now sways it this way, like a mighty sea
Forced by the tide to combat with the wind;
Now sways it that way, like the selfsame sea
Forced to retire by fury of the wind:
Sometime the flood prevails, and then the wind;
Now one the better, then another best; 10
Both tugging to be victors, breast to breast.
Yet neither conqueror nor conquered:
So is the equal poise of this fell war.
Here on this molehill will I sit me down.
To whom God will, there be the victory!
For Margaret my queen, and Clifford too.
Have chid me from the battle; swearing both
They prosper best of all when I am thence.
Would I were dead! if God's good will were
so;
For what is in this world but grief and woe? 20
O God! methinks it were a happy life,
3. This seems to have been a mode of whiling away one's time,
when one could do nothing else or had nothing else to do. — H. N. H.
13. So in Holinshed: **This deadlie conflict continued ten houres
in doubtfull state of victorie, uncertainlle heaving and 8ett^
both sides."— H. N. H. r- T
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Act 11. Sc. y. THE THIRD PART OF
To be no better than a homely swain;
To sit upon a hill, as I do now,
To carve out dials quaintly, point by point.
Thereby to see the minutes how they run.
How many make the hour full complete;
How many hours bring about the day;
How many days will finish up the year;
How many years a mortal man may live.
When this is known, then to divide the times: 30
So many hours must I tend my flock;
So many hours must I take my rest;
So many hours must I contemplate;
So many hours must I sport myself;
So many days my ewes have been with young;
So many weeks ere the poor fools will can;
So many years ere I shall shear the fleece:
So minutes, hours, days, months, and years,
Passed over to the end they were created.
Would bring white hairs unto a quiet grave. 40
Ah, what a life were this I how sweet I how
lovely!
Gives not the hawthome-bush a sweeter shade
To shepherds looking on their silly sheep,
Than doth a rich embroidered canopy
To kings that fear their subjects' treachery?
O, yes, it doth; a thousand-fold it doth.
And to conclude, the shepherd's homely curds,
His cold thin drink out of his leather bottle.
His wonted sleep under a fresh tree's shade.
All which secure and sweetly he enjoys, 60
M. "make^; Ff., ''maJk^*."— I. G.
Sa "m&nthy*; Rowe, "weeks, months,"—!. G.
60 Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act ii. Sc. v.
Is far beyond a prince's delicates,
His viands sparkling in a golden cup.
His body couched in a curious bed.
When care, mistrust, and treason waits on him.
Alarum. Enter a Son that has killed his father,
dragging in the body.
Son. Ill blows the wind that profits nobody.
This man, whom hand to hand I slew in fight,
• May be possessed with some store of crowns;
And I, that haply take them from him now.
May yet ere night yield both my life and them
To some man else, as this dead man doth me. 60
Who 's this? O (Jodl it is my father's face.
Whom in this confiict I unawares have kill'd.
O heavy times, begetting such events!
From London by the king was I press'd forth;
My father, being the Earl of Warwick's man.
Came on the part of York, press'd by his mas-
ter;
And I, who at his hands received my life,
Have by my hands of life bereaved him.
Pardon me, God, I knew not what I didl
And pardon, father, for I knew not theel 70
My tears shall wipe away these bloody marks;
And no more words till they have flow'd their
fill
K. Hen. O piteous spectacle! O bloody times!
Whiles lions war and battle for their dens.
Poor harmless lambs abide their enmity.
60. "0$ this dead man doth me^*; Hanmer, "a# this dead man to
■w"; Wordsworth, "as this dead doth to me/'—l, G.
Digitized by CjOOQIC
Act II. Sc. V. THE THIRD PART OF
Weep, wretched man, I *11 aid thee tear for tear ;
And let our hearts and eyes, like civil war.
Be blind with tears, and break overcharged with
grief.
Enter a Father that has killed his son, bringing in
the body.
iFath. Thou that so stoutly hast resisted me.
Give me thy gold, if tiiou hast any gold; 80
For I have bought it with an hundred blows*.
But let me see: is this our foeman's face?
Ah, no, no, no, it is mine only son!
Ah, boy, if any life be left in thee.
Throw up thine eye! see, see what showers arise
Blown with the windy tempest of my heart.
Upon thy woimds, that kill mine eye and heart!
O, pity, God, this miserable age!
What stratagems, how fell, how butcherly.
Erroneous, mutinous and imnatural, 90
This deadly quarrel daily doth beget!
O boy, thy father gave thee life too soon,
78. Johnson's interpretation of this is probably right: ''The state
of their hearts and eyes shall be like that of the kingdom in a
dvil war; all shcdl be destroyed by a power formed within them-
selves.'* — Of course these instances of unwitting parricide and fili-
cide arc meant to illustrate generally the horrors of civil war. They
were suggested, no doubt, by a passage in Hall concerning this
battle of Towton: 'Tliis conflict was in manner unnatural, for in it
the son fought against the father, the brother against the brother,
the nephew again the uncle, and the tenant against his lord."-^-
H. N. H.
80. "haatr the reading of Ff. 3, 4; Ff. 1, 2, "haihr^l. G.
87. "kill," Rowe's correction of Ff., kilU."—!. G.
93, 93. "O hoy, thy father gave thee life too soon. And hath bereft
ikee of thy life too lateP; much has been written on these lines, the
^ilty being in the words "too late"; the simplest meaning of the
62
KING HENRY VI Act ii. Sc. v.
And hath bereft thee of thy Kfe too late I
K. Hen. Woe above woel grief more than com-
mon grief I
O that my death would stay these ruthful deeds!
O, pity, pity, gentle heaven, pity I
The red rose and the white are on his face,
The fatal colors of our striving houses:
The one his purple blood right well resembles;
The other his pale cheeks, methinks, prel^enteth:
Wither one rose, and let the other flourish; 101
If you contend, a thousand lives must wither.
Son. How will my mother for a father's death
Take on with me and ne'er be satisfied I
Fath. How will my vrif e for slaughter of my son
Shed seas of tears and ne'er be satisfied!
K. Hen. How will the country for these woful
chances
Misthink the king and not be satisfied!
Son. Was ever son so rued a father's death?
Fath. Was ever father so bemoan'd his son? HO
K. Hen. Was ever king so grieved for subjects'
woe?
Much is your sorrow; mine ten times so much.
Son. I 'U bear thee hence, where I may weep my
fill. lEant with the body.
Fath. These arms of mine shall be thy winding-
sheet;
phrase seems to be "when too late^; others explain "too late"=z^'ioo
recently." The Qq. read "too late" in the first line, and ''too soon" in
the second.
The force of the crude couplet seems to be: — O boy, too soon thy
father gave thee life (better thou had'st never been born!); too late
he discovers that the fatal blow was aimed at thee. — I. G.
Digitized by CjOQQIC
Act II. Sc. y. THE THIRD PART OF
My heart, sweet boy, shall be thy sepuleher.
For from my heart thine image ne'er shall go;
My sighing breast shall be thy funeral bell;
And so obsequious will thy father be.
Even for the loss of thee, having no more.
As Priam was for all his valiant sons. 120
I '11 bear thee hence; and let them fight that will,
For I have murdered where I should not kill.
[Eccit with the body.
K. Hen. Sad-hearted men, much overgone with
care,
Here sits a king more woful than you are.
Alarums. Excursions. Enter Queen Margaret,
the Prince^ and Exeter.
Prince. Fly, father, flyl for all your friends are
fled,
And Warwick rages like a chafed bull:
Away! for death doth hold us in pursuit.
Q. Mar. Mount you, my lord; towards Berwick
post amain:
Edward and Richard, like a brace of grey-
hounds
Having the fearful flying hare in sight, 130
With fiery eyes sparkling for very wrath,
And bloody steel grasp'd in their ireful hands.
Are at our backs; and therefore hence amain.
Exe. Away 1 for vengeance comes along with them :
Nay, stay not to expostulate, make speed;
119. "Even," CapeU's emendation; Ff. 1, 2, 3, *'M9n"; F. 4, "Man";
% "Sad"; Mitford, "Mere"; Delius, (Mitford conj.) ''iSoft*;
^ MS., "E'en"; Keightley conj. "'Fore men" or "To men";
•Jonj. "Main," &c.— I. G.
g4 Digitized by CnOOglC
KING HENRY VI Act ll. Sc. yi.
Or else come after: I 'U away before.
K. Hen. Nay, take me with thee, good sweet
Exeter:
Not that I fear to stay, but love to go
Whither the queen intends. Forward; away!
[Exeunt.
Scene VI
^Another part of the field.
A loud alarum. Enter Clifford, wounded.
Clif. Here burns my candle out; aye, here it dies,
WTiich, whiles it lasted, gave King Henry light.
O Lancaster, I fear thy overthrow
More than my body^s parting with my soul !
139. The great battle of Towton was fought March 99, 1461, the
day after the action at Ferrybridge. Its effect was to flx the crown
on the brow of Edward. Holinshed*s account of it is mainly copied
from Hall: "This battell was sore foughten, for hope of life was
set aside on either part, and taking of prisoners proclaimed a great
offense; so everie man determined to vanquish or die in the field.
But in the end king Edward so couragiouslie comforted his men, that
the other part was discomiitted and overcome; who, like men amazed,
fled toward Tadcaster bridge to save themselves, where in the mid
waie is a little brooke called Cocke, not verie broad, but of great
deepnesse, in which, what for hast to escape, and what for feare of
their followers, a great number was drowned. It was reported that
men alive passed the river upon dead carcasses, and that the great
river of Wharfe whereinto that brooke dooth run, and all the water
comming from Towton, was coloured with blood. The chase contin-
ued all night and the most part of the next dale, and ever the north-
erne men, as they saw anie advantage, returned againe, and fought
with their enimies, to the great losse of both parts. For in these
two dales were slaine, as they that knew it wrote, on both parts six
and thirtie thousand seven hundred threescore and sixteeae persons,
all Englishmen and of one nation." — H. N. H.
Digitized by LnOOQlC
Act 11. Sc. vi. THE THIRD PART OF
Rich. Revoke that doom of mercy, for *tis Clifford ;
Who not contented that he lopp'd the branch
In hewing Rutland when his leaves put forth.
But set his murdering knife unto the root
From whence that tender spray did sweetly
spring, 50
I mean our princely father, Duke of York.
War. From off the gates of York fetch down the
head.
Your father's head, which Clifford placed
there;
Instead whereof let this supply the room;
Measure for measure must be answered.
Edw. Bring forth that fatal screech-owl to our
house,
That nothing sung but death to us and ours:
Now death shall stop his dismal threatening
sound.
And his ill-boding tongue no more shall speak.
War. I think his understanding is bereft. 6^
Speak, Clifford, dost thou know who speaks to
thee?
Dark cloudy death o'ershades his beams of life.
And he nor sees, nor hears us what we say.
Rich. O, would he did I and so perhaps he doth:
'Tis but his policy to counterfeit,
Because he would avoid such bitter taunts
Which in the time of death he gave our father.
Geo. If so thou think'st, vex him with eager words.
Rich. Clifford, ask mercy and obtain no grace.
Edw. Clifford, repent in bootless penitence. 70
War. Clifford, devise excuses for thy faults.
68
Digiti:
ized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act II. Sc. vi.
Geo. While we devise fell tortures for thy faults.
Rich. Thou didst love York, and I am son to York.
Edw. Thou pitied'st Rutland; I will pity thee.
Geo. Where 's Captain Margaret, to fence you
now?
War. They mock thee, Clifford: swear as thou wast
wont.
Rich. What, not an oath? nay, then the world goes
hard.
When Clifford cannot spare his friends an oath.
I know by that he 's dead; and, by my soul.
If this right hand would buy two hours' life, 80
That I in all despite might rail at him.
This hand should chop it off, and with the is-
suing blood
Stifle the villain, whose unstanched thirst
York and yoimg Rutland could not satisfy.
War. Aye, but he's dead: off with the traitor's
head.
And rear it in the place your father's stands.
And now to London with triumphant march.
There to be crowned England's royal king:
From whence shall Warwick cut the sea to
France,
80. "If this right hand would buy two hours' life"; Capell (from
Qq.)» "would this right hand buy but an hour^s life"; F. 1, "two
hours'"; Ff. 2, 3, 4, "but two hours',"— I, G.
82. "This hand should^'; CapeU (from Qq.), ''I'd."—!. G.
86. So in the Chronicles: "After this great victorie, king Edward
rode to Yorke; and first he caused the heads of his father, the
earle of Salisburie, and other his freends, to be taken from the
gates, and to be buried with their bodies, and there he caused the
earle of Devonshire and three other to be beheaded, and set their heads
in the same place." — H. N. H.
69
Digiti:
ized by Google
Act II. Sc. vi. THE THIRD PART OF
And ask the Lady Bona for thy queen: 90
So shalt thou sinew both these lands together;
And, having France thy friend, thou shalt not
dread
The scatter'd foe that hopes to rise again;
For though they cannot greatly sting to hurt.
Yet look to have them buzz to offend thine ears.
First will I see the coronation;
And then to Brittany I '11 cross the sea,
To effect this marriage, so it please my lord.
Edw. Even as thou wilt, sweet Warwick, let it be;
For in thy shoulder do I build my seat, 100
And never will I undertake the thing
Wherein thy counsel and consent is wanting.
Richard, I will create thee Duke of Gloucester,
And George, of Clarence: Warwick, as purself ,
Shall do and undo as him pleaseth best.
Rich. Let me be Duke of Clarence, (Jeorge of
Gloucester;
For Gloucester's dukedom is too ominous.
War. Tut, that 's a foolish observation:
Richard, be Duke of Gloucester. Now to Lon-
don,
To see these honors in possession. [Exeunt. HO
100. "in thy shoulder"; so F. 1; Ff. 2, 3, 4, "on thy s."—l, G.
110. Holinshed, after Hall, winds up the story of "the good Duke
Humphrey's" death with the following: "Some thinke that the name
and title of Giocester hath beene unluckie to diverse, as Hugh
Spenser, Thomas of Woodstoke, and this duke Humfrie; which three
persons by miserable death finished their dales, and after them king
Richard the third also. So that this name is taken for an unhappie
stile, as the proverb speaketh of Sejans horsse, whose rider was
ever unhorssed, and whose possessor was ever brought to miserie.'*—
H. N. H.
'^ Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act III. Sc. l
ACT THIRD
Scene I
14 forest in the north of England.
Enter two Keepers , with cross-hows in their hands.
First Keep. Under this thick-grown brake we *11
shroud ourselves;
For through this laund anon the deer will come ;
And in this covert will we make our stand,
Culling the principal of all the deer.
Sec. Keep. I '11 stay above the hiU, so both may
shoot.
First Keep. That cannot be; the noise of thy cross-
bow
Will scare the herd, and so my shoot is lost.
Here stand we both, and aim we at the best:
And, for the time shall not seem tedious,
I 'U tell thee what befell me on a day 10
In this self -place where now we mean to stand.
"Enter two keeper/'; Ff., "Enter Sinklo and Hvmfrey"; "as
Sinklo is certainly the name of an Actor who is mentioned in the
stage directions in the Taming of the Shrew (Ind. i. 86), and in
Henry IV, Part II, Act v. Sc. 4, there is a great probability that
Humphrey is the name of another Actor; perhaps, as Malone sug-
gests, Humfrey Jeaffes. Neither of these is mentioned in the list of
"Principall Actors" prefixed to the first Folio" (Camb. Editors).—
I. G.
9. Evidently meaning. — ^"And, that the time may not seem tedious"
a mode of speech not uncommon in the old writers. — H. N. H.
71 .yu.ed by Google
Act III. Sc. i. THE THIRD PART OT
Sec. Keep. Here comes a man; let's stay till he
be past.
Enter King Henry, disguised, with a prayer-book.
K. Hen. From Scotland am I stolen, even of pure
love.
To greet mine own land with my wishful sight.
No, Harry, Harry, 'tis no land of thine;
Thy place is fiU'd, thy scepter wrung from thee.
Thy balm wash'd off wherewith thou wast
anointed:
No bending knee will call thee Caesar now,
No humble suitors press to speak for right,
IS. "Writer King Henry, disguised, with a Prayer-book," Malone's
emendation; Ff., ''Enter the King with a Prayer booke"; Collier MS.,
adds, "disguised as a Churchman"; Capell (from Qq.)> "Enter King
Henrie disguisde." — I. G.
The Poet here leaps over something more than four years of
military and parliamentary slaughter. After the battle of Towton
the king fled into Scotland, and from thence sent the queen and
prince to France. In October, 1463, she returned to Scotland with
a small power of men, and soon after, having obtained a great com-
pany of Scots, she entered England with the king. At first the Lan-
castrian cause had a gleam of success, but was again crushed at
the battle of Hexham, in April, 1464. After this overthrow, the
king escaped a second time into Scotland; and it was upon his second
return in June, 1465, that he was taken, somewhat as is represented
in this scene. Such, at least, is the account delivered by Hall and
Holinshed; who, after speaking of Edward's measures of security
against his rival, add the following: "But all the doubts of trouble
that might insue by king Henries being at libertie were shortlie
taken away; for he himself e, whether he was past all feare, or
that hee was not well established in his wits, or for that he could
not long keepe himselfe secret, in disguised atire boldlie entered into
England. He was no sooner entred, but he was knowne and taken
of one Cantlow, and brought toward the king; whom the earle of
Warwicke met on the way, and brought him through London to the
Tower, and there he was laid in sure hold." — H. N. H.
14. "To greet mine own land with my wishful sighf; Rann (from
Qq.), "and thus disguis'd to greet my native land" — I. G.
17. "wast," the reading of Ff. 3, 4; Ff. 1, 9, ''was."— J, G.
^^^ 72 Digitized by GoOglC
KING HENRY VI Act III. Sc. i.
No, not a man comes for redress of thee; 20
For how can I help them, and not myself?
Firff^ Keep. Aye, here's a deer whose skin's a
keeper's fee:
This is the quondam king; let 's seize upon him.
K. Hen. Let me embrace thee, sour adversity.
For wise men say it is the wisest course.
Sec. Keep. Why linger we? let us lay hands upon
him.
First Keep. Forbear awhile; we'll hear a little
more.
K. Hen. My queen and son are gone to France
for aid;
And, as I hear, the great commanding Warwick
Is thither gone, to crave the French king's
sister 30
To wife for Edward: if this news be true,
Poor queen and son, your labor is but lost ;
For Warwick is a subtle orator.
And Lewis a prince soon won with moving
words.
By this account then Margaret may win him;
For she 's a woman to be pitied much:
Her sighs will make a battery in his breast;
Her tears will pierce into a marble heart;
The tiger will be mild while she doth mourn;
And Nero will be tainted with remorse, 40
To hear and see her plaints, her brinish tears.
Aye, but she 's come to beg, Warwick, to give;
24. "thee, tour adversity^; Dyce's emendation; Ff., "the aower Ad"
vertariet^; Pope, "these sour adversities"; Clarke's Concordance,
"these sour adversaries^'; Delius, "the sour adversities."--!. G.
•^ Digitized by Google
Act III. Sc. i. THE THIRD PART OF
She, on his left side, craving aid for Henry,
He, on his right, asking a wife for Edward.
She weeps, and says her Henry is deposed;
He snules, and says his Edward is installed;
That she, poor wretch, for grief can speak no
more;
Whiles Warwick tells his title, smooths the
wrong,
Inf erreth arguments of mighty strength.
And in conclusion wins the king from her, 50
With promise of his sister, and what else.
To strengthen and support King Edward's
place.
O Margaret, thus 'twill he; and thou, poor soul.
Art then forsaken, as thou went'st forlorn,
Sec. Keep. Say, what art thou that talk'st of kings
and queens?
K. Hen. More than I seem, and less than I was
bom to:
A man at least, for less I should not be;
And men may talk of kings, and why not I?
Sec. Keep. Aye, but thou talk'st as if thou wert a
king.
K. Hen. Why, so I am, in mind; and that's
enough. 60
54. ''The piety of Heniy scarce interests us more for his misfor-
tunes than this his constant solicitude for the welfare of his deceitful
queen." — Steevena.
55. "thou that taWst,*' &c.; Rowe*s emendation; Qq., "thou that
talkes," &c.; Ff., "fhou talk'st," &c.; Collier, "thou talkestr &c.—
L G.
60. ''and thafs enough"; Rann (from Qq.), "though not in shew/*
—I. G.
Digitized by CjOOQIC
KING HENRY VI Act ill. Sc. i.
Sec. Keep. But, if thou be a king, where is thy
crown?
K. Hen. My crown is in my heart, not on my head;
Not deck'd with diamonds and Indian stones,
Nor to be seen: my crown is call'd content:
A crown it is that seldom kings enjoy.
Sec. Keep. Well, if you be a king crown'd with
content,
Your crown content and you must be contented
To go along with us; for, as we think.
You are the king King Edward hath deposed;
And we his subjects sworn in all allegiance 70
Will apprehend you as his enemy.
K. Hen. But did you never swear, and break an
oath?
Sec. Keep. No, never such an oath; nor will not
now.
K. Hen. Where did you dwell when I was King
of England?
Sec. Keep. Here in this country, where we now re-
main.
K. Hen. I was anointed king at nine months old;
My father and my grandfather were kings.
And you were sworn true subjects unto me:
And tell me, then, have you not broke your
oaths?
First Keep. No; 80
For we were subjects but while you were king.
K. Hen. Why, am I dead? do I not breathe a man?
Ah, simple men, you know not what you swear!
Look, as I blow this feather from my face.
And as the air blows it to me again, ^^gi^
Act III. Sc- L THE THIRD PART OF
Obeying with my wind when I do blow.
And yielding to another when it blows,
Commanded always by the greater gust;
Such is the lightness of you common men.
But do not break your oaths; for of that sin 90
My mild entreaty shall not make you guilty*
Go where you will, the king shall be com-
manded;
And be you kings, command, and I *11 obey.
First. Keep. We are true subjects to the king.
King Edward.
K. Hen. So would you be again to Henry,
If he were seated as King Edward is.
First Keep. We charge you, in God s name, and
the king's.
To go with us unto the officers.
K. Hen. In God's name, lead; your king's name
be obey'd: 99
And what God will, that let your king perform;
And what he will, I humbly yield unto.
^Exeunt
97. "We charge you, in Ood's name, and the king's"; "You"; Anon,
conj. "you now" or "you then"; "and the king's"; Rowe, "and in the
king's,"—!. G.
101. We have already set forth the taking of King Henry as re-
lated in the Chronicles. Dr. Lingard probably has the truth of
the matter; who tells us that after the battle of Hexham the king
"sought an asylum among the natives of Lancashire and Westmore-
land, a people sincerely devoted to his interests. Their fidelity en-
abled him for more than a year to elude the vigilance and researches
of the government; but he was at last betrayed by the perfidy of a
monk of Abingdon, and taken by the servants of Sir James Har-
rington, as he sat at dinner in Waddington hall in Yorkshire. At
Islington he was met by Warwick, who ordered that no one should
show him any respect, tied his feet to the stirrups as a prisoner, led
him thrice round the pillory, and conducted him to the Tower. There
76 .,y,u.edbyG00g.^
KING HENRY VI Act III. Sc. a.
Scene II
London. The palace.
Enter King Edward, Gloucester, Clarence, and
Lady Grey.
K. Edw. Brother of Gloucester, at Saint Alban's
field
This lady's husband, Sir Richard Grey, was
slain.
His lands then seized on by the conqueror:
Her suit is now to repossess those lands;
Which we in justice cannot well deny.
Because in quarrel of the house of York
The worthy gentleman did lose his life,
he was treated with humanity, but kept in the most rigorous con-
finement for some years." — H. N. H.
2. "Richard"; the reading of Ff. and Qq.; Pope (from Hail),
"John."—!. G.
3. "lands"; Capeli's correction (from Qq.); Ff., "land."—h G.
6-7. "In quarrel of the house of York" &c.; but in reality Sir
John Grey fell in the second battle of St. Albans, fighting on the
side of King Henry.— I. G.
This seems a very needless departure from fact. Sir John Grey
fell in the second battle of St. Albans, fighting on King Henry's side;
and his lands were not seized by the queen, who conquered in that
battle, but by King Kdward after the victory at Towton. Shalse-
speare has the matter correctly in Richard III, Act i. sc 3:
"In all which time, you and your husband Grey
Were factious for the house of Lancaster; —
And, Rivers, so were you: — Was not your husband
In Margaret's battle at St. Albans slain?"
As the text in this passage is but slightly altered from the quarto,
Malone cites this discrepancy as ''proving incontestably that Shake-
speare was not the original author of the play." — H. N. H.
77 Digitized by Google
Act III. Sc. ii. THE THIRD PART OF
Glou. Your highness shall do well to grant her
suit;
It were dishonor to deny it her,
K. Edw. It were no less; but yet 111 make a
pause. 10
Glou. lAside to Clar.'] Yea, is it so?
I see the lady hath a thing to grant,
Before the king will grant her humble suit,
Clar. lAside to Glou.^ lie knows the game: how
true he keeps the windl
Glou. [Aside to Clar.'\ Silence I
K. Edw. Widow, we will consider of your suit;
And come some other time to know our mind.
L. Grey. Right gracious lord, I cannot brook de-
lay:
May it please your highness to resolve me now;
And what your pleasure is, shall satisfy me. 20
Glou. I Aside to Clar.'] Aye, widow? then I '11 war-
rant you all your lands.
An if what pleases him shall pleasure you.
Fight closer, or, good faith, you '11 catch a blow.
Clar. [Aside to Glou.} I fear her not, unless she
chance to fall.
Glou. [Aside to Clar.] God forbid that! for he '11
take vantages.
K. Edw. How many children hast thou, widow?
tell me.
Clar. [Aside to Glou.] I think he means to beg a
child of her.
Glou. [Aside to Clar.] Nay, whip me then: he'll
rather give her two.
L. Grey. Three, my most gracious lord.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
KING HENRY VI Act ill. Sc. a.
Glou. lAside to Clar.'] You shall have four, if
you *11 be ruled by him. 30
K. Edw. 'Twere pity they should lose their fath-
er's lands.
L. Grey. Be pitiful, dread lord, and grant it then.
K. Edw. Lords, give us leave: I 'U try this wid-
ow's wit.
Glou. lAside to Clar.'] Aye, good leave have you;
for you will have leave.
Till youth take leave and leave you to the
crutch. [^Glou. and Clar. retire.
K. Edw. Now tell me, madam, do you love your
children?
li. Grey. Aye, full as dearly as I love myself.
K. Edw. And would you not do much to do them
good?
JL. Grey. To do them good, I would sustain some
harm.
K. Edw. Then get your husband's lands, to do
them good. 40
Li. Grey. Therefore I came unto your majesty.
K. Edw. I 'U tell you how these lands are to be
got.
jL. Grey. So shall you bind me to your highness'
service.
K. Edw. What service wilt thou do me, if I give
them?
L. Grey. What you command, that rests in me to
do.
K. Edw. But you will take exceptions to my boon.
L. Grey. No, gracious lord, except I cannot do it.
S9. "thef^'; Qq., "tA«m/'— I. G.
79 Digitized by Google
Act III. Sc iL THE THIRD PART OF
K. Edw. Aye, but thou canst do what I mean to
ask.
L. Crrey. Why, then I will do what your grace
commands.
Glou. lAside to Clar.} He plies her hard; and
much rain wears the marble. 50
Clar. I Aside to G/oz^.] As red as fire I nay, then her
wax must melt.
L. Grey. Why stops my lord? shall I not hear my
task?
K. Edw. An easy task; 'tis but to love a king.
L. Grey. That 's soon performed because I am a
subject.
K. Edw. Why, then, thy husband's lands I freely
give thee.
L. Ghrey. I take my leave with many thousand
thanks.
Glou. [Aside to Clar.} The match is made; she
seals it with a curt'sy.
K. Edw. But stay thee, 'tis the fruits of love I
mean.
L. Grey. The fruits of love I mean, my loving
liege.
K. Edw. Aye, but, I fear me, in another sense. 60
What love, think'st thou, I sue so much to get?
L. Grey. My love tiU death, my humble thanks, my
prayers;
That love which virtue begs and virtue grants.
K. Edw. No, by my troth, I did not mean such
love.
L. Grey. Why, then you mean not as I thought
you did.
so Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act ill. Sc. ii.
K» Edw. But now you partly may perceive my
mind.
Li. Grey. My mind will never grant what I per-
ceive
Your highness aims at, if I aim aright.
K. Edw. To tell thee plain, I aim to lie with thee.
Li. Grey. To tell you plain, I had rather lie in
in prison. 70
K. Edw. Why, then thou shalt not have thy hus-
band's lands.
Li. Grey. Why, then mine honesty shall be my
dower;
For by that loss I will not purchase them.
K. Edw. Therein thou wrongest thy children
mightily.
Li. Grey. Herein your highness wrongs both them
and me.
But, mighty lord, this merry inclination
Accords not with the sadness of my suit:
Please you dismiss me, either with *aye' or 'no.'
K. Edw. Aye, if thou wilt say 'aye' to my request;
No, if thou dost say *no' to my demand. 80
L. Grey. Then, no, my lord. My suit is at an end.
GUm. lAside to Clar.} The widow likes him not,
she knits her brows.
Clar. [Aside to Glou.^ He is the blimtest wooer in
Christendom. .
K. Edw. lAside"] Her looks do argue her replete
with modesty;
Her words do show her wit incomparable;
All her perfections challenge sovereignty:
One way or other she is for a king;
IV-« 81 ...edbyGoogle
Act III. Sc. ii. THE THIRD PART OF
And she shall be my love, or else my queen. —
Say that King Edward take thee for his queen?
L. Grey. 'Tis better said than done, my gracious
lord:
I am a subject fit to jest withal, ^l
But far unfit to be a sovereign.
K. Edw. Sweet widow, by my state I swear to
thee,
I speak no more than what my soul intends;
And that is, to enjoy thee for my love.
L. Grey. And that is more than I will yield unto:
I know I am too mean to be your queen.
And yet too good to be your concubine.
K. Edw. You cavil, widow: I did mean, my queen.
i. Crrey. 'Twill grieve your grace my sons should
call you father. 100
K. Edw. No more than when my daughters call
tihee mother.
Thou art a widow, and thou hast some children;
And, by Gk>d's mother, I, being but a bachelor,
Have other some: why, 'tis a happy thing
To be the father unto many sons.
Answer no more, for thou shalt be my queen.
Glou. [Anide to Clar.'\ The ghostly father now
hath done his shrift.
Clar. lAside to GUm.'l When he was made a shriv-
er, 'twas for shift.
K. Edw. Brothers, you muse what chat we two
have had.
108. "'twas for Mff; so Ff. 1, 2; F. S reads, ''^twu for a •hiftT;
F. 4. ''U woi for a thifU"—!. G.
^^ -itized by Google
Digitize
KING HENRY VI Act ill. Sc. ii.
Glou. The widow likes it not, for she looks very
sad. 110
K. Edw. You 'Id think it strange if I should
marry her.
Clar. To whom, my lord?
K. Edw. Why, Clarence, to myself.
Glou. That would be ten days' wonder at the least.
Clar. That 's a day longer than a wonder lasts.
Glou. By so much is the wonder in extremes.
K. Edw. Well, jest on, brothers: I can tell you
both,
Her suit is granted for her husband's lands.
Enter a Nobleman.
Nob. My gracious lord, Henry your foe is taken.
And brought your prisoner to your palace gate.
110. "very sad"; so F. 1; Ff. 2, 3, 4, ''sad/'— J. G.
117. The first meeting of Edward with the lady Elisabeth is thus
noted in the Chronicles: "The king, being on hunting in the for-
est of Wichwood beside Stonistratford, came for his recreation to
the manor of Grafton, where the duchesse of Bedford then sojourned,
wife to sir Richard Woodvile lord Rivers, on whome was then at-
tendant a daughter of hirs, called the ladie Elizabeth Graie, widow of
sir John Graie knight, slaine at the last battell of saint Albons. This
widow, having a sute to the king for such lands as hir husband had
given hir in jointure, so kindled the kings affection, that he not onelie
favoured hir sute, but more hir person. For she was a woman of a
more formall countenance, than of excellent beautie; and yet both
of such beautie and favour, that with hir sober demeanour, sweete
looks, and comelie smiling, neither too wanton nor too bashfuU, be-
sides hir pleasant toong and trim wit, she so alured and made sub-
ject unto hir the heart of that great prince, that, after she had denied
him to be his paramour, with so good maner, and words so well set
as better could not be devised, he flnallie resolved with himselfe to
marrie hir, not asking counsell of anie man, till they might per-
ceive it was no bootie to advise him to the contrarie of that his pur-
pose."— H. N. H.
119. "your prisoner"; the reading of Ff., Capell (from Qq.), "as
prisoner"; Id. conj. "o prisoner" — I. G.
gg Digitized by CjOOQIC
Act III. Sc. h. THE THIRD PART OF
K. Edw. See that he be convey'd unto the Tower:
And go we, brothers, to the man that took him.
To question of his apprehension. 122
Widow, go you along. Lords, use her honor-
ably. [Exeunt all hut Gloucester.
Glou. Aye, Edward will use women honorably.
Would he were wasted, marrow, bones and all.
That from his loins no hopeful branch may
spring,
To cross me from the golden time I look for!
And yet, between my soul's desire and me —
The lustful Edward's title buried—
Is Clarence, Henry, and his son young Edward,
And all the unlook'd for issue of their bodies.
To take their rooms, ere I can place myself: 132
A cold premeditation for my purpose!
Why, then, I do but dream on sovereignty;
Like one that stands upon a promontory.
And spies a far-off shore where he would tread.
Wishing his foot were equal with his eye,
And chides the sea that sunders him from
thence.
Saying, he 'U lade it dry to have his way:
So do I wish the crown, being so far off ; 140
And so I chide the means that keeps me from
it;
And so I say, I '11 cut the causes off,
Flattering me with impossibilities.
My eye 's too quick, my heart o'erweens too
much,
143. "Flattering me with imposaihilitiet^ ; Pope, "Flatfring my
mind vnlh things impossible"; ("«?e"=''myself').— I. G.
84 .yu.ed by Google
KING HENRY VI Act ill. Sc. u.
Unless my hand and strength could equal them.
Well, say there is no kingdom then for Richard;
What other pleasure can the world afford?
I 'U make my heaven in a lady's lap,
And deck my body in gay ornaments,
And witch sweet ladies with my words and
looks. 150
O miserable thought! and more unlikely
Than to accomplish twenty golden crowns I
Why, love forswore me in my mother's womb:
And, for I should not deal in her soft laws>
She did corrupt frail nature with some bribe,
To shrink mine arm up like a withered shrub;
To make an envious mountain on my back.
Where sits deformity to mock my body;
To shape my legs of an unequal size;
To disproportion me in every part, 160
Like to a chaos, or an imlick'd bear-whelp
That carries no impression like the dam.
And am I then a man to be beloved?
monstrous fault, to harbor such a thought I
Then, since this earth affords no joy to me,
But to command, to check, to overbear such
As are of better person than myself,
1 '11 make my heaven to dream upon the crown,
And, whiles I live, to account this world but
hell.
Until my mis-shaped trunk that bears this
head 170
156. "shrub"; Qq., "shHrnpe."—!. G.
170. "Until my mis-shaped trunk that bears this head"; the read-
ing of Ff. 1, 2; Ff. 3, 4, "Until this . . , head"; Pope, "Until
85 Digitized by Google
Act III. Sc. ii. THE THIRD PART OF
Be round impaled with a glorious crown.
And yet I know not how to get the crown.
For many lives stand between me and home:
And I, — ^like one lost in a thorny wood,
That rends the thorns and is rent with the
thorns.
Seeking a way and straying from the way;
Not knowing how to find the open air.
But toiling desperately to find it out, —
Torment myself to catch the English crown:
And from that torment I will free myself, 180
Or hew my way out with a bloody axe.
Why, I can smile, and murder whiles I smile,
And cry 'Content* to that which grieves my
heart,
And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,
And frame my face to all occasions.
1 11 drown more sailors than the mermaid shall;
I '11 slay more gazers than the basilisk;
I *11 play the orator as well as Nestor,
Deceive more slily than Ulysses could.
And, like a Sinon, take another Troy. 190
I can add colors to the chameleon.
Change shapes with Proteus for advantages,
And set the murderous Machiavel to school.
the . . • hea^'; Thirlby, "Until the head of this mis-shapen
trunif'; Hanmer, "UntU the head this mis-shap'd trunk doth bear,"
&c.— I. G.
190. "Sinon," who persuaded the Trojans to take the wooden horse
into Troy.— C. H. H.
19a "the murderous Machiavel"; Warburton (from Qq.), "th' as-
piring OatUine"; Ff. 1, 3, "Macheuill"; F. 4, "MatchevU/'—l. G.
86 Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act III. Sc. in.
Can I do this, and cannot get a crown?
,Tut, were it further offf I 'U pluck it down.
lEmt.
Scene III
France. The King's Palace.
Flourish. Enter Lewis the French King, his sis-
ter Bona, his Admiral, called Bourbon: Prince
Edward, Queen Margaret, and the Earl of Ox-
ford. Lewis sits, and riseth up again.
K Lew. Fair Queen of England, worthy Mar-
garet,
Sit down with us: it ill befits thy state
And birth, iliat thou shouldst stand while Lewis
doth sit.
Q. Mar. No, mighty King of France: now Mar-
garet
Must strike her sail and learn a while to serve
Where kings command. I was, I must con-
fess,
Great Albion's queen in former golden days:
But now mischance hath trod my title down.
And with dishonor laid me on the ground;
Where I must take like seat unto my fortune, 10
And to my humble seat conform myself.
K. Lew. Why, say, fair queen, whence springs this
deep despair?
3. "while Lewis doth sif; Rowe, ''whiles Lewie eiU^; Pope, "while
L&wie sits."—!. G.
11. "seat"; Walker conj. "state."— 1. G.
Digitized by CnOOglC-^
Act III. Sc. iii. THE THIRD PART OF
Q. Mar. From such a cause as fills mine eyes with
tears,
And stops my tongue, while heart is drown'd in
cares.
m. Lew. Whate'er it be, be thou still like thyself,
And sit thee by our side: [^Seats her by hirri]
yield not thy neck
To fortune's yoke, but let thy dauntless mind
Still ride in triumph over all mischance.
Be plain, Queen Margaret, and tell thy grief;
It shall be eased, if France can yield relief. 20
Q. Mar. Those gracious words revive my drooping
thoughts.
And give my tongue-tied sorrows leave to
speak.
Now, therefore, be it known to noble Lewis,
That Henry, sole possessor of my love.
Is of a king become a banish'd man.
And forced to live in Scotland a forlorn;
While proud ambitious Edward Duke of York
Usurps the regal title, and the seat
Of England's true-anointed lawful king.
This is the cause that I, poor Margaret, 30
With this my son. Prince Edward, Henry's
heir.
Am come to crave thy just and lawful aid;
And if thou fail us, all our hope is done:
Scotland hath will to help, but cannot help;
Our people and our peers are both misled,
Our treasure seized, our soldiers put to flight.
And, as thou seest, ourselves in heavy plight.
88
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KING HENRY VI Act ill. Sc. iii.
K. Lew. Renowned queen, with patience calm the
storm.
While we bethink a means to break it off.
Q. Mar. The more we stay, the stronger grows our
foe. . 40
K. Lew. The more I stay, the more I *11 succor
thee.
Q. Mar. O, but impatience waiteth on true sorrow!
And see where comes the breeder of my sor-
rowl
Enter Warwick.
K. Lew. What's he approacheth boldly to our
presence?
42. "waiUth on true sorrow"; Warburton, "waiting rues to-mor-
row,"— I, G.
44. "Enter Warwick." The part which Warwick is made to act
in tliis scene, though amply justified by the Chronicles, seems to have
little or no foundation in fact. The king was privately married to
the lady Elizabeth Grey, May 1, 1464, and there was no open rupture
between him and Warwick till the fall of 1468, though the elements
had long been secretly preparing for a storm. The causes that
finally set the king-maker so fiercely against his royal creature are
clouded in mystery; perhaps, as hath been said, *Ve need seek no
further than that jealousy and ingratitude which is too often expe-
rienced in those who are under obligations too great to be dis-
charged." For settling the point in hand, probably the best we
can do is to quote from Dr. Lingard. "Many writers," says he,
**tell us that the enmity of Warwick arose from his disappointment,
caused by Edward's clandestine marriage with Elizabeth. If we
may believe them, the earl was at that very time in France, nego-
tiating on the part of the king a marriage with Bona of Savoy, sister
to the queen of France; and, having succeeded in his mission,
brought back with him the count of Dampmartin as ambassador from
Louis. To me this whole story appears a fiction. 1. It is not to be
found in the more ancient historians. 9. Warwick was not at that
time in France. On the 20th of April, ten days before the marriage,
he was employed in negotiating a truce with the French envoys In
London, and on the 126th of May, about three weeks after it, was
appointed to treat of another truce with the king of Scots
Act III. Sc. m. THE THIRD PART OF
Q. Mar. Our Earl of Warwick, Edward's greatest
friend.
K. Lew. Welcome, brave Warwick I What brings
thee to France?
[He descends. She ariseih.
Q. Mar. Aye, now begins a second storm to rise;
For this is he that moves both wind and tide.
War. From worthy Edward, king of Albion,
My lord and sovereign, and thy vowed friend,
I come, in kindness and mif eigned love, 51
First, to do greetings to thy royal person;
And then to crave a league of amity;
And lastly, to confirm that amity
With nuptial knot, if thou vouchsafe to grant
That virtuous Lady Bona, thy fair sister.
To England's king in lawful marriage.
Q. Mar. [Aside'] If that go forward, Henry's
hope is done.
War. [To Bona'] And, gracious madam, in our
king's behalf, 59
I am commanded, with your leave and favor, .
Humbly to kiss your hand, and with my tongue
To tell the passion of my sovereign's heart;
Where fame, late entering at his heedful ears.
Hath placed thy beauty's image and thy vir-
tue.
Q. Mar. Eang Lewis and Lady Bona, hear me
speak.
Before you answer Warwick. His demand
could he bring Dampmartin with him to England; for that noble-
man was committed a prisoner to the Bastile in September, 1463, and
remained there till May, 1465."— H. N. H.
45. "Our"; Collier MS., "The"; Vaughan conj. "Proud."— I, G.
90 Digitized by CnOOglC
KING HENRY VI Act ill. Sc. m.
Springs not from Edward's well-meant honest
love,
But from deceit bred by necessity;
For how can tyrants safely govern home.
Unless abroad they purchase great alliance? 70
To prove him tjrrant this reason may suffice,
That Henry liveth still; but were he dead.
Yet here Prince Edward stands, King Henry's
son.
Look, therefore, Lewis, that by this league and
marriage
Thou draw not on thy danger and dishonor;
For though usurpers sway the rule a while.
Yet heavens are just, and time suppresseth
wrongs.
War. Injurious Margaret!
Prince. And why not queen?
War. (Because thy father Henry did usurp;
And thou no more art prince than she is
queen. 80
Oxf. Then Warwick disannuls great John of
Gaunt,
Which did subdue the greatest part of Spain;
And, after John of Gaunt, Henry the Fourth,
Whose wisdom was a mirror to the wisest;
And, after that wise prince, Henry the Fifth,
Who by his prowess conquered all France:
75. "thy*'; Johnson, ''thee/'— I. G.
83. This error was not derived from Holinshed. Gaunt in reality
obtained only a few transient successes in Spain. Mr. Daniel sug-
gests that "popular belief may have magnified these successes"; quot-
ing the title of a play known only from Henslowe's Diary: The
Conquest of Spayne by John a Gant (Apr. 11, 1601).— C. H. H.
91
Digiti:
ized by Google
Act III. Sc. iii. THE THIRD PART OF
From these our Henry lineally descends.
War. Oxford, how haps it, in this smooth dis-
course.
You told not how Henry the Sixth hath lost
All that which Henry the Fifth had gotten? 90
Methinks these peers of France should smile at
that.
But for the rest, you tell a pedigree
Of threescore and two years; a silly time
To make prescription for a kingdom's worth.
Oxf. Why, Warwick, canst thou speak against thy
liege.
Whom thou obey'st thirty and six years.
And not bewray thy treason with a blush?
War. Can Oxford, that did ever fence the right.
Now buckler falsehood with a pedigree?
For shame I leave Henry, and call Edward
king. 100
Owf. Call him my king by whose injurious doom
My elder brother, the Lord Aubrey Vere,
Was done to death? and more than so, my
father.
Even in the downfall of his mellow'd years.
When nature brought him to the door of death?
§6. "thirty and six years"; Qq., "thirtie and eight"; the correct
■umber, according to Malone. — I. G.
109. This was during Edward's first parliament, in 1461, and is
thus mentioned in the Chronicles: "The earle of Oxford, far striken
in age, and his sonne and heire, the lord Awbreie Veer either through
malice or their enimies, or for that they had offended the king, were
iNith, with diverse or their counsellors, attainted and put to execu-
tions which caused John earle of Oxford ever after to rebell." — It
will not be amiss to add, that this little speech, relishing so choicely
•f Shakespeare, is but very slightly altered from the quarto.— -H.
^ H.
Q2 Digitized by CjOOQIC
KING HENRY VI Act ill. Sc. m.
•
No, Warwick, no; while life upholds this arm,
This ann upholds the house of Lancaster.
War. And I the house of York.
K. Lew. Queen Margaret, Prince Edward, and
Oxford,
Vouchsafe, at our request, to stand aside, 110
While I use further conference with Warwick.
[They stand aloof.
Q. Mar. Heavens grant that Warwick's words be-
witch him not I
K. Lew. Now, Warwick, tell me, even upon thy
conscience,
Is Edward your true king? for I were loath
To link with him that were not lawful chosen.
War. Thereon I pawn my credit and mine honor.
K. Lew. But is he gracious in the people's eye?
War. The more that Henry was unfortunate.
K. Lew. Then further, all dissembling set aside,
TeU me for truth the measure of his love 120
Unto our sister Bona.
War. Such it seems
As may beseem a monarch like himself.
Myself have often heard him say and swear
That this his love was an eternal plant,
Whereof the root was fix'd in virtue's groimd,
The leaves and fruit maintain'd with beauty's
sun.
Exempt from envy, but not from disdain.
Unless the Lady Bona quit his pain.
124. **an eternal planf; Warburton's emendation (from Qq.); ^^
read "an externall p"; Hanmer, "a perennial p," — I. G.
127. "Exempt from envy, but not from disdain"; t. e. not liable to
malice or hatred, altho' not secured from female disdain. — I. G
93 .^.^>^^^^.-.^.^^a-
Act III. Sc. iii. THE THIRD PART OF
K. Lew. Now, sister, let us hear your firm resolve.
Bona. Your grant, or your denial, shall be mine:
[To War.'] Yet I confess that often ere this
day, 131
When I have heard your king's desert re-
counted,
Mine ear hath tempted judgment to desire.
K. Lew. Then, Warwick, thus: our sister shall be
Edward's:
And now forthwith shall articles be drawn
Touching the jointure that your king must
make.
Which with her dowry shall be counterpoised.
Draw near. Queen Margaret, and be a witness
That Bona shall be wife to the English king.
Prince. To Edward, but not to the English king.
Q. Mar. Deceitful Warwick! it was thy device 141
By this alliance to make void my suit:
Before thy coming Lewis was Henry's friend.
K. Lew. And still is friend to him and Margaret:
But if your title to the crown be weak.
As may appear by Edward's good success.
Then 'tis but reason that I be released
From giving aid which late I promised.
Yet shall you have all kindness at my hand
That your estate requires and mine can yield.
War. Henry now lives in Scotland at his ease, 151
Where having nothing, nothing can he lose.
And as for you yourself, our quondam queen.
You have a father able to maintain you;
133. "UmpUd"; Vaughan, "temper'd.''—l. G.
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KING HENRY VI Act ill. Sc. m.
And better 'twere you troubled him than
France.
Q. Mar. Peace, impudent and shameless Warwick,
peace.
Proud setter up and puller down of kings!
I will not hence, till, with my talk and tears.
Both full of truth, I make King Lewis behold
Thy sly conveyance, and thy lord's false
love; 160
For both of you are birds of selfsame feather,
\T?ost blows a horn within.
K. Lew. Warwick, this is some post to us or thee.
Enter a Post.
Post. \To War.'] My lord ambassador, these let-
ters are for you,
Sent from yom* brother. Marquess Montague:
[To Lewis'] These from our king unto your ma-
jesty:
[To Margaret] And, madam, these for you;
from whom I know not.
[They all read their letters.
Oxf. I like it well that our fair queen and mistress
Smiles at her news, while Warwick frowns at
his.
Prince. Nay, mark how Lewis stamps, as he were
nettled:
I hope all 's for the best. 170
JL. Lew. Warwick, what are thy news? aiid yours,
fair queen?
156. "Warwick, feact^*; the reading of Ff. 2, 3, 4; F. 1, "War-
wtcik/'— I. G.
95 Digitized by Google
Act III. Sc. iii. THE THIRD PART OF
Q. Mar. Mine, such as fill my heart with unhoped
joys.
War. Mine, full of sorrow and heart's discontent.
K. Lew. Whatl has your king married the Lady
Grey?
And now, to soothe your forgery and his.
Sends me a paper to persuade me patience?
Is this the alliance that he seeks with France?
Dare he presume to scorn us in this manner?
Q. Mar. I told your majesty as much before:
This proveth Edward's love and Warwick's
honesty. 180
War. King Lewis, I here protest, in sight of
heaven.
And by the hope I have of heavenly bliss,
That I am clear from this misdeed of Edward's,
No more my king, for he dishonors me.
But most himself, if he could see his shame.
Did I forget that by the house of York
My father came untimely to his death?
Did I let pass the abuse done to my niece?
Did I impale him with the regal crown?
Did I put Henry from his native right? 190
And am I guerdon'd at the last with shame?
Shame on himself! for my desert is honor:
187. This is a mistake. Salisbury was wounded and taken prisoner
by the Lancastrians in the battle of Wakefield; was soon after be-
headed, and his head, along with York's, set upon the gates of York.
— H. N. H.
188. **King Edward did attempt a thing once in the earles house,
which was much against the earles honestie, (whether he would have
deilowred his daughter or his neec€, the certaintie was not for both
nours revealed,) for surely such a thing was attempted by
ard."— ffo/iiwA^d.— H. N. H.
96 Digitized by Google
200
KING HENRY VI Act III. Sc. iii.
And to repair my honor lost for him,
I here renounce him and return to Henry.
My noble queen, let former grudges pass,
And henceforth I am thy true servitor:
I will revenge his wrong to Lady Bona,
And replant Henry in his former state.
Q. Mar. Warwick, these words have tum'd my
hate to love;
And I forgive and quite forget old faults,
And joy that thou becomest King Henry's
friend.
War. So much his friend, aye, his unfeigned
friend.
That, if King Lewis vouchsafe to furnish us
With some few bands of chosen soldiers,
I '11 undertake to land them on our coast.
And force the tyrant from his seat by war.
'Tis not his new-made bride shall succor him:
And as for Clarence, as my letters tell me.
He 's very likely now to fall from him.
For matching more for wanton lust than
honor, 210
Or than for strength and safety of our country.
Bona. Dear brother, how shall Bona be revenged
But by thy help to this distressed queen?
Q. Mar. Renowned prince, how shall poor Henry
live.
Unless thou rescue him from foul despair?
Bona. My quarrel and this English queeti'is are
one.
War. And mine, fair Lady Bona, joins with yoursl.
IV 7 97 Digitized by GoOglC
Act III. Sc. iii. THE THIRD PART OF
K. Lew. And mine with hers, and thine, and Mar-
garet's.
Therefore at last I firmly am resolved
You shall have aid. 220
Q. Mar. Let me give humble thanks for all at once.
K. Lew. Then, England's messenger, return in
post.
And tell false Edward, thy supposed king,
That Lewis of France is sending over masquers,
To revel it with him and his new bride :
Thou seest what's past, go fear thy king
withal.
Bona. Tell him, in hope he'll prove a widower
shortly,
I 'U wear the willow garland for his sake.
Q. Mar. Tell him, my mourning weeds are laid
aside.
And I am ready to put armor on. 230
War. Tell him from me that he hath done me
wrong.
And therefore I 'U uncrown him ere 't be long.
There 's thy reward: be gone. [Eccit Post.
K. Lew. But, Warwick,
Thou and Oxford, with five thousand men,
S28. "I'll/' Capell (from Qq) ; Ff. read "/."—I. G.
S33, 934. "But, Warwick, Thau and Oxford, tnth five thousand
men"; Theobald, "But, Warwick, Thyself and . . . men"; Han-
mer, "But Warwick, thou Thyself and . . . men"; Steevens, "But,
Warwiek, thou And . . . men"; Collier MS., "But, Warwick, thou
And . . . warlike men"; Keightley, "But, Warwick, Thou and
Lard . . . men"; Anon. conj. "But, Warwick, thou And . . .
\ of mine." Perhaps, as an anonymous scholar has suggested, the
should be read as an Alexandrine. — I. G.
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KING HENRY VI Act ill. Sc. iii.
Shall cross the seas, and bid false Edward bat-
tle;
And as occasion serves, this noble queen
And prince shall follow with a fresh supply.
Yet, ere thou go, but answer me one doubt.
What pledge have we of thy firm loyalty?
War. This shall assure my constant loyalty, 240
That if our queen and this young prince agree,
I '11 join mine eldest daughter and my joy
To him forthwith in holy wedlock bands.
Q. Mar. Yes, I agree, and thank you for your mo-
tion.
Son Edward, she is fair and virtuous,
Therefore delay not, give thy hand to War-
wick;
And, with thy hand, thy faith irrevocable.
That only Warwick's daughter shall be thine.
Prince. Yes, I accept her, for she well deserves it;
And here, to pledge my vow, I give my
hand. 250
[_He gives his hand to Warwick.
K. Lew. Why stay we now? These soldiers shall
be levied.
And thou, Lord Bourbon, our high admiral,
Shalt waft them over with our royal fleet.
I long till Edward fall by war's mischance.
For mocking marriage with a dame of France.
[Exeunt all hut Warwick.
24i2. "Mine eldest daughter"; the reading of Ff. (following Qq.);
Theobald (from Holinshed), "my younger d," It was, however,
Anne, Warwick's second daughter, whom Edward married. — I. G.
253. "8haltr the reading of Ff. 2, 3, 4; F. 1, "8h<ai:'—l, G
00
8i0349ie
Act III. Sc. iiL THE THIRD PART OF
War. I came from Edward as ambassador.
But I return his sworn and mortal foe:
Matter of marriage was the charge he gave me,
But dreadful war shall answer his demand.
Had he none else to make a stale but me? 260
Then none but I shall turn his jest to sorrow.
I was the chief that raised him to the crown.
And I 'U be chief to bring him down again:
Not that I pity Henry's misery,
But seek revenge on Edward's mockery.
100
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KING HENRY VI Act. iv. Sc i.
ACT FOURTH
Scene I
London. The palace.
Enter Gloucester, Clarence, Somerset and
Montague.
GUm. Now tell me, brother Clarence, what 'think
you
Of this new marriage with the Lady Grey?
Hath not our brother made a worthy choice?
Clar. Alas, you know, 'tis far from hence to
France;
How could he stay till Warwick made return?
Som. My lords, forbear this talk; here comes the
king.
Glou. And his well-chosen bride.
Clar. I mind to tell him plainly what I think.
Flourish. Enter King Edward, attended; Lady
Grey, as Queen; Pembroke, Stafford, Hast-
ings, and others.
K. Edw. Now, brother Clarence, how like you our
choice,
That you stand pensive, as half malcontent? 10
Clar. As well as Lewis of France, or the Earl of
Warwick,
^01 ^ itized by Google
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Act IV. Sc. i. THE THIRD PART OF
Which are so weak of courage and in judg-
ment
That thejr '11 take no offense at our abuse.
K. Edw. Suppose they take offense without a
cause.
They are but Lewis and Warwick: I am Ed-
ward,
Your king and Warwick's, and must have my
will.
Glou. And shall have your will, because our king :
Yet hasty marriage seldom proveth well.
K. Edw. Yea, brother Richard, are you offended
• too?
GUm. Not I: 20
No, Gtod forbid that I should wish them severed
Whom Gk)d hath joined together; aye, and
'twere pity
To sunder them that yoke so well together.
K. Edw. Setting your scorns and your mislike
aside,
Tell me some reason why the Lady Grey
Should not become my wife and England's
queen.
And you too, Somerset and Montague,
Speak freely what you think.
Clar. Then this is mine opinion: that King Lewis
Becomes your enemy, for mocking him 30
About the marriage of the Lady Bona.
13. "our^; Capell» ''your.*'— I. G.
17. ''And 9haXr: Rowe, "And you $h<dV'; Walker, "Ay, €md tAoI/,"
or ''Marry, cmd t ftoW.**— I. G.
102
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KING HENRY VI Act. iv. Sc. i.
Glou. And Warwick, doing what you gave in
charge.
Is now dishonored by this new marriage.
K. Edw. What if both Lewis and Warwick be ap-
peased
By such invention as I can devise?
Mont. Yet, to have joined with France in such al-
liance
Would more have strengthened this our com-
monwealth
'Gainst foreign storms than any home-bred mar-
riage.
Hast. Why, knows not Montague that of itself
England is safe, if true within itself? 40
Mont. But the safer when 'tis back'd with France.
Hast. 'Tis better using France than trusting
France:
Let us be backed with Gk)d and with the seas.
Which he hath given for fence impregnable,
And with their helps only defend ourselves;
In them and in ourselves our safety lies.
Clar. For this one speech Lord Hastings well de-
serves
To have the heir of the Lord Hungerf ord.
K. Edw. Aye, what of that? it was my will and
grant;
And for this once my will shall stand for law. 50
41. ''BiU the tafer"; Ff. 2, 3, 4, "Yes, but the safer/' S. Walker
conj. "But then the safer"; Keightley, "Ay, but the safer"; Anon,
conj. "But yet the safei"; Vaughan, "But all the safer^; F, 2,
'safter."^!. G.
49. "using"; Vaughan, "losing/'^l. G.
Digitized by CiOOgle
Act IV. Sc. i. THE THIRD PART OF
Olou. And yet methinks your grace hath not done
well,
To give the heir and daughter of Lord Scales
Unto the brother of your loving bride;
She better would have fitted me or Clarence:
But in your bride you bury brotherhood.
Clar. Or else you would not have bestow'd the heir
Of the Lord Bonville on your new wife's son,
And leave your brothers to go speed elsewhere.
K. Edw. Alas, poor Clarence! is it for a wife
That thou art malcontent? I will provide
thee. 60
Clar. In choosing for yourself, you showed your
judgment.
Which being shallow, you shall give me leave
To play the broker in mine own behalf;
And to that end I shortly mind to leave you.
K. Edw. Leave me, or tarry, Edward will be king.
And not be tied imto his brother's will.
56. Until the Restoration minors coming into possession of great
estates were in the wardship of the king, who bestowed them on
his favorites, or in other words gave them up to plunder, and after-
wards disposed of them in marriage as he pleased. — H. N. H.
58. The king's advancement of his wife's family is thus mentioned
by Holinshed: "Hir father was created earle Rivers, and made
high constable of England: hir brother, lord Anthonie, was married to
the sole heire of Thomas lord Scales: sir Thomas Graie, sonne to sir
John Graie, the queens first husband, was created marquesse of
Dorset, and married to Cicelie, heire to the lord Bonville." In fact,
however, the queen's son Thomas was married to Anne, the king's
niece, daughter and heiress to the duke of Exeter. These things
were done in the spring of 1465, the king's marriage having been
pablidy acknowledged a short time before, and the queen having
been introduced at court and crowned. — H. N. H.
66. "brother^i^; Rowe's emendation of Pf., "Brothere"; Anon. conj.
•"— I.G.
104 Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act iv. Sc i.
Q. Eliz. My lords, before it pleased his majesty
To raise my state to title of a queen,
Do me but right, and you must all confess
That I was not ignoble of descent; 70
And meaner than myself have had like fortune.
But as this title honors me and mine.
So your dislike, to whom I would be pleasing.
Doth cloud my joys with danger and with sor-
row.
K. Edw. My love, forbear to fawn upon their
frowns:
What danger or what sorrow can befall thee.
So long as Edward is thy constant friend.
And their true sovereign, whom they must
obey?
Nay, whom they shall obey, and love thee too,
Unless they seek for hatred at my hands; 80
Which if they do, yet will I keep thee safe.
And they shall feel the vengeance of my wrath.
GrUm. I hear, yet say not much, but think the more-
{Aside.
Enter a Post.
K. Edw. Now, messenger, what letters or what
news
From France?
Post. My sovereign liege, no letters; and few
words,
70. Her father was Sir Richard Woodville, afterwards earl of
Rivers; her mother Jaquetta, duchess dowager of Bedford, who
was daughter of Peter of Luxemburg, earl of St Paul, and widow
of John duke of Bedford, brother to King Henry V. — H. N, H.
73, 74. "dislike . . . Doth"; Ff., ''dislikes . . . Doth";
Rowc, "dislikes . . . Do.*— I. G.
105
Digiti:
ized by Google
Act IV. Sc. i. THE THIRD PART OF
But such as I, without your special pardon.
Dare not relate.
K. Edw. Go to, we pardon thee: therefore, in brief,
Tell me their words as near as thou canst guess
them. 90
What answer makes King Lewis unto our let-
ters?
Post. At my depart, these were his very words :
'Gk) tell false Edward, thy supposed king,
That Lewis of France is sending over mas-
quers
To revel it with him and his new bride.'
K. Edw. Is Lewis so brave? belike he thinks me
Henry.
But what said Lady Bona to my marriage?
Post. These were her words, utter'd with mild dis-
dain:
*Tell him, in hope he 'U prove a widower shortly,
I '11 wear the willow garland for his sake.' 100
K. Edw. I blame not her, she could say little less ;
She had the wrong. But what said Henry's
queen?
For I have heard that she was there in place.
Post. *^Tell him,' quoth she, *my mourning weeds
are done.
And I am ready to put armor on.'
K. Edw. Belike she minds to play the Amazon.
But what said Warwick to these injuries?
Post. He, more incensed against your majesty
89, 90. "therefore, in brief, Tell me"; F. 1, "Therefore, in brief e,
tell me'; Ff. 2, 3, 4, "Therefore, in brief e, telV; Pope, "So tell,"-
I. G.
93. "thy"; Rowe (from Qq.); Ff., "Ihe."--!. G.
^^^ - itized by Google
Digitize
KING HENRY VI Act. IV. Sc. i.
Than all the rest, discharged me with these
words:
'Tell him from me that he hath done me
wrong, 110
And therefore I '11 uncrown him ere 't be long.'
K. Edw. Ha! durst the traitor breathe out so proud
words?
Well, I will arm me, being thus forewam'd:
They shall have wars and pay for their pre-
sumption.
But say, is Warwick friends with Margaret?
Post. Aye, gracious sovereign; they are so link'd
in friendship,
That young Prince Edward marries Warwick's
daughter.
Clar. Belike the elder; Clarence will have the
younger.
Now, brother king, farewell, and sit you fast,
For I will hence to Warwick's other daugh-
ter; 120
That, though I want a kingdom, yet in mar-
riage
I may not prove inferior to yourself.
You that love me and, Warwick, follow me.
lEoAt ClarencCj and Somerset follows.
118. "elder . . . younger"; Ff. (from Qq.); Theobald, "younger
. . . elder:*—!. G.
133. Johnson has remarked upon the actual improbability of Clar-
ence making this speech in the king's hearing. When the earl of
Essex attempted to raise a rebellion in the city, with a design, as was
supposed, to storm the queen's palace, he ran about the streets with
his sword drawn, crying out, **They that love me, follow me." —
H. N. H.
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Act IV. Sc. i. THE THIRD PART OF
Glou. lAside^ Not I:
My thoughts aim at a further matter; I
Stay not for the love of Edward, but the crown,
K. Edw. Clarence and Somerset both gone to War-
wick I
Yet am I arm'd against the worst can happen;
And haste is needful in this desperate case.
Pembroke and Stafford, you in our behalf 130
Go levy men, and make prepare for war;
They are already, or quickly will be landed:
Myself in person will straight follow you.
[Exeunt Pembroke and Stafford.
But, ere I go, Hastings and Montague,
Resolve my doubt. You twain, of all the rest,
Are near to Warwick by blood and by alliance:
Tell me if you love Warwick more than me;
If it be so, then both depart to him;
I rather wish you foes than hollow friends:
But if you mind to hold your true obedience, 140
Give me assurance with some friendly vow,
That I may never have you in suspect.
Mont. So God help Montague as he proves true!
Hast. And Hastings as he favors Edward's cause!
K. Edw. Now, brother Richard, will you stand by
us?
Glou. Aye, in despite of all that shall withstand
you.
K. Edw. Why, so! then am I sure of victory.
Now therefore let us hence; and lose no hour,
TiU we meet Warwick with his foreign power.
[Exewnt.
126. "the love"; Pope, "love,"— I. G.
'^et am I arm'd"; Vaughan, "Yet am I waru'd."--!. G.
108 - ™- d -
KING HENRY VI Act IV. Sc. ii.
Scene II
A plain in Warwickshire.
Enter Warwick and Oxford, with French soldiers.
War. Trust me, my lord, all hitherto goes well;
The common people by nmnbers swarm to us.
Enter Clarence and Somerset.
But see where Somerset and Clarence comes!
Speak suddenly, my lords, are we all friends?
Clar. Fear not that, my lord.
War. Then, gentle Clarence, welcome unto War-
wick;
And welcome, Somerset: I hold it cowardice
To rest mistrustful where a noble heart
Hath pawn'd an open hand in sign of love;
Else might I think that Clarence, Edward's
brother, 10
iWere but a feigned friend to our proceedings:
But welcome, sweet Clarence; my daughter
shall be thine.
And now what rests but, in night's coverture.
Thy brother being carelessly encamped.
His soldiers lurking in the towns about,
And but attended by a simple guard,
"We may surprise and take him at our pleasure?
Our scouts have found the adventure very easy:
19. "Sweet Clarence"; Pope, "friend"; Capell, "Clarence." Many
modem editions omit ^'hut." — I. G.
15. "towMT; Theobald (Thirlby conj.); Ff^ "toioik*'— I. G.
109 .,_ .^oogle
Act IV. Sc. iu. THE THIRD PART OF
That as Ulysses and stout Diomede
With sleight and manhood stole to Rhesus'
tents, 20
And brought from thence the Thraeian fatal
steeds.
So we, well cover'd with the night's black man-
tle,
At unawares may beat down Edward's guard.
And seize himself; I say not, slaughter him.
For I intend but only to surprise him.
You that will follow me to tliis attempt.
Applaud the name of Heniy with your leader.
[They all cry, 'Henry!'
Why, then, let 's on our way in silent sort:
For Warwick and his friends, God and Saint
(Jeorge! [Exeunt.
Scene III
Edward's camp, near Wnrwick.
Enter three watchmen, to guard the King's tent.
First Watch. Come on, my masters, each man take
his stand:
The king by this is set him down to sleep.
Second Watch. What, will he not to bed?
21. It had been prophesied that if the horses of the Tliracian
Rhesus drank of the Xanthus and grazed on the Trojan plains, the
Greeks would never take Troy. Wherefore Diomede and Ulysses
killed him at night, and carried off his horses. Vide Iliad, x.; Ovid,
Metamorphoses, xiii. 98-108, 949-252. Virgil, ^neid, i. 4(59-473.—
I. G.
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KING HENRY VI Act iv. Sc. iii.
First Watch. Why, no; for he hath made a solemn
vow.
Never to lie and take his natural rest,
Till Warwick or himself be quite suppress'd.
Second Watch. To-morrow then belike shall be the
day.
If Warwick be so near as men report.
Third Watch. But say, I pray, what nobleman is
that.
That with the king here resteth in his tent? 10
First Watch. ^Tis the Lord Hastings, the king's
chief est friend.
Third Watch. O, is it so? But why conunands the
king
That his chief followers lodge in towns about
him.
While he himself keeps in the cold field?
Second Watch. 'Tis the more honor, because more
dangerous.
Third Watch. Aye, but give me worship and quiet-
ness;
I like it better than a dangerous honor.
If Warwick knew in what estate he stands,
'Tis to be doubted he would waken him.
First Watch. Unless our halfcerds did shut up his
passage. 20
Second Watch, Aye, wherefore else guard we his
royal tent.
But to defend his person from night-foes ?
14. "keeps"; so Ff. 3, 4; Ff. 1, 2, "keepes"; Theobald *'keepetli";
Hanmer, ^'keeps here"; Vaughan, "keeps out"; Keightley, "^
here."—l. G.
14. "more dangerous"; so Ff. 1, 2; Ff. 3, 4, 'Uhe more rf/'
mer, "dangerous" — 1 G. Digitized by dooglc
Act IV. Sc. iii. THE THIRD PART OF
Enter Warwick^ Clarence, Oxford, Somerset, and
French soldiers, silent all.
War. This is hisf tent; and see where stand his
guard.
Courage, my masters! honor now or never I
But follow me, and Edward shall be ours.
First Watch. Who goes there?
Second Watch. Stay, or thou diest!
[Warwick and the rest cry all, 'Warwick!
Warwick^ and set upon the Ghiard, who
fly, crying, ^Arml armt Warwick and
the rest following them.
The drum playing and trumpet sounding, re-enter
Warwick, Somerset, and the rest, bringing the
King out in his gown, sitting in a chair. Rich-
ard and Hastings fly over the stage.
Som. What are they that fly there?
War. Richard and Hastings: let them go; here is
the duke.
K. Edw. The duke! Why, War'vick, when we
parted, 30
Thou call'dst me king.
War. Aye, but the casf is altered:
When you disgraced me in my embajssade,
Then I degraded you from being king.
And come now to create you Duke of York.
Alas! how should you govern any kingdom^
That know not how to use ambassadors.
Nor how to be contented with one wife,
Nor how to use your brothers brotherly.
Nor how to study for the people's welfare,
112 ^.^>^^^u-.^.^^a-
KING HENRY VI Act IV. Sc. iii.
Nor how to shroud yourself from enemies? 40
K. Edw. Yea, brother of Clarence, art thou here
too?
Nay, then I see that Edward needs must down.
Yet, Warwick, in despite of all mischance.
Of thee thyself and aU thy complices,
Edward will always bear himself as king:
Though fortune's malice overthrow my state.
My mind exceeds the compass of her wheel.
War. Then, for his mind, be Edward England's
king: ITakes oif his crown.
But Henry now shall wear the English crown.
And be true king indeed, thou but the shadow.
My Lord of Somerset, at my request, 51
See that forthwith Duke Edward be conveyed
Unto my brother. Archbishop of York.
When I have fought with Pembroke and his
fellows,
I 'U follow you, and tell what answer
Lewis and llie Lady Bona send to him.
Now, for a while farewell, good Duke of York.
[They lead him off forcibly.
K. Edw. What fates impose, that men must needs
abide;
It boots not to resist both wind and tide.
lEadtj guarded.
41. "Yea, brother of Clarence, art thou here toof^; Pope, "Brother
19/ C; and art thou here too?**; Capell, "Tea, brother of C, and art
lfto« Aere toor—l. G.
56. "tell what arnwer^; Pope, "tell you what reply"; Capell, "tell
M grace what answer^; Keightley, "tell him what anewer^; Anon,
conj. "tell the duke what answer^; Djce, "tell him there wh<a answer."
— I. G.
IV— « 118
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Act IV. Sc. iv. THE THIRD PART OF
Oxf. What now remains, my lords, for us to do, 60
But march to London with our soldiers?
War. Aye, that 's the first thing that we have to do ;
To free King Henry from imprisonment.
And see him seated in the regal throne.
[Exeunt.
Scene IV
London. The palace.
Enter Queen Elizabeth and Rivera.
Biv. Madam, what makes you in this sudden
change?
Q, Eliz. Why, brother Rivers, are you yet to learn
What late misfortune is befall'n King Ed-
ward?
64. This capture of Edward is related by the chroniclers as hav-
ing taken place in the latter part of 1469. In Holinshed the story
runs thus: ^ After the battell at Hedgecote, commonlie <^alled Ban-
berie field, the northeme men resorted toward Warwike, where the
earle had gathered a great multitude of people. The king in this
mane time had assembled his power, and was comming toward the
earle, who, being advertised thereof, sent to the duke of Clarence,
requiring him to come and Joine with him. The duke, being not
farre off, with all speed repaired to the earle, and so they joined
their powerse together, upon secret knowledge had, that the. king
tooke small heed to himselfe, nothing doubting anie outward attempt
of his enimies. The earle, intending not to leese such opportunitie,
in the dead of the night, with an elect companie of men, sc^t. on
the kings field, killing them that kept the watch, and yer the king
was ware, at a place called Wolnie, he was taken prisoner and
brought to the castell of Warwike. And, to the intent his friends
should not know what was become of hiih^ the earle caused him
by secret journies in the night to be conveied to Middleham castell
in Yorkshire, and there to be kept under the custodie of the arch-
bishop of Yorke, and other his freends in those parties."— H. N. H.
114
Digiti:
ized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act IV. Sc. iv.
Riv. What! loss of some pitch'd battle against
Warwick?
Q. Eliz. No, but the loss of his own royal person.
Riv. Then is my sovereign slain?
Q. Eliz. Aye, almost slain, for he is taken prisoner.
Either betray'd by falsehood of his guard,
Or by his foe surprised at unawares:
And, as I further have to understand, 10
Is new committed to the Bishop of York,
Fell Warwick's brother and by that our foe.
Biv. These news I must confess are full of grief;
Yet, gracious madam, bear it as you may :
Warwick may lose, that now hath won the day.
Q, Eliz. Till then fair hope must hinder life's de-
cay.
And I the rather wean me from despair
For love of Edward's offspring in my womb:
This IS it that makes me bridle passion,
And bear with mildness my misfortune's cross;
Aye, aye, for this I draw in many a tear 21
And stop the rising of blood-sucking sighs,
Lest with my sighs or tears I blast or drown
King Edward's fruit, true heir to the English
crown.
Riv. But, madam, where is Warwick then become?
Q. Eliz. I am informed that he comes towards Lon-
don,
To set the crown once more on Henry's head :
11. "new committed"; Rowe, '*now committed," — I. G.
19. "w it that makes me bridle passion"; the reading of F. 1; Ff.
2 J 3, "is it . . . my passion"; F. 4, "w . . . my passion**;
Rowe, "is it . . . tf» my passion"; Pope, "w't . . . m my pas-
sion"; Vaughan, "is it, makes . . , passion." — T. G.
115
Digiti:
ized by Google
Act IV. Sc. V. THE THIRD PABT OF
Guess thou the rest; King Edward's friends
must down.
But, to prevent the tyrant's violence, —
For trust not him that hath once broken faith, —
I 'U hence forthwith unto the sanctuary, 31
To save at least the heir of Edward's right:
There shall I rest secure from force and fraud.
Come, therefore, let us fly while we may fly:
If Warwick take us we are sure to die.
lExeunt.
Scene V
A park near Middleham Castle in Yorkshire.
.Enter Gloucester j Lord Hastings, Sir WiUiam
Stanley, and others.
Glou. Now, my Lord Hastings and Sir 'William
Stanley,
Leave ofi^ to wonder why I drew you hither.
Into this chief est thicket of the park.
Thus stands the case: you know our king, my
brother.
Is prisoner to the bishop here, at whose hands
He hath good usage and great liberty,
And, often but attended with weak guard.
Comes hunting this way to disport himself.
I have advertised him by secret means,
That if about this hour he make this way 10
Under the color of his usual game.
He shall here find his friends with horse and
men
116 Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act iv. Sc. v.
To set him free from his captivity.
Enter King Edward and a Huntsman with him.
Htmt This way, my lord; for this way lies the
game.
K. Edw. Nay, this way, man: see where the hmits-
men stand.
Now, brother of Gloucester, Lord Hastings,
and the rest.
Stand you thus dose, to steal the bishop's deer?
Glou. Brother, the time and case requireth haste:
Your horse stands ready at the park-comer.
K.Edw. But whither shall we then?
Hast. To Lynn, my lord.
And ship from thence to Flanders. 21
Glou. Well guessed, believe me; for that was my
meaning.
K. Edw. 'Stanley, I will requite thy forwardness.
Glou. But wherefore stay we? 'tis no time to talk.
K.Edw. Huntsman, what say'st thou? wilt thou go
along?
13. So in Holinshed: '*King Edward, being thus in captivitie,
spake ever faire to the archbishop, and to his other keepers, so that
he liad leave diverse daies to go hunt. Now on a daie, when he
was thus abrode, there met with him sir William Stanlie and di-
verse other of his friends, with such a great band of men, that
neither his keepers would nor once durst move him to retume unto
prison againe. After that he was once at libertie, he came to Yorke,
where he was joifullie received, and taried there two daies; but when
he perceived he could get no armie togither in that countrie, he
turned to Lancaster, where he found liis chamberlaine the lord Hast-
ings well accompanied, b^ whose aid he came safelie to London."—
H. N. H.
16. "brother of Gloucester, Lord Hastingt^; Pope, "brother Glo's-
ter. Bastings"; Collier MS., "brother of Gloster, Hastings."— I, G.
21. "Flatiders"; Vaughan suggests the addition of the words, "a$
I guess."— I. G. P
Act IV. Sc. vi. THE THIRD PART OF
Hunt. Better do so than tarry and be hang'd.
Glou. Come then, away; let 's ha' no more ado.
K. Edw. Bishop, farewell : shield thee from War-
wick's frown;
And pray that I may repossess the crown.
[Ea^eunt
Scene VI
London. The Tower.
Flourish. Enter King Henry, Clarence^ War-
wick, Somerset, young Richmond, Oxford,
Montague, and Lieutenant of the Tower.
K. Hen. Master lieutenant, now that God and
friends
Have shaken Edward from the regal seat.
And tum'd my captive state to liberty,
^. The whole matter of Edward's captivity and escape has been
set aside by later writers as a fiction of the chroniclers. Here
again the great learning and exemplary candor of Dr. Lingard will
amply warrant our quoting him. **By modem writers," says he, **the
captivity of Edward has been scornfully rejected. Hume says it is
contradicted by records. Carte and Henry pronounce it incredible
and romantic. But, if it were, they should have accounted for what
in that case were more inconceivable, the mention which is made of
it by almost every writer of the age, whether foreigner or native;
even by Comines, who says that he received the principal incidents
ot Edward's history from the mouth of Edward himself; and by
the annalist of Croyland, who was high in the confidence of that
monarch. But there is a record which places the imprisonment be-
yond a doubt, the attainder of Clarence, in which the king enumerates
it among his ofi'ences: *as in jupartyng tiie king's royall estate, persone
and life in straite warde, putting him thereby from all his libertie, af tre
procurying grete commocions.' " Perhaps we should add that Hume's
argument proceeds on the supposition, that the alleged captivity was
in 1470, and is entirely nonsuited by referring to the true date,
118 Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act IV. Sc. vi.
My fear to hope, my sorrows unto joys,
At our enlargement what are thy due fees?
Ldeu. Subjects may challenge nothing of their sov-
ereigns;
But if an humble prayer may prevail,
I then crave pardon of your majesty.
K. Hen. For what, lieutenant? for well using me?
Nay, be thou sure I '11 well requite thy kind-
ness, 1^
For that it made my imprisonment a pleasure;
Aye, such a pleasure as incaged birds
Conceive, when after many moody thoughts,
At last, by notes of household harmony.
They quite forget their loss of liberty.
But, Warwick, after God, thou set'st me free,
And chiefly therefore I thank Grod and thee;
He was the author, thou the instrument.
Therefore, that I may conquer fortune's spite
By living low, where fortune cannot hurt me, 20
And that the people of this blessed land
May not be punished with my thwarting stars,
Warwick, although my head still wear the
crown,
I here resign my government to thee.
For thou are fortunate in all thy deeds.
War. Your grace hath still been famed for vir-
tuous;
And now may seem as wise as virtuous,
which was the latter part of 1469. Its not being mentioned in the
king's proclamation against Clarence in 1470, nowise proves the
point; for on the Christmas before Clarence had a full pardon, and
that proclamation refers only to offenses committed after the pardon
was granted. — H. N. H.
119
Digiti:
ized by Google
Act IV. Sc. vi. THE THIRD PART OF
By spying and avoiding fortune's malice,
For few men rightly temper with the stars :
Yet in this one thing let me blame your grace, 30
For choosing me when Clarence is in place.
Clar. No, Warwick, thou are worthy of the sway,
To whom the heavens in thy nativity
Adjudged an olive branch and laurel crown.
As likely to be blest in peace and war;
And therefore I yield thee my free consent.
War. And I choose Clarence only for protector.
K. Hen. Warwick and Clarence, give me both your
hands:
Now join your hands, and with your hands your
hearts,
iThat no dissension hinder government: 40
I make you both protectors of this land.
While I myself will lead a private life.
And in devotion spend my latter days.
To sin's rebuke and my Creator's praise.
War. What answers Clarence to his sovereign's
will?
Clar. That he consents, if Warwick yield consent;
For on thy fortune I repose myself.
War. Why, then, though loath, yet must I be con-
tent:
We '11 yoke together, like a double shadow
To Henry's body, and supply his place; SO
I mean, in bearing weight of government.
While he enjoys the honor and his ease.
And, Clarence, now then it is more than needful
^9. Few men accommodate themselves to thdr destiny, or adapt
themselves to circmnstances. — H. N. H.
12G
Digiti:
ized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act IV. Sc. yi.
Forthwith that Edward be pronounced a traitor,
And all his lands and goods be confiscate.
Clar. What else? and that succession be determined.
War. Aye, therein Clarence shall not want his part.
K. Hen. But, with the first of all your chief afi^airs.
Let me entreat, for I command no more.
That Margaret your queen and my son Ed-
ward 60
Be sent for, to return from France with speed;
For, tUl I see them here, by doubtful fear
My joy of liberty is half eclipsed.
Clar. It shall be done, my sovereign, with all speed.
K. Hen. My Lord of Somerset, what youth is that,
Of whom you seem to have so tender care?
Som. My liege, it is young Henry, earl of Rich-
mond.
55. "be confiscate"; Malone's emendation; F. 1, "confiscaU"; Ft.
3, 3, 4, "confiscated."— I. G.
67. This **yoimg Henry," then in his tenth year, was son to Ed-
mund Tudor, earl of Richmond, and Margaret, daughter and heir
to John Beaufort, first duke of Somerset Edmund, again, was son
to Katharine, widow of Henry V, by her second husband, Owen
Tudor, an untitled gentleman of Wales. The groundwork of the
present representation was furnished by the chroniclers, llie occa-
sion was this: The young earl's uncle, Jasper Tudor, brought his
nephew to London, and introduced him to King Henry, soon after
the latter was released from the Tower; ^home," says HoUnshed,
*Vhen the king had a good while beheld, he said to such princes as
were with him, — *Lo^ surelie this is he, to whom both we and our
adversaries, leaving the possession of all things, shall hereafter give
roome and place.' So that it might seeme probable, by tlie coher-
ence of holie Henries prediction with the issue falling out in truth,
that for tlie time he was indued with a propheticall spirit." It is
said that after the earl became King Henry VII, in gratitude for this
early presage he solicited the pope to enroll Henry VI among the
saints of the Church; but was refused, either because he would not
pay the price, or as Bacon supposes, lest, ''as Henry was reputed
in the world abroad but for a simple man, the estimation of ^^'*'-
121 • -^-'^^ ,^.^..^..
Act IV. Sc. vi. THE THIRD PART OF
K. Hen. Come hither, England's hope. [JLays his
hand on his head] If secret powers
Suggest but truth to my divining thoughts.
This pretty lad will prove our country's bliss. ''0
His looks are full of peaceful majesty,
His head by nature framed to wear a crown.
His hand to wield a scepter, and himself
Likely in time to bless a regal throne.
Make much of him, my lords, for this is he
Must help you more than you are hurt by me.
Enter a Post.
War. What news, my friend?
Post. That Edward is escaped from your brother.
And fled, as he hears since, to Burgundy.
War. Unsavory newsl but how made he escape? 80
Post. He was conveyed by Richard duke of Glou-
cester
And the Lord Hastings, who attended him
In secret ambush on the forest side.
And from the bishop's huntsmen rescued him;
For hunting was his daily exercise.
War. My brother was too careless of his charge.
But let us hence, my sovereign, to provide
A salve for any sore that may betide.
[Exeunt all hut Somerset^ Richmond
and Oxford.
Som. My lord, I like not of this flight of Ed-
ward's ;
For doubtless Burgundy will yield him help, 90
kind of honor might be diminished, if there were not distance kept
VM>Hi7<>en innocents and saints." — H. N. H. ^
122 ^ ' ^
KING HENRY VI Act IV. Sc. vii.
And we shall have more wars before 't be long.
As Henry's late presaging prophecy
Did glad my heart with hope of this yomig
Richmond,
So doth my heart misgive me, in these conflicts
What may befall him, to his harm and ours:
Therefore, Lord Oxford, to prevent the worst.
Forthwith we 'U send him hence to Brittany,
Till storms be past of civil enmity.
Osef. Aye, for if Edward repossess the crown,
'Tis like that Richmond with the rest shall
down. IW
Som. It shall be so; he shall to Brittany.
Come, therefore, let 's about it speecUly.
[ExeunL
Scene VII
Before York.
Flourish. Enter King Edward, Gloucester,
Hastings, and Soldiers.
K. Edw. Now, brother Richard, Lord Hastings,
and the rest,
Yet thus far fortune maketh us amends.
And says that once more I shall interchange
My waned state for Henry's regal crown.
Well have we pass'd and now repassed the seas.
And brought desired help from Burgundy:
What then remains, we being thus arrived
^^^ .yu.ed by Google
Act IV. Sc. Yu. THE THIRD PART OF
From Ravenspurgh haven before the gates of
York,
But that we enter, as into our dukedom?
Glou. The gates made fast! Brother, I like not
this; 10
For many men that stumble at the threshold
Are well foretold that danger lurks within,
K. Edw. Tush, man, abodements must not now
affright us:
By fair or foul means we must enter in.
For hither will our friends repair to us.
Hast My liege, I 'U knock once more to summon
them.
Enter; on the walls, the Mayor of York and his
Brethren.
May. My lords, we were forewarned of your com-
ing,
And shut the gates for safety of ourselves;
For now we owe allegiance unto Henry.
K. Edw. But, master mayor, if Henry be your
king, 20
Yet Edward at the least is Duke of York.
May. True, my good lord; I know you for no less.
K. Edw. Why, and I challenge nothing but my
dukedom,
As being well content with that alone.
Glou. [Asidel But when the fox hath once got in
his nose,
8. "Ravenspurgh," the name of a sea-port in Yorkshire; the read-
ing of Ff. 9, 3, 4; F. 1, "Bauenspurre"; Qq. 1, 3, "Baurupur^'j
"Ravenspurgh haven before"; Pope omits "haven"; Steevens conj.
<Yor« *— I. G.
^2* Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act iv. Sc. vii.
He *11 soon find means to make the body follow.
Hast. Why, master mayor, why stand you in a
doubt?
Open the gates; we are King Henry's friends.
May. Aye, say you so? the gates shall then be
open'd. IThey descend.
Glou. A wise stout captain, and soon persuaded! 30
Hast. The good old man would fain that all were
well.
So 'twere not 'long of him; but being enter 'd,
I doubt not, I, but we shall soon persuade
Both him and all his brothers unto reason.
Enter the Mayor and two Aldermen^ helavo.
K. Edw. So, master mayor: these gates must not
be shut
But in the night or in the time of war.
What! fear not, man, but yield me up the keys;
[Takes his keys.
For Edward will defend the town and thee.
And all those friends that deign to follow me.
March. Enter Montgomery ^ with drum and
soldiers.
Glou. Brother, this is Sir John Montgomery, 40
Our trusty friend, unless I be deceived.
K. Edw. Welcome, Sir Johnl But why come you
in arms?
Montg. To help King Edward in his time of
storm,
so. "A wise stout captain, and soon persuaded"; ^'captain'' probably
trisyUabic; Keightley, 'T faith, a wise"; Collier MS. "captain A^'-
Delius (Lettsom conj.), "capitain"; Cartwright, "captain, fw
Pope, "persuaded soon," — I. G.
125 ^'"^'^^^^^ d^-
Act IV. Sc. vii. THE THIRD PART OF
As every loyal subject ought to do.
K Edw. Thanks, good Montgomery; but we now
forget
Our title to the crown, and only claim
Our dukedom till (iod please to send the rest.
Montg. Then fare you well, for I will hence again:
I came to serve a king, and not a duke.
Drummer, strike up, and let us march away. ^^
[The drum begins to march.
K. Edw. Nay, stay. Sir John, a while, and, we '11
debate
By what safe means the crown may be recovered.
Montg. What talk you of debating? in few words.
If you '11 not here proclaim yourself our king,
I '11 leave you to your fortune, and be gone
To keep them back that come to succor you :
Why shall we fight, if you pretend no title?
Glou. Why, brother, wherefore stand you on nice
points?
K. Edw. When we grow stronger, then we '11
make our claim:
Till then, 'tis wisdom to conceal our meaning. 60
Hast Away with scrupulous wit! now arms must
rule.
Glou. And fearless minds climb soonest unto
crowns.
Brother, we will proclaim you out of hand ;
The bruit thereof will bring you many friends.
K. Edw. Then be it as you will; for 'tis my right,
And Henry but usurps the diadem.
57. "shalV; Capell (from Qq.), "8hould,"--l. G.
'^" Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act IV, Sc. vii.
Montg. Aye, now my sovereign speaketh like him-
self;
And now will I be Edward's champion.
Hast. Somid trumpet; Edward shall be here pro-
claim'd:
Come, fellow-soldier, make thou proclamation.
[Flourish.
Sold. Edward the Fourth, by the grace of God, 7^
king of England and France, and lord of
Ireland, &c.
Montg. And whosoe'er gainsays King Edward's
right,
By this I challenge him to single fight.
[.Throws down his gauntlet.
All. Long live Edward the Fourth 1
K. Edw. Thanks, brave Montgomery; and thanks
unto you all:
If fortune serve me, I 'U requite this kindness.
Now, for this night, let 's harbor here in York;
And when the morning sun shall raise his car 80
Above the border of this horizon.
We '11 forward towards Warwick and his mates ;
For well I wot that Henry is no soldier.
All, froward Clarence 1 how evil it beseems thee.
To flatter Henry and forsake thy brother!
Yet, as we may, we '11 meet both thee and War-
wick.
Come on, brave soldiers: doubt not of the day,
And, that once gotten, doubt not of large pay.
[Exeunt.
88. In October, 1470, about a year after his escape from York.
Edward, having failed in several schemes for recovering his pov
127
Digitized by CjOOQIC
Act IV. Sc. Yiii. THE THIRD PART OF
Scene VIII
London. The palace.
Flourish. Enter King Henry, Warwick, Mon-
tague , Clarence, Exeter, and Oxford.
War. What counsel, lords? Edward from Belgia,
With hasty Germans and blunt Hollanders,
Hath pass'd in safety through the narrow seas,
And with his troops doth march amain to Lon-
don;
And many giddy people flock to him.
K. Hen. Let 's levy men, and beat him back again.
Clar. A little fire is quickly trodden out;
Which, being suffered, rivers cannot quench.
War. In Warwickshire I have true-hearted
friends,
embarked from Lymi, and sought refuge with the duke of Bur-
gundy, who had lately been married to his sister. Being there fitted
out with a fleet and fifteen hundred men, he returned to England,
and landed at Ravenspurg, the same place where Bollngbroke had
come on a similar errand in 1399. In less than two months after his
landing, Edward was again on the throne: but his course was one of
inexpressible perfidy; **still bruiting that his comming was not to
chalenge the crowne» but onelie the duchie of Yorke**; and when at
last, on this ground, he was let into the city of York, he "received
the sacrament, and there solemnlie sware to keepe and observe two
speciall articles,— the one, that he should use the citizens after a
gentle and courteous maner, the other, that he should be faithfull
and obedient unto king Henries commandments.** — H. N. H.
"Enter." In the Folios, Somerset is named in the stage direction,
though he had gone with young Richmond into Brittany. The mis-
take arose, as the Cambridge Eds. point out, from the Quartos, in
whidi Scenes vi. and viii. form but one. — ^I. G.
f . "hMty G^rmantT; S. Walker, "haty"; Cartwrig^t, "hardy."-^
128
Digiti:
ized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act IV. Sc. viii.
Not mutinous in peace, yet bold in war; 10
Those will I muster up: and thou, son Clarence,
Shalt stir up in Suffolk, Norfolk and in Kent,
The knights and gentlemen to come with thee:
Thou, brother Montague, in Buckingham,
Northampton and in Leicestershire, shalt find
Men well inclined to hear what thou com-
mand'st:
And thou, brave Oxford, wondrous well be-
loved.
In Oxfordshire shalt muster up thy friends.
My sovereign, with the loving citizens,
Like to his island girt in with the ocean, 2©
Or modest Dian circled with her nymphs.
Shall rest in London till we come to him.
Fair lords take leave and stand not to reply.
Farewell, my sovereign.
K. Hen. Farewell, my Hector, and my Troy 's true
hope.
Clar. In sign of truth, I kiss your highness' hand.
K. Hen. Well-minded Clarence, be thou fortu-
natel
Mont. Comfort, my lord; and so I take my leave.
Ooof. And thus I seal my truth and bid adieu.
K. Hen. Sweet Oxford, and my loving Mcmtague,
And all at once, once more a happy farewell. 31
War. Farewell, sweet lords: let's meet at Coven-
try.
[Exetmt all hut King Henry and Exeter.
K. Hen. Here at the palace will I rest a while.
Cousin of Exeter, what thinks your lordship?
Methinks the power that Edward hath in field
IV— 9 ion
Act IV- Sc. viii. THE THIRD PART OF
Should not be able to encounter mine.
Eive. The doubt is that he will seduce the rest.
K. Hen. That's not my fear; my meed hath got
me fame:
I have not stopped mine ears to their demands,
Nor posted off their suits with slow delays; 40
My pity hath been balm to heal their wounds,
My mildness hath allay'd their swelling griefs,
My mercy dried their water-flowing tears ;
I have not been desirous of their wealth,
Nor much oppressed them with great subsidies,
Nor forward of revenge, though they much
err'd:
Then why should they love Edward more than
me?
No, Exeter, these graces challenge grace:
And when the lion fawns upon the lamb.
The lamb will never cease to follow him. 50
[Shout withinj ^A Lancaster! A Lancasterf
Ewe. Hark, hark, my lordl what shouts are these?
Enter King Edward, Gloucester^ and Soldiers.
K. Edw. Seize on the shame-faced Henry, bear
him hence;
Aiid once again proclaim us king of England.
You are the fount that makes small brooks to
flow:
48. "water-flowing teart^; Capell, ^'water-flowing eyes^; Collier
MS., ^'bitter-flowing tearg"; Vaughan, "wet o'erflowing tears," — I. G.
51. yir. Collier thinlcs this shout should be, A York! A York!
unless we suppose it to come from some soldiers in Henry's pay.
But I the i truth is, one part of Edward's disguise was that he ordered
*»'s men everywhere to shout, "Long live King Henry !" — H. N. H.
ISO ...... ..^oogle
KING HENRY VI Act iv. Sc. viii.
Now stops thy spring; my sea shall suck them
dry.
And swell so much the higher by their ebb.
Hence with him to the Tower; let him not speak.
[Easeunt some with King Henry.
And, lords, towards Coventry bend we our
course.
Where peremptory Warwick now remains:
The sun shines hot; and, if we use delay, 6^
Cold biting winter mars our hoped-for hay.
Glou. Away betimes, before his forces join,
And take the great-grown traitor unawares:
Brave warriors, march amain towards Coventrj\
lEa^eunt.
61. "hoped-for hay"; Qq., "hope for haie"; Malone proposed, alto-
gether unnecessarily, to change the words to "hope for aye." — I. G.
64. On this occasion Henry was betrayed into the hands of Ed-
ward by the archbishop of Yorlc, in whose care he had been left by
Warwick. On the morning of April 11, 1471, the archbishop, who
was brother to Warwiclc, had Henry out to an official ride through
the streets of London, and in the evening he gave orders for Ed-
ward to be admitted by a postern. The excuse which he alleged was,
that he found the city bent on having Edward for their king. Henry,
however, was not remanded to the Tower till after his cause was
again crushed in the battle of Bamet.— H. N. H.
Digitized by CjOOQIC
Act V. Sc L THE THIRD PART OF
ACT FIFTH
Scene I
Coventry.
Enter Warwick^ the Mayor of Coventry, two Mes-
sengers, and others upon the walls.
War. Where is the post that came from valiant
Oxford?
How far hence is thy lord, mine honest fellow?
First. Mess. By this at Dunsmore, marching hith-
erward.
War. How far off is our brother Montague?
Where is the post that came from Montague?
Second Mess. By this at Daintry, with a puissant
troop.
Enter Sir John Somervile.
War. Say, Somervile, what says my loving son ?
And, by thy guess, how nigh is Clarence now?
Som. At Southam I did leave him with his forces,
And do expect him here some two hours hence 10
[Drum heard.
War. Then Clarence is at hand; I hear his drum,
Som. It is not his, my lord; here Southam lies:
The drum your honor hears marcheth from
Warwick.
6. "Dmntry," popular pronunciation of Davcntry. — I. G.
Digitize
^^^ - itized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act V. Sc. L
War. Who should that be? belike, unlook'd-for
friends.
Som. They are at hand, and you shall quickly know.
March. Flourish. Enter King Edward, Glovr
cester and Soldiers.
K. Edw. Gk), trumpet, to the walls, and sound a
parle.
Glou. See how the surly Warwick mans the wall I
War. O unbid spite! is sportful Edward come?
Where slept our scouts, or how are they seduced.
That we could hear no news of his repair? 20
K. Edw. Now, Warwick, wilt thou ope the city
gates.
Speak gentle words and humbly bend thy knee.
Call Edward king and at his hands beg mercy?
And he shall pardon thee these outrages.
War. Nay, rather, wilt thou draw thy forces hence.
Confess who set thee up and pluck'd thee down.
Call Warwick patron and be penitent?
And thou shalt still remain the Duke of York.
Glou. I thought, at least, he would have said the
king;
Or did he make the jest against his will? 30
War. Is not a dukedom, sir, a goodly gift?
Glou. Aye, by my faith, for a poor earl to give:
I '11 do thee service for so good a gift.
War. ^Twas I that gave the kingdom to thy
brother.
K. Edw. Why then *tis mine, if but by Warwick's
gift.
War. Thou art no Atlas for so great a weight:
Act V. Sc. i. THE THIRD PART OF
And, weakling, Warwick takes his gift again;
And Henry is my king, Warwick his subject.
K. Edw. But Warwick's king is Edward's pris-
oner:
And, gallant Warwick, do but answer this: 40
What is the body when the head is off? I
GUm. Alas, that Warwick had no more forecast,
But, whiles he thought to steal the single ten,
The king was slily finger 'd from the deck I
You left poor Henry at the bishop's palace.
And, ten to one, you 'U meet him in the Tower.
K. Edw. 'Tis even so; yet you are Warwick still.
Glou. Come, Warwick, take the time; kneel down,
kneel down:
Nay, when? strike now, or else the iron cools.
War. I had rather chop this hand off at a blow, 50
And with the other fling it at thy face.
Than bear so low a sail, to strike to thee.
K. Edw. Sail how thou canst, have wind and tide
thy friend.
This hand, fast wound about thy coal-black
hair.
Shall, whiles thy head is warm and new cut off,
Write in the dust this sentence with thy blood,
*Wind-changing Warwick now can change no
more.'
Enter Oxford^ with drum and colors.
War. O cheerful colors! see where Oxford comes!
Oxf. Oxford, Oxford, for Lancaster!
[He and his forces enter the city.
50. "I had"; Pope, "I'd,"— I. G.
134i Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act v. Sc. i.
Glou. The gates are open, let us enter too. 60
K. Edw. So other foes may set upon our backs.
Stand we in good array; for they no doubt
Will issue out again and bid us battle:
If not, the city being but a small defense.
We '11 quickly rouse the traitors in the same.
War. O, welcome, Oxford 1 for we want thy help.
Enter Montague , with drum and colors.
Mont. Montague, Montague, for Lancaster!
{_He and his forces enter the city.
Glou. Thou and thy brother both shall buy this
treason
Even with the dearest blood your bodies bear.
K. Edw. The harder match'd, the greater victory:
My mind presageth happy gain and conquest.
Enter Somerset, with drum and colors.
Som. Somerset, Somerset, for Lancaster? 72
[He and his forces enter the city.
Glou. Two of thy name, both Dukes of Somerset,
Have sold their lives unto the house of York;
And thou shalt be the third, if this sword hold.
Enter Clarence, with drum and colors.
War. And lo, where George of Clarence sweeps
along,
Of force enough to bid his brother battle;
With whom an upright zeal to right prevails
73. "Two of thy name, both Dukes of Somerset^; "Edmund, slain
at battle of St. Alban's, 1455; and Henry, his son, beheaded after
the battle of Hexham, 1463" (Ritson).— I. G.
78. ''whom an'*; Rowe's emendation; Ff. 3, 3, 4, "whoin, an"; F. 1,
"whom, m."--I. G.
135 Digitized by Google
Act V. Sc. L THE THIRD PART OF
More than the nature of a brother's love I
Come, Clarence, come; thou wilt, if Warwick
caU. 80
Clar. Father of Warwick, know you what this
means? [Taking his red rose out of his hat
Look here, I throw my infamy at thee:
I will not ruinate my father's house.
Who gave his blood to lime the stones together,
And set up Lancaster. Why, trow'st thou,
Warwick,
That Clarence is so harsh, so blunt, unnatural,
To bend the fatal instruments of war
Against his brother and his lawful king?
Perhaps thou wilt object my holy oath:
To keep that oath were more impiety 90
Than Jephthah's, when he sacrificed his daugh-
ter.
I am so sorry for my trespass made
That, to deserve well at my brother's hands,
I here proclaim myself thy mortal foe.
With resolution, wheresoe'er I meet thee —
As I will meet thee, if thou stir abroad —
To plague thee for thy foul misleading me.
And so, proud-hearted Warwick, I defy thee.
And to my brother turn my blushing cheeks.
Pardon me, Edward, I will make amends: 100
And, Richard, do not frown upon my faults,
86. "That Clarence iff"; Steevens conj. ''Clarence, 8o harsh, so
blunf; Qq., ''so harsh" (so blunt omitted); Collier conj. "so harsh,
so blind"; Mitford, "so harsh" or "so bhinf; S. Walker, "blunt-nn-
natural"; Anon. conj. "brute-nnnatural" — I. G.
'^ephthah's"; Rowe, Jepthah'sT; Ff. 1, 2, "lephali" Ff. 3, 4,
''—I. G.
136 Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act v. Sc. iL
For I will henceforth be no more imconstant.
K. Edw. Now welcome more, and ten times more
beloved.
Than if thou never hadst deserved our hate,
Glou. Welcome, good Clarence; this is brother-like.
War. O passing traitor, perjured and unjust!
K. Edw. What, Warwick, wilt thou leave the.
town, and fight?
Or shall we beat the stones about thine ears?
JVar. Alas, I am not coop'd here for defense!
I will away towards Bamet presently, -H^
And bid thee battle, Edward, if thou darest.
K. Edw. Yes, Warwick, Edward dares, and leads
the way.
Lords, to the field; Saint George and victory!
[Exeunt King Edward and his company.
March. Warwick and his company follow.
Scene II
A field of battle near Bamet.
Alarum and excursions. Enter King Edward,
bringing forth Warwick wounded.
K. Edw. So, lie thou there: die thou, and die our
fear;
For Warwick was a bug that f ear*d us all.
110. "towards Bamet," The proposition to go out of Coventry^
and fight a pitched battle precisely at Barnet rerDsins unintelligible'
in the drama. The actual situation is clearly given by Kalle. Find-
ing that Warwick would not come out, Edward withdrew towards
London. Warwick pursued and overtook him at Bametr-CX H» H»
Act V. Sc. ii. THE THIRD PART OF
Now, Montague, sit fast; I seek for thee.
That Warwick's bones may keep thine company.
[Eant.
War. Ah, who is nigh? come to me, friend or foe.
And tell me, who is victor, York or Warwick?
Why ask I that? my mangled body shows,
My blood, my want of strength, my sick heart
shows.
That I must yield my body to the earth
And, by my fall the conquest to my foe, 10
Thus yields the cedar to the axe's edge.
Whose arms gave shelter to the princely eagle,
lUnder whose shade the ramping lion slept,
Whose top-branch overpeer'd Jove's spreading
tree.
And kept low shrubs from winter's powerful
wind.
These eyes, that now are dimm'd with death's
black veil.
Have been as piercing as the mid-day sun,
To search the secret treasons of the world:
The wrinkles in my brows, now fill'd with blood,
Were liken'd oft to kingly sepulchers; 20
For who lived king, but I could dig his grave?
And who durst smile when Warwick bent his
brow?
Lo, now my glory smear'd in dust and blood!
My parks, my walks, my manors that I had,
Even now forsake me, and of all my lands
Is nothing left me but my body's length.
Why, what is pomp, rule, reign, but earth and
dust?
1S8
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KING HENRY VI Act v. Sc. ii.
And, live we how we can, yet die we must.
Enter Oxford and Somerset.
Sam. Ah, Warwick, Warwick ! wert thou as we are.
We might recover all our loss again: 30
The queen from France hath brought a puissant
power:
Even now we heard the news.: ah, couldst thou
flyl
War. Why, then I would not fly. Ah, Montague,
If thou be there, sweet brother, take my hand.
And with thy lips keep in my soul a while !
Thou lovest me not; for, brother, if thou didst,
Thy tears would wash this cold congealed blood,
That glues my lips and will not let me speak.
Come quickly, Montague, or I am dead.
Som. Ah, Warwick! Montague hath breathed his
last; 40
And to the latest gasp cried out for Warwick,
And said 'Commend me to my valiant brother.'
And more he would have said, and more he
spoke.
Which sounded like a clamor in a vault.
That mought not be distinguished; but at last
28. The great earl of Warwick fell in the battle of Barnet, April
14, 1471. The Poet, for obvious reasons, represents him as fall-
ing by the hand of Edward: the Chronicles relate that '^he earle
of Warwike, when his souldiers were all wearied with long fight,
and sore weakened with wounds and hurts, rushed into the middest
of his enimies, whereas he, adventuring so farre from his companie
to slea his adversaries, that he could not be rescued, was amongst
the preasse of his enimies striken downe and slaine." — H. N. H.
44. "clamour," Warburton's reading from Qq.; Ff. "cannon," —
I. G.
^ Digitized by Google
Act V. Sc. liL THE THIRD PART OF
I well might hear, delivered with a groan,
'O, farewell, Warwick 1'
War. Sweet rest his soul I Fly, lords, and save
yourselves;
For Warwick bids you all farewell, to meet in
heaven. [^Dies.
Occf. Away, away, to meet the queen's great
power I 50
[Here they hear away his body. Exewnt.
Scene III
Another part of the field.
Flourish. Enter King Edward in triumph; with
Gloucester, Clarence, and the rest.
K. Edw. Thus far our fortune keeps an upward
course.
And we are graced with wreaths of victory.
But, in the midst of this bright-shining day,
I spy a black, suspicious, threatening cloud.
That will encounter with our glorious sun.
Ere he attain his easeful western bed:
I mean, my lords, those powers that the queen
Hath raised in Gallia have arrived our coast.
And, as we hear, march on to fight with us.
Clar. A little gale will soon disperse that cloud, 10
And blow it to the soxu'ce from whence it came:
47-49. The arrangement of the lines in the Qq.; they form three
Unes in Ff., and have been variously arranged by editors. — I* G.
5. "our gUtrioui 9un"; alluding to the cognizance of Edward.—
I. a
1^0 Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act v. Sc, iv.
The very beams will dry those vapors up,
For every cloud engenders not a storm.
GUm. The queen is valued thirty thousand strong.
And Somerset, with Oxford, fled to her:
If she have time to breathe, be well assured
Her faction will be full as strong as ours.
JKT. Edw. We are advertised by our loving friends
That they do hold their course toward Tewks-
bury:
We, having now the best at Barnet field, 20
Will thither straight, for willingness rids way;
And, as we march, our strength will be aug-
mented
In every county as we go along.
Strike up the drum; cry 'Courage I* and away.
[Exeunt.
Scene IV
Plains near Tewksbury.
March. Enter Queen Margaret, Prince Edward,
Somerset, Oxford, and Soldiers.
Q. Mar. Great lords, wise men ne'er sit and wail
their loss.
But cheerly seek how to redress their harms.
What though the mast be now blown overbroad.
The cable broke, the holding-anchor lost,
And half our sailors swallow'd in the flood?
Yet lives our pilot still. Is 't meet that he
Should leave the helm, and like a fearful lad
With tearful eyes add water to the sea.
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Act V. Sc. iv. THE THIRD PART OF
And give more strength to that which hath too
much,
Whiles, in his moan, the ship spUts on the roek,10
Which industry and courage might have saved?
Ah, what a shame! ah, what a fault were this!
Say Warwick was our anchor; what of that?
And Montague our topmast; what of him?
Our slaughter'd friends the tackles; what of
these?
Why, is not Oxford here another anchor?
And Somerset another goodly mast?
The friends of France our shrouds and tack-
lings?
And, though unskillful, why not Ned and I
For once allow'd the skillful pilot's charge? 20
We will not from the helm to sit and weep,
But keep our course, though the rough wind
say no.
From shelves and rocks that threaten us with
wreck.
As good to chide the waves as speak them fair.
And what is Edward but a ruthless sea?
What Clarence but a quicksand of deceit?
And Richard but a ragged fatal rock?
All these the enemies to our poor bark.
Say you can swim; alas, 'tis but a while!
Tread on the sand; why, there you quickly sink :
Bestride the rock; the tide will wash you off, 31
18. "The friends of France cur shrouds and tackling^; S. Walker,
"Our . . . our," or "These . . . our," &c.; Cartwrig^t, "Our
. . . the," &c.; Pope, "tacklings still"; Johnson, "tackling still";
*'tackUtkgs" is evidently trisyllabic in this passage. — I. G.
14S
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KING HENRY yi Act V. Sc. iv.
Or else you famish; that 's a three-fold death.
This speak I, lords, to let you understand.
If case some one of you would fly from us,
That there 's no hoped-for mercy with the
brothers,
More than with ruthless waves, with sands and
rocks.
Why, courage then! what cannot be avoided
'Twere childish weakness to lament or fear.
Prince. Methinks a woman of this valiant spirit
Should, if a coward heard her speak these words.
Infuse his breast with magnanimity, 41
And make him, naked, foil a man at arms.
I speak not this as doubting any here;
For did I but suspect a fearful man.
He should have leave to go away betimes.
Lest in our need he might infect another.
And make him of like spirit to himself.
If any such be here — as God forbid I —
Let him depart before we need his help.
OiVf. Women and children of so high a courage, 50
And warriors faint! why, 'twere perpetual
shame.
O brave young prince ! thy famous grandfather
Doth live again in thee : long mayst thou live
To bear his image and renew his glories !
Som. And he that will not fight for such a hope,
Go home to bed, and like the owl by day.
If he arise, be mock'd and wonder'd at.
Q. Mar. Thanks, gentle Somerset; sweet Oxford,
thanks.
14S
Digiti:
ized by Google
Act V. Sc. iT. THE THIRD PART OF
Prince. And take his thanks that yet hath nothing
else.
Enter a Messenger.
Mess. Prepare you, lords, for Edward is at hand, 60
Ready to fight; therefore he resolute.
Oivf, I thought no less: it is his policy
To haste thus fast, to find us unprovided.
Som. But he 's deceived; we are in readiness.
Q. Mar. This cheers my heart, to see your forward-
ness.
Oa^f. Here pitch our battle; hence we will not
budge.
Flourish and March. Enter King Edward, Glou-
cester j Clarence, and Soldiers.
K. Edw. Brave followers, yonder stands the
thorny wood.
Which, by the heavens' assistance and your
strength.
Must by the roots be hewn up yet ere night.
I need not add more fuel to your fire, 70
For well I wot ye blaze to burn them out
Give signal to the fight, and to it, lords!
Q. Mar. Lords, knights, and gentlemen, what I
should say
My tears gainsay; for every word I speak.
Ye see, I drink the water of mine eyes.
Therefore, no more but this: Henry, your sov-
ereign.
Is prisoner to the foe; his state usurped,
etf€/f"; Capell (from Qq.); Ff- "my cyeJ'—l, G.
144 .yu.ed by Google
KING HENRY VI Act V. Sc. v.
His realm a slaughter-house, his subjects slain.
His statutes cancelled, and his treasure spent;
And yonder is the wolf that makes this spoil. 80
You fight in justice: then, in God's name, lords,
[Be valiant, and give signal to the fight.
lAlarum: Retreat: EivcurHons. Eweunt.
Scene V
Another part of the field.
Flourish. Enter King Edward, Gloucester^ Clar-
ence and soldiers; with Queen Margaret, Ox-
ford and Somerset, prisoners.
K. Edw. Now here a period of tumultuous broils.
Away with Oxford to Hames Castle straight:
For Somerset, off with his guilty head.
1- "Now here^'; the reading of F. 1; Ff. 2, 3, 4, "Nw) here^t^';
CapeU (from Qq.), "Lo, here."— I. G.
2. "Harnett'; the reading of Qq. and Ff.; "Ham** in Picardy;
Rowe reads "Hammet^'; Hanmer, "Hofonc/'; Capell, "Hammed';
Dclius, ''Ham'8.'*-'!. G.
"Hames Castlef* a castle in Picardy, where Oxford was confined
for many years. — H. N. H.
3. The battle of Tewksbury was fought May 4, 1471. Two days
after, the duke of Somerset, with other fugitives, was dragged from
sanctuary, and beheaded. The queen and prince had been in France
for some time, seeldng aid, and landed in England the very day of
the battle of Bamet. We are told that when she got news of that
disaster, ''all her hopes were Instantly broken: she sank to the ground
in despair; and, as soon as she came to herself, hastened with her
son to the sanctuary of Beaulieu. But the Lancastrian lords who
still remained faithful to her cause, induced her to quit her asylum,
and raised a considerable body of troops to fight under her banner/'
While these were on the mardi to join another army in Wales, they
were intercepted by Edward at Tewksbury, and there finish'^
H. N. H.
IV— 10 145
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Act V. Sc. V. THE THIRD PART OF
Go, bear them hence ; I will not hear them speak.
Oxf. For my part, I 'U not trouble thee with words.
Som. Nor I, but stoop with patience to my fortune.
[Exeunt Oxford and Somerset, guarded.
Q. Mar. So part we sadly in this troublous world,
To meet with joy in sweet Jerusalem.
K. Edw. Is proclamation made, that who finds Ed-
ward
Shall have a high reward, and he his life? 10
Glou. It is: and lo, where youthful Edward comes!
Enter Soldiers, with Prince Edward.
K. Edw. Bring forth the gallant, let us hear him
speak.
Whatl can so young a thorn begin to prick?
Edward, what satisfaction canst thou make
For bearing arms, for stirring up my subjects,
And all the trouble thou hast turned me to?
Prince. Speak like a subject, proud ambitious
YorkI
Suppose that I am now my father's mouth;
Resign thy chair, and where I stand kneel thou,
Whilst I propose the selfsame words to thee, 20
Which, traitor, thou wouldst have me answer to.
Q. Mar. Ah, that thy father had been so resolved!
Glou. That you might still have worn the petticoat,
And ne'er have stoFn the breech from Lancas-
ter.
Prince. Let ^sop fable in a winter's night;
25. He calls Richard iSsop on account of his crookedness; and
Richard here betrays the same morbid sensitiveness touching his
person, which afterwards makes him "descant on hia own defonn-
itv." This passage, being the same in the quarto, may be aptly cited
146 n A ^
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KING HENRY VI Act v. Sc. v.
His currish riddles sort not with this place.
Glou. By heaven, brat, I '11 plague ye for that
word.
Q. Mar. Aye, thou wast born to be a plague to
men.
Glou. For Gk)d's sake, take away this captive scold.
Prince. Nay, take away this scolding crook-back
rather, 30
K. Edw. Peace, wiUf ul boy, or I will charm your
tongue.
Clar. Untutor'd lad, thou art too malapert.
Prince. I know my duty; you are all undutiful:
Lascivious Edward, and thou perjured George,
And thou mis-shapen Dick, I tell ye all
I am your better, traitors as ye are:
And thou usurp'st my father's right and mine.
K. Edw. Take that, thou likeness of this railer
here. [^Stahs Mm.
Glou. Sprawl'st thou? take that, to end thy agony.
[Stabs him.
Clar. And there 's for twitting me with perjury. 40
[Stabs him.
as inferring an identity of authorship running through the whole
delineation of Richard. — H. N. H.
38. "thou"; Rowe (from Q. 3); Ff. (Qq. 1, 2), "tfte."— I. G.
40. Prince Edward was bom October 13, 1453; so that he was
in his eighteenth year when Idlled. The Chronicles give the fol-
lowing account of his death: "After the field was ended, procla-
mation was made, that whosoever could bring foorth prince Ed-
ward, alive or dead, should have an annuitie of a hundred pounds
during his life, and the princes life to be saved, if he were brought
foorth alive. Sir Richard Crofts, nothing mistrusting the kings
promise, brou^t foorth his prisoner prince Edward, being a faire
and well proportioned yoong gentleman; whom when king Ed-
ward had well advised, he demanded of him how he durst so pre-
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Act V. Sc V. THE THIED PART OF
Q. Mar. O, kill me tool
Glow. Marry, and shall. [Offers to Mil her.
K. Edw. Hold, Richard, hold; for we have done
too much.
Glou. Why should she live, to fill the world with
words?
K. Edw. What, doth she swoon? use means for her
recovery.
Glou. Clarence, excuse me to the king my brother;
I *11 hence to London on a serious matter:
Ere ye come there, be sure to hear some news.
Clar. What? what?
Glou. The Tower, the Tower. [Exit. 50
Q. Mar. O Ned, sweet Nedl speak to thy mother,
boy!
Canst thou not speak ? O traitors 1 murderers !
They that stabb'd Caesar shed no blood at all.
Did not offend, nor were not worthy blame.
If this foul deed were by to equal it:
He was a man; this, in respect, a child:
And men ne'er spend their fury on a child.
mmptuouslie enter Into his realme with banner displayed. Where-
unto the prince boldlie answered, saieng, — *To recover my fathers
kingdome and heritage, from his father and grandfather to him,
and from him after him to me lineallie descended.' At which words
king Edward said nothing, but with his hand thrust him from him,
or, as some saie, stroke him with his gauntlet; whome incontinentlie,
George duke of Clarence, Richard duke of Glocester, Thomas Greie
marquesse Dorcet, and William lord Hastings, that stood by, sud-
denlie murthered; for the which cruell act, the more part of the
dooers in their latter dales dranke of the like eup, by the righteous
justice and due punishment of God." — H, N^ H.
60. "The Tower, the Towerf*; CapeU'a reading; Ff., "Tower, th§
Tower^'; Theobald (from Qq.), "The Tower, man, the Taweri^rU
root 'em out^; Steevens, "The Towef, fMm, Towerf'^^ G.
148
Digiti:
ized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act v, Sc. v.
What 's worse than murderer, that I may name
it?
No, no, my heart will burst, and if I speak:
And I will speak, that so my heart may burst. 60
Butchers and villains I bloody cannibals I
How sweet a plant have you untimely cropped!
You have no diildren, butchers 1 if you had,
The thought of them would have stirr'd up re-
morse:
But if you ever chance to have a child,
Look in his youth to have him so cut off,
As, deathsmen, you have rid this sweet young
prince I
K. Edw. Away with her; go, bear her hence per-
force.
Q. Mar. Nay, never bear me hence, dispatch me
here;
Here sheathe thy sword, I '11 pardon thee my
death: 70
What, wilt thou not? then, Clarence, do it thou.
Clar. By heaven, I will not do thee so much ease.
Q. Mar. Good Clarence, do; sweet Clarence, do
thou do it.
Clar. Didst thou not hear me swear I would not do
it?
Q. Mar. Aye, but thou usest to forswear thyself:
'Twas sin before, but now 'tis charity.
.What, wilt thou not? Where is that devil's
butcher,
Hard-favor'd Richard? Richard, where art
thou?
tfV^
77, 78. Steevens* reading, which \3, ii«arest to Qq.; F. 1, *'!'
ia that devil's butcher, Richard? ffa^ii favored Richard" &c.-
149 ...... ..^.^^e>-
Act V. Sc. vi. THE THIRD PART OF
Thou art not here: murder is thy ahns-deed;
Petitioners for blood thou ne'er put'st back, SO
^L. Edw. Away, I say; I charge ye, bear her hence.
Q. Mar. So come to you and yours, as to this
prince! [Exeunt, led out forcibly.
K. Edw. Where 's Richard gone?
Clar. To London, all in post; and, as I guess,
To make a bloody supper in the Tower.
K. Edw. He's sudden, if a thing comes in his
head.
Now march we hence: discharge the common
sort
With pay and thanks, and let 's away to Lon-
don,
And see our gentle queen how well she fares :
By this, I hope, she hath a son for me. 90
[Exeunt.
Scene VI
London. The Tower.
Enter King Henry and Gloucester, with the Lieu-
tenant, on the walls.
Glou. CJood day, my lord. What, at your book so
hard?
K. Hen. Aye, my good lord:— my lord, I should
say rather;
'Tis sin to flatter; *good' was little better:
*GrOod Gloucester' and *good devil' were alike,
And both preposterous; therefore, not 'good
lord.'
-^50 Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Act V. Sc. vi.
Glou. Sirrah, leave us to ourselves : we must confer.
[Eivit Lieutenant.
K. Hen. So flies the reckless shepherd from the
wolf;
So first the harmless sheep doth yield his fleece,
And next his throat imto the butcher's knife.
What scene of death hath Roscius now to act? 10
Glou. Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind;
The thief doth fear each bush an officer.
K. Hen. The bird that hath been limed in a bush.
With trembling wings misdoubteth every bush;
And I, the hapless male to one sweet bird,
Have now the fatal object in niy eye,
Where my poor young was limed, was caught
and kill'd.
Glou. Why, what a peevish fool was that of Crete,
That taught his son the office of a fowl I
And yet, for all his wings, the fool was drowned.
K. Hen. I, Daedalus; my poor boy, Icarus; 21
Thy father, Minos, that denied oiu* course;
The sun that sear'd the wings of my sweet boy
Thy brother Edward, and thyself the sea
Whose envious gulf did swallow up his life.
Ah, kill me with thy weapon, not with words I
My breast can better brook thy dagger's point,
Than can my ears that tragic history.
But wherefore dost thou come? is 't for my life?
Glou. Thinkst thou I am an executioner? ^0
K. Hen. A persecutor, I am sure, thou art:
20. "fooP'; Seymour conj. (from Qq.), '^fowh"—!. G.
91. DofdcUiu, who, being detained in Crete by Minos, made wingis
for himself and his son Icarus. Icarus' wings were ^sear'd*' by tlie
sun, and he was drowned. — C. H. H.
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Act V. Sc. yi. THE THIRD PART OF
If murdering innocents be executing.
Why, then thou art an executioner.
Glon. Thy son I kill'd for his presumption.
K. Hen. Hadst thou been kill'd when first thou
didst presume.
Thou hadst not lived to kill a son of mine.
And thus I prophesy, that many a thousand.
Which now mistrust no parcel of my fear.
And many an old man's sigh and many a wid-
ow's.
And many an orphan's water-standing eye — 40
Men for their sons, wives for their husbands.
And orphans for their parents' timeless death —
Shall rue the hour that ever thou wast bom.
The owl shriek'd at thy birth, — ^an evil sign;
The night-crow cried, aboding luckless time;
Dogs howl'd, and hideous tempest shook down
trees;
The raven rook'd her on the chimney's top.
And chattering pies in dismal discords sung.
Thy mother felt more than a mother's pain.
And yet brought forth less than a mother's
hope, 50
To wit, an indigested and deformed lump,
41. "Men for their sons, wives for their husbands"; Anon. conj.
(from Qq.)» "Wives for their husbands, fathers for their sons"; F. 1,
"sonnes, . . . husbands"; F. 9, "sonnes, . . . husbands fate^;
Ff. 3, 4, ^'sons . . . husbands fate^*; Warburton, **sons . . .
husbands' fatt^'; Knight, "sonsT . . . husbands,** &c.— I. G.
45. "aboding luckless time"; Qq., "aboding • . • tune^; Theo-
bald^ "a boding, . • . tune."— I. G.
46. "discords"; Gtant Wiiite (from Qq.), "discord,"— J. G.
6h "To wit, an indigested and deformed lumff'; Capell (from Qq.),
"tn ^t OH imdigeet deformed lump"; Dyce (Capell conj.) omits "to
^^^ -itized by Google
Digitize
KING HENRY VI Act v. Sc. vi.
Not like the fruit of such a goodly tree.
Teeth hadst thou in thy head when thou wast
born,
To signify thou earnest to bite the world:
And, if the rest be true which I have heard.
Thou earnest —
Glou. I '11 hear no more: die, prophet, in thy
speech: [^Stabs him.
For this, amongst the rest, was I ordain'd.
K. Hen. Aye, and for much more slaughter after
this.
O, Gk)d forgive my sins, and pardon thee I 60
IDies.
Glou. What, will the aspiring blood of Lancaster
Sink in the ground? I thought it would have
mounted.
See how my sword weeps for the poor king's
death!
0, may such purple tears be always shed
From those that wish the downfall of our
house!
If any spark of life be yet remaining,
Down, down to hell; and say I sent thee thither:
[Stabs him again.
1, that have neither pity, love, nor fear.
Indeed, 'tis true that Henry told me of;
For I have often heard my mother say 70
I came into the world with my legs forward:
Had I not reason, think ye, to make haste.
And seek their ruin that usurp'd our right?
The midwife wonder'd, and the women cried
*0, Jesus bless us, he is born with teeth !'
] 53 Digitized by GOOglC
Act V. Sc. vi. THE THIRD PART OF
And so I was; which plainly signified
That I should snarl and bite and play the dog.
Then, since the heavens have shaped my body
so,
Let hell make crook'd my mind to answer it.
I have no brother, I am like no brother; 80
And this word *love,' which greybeards call di-
vine,
Be resident in men like one another.
And not in me: I am myself alone.
Clarence, beware; thou keep'st me from the
light:
But I will sort a pitchy day for thee;
For I will buz abroad siich prophecies
That Edward shall be fearful of his life.
And then, to purge his fear, I '11 be thy death.
King Henry and the prince his son are gone:
Clarence, thy turn is next, and then the rest, 90
Counting myself but bad till I be best.
I '11 throw thy body in another room.
And triumph, Henry, in thy day of doom.
[Eant, with the body.
79. After this line, Theobald inserts from Qq., "I had no father,
I am like no father."— I, G.
93. The following is Holinshed's account of Henry's death: **Here
is to be remembered, that poore king Henrie the sixt, a little before
deprived of his realme and imperial! crowne, was now in the Tower
spoiled of his life by Richard diike of Glocester, as the constant
fame ran; who, to the intent that his brother king Edward might
reigne in more suretie, murthered the said king Henrie with a dagger.
Howbeit, some writers of that time, favouring altogither the house
of Yorke. have recorded, that after he understood what losses had
c' I's freends, and how not onelie his sonne, but also all
partakers were dead and despatched, he tooke it so
pure displeasure, indignation, and melancholie, he
d twentitb of Maie."— H. J^:,..H,, ^..
KING HENRY VI Act v. Sc. vii.
Scene VII
London. The palace.
Flourish. Enter King Edward, Queen Elizabeth,
Clarence, Gloucester, Hastings, a Nurse with
the young Prince, and Attendants.
K. Edw. Once more we sit in England's royal
throne,
Re-purchased with the blood of enemies.
What valiant foeman, like to autumn's corn,
Have we mow'd down in tops of all their pride!
Three Dukes of Somerset, threefold renown'd
For hardy and undoubted champions;
Two Cliffords, as the father and the son;
And two Northumberldnds; two braver men
Ne'er spurr'd their coursers at the trumpet's
sound;
With them, the two brave bears, Warwick and
Montague, 10
That in their chains f etter'd the kingly lion,
And made the forest tremble when they roar'd.
Thus have we swept suspicion from our seat,
And made our footstool of security.
Come hither, Bess, and let me kiss my boy.
Young Ned, for thee, thine uncles and myself
Have in our armors watch'd the winter's night,
Went all afoot in summer's scalding heat,
That thou mightst repossess the crown in peace:
And of our labors thou shalt reap the gain. 20
155
Digitized by CjOOQIC
Act V. Sc- vii. THE THIRD PART OF
Glou. lAsidel I '11 blast his harvest, if your head
were laid;
For yet I am not look'd on in the world.
This shoulder was ordain'd so thick to heave;
And heave it shall some weight, or break my
back:
Work thou the way, — ^and thou shalt execute.
K. Edw. Clarence and Gloucester, love my lovely
queen;
And kiss your princely nephew, brothers both.
Clar. The duty that I owe unto your majesty
I seal upon the lips of this sweet babe.
Q. Eliz. Thanks, noble Clarence; worthy brother,
thanks. ' 30
GUm. And, that I love the tree from whence thou
sprang'st,
Witness the loving kiss I give the fruit.
\^Aside'\ To say the truth, so Judas kiss'd his
master,
And cried, *all hail I' when as he meant all harm.
K. Edw. Now am I seated as my soul delights,
Having my country's peace and brothers' loves.
Clar. What will yoiu* grace have done with Mar-
garet?
Reignier, her father, to the King of France
Hath pawn'd the Sicils and Jerusalem,
And hither have they sent it for her ransom. 40
30. The Camb. editor quotes from Steevens:— "In my copy of the
second Folio, which had belonged to King Charles the First, his
Majesty has erased Cla, and written King in its stead. Shakespeare,
therefore, in the catalogue of his restorers, may boast a Royal
name." — I. G.
Digitized by CjOOQIC
KING HENRY VI Act V, Sc. vii.
K. Edw. Away with her, and waft her hence to
France.
And now what rests but that we spend the time
With stately triumphs, mirthful comic shows.
Such as befits the pleasure of the court?
Sound drums and trumjpetsl farewell sour an-
noy!
For here, I hope, begina our lasting joy.
lExeunt.
JKW Digitized by VjOOQIC
GLOSSARY
By Israel Gollancz, M.A.
Abodementb, bad omens; IV. vii.
13.
Abodino, boding; V. vi. 45.
AovENTUBE, enterprise; IV. ii. 18.
Advertised, informed; II. i. 116.
^sop; an allusion to the belief
that he was humpbacked
(hence the application of the
name to Richard Crookback);
V. V. 26.
Aims at, (1) endeavors to ob-
tain, III. ii. 68; (2) aun, guess,
III. ii. 68.
Alms-deed, act of charity; V. v.
T9.
Apparent, heir-apparent; II. ii.
64.
Appointed; 'Svell a.," well
equipped; II. i. 113.
Argosy, merchant ship ; II. vi. 36.
Arrived, reached, arrived at; V.
iii. 8.
As, that; I. i. 234.
Assay, try, essay (Collier, "es-
say"); I. iv. 118.
Attended, waited for; IV. vi. 89.
Awful, awe-inspiring; II. i. 154.
Balm, consecrated oil; III. i. 17.
Bands, bonds; I. i. 186.
Bandy, beat to and fro; I. iv. 49.
Basilisk, a fabulous serpent sup-
posed to kill by its look; III.
ii. 187.
'^ ^9 army, body of troops; I.
1
Beaver, helmet; I. i. 13.
Belgia, Belgium; IV. viii. 1.
Beuke, I suppose; I. i. 51.
Bells, ''shake his bells," an al-
lusion to the small bells at-
tached to hawks, to frighten
the birds hawked at; I. i. 47.
Betimes, in good time, before it
is too late; V. iv. 45.
Bewray, betray; I. i. 211.
Bishop's Palace, the Palace of
the Bishop of London; V. i.
45.
Blaze, bum; V. iv. 71.
Blood-sucking sighs, referring to
the old belief that with eadi
sigh the heart lost a drop of
blood; IV. iv. 22,
Bloody, blood-thirsty, cruel; I.
iii. 2.
Blunt, rough; IV. viii. 2,
Bodged, yielded, gave way,
budged; (Johnson conj. "budg-
ed," Collier conj. "botch'dT);
I. iv. 19.
Bootless, useless; I. iv. 20.
Boots, avails; I. iv. 125.
Broach'd, begun; II. ii. 159.
Bruit, rumor, report; IV. vii. 64.
Buckle, join in close fight
(Theobald's correction (from
Qq.) of Ff., "buckler") ; I. iv.
50.
Buckler, shield; III. iii. 99.
Bug, bugbear; V. ii. 2.
But, except 5 IV. vii. 36.
1«8 """"" ^"'^'^
KING HENRY VI
Gloi>sar>'
Buy, aby, pay for; (Grant
Whit^ "by," from "abW' Q.
1); V. i. 68.
Callet, a woman of bad charac-
ter; II. U. 145.
Captivates, makes captive; I. iv.
115.
Case, "if c," if it be the case, if
it happen; (F. 4, "In cas^');
V. iv. 34.
Chafed, infuriated; II. v. 126.
Challenge, claim; IV. vi. 6.
Chameleon, a kind of lizard
whose color changes; III. ii.
191.
Chakkel, gutter (Roderick
conj. "kennel") ; II. U. 141.
Charm, silence, as by a charm;
V. V. 31.
Chase, pursuit, game; II. iv. 12,
Cheebly, cheerfully; V. iv. 2.
Chid, driven by scolding; II. v.
17.
Close, secret; IV. v. 17.
CoLOBS, standards, ensigns; I. i.
91.
Conveyance, trickery; III. ill.
160.
Convey'd, carried off; IV. vi. 81.
Cony, rabbit (F. 1, ''Connie/' F.
2, "Conny") ; I. iv. 62.
CovERTUBX, covert, shelter; (War-
burton, "overture") ; IV. ii. 13.
Dabraign, range; II. ii. 72.
Dazzi£9 **d. mine eyes,*' are my
eyes dazzled?; II. i. 25.
Deabest, best, most precious; V.
i. 69.
Deck, pack of cards; V. i. 44.
Delicates, delicacies; I. v. 51.
Demean'd, behaved; I. iv. 7.
Depabt, death, IL i. 110; depar-
ture, going away, IV. i. 92.
Depabting, parting; II. vi. 43.
DESPrrE, spite, malice; II. i. 59.
Dbtbgt, betray; II. ii 143.
Duankuls, annuls, cancels; III.
iU. 81.
Done, done with, finished with;
IV. i. 104.
Done his shbift, heard the con-
fession and granted absolu-
tion; III. a. 107.
Doubt, fear; IV. viii. 37.
Doubted, feared; IV. iii. 19.
DowNBiOHT, straight down; I. 1.
12.
Eaoeb, bitter; II vL 68.
Ban, bring forth young (Ff. 1,
2, "Eane"; Theobald, "yean");
II. V. 36.
Effuse, effusion; II. vi. 28.
Embassade, embassy; (Capell,
from Qq., "embassage"); IV.
iii. 32.
Empty, hungry; I. i. 268.
Encounteb, fight, combat; V. iii.
5.
Enlaboebient, release from con-
finement; IV. vi. 5.
Extrauoht, extracted, derived;
II. ii. 142.
Falchion, scimitar, sword; I. iv.
12.
Fear, affright, terrify; III. iii.
226.
Fear*d, affrighted, frightened;
(Rowe, "scar'd") ; V. ii. 2.
Fearful, timorous, I. i. 25; II. ii.
30; terrible, dreadful; II. ii.
27.
Fence, defend, guard; II. vi. 75.
Figures, reveals; II. L 32.
Fires, dissyllabic; II. i. 83.
Foil, defeat; V. iv. 42.
Fondly, foolishly; II. ii. 38.
For, as regards; IV. iii. 48.
FoRFEND, forbid; II. L 191.
Forgery, lie, deception; III. iii.
175.
159
Digiti:
ized by Google
Oloflsary
THE THIRD PART OF
Fokuobk; '^a t,^ an outcast;
(Collier MS., "M forhrnT);
III. m. 26.
FofULOWy delay; (Ff. 1, 2, "Fore-
slow"; Ff. 3, 4, "Fore-wlovr);
II. m. 56.
F0R8PEXT9 exhausted; (Ff.,
'^Forespent"; Rann (from
Qq.), ''Sore spent") ; II. iii. 1.
FoawABD OP, eager for; IV, viiL
46.
Fkettiko, violently agitating; II.
vi. 35.
GAixAirr, spruce fellow; used
ironically; V. y. 18,
Galua, Gaul; V. iii. 8.
Ghostly, spiritual; III. iL 107*
GiK, snare; I. iv. 61.
Government, self-control; I. !▼.
13S.
Grant, granting^ bestowing; III.
iii. 130.
Hand; "out of h.,** at once; IV.
vii. 63.
Haplt, fortunately; II. v. 58.
Hard-favor'd, hard-featured,
ugly; V. V. 78.
Hasty, rash, passionate; (Wal-
ker conj. "lusty"; Cartwright
conj. "hardy") ; IV. viii. 9.
Hauoht, haughly; II. i. 169.
Have at thee, take care^ be
warned; II. iv. 11.
He, man; I. i. 46.
Head, making, raising an army;
II. i. 141.
Hea, heiress; IV. i. 48.
Henry, trisyllabic; I. i. 107.
Hold, stronghold; I. ii. 69.
Homely, humble; II. v. 99.
Honesty, chastity; III. ii. 79.
Hour (dissyUabic) ; II. ▼. 96, 31,
39, 33, &c.
Htrcania, a country on the Cas-
pian Sea; I. iv. 165.
Icarus, the son of Daedalus, who,
attempting to imitate the ex-
ample of his father and fly on
wings, was drowned (Ovid,
Meta.Ym.); V. vi. 91.
Impale, encircle; III. iii. 189.
Impeach, reproach; I. iv. 60.
Indigested, shapeless; V. vi. 51.
Inferring, bringing forward; II.
ii. 44.
Injurious, insulting. III. iii. 78;
unjust. III. iii. 101.
Inly, inward; I. iv. 171.
Inviolable, not to be broken; II.
i. 30.
Irks; **it i.," it pains; II. u. 6.
Lade, ladle, bale out; III. iL 139.
Lane, passage; I. iv. 9.
Laund, lawn, glade; (Capell,
"lawn")i III. i. 9.
Levei^ aim; II. ii. 19.
Lime, join, cement; V. i. 84.
Limed, caught by bird-lime; V.
vi. 13.
'Long, along of, owing to; (Ff.,
"lonff") ; IV. vii. 39.
Machiavel, used proverbiaUy for
a crafty politician; JII. ii.
193.
Magnanimity, heroic bravery;
V. iv. 41.
Malapert, pert, saucy; V. v. 39.
Male, male-parent; V. vi. 15,
Man at arms, armed knight; V.
iv. 49.
Manhood, bravery, courage; IV.
ii. 90.
Marches, country-borders; II. L
140.
Meeds, deserts, merits; II. i. 36.
Mermaid, siren; III. ii. 186.
Mess, set of four, *'a8 at great
dinners the company was
usually arranged Into fonrs^
(Nares); L iv. 78.
l€0
u.ed by Google
KING HENKY VI
Glossary
Mind, mean, have a mind; IV. i.
8
MisoouBi?ETH, distrusts; V. vi. 14.
MiSTHiKK, misjudge; II. v. 108.
MoE, more; II. L 170.
MoTioK, proposal; III. iii. 244.
MoFGHT, the reading of Ff.;
might, could; (Capell (Qq.)^
"coulcP'; Pope, "nUgM')-, V.
ii. 45.
Muse, marvel, wonder; III. ii.
109.
Naked, unarmed; V. iv. 42.
Nafkik, handkerchief; I. iv. 79.
Narbow seas, English Channel;
IV. viii. 3.
Neat, horned cattle; II. i. 14.
Nestor, the oldest and wisest
hero before Troy; III. ii. 188.
Nice, subtile, sophistical; IV. vii.
58.
Obsequious, lavish of obsequies;
II. V. 118.
Of, Instead of, from being; III.
m. 25.
Okly, alone; (Pope, "atoiw*);
IV. i. 45.
Overgone, overcome; II. v. 133.
Overfeer'd, looked down upon,
towered above; V. ii. 14.
Pale, enclose, encompass; I. iv.
103.
Parcel, part; V. vi. 38.
Passing, surpassing; V. L 106.
Passion, violent sorrow; I. iv.
150.
Period, end, finish; V. v. I*
Pies, magpies; V. vL 48.
Pikch'd, bitten; VI. i. 16.
Pitiful, merciful; III. ii. 32.
Place; "in p.,** present; IV. L
103.
Pleasbth; '^im p.," it pleases
him; II. vi. 105.
TV-11 15,
Pleasure, give pleasure; (Ff. 2,
3, 4* "please"; Collier MS.,
"phase you too*') ; 111. u. S2.
Poltroons, cowards; (Ff., "Paul'
troones") ; 1. i. 62.
Post, messenger; V. i 1.
Post, haste; I. ii. 48.
Post, hasten; I. ii. 55.
Posted off, put off carelessly;
IV. viii. 40.
Power, force, army; II. i. 177.
Prancing, bounding; II. i. 24.
Preachment, high-flown dis-
course; I. iv^ 72.
Prepare, preparation; IV. L 131.
Prescription, right derived from
immemorial custom; III. iii.
94.
Presenteth, represents (Steev-
ens, "present") ; II. v. 100.
Presently, immediately; I. ii. 36.
Pretend, assert; IV. vii. 57.
Prick, mark, dial-point; I. iv. 34.
Prize, privilege ( Warburton
(from Qq.), ''pHde"; Walker
conj. "praise*^) ; II. i. 20.
Proteus, the marine god, who had
the faculty of assuming what-
ever shape he pleased; III. iL
192.
Quaintly, pleasantly; II. v. 24.
Qurr, requite, reward; III. ilL
128.
Racking, moving as clouds; IL i.
27.
Ragged, rugged; (F t.,. "raged") ;
V. iv. 27.
Ramping, rampant; V. ii. 13.
R AUGHT, reached; (Ff. S, 4^
"eaughf) ; I. iv. 68.
Remorse, pi^, compassion; Illr i.
40.
R E K D s , tears asunder;
"rents") ; III. ii. 175.
Glossary
THE THIRD PART OF
Repaib, repairing hither; (Ff. 1,
2, "reTpayr^'; Yi, 3, 4, "ra-
paiV) ; V. i. 20.
Resolve, come to a determina-
tion; I. i. 49.
Respect; '*in r.," in comparison;
V. V. 56.
Rest, remain; IV. ii. 8.
Resteth, remaineth; I. iL 44.
Retire, retreat, flight; II. i. 150.
Revolt, fall off; I. i 151.
Rhesus, the Thracian King who
came to the assistance of Troy,
but was slaughtered at night
by Ulysses and Diomede; IV.
ii. 20.
Rids; *^. away," «. «. gets rid of
distance; V. Hi. 21.
Rook*ih squatted; V. vi. 47.
Roscitts, tlie most celebrated ac-
tor of ancient Rome; (Pope's
emendation; Ff., "Bossiut^;
Hanmer (Warburton) "Bich-
areP') ; V. vi. 10.
RuiiTATE, ruin; V. i. 83.
R V t H F IT L , piteous; (Ff. 3, 4,
''ruefur) ; II. V. 95.
Sadxess, seriousness; III. ii. 77.
Sanctuai^y, the sanctuary at
Westminster, which afforded
protection from any persecu-
tion; IV. iv. 31.
ScRUPiTLOiTs, "too Hice in deter-
minations of conscience"; IV.
vii. 61.
Self-place, self-same place, very
place; HI. i. 11.
Selfsame, the selfsame; (Han-
mer, "thr selfsame"); II. 1.
83.
Sennet, a particular set of notes
on the cornet or trumpet; I. i.
306.
Septentrton, the North; I. iv.
136.
Service; "do thee s.," become thy
servitor"; V. i^ 33.
Shame-faced, bashful; IV. viii.
52.
Ship, take ship; (F. 1, "shipf;
Vaughan conj. "•Wpp'cf") ; IV.
V. 21.
Shoot, shot; III. i. 7.
Shriver, confessor; III. ii. 108.
Shrouds, sail-ropes; V. iv. 18.
SiciLS, Sicilies; I. iv. 139.
Sillt, innocent, helpless; II. v.
43; petty, poor; used contemp-
tuously; III. iii. 93.
Sinew together, knit in strength;
(Ff. 1, 3, 3, "sinov) t.") ; II. vL
91.
SiNON, the Greek who persuaded
the Trojans to carry the wood-
en horse into Troy; III. ii. 190,
SriH, since; 1. 1. 110.
Slaughter-man, slayer, butcher;
I. iv. 169.
Sleight, artifice, trickery;
(Rowe, "slight"); IV. ii. 30.
Sometime, sometimes; II. ii. 30.
Soothe, to assent to as being
true, to humor; (Ff., "sooth";
Rann, Heath conj. "smooth") ;
III. iii. 175.
Sort, crew, set; II. ii. 97.
Sorts, turns out well; II. i. 309.
Spite, vexation, mortification; V.
1.18.
SprrE of spite, come the worst
that may; II. iii. 5.
Spleen; "heated s.," fiery im-
petuosity, heat; (Warburton,
"hated s."); II. i. 134.
Sport, disport, amuse; II. v. 34.
Stale, laughing-stock, dupe; III.
iii. 360.
State, station, rank; III. ii. 93.
Stay, linger; III. iii. 40.
Stigmatic, one branded by na-
ture with deformity; IT. ii. 136.
162
^a^"
KING HENRY VI
Glossary
Stout, brave; IV. ii. 19.
Stbataoem8» dreadful deeds; (Ff.
1, 2, **ttragem9") ; II. v. 89.
Sthike; **to 8.,*' to lower sail; V.
i. 62.
Strike sail, lower, let down sail;
III. iu. 5.
Success, result, issue; II. iL 46.
SuDDEXLT, quickly; IV. ii. 4.
Supper'd, allowed to have way;
IV. vui. 8.
Suspect, suspicion; IV. i. 142.
Tackungs, cordage, rigging (tri-
syUabic); V. iv. 18.
Tainted, touclied, moved; III. L
40.
Take ok, be furious; II. v. 104.
Temper with the stars, act and
think in conformity with fate;
IV. vi. 29.
Time; *take the t.," improve the
opportunity; V. i. 48.
Tireok, seize and feed on raven-
ously; I. i. 269.
Title, claim, ri^t; (Grey conj.
'Hale") ; III. i. 48.
Toward, bold; II. ii. 66.
Thow'st, thinkest; (Ff., "trow-
eat") ; V. i. 85.
Troy; •'the hope of T.," t. «. Hec-
tor; II. i. 61.
Trull, harlot; I. iv. 114.
I'rumpet, trumpeter; V. i. 16.
Type, sign, badge (i. e, the
crown); (Lloyd conj. "style");
I. iv. 121.
Ulysses, the famous king of
Ithaca; III. ii. 189.
Unbid, unbidden, unwelcome; V.
i. 18.
Ukconstant, inconstant; V. i.
102.
UKDoumnED, fearless; (Capell
conj. "redouhiedr)% V. vii. 6.
Ukreasokable, not endowed with
reason; II. ii. QQ.
Untutoh'u, uninstructed, raw; V.
V. 32.
Ux WARES, unawares; (F. 4, "un-
awares*'; Hanmer, "un'waret^* ;
Vaughan conj. "unvoate^'); II.
V. 62.
UsEST, art accustomed; V. v. 76.
Valued^ rated, estimated; V. ilL
14.
Vaktages, advantages; III. ii. 26.
Venom, venomous, poisonous
(Capell, (from Q. 3), "ven-
om'd"); II. ii. 138.
Via, away! an interjection of en-
couragement; II. i. 182.
ViBARi>-LiKE, like a mask; I. iv.
116.
Vowed, sworn; III. Hi. 50.
Waft over, carry over the sea;
III. m. 253.
Waxed, declined; (Ff.,
"wained") ; IV. vii. 4.
Water-flowing, flowing like wa-
ter, copious; IV. viii. 43.
Wean me, alienate myself; (Ff.
1, 2, "waine"; Ff. 3, 4, "wain") ;
IV. iv. 17.
Weeping-ripe, ready to weep;
(Ff., "weeping ripe"); I. iv.
172.
When? an exclamation of impa-
tience; V. i. 49.
Willow garland, the emblem of
unhappy love; III. iii. 228.
Wind, scent; III. ii. 14.
Wisp of Straw, a mark of dis-
grace placed on the heads of
scolds; II. iL 144.
Wit, wisdom; IV. vii. 61.
Witch, bewitch; (Ff., "'witch") ;
III. ii. 160.
Withal, with; III. ii. 91.
Witty, full of wit, intelUgent; I.
ii. 43.
16S
YouNKER, j^*ripln^^ mj^
24
STUDY QUESTIONS
By Ahhe Thsoop C&aio
OEKESAI*
1. What are the Chronicle accounts of the traits and
person of Henry?
5. Is there any scene in which Margaret is allowed by
the poet to exhibit a noble, natural emotion?
3. Describe the dramatic effect of the union of Henry
and Margaret.
4. What characters serve especially as types of the feu-
dal baronage at the height of its power?
6. What episodes and incidents has the poet utilized
throughout, to give dramatic variety to the handling of
the material he had for this play?
6. What is the historic center of action of the Third
Part of King Henry VI? Does it coincide with the dra-
matic crisis?
7. What are the characteristics of Richard, as dramat-
ically set forth throughout the play? In what way are
his speeches, as well as his covert comment upon doings
about him and upon the characters and estate of others,
significant of future events?
A.CT I
8. What was the historic interval between the battle of
St. Albans and the parliament at Westminster, the proceed-
ings of which are represented in this act?
9. Compare lines 9 and 66 of scene i, and explain prob-
able cause of variance.
10. What was the earldom by which Richard claimed the
crown?
^6* Digitized by Google
KING HENRY VI Study Questions
11. What have the Chronicles to say of the proceedings
at the Parliament House when Wiurwick placed York upon
the throne?
IS. Give the Chronicle account of the reconciliation of
York and Lancaster with regard to the claim to the crown,
13. Describe the dramatic impression of the scene of the
colloquy in the Parliament.
14. What picturesque and lawless character was ap-
pointed by Warwick vice-admiral of the sea? What pas-
sage had he in charge and why?
15. To what three lords does Henry refer in line 270,
scene i?
16. How do the Chronicles describe the preliminaries to
the Battle of Wakefield? The battle itself? The death
of young Rutland?
17. What is the impression of the dramatic scene of
young Rutland's death?
18. Describe the dramatic character of the scene of
York's death. Characterize the behavior of Clifford as
compared with that of York.
19. What is the Chronicle account of the scene?
20. Compare Shakespeare's presentment of Margaret in
this scene with his presentment of his most relentless war-
riors in other similar scenes; what conclusion may be
drawn as to the poet's idea of what the passions of battle
or selfish ambition would develop in a woman as compared
with their effect upon a man?
21. Compare Northumberland's expressions of feeling
with Margaret's passages; — ^with Clifford's.
ACT n
22. What do the chroniclers relate as the cause for
Edward's taking the sun for his cognizance?
23. What effect did the second Battle of St. Albans have
upon the general situation?
24. How does Edward mean to characterize Margaret
by his allusion in line 144, scene ii?
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study Questions THE THIRD PART OF
£6. What passages in scene ii set forth the feeling of
York's sons toward Henry personally?
£6. What is the historical account of Edward's march
to London after the second battle of St. Albans?
£7. What is the moral substance of scene v? How
does it depict Henry's real nature?
28. Give the historic account of the Battle of Towton.
29. What is the chronicler's comment on the title of
Gloscester? What line in Richard's mouth recalls this?
ACT in
30. What occurred in the historic interval between the
events of Act II and Act III?
81. What line of Henry's in scene i shows his realization
of his nature as related to the place of ruler he held?
82. Give an account, other than that of the ChronicleSt
of the capture of King Henry.
83. What side lights are thrown on the character of
Edward by the asides of Gloscester and Clarence in scene
ii? Does the historic report of Edward give color to this
innuendo ?
84. What account do the Chronicles give of the meet-
ing of Edward and Lady Grey? In what respects does
the dramatic scene of it express the poet's best portrayal
of women?
35. What was the historic truth of lines 81 and 82,
scene iii?
36. To what facts does Oxford refer in lines 102-106
of scene lii?
87. According to Shakespeare, what was the cause of
the break between Warwick and Edward? Did the Poet
have historical warrant for assigning this cause?
88. What title does Margaret give Warwick which is
indicative of his political power?
39. What is the discrepancy in Warwick's statement in
lines 186-187?
1 66 ° 9' '^^^ ^y Google
KING HENRY VI Study ^^^cstions
ACT IV
40. What unjust disposition of lands was given into the
king's power, up to the time of the Restoration?
41. What is Holinshed's account of the king's advance-
ment of his wife's family?
42. What was Lady Grey's lineage?
48. Give the Chronicle account of the capture of Ed-
ward. Of his release. What has Dr. Lingard to say of
the two incidents?
44. What have the chroniclers to say of Henry, Earl of
Richmond, and the incident of which Shakespeare makes
use in scene v?
45. Give the historic account of Edward's flight to
Burgundy and his return.
46. Give the historic account of the betrayal of Henry.
ACT V
47. How does Hall explain the withdrawal from Cov-
entry to Bamet for the battle which took place there?
48. Describe Warwick's death, both in the drama, and
according to the Chronicles,
49. What is the character of Margaret's invocation to
her followers in scene iv?
60. What is the historic account of the Battle of Tewks-
bury?
61. To what suspicion concerning Richard does Clar-
ence refer in lines 83-84, scene v?
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