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THE    ARDEN    SHAKESPEARE 
GENERAL  EDITOR  :   W.  J.  CRAIG 


THE   FIRST   PART 

OF 

KING   HENRY   THE  SIXTH 


THE    WORKS 


OF 


SHAKESPEARE 

THE  FIRST  PART  OF 
KING    HENRY    THE    SIXTH 

EDITED    BY 
H.     C.     HART 


I 


^ 


ic 


^t^^ 


-^    ^-V^ 


I 

METHUEN   AND   CO. 

36  ESSEX  STREET:   STRAND 
LONDON 


First  Published  in  igog 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction vii 

The  First  Part  of  King  Henry  the  Sixth        ...      3 


INTRODUCTION 

There  is  only  one  text  for  Part  I.  of  Henry  VI.,  that  of  the 
first  Folio,  1623.  In  this  respect  it  stands  on  a  different  footing 
from  Parts  II.  and  III.,  and  for  this  reason  chiefly,  it  is  best 
to  consider  it  here  as  a  play  by  itself  and  not  as  a  portion  of 
the  trilogy:  since  Parts  II.  and  III.  are  founded  upon  earlier 
plays  whose  texts  we  fortunately  possess. 

But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that,  structurally  speaking, 
no  such  separation  is  legitimate.  Of  this  we  will  become  aware 
at  the  beginning  of  Part  II.,  where  the  sequence  of  events  from 
Part  I.  is  clearly  maintained,  and  purposely,  if  somewhat  care- 
lessly, adhered  to  by  the  same  hand  or  hands. 

Whether  Part  I.  is,  as  we  have  it  from  the  Folio,  founded 
upon  an  older  play  is  one  of  the  first  questions  that  occurs ; 
whether  in  its  remodelled  state,  supposing  it  to  have  been  so 
founded,  it  is  by  Shakespeare,  or  how  much  of  it  is  by  Shake- 
speare is  another  question  of  long-standing  difficulty.  What 
other  authorship  is  traceable  and  whose  and  where  ? — all  those 
are  admittedly  amongst  the  most  troublesome  that  a  student 
can  be  confronted  with ;  and  their  difficulty  increases  as  we 
consider  Parts  II.  and  III. 

Before  entering  into  these  discussions,  let  us  string  together 
our  facts,  touching  on  the  appearance  of  Part  I. 

In  Henslowe's  Diary  (folio  7,  p.  13,  Bullen's  reprint)  the 
following  entry  occurs :  "  Ne  (New)  .  .  ^  Rd.  at  harey  the  vj. 
the  3  of  Marche  1591  .  .  .  iijU  xvjs  8^."  Between  that  date 
and  the  22nd  of  April,  1 592  (the  following  month)  there  are  six 
(or  seven)  more  entries  of  its  appearance,  and  its  popularity  was 
greater  than  such  favourites  as  even  Jeronynio  or  the  Jew  of 
Malta.  Its  entries  continue  regularly  down  to  31st  January, 
1593  (the  following  year).     Titus  Andronicus  is  the  only  other 


viii  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Shakespearian  drama  (for  a  different  company)  within  this 
period  ;  and  later  than  "  harey." 

Is  this  Part  I.  of  Hetiry  VI.  ?  There  is  only  one  piece  of 
external  evidence  to  assist  us.  It  is  from  Nashe's  Pierce  Peni- 
lesse,  which  was  published  in  the  same  year  (Grosart's  ed.  ii. 
88).  After  proving  that  plays  "borrowed  out  of  our  English 
chronicles "  are  "  a  rare  exercise  of  virtue,"  he  says :  "  How 
would  it  have  ioyed  brave  Talbot  (the  terror  of  the  French) 
to  thinke  that  after  he  had  lyen  two  hundred  yeare  in  his 
Toomb,  he  should  triumph  againe  on  the  stage,  and  haue 
his  bones  new  embalmed  with  the  teares  of  ten  thousand 
spectators  at  least  (at  seuerall  times)  who,  in  the  Tragedian 
that  represents  his  person,  imagine  they  behold  him  fresh 
bleeding."  This  refers  to  Act  IV.  Scenes  v.,  vi.,  vii.  either  in 
the  Folio  play  or  its  forecast.  Talbot  is  "the  terror  of  the 
French  "  in  I.  iv.  42. 

It  is  hard  to  say  how  far  "  New "  is  to  be  regarded  as 
a  legitimate  claim.  I  do  not  know  that  it  can  be  stated  that 
"  ne  "  does  not  imply  that  this  is  the  first  appearance  of  the  play 
in  question  in  any  shape,  a  natural  assumption.  But  the  mean- 
ing may  also  be  taken  that  it  is  an  old  play  so  much  altered 
as  to  rest  on  a  new  base  of  popularity.  This  latter  view  re- 
quires further  proof,  the  former  being  the  natural  interpretation, 
"  Further  proof"  is  here  found  internally. 

One  other  point  should  be  mentioned  here,  and  that  is  that 
the  fact  of  the  appearance  of  Part  I.  in  the  first  Folio  at  all  is 
direct  proof  that  the  play  was  regarded  at  that  date  (1623),  as 
justly  attributable  to  Shakespeare  by  the  editors  Heminge  and 
Condell,  the  best  authorities  on  the  subject :  authority,  I  think, 
of  greater  weight  than  Meres's  negative  evidence,  to  be  men- 
tioned presently. 

It  is  perhaps  a  slight  evidence  in  favour  of  the  Henslowe 
Diary  play  being  the  same  as  the  Folio  play,  that  it  was  known 
always  in  the  Diary  as  Henry  VI.  The  subsequent  parts  in 
their  earliest  forms  had  distinct  titles,  and  were  not  known  as 
Henry  VI.  until  they  reached  the  final  stage.  We  have  no 
record  of  the  acting  of  those  earlier  forms. 

Shakespeare  himself  laid  claim,  apparently,  to  the  whole 
three  parts ;  in  the  epilogue  to  King  Henry  V.  "  Our  bending 
author  hath  pursued  the  story,"  he  says : — 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  ix 

And  of  it  left  his  son  imperial  lord. 

Henry  the  Sixth,  in  infant  bands  crown'd  King 
Of  France  and  England,  did  this  King  succeed ; 

Whose  state  so  many  had  the  managing, 
That  they  lost  France  and  made  his  England  bleed: 

Which  oft  our  stage  hath  shown  ;  and,  for  their  sake 
In  your  fair  minds  let  this  acceptance  take. 

These  words  seem  intended  to  refer  to  the  three  parts,  and  to 
their  popularity  on  the  stage.  But  some  critics  see  nothing 
here  beyond  a  reference  to  this  popularity. 

That  Shakespeare  was  at  this  date  (i  590-1 591)  known  as 
a  historical  or  heroical  writer  may  be  inferred  from  the  lines  in 
Spenser's  Colin  Clout's  Come  Home  Again  (1591),  which  un- 
doubtedly refer  to  him — from  the  quibbling  on  the  name  : — 

And  there,  though  last  not  least  is  Action, 
A  gentler  shepheard  may  no  where  be  found : 

Whose  Muse,  full  of  high  thoughts  invention 
Doth  like  himselfe  Heroically  sound. 

Shakespeare  had  written  nothing  at  this  date  to  which  these 
words  could  apply  so  well  as  to  Henry  VI.  The  dispute  about 
the  date  of  Spenser's  poem  need  be  only  referred  to  as  a  need- 
less one,  arising  out  of  one  interpolation. 

This  is  the  earliest  reference  to  Shakespeare  in  Ingleby's 
Centurie  of  Pray se. 

In  view  of  the  extreme  interest  of  this  quotation  it  may  be 
excusable  to  enforce  the  sense  of  "  heroically  sound "  from 
Spenser  himself: — 

Yet  gold  al  is  not  that  doth  golden  seeme 

Ne  all  good  knights  that  shake  well  speare  and  shield. 

{Faerie  Queene,  11.  viii.  14.) 

And  shivering  speare  in  bloody  field  first  shooke. 

(Faerie  Queene,  iii.  i.  7.) 

And  from  Spenser's  constant  follower,  Peele : — 

Now,  brave  John  Baliol  .  .  . 
And  King  of  Scots  shine  with  thy  golden  head; 
(And)  shake  thy  spears,  in  honour  of  his  name 
Under  whose  royalty  thou  wear'st  the  same. 

{Edward  I.  386,  a,  Routledge.) 

Thus  long,  I  say,  sat  Sydney  and  beheld 

The  shivers  fly  of  many  a  shaken  spear.     {Polyhymnia,  1590.) 


X  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

And  from  Marlowe,  Taniburlaine,  Part  I.  IV.  i.  p.  25,  b: — 

Five  hundred  thousand  footmen  threatening  shot, 
Shaking  their  swords,  their  spears,  their  iron  bills. 

There  is  one  evidence  against  Shakespeare's  authorship 
from  an  external  source,  that  must  be  mentioned.  It  is  of  no 
positive  decisiveness.  It  is  that  of  Francis  Meres  {IVits 
Treasury,  1 598)  whose  enumeration  of  the  plays  at  that  date 
does  not  include  Henry  VI.  "  For  tragedy  his  Richard  the  2, 
Richard  the  3,  Henry  the  ^,  King  John,  Titus  Andronicus  Q.nd 
his  Rofneo  atid  Juliet."  Meres  may  have  regarded  Henry  the 
VI.  as  joint  compositions ;  he  may  have  forgotten  them  for  the 
moment ;  but  what  is  most  probable  is  that  as  he  was  laying 
stress  on  Shakespeare's  most  deserving  work,  he  purposely 
passed  these  plays  by.  It  was  an  unfortunate  omission  for 
future  critics. 

Meres  affects  a  "  pedantic  parallelism  of  numbers "  (as 
Brinsley  Nicholson  called  it)  in  order  to  bring  about  his  juxta- 
position of  English  against  classical  and  foreign  names  that 
somewhat  detracts  from  his  worth  as  an  accurate  critic. 

Greene's  well  known  virulent  attack  on  Shakespeare  in  1592, 
properly  belongs  to  Part  III.;  or  to  the  whole  group.  Its  con- 
sideration must  be  deferred  for  the  present  with  the  remark 
that  it  betrays  Greene's  extreme  irritation,  apparently  at  Shake- 
speare's having  made  use  of  work  of  his  and  of  others,  in  some 
fashion  with  such  success  for  the  stage.  We  have  no  evidence 
that  Part  I.  is  a  revision  except  internal  evidence — but  we 
shall  show  presently  that  there  is  in  it  much  that  recalls 
Greene's  known  work. 

We  are  left  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  play  itself,  with 
the  foregoing  evidence  that  it  is  in  some  degree  or  other 
Shakespeare's.  All  critics,  all  readers,  will  probably  agree  or 
have  agreed  that  it  is  one  of  the  least  poetical  and  also  one  of 
the  dullest  of  all  the  plays  in  the  Eolio.  It  is  redeemed  by  few 
passages  of  merit — its  verse  is  unmusical,  its  situations  are 
usually  poorly  developed — and  were  it  not  for  the  essential 
interest  of  the  subject-matter,  to  any  English  reader  it  would 
be  unreadable.  But  even  there  it  is  blameworthy,  since  the 
history  it  contains  is  jumbled  and  falsified  in  perplexing  and 
unnecessary  ways. 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  xi 

Nevertheless  there  is  an  easy  story-telh'ng  method  about 
the  writing  that  is  freer  from  bombast  and  pedantry  than  the 
usual  efforts  of  the  date — it  is  devoid  of  brutality  and  horrors 
for  the  most  part,  such  as  disfigure  that  revolting  play  Titus 
Andronicus,  which  is  regarded,  or  was  regarded,  as  Shakespeare's 
first  play  and  the  only  one  preceding  that  under  notice,  Titus 
bears  ample  evidence,  however,  of  authorship  other  than  Shake- 
speare's, and  is  now  given  by  some  competent  critics  a  later 
date,  and  even  removed  entirely  from  his  name. 

We  are  at  liberty  to  place  Part  I,,  in  so  far  as  it  is  Shake- 
speare's, as  his  earliest  work  with  a  date  of  about  1589-90. 
There  is  thus  a  certain  space  of  time  in  hand  for  the  develop- 
ment of  power  and  experience  before  the  production  of  Parts 
II.  and  III.  (1 591-2)  which  are  both,  especially  the  last-named, 
of  a  higher  class  in  all  respects. 

Are  we  to  believe  then,  or  try  to  believe,  that  the  play 
before  us  is  of  that  date?  Or  that  our  version  is  built  (by 
Shakespeare)  on  a  lost  and  earlier  play?  I  incline  to  the 
former  opinion,  I  believe  that  a  close  examination  of  the 
language  itself  makes  that  date  imperative  in  so  many  cases 
that  we  are  bound  to  grant  it ;  and  the  converse  is  even  more 
the  case ;  that  any  later  date,  even  for  parts  of  it  in  any  con- 
siderable extent,  would  be  revealed  by  the  same  study  of  the 
language  were  it  existent.  There  are  no  such  staggering  diffi- 
culties with  regard  to  this  date,  in  the  text,  as  confront  one,  for 
example,  when  accepting  the  1 590-1 591  date  for  Love's  Labour 's 
Lost.  No  painful  necessity  for  viewing  whole  speeches,  and 
several  topical  allusions,  as  belonging  to  a  period  two  to  three 
years  later — painful  only  to  the  student  chronologically,  for  no 
doubt  they  would  shine  forth  in  bright  relief  from  the  surround- 
ing level  of  hardly  mitigated  dulness, 

I  see  no  reason,  therefore,  to  look  for  an  imaginary  earlier 
completed  play.  I  am  aware  that  I  am  in  conflict  here  with 
the  views  of  some  critics  of  importance,  but  other  views  than 
my  own  will  be  dealt  with  later. 

There  is  one  confusing  result  arrived  at  after  a  prolonged 
examination.  Although  we  find  Greene's  methods  of  expres- 
sion in  so  many  places,  the  general  style  is  not  that  of  Greene, 
it  is  much  toned  down  and  tamer.  Still  less  does  the  poetry 
recall  Marlowe  ;  it  is  devoid  of  his  special  grandeur,  or  inflation. 


xii  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

or  rant,  whichever  one  chooses  to  call  it — it  is  seldom  worthy 
of  him,  and  anything  of  Marlowe  in  this  play  is  more  easily 
regarded  as  due  to  his  influence,  often  apparent  in  Shakespeare's 
early  work,  or  to  imitation  of  him,  most  natural  in  an  aspiring 
dramatist  who  aimed  at  such  successes  as  the  author  of  Tam- 
hurlaine  had  recently  achieved. 

Assuredly,  however,  Greene  had  a  hand  in  the  composition. 
And  if  his  many  excrescences  of  style  were  toned  down  by  his 
co-operators  as  the  work  proceeded,  I  believe  that  Peele  and 
Shakespeare  formed  the  syndicate.  Since  these  views  arose 
from  adjusting  the  parallels  amongst  the  authors  concerned,  I 
will  proceed  at  once  to  lay  them  out  in  order.  One  observation 
I  will  venture  on  here  (and  I  propose  to  prove  it  later,  here  or 
elsewhere) ;  it  is  this  :  Spenser's  influence  on  the  plays  of  this 
date  has  not  received  sufficient  attention.  Marlowe  and  Peele 
made  use  of  him  wholesale,  and  Shakespeare  shows  his  fami- 
liarity with  him  very  often.  Oddly  enough  Greene  seems  to 
have  had  less  admiration  for  the  greatest  of  all  poets  since  the 
days  of  Chaucer.  Perhaps  "  Palin  worthie  of  great  praise " 
who  envied  Spenser's  "  rustick  quill  "  {Colin  Cloufs  Come  Home 
Again,  392)  was  Greene.  Even  where  Spenser's  style  appears  in 
Greene,  it  comes  possibly  at  second  hand,  sometimes  through 
Marlowe — or  Peele  it  may  be. 

Such  collaboration  as  appears  to  have  taken  place  was  quite 
usual.  The  hands  of  Greene  and  Peele  will  be  found  at  work 
together  both  in  Selimiis  and  Locrine,  while  Marlowe  may  have 
assisted  in  the  former.  The  latter  is  either  imitated  or  was 
himself  at  work  in  Richard  III.,  and  he  certainly  gave  help  in 
the  Contention  on  which  the  second  part  of  Henry  VI.  is  built. 
Peele  again  helped  largely  in  Titus  Andronicus,  in  company 
with  Greene,  as  Mr.  Robertson  has  shown,  and  as  could  be  still 
further  demonstrated.  To  Marlowe's  short  career  it  is  not 
easy  to  add  more  work,  but  excellent  critics  like  Mr.  Charles 
Crawford  find  him  in  evidence  in  several  plays  other  than  those 
known  to  be  his.  Any  work  by  Marlowe  intended  to  catch 
popularity  would  at  this  date,  however,  be  attributed  to  him. 
His  name  was  one  to  conjure  with.  As  Greene  died  in  Sep- 
tember, 1 592,  and  Marlowe  in  the  June  of  the  following  year 
(tragedies  both  unsurpassed  in  any  of  their  plays),  we  have  abso- 
lute dates  and  data  in  limitation  of  our  inquiry.     Peele  survived 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  xiii 

them  both,  but  was  dead  in  1598.  He  wrote  several  plays 
that  are  lost  besides  those  we  have,  and  no  doubt  had  a  share 
in  much  anonymous  or  otherwise  attributed  work.  He  was 
the  author  of  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  historical  plays  derived 
from  the  chroniclers,  Edward  the  First,  wherein  however  he 
departs  widely  from  history. 

To  Peele  may  be  credited  also  a  foretaste  of  a  more  agree- 
able and  good-natured  kind  of  humour  than  belongs  to  any 
other  of  the  dramatists  of  the  time,  saving  Shakespeare  him- 
self. Marlowe  and  Greene  had  none — or  so  little  and  of  so 
poor  a  quality  that  it  is  little  better  than  none — especially 
Greene.  The  latter  also  tried  his  hand  at  chronicle-play- 
writing — in  James  the  Fourth  of  Scotland.  But  his  authorities 
are  unknown.  Both  of  these  may  have  preceded  Henry  VI. 
Peele's  play  almost  certainly  did. 

Marlowe's  play  of  this  kind,  Edward  the  Second,  is  of 
later  date,  probably  his  last  piece  of  work.  For  more  about 
Peele  and  Marlowe,  see  Introductions  to  Parts  H.  and  HI. 
respectively. 

These  remarks  pave  the  way  to  the  consideration  and 
allotment  of  their  shares,  and  show  inherent  probability  that 
such  joint  work  would  have  taken  place.  We  can  imagine  very 
easily  that  Shakespeare  was  invited  to  lend  a  hand  to  Greene 
and  Peele,  and  equally  easily  the  idea  presents  itself  that  in 
smoothing  away  much  of  Greene's  turgidity  and  iteration 
as  the  work  progressed  the  toes  of  the  older  dramatist  were 
often  trodden  upon,  that  the  feeling  of  rancour  increased  with 
the  success  of  "  harey  VI."  and  that  at  length  it  culminated 
and  found  expression  in  the  famous  death-bed  attack  on  Shake- 
speare. 

In  an  excellent  criticism  of  an  edition  of  Greene's  works  by 
Mr.  Greg  in  The  Modern  Language  Review  (April,  1906) — the 
edition  by  J.  Churton  Collins — a  review  to  which  my  friend, 
Mr.  Francis  Woollett,  directed  my  attention — I  find  some 
valuable  remarks  about  Greene's  play  dates.  From  a  passage 
in  the  preface  to  Perimedes  (dated  1588),  says  Mr.  Greg,  it  is 
evident  Greene  had  been  scoffed  at  on  the  stage  for  some  failure 
connected  therewith.  This  failure  may  be  assigned  to  Alphon- 
sus  as  being  apparently  the  earliest  by  Greene  we  have,  following 
immediately   upon  Marlowe's  Tamburlaine  (1587).      By  con- 


xiv  THE  FIRST  TART  OF 

necting  a  passage  referring  to  the  lost  Delphrygus,  in  Greene's 
Groatsiuortli,  with  another  reference  to  the  same  lost  play  (or 
the  King  of  Fairies)  by  Nashe  in  his  Introduction  to  Menaphon 
(1589),  Mr.  Greg  finds  Greene  began  writing  for  the  stage 
when  this  (or  these)  were  the  popular  pieces,  obsolete  in  1589, 
so  that  1587  is  the  latest  date  assignable  for  his  earliest  effort. 
The  argument  is  perhaps  strained,  perhaps  elusive,  but  it  is 
legitimate.  "  Orlando  must  be  after  Alphonsus."  Mr.  Greg 
seems  to  accept  a  date  of  1 590  (from  Collins)  for  Peele's  Old 
Wives'  Tale,  and  he  deems  it  certain  that  it  followed  Orlando 
because  there  are  two  passages  in  common  and  because  the 
character  Sacrapantis  in  both,  which  Greene  took  from  Ariosto. 
Mr.  Greg  disagrees  with  Collins  about  the  authorship  of 
Selimus,  which  play  the  former  rightly  continues  to  ascribe 
(mainly)  to  Greene — his  arguments  here  are  sound  and  useful 
— Greene,  under  the  influence,  no  doubt,  of  Marlowe.  It  is  a 
lamentable  thing  for  Greene's  play-writing  repute,  but  it  is 
nevertheless  probably  true,  that  George-a-Greejie  is  to  be  re- 
moved from  his  authorship,  or  at  the  very  least  very  strongly 
doubted  as  his.  James  the  Fourth  is  placed  last  in  date.  In- 
ternal evidence  shows  it  to  date  1 590-1 591,  as  I  have  shown 
elsewhere.  Needless  to  say  none  of  the  above  information  is 
due  to  Churton  Collins.  The  date  of  1590  for  Peele's  Old 
Wives  Tale  is  unacceptable.  It  must  be  earlier.  The  argu- 
ment from  common  passages,  and  the  name  Sacrapant,  will 
work  the  other  way.  And  it  is  very  doubtful  if  we  have  any 
dramatic  work  by  Greene  as  early  as,  or  at  any  rate  earlier, 
than  1586. 

Greene. 

Since  Greene  is  most  prominently  met  with  in  Part  I.,  I  will 
adduce  his  parallels  first.  More  could  be  found  by  more  care- 
ful reading,  I  have  no  doubt,  and  those  I  do  adduce  by  no 
means  exhaust  my  collection,  as  my  notes  will  show. 

Act  I. 

I.  i.  23.  planets  of  mishap.  "  Borne  underneath  the  Planet  of 
mishap  "  (Alphonsus,  Grosart,  xiii.  391). 

I.  i.  67.  cause  him  once  more  yield  the  ghost.  Without  to.  Twice 
again  in  Henry  VIII.  Uncommon  in  Elizabethan  writers.  "  Whose 
fathers  he  causd  murthered  in  these  warres  "  (George-a-Greene).  Greene 
wrote  a  sketch  of  this  scene,  but  it  is  mainly  by  Shakespeare,  rewritten. 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  xv 

I.  ii.  34.  skirmish.  Often  used  by  Greene.  The  same  applies  to  mas- 
sacre above,  i.  i.  135.  Uncommon  words  at  this  time  and  seldom  in 
Shakespeare.  "The  skirmish  furiously  begun,  continuing  for  the  space 
of  three  houres  with  great  massacre  and  bloodshed"  {Buphues  His 
Censure,  Grosart,  vi.  254).  For  massacre,  see  note  11.  ii.  18.  But 
Greene  has  not  the  verb  "  skirmish."  It  is  frequent  in  Berner's 
Froissart. 

I.  ii.  48.  your  cheer  appaVd.  Not  elsewhere  in  Shakespeare.  Occurs 
several  times  in  Greene  as  distinct  from  appal.  "Neither  let  our 
presence  appale  your  senses"  {Myrrour  of  Modestie,  iii.  18). 

I.  ii.  72.  at  first  dash.  Only  here  with  Shakespeare  but  a  favourite 
with  Greene — "  shal  Fancie  give  me  the  foyle  at  the  first  dash  ?  " 
{Mamillia,  ii.  73).  And  repeated  in  Alcida,  ix.  59.  Earlier  in  Promos  and 
Cassandra  by  Whetstone. 

I.  ii.  95.  buckle  with.  Twice  again  in  this  play,  and  in  3  Henry  VI, 
I.  iv.  50.  Greene  has  it :  "  hasted  forward  to  buckle  with  Acestes " 
(Orpharion,  xii.  53):  "he  marvelled  how  Scilla  durst  buckle  with  his 
great  Fortune"  (Tritameron,  Part  II.  iii.  131);  "buckle  with  the  foe" 
{Alphonsus,   xiii.    393).      Shakespeare    would   know  this   from    Grafton 

(1543)- 

I.  ii.  148.  immortalized.  Not  again  in  Shakespeare.  Earlier  in  this 
sense  in  Greene :  "  immortalize  whom  thou  wilt  with  thy  toys  "  {Menu- 
phon,  vi.  no).     He  found  it  in  Spenser. 

I.  iii.  13.  warrantize.  Occurs  in  this  sense  again  only  in  So»«e^  150. 
A  rare  word.  Greene  has  "  Pawnmg  his  colours  for  thy  warrantize  " 
{Orlando  Furioso,  xiii.  155). 

I.  iii.  38.  not  budge  a  foot.  Greene  has  "  Bouge  not  a  foote  to  aid 
Prince  Rodomant  "  (Orlando  Furioso,  xiii.  155).  "  I  '11  not  budge  an  inch  " 
is  in  Taming  of  the  Shrew.  The  first  three  scenes  were  chiefly  written 
by  Greene.     But  Nashe  lent  aid  in  Scene  ii.  ? 

I.  iv.  74.  martial  men.  Again  in  Lucrece  200.  "  nominate  himselfe 
to  be  a  Marshall  man  "  (Greene,  Blacke  Bookes  Messenger,  xi.  6).  Nashe 
used  this  earlier. 

This  scene  is  by  Shakespeare.  Nashe  seems  again  to  have  assisted. 
Scene  v.  with  its  assemblage  of  natural  history  metaphors  is  most  near 
Greene. 

I.  vi.  22.  Rhodope's  or  Memphis'.  "They  which  came  to  Memphis 
thought  they  had  seene  nothing  unlesse  they  had  viewed  the  Pyramides 
built  by  Rhodope  "  {Mamillia,  Grosart,  ii.270).  And  again,  p.  280.  And 
in  The  Debate  between  Follie  and  Love,  iv.  219:  "What  made  Rhodope 
builde  the  Pyramides  .  .  .  but  Follie  ?  "  And  in  Planetomachia,  v.  104, 
and  elsewhere.     Characteristic  of  Greene. 

This  scene  recalls  Marlowe  a  little.  Compare  the  last  lines  to  clear 
the  stage  with  Tamburlaine,  Part  I.  end  of  Act  iii. ;  and  Tamburlaine, 
Part  II.  end  of  i.  i. ;  end  of  i.  iii.  and  end  of  11.  iii.  The  classical 
references  may  be  his.  But  see  under  Marlowe.  The  metre  and  verse 
is  nearer  Marlowe  than  Shakespeare's  earliest  stage. 


xvi  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Act  11. 

II.  i.  4.  Court  of  guard.  Compare  the  position  here  with  that  in 
Greene's  Orlando  Furioso,  xiii.  134,  135.  The  term  is  often  in  Greene,  as 
Menaphon,  vi.  120 ;  Orpharion,  xii.  58,  etc. 

II.  i.  14.  to  quittance  their  deceit.  An  uncommon  verb,  not  again  in 
Shakespeare.  Greene  has  "to  quittance  all  my  ils"  {Orlando  Furioso, 
xiii.  140);  and  "to  quittance  all  thy  wrongs"  (p.  186)  in  the  same  play. 
And  again  in  Philomela  and  elsewhere. 

II.  i.  77.  platform  (plan).  Not  again  in  Shakespeare,  but  very  com- 
mon in  Greene. 

II.  ii.  27.  dusky  vapours.  "  No  duskic  vapour  did  bright  Phcebus 
shroude  "  {Never  too  Late,  viii.  68). 

II.  iii.  10.  give  their  censure.  Again  in  2  Henry  VI.  and  Richard  III. 
A  favourite  with  Greene  :  "  to  give  a  censure  of  painting  "  {Tritameron  of 
Love,  iii.  78) ;  and  often. 

II.  iii.  41.  Captivate  (captive).  A  rare  word  outside  Greene.  It 
occurs  below,  v.  iii.  107  again  :  "the  mindes  of  the  souldiers  captivate  by 
their  Captaines  bounty  "  {Euphues  His  Censtire,  vi.  283).     And  elsewhere. 

Up  to  this  Greene  has  had  a  share,  at  least,  in  the  composition  of 
Act  II. ;  although  his  work  has  been  retouched  in  ii.  and  iii.  See  Shake- 
speare's part  below.  Scenes  iv.  and  v.  I  would  allot  wholly  to  Shake- 
speare. 

Act  III. 

III.  i.  8.  Presumptuous.  Outside  these  three  plays,  in  each  of  which 
it  occurs,  Shakespeare  uses  presumptuous  only  once  in  All's  Well  That 
Ends  Well.  Greene  is  very  fond  of  it  as  suitable  to  his  favourite  air  of 
bravado,  which  shows  itself  in  this  scene.  Greene  has  it  in  fames  the 
Fourth  and  twice  in  Alphonsiis.  Compare  "  Presumptuous  Viceroy  darst 
thou  check  thy  Lord  "  {A  Looking  Glassefor  London,  xiv.  12).  Marlowe 
and  Spenser  both  use  it,  and  it  was  far  earlier. 

III.  i.  13.  Verbatim.  Not  elsewhere  in  Shakespeare.  "  I  have  not 
translated  Lentulus  letter  verbatim  worde  for  worde"  {Tullies  Love,  vii. 

153)- 

III.  i.  15.  pestiferous.  Only  again  in  All's  Well  That  Ends  Well,  iv. 
iii.  340.  Greene  has  it  several  times:  "prohibit  him  from  his  pestiferous 
purpose"  {Mamillia,  ii.  118,  and  again  186).  Dissentious  (1.  15)  is  also  a 
favourite  with  Greene. 

III.  i.  48.  to  patronage  his  theft.  This  verb  occurs  again  below,  iii. 
iv.  32 ;  and  is  not  known  elsewhere  except  as  a  word  of  Greene's : 
"patronage  learning  and  souldiers"  {Euphues  to  Philautus,  vi.  151 
(1587)) ;  "  patronage  such  affections  "  {ibid.  p.  239).  Greene  has  the  verb 
in  his  epistles  to  three  others  of  his  prose  tracts. 

III.  i.  43.  lordly  sir.  "  Then  lordly  sir,  whose  conquest  is  as  great  " 
{Frier  Bacon,  xiii.  54).  Shakespeare  never  uses  this  word  outside  these 
plays  (I.  and  II.)  excepting  once  in  Lucrece.  Probably  then,  as  now,  it 
had  an  unpleasant  sneer  in  it.     Greene  and  Peele  have  it  often. 

III.  i.  64.     have  a  fling  at.     Not  elsewhere  in  Shakespeare  and  no 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  xvii 

earlier  example  in  Neiv  Eng.  Did.  that  is  parallel.  It  is  a  favourite  with 
Greene:  "they  must  have  one  fling  at  women?  dispraysing  their 
nature"  {Mamillia,  ii.  76,  77);  "did  meane  to  have  a  fling  at  her"  {De- 
fence of  Conny- Catching,  xi.  37).  And  in  Never  too  Late,  viii.  190,  and 
again,  viii.  218.  And  in  Seliimts  (by  Greene  and  Peele),  xiv.  290.  Earlier 
in  Whetstone. 

III.  i.  113.  repulse.  An  uncommon  word  in  the  sense  of  serious 
rebuff.  Greene  affords  an  example:  "When  the  Turke  doth  heare  of 
this  repulse,  We  shall  be  sure  to  die  "  {Alphonsiis,  xiii.  381). 

III.  i.  99.  inkhorn  mate.  The  adjective  is  not  elsewhere  in  Shake- 
speare, nor  is  the  word  anywhere  used  by  him  with  a  sneer.  And  mate, 
as  a  term  of  contempt,  disappears  early  from  his  work.  Mate  is  fre- 
quent in  Greene.  See  Greene,  xiii.  124,  138,  342,  366,  396,  etc.  One 
of  his  most  usual  words.  For  inkhorn;  "an  inkhorne  desire  to  be  elo- 
quent "  {Menaphon,  vi.  82). 

in.  i.  171.  girt.  Again  in  2  Henry  VI.  i.  i.  165.  "  And  girt  faire 
England  with  a  wall  of  brasse  "  {Frier  Bacon,  xiii.  77)  ;  "Go  girt  thy 
loines  "  (A  Looking  Glasse  for  London,  xiv.  51).  (See  note  at  passage 
here.)     Earlier  in  Marlowe. 

III.  i.  190.  feign'd  .  .  .forged.  Commonly  set  together  by  Greene  : 
"fained  faith  &  forged  flatterie  "  {Mamillia,  ii.  183)  ;  "  to  forge  a  fayned 
tale  "  {Alphonsiis,  xiii.  341).  And  the  first  line  of  the  Prologue  to  Selimus. 
In  Spenser's  Colin  Clout. 

111.  i.  193.  fester' d  members  rot.  "  the  festring  Fistuloe  hath  by  long 
continuance  made  the  sound  flesh  rotten  "  {Mamillia,  ii.  125). 

This  scene  is  quite  beyond  Greene  in  dignity  and  continuit}'  of  pur- 
pose.    But  he  certainly  bore  a  hand  in  its  construction. 

III.  ii.  55.  twit  with  cowardice.  Only  in  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona 
outside  these  plays.  "  She  twits  thee  with  Vesta "  {Tullies  Love,  vii. 
167) ;  "  twit  him  with  the  lawes  that  nature  lowes  "  {A  Looking  Glasse  for 
London,  xiv.  12).     But  see  under  Peele. 

III.  ii.  119.  enshrines.  This  term  is  found  figurativly  used  both  in 
Locrine  and  Selimus,  which  proves  nothing.  New  Eng.  Diet,  has  no  earlier 
example  than  the  present. 

Scene  ii.  is  probably  wholly  Shakespeare's.  I  see  no  reason  to  look 
for  another's  work ;  if  there  be  any  it  would  be  safest  to  suggest  Peele. 

III.  iii.  3.  corrosive.  Occurs  again  only  in  2  Henry  VL  iii.  ii.  403 
where  it  is  a  noun.  Not  an  uncommon  word  in  figurative  use  with 
various  spellings,  and  often  used  by  Greene  as  in  Mamillia:  "the  cora- 
sive  of  despair,"  ii.  p.  152,  etc.,  etc.     Earlier  in  Grafton. 

III.  iii.  6,  7.  peacock  .  .  .  pull  his  plumes.  Greene  is  particularly  fond 
of  the  peacock  and  his  plumes  as  a  metaphor  in  his  prose  tracts.  For 
pull  his  plumes  (not  again  in  Shakespeare)  compare  Greene  :  "  Pull  all 
your  plumes  and  sore  dishonour  you  "  {George-a-Greene  (Dyce  edn.  261,  b, 
Routledge)) ;  "  a  tawny  hiew  pulleth  downe  my  plumes  "  {Metamorphoses, 
Grosart,  ix.  22) ;  "  Solon  pulde  downe  his  plumes  "  {Farewell  to  Follie,  ix. 
260).      Marlowe  uses  this  also. 

III.  iii.  II.  foil.    Occurs  again  meaning  defeat,  miscarriage  (Schmidt) 


xviii  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

only  at  v.  iii.  23  below.  Often  in  Greene,  but  it  is  also  earlier.  The 
same  words  apply  also  to  "  sugared  words  "  in  line  18,  only  paralleled  in 
2  Henry  VI.  and  Richard  III. 

III.  ii.  12.  secret  policies  (dodges,  tricks).  The  only  plural  use  in 
Shakespeare.  A  favourite  word  with  the  writer  of  the  Conny -Catching 
tracts  :  "  sundry  policies  "  {Second  Part  of  Conny -Catching,  x.  77) ;  "now 
lie  flie  to  secret  policie  "  {George-a-Greene,  xiv.  146). 

III.  iii.  61.  progeny,  meaning  descent,  is  an  old  use  but  not  met  with 
in  Shakespeare.  Greene  used  it  frequently  (see  note):  "my  progeny 
from  such  a  peevish  Parent  "  (Planetomachia,  v.  40,  etc.). 

III.  iii.  79.  roaring  cannon-shot.  The  earliest  example  of  cannon- 
shot  in  New  Eng.  Diet.,  and  not  again  in  Shakespeare.  Greene  has  the 
whole  expression:  "the  roaring  cannon-shot  spit  forth  the  venome  of 
their  fired  panch  "  (Alphonsiis,  xiii.  397). 

III.  iii.  91.  prejudice  the  foe.  The  verb  is  not  used  by  Shakespeare. 
"  What  daies  and  nightes  they  spende  in  watching  either  to  preuent  or 
preiudice  the  enemie"  {Fareivell  to  Follie,  ix.  247).  And  in  Never  too 
Late,  viii.  53. 

III.  iv.  is  so  poor  a  scene  and  contains  such  wretched  lines  that  one 
hesitates  to  ascribe  it  to  any  one.  It  contains  Greene's  verb  patronage 
(1.  32),  and  his  excrescent  of  (1.  29).  miscreant  (1.  44)  is  also  a  pet  word 
with  him.  So  that  perhaps  he  would  claim  it  in  addition  to  Scene  iii. 
which  has  many  marks  of  him. 

Act  IV. 

IV.  i.  is  entirely  by  Shakespeare.  Evidences  of  him,  and  of  no 
one  else,  appear  in  every  speech.  So  also  of  Scenes  ii.,  iii.,  iv.  and  v. 
Shakespeare  is  the  author.  Scenes  vi.  and  vii.,  though  recalling  Greene 
in  several  places,  and  possibly  written  over  an  effort  of  his,  are  Shake- 
speare's down  to  the  entrance  of  the  Herald  (vii.  50) ;  the  latter  forty-five 
lines  seem  mongrel.  "The  proudest  of  you  all  "  (v.  vii.  88)  is  a  favourite 
with  Greene,  and  would  have  seemed  strong  evidence  had  I  not  met  it 
in  Hall's  Chrotiicle.     See  note  at  passage,  and  at  3  Henry  VI.  i.  i.  46. 

Act  v. 
v.  i.  23.      Wanton  dalliance  with  a  paramour.     Probably  by  Greene, 
v.  i.  28.     instaU'd.     Very  common  in  Greene.     Shakespeare  has  it 
only  in  Henry  VIII.  and  7  and  3  Henry  VI. 

V.  i.  33.  co-equal  with  the  crown.  The  word  is  not  again  in  Shake- 
speare. "  Make  me  in  termes  coequall  with  the  gods  "  (Greene,  Orlando 
Furioso,  xiii.  128).     See  under  Marlowe  for  an  earlier  use. 

In  this  scene  we  have  fallen  to  a  very  low  level  of  poetry.  In  Scene 
ii.  there  is  no  room  or  substance  for  an  opinion,  but  Shakespeare  seems 
almost  to  disappear  from  this  onwards.  Note  here  also  how  few 
Spenserian  parallels  occur;  Act  v.  shows  hardly  any.  This  accords 
with  Shakespeare's  work  as  compared  with  Greene's. 

V,  iii.  6.  lordly  monarch  of  the  north.  "  Asmenoth,  guider  of  the 
north  "  {Frier  Bacon,  xiii.  62) ;  "  Astmeroth,  ruler  of  the  North  "  {ibid.  p. 
81).     For  "lordly,"  see  iii.  i.  43  above. 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  xix 

V.  iii.  28.  buckle  with.  A  phrase  of  Greene's.  See  i.  ii.  95.  But 
earlier  in  Grafton's  Chronicle. 

V.  iii.  56.  Swan  .  .  .  cygnets.  "The  Cignets  dare  not  resist  the 
call  of  the  old  Swan"  (Greene,  Mamillia,  ii.  167). 

V.  iii.  79,  80.  She^s  beautiful  .  .  .  to  be  woo'd ;  she's  a  woman  to  be 
won.  Greene's  words.  He  has  them  five  times  (at  least)  :  Planetomachia 
(1585),  V.  56  ;  ibid.  v.  no;  Perymedes,  vii.  68  ;  Orpharion,  xii.  31  and  ibid. 
xii.  78. 

There  are  a  number  of  Greene's  epithets  hereabouts  hardly  worth 
single  mention.  Collective  they  weigh  ;  such  as  paramour,  counter- 
feited, gorgeous,  princely,  daunted  (xiii.  140,  360,  371),  banning  (vi.  106). 
Princely  occurs  five  times.  One  duty  of  Shakespeare  as  a  "  dresser," 
was  to  remove  iteration. 

V.  iii.  84.  cooling  card.  Not  again  in  Shakespeare,  "there  is  not 
a  greater  cooling  carde  to  a  rash  wit  than  want  "  (Greene,  Mamillia,  ii.  6) ; 
and  again  in  the  same  piece  later,  twice.  It  is  a  constant  phrase  with 
Greene  in  his  prose  tracts.  But  earlier  in  Gabriel  Harvey  (1573)  and 
Lyly's  Eiiphues.     Greene  made  it  a  sort  of  hall-mark  of  his  work. 

V.  iii.  89.  wooden  (expressionless,  senseless).  Compare  i.  i.  19. 
Greene  has  "fayre  without  wit,  and  that  is  to  marry  a  woodden  picture 
with  a  golden  creast  "  {Orpharion,  xii.  17). 

V.  iii.  107.  Captivate.  See  11.  iii.  41.  A  word  of  Greene's,  but  not 
of  Shakespeare's  in  this  use. 

This  scene  was  probably  written  in  the  rough  state  by  Greene  and 
polished  and  smoothed  and  finished  by  Shakespeare.  The  close  of  it  is 
Shakespeare's.  The  evidence  of  Greene  is  undeniable.  But  there  is  a 
perspicuity,  an  absence  of  violent  hyperbole,  and  an  easy  continuity  of 
diction  in  good  English  that  is  rarely  met  with  in  Greene.  But  the 
amalgamated  result  is  very  deadly  dull  stuff.  Greene's  James  the  Fourth 
is  probably  later  than  /  Henry  VI.  In  it  he  seems  to  have  remodelled 
his  style  to  some  extent. 

V.  iv.  56.  Spare  for  no  faggots.  "Spare  for  no  cost"  {Orlando 
Furioso,  xiii.  164). 

V.  iv.  is  Shakespeare's.  But  Marlowe's  influence  is  apparent  in 
several  places.  The  close  of  the  scene  is  so  lamentably  weak  and 
washed  out,  that  all  one  can  say  is  that  whoever  wrote  it  he  was  most 
weary  of  his  task.  We  have  to  remember  it  stands  to  Shakespeare's 
name  in  the  Folio.  At  the  end  of  Act  v.,  in  several  places,  Peele  may 
have  helped.  But  Shakespeare  wrote  the  last  two  scenes  (iv.  and  v.) 
and  seems  to  have  made  Margaret  his  own  property,  and  resolved  to  do 
more  with  her.  There  is  ample  evidence  of  him  in  these  two  scenes,  as 
my  notes  will  prove. 

Peele. 

I  will  now  exhibit  what  claim  Peele  has  to  a  share  in  / 
Henry  VI.  We  shall  see  much  more  of  him  in  Part  II. 
Several  of  the  correspondences  brought  forward  in   this   list 


XX  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

may  be  reminiscences  the  other  "way,  since  Teele  was  writing 
for  some  years  later,  undoubtedly,  than  the  date  of  this  play. 
None  the  less  the  communities  of  expression  must  be  noticed. 
Although  of  interest  they  hardly  can  be  regarded  as  establish- 
ing his  claim.  I  am  claiming,  however,  for  Peele,  the  author- 
ship of  Jack  Straw,  which  will  be  dealt  with  in  reference  to 
Jack  Cade's  rebellion  in  Part  11.  (Introduction). 

I.  i.  34.  His  thread  of  life  had  not  so  soon  decay'd.  "When  thread 
of  life  is  almost  fret  in  twain  "  (Jack  Straw  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  v.  409)). 

I.  i.  139.  all  France  .  .  .  Durst  not  presume,  i.  i.  156.  Make  all 
Europe  quake.  "Search  me  all  England  and  find  four  such  captains" 
(Jack  Straw  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  v.  386)). 

I.  ii.  77.  parching  heat.  "  Felt  foeman's  rage  and  summer's  parching 
heat"  (An  Eclogue  gratulatory  (1589),  Dyce's  ed.  (Routledge  562,  b)). 
See  again  at  Part  II.  i.  i.  79,  where  summer's  parching  heat  occurs. 
Parching  in  this  sense  is  characteristically  Peele's. 

I.  vi.  I.  Advance  our  colours.  "In  whose  defence  my  colours  I 
advance"  {Descensus  Astra^ce,  542,  b  (1591  ?)).  But  it  is  in  Hall  and 
Grafton. 

II.  i.  43.  followed  arms.  "And  rightly  may  you  follow  arms.  To  rid 
you  from  these  civil  harms  "  {Jack  Straw  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  v.  382)).  In 
the  note  here  Peele's  love  for  trochaic  endings  is  commented  upon. 
But  they  were  too  usual  at  this  date  to  be  any  one's  distinction.  Pro- 
bably earlier  in  Marlowe. 

II.  iii.  23.  strike  such  terror.  "Strike  a  terror  to  the  rebels'  heart  " 
{Jack  Straw  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  v.  407)). 

11.  iv.  loi.  Note  you  in  my  book  of  memory,  "  enrol  his  name  in  books 
of  memory  "  (twice)  {The  Praise  of  Chastity).     The  uses  are  not  parallel. 

II.  V.  80.  -ed  (laboured)  of  past  tense  or  participle,  sounded  for 
metre's  sake  where  usually  not  sounded.  See  note  here.  An  early  and 
favourite  trick  of  Peele's. 

II.  v.  8,  9.  These  eyes  .  .  .  wax  dim.  "  Then  first  gan  Cupids  eye- 
sight wexen  dim"  {Arraignment,  369,  a). 

III.  i.  171.  Girt  thee  with  .  .  .  sword.  "  And  girt  me  with  my  sword  " 
(Descensus  Astrcece,  542,  b). 

II.  V.  13.     numb.     See  note  at  line. 

III.  ii.  31.  shine  it  lihe  a  comet.  "  Making  thy  forehead,  like  a  comet, 
shine  "  (David  and  Bethsabe,  467,  b). 

III.  iii.  74,  75.  fight'st  .  .  .  join'st.  These  uncouth  monosyllables, 
only  here  and  in  Part  II.,  can  be  paralleled  from  Peele's  earliest  work. 
Many  others  occur  in  /  Henry  VI.,  as  contriv'dst,  serv'st,  for'st,  com'st, 
hear'st.     Fail'st  is  in  Part  III.  li.  i.  190. 

IV.  iii.  25.  cornets.  Peele  has  this  new  military  term  in  Battle  of 
Alcazar,  i.  ii.  423,  b, 

IV.  iii.  48.  great  commanders.  "The  great  commander  of  such 
lordly  peers  "  (A  Tale  of  Troy,  558,  a  (1589  ?)). 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  xxi 

IV.  iv.  37.  the  noble-minded  Talbot.  "  Noble-minded  Nowell  "  {Poly- 
hymnia, 570,  a  (1590)). 

IV.  V,  2.  stratagems  of  ivar.  "  Train'd  up  in  feats  and  stratagems  ot 
war"  (David  and  Bethsabe,  477,  b). 

V.  iii.  182.  unspotted  heart.  "  His  saint  is  sure  of  his  lunspotted 
heart  "  (A  Sonnet,  573,  b). 

V.  V.  6,  7.  hulk  .  .  .  drivenby  breath  of  her  renown.  "  sails  filled  with 
the  breath  of  men,  That  through  the  world  admire  his  manliness  "  (Ed- 
ward the  First  (beginning),   1588  ?). 

V.  V.  17.  full  replete  with.  "  Whose  thankful  hearts  I  find  as  full 
replete  With  signs  of  joy"  (Jack  Straw  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  v.  412)). 
"Replete  with"  is  frequent  in  Hawes,  1509. 

In  Shakespeare's  later  plays  and  poems  echoes  of  Peele  occur  not 
unfrequently.  For  more  about  Peele  in  this  play,  with  reference  to 
military  terms,  see  under  Kyd  in  Introduction  to  Part  II.  As  a  struc- 
tural whole  Peele  has  nothing  to  do  with  7  Henry  VI.  Sometimes  he 
may  have  lent  a  hand,  more  often  his  language  was  recalled. 

Marlowe. 
For  parallels  from  Marlowe's  Tamburlaine  (both  parts)  see 
Introduction  to  Part  III.  A  few  references  to  his  Edward  II. 
occur  in  the  notes  ;  as  at  withered  vine,  II.  v.  11;  take  exceptions 
at,  IV,  i.  105  ;  Like  captives  bound  to  a  triumphant  car,  i.  i.  22, 
But  Edward  II.  was  probably  a  later  play,  certainly  it  is 
open  to  question  that  it  was  earlier.  Tamburlaine  is  Mar- 
lowe's only  work  that  undoubtedly  preceded  all  Henry  VI. 
There  is  plenty  of  evidence  that  it  was  familiar  to,  and  made 
use  of  by  the  writer  of  i  Henry  VI. 

Nashe. 
An  unexpected  group  of  Nashe  reminders  may  not  be 
omitted.  They  occur  almost  in  a  cluster  in  I.  ii.  But  Act  I. 
Scene,  ii  "makes  the  senses  rough"  with  a  vengeance.  I  am 
inclined  to  regard  them  as  later  echoes  from  the  play,  and  as 
Nashe  is  usually  original,  he  may  have  been  harking  back  on 
work  of  his  own.  However,  his  reference  (already  quoted)  to 
this  play  shows  he  held  it  in  high  esteem  and  remembered  it. 

I.  ii.  I.  Mars  his  true  moving  .  .  .  to  this  day  is  not  known.  "You 
are  as  ignorant  in  the  true  movings  of  my  Muse  as  the  Astronomers  are 
in  the  true  movings  of  Mars,  which  to  this  day  they  could  never  attaine 
too  "    (Have  with  you  to  Saffron  Walden  (Grosart's  Nashe,  iii.  28,1596)). 

I.  ii.  II.  they  must  .  .  .  have  their  provenders  tied  to  their  mouths. 
"  Except  the  Cammell  have  his  provender  Hung  at  his  mouth  he  will 
not  travell  on  "  (Summer's  Last  Will,  vi.  137  (1594)). 


xxii  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

1.  ii.  9-12.  Tlicy  K'uni  their  porridge  .  .  .  look  like  drowned  mice,  "en- 
gins  ...  to  pumpe  over  mutton  and  porridge  into  France  ?  this  colde 
weather  our  souldiors  I  can  tell  you,  have  need  of  it,  and,  poore  field 
mise,  they  have  almost  got  the  colicke  and  stone  with  eating  of  provant " 
{Foure  letters  confuted,  v.  285  (1592)). 

I.  ii.  9.  They  want  their  .  .  .  fat  hull-beeves.  Nashe  Preface  to 
Sidney's  Astrophel  and  Stella  {Arher's  Bug.  Garner,  i.  500),  1591  has:  "they 
bear  out  their  sails  as  proudly,  as  if  they  were  ballasted  with  bull  beef" 
(but  proverbial,  and  earlier  in  Gascoigne). 

I.  ii.  15.  Mad-brained  Salisbury.  "  Mad-braine  fondnesse  "  occurs 
in  Nashe's  Christ's  Teares,  iv.  257  (1594)- 

I.  ii.  33.  noncbut  Samsons  and  Goliases.  "  A  bigboand  lustie  fellow, 
and  a  Golias,  or  Behemoth,  in  comparison  of  hym  "  {Have  with  you  to 
Saffron  Walden,  iii.  125). 

I.  ii.  59.  unfallible.  In  Nashe's  Pierce  Penilesse,  ii.  126  (1592) ;  and 
elsewhere. 

I.  ii.  140.  Mahomet  inspired  with  a  dove.  "Socrates  Genius  was  one 
of  this  stampe,  and  the  Dove  wherewith  the  Turks  hold  Mahomet  their 
Prophet  to  bee  inspired  "  {The  Terrors  of  the  Night,  iii.  228  (1594)).  Nashe 
tells  the  fable  again  in  Lenten  Stiiffe,  v.  258. 

I.  iv.  109.  Make  a  quagmire  of  your  mingled  brains.  "  The  plaine 
appeared  like  a  quagmire,  overspread  as  it  was  with  trampled  dead 
bodies  .  .  .  dead  murthered  men  .  .  .  braines  "  {The  Unfortunate  Tra- 
veller, v.  45  (1594)). 

I.  v.  5.  /  'II  have  a  bout  with  thee.  "  Every  man's  spirit  at  the 
table  had  two  bowts  with  the  Apostle  before  hee  left "  {Pasquils  Re- 
turne,  1.119(1589)).     See  under  Greene.     Probably  a  commonplace. 

A  consideration  of  great  help  in  forming  an  opinion  as  to 
which  was  Shakespeare's  unaided  work  lies  in  those  turns  of 
thought  and  language  in  this  play  which  become  a  part  of  his 
style  in  his  mature  work.  But  it  is  more  than  that :  it  appears 
to  me  that  in  his  later  work,  in  all  his  work  after  these  plays, 
he  turned  his  back  rigorously  on  all  Greene's  diction  and 
expressions,  shunning  them  as  he  would  the  plague,  in  conse- 
quence of  Greene's  venomous  attack  upon  him  on  his  death- 
bed. If  this  be  correct,  and  it  seems  to  me  to  be  so,  the  appear- 
ance of  Shakespearian  passages  in  these  plays  is  of  much  more 
importance  as  a  touchstone  of  his  work  than  otherwise  it  would 
be.  I  am  not  oblivious  of  the  fact  that  Pandosto  (by  Greene), 
is  the  foundation  of  A  Winter  s  Tale  some  twenty  years  later 
when  these  early  troubles  were  long  obliterated. 

Such  an  analysis  as  is  above  suggested  would  run  into 
wearisome  use  of  space,  and  repetition  also  from  my  notes. 
But  I  will  cull  a  number  of  prominent  passages,  simply  locating 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


xxm 


their  position  for  reference  to  the  notes  for  evidence ;  or  to  the 
lines  themselves. 

Act  I. 

I. 


Revolting.     I.  i.  4. 
lend  .  .  .  eyes  to  weep.     i.  i.  87. 
bedew  hearse  (tears).     I.  i.  104. 
Here  there  and  everywhere.     I. 

124. 
mad-brained.     I.  ii.  15. 
hungry  prey.       i.  ii.  28. 
hair-brained,     i.  ii.  37. 
Excellent  Pucelle.     I.  ii.  no. 


in.  42. 
44. 
I.  iii.  81. 


bearing-cloth. 

beard  thee.     I.  ii 

break  our  minds. 

overpeer.     I.  iv.  11. 

minute-while.     I.  iv.  54. 

?  dead  and  gone.     i.  iv.  93. 

Nero.     I.  iv.  95. 

have  a  bout  with  thee.     I.  v.  4. 

devil's  dam.     i.  v.  5. 


Act  II. 


redoubted  Burgundy.     11.  i.  8. 

followed  arms.     11.  1.  43. 

fiend  of  hell.     11.  i.  46. 

improvident.     11.  i.  58. 

I  '11  be  so  bold  to.     11.  i.  78. 

loaden.     11.  i.  80. 

hereafter  ages.     11.  ii.  10. 

I  muse.     II.  ii.  ig. 

new-come.     11.  ii.  20. 

oratory.     11.  ii.  49. 

over-ruled   and   overveiled.    11.    ii. 

50;  II.  ii.  2. 
strong-knit.     11.  iii.  20. 
sort  (some  other  time).     11.  iii.  26. 
shrimp.     11.  iii.  22. 
for  the  nonce.     11.  iii.  56. 


cates.     II.  iii.  78. 

deeper  mouth.     11.  iv.  12. 

tongue-tied.     11.  iv.  25. 

true-born.     11.  iv.  27. 

I  love  no  colours.     11.  iv.  34. 

consuming  canker.     11.  iv.  69-71. 

bears  him    on  .  .   .  privilege.      11 

iv.  86. 
maintain  my  words.     11.  iv.  88. 
choked  with  ambition.     11.  iv.  112. 
lamps  .  .  .  wasting  oil.     11.  v.  8. 
sequestration.     11.  v.  25. 
arbitrator.     11.  v.  28. 
parting  soul.     11.  v.  115. 
pilgrimage.     11.  v.  116. 


Act  III. 


saucy  pnest.     in.  1.  45. 
touched  near.     iii.  i.  58. 
viperous,     in.  i.  72. 

.83. 

i.  135. 


giddy.     III.  i 
hollow.     III. 
sack  a  city, 
darnel,     in. 
greybeard. 
Foul  fiend, 
despite,     in 


in.  11.  10. 

ii.  44. 
III.  ii.  50. 
III.  ii.  52. 
ii.  52,  and  ha^ 


ibid. 


Belike,     in.  ii.  62. 
Hecate,     in.  ii.  64. 
muleters,     in.  ii.  68. 
late-betrayed,     in.  ii.  82. 
out  of  hand.     in.  ii.  102. 
Whither  away.     in.  ii.  105. 
heavens  have  glory,     in.  ii.  117. 
take  some  order,     in.  ii.  126. 
fertile  France,     in.  iii.  44. 
reclaimed,     in.  iv.  5. 


Act  IV. 


pretend,  iv.  i.  6. 
dastard,  iv.  i.  19. 
ill  beseeming,     iv. 


31- 


Knights  of  the  garter, 
haughty,     iv.  i.  35. 
Be  packing,     iv.  i.  46. 


IV.  1.  34- 


XXIV 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


Act  IV.  (contimud). 


churlish,     iv.  i.  53. 

prevented,     iv.  1.  71. 

carping,     iv.  i.  90. 

tender  years,     iv.  i.  149. 

I  promise  you.     iv.  i.  174. 

Tush.     IV.  i.  17S. 

'Tis  much.     iv.  i.  192. 

front  .  .   .   apparent,     iv.  ii.  26. 

ta'en    the    sacrament  To.       iv. 

28,  29. 
sandy  hour.     iv.  ii.  36. 
in  blood,     iv.  ii.  48. 
rascal,     iv.  ii.  49. 
moody,     iv.  ii.  50. 
stand  aloof,     iv.  ii.  52. 
dear  deer.     iv.  ii.  54. 
this  seven  years,     iv.  iii.  37. 
Long  of.     IV.  iii.  46. 
vulture  .  .  .   feeds  in  bosom. 

iii.  47. 
neglection.     iv.  iii.  49. 
scarce  cold.     iv.  iii.  50. 


ever-living  man   of  memory,      iv. 

iii.  51. 
gloss.     IV.  iv.  6. 
Set  him  on.     iv.  iv.  8. 
bought  and  sold.     iv.  iv.  13. 
world  of.     IV.  iv.  25. 
To  tutor  thee.     iv.  v.  2. 
unavoided.      iv.  v.  8. 
bold-faced,     iv.  vi.  12. 
maidenhood,     iv.  vi.  17. 
son  of  chivalry,      iv.  vi.  29. 
short'ning .  ,  .  life  one  day.     iv.  vi. 

37- 
guardant.     iv.  vii.  9. 
Dizzy-eyed.     iv.  vii.  11. 
Thou  antic  death,     iv.  vii.  18. 
Anon.     IV.  vii.  19. 
found  a  bloody  day.     iv.  vii.  34. 
flesh  his  sword,     iv.  vii.  36. 
afeard.      iv.  vii.  93. 
in  this  vein.     iv.  vii.  95. 


what  remedy,     v.  iii.  132. 
unapt.     V.  iii.  134. 
mine  own  attorney,      v.  iii 
peevish,     v.  iii.  186. 
natural   graces  .   .  .  art. 

192. 
semblance,     v.  iii.  193. 
kills  thy  heart,     v.  iv.  2. 
argues  .   .  .   kind   of  life. 

15- 


Act  v. 

good  my  girl.     v.  iv.  25. 

ratsbane,     v.  iv.  29. 
[66.  drab.     v.  iv.  32. 

heaven  forfend.     v.  iv.  65. 
!.    iii.     lenity,     v.  iv.  125. 

Gallian.     v.  iv.  139. 

which  is  more.     v.  v.  16. 

attorneyship,     v.  v.  56. 
V.    iv.     working  of  my  thoughts. 

revolve  and  ruminate,     v. 

event,     v.  v.  105. 


v.  V.  86. 
V.  loi. 


A  selection  like  the  above  might  be  easily  varied  or  en- 
larged, and  is  bound  to  be  unequal  in  conviction.  I  think, 
however,  it  will  give  the  proper  impression  to  any  one  familiar 
with  "  the  tongue  that  Shakespeare  spake."  Having  indicated 
sufficiently  Shakespeare's  work  in  the  play,  and  Shakespeare's 
work  on  Greene's  work  or  in  company  with  Greene,  or  in  the 
dressing  of  the  latter  forthe  stage — Greene  having  perhaps  thrown 
up  the  task  on  account  of  the  uncongenial  limitations  of  histori- 
cal facts — I  propose  to  make  a  still  further  examination  of  the 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  xxv 

language  in  the  play.  Perhaps — nay,  most  probably — we  have 
here  Shakespeare's  earliest  dramatic  effort  excepting  only  his 
share  in  The  First  Part  of  the  Contention.  Whose  writings,  others 
than  dramatists,  display  their  influence  upon  his  earliest  utter- 
ances ?  There  are  only  a  few  to  mention  here — but  they  are 
important  since  these  few  remained  his  favourites.  Golding, 
in  Ovid's  Metamorphoses ;  Puttenham  in  The  Arte  of  English 
Poesie ;  and  Spenser's  earliest  work  call  for  notice.  Needless  to 
say,  the  Chroniclers  precede  these  in  consideration  so  far  as  bulk 
and  needful  sources  go,  but  they  stand  on  a  different  and  ob- 
vious footing,  and  will  be  referred  to  later.  In  my  Introduction  to 
Love s Labour' s Lost,  I  have  shown  Puttenham's  presence  there. 
There  is  less  here.  In  I.  vi.  24-27  the  passage  seems  to  be 
almost  an  insertion.  The  metaphor  is  boldly  seized  upon. 
Puttenham's  passage  is  (Arber  reprint,  pp.  31,  32):  "  In  what 
price  the  noble  poemes  of  Homer  were  holden  with  Alexander 
the  Great,  in  so  much  as  every  night  they  were  layd  under  his 
pillow,  and  by  day  were  carried  in  the  rich  iewell  cofer  of 
Darius  lately  before  vanquished  by  him  in  battaile."  Plutarch 
and  Pliny  mention  the  coffer,  but  the  wording  in  the  text  is 
Puttenham's. 

At  p.  112  Puttenham  gives  some  verse  of  his  own :  her 
Maiestie 

environs  her  people  round. 
Retaining  them  by  oth  and  liegeance. 
Within  the  pale  of  true  obeysance  : 
Holding  imparked  as  it  were, 
Her  people  like  to  beards  of  deere. 

This  simile  is  that  at  IV.  ii.  45,  46.  There  is  more  of  Puttenham 
in  the  late  parts. 

A  more  interesting  and  important  writer  is  Golding. 
Spenser  and  Peele,  Marlowe  and  Shakespeare  were  all  familiar 
with,  and  made  use  of,  his  Ovid.  In  The  Return  from  Par- 
nassus, "  Will  Kemp  "  says  :  "  Few  of  the  University  pen  plays 
well :  they  smell  too  much  of  that  writer  Ovid,  and  that  writer 
Metamorphosis,  and  talk  too  much  of  Proserpina  and  Jupiter." 

A  good  many  illustrations  from  "  Master  Arthur  Golding" 
will  be  found  in  my  notes,  but  many  are  merely  earlier  au- 
thority for  newish  or  unfamiliar  words.  I  will  only  refer  to 
"  more  glorious  star  .  .  .  Than  Julius  Caesar,"  i.  i.  55,  56  ;  "  public 


xxvi  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

weal,"  I.  i.  i"]"/  ;  "overpeer,"  I.  iv.  1 1  ;  "sun  with  one  eye,"  I.  iv. 
84 ;  "  high-minded,"  I.  v.  12 ;  "  lavish  tongue,"  ir.  v.  47  ;  "  saucy," 

III.  i.  45  ;  "  entertalk,"  III.  i  63  ;  "  sucking  babe,"  III.  i.  197  ;  "  do 
execution  on,"  III.  ii.  35  ;  "take  scorn,"  IV.  iv.  35  ;  "Unavoided," 

IV.  v.  8  ;  "  lither,"  iv,  vii.  21  ;  "  admonish  me  of,"  V.  iii,  3-4  ;  "  talks 
at  random,"  V.  iii.  85  ;  "collop  of  my  flesh,"  v.  iv.  18.  Shake- 
speare's early  love  for  Golding  is,  I  think,  proved.  It  is  very 
prominent  in  some  later  plays  (as  Midsummer  Night's  Dream). 

Spenser's  Shepheards  Calender  vidiS,  published  in  15  79- 1580. 
As  early  as  1580  Spenser  was  known  to  be  at  work  at  his 
Faerie  Queene,  of  which  the  first  three  books  appeared  in  print 
in  1590.  But  they  were  known  to  many  in  manuscript  for 
years  before.  Marlowe,  for  example,  uses  the  stanza  about 
the  almond  on  the  top  of  Selinis  in  1586-7,  in  Tavihurlaine. 
And  Spenser  himself  tells  us  that  his  Mother  Hubberd's  Tale 
had  been  "long  sithens  composed,"  although  not  printed  until 
1 591,  and  further  that  he  was  "  moved  to  set  it  forth  by  others 
which  liked  the  same."  It  will  be  interesting  to  see  if  Shake- 
speare fi.xed  much  of  this  matter  on  his  memory.  The  notes  to 
be  referred  to  are  selected  as  follows  : — 

Act  I. 

I.  i.  11-13.  Compare  with  Faerie  Queene,  i.  xi.  14-18:  "His  blazing 
eyes,  like  two  bright  shining  shieldes,  Did  burne  with  wrath  and 
sparkled  living  fyre.  As  two  broad  Beacons  .  .  .  warning  give  that 
enemies  conspyre.  ...  So  flamed  his  eyne  with  rage  and  rancorous  yre. 
.  .  .  Then  with  his  waving  wings  displayed  wyde." 

I.  i.  64.  burst  his  lead  and  rise  from  death.  Compare  with  Shepheards 
Calender.  June  :  "  Nowe  dead  he  is  and  lyeth  wrapt  in  lead,"  And  idem. 
October:  "all  the  worthies  liggen  wrapt  in  leade." 

I.  i.  104.  laments  .  .  .  bedew  King  Henry's  hearse.  Compare  Faerie 
Queene,  i.  xii.  16:  "they  did  lament  .  .  .  And  all  the  while  salt  teares 
bedeawd  the  hearers  cheaks." 

I.  i.  124.  Here,  there,  and  everywhere  enrag'd  he  flew.  Compare 
Faerie  Queene,  iii.  i.  66 :  "  Wherewith  enrag'd  she  fiercely  at  them 
flew.  .  .  .  Here,  there,  and  everywhere,  about  her  swayd  Her  wrathful 
Steele." 

I.  ii.  16.  in  fretting  spend  his  gall.  Compare  Faerie  Queene,  i.  ii.  6: 
"  did  his  stout  heart  eat  And  wast  his  inward  gall  with  deepe  despight." 
And  ibid.  in.  x.  18:  "he  chawd  the  cud  of  inward  griefe  And  did  con- 
sume his  gall  with  anguish  sore." 

I.  ii.  35.  lean  raw-boned  rascals.  Compare  Faerie  Queene,  i.  viii.  41  : 
"His  rawbone  armes."  And  "His  raw-bone  cheekes,"  ibid.  i.  ix.  35. 
The  word  seems  to  be  due  to  Spenser. 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH         xxvii 

I.  ii.  148.  and  be  immortalized.  Compare  Faerie  Queene,  11.  viii.  13  : 
"Whose  living  handes  immortalizd  his  name." 

I.  iii.  14.  dunghill  grooms.  Compare  Faerie  Queene,  iii.  x.  15:  "his 
liefest  pelfe.  .  .  .  The  dearest  to  his  dounghill  minde."  And  see  Faerie 
Queene,  u.  xii.  87. 

I.  iii.  22.  Faint-hearted  Woodville.  Compare  Faerie  Queene,  i.  ix, 
52  :  "  Fie,  fie  faint  hearted  knight !     What  meanest  thou  ?  " 

I.  iii.  63.  One  that  still  motions  war  and  never  peace.  Compare 
Spenser,  Mother  Hubberd's  Tale  {\.  124):  "  Now  surely  brother  (said  the 
Foxe  anon)  Ye  have  this  matter  motioned  in  season."  This  very  un- 
usual verb  (to  propose)  does  not  occur  in  Shakespeare  again  nor,  I 
think,  in  Spenser. 

I.  iv.  43.     scarecrow  that  affrights  our  cliildren.     See  note  at  11.  i.  79. 

I.  vi.  6.  Adonis^  garden.  Compare  Spenser,  Faerie  Queene,  in.  vi. 
29-42. 

Act  II. 

II.  i.  79.  The  cry  of  Talbot  serves  me  for  a  sword.  Compare  Spenser, 
Shepheards  Calender,  June,  Glosse :  "the  Frenchmen  used  to  say  of 
that  valiant  captain,  the  very  scourge  of  Fraunce,  the  Lorde  Thalbot 
.  .  .  great  armies  were  defaicted  and  put  to  flyght  at  the  onely  hearing 
of  hys  name.  In  somuch  that  the  French  women  to  affray  theyr  chyl- 
dren  would  tell  them  that  the  Talbot  commeth." 

II.  ii.  2.  night  .  .  .  whose  pitchy  mantle.  Compare  Faerie  Queene,  i. 
v.  20  :  "Where  griesly  Night  ...  in  a  foule  blacke  pitchy  mantle  clad." 

II.  ii.  18.  our  bloody  massacre.  Compare  Faerie  Queene,  in.  xi.  29: 
"  the  huge  massacres  which  he  wrought." 

II.  iii.  15-17.  scourge  of  France  .  .  .  mothers  still  their  babes.  See 
last  extract  from  Shepheards  Calender. 

II.  IV.  92.  stand'st  not  thou  attainted  (disgraced).  Compare  Faerie 
Queene,  I.  vii.  34 :  "  Phoebus  golden  face  it  did  attaint." 

II.  IV.  127.  to  death  and  deadly  flight.  Compare  Faerie  Queene,  11. 
iii.  34  :  "  withhold  this  deadly  howre." 

Act  III. 

III.  n.  64.  /  speak  not  to  that  railing  Hecate.  Compare  Faerie  Queene, 
I.  i.  43:  "And  threatned  unto  him  the  dreaded  name  Of  Hecate: 
whereat  he  gan  to  quake."     (Also  in  Golding.) 

III.  11.  127.  some  expert  officers.  Faerie  Queene,  i.  ix.  4 :  "In  war- 
like feates  th'  expertest  man  alive." 

III.  iii.  18.  sugar'd  words.  Compare  Faerie  Queene,  iii.  vi.  25  : 
"  Sugred  words  and  gentle  blandishment."     But  this  is  far  older. 

III.  iii.  29.  sound  of  drum.  Compare  Faerie  Queene,  i.  ix.  41  :  "  at 
sound  of  morning  droome." 

III.  iii.  34.  lag  behind.  Compare  Faerie  Queene,  i.  i.  6 :  "  Behind 
her  farre  away  a  Dwarfe  did  lag." 

III.  iv.  33.  The  envious  barking  of  your  saucy  tongue.  Shepheards 
Calender,  lines  to  his  Book :  "  And  if  that  envy  bark  at  thee,  As  sure  it 
»vill,  for  succoure  flee,  Under  the  shadow  of  his  wing." 


xxviii  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Act  IV. 

IV.  I.  1S9.  This  shouldey big  oj  each  other  in  the  court.  Compare  Fame 
Qucciic,  II.  vii.  47  (describing  the  Court  of  Ambition)  :  "  some  thought  to 
raise  themselves  to  high  degree  By  riches  and  unrighteous  reward  : 
Some  by  close  shouldring :  some  by  flatterie." 

IV.  i.  185.  rancorous  spite.  Faerie  Queene,  11.  vii.  22:  "rancorous 
Despight." 

IV.  ii.  15.  O'ivl  of  death.  Compare  Faerie  Queene,  i.  v.  40:  "The 
messenger  of  death,  the  ghastly  owle."  Golding  calls  the  bird  "  the 
deathfull  owle." 

IV.  vii.  88.  proud  commanding  spirit,  and  i.  ii.  138  "proud  insulting 
ship"  (see  note).  Compare  Faerie  Queene,  1.  viii.  12:  "proud  presumptu- 
ous gate  "  (gait).  And  I.  ix.  12:  "proud  avenging  boy"  (Cupid).  And 
I.  xii.  14:  "proud  luxurious  pompe,"  etc. 

IV.  vii.  60.  the  great  Alcides.  Compare  Faerie  Queene,  i.  vii.  17  : 
"  great  Alcides," 

Act  V.  shows  few  Spenserian  parallels.  But  there  is  a 
certain  number  of  phrases  and  idioms  exhibited  particularly  in 
these  plays  apart  from  the  rest  of  Shakespeare's  work,  which 
are  best  considered  and  illustrated  with  Spenser's  help,  I 
think  I  have  shown  that  his  writings  had  an  influence  on  the 
writing  of  this  play  that  cannot  be  ignored.  I  propose  to 
prove  that  further. 

Well  I  Wot. 

I  take  the  expression  "  Well  I  Wot "  to  start  with.  It 
occurs  in  this  play  (IV.  vi.  32)  and  three  times  in  Part  III, 
Elsewhere  Shakespeare  uses  it  in  Richard  II.,  Midsummer 
Night's  Dream,  and  three  times  in  Titus  Andronicus.  This  ex- 
pression has  naturally  been  cited  as  evidence  of  Greene's  work, 
since  he  was  very  fond  of  the  tag.  But  it  is  only  in  his  plays, 
I  think,  that  is  to  say  in  his  late  work,  and  nowhere  in  his 
earlier  prose.  "Well  I  wot"  is  an  old  phrase,  probably 
northern.  It  occurs  many  times  in  The  Towneley  Mysteries 
{circa  1460).  In  the  first  hundred  pages  (Surtees  Soc.  1836) 
it  is  on  pp.  4,  31,  62,  74,  82.  At  p.  62  "Full  well  I  wot"  (of 
Greene  and  Titus)  is  the  form.  In  Grafton's  Chronicle  I  find 
it  in  Richard  II! s  deposition  speech,  and  since  Shakespeare  has 
it  in  that  play  (v.  vi.  18),  that  reference  would  suffice  to  put 
Greene  out  of  court.  But  it  is  also  in  Peele's  writings,  four 
times  in  A  Farewell  to  the  General  (i^8g),  in  Polyhymnia,  and 
twice  in  /ack  Straw ;  and  Peele  as  well  as  Shakespeare  (and 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  xxix 

Greene)  all  picked  it  up  from  Spenser,  who  re-introduced  it  to 
popularity.  It  will  be  found  in  Faerie  Queene^  I.  x.  65  ;  "  For 
well  I  wote,  thou  springst  from  ancient  race,"  II.  Introduction, 
St.  i.  ("Right  well  I  wote"),  II.  ix.  6;  ill.  iv.  57  ;  Colin  Clouds 
Come  Home  Again  (three  times) ;  Mother  Huhberd' s  Tale  ;  "  For 
well  I  wot  (compar'd  to  all  the  rest  Of  each  degree)  that 
Beggers  life  is  best "  (i  590, "  long  sithens  composed  ").  Spenser 
has  it  frequently  elsewhere.  Spenser  naturally  shows  much 
familiarity  with  northern  dialect.  See  his  Shepheards  Calender 
throughout. 

On  the  relationship  of  these  plays,  in  date  of  appearance, 
to  Spenser's  Faerie  Queene,  see  further  in  my  Introduction  to 
Part  II. 

I.  Transpositions  such  as  "  Go  we,"  etc. 

The  subjunctive  of  the  present  followed  by  we,  expressing 
an  invitation  (Schmidt).  This  structure  is  found  in  many  of 
Shakespeare's  plays,  but  it  is  very  much  commoner  in  the 
early  ones.  Schmidt  gives  about  a  dozen  references  to  the  three 
Parts  of  Henry  VI.  alone,  in  the  present  play  at  II.  i.  1 3  :  "  Em- 
brace we  then  the  opportunity";  at  III.  ii.  102:  "But  gather 
we  our  forces  out  of  hand  "  ;  and  at  III.  iii.  68  :  "  Call  we  to  mind, 
and  mark  but  this  for  proof."  I  have  not  noted  if  Greene  affects 
it,  but  I  give  it  from  Selimus  (Greene  and  Peele),  "  But  go  we. 
Lords,  and  solace  in  our  campe"  (Grosart,  xiv.  209).  Shake- 
speare very  wisely  dropt  this  ineffectual  method  which  easily 
becomes  silly.  It  is  an  archaism,  and  without  claiming  its  re- 
introduction  for  Spenser,  it  may  be  shown  that  he  used  it  freely. 
"  Go,  we  "  appears  to  be  the  parental  form.  It  is  in  Towneley 
Mysteries  (p.  &i)  :  "  Go  we  to  land  now  merely  "  ;  and  at  p.  221  : 
"  Go  we  to  it,  and  be  we  strong  "  and  "  Set  we  the  tre  on  the 
mortase";  and  p.  315  :  "  Go  we  now,  we  two."  And  in  Man- 
kind (Early  English  Dramatists)  "  Go  we  hence  "  occurs  several 
times.  It  is  not  uncommon  with  Spenser :  "  Turne  we  our 
steeds,"  Faerie  Queene,  III.  viii.  18;  "Sit  we  downe  here  under 
the  hill,"  Shepheards  Calender,  September  (Globe  ed.  473,  b). 
In  (Peek's)  Jack  Straw,  of  which  more  will  be  said  in  Intro- 
duction (Part  II.),  "Stay  we  no  longer  prating  here"  occurs 
(Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  v.  383).  See  j  Henry  VI.  II.  i.  199.  No 
doubt  the  verb  and  its  pronoun  are  readily  transposed  for  ac- 


XXX  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

centuation's  sake  in  the  metre — take  such  a  line  as  "  Now  come 
we  to  the  final  text "  and  the  alteration  upsets  the  rhythm  en- 
tirely— but  this  does  not  cover  the  whole  case,  Marlowe  uses 
this  inversion  frequently  in  Tamburlaine,  but  not  in  forcible 
connections. 

II.  Transpositions  such  as 

"  Hung  be  the  heavens  with  black"  (l.  i.  i) ;  "Rescued  is 
Orleans  from  the  English  "  (l.  vi.  2) ;  and  "  For  by  my  mother 
I  derived  am  "  (II.  v.  74).  See  notes  at  I.  vi.  2  and  at  il.  v.  74. 
The  two  vary  slightly  but  may  be  considered  as  one. 

This  inversion  occurs  several  times  in  Peele's  Arraignment 
of  Paris  as  I  have  noted  (1584): — 

Done  be  the  pleasure  of  the  powers  above  (Prologue). 

Fair  Lady  Venus,  let  me  pardon'd  be  (iii.  ii.  363,  a). 

And  heaven  and  earth  shall  both  confounded  be  (in.  ii.  363,  b). 

The  man  must  quited  be  by  heaven's  laws  (iv.  p.  366,  b). 

Her  name  that  governs  there  Eliza  is  (v.  i.  369,  a). 

Bequeathed  is  unto  thy  worthiness  (v.  p.  370,  b). 

And  search  will  reveal  more  examples  in  Peele's  earliest 
work,  as  in  Szr  Clyomon,  "  But  cover'd  will  I  keep  my  shield  " 
(521,  b),  and  "  They  forced  me  through  battering  blows  "  (522,  a), 
and  frequently  in  that  production. 

In  Marlowe  I  find  : — 

Discomfited  is  all  the  Christian  host  (Tamburlaine,  Part  II.  11.  iii.  i). 
So  honour,  heaven,  (till  heaven  dissolved  be)  (v.  iii.  (71,  a),  ibid.). 

Later,  "  Cut  is  the  branch  that  might  have  grown  full  straight " 
at  the  end  of  Doctor  Faustus  occurs.  Marlowe,  however,  was 
not  attracted  by  the  construction.  Mr.  Woollett  supplied  me 
with  only  two  from  him  :  "  Erected  is  a  castle  passing  strong  " 
(^Faustus,  vii.  38),  and  "  Broken  is  the  league  "  {Jew  of  Malta,  III. 
v.  (164,  b))  both  too  late  to  be  of  service  here.  In  Tamburlaine, 
Part  I.  (II.  i.  i):  "Thus  far  are  we  towards  Theridamas"  is  a 
weak  example.  There  may  be  better.  But  no  such  prevalence 
as  is  in  Peele. 

Mr,  Woollett  drew  my  attention  to  the  attraction  this  in- 
version had  for  Spenser,  who  has  it  a  number  of  times  in  his 
Ruines  of  Time ;  Teares  of  the  Muses;  Virgifs  Gnat;  Muiopot- 
mos  and  other  poems.  None  of  these,  however,  precede  Peele, 
so  they  are  not  historically  effective.     He  also  supplied  me 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  xxxi 

with  a  goodly  list  from  Greene's  Alphonsus.  But  the  prevalence 
in  Peele  militates  against  this  being  an  evidence  of  Spenser's 
influence  in  Greene.  Not  so  with  Spenser's  influence  in  Peele's 
Arraigmnent  of  Paris,  where  I  have  already  mentioned  the 
obvious  evidence  of  his  admiration  for  The  Shepheards  Calender 
(1579).     These  examples  are  of  more  interest,  such  as : — 

Then  if  by  mee  thou  list  advised  bee  (June). 

For  he  nould  warned  be  (May). 

Here  wander  may  thy  flocke  early  or  late  (June). 

Ystabled  hath  his  steedes  in  lowlye  laye  (November). 

No  doubt  search  would  yield  more.  And  it  occurs  often  in 
the  first  books  oi  Faerie  Qiieene.  Spenser  appears  again  to  have 
popularised  and  revived  an  archaism,  for  I  imagine  it  to  be  com- 
mon in  early  writers,  especially  in  the  Miracle  plays.  It  is  closely 
paralleled  by  the  last  noted  transposition,  "  Go  we  .  .  .  ."  Com- 
pare The  Towneley  Mysteries  again ;  "  Crownyd  was  with  thorn  " 
(232) ;  "  borne  was  of  a  madyn  fre  "  (270) ;  "in  heaven  lowsyd 
shall  be"  (285) ;  "  that  now  rehersyd  is  "  (297)  ;  "  Dampnyd  be 
we  in  helle  fulle  depe"  (305).  It  is  very  common.  Mr. 
WooUett  tells  me  he  noted  it  in  Gower.  The  only  note  I  have 
met  with  upon  this  grammatical  construction,  in  ^<5(^(3// (425), 
cites  I  Henry  VI.  I.  vi.  26  :  "  Then  the  rich  jewell'd  coffer  of 
Darius  transported  shall  be  at  high  festivals,"  of  which  he  says, 
"  it  is  rare  to  find  such  transpositions  "  so  that  a  note  is  needful. 
A  reference  to  the  York,  Chester,  Coventry  and  Digby  mysteries 
showed  me  at  once  that  this  inversion  is  found  in  and  charac- 
terises all  of  them.  It  seems  to  or  was  deemed  to  lend  a  sort 
of  solemn  stiffness  to  the  style.  "  When  I  perhaps  compounded 
am  with  clay  "  is  a  good  instance  in  Shakespeare's  Sonnets. 

III.  Lines  Constructed  with  "never"  and 
A  Comparative. 

"A  stouter  champion  never  handled  sword"  (III.  iv.  19). 
And  see  ill.  ii.  134,  135.  With  this  maybe  classed  the  forma- 
tion with  "  ever "  and  the  superlative,  as  in  2  Henry  VI.  I.  i. 
15,  16:  "The  happiest  gift  that  ever  marquess  gave,  The 
fairest  queen  that  ever  king  received  " ;  and  see  also  j  Hemy 
VI  II.  i.  67.  And  a  very  similar  method  is  also  prevalent  in 
these  plays  and  other  earliest  Shakespearian  ones  :  "  Was  ever 
son  so  rued  a  father's  death  ?     Was  ever  father,"  etc.  {j  Henry 


xxxii  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

VI.  II.  V.  109- 1 II).  See  also  Taming  of  the  Shrew,  11.  1.  37 
and  327.  Often  the  second  is  varied  to  "  As  true  a  card  as 
ever  won  the  set,  As  sure  a  dog  as  ever  fought  at  head  "  ( Titus 
Andronicus^V .  \.  lOO,  102).  These  are  all  Spenserian  favourites. 
They  are  affected  by  Peele,  but  I  do  not  think  by  Greene  in 
any  frequency.  How  common  they  may  be  in  ante-Spenserian 
poetry  I  cannot  say,  but  Todd  has  a  note  in  Faerie  Queene  (l. 
iii.  9)  to  "  Did  never  mortall  eye  behold  such  heavenly  grace." 
"  This  construction  is  common  in  old  poetry" — with  one  quota- 
tion from  a  Scotch  ballad.  This  is  the  least  interesting  of  the 
group,  and  I  presume  Todd  is  correct.  I  find  in  Stephen 
Hawes,  Pastime  of  Pleasure  (reprint,  p.  94),  1509  :  "Was  never 
man  yet  surely  at  the  bayte  With  Sapyence,  but  that  he  did 
repent."  Spenser  often  recalls  Hawes,  as  in  "lady  gent"; 
"  pale  and  wan  " ;  " flowering  age,"  etc.,  etc.    Now  for  Spenser : — 

Was  never  pype  of  reede  did  better  sounde 

{Shepheards  Calender,  December  (485,  b),  Globe  ed.). 
Was  never  Prince  so  faithful  and  so  faire 

Was  never  Prince  so  meeke  and  debonaire  {Faerie  Qusene,  i.  ii.  23). 
Did  never  mortall  eye  behold  such  heavenly  grace 

{Faerie  Queene,  i.  iii.  4). 
Was  never  wight  that  heard  that  shrilling  sownd.  But,  etc. 

{Faerie  Queene,  i.  viii.  4). 
Was  never  hart  so  ravisht  with  delight  {Faerie  Queene,  i.  ix.  14). 
Was  never  wretched  man  in  such  a  wofull  case  {Faerie  Queene,  in.  x.  14). 
Was  never  so  great  waste  in  any  place  {Faerie  Queene,  iii.  iii.  34). 
Saw  never  living  eie  more  heavy  sight  {Faerie  Queene,  111.  v.  30). 

The  next  structure  is  more  distinctly  Spenser's  own  : — 

A  fairer  wight  saw  never  summers  day  {Ruines  of  Time,  496,  a). 
A  fairer  wight  did  never  Sunne  behold  {Faerie  Queene,  in.  v.  5). 
A  gentler  shepheard  may  no  where  be  found 

{Colin  Clout's  Come  Home  Again,  \.  445). 
A  fairer  star  saw  never  living  eie  {Astrophel  (560,  a),  1586-7). 

So  is  this  : — 

The  mournfulst  verse  that  ever  man  heard  tell  .   .  . 
Of  gentlest  race  that  ever  shepheard  bore  .  .  . 
The  doleful'st  biere  that  ever  man  did  see  .  .  . 
The  gentlest  shepheardesse  that  lives  this  day. 

These   lines   are   from    Astrophel  (1586-7)   on    Sir   Philip 
Sidney : — 

The  justest  man  and  trewest  in  his  daies  {Faerie  Queene,  11.  x.  42). 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH        xxxiii 

No  one  follows  Spenser  in  this  respect,  taking  these  as  a 
whole,  so  closely  as  Shakespeare.  Peele  has  symptoms  of  it, 
but  they  do  not  stand  close  examination,  except  in  poems  of  a 
later  date  than  Henry  VL,  a  reference  to  which  I  am  avoiding 
carefully.     In  Lovely  London  (1585),  538,  a,  occurs: — 

London  give  thanks  to  Him  that  sits  on  high 
(Had  never  town  less  cause  for  to  complain). 

For  a  further  note  on  this  (with  reference  to  Peele  and 
Spenser),  see  Part  II.  II.  i.  15,  16.  It  is  a  pleasant  thing  to  feel 
that  "our  pleasant  Willy,"  whether  Spenser  referred  to  him  or 
not  in  Teaves  of  the  Muses,  took  a  continually  happy  means  of 
recalling  Spenser  in  this  and  in  so  many  other  ways. 

In  Locrine,  IV.  ii.  (partly  by  Peele)  "  Was  ever  land  ,  .  . 
Was  ever  grove  so  graceless  as  this  grove  .  .  .,"  etc.,  recalls  j 
Henry  VL  II.  v,  109- iii. 

In  Tamburlaine,  Part  II.  III.  v.  (Dyce  59,  a),  Marlowe  has: 
"  For  if  I  should,  as  Hector  did  Achilles  (The  worthiest  knight 
that  ever  brandish'd  sword),  Challenge  in  combat  any  of  you 
all." 

IV.  Thrice-happy,  -valiant,  etc. 
There  is  an  adjectival  compound  that  appears  very  fre- 
quently in  Shakespeare,  adjectives  beginning  with  thrice.  He 
adopts  it  especially  in  the  early  history  plays,  but  he  never  gave 
it  up,  and  it  has  remained  in  circulation  ever  since.  I  have 
found  no  notes  on  this,  and  I  may  be  forgiven  for  stating  here 
that  this  sort  of  research  is  entirely  my  own  effort,  and  there- 
fore liable  to  copious  criticism  and  perhaps  disapprobation  or 
negation.  The  present  note  is  a  regular  puzzle  to  me  in  its 
results.  Spenser  comes  certainly  a  little  way  towards  helping 
us.  He  has  "  thrice-happy  "  several  times  in  his  early  work  (to 
which  I  am  confined)  : — 

Thrise  happy  man!  said  then  the  father  grave  (Faerie  Queene,  i.  x.  51). 
Thrise  happy  man  the  knight  himselfe  did  hold  (Faerie  Queene,  i.  xii.  40). 
Thrise  happy  man  I  (said  then  the  Briton  knight)  (Faerie  Queene,  n.  ix.  5). 
Thrise  happy  she,  whom  he  to  praise  did  chose  (Astrophel,  1.  36). 

He  has  it  also  in  Ruines  of  Time,  and  in  Colin  Cloufs  Come 
Home  Again.  I  have  not  noted  the  phrase  in  Greene.  But  it  is 
in  Kyd's  Spanish  Tragedy.  Peele,  however,  abounds  in  it  (and 
Locrine,  of  later  date,  gives  "  Thrice-happy  "  and  "  thrice-hap- 


xxxiv  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

less,"  IV.  1*.).  So  far  as  I  have  tracked  it  out  this  very  useful 
and  popular  mode  of  expression  is  due  to  Spenser's  "thrice- 
happy  "  expanded  (as  follows)  by  Peele,  and  accepted  by  Mar- 
lowe, Shakespeare  and  every  one  else.  It  is  interesting  to  see 
how  speedily  Gabriel  Harvey  adopted  it.  Of  course  there  is  no 
literary  achievement  of  note  in  this  compound.  It  is  simply 
an  adaptation  from  Homeric  Greek  and  other  writers  of  classi- 
cal times.  But  as  a  test  of  dates  and  authorship  goes,  it  may 
prove  to  be  of  value.  The  very  suddenness  of  its  appearance 
in  our  writers,  like  an  epidemic,  is  itself  a  phenomenon. 

Spenser  had  submitted  his  Faerie  Queene,  or  the  beginning 
of  it,  to  Harvey,  for  judgment  before  1580.  We  may  therefore 
take  that  date  as  a  starting-point. 

Peele  has  1"  thrice-reverend  "  thrice  in  his  Arraignment  of 
Paris,  1584,  his  earliest  dated  work,  in  which  The  Shepheards 
Calender  is  obviously  recalled :  "  And  you  thrice-reverend 
powers"  (365,  a)  ;  "And  thus,  thrice-reverend,  have  I  told  my 
tale"  (366,  a):  "Thrice-reverend  gods"  (367,  b). 

From  that  on  Peele  used  it  freely.  In  Edward  I.  he  has 
"  thrice- valiant  "  (380,  b)  and  "  thrice-renowned  "  (402,  b).  In 
The  Battle  of  Alcazar  "  thrice-noble,"  "  thrice-happy,"  "  thrice- 
valiant  "  and  "  thrice-puissant"  (423,  a)  appear.  And  later  in  his 
signed  writings  he  uses  "  thrice-honourable,"  "  thrice-haughty," 
"thrice-worthy,"  and  "thrice-wretched."  The  last  {The  Tale 
of  Troy,  558,  a)  is,  I  think,  the  only  use  he  has,  not  as  an  epithet 
of  personal  address.  Lodge  has  "  thrice-renowned  "  in  Wounds 
of  Civil  War. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  the  figure  does  not  appear  in  Sir 
Clyomon  which  must  be  Peele's,  and  also  must  be  his  earliest 
effort.  But  as  if  to  emphasise  this  bit  of  evidence  he  has  at  the 
end  "twice-welcome  to  thy  knight"  (533,  bj. 

Gabriel  Harvey  plunges  into  "  thrise-sweet "  (Grosart,  ii.  5) ; 
"  thrise-affectionate"  (ii.  10);  "  thrise-curteous  "  (ii.  5);  "thrise- 
lavish"  (ii.  lo) ;  "thrise-grace-full  "  (i.  244);  "  thrise-happie  "  ; 
"  thrise-learned  "  ;  "  thrise-secret "  ;  "  thrise-profound."  But  all 
these  are  later  and  date  about  1 592. 

As  it  is  impossible  to  put  some  of  Peele's  usages  after  i 
Henry  VI.,  we  must  give  him  the  credit  of  developing  the  ex- 
pression from  Spenser's  earliest  "  thnse-happy,"  acording  to  the 
evidence  at  my  disposal. 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH         xxxv 

Henry  VI.  (Part  I.)  yields  "thrice-victorious"  (IV,  vii.  6^) 
and  "  thrice- welcome  "  (l.  ii.  47).  Part  II.  has  "thrice-famed" 
and  "  thrice-noble."  Love's  Labour's  Lost  has  "  thrice- worthy." 
The  words  in  Part  II.  are  noted  on  where  they  occur  in  III.  i. 
266  and  III.  ii.  157. 

Although  thrice-happy  is  not  in  Shakespeare,  it  is  in  the 
True  Tragedie  (Q  i  of  j  Henry  VL),  at  the  beginning  of  I.  iv. : 
"  Thrice-happie  chance  it  is  for  thee  and  thine,"  but  omitted  in 
four  excerpted  lines  from  the  finished  play.  And  in  the  same 
play  at  II.  ii.  15  "thrise  valeaunt  son  "  occurs,  which  is  omitted 
from  J  Henry  VL  also,  although  in  Titus  Andronicus.  More- 
over, from  The  First  Part  of  Contention,  I.  i.  188,  "thrice 
valiant "  is  deliberately  omitted  ;  "  Warwick  my  thrice  valiant 
son,"  reading  "  Warwick,  my  son  "  in  the  final  play. 

It  is  well  to  mention  here  how  the  case  stands  with  a  few 
other  prominent  plays  of  this  date.  Kyd  has  "  thrice  happy  " 
in  each  of  the  three  plays  The  Spanish  Tragedie,  Cornelia  and 
Solinian  and  Perseda,  the  first  of  these  being  the  only  one  that 
precedes  i  Henry  VL  probably.  It  is  one  of  Kyd's  frequent 
echoes  from  Spenser.  In  Solinian  and  Perseda  occurs  another  : 
"welcome,  thrise  renowned  Englishman"  (I.  iii.  12,  ed.  Boas). 

A  more  interesting  state  of  affairs  is  found  in  Edward  IIL, 
a  play  of  great  and  acknowledged  merit.  Using  Dent's  reprint 
(edited  by  G.  C.  Moore-Smith),  I  find  "thrice-gracious"  (p. 
23);  "  thrice-dread"  (p.  24) ;  " Thrice-noble "  (p.  34) ;  "thrice- 
valiant"  (p.  iJ);  and  "thrice-loving"  (p.  40,  and  again). 
These  occur,  all  I  think,  in  the  first  two  acts,  the  best  part 
of  the  play,  the  parts  which  are  attributed  to  Shakespeare.  Or 
to  Shakespeare  and  Peele  as  I  believe.  It  is  a  significant  clue. 
The  play  was  entered  in  Stationers'  Register,  ist  Dec,  1595. 

With  Marlowe's  use  of  these  terms  in  Tamburlaine  I  will 
deal  in  j  Henry  VL.  (Introduction).  Marlowe  had  Spenser's 
"  thrice-happy,"  and  Peele's  "  thrice-reverend "  to  go  upon. 
But  he  is  found  at  once  developing  it  as  Peele  does.  Marlowe 
has  "thrice-noble,"  "thrice-renowned,"  " thrice- welcome "  in 
Tamburlaine,  Part  I.;  and  "  thrice- worthy "  in  Tamburlaine, 
Part  II.  Peele  went  only  a  little  way  therefore  in  front.  Later 
he  may  be  looked  on  as  following  Marlowe  as  he  often  does. 

Following  the  lead  of  thrice-happy,  the  compound  seems  to 
be  always  favourable.      Peele  has  however  "  thrice-wretched 


xxxvi  l^HE  FIRST  PART  OF 

lady"  (558,  a)  ;  and  Lodge  has  "  Romans  thrice  accursed"  in 
Wounds  of  Civil  War. 

V.  Nouns  formed  into  Adjectives  with  Suffixes 

-LESS,  -FUL,  AND  -Y  OR  -ISH. 

At  the  time  this  play  was  written  our  language  was  in  a 
more  than  usually  pronounced  condition  of  flux  and  reforma- 
tion. All  capable  writers  took  what  licence  they  pleased  with 
words.  Whether  their  efforts  were  to  be  lasting  or  ephemeral 
depended  partly  on  the  effort  itself,  but  more  largely  on  the 
fame  and  impress  of  the  writer,  both  contingencies  being  in 
the  lap  of  posterity.  No  writer  had  such  a  mastery  over  these 
manipulations  of  word-meaning  and  word-shaping  as  Shake- 
speare. No  one  seized  more  boldly  on  a  term  for  a  momentary 
need,  whether  new  or  newly  applied,  whether  adopted  or  re- 
jected when  needless,  than  Shakespeare.  Hence  every  play 
has  its  own  series  of  terms  not  met  with  elsewhere,  often 
merely  "nonce-words,"  but  frequently  crystallised  into  our 
language.  Some  of  these  coinages  may  be  dealt  with  in 
groups  and  lead  to  interesting  generalisations  with  respect  to 
Shakespeare's  earliest  work — words  whose  appearance  in  litera- 
ture I  have  long  been  taking  note  of.  Roughly  speaking,  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  may  be  taken  as  a  stand- 
point. Stephen  Hawes'  work  The  Pastime  of  Pleasure,  1 509, 
a  very  popular  allegory  with  subsequent  writers,  is  a  useful 
guide  or  landmark,  but  no  great  series  of  changes  took  place 
perhaps  till  the  middle  of  the  century.  I  propose  to  deal 
rapidly  with  a  few  of  these  as  evidenced  in  these  plays.  And 
first  with  adjectives  formed  from  nouns  by  the  suffix  -less. 
Schmidt  deserts  us  here  and  New  Eng.  Diet,  has  merely  a 
general  paragraph,  which  informs  us  that  the  practice  was 
ancient,  but  the  power  seems  to  have  been  very  slightly  used 
and  then  laid  by.  Arthur  Golding  in  his  translation  of  Ovid's 
Metamorphoses  (1565-1567)  made  free  use  of  these  expressions. 
He  gives  helpless,  heedless,  headless,  wiveless,  knotless,  hurt- 
less,  luckless,  pleasureless,  tongueless,  lightless,  careless.  Most 
of  these  are  new. 

Next  in  order  of  date  who  indulged  in  this  direction,  is 
Spenser.  His  early  work  yields  hurtlcss,  knightless,  senseless, 
dreadless,  hapless,  heartless  and  hopeless,  breathless,  causeless, 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH       xxxvii 

favourless,  helpless  (merciless),  heedless,  lustless,  careless,  grace- 
less, hostless,  vvoundless,  trustless,  rueless  (unpitied),  quench- 
less, witless  {ante  1590).  Spenser  has  a  tendency  to  group 
them  {Faerie  Qiieene,  II.  vi.  41,  etc.),  and  so  have  Kyd, 
Shakespeare,  Peele. 

Next  in  sequence  may  be  taken  Peele.  Not  repeating  the 
common  words  already  mentioned  he  gives  (down  to  1593) 
endless,  bloodless,  ruthless,  successless,  quenchless,  mirthless, 
trothless,  breathless,  soul-less,  glory-less,  numberless,  dateless, 
waveless,  kindless,  spotless,  sapless,  stringless,  cloudless. 

Peele  made  obviously  an  effort  in  this  direction.  He  strings 
them  together  in  several  places,  metrically,  and  is  responsible 
for  som.e  useful  words. 

Marlowe  does  his  own  share  at  the  same  time,  or  a  little 
later  (Peele's  earliest  work  precedes  Marlowe's).  Marlowe 
stretches  the  sense  of  -less  into  "  not  able  to  be  "  more  than  the 
others  perhaps.  See  Ward's  Doctor  Faustus,  who  is  the  only 
commentator  I  have  found  on  this  subject.  Marlowe  has  timeless, 
topless,  quenchless,  expressless,  resistless,  remediless,  removeless, 
ruthless,  attemptless,  fleshless,  forceless,  resistless,  lustless. 

We  now  come  to  Henry  VI.  and  Shakespeare.  It  may  be 
mentioned  that  at  an  immediately  later  date  Sylvester  in  his 
Du  Barlas  carried  on  the  coinage  assiduously. 

Shakespeare  fell  into  line  with  his  predecessors  in  his  early 
work  in  this  respect.  In  fact  he  kept  this  string  to  his  bow 
always  ready  for  use,  but  the  Spenserian  influence  waned  with 
time.  In  /  Henry  VI.  he  gives  us  (those  in  italics  are  pe- 
culiar to  the  play)  :  sapless,  pithless,  crestless,  strengthless,  reason- 
less, timeless,  heedless.  In  2  Henry  VI.  crimeless.  In  j 
Henry  VI.  luckless,  quenchless.  In  Taming  of  the  Shrew, 
shapeless  and  combless.  In  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona,  conceit- 
less.  In  Richard  II.  stringless.  In  Sonnets,  makeless.  In 
Lover's  Complaint,  phraseless,  termless.  But  one  conclusion 
appears  undoubted,  that  he  dropped  the  trick  except  at  im- 
pulsive moments,  and  discontinued  it  as  a  practice  after  his 
earliest  work,  especially  /  Henry  VI.  He  never  became  en- 
slaved. These  forms  often  occur  in  groups,  as  in  j  Henry  VI. 
II.  v.  It  is  so  with  all  who  adopt  them ;  two,  or  more  at  a 
time.  See  Lodge,  Wounds  of  Civil  War  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley, 
V.   116,  141,  196);  and  Peele, /aj.ym.     '^qq  i  Henry  VI.  ll.  v. 


xxxviii  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

1 1,  12,  13.     See  also  j  Henry  VI.  II.  vi.  18,  23,  25.     And  the 
first  stanzas  of  Lucrece. 

Compounds  with  Prefixes  Ever,  and  Never,  from 
Participial  Adjectives. 

A  few  of  these,  ever-during,  ever-lasting,  and  ever-living 
are  very  early,  going  back  to  the  first  part  of  the  fourteenth 
century  as  dealt  with  in  New  Eng.  Diet.  The  next  .in  date 
cited  is  "ever-increasing,"  1570  (T.  Norton,  translation).  Sid- 
ney seems  then  to  have  given  an  impetus  in  Areadia  {ante 
1586) ;  he  has  ever-flourishing  in  the  first  few  pages. 

About  the  same  date  Spenser  took  this  mode  under  his 
wing.  In  the  first  Canto  of  The  Faerie  Queene  he  has  ever- 
damned,  ever-drouping,  and  ever-drizling  in  stanzas  38,  39, 
and  41.  Ever-burning  occurs  also,  twice,  in  the  first  book. 
And  ever-dying  is  found  in  I.  x,  9.  While  the  old  ever-living  is 
used  in  l.  x.  50. 

This  latter  occurs  in  the  present  play,  I  v.  iii.  51,  and  is 
followed  immediately  by  ever-esteemed  in  Loves  Labour 's 
Lost.  Later,  Spenser  has  ever-running,  ever-preserved,  ever- 
fixed,  ever-fired,  ever-during,  and  ever-burning.  Marlowe  uses 
a  few  of  Spenser's,  including  ever-drizzling.  Kyd  has  ever- 
glooming  in  The  Spanish  Tragedy. 

Spenser's  Faerie  Queene  gave  an  impetus  to  this  use. 

Forms  with  "  never  "  are  not  affected  much  by  Shakespeare. 
None  appear  in  Henry  VI.  But  he  has  never-conquered  and 
never-ending  in  Lucrece ;  never-dying  and  never-daunted  (the 
latter  was  common)  in  Henry  IV. ;  never-quenching  in  Richard 
II. ;  never-resting  in  Sonnet  5 ;  and  in  his  latest  work  never- 
suspected  and  never-withering  occur  in  Tempest  and  Cymbeline. 

Spenser  used  never-resting  earlier  in  Mother  Hubberd's 
Tale,  but  I  have  not  noted  these  in  his  earliest  work. 

Peele  and  Kyd,  or  Peele  followed  by  Kyd,  have  several. 
The  former  has  never-ceasing  and  never-dying  in  Alcazar  and 
the  Arraignment.  The  latter  gives  never-dying  and  never- 
killing  in  Spanish  Tragedy ;  ne'er  deceiving  in  Cornelia. 

Marlowe  adopted  these  compounds  in  Tamburlaine.  He 
has  ever-howling,  ever-green,  ever-raging,  ever-turning,  ever- 
shining.  He  has  also  never-broken,  never-fading,  never-stayed, 
in  adjectival  use — all  in  first  and  second  Tamburlaine. 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH        xxxix 

Compounds  with  Over  as  a  Prefix. 
Shakespeare  had  a  great  partiality  for  these,  made  up  with 
several  grammatical  parts  of  speech.  New  Eng.  Did.  has 
given  a  number  due  to  him  in  the  first  instance.  Ben  Jonson 
followed  closely  on  his  heels.  But  all  writers  used  them  and 
the  subject  is  altogether  too  wide  and  diffuse  to  be  slurred 
over  here.  I  find  many  in  Golding's  Ovid  for  the  first  time. 
Sidney  has  a  number  of  them  in  Arcadia.  Spenser  seems  to 
use  those  older  ones  that  came  to  his  hand,  oftenest.  Peele 
coins  several.  So  does  Kyd.  Perhaps  about  four  apiece  in 
their  early  and  undoubted  work.  But  no  one  approaches 
Shakespeare  in  the  liberality  with  which  he  pours  them  out. 
In  the  present  play,  over-awe,  over-daring,  over-matched,  over- 
mounting,  over-tedious,  over-veiled,  may  be  mentioned. 

Adjectives  formed  from  Substantives  with  the 
Subject  -ful. 

These  are  more  abundant,  naturally,  carrying  with  them  a 
development  and  extension  of  an  idea  as  they  do  instead  of 
a  negation  of  it,  like  words  in  -less.  New  Eng.  Did.  gives 
a  paragraph  upon  them  which  is  of  the  same  purport  as  that 
under  -less.  Many  are  old,  but  like  the  last  a  new  vogue 
came  in,  culminating  in  Shakespeare's  work.  These  words  are 
on  a  higher  grade  and  better  class :  they  belong  to  riper  works 
and  do  not  as  a  group  denote  an  afi'ectation  or  a  peculiarity  so 
much  as  the  last — except  in  the  fact  of  coining  and  dallying 
with  construction  being  itself  rather  a  puerility.  The  extension 
here  is  of  earlier  date,  I  think,  than  the  last.  We  have  an 
excellent  list  in  Schmidt  for  Shakespeare.  I  have  made  no 
list  from  Golding.  Spenser,  however,  has  spoilful,  groanful, 
threatfull,  stryfuU,  gladfull,  wailfull,  gastfull  (this  is  in  Golding), 
vauntfull,  choicefull  (besides  the  older  guileful,  doleful,  direful, 
etc.).  Several  of  Spenser's  are  coinages  showing  that  he  had 
taken  it  up  deliberately. 

I  have  not  noted  this  to  any  characteristic  extent  in  Peele 
or  Marlowe.  Greene  seems  to  have  had  little  tendency  to  origi- 
nal word-making  in  any  direction  whatever.  Sylvester  indeed 
goes  at  it  at  once,  but  Shakespeare  had  preceded  him  with 
strenuous  efforts  and  examples.  Sylvester  has  mastful  (oak), 
fishfuU  (sea)  early  in  his  work. 


xl  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

Shakespeare  has  the  following  only  once :  disgraceful,  dis- 
trustful in  /  Henry  VI. ;  fraudful,  deathful,  unhelpful  in  2  Henry 
VI. ;  mirthful,  easeful,  wishful  in  j  Henry  VI.  In  Lua'ece 
only  are  increaseful  faultful  and  mistful.  Gleeful  and  might- 
ful  are  only  in  Titus  Andronicus.  Dareful  and  fitful  only  in 
Macbeth.  There  are  but  io.-^  others  peculiar  and  they  demand 
no  notice  here.  Again  we  see  the  influence  of  Spenser  with 
his  wonderful  poetic  vocabulary  in  the  growing  genius  of 
Shakespeare;  and  predominating  in  Henry  VI.  Fretful  in  2 
He?iry  VI.  is  quoted  in  Nezv  Eng.  Diet.  But  it  may  be  earlier 
in  Kyd.  Cornelia,  certainly,  is  earlier  than  New  Eng.  Diet. 
date  ("1593")- 

With  the  Suffix  -ish. 

There  is  also  an  early  formation,  but  belonging  chiefly  to 
proper  or  national  names.  It  is  more  amply  dealt  with  in 
New  Eng.  Diet,  than  the  preceding  ones  from  a  historical 
view,  but  not  illustrated  except  from  modern  times  as  an  or  - 
dinary  means  of  obtaining  an  adjective.  It  was  apparently 
an  idle  arm,  for  the  most  part,  until  Golding,  and  subsequently 
Spenser,  handled  it,  and  polished  it  by  use.  The  suffix  has  the 
sense  of  "  somewhat "  when  applied  to  another  adjective : 
'•  somewhat  like  a  "  when  added  to  a  noun. 

Golding  leads  the  way  with  snakish,  sheepish,  saltish, 
moorish,  sluggish,  raughtish  (grunting),  currish,  an  interesting 
list  for  his  date. 

Spenser  has  clownish,  brackish,  dampish,  sluggish,  currish, 
moorish,  goatish.  He  evidently  helped  himself  from  Golding. 
But  I  am  not  postulating  originality  for  any  of  these.  And 
there  is  not  much  business  doing  in  -ish  evidently.  Sir  Philip 
Sidney  used  it  sometimes — he  has  at  any  rate  gluttonish,  shep- 
herdish  and  lobbish  in  Areadia. 

Shakespeare  has  only  a  handful  of  these  words,  and  I  doubt 
if  he  adds  any.  I  have  no  exhaustive  list.  Shrewish,  elvish  and 
dankish  are  confined  to  Comedy  of  Errors ;  brinish  is  earlier  in 
Lyly's  Euphues.  Brainish  {Hamlet)  is  no  doubt  new-minted. 
There  is  no  need  to  pursue  this  inquiry  since  it  is  outside 
Henry   VI. 

The  use  of  the  pronoun  there  in  Shakespeare  is  well  dealt 
with  by  Schmidt,  and  by  Abbott.     There  was  a  very  subtle 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  xli 

discrimination  usually  between  thou  and  you.  As  the  word  is 
now  almost  discontinued,  in  ordinary  use,  so  also  is  the  inflec- 
tion -est  to  the  verb  in  the  past  tense,  second  person.  The 
language  arising  has  a  Biblical  cast  in  modern  ears,  but  in 
Shakespeare's  time  it  had  hardly  acquired  that  distinction. 
But  as  x^bbott  (231)  points  out  it  was  becoming  archaic  to  use 
thou  except  in  the  higher  poetic  style  and  the  solemn  language 
of  prayer.  The  termination  in  -est  was  felt  to  be  ponderous, 
and  too  serious.  These  three  plays  exhibit  a  group  of  these 
"ponderous"  examples,  which  are  seldom  found  in  the  later 
ones.  They  are  felt  to  be  noteworthy  on  account  of  the  some- 
what terrific  need  of  elision  in  pronouncing  such  a  word  as 
"  suckedest "  as  a  monosyllable.  This  occurs  in  /  Henry  VI. 
V.  iv.  27  : — 

the  milk 
Thy  mother  gave  thee  when  thou  suck'dest  her  breast. 

And  in  Coriolanus,  III.  ii.  129;  and  in  Titus  Andronicus,  II.  iii. 
144.  Marlowe  has  an  example  in  Edward  II.  (Dyce,  211,  a) : 
"that  philosophy  .  .  .  Thou  suck'dst  from  Plato  and  from 
Aristotle." 

Here  are  a  few  examples  : — 

Sentest.     Titus  Andronicus,  ni.  i.  236. 

Meantest.     2  Henry  VI.  ni.  ii.  222  (Peele  uses  this). 

Wentest.     3  Henry  VI.  in.  i.  54. 

Dippedst.     3  Henry  VI.  i.  i.  157. 

Calledst.     2  Henry  VI.  iv.  iii.  31  (and  twice  elsewhere  in  Shakespeare). 

Obeyedst.     3  Henry  VI.  in.  iii.  96. 

Strokest.     Tempest,  i.  ii.  333  (purposely  stilted). 

Oughtest.     2  Henry  VI.  iv.  vii.  54. 

Soughtest.     Antony  and  Cleopatra,  v.  ii.  335  (the  "  high  Roman  style.") 

The  latter  two  are  Biblically  familiar.  No  doubt  there  are 
more  in  Shakespeare,  but  they  seem  to  be  somewhat  charac- 
teristic of  these  three  plays,  and  therefore  dwelt  on  a  little. 

Hardly  more  euphonious  are  the  corresponding  present 
tense  monosyllables,  noted  already  under  Peele.  Shakespeare 
probably  desisted  purposely  from  these  in  his  later  work  as  his 
ear  grew  more  musically  exacting.  Serv'st,  forc'st,  com'st, 
hear'st,  fight'st,  join'st,  and  others  all  occur,  monosyllabically, 
in  /  Henry  VI.  Peele  used  these  freely.  But  so  do  modern 
poets.  Shelley  has  speak'st,  somewhere,  three  or  four  times  in 
as  many  lines. 


xlii  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

With  the  Suffix  -y. 

Adjectives  from  nouns  formed  with  the  suffix  -y  are  very 
conspicuous  in  Spenser.  Many  of  them  are  his  own  undoubted 
introductions.  He  had  grassy,  calmy,  watery,  hoary,  misty, 
frothy,  sappy,  dewy,  starry,  foamy,  rosy,  finny,  shiny,  airy, 
fleecy,  plumy,  snowy,  scaly,  frory,  pearly,  gloomy,  briny, 
leamy,  heedy,  vetchy,  bushy,  weedy,  cloudy,  horsy,  whelky, 
fenny,  slimy,  snaky,  ashy,  muddy,  balmy,  cooly,  in  his  early 
work.  A  very  great  list  with  numbers  of  interesting  words.  It 
must  not  be  assumed  that  several  of  these,  now  very  common, 
were  so  in  his  time,  or  ever  in  use  at  all.  Golding  is  not 
noteworthy  in  this  respect. 

Shakespeare  has  many  of  the  above.  He  has  also  slumbery, 
womby,  vasty  and  paly  in  his  later  works.  Mothy  and  pithy 
belong  to  Taviing  of  a  Shrew.  But  I  only  find  him  once  in- 
dulging in  a  bout  of  such  terms,  and  that  is  in  a  very  appro- 
priate place,  Midsummer  Night's  Dream,  wherein  he  is 
especially  reminiscent  of  Spenser.  He  has  there,  only  :  wormy, 
sphery,  starry,  rushy,  barky,  batty,  brisky,  unheedy.  He  sets 
a  friendly  seal  of  approval  on  Spenser's  trick. 

In  the  foregoing  efforts  of  research,  I  have  read  no  prede- 
cessors, and  they  are  altogether  too  comprehensive  to  at- 
tempt singlehanded  with  any  finality.  I  trust  my  errors  are 
not  many  and  that  my  conclusions  are  sound  as  a  rule.  It 
seems  to  me  that  some  such  methods  will  prove  more  reliable 
in  coming  to  a  knowledge  of  the  chronological  position  and 
sequence  of  literary  compositions,  and  of  their  authors  even, 
than  any  other  internal  test,  not  excepting  metrical  ones  which 
often  break  down  and  seldom  extend  past  the  field  of  a  single 
writer's  own  work,  except  in  unsettled  boundaries.  Or  even, 
if  that  be  an  unfair  view,  these  tests  of  new  compounds  are 
importantly  additional.  Now  that  New  Eng.  Diet,  has  pro- 
gressed so  far  and  so  splendidly  there  is  always  a  final  court  of 
appeal.  I  have  usually  referred  to  it,  but  my  collections  are 
from  my  own  reading,  and  my  instances  precede  theirs  oc- 
casionally. 

Note  on  the  Chronicles. 

In  the  historical  events  of  this  play  Shakespeare  follows 
sometimes  Hall,  occasionally  Grafton,  and  commonly  Holin- 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  xliii 

shed.  I  have  made  use  of  Grafton  where  possible,  since  his 
chronicle  has  been  usually  neglected  ;  and  in  its  earliest  parts 
(Hall  begins  with  Henry  IV.),  his  pleasant  writings  afford 
many  illustrations  of  Shakespeare's  language.  For  the  Henrys, 
Grafton  (1567)  may  be  taken  as  identical  with  Hall  (1548) 
from  whom  he  transcribed.  But  he  also  omitted,  added,  and 
in  a  much  less  degree  altered,  Hall  a  few  times.  Holinshed 
varies  from  both  in  Henry  VI.  Shakespeare  made  use  of 
him  of  course.  All  this  is  fully  dealt  with  in  Boswell  Stone's 
admirable  summary  of  Shakespeare's  Holinshed.  But  I  am 
urged  to  say  this  much  in  extenuation  of  my  use  of  Grafton, 
admittedly  an  inferior  source  to  the  others.  I  found  evidences 
of  his  having  been  consulted  ;  I  found  him  lighter  reading  than 
the  others  with  some  room  for  original  research ;  and  I  wished 
to  do  this  for  myself.  The  evidences  will  appear  from  time  to 
time  in  my  extracts.  For  example,  the  St.  Alban's  Scene  (ii.  i ) 
in  2  Henry  VI.  (from  Sir  Thomas  More's  Dialogue)  is  told  by 
Grafton  only.  It  is  more  likely  Shakespeare  found  it  there 
than  in  More  (1530).  As  a  rule  Holinshed  and  Grafton  both 
paraphrase  Hall.  As  a  rule  Shakespeare  used  Holinshed.  But 
there  is  evidence  that  he  used  Hardyng,  Fabyan  and  Stowe  in 
addition.  For  Fabyan,  see  Part  II.  IV.  iii.  at  the  word  "sallet." 
For  Hardyng  see  Boswell  Stone,  p.  262  ;  and  see  the  same  au- 
thority for  Stowe  in  two  or  three  places.  Grafton  was  made 
use  of  again,  probably,  where  episodes  from  Hall  and  Jack 
Straw's  rebellion  (1381)  are  woven  into  Cade's. 

There  is  one  remark  I  wish  to  make  with  regard  to  the 
Chroniclers.  They  afford  an  excellent  hunting  ground  (Grafton 
in  particular  perhaps)  for  Shakespearian  expressions.  Not 
illustrations  of  a  historical  nature  or  with  any  reference  to  the 
historical  plays,  necessarily,  but  of  passages  and  turns  of  phras- 
ing in  Shakespeare's  later  work — where  he  drops  them  har- 
moniously in  unexpected  places  from  the  store-house  of  his 
memory. 

In  addition  to  the  above  paragraph  I  find  Polydore  Vergil 
yielding  two  or  three  useful  notes  in  Part  III.,  as  at  II.  vi.  30, 
and  II.  V.  I.     And  also  of  Edward's  love  for  the  ladies  at  III.  ii. 

14,  IS- 

Philip  de  Commines  (Danett's  translation  was  not  available) 
comes  in  with  advantage  at  V.  ii.  31,  and  V.  iii.  20,  21. 


xliv  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

In  Part  II.  iv.  x.  i  et  seq.,  where  Iden  finds  Cade  in  his 
garden,  Holinshed  is  not  followed.  The  account  is  from  Graf- 
ton or  Hall. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  Shakespeare  made  a 
continuous  study  of  all,  or  indeed  of  any  of  these  chroniclers, 
excepting  perhaps  Holinshed.  Probably  at  first  he  used 
whichever  came  handiest  at  whatever  friend's  library  he  had 
access  to,  and  sometimes  one  writer,  sometimes  another.  No 
doubt  he  soon  possessed  a  Grafton  and  a  Holinshed  of  his  own. 
In  speaking  of  Grafton  I  have  omitted  to  distinguish  Grafton's 
Continuation  of  Hardy ng  (1543)  which  is  earlier  than  Hall's 
Chronicle.  For  the  latter  part  of  Henry  VI.  and  for  Richard 
HI.,  Shakespeare  undoubtedly  used  this.  He  took  many 
expressions  into  his  texts  from  it,  as  my  notes  will  show. 

With  regard  to  Grafton's  popularity,  Gabriel  Harvey  bears 
testimony.  He  refers  to  "  Grafton's,  Stowe's,  or  Holinshed's 
Chronicle"  m  Pierces  Supererogation  (Grosart,  ii.  196),  1592-3. 
He  had  already,  as  early  as  1580,  mentioned  Holinshed  (i.  91), 
the  1577  edition.  The  inter-relationship  of  these  compilers  is 
very  complicated  and  need  not  be  touched  upon.  Stowe  upon 
Grafton  (^Survey)  is  painful  reading. 

Another  consideration  in  favour  of  Grafton  is  that  his 
Continuation  of  Hardy  ng  in  1543,  is  prior  to  all  of  Hall's  work. 
But  it  does  not  deal  with  our  period  except  at  the  very  con- 
clusion. 

It  is  necessary  here  to  say  a  word  with  regard  to  the  author- 
ship of  this  work  ;  belonging  in  part  to  Sir  Thomas  More,  and 
in  partto  Grafton.  See  Sir  H.  Ellis's  Introduction  to  the  1809 
edition.  Boswell  Stone  quotes  mostly,  in  Richard  HI.,  from 
Holinshed,  who  ascribes  to  Sir  Thomas  More.  Grafton's  ver- 
sion is  varied  considerably,  chiefly  compressed.  Holinshed 
says  that  "  Edward  the  Fifth  and  Richard  the  Third  unfinished  " 
were  written  about  the  year  15 13.  Grafton  overlaps  this  at 
each  end,  beginning  with  Edward  the  Fourth  and  continuing 
to  Henry  VHI.,  "  gathered  out  of  the  most  credible  writers." 
The  part  that  is  common  to  both  is  for  the  most  part  identical. 
Shakespeare  need  not  necessarily  therefore  have  used  Holin- 
shed. Some  expressions  such  as  "lay  their  heads  together," 
are  not  in  Holinshed,  in  this  position  at  any  rate.  Holinshed 
is  Grafton  amplified  {i.e.,  More)  for  Edward  V.  (468  to  515 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  xlv 

Grafton  =  361  to  396  Holinshed) ;  and  Holinshed  is  Grafton 
in  Richard  III.  to  525  in  the  latter  after  "yEsop's  tale"  where 
Holinshed  says  "  Here  endeth  Sir  Thomas  Moore,  and  this 
that  followeth  is  taken  out  of  master  Hall  "  (405).  Stowe's 
Richard  III.  omits  a  line  (II.  iii.  ii),  "Woe  to  that  land  that's 
governed  by  a  child"  which  is  in  Grafton  (511)  and  in  1588 
Holinshed's  reprint  (393),  but  has  escaped  the  editors. 

A  few  chronicle  expressions  appearing  in  these  plays  occur 
to  my  memory  :  break  up  (a  prison,  etc.),  in  Christendom,  pro- 
curator, cutting  short  (one's  head),  conventicle,  play  a  pagea7it, 
laid  their  heads  together  (consulted),  subversion,  triple  crown 
(mitre),  fleeced,  at  large,  corsie,  sallet.  And  many  military  or 
warfare  phrases :  such  as  bid  them  battle,  buckle  with.  Most  of 
these,  and  several  more,  are  in  Grafton,  1543,  knitting  the 
brows,  came  up,  make  a  short  tale,  break  off  (conversation), 
pangs  of  death. 

Mr.  Francis  Woollett  called  my  attention  to  evidence  of 
the  "  heterogeneous  nature  of  the  construction  "  of  this  play  in 
two  special  cases,  as  well  from  a  close  study  of  several  episodes. 
The  episode  of  Talbot  and  the  Countess  of  Auvergne  has  no 
meaning  and  probably  belonged  to  the  earlier  draft — it  reads 
like  an  adventure  out  of  a  Robin  Hood  ballad.  The  two 
cases  referred  to  are  the  making  Winchester  a  Cardinal  in 
Act  I.,  while  in  Act  V.  (i.  28)  Exeter  says  :  "  What !  is  my  Lord 
of  Winchester  install'd.  And  call'd  unto  a  Cardinal's  degree  ?" 
Again  in  Act  I.  (i.  61,  65)  Paris  is  quite  lost  to  the  English, 
yet  Henry  is  crowned  there  in  Act  IV.  Scene  i.  And  at  I.  i. 
60  Orleans  is  quite  lost,  while  this  is  contradicted  by  the  third 
Messenger's  speech  a  little  lower  down.  Such  historical  con- 
fusion is  most  easily  explained  by  hasty  overwriting  of  early 
work  by  another. 

It  would  be  a  thankless  and  unnecessary  task  to  point  out  the 
depths  oi  Henry  VI.,  Part  I.  Enough  has  been  said  already 
both  in  this  Introduction  and  my  notes.  It  must  be  conceded 
that  even  this  prosaic  production  is  lightened  up  here  and 
there  by  redeeming  passages  and  even  scenes.  And  that  as  a 
coherent  narrative  play  with  some  attempt  at  depicting  human 
nature  as  it  really  is  in  times  of  storm  and  stress,  it  rises  above 
its  predecessors  on  the  English  stage.  Even  Shakespeare  had 
to  begin.     He  began  on  another's  failure  and  Greene's  "  nature 


xlvi  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

is  subdued,"  by  the  worker,  to  the  dyer's  hand.  The  resultant 
hue  is  in  places  a  very  strange  medley.  The  Greene  shows 
through  the  Shakespearian  varnish.  When  we  come  to  study 
this  retouching  in  the  later  parts,  with  the  original  canvas 
before  us,  we  get  some  idea  of  the  processes  at  work,  but  the 
parallel  is  not  legitimate,  since  here  there  was  perhaps  no 
more  than  a  few  hasty  sketches  of  unfinished  scenes  and  posi- 
tions, speeches  to  be  made  use  of  and  probably  unwelcome 
personal  assistance  from  Greene.  One  feels  the  presence  of 
Greene,  but  little  by  little,  in  my  case  at  least,  this  presence 
became  more  and  more  shadowy,  and  finally  it  practically 
vanishes  from  the  finished  product.  It  is  curious  how  a  few 
impressions  at  the  start  lead  one  into  a  track  that  is  difificult  to 
ever  wholly  escape  from.  I  have  shown  how  some  of  the 
Greene  language  is  really  Spenser's.  In  the  later  parts  certain 
recognised  Marlovian  phrases  belong  properly  to  the  Chroniclers. 

It  is  necessary  to  give  a  brief  summary  of  the  conclusions 
of  the  more  important  critics  and  commentators  on  the  author- 
ship of  this  play.  After  I  had  made  a  careful  study  of  the 
three  parts  I  studied  the  opinions  of  others,  with  many  of  which 
I  was  of  course  to  some  extent  familiar.  Theobald  and  War- 
burton  both  doubted  the  Shakespearian  authorship  of  all  three 
plays,  although  finding  some  of  his  "master  strokes"  in  them. 
Johnson  very  properly  said  :  "  From  mere  inferiority  nothing  can 
be  inferred  ;  in  the  productions  of  wit  there  will  be  inequality," 
and  after  a  few  more  solemn  truisms,  he  opposed  himself  to 
Theobald  and  Warburton  without  any  knowledge  whatever  of 
the  writings  of  Shakespeare's  contemporaries — the  whole  field 
of  conflict  and  point  at  issue.  Malone  gave  his  decisive  opinion 
that  this  play  was  not  by  Shakespeare,  and  further  that  it  was 
not  by  the  same  author  or  authors  as  Parts  II.  and  III. 
Drake  would  have  excluded  this  play  altogether. 

The  first  champion  of  all  these  plays,  and  of  the  formation 
plays  also  (of  Parts  II.  and  III.)  as  Shakespeare's,  was  Knight. 
Knight's  view  has,  I  think,  never  been  accepted  by  any  one 
else.  But  he  dealt  with  the  whole  subject  at  great  length  and 
with  much  critical  ability,  and  by  his  means  the  questions  at 
issue  were  removed  from  much  of  the  early  dogmatism  they 
were  tainted  with.  Since  his  time  no  one  has  ventured  to  deny 
Shakespeare's  authorship,    whose  opinion  carries  weight;  al- 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  xlvii 

though  some,  like  Dyce  (2nd  ed.)  thought  that  he  merely 
slightly  altered  and  improved  an  old  drama  in  Henry  F/.  (Part  I.). 

For  more  lengthened  opinions  of  these  writers — as  many 
more  there  be — I  would  refer  to  Grant  White's  excellent  review 
of  the  position  (vii.  p.  403  et  seg.,  ed,  1881);  Collier's  "mon- 
strous opinion"  that  Shakespeare  wrote  Part  I.,  but  had  no 
hand  in  The  Contention  or  The  True  Tragedy ;  and  also  Halli- 
well's  elaborate  suggestion  of  "  an  intermediate  composition  " 
amongst  these  original  dramas  which  complicates  matters  and 
is  as  ingenious  as  it  is  unwarranted.  Dyce  followed  Hallam  in 
avowing  a  strong  suspicion  that  those  two  old  dramas  were 
wholly  by  Marlowe !  Perhaps  the  most  extraordinary  of  all 
these  imaginings. 

Fleay,  Furnivall,  Ingleby,  and  Miss  Lee  have  endeavoured 
to  allot  accurately  the  parts  in  this  play  that  are  Shakespeare's 
to  him,  and  the  other  parts  to  Marlowe,  or  to  Peele  or  Greene 
as  the  case  may  be.  They  do  not  agree  among  themselves 
except  in  a  general  way  as  to  what  Shakespeare  wrote  un- 
doubtedly. Fleay  would  have  Shakespeare's  parts  "of  much 
later  date,  and  inserted  by  him  " — an  unhappy  guess.  Dr. 
Ingleby  is  somewhat  similar  in  his  opinion.  The  very  fact  of 
there  being  no  mention  of  Robert  Greene  in  their  views  (nor 
in  Furnivall's)  puts  them  out  of  court  in  my  opinion. 

The  German  critics,  Gervinus,  Schlegel,  Tieck  and  Ulrici,  and 
Verplanck  generally  accept  this  play  as  Shakespeare's,  or 
mainly  Shakespeare's,  without  labouring  much  as  to  who  else 
is  concerned.  Gervinus,  however,  removes  a  quantity  of  the 
play  from  Shakespeare,  regarding  that  which  is  his  as  insertions 
in  order  to  "  unite  this  first  part  most  closely  with  the  second 
and  third,  while  before  it  had  been  totally  unconnected  with 
them."  He  labours  the  point  (as  Malone  did)  that  the  chief 
chronicler  used  was  Hall  not  Holinshed,  the  latter  being 
"  Shakespeare's  historian."  Gervinus  simply  rejects  what  he 
does  not  think  good  enough  for  Shakespeare — what  is  in  con- 
trast with  his  later  mode  and  manner.  He  is  very  good 
reading,  but  wholly  unconvincing.  I  find  in  a  footnote  that 
he  seems  to  attribute  T/ie  Contention  and  The  True  Tragedy 
wholly  to  Greene.  Gervinus  differs  from  Schlegel,  Tieck  and 
Ulrici  who  regard  the  whole  trilogy  as  undoubtedly  Shake- 
speare's.    Ward  regards  Part  I.  as  having  received  "passages, 

d 


xlviii  THE  FIRST  PART  OF 

and  even  scenes  "  from  Shakespeare's  hand,  as  an  adapter. 
Ward  states  positively,  however,  "  that  there  is  no  evidence  to 
identify  Part  I.  of  Heriry  VI.  either  with  the  Henry  the  VI. 
noted  by  Henslowe,  or  with  the  play  alluded  to  by  Nashe" — 
a  dogmatic  assertion  which  I  can  see  no  justification  whatever 
for.  Ward  decides  further  that  Parts  II.  and  III.  were  elabor- 
ated by  Shakespeare  from  those  older  plays  which  were  written 
by  some  author  unknown,  which  cannot  be  ascribed  to  authors 
of  so  distinct  a  style  as  Greene,  or  Marlowe,  or  Peele.  He 
places  Titus  Andro7iicus  in  exactly  the  same  position. 

The  worst  of  these  conflicting  opinions  is  that  they  each 
carry  with  them  a  certain  amount  of  conviction  until  the  next 
is  considered.  There  is  no  doubt  Ward  is  emphatically  right 
in  saying  that  those  plays  cannot  be  lightly  regarded  as  belong- 
ing to  any  of  the  three  writers  mentioned.  This  does  not 
exclude  a  junta,  but  this  discussion  is  out  of  place  for  the 
present.  I  will  merely  say  that  his  argument  that  those  plays 
cannot  have  been  written  by  Shakespeare  (expunging  at  once 
the  other  three  authors)  because  of  the  changes  made  in  the 
finished  work  (Parts  II.  and  III.)  seems  lame  and  insufficient 
We  must  regard  Shakespeare  as  improving  and  developing  at 
a  most  rapid  rate.  What  would  any  of  these  three  parts 
(admittedly  by  Shakespeare  according  to  Ward)  have  turned 
out  like  if  he  handled  them  over  again,  a  little,  even  a  very 
little  later  ? 

I  will  now  quote  from  Grant  White,  already  referred  to. 
His  opinion  is  that :  "  The  First  Part  of  the  Contention,  The 
True  Tragedy,  and,  probably,  an  early  form  of  the  first  part 
of  King  Henry  the  VI. ,  unknown  to  us,  were  written  by  Mar- 
lowe, Greene  and  Shakespeare  (and  perhaps  Peele)  together, 
not  improbably  as  collaborators  for  the  company  known  as  the 
Earl  of  Pembroke's  servants,  soon  after  the  arrival  of  Shake- 
speare in  London ;  and  that  he,  in  taking  passages,  and  some- 
times whole  scenes,  from  those  plays  for  his  King  Henry  the 
Sixth,  did  little  more  than  to  reclaim  his  own."  Two  remarks 
only  will  I  hazard  here,  leaving  the  genesis  of  Parts  II.  and  III. 
to  unfold  themselves  at  the  proper  time.  One  is  why  are  we 
to  add  to  our  difficulties  by  supposing  an  earlier  form  of  Part  I.  ? 
The  part  we  have  before  us  is  the  early  form  itself  bearing 
evidence  of  more  hands  than  Shakespeare's.     The  other  is  a 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  xlix 

warning  not  to  accept  this  opinion,  with  regard  to  The  True 
Tragedy  at  any  rate,  since  practically,  as  we  shall  see,  the  whole 
of  that  play  lies  embedded  in  the  third  part :  and  whoever 
wrote  the  one  rewrote  it  into  the  other — almost  without  a 
doubt — ^or  so  nearly  so  that  any  other  influence  or  co-operation 
is  of  the  slightest.  This  cannot  at  all  be  said  of  The  Contention 
and  Part  II. 

Mr.  P.  A.  Daniel  has  summarised  his  time-analysis  of  this 
play  as  follows  :  "  Time  of  this  play  eight  days,"  with  intervals. 
Day  I,  Act  I.  to  Scene  vi..  Interval ;  Day  2,  Act  il.  to  Scene  v. ; 
Day  3,  Act  in.  Scene  i.,  Interval ;  Day  4,  Act  in.  Scene  ii. ; 
Day  5,  Act  ill.  Scene  iii.,  Interval ;  Day  6,  Act  III.  Scene  iv., 
Act  IV.  Scene  i.,  Interval  ;  Day  7,  Act  IV.  Scenes  ii.  to  vii.,  and 
Act  V.  to  Scene  iii..  Interval ;  Day  8,  Act  v.  Scenes  iv.  and  v. 

Historic  period,  say  from  death  of  Henry  V.,  31st  August, 
1422,  to  the  treaty  of  marriage  between  Henry  VI.  and 
Margaret,  end  of  1444. 

A  few  notes  on  the  text,  as  here  given,  and  I  have  done. 
I  had  begun  to  efface  "  the  apostrophes  and  so  miss  the 
accent,"  as  Holofernes  puts  it,  in  such  words  as  placed,  faced, 
moved,  instead  of  plac'd,  fac'd  mov'd  ;  when  I  was  glad  to  find 
the  Cambridge  Shakespeare  (2nd  edition)  gave  me  authority  to 
do  so.  The  removal  of  the  note  of  admiration  from  O,  to  the 
end  of  the  clause,  has  also  been  adopted.  A  longing  to  ob- 
literate hyphens  by  the  host  has  been  resisted.  Neither  in 
modern  nor  early  editions  has  principle  or  uniformity  been 
observed  to  fall  in  with.  A  few  more  commas  have  been 
silently  dropped.  And  the  following  original  (or  suggested) 
readings  have  been  adopted : — 

entertalk,  in.  i.  63.     See  note  on  making  these  one  word. 

him,  as  in  Ff  for  'em,  iv.  vii.  89. 

Girt,  as  in  Ff  i,  2,  3,  for  gird.     See  note  on  this  undoubted  correction. 

raging,  wood,  iv.  vii.  35,  and  moody,  mad,  iv.  ii.  50^  dehyphened. 

louted,  IV.  iii.  12,  for  the  meaningless  lowted.     See  note. 

Adonis  garden,  as  in  Ff,  for  gardens.     See  note. 

fully  omitted  (as  in  Ff),  and  passage  rearranged  to  F  i,  i.  iv.  15. 

halcyons  days  (as  in  Ff  i,  2)  from  halcyon,  Ff  3,  4. 

were  (as  in  Ff)  for  was  of  Rowe,  etc.,  i.  iv.  50. 

appaled  (appal'd  Ff),  i.  ii.  49,  for  appall'd.     See  note. 

wrack,  as  in  Ff,  for  wreck  of  commentators,  i.  i.  135.     See  note, 

slew  as  in  Ff  for  flew  of  commentators  i.  i.  124.     See  note. 


1  KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 

wherein  shipp'd,  as  in  Ff  i,  2,  3,  for  where  whipp'd  of  F  4  and  mod. 
edd.  V.  i.  49. 

regions,  of  Ff,  for  legions  (of  commentators),  v.  iii.  11. 
nourish,  of  Ff,  for  marish  (of  commentators),  i.  i.  50. 

The  Introductions  to  the  three  Parts  are  so  dependent  upon 
one  another,  that  none  of  them  can  be  regarded  as  a  separate 
whole. 

I  am  v^ery  anxious  here  to  say  a  word,  which  is  also  pain- 
fully difficult  to  me  to  say,  on  a  subject  always  present  in  my 
thoughts  and  especially  while  at  work  at  these  editions  of 
Shakespeare's  plays.  I  refer  to  the  death  of  our  general  editor, 
my  old,  long-tried  and  most  highly  valued  friend  William  J. 
Craig.  It  is  needless  but  very  pleasurable  to  dwell  upon  his 
never-failing  courtesy  and  tact — his  unselfish  and  never  withheld 
advice  and  assistance  as  well  as  his  continued  resourcefulness  in 
matters  Shakespearian,  the  chiefest  labours  of  his  love.  All 
who  knew  him  knew  these  things  in  him.  In  teaching  me 
how  to  love  Shakespeare  thirty  or  more  years  ago  he  taught 
me  how  to  love  himself,  and  but  for  him  my  life  perhaps  would 
have  been  void  of  a  prolonged  joy.  Whether  we  joined  in  a 
midnight  foray  on  the  Wicklow  mountains,  or  on  Dodsley's  old 
plays,  in  those  old  Trinity  days,  he  was  always  the  most  lov- 
able and  sociable  of  companions — and  to  the  very  end  the  ties 
between  us  never  slackened — grappled  with  hoops  of  steel. 
Always  broad-minded,  and  kind-hearted,  always  loyal,  he  leaves 
a  gap  amongst  his  mourning  friends  that  they  can  only  be 
thankful  his  presence  once  filled  so  full,  while  knowing  it  must 
now  for  ever  remain  empty  save  in  the  sweetness  of  memory 
and  the  knowledge  of  the  beneficence  of  his  influence. 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 
KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


DRAMATIS  PERSONS  ^ 

King  Henry  the  Sixth. 

Duke  of  Gloucester,  Uticle  to  the  King,  and  Protector. 

Duke  ok  Bedford,  Uncle  to  tite  King,  and  Regefit  of  France. 

Thomas  Beaufort,  Duke  of  Exeter,  Great-uncle  to  the  King. 

Henry  Beaufort,   Great-uncle  to  the  King,  Bishop  of  Winchester, 

and  afterwards  Cardinal. 
John  Beaufort,  Earl,  afterwards  Duke,  of  Somerset. 
Richard   Plantagenet,  Son  of  Richard,  late  Earl  of  Cambridge, 

afterwards  Duke  of  York. 
Earl  of  Warwick. 
Earl  of  Salisbury. 
Earl  of  Suffolk. 

Lord  Talbot,  afteiivards  Earl  of  Shrewsbury. 
John  Talbot,  his  son. 
Edmund  Mortimer,  Earl  of  March. 
Sir  John  Fastolfe. 
Sir  William  Lucy. 
Sir  William  Glansdale. 
Sir  Thomas  Gargrave. 
Mayor  of  London. 

Woodvile,  Lieutoiafit  of  the  Toiver. 
Vernon,  of  the  White-Rose  or  York  Faction. 
Basset,  of  the  Red- Rose  or  Lancaster  Faction. 
A  Lawyer.     Mortimer  s  Keepers. 
Charles,  Dauphin,  and  afterguards  King  of  France. 
Reignier,  Duke  of  Anjou,  and  titular  King  of  Naples. 
Duke  of  Burgundy. 
Duke  of  Alen^on. 
Bastard  of  Orleans. 
Governor  of  Paris. 

Master-Gunfter  of  Orleans,  and  his  Son. 
General  of  the  Fretich  Forces  ifi  Bourdeaux. 
A  French  Sergea?it.     A  Porter. 
An  old  Shepherd,  Father  to  Joan  la  Pucelle. 

Margaret,  Daughter  to  Reignier,  afterwards  married  to  King  Henry. 
Countess  of  Auvergne. 
Joan  la  Pucelle,  commonly  called  Joan  of  Arc. 

Lords,    Warders   of  the    Tower,    Heralds,    Officers,   Soldiers, 
Messengers,  and  Atte?idants. 

Fiends  appearing  to  Joan  la  Pucelle. 
Scene  :  Partly  in  England  and  partly  iti  France. 

^  First  given  imperfectly  by  Rowe  ;  corrected  by  Cambridge  Editors. 
2 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 
KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 

ACT   I 

SCENE  l.—  WestJiiinster  Abbey. 

Dead  March.  Enter  the  Funeral  of  KING  HENRY  the  Fifth, 
attended  on  by  the  DUKE  OF  Bedford,  Regent  of  France ; 
the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  Protector;  the  Duke  of 
Exeter,  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  the  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester, Heralds,  &c. 


Bed.  Hung  be  the  heavens  with  black,  yield  day  to  night ! 
Comets,  importing  change  of  times  and  states. 

King  Henry  the  Sixth]  Henry  the  Sixt  F  i  ;  King  Henry  VI  F  4.  West- 
minster Abbey]  Theobald.  Fifth]  Fift  F  i,  Fifth  F  4.  Heralds,  &'C.] 
Malone ;  and  the  Duke  of  Somerset.  Ff. 


I.  Hung  .  .  .  black]  The  stage  was 
draped  with  black  for  a  tragedy. 
Steevens  quotes  Sidney,  Arcadia,  bk. 
ii.  (p.  229,  vol.  ii.  ed.  1739):  "There 
arose  even  with  the  sun,  a  vail  of  dark 
clouds  before  his  face,  which  shortly, 
like  ink  poured  into  water,  had  blacked 
over  all  the  face  of  heaven,  preparing 
as  it  were  a  mournfull  stage  for  a 
tragedy  to  be  played  on."  Malone 
refers  to  Marston's  Insatiate  Countess 
(1613),  IV.  V.  4-7  :— 

"  The  stage  of  heaven  is  hung  with 
solemn  black, 
A  time  best  fitting  to  act  tragedies. 
The    night's    great    queen,    that 

maiden  governess, 
Musters  black  clouds  to  hide  her 
from  the  world." 
Compare   too   A    Warning  for   Faire 
Women,    1599   (Simpson's     School    of 
Shakespeare,  ii.  244): — 

"  Look,  Comedy,  I  mark'd  it  not  till 


The  stage  is  hting  with  black,  and 

I  perceive 
The  auditors  prepar'd  for  Tragedy." 
I  do  not  believe  there  is  any  reference 
here  to  the  .word  in  Cotgrave  ;  if  it 
ever  had  general  use  it  was  at  a  later 
date.  Cotgrave  has  "  Volerie.  A 
robberie,  .  .  .  also  a  place  over  a  stage 
which  we  call  the  Heaven"  (1611). 
Malone  made  the  suggestion.  For 
the  structure  of  this  line,  see  note  at 
I.  vi.  2. 

2.  Comets]  "These  blazing  starres  the 
Greekes  call  Cometas,  our  Romanes 
Crinitas  :  dreadfull  to  be  scene.  .  .  . 
As  for  those  named  Acontias,  they 
brandish  and  shake  like  a  speare  or 
dart  .  .  .  these  be  blazing  starres  that 
become  all  shaggie,  compassed  round 
with  hairie  fringe.  ...  A  fearefull 
starre  for  the  most  part  this  Comet  is, 
and  not  easily  expiated "  (Holland's 
Plinic,  bk.  ii.  ch.  xxv.).  Ne'iV  Eng.  Diet. 
quotes  Complaint  of  Scotland  (vi.  1872), 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  I. 


Brandish  your  crystal  tresses  in  the  sky, 
And  with  them  scourge  the  bad  revolting  stars 
That  have  consented  unto  Henry's  death  ! 
King  Henry  the  Fifth,  too  famous  to  live  long  ! 
England  ne'er  lost  a  king  of  so  much  worth. 
Glcji.  England  ne'er  had  a  king  until  his  time. 
Virtue  he  had,  deserving  to  command  : 
His  brandish'd  sword  did  blind  men  with  his  beams 
His  arms  spread  wider  than  a  dragon's  wings ; 
His  sparkling  eyes,  replete  with  wrathful  fire, 
More  dazzled  and  drove  back  his  enemies 
Than  mid-day  sun  fierce  bent  against  their  faces. 
What  should  I  say  !  his  deeds  exceed  all  speech  : 


1549 :  "  Ane  stearre  .  .  .  callit  ane 
comeit ;  quhen  it  is  sene,  ther  occurris 
haistyly  efter  it  sum  grit  myscheif." 
Greene  often  refers  to  the  superstition  : 
"  like  tlie  elevation  of  a  Conimet  which 
foreshewes  ever  some  fatall  and  finall 
ruine"  {Penelopes  Web  (Grosart,  v. 
175)-  1587)-  And  in  MawJ//ia  (Grosart, 
ii.  150),  1583:  "his  foes  contrariwise 
conjecturing  the  worst,  said  that  his 
pompous  prodigalitie  and  rich  attire 
were  the  two  blazing  starres  and  care- 
full  comets  which  did  alwaies  prog- 
nosticate some  such  event."  Common 
in  later  plays.  And  see  Spenser's 
Faerie  Queene,  in.  i.  i5,  where  Upton's 
note  gives  classical  references.  Cam- 
den tells  of  one  in  1582.  See  line  55 
below,  note. 

3.  Brandish]  flash  and  glitter  like  a 
brandished  sword.  See  quotation  from 
Holland's  Piinie  at  line  2.  New  Eng. 
Diet,  has  "  Brandysh,  or  glytter,  like  a 
sword,  eorusco"  (Huloet,  1552).  And 
Sylvester's  Dii  Bartas  : — 

"  Thine  eyes  already  (now  no  longer 

eyes ; 
But  new  bright  stars)  do  brandish 

in  the  skyes." 

3.  crystal]  bright,  clear.  Often  used 
in  connection  with  the  skies.  Compare 
"  the  heaven  crystalline  "  in  the  old 
Taming  of  a  Shrew  (Six  Old  Plays,  p. 
igo),  1594.  A  similar  expression  occurs 
in  Marlowe's  Tamburlaine,  Part  I.  v.  : 
"  Flora  in  her  morning's  pride,  shaking 
her  silver  tresses  in  the  air."  The 
reader  is  at  once  reminded  of  Marlowe 
by  these  opening  lines. 

4.  revolting]  rebellious.  A  favourite 
word  in  Shakespeare. 

5.  consented  unto]  agreed  with,  acted 


in  concert.  See  Richard  II.  i.  ii.  25. 
Lat.  Concentus  (Steevens).  Compare 
Golding's  Ovid,  bk.  xi.  lines  78,  79 : 
"  The  Thracian  women  .  .  .  As  many 
fas  consenting  to  this  wicked  act  were 
ound." 

10.  brandish'd]  See  note  at  line  3. 
Spenser  has  "his  brandisht  blade" 
(Faerie  Queenc,  11.  xi.  37). 

11.  dragon's  wings]  Compare  Troilus 
and  Cressida,  v.  viii.  17.  "  That  old 
dragon  "  that  the  Redcross  knight  slays 
in  Spenser's  Faerie  Queene  was  in 
Shakespeare's  mind:  "  Then,  with  his 
waving  wings  displayed  wide  "  (i.  xi. 
18) ; 

"  His  blazing  eyes  .  .  . 

Did  burn  with  wrath  and  sparkled 

living  fire. 
As  two  broad  Beacons  .  .  . 
.  .  .  warning   give    that    enemies 

conspyre  "  (st.  xiv.). 

12.  replete  with]  full  of.  Compare 
The  true  Tragedie  0/  Richard  Duke  of 
Yorke  (Shaks.  Library,  Hazlitt,  p.  85), 
1592  :  "  Thy  lookes  are  all  repleat  with 
Majestie";  and  The  Troublesome 
Raigne  of  King  John  (Shaks.  Library, 
Hazlitt,  p.  316),  1591 :  "  My  life  repleat 
with  rage  and  tyranie."  And  see  2 
Henry  VI.  i.  i.  20,  and  3  Henry  VI.  iii. 
ii.  84.  The  expression  occurs  only  in 
Shakespeare's  earliest  work,  especially 
in  the  historical  plays.  It  is  not  un- 
common earlier.  See  Hawes'  Pastime  of 
Pleasure,  1509  (passim). 

14.  fierce]  Used  adverbially  again  in 
Henry  V.  11.  iv.  9. 

15.  What  should  I  say  !]  it  is  hope- 
less. Compare  Golding's  Ovid,  bk.  ii. 
240,  245  :  "  What  should  he  doe  ?  .  .  . 
He  wist  not  what  was  best  to  doe,  his 


SC    I.] 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


He  ne'er  lift  up  his  hand  but  conquered. 

Exe.  We  mourn  in  black  :  why  mourn  we  not  in  blood  ? 
Henry  is  dead  and  never  shall  revive. 
Upon  a  wooden  coffin  we  attend, 
And  death's  dishonourable  victory 
We  with  our  stately  presence  glorify, 
Like  captives  bound  to  a  triumphant  car. 
What !  shall  we  curse  the  planets  of  mishap 
That  plotted  thus  our  glory's  overthrow  ? 
Or  shall  we  think  the  subtle-witted  French 
Conjurers  and  sorcerers,  that,  afraid  of  him. 
By  magic  verses  have  contriv'd  his  end  ? 

Win.  He  was  a  king  bless'd  of  the  King  of  kings. 
Unto  the  French  the  dreadful  judgment-day 
So  dreadful  will  not  be  as  was  his  sight. 
The  battles  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  he  fought : 
The  church's  prayers  made  him  so  prosperous. 

Glou.  The  church  !  where  is  it  ?  had  not  churchmen  pray'd 
His  thread  of  life  had  not  so  soon  decay'd : 


25 


30 


wittes  were  ravisht  so"  (1567).  And 
Grafton's  Chronicle,  1569  (reprint  iSog, 
i.  574),  Henry  the  Sixt :  "  What  should 
I  saye,  the  Captaines  on  horsebacke 
came  to  the  gate  and  the  Traytors 
within  slue  the  porters  and  watchemen 
and  let  in  their  friendes."  Often  in 
Hall  and  Grafton. 

16.  lift]  lifted.  Common  in  early 
writers:  "they  drewe  foorth,  and  lift 
Joseph  out  of  the  pit"  (Genesis  xxxvii. 
28,  Geneva  Bible,  altered  in  modern 
text).  And  Greene,  A  Looking  Glasse 
for    London    (Grosart,    xiv.    29,    line 

553)  :— 

"And  when  I  trac't  upon  the  tender 
grass, 
Love,  that  makes  warme  the  center 

of  the  earth. 
Lift  up  his  crest  to  kisse  Remilia's 
foote." 
And     Peele,     David     and    Bcthsabe : 
"  Hath    fought    like   one   whose   arms 
were  lift  by  heaven  "  (468). 

17.  mourn  .  .  .  in  blood]  Compare 
"  mourn  in  steel "  (3  Henry  VI.  i.  i. 
58). 

19.  wooden]  senseless,  expressionless, 
unfeeling.  The  extended  sense  gives 
some  colour  to  the  line.  See  "  that's  a 
wooden  thing"  (v.  iii.  89).  Suffolk's 
contemptuous  expression  for  the  king. 
Compare  Greene's  Orpharion  (Grosart, 
xii.  17),  1588-9:  "  or  fayre  without  wit, 
and  that  is  to  marry  a  woodden  picture 


with  a  golden  creast,  full  of  favour  but 
flattering." 

23.  planets  of  mishap]  An  expression 
of  Greene's:  "  Borne  underneathe  the 
Planet  of  mishap  "  {Alphonsiis,  King  of 
Arragon,  Grosart,  xiii.  391). 

26.  Conjurer]  a  magician  ;  one  who 
has  to  do  with  spirits.  So  in  Part  U. 
I.  ii.  76.  "  Roger  Bolingbroke  the 
conjurer  "  is  a  nigromancer  in  the 
Chronicles.  And  compare  Comedy  of 
Errors,  Acts  iv.  and  v.  "A  Ballad  of 
the  life  and  deathe  of  Doctor  Faustus 
the  Cunngerer"  (Stationers'  Register, 
1589).  Sacrapant  in  The  Old  Wives 
Tale  (Peele)  is  a  conjurer. 

27.  magic  verses]  Compare  Faerie 
Qxieene,  i.  ix.  48  : — 

"  All  his  manly  powres  it  did  dis- 
perse. 
As    he    were    charmed    with    in- 

chaunted  rimes: 

That  oftentimes   he   quaked,   and 

fainted  oftentimes." 

34.  thread  of  life]  Again  in  2  Henry 

VL  iv.  ii.  31,  and  Pericles,  i.  ii.   108. 

Compare  Golding's  Ovid,   ii.  81S,   8ig 

(1567):- 

"  And  in  the  latter  end 
The  fatall  dames  shall  breake  thy 
threcde." 
Withoutany  direct  reference  to  theFates, 
compare  (Peele's)  ^ack  Straiv  (Hazlitt's 
Dodsley,  v.  409):  "When  thread  of 
life  is  almost  fret  in  twain." 


G  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  i. 

None  do  you  like  but  an  effeminate  prince,  35 

Whom,  like  a  school-boy,  you  may  over-awe. 
}]'/;/.   Gloucester,  whate'er  we  like,  thou  art  protector, 

And  lookest  to  command  the  prince  and  realm. 

Th}'  wife  is  proud  ;  she  holdeth  thee  in  awe. 

More  than  God  or  religious  churchmen  ma)'.  40 

G/oi/.   Name  not  religion,  for  thou  lov'st  the  flesh. 

And  ne'er  throughout  the  year  to  church  thou  go'st 

Except  it  be  to  pray  against  thy  foes. 
Bed.  Cease,  cease  these  jars  and  rest  your  minds  in  peace  ! 

Let 's  to  the  altar  :  heralds,  wait  on  us.  45 

Instead  of  gold  we'll  offer  up  our  arms, 

Since  arms  avail  not  now  that  Henry's  dead. 

Posterity,  await  for  wretched  years, 

When  at  their  mothers'  moist'ned  eyes  babes  shall  suck, 

Our  isle  be  made  a  nourish  of  salt  tears,  50 

And  none  but  women  left  to  wail  the  dead. 

Henry  the  Fifth  !  thy  ghost  I  invocate : 

Prosper  this  realm,  keep  it  from  civil  broils  ! 

Combat  with  adverse  planets  in  the  heavens  ! 

A  far  more  glorious  star  thy  soul  will  make  55 

Than  Julius  Caesar  or  bright — 

49.  moist'ned]  F  i ;  vtoist  Ff.  2,  3,  4.  50.  jwjirish]  Ff,  Cambridge ;  marish 
Pope,  Craig;  nonrice  Theobald.  56.  or  bright—]  or  bright  Francis  Drake 
Pope  conj. ;  or  bright  Cassiopeta  Theobald  conj.;  or  bright  Berenice  Johnson 
conj.  (Other  suggestions  are  Orion  Mitford,  Great  Alexander  Bullock,  Ccph'ens 
Keightley,  Charlemagne  Anon.) 

36.  school-boy  .    .  .  over-awe]  Com-         52.  thy  ghost  I  invocate]  invoke  or 

pare  Marlowe,  Edward  II. .—  pray  to.     Compare  Richard  III.  i.  ii. 

"Although    your  highness  were    a  8:  "Be  it   lawful   that  I  invocate  thy 

schoolboy  &\.\\\,  ghost."     And  Locrine,  iv.  i. :    "  by  the 

And  must  be  awed  and  governed  gods  whom  thou  dost  invocate,  By  the 

like  a  child"  (Dyce,  203,  a).  dread  g-Aosi  of  thy  deceased  sire."    And 

38.  lookest]  expectest.  in  Sonnet  xxxviii.   New  Eng.  Diet,  has 

50.  nourish]      nurse.       A      frequent  earlier  examples. 

word  in  use  of  the  fatherland  or  country ;  55.56.  more  glorious  star  .  .  .  Than 

as  in  Holland's  Plinie,  bk.  iii.  ch.  v.  p.  Jnli^is   Casar]   See   Golding's   Ovid's 

56(1601):  "that  land  [Italy]  which  is  Metamorphoses,  The  Epistle,  lines  292, 

the  nource  of  all  lands  .  .  .  the  mother  293(1567): — 

chosen   by  the  powerfull  grace  of  the  "  The  turning  to  a  blazing  starre  of 

gods."    "  To  nourish  "  and  "  to  nurse  "  Julius  Caesar  showes 

had  identical  uses,  which  are  extended  That    fame    and    immortalitie    of 

here  to  the  noun.     Halliwell's  Diction-  vertuous  doing  growes." 

ary   quotes    "  Nominale    MS.    Nutrix,  And  again,  bk  xv.  lines  944-56  : — 

norysche."     Steevens  gives  an  example  "...  from  the  murthred  corce  of 

from    Lydgate's    Tragedies    of    John  Julius  Caisar  take 

Bochas,  bk.  i.  ch.  xii. : —  His  sowle  with  speede  .  .  .  Venus 

"  Athenes  whan  it  was  in  his  floures  out  of  hand 

Was  called  wouns/j  of  philosophers  Amid  the  Senate  house  of  Rome 

wise."  invisible  did  stand, 

Spenser    calls  Night   the    "  nourse  of  And  from  her  Ca;sars  bodye  tooke 

woe"  {Faerie  Queene,  iii.  iv.  55).  his  new  expulsed  spryght. 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


Enter  a  Messenger. 

Mess.  My  honourable  lords,  health  to  you  all ! 

Sad  tidings  bring  I  to  you  out  of  France, 

Of  loss,  of  slaughter,  and  discomfiture : 

Guienne,  Champaigne,  Rheims,  Orleans,  60 

Paris,  Guysors,  Poictiers,  all  are  quite  lost. 
Bed.  What  say'st  thou,  man,  before  dead  Henry's  corse? 

Speak  softly,  or  the  loss  of  those  great  towns 

Will  make  him  burst  his  lead  and  rise  from  death, 
Glou.   Is  Paris  lost?  is  Roan  yielded  up?  65 

If  Henry  were  recall'd  to  life  again 

These  news  would  cause  him  once  more  yield  the  ghost. 
Exe.  How  were  they  lost  ?  what  treachery  was  us'd  ? 
Mess.  No  treachery,  but  want  of  men  and  money. 

Amongst  the  soldiers  this  is  muttered,  70 

65.  is  Roan^  F  i ;  and  is  Roan  Ff  2,  3,  4  ;  Rouen  Cambridge. 

.  .  .  She  no  sooner  let  it  flye, 

But  that  a  goodly  shyning  starre  it 
up  a  loft  did  stye 

And  drew  a  greate  way  after  it 
bryght  beames  like  burning 
heare." 
The  mention  of  hair  shows  that  the 
comet  is  referred  to  again.  Plutarch 
says  "  there  was  a  great  comet  which 
seven  nights  together  was  seen  very 
bright  after  Ca;sar's  death."  See  note 
in  Arden  edition  to  yulius  Ccesar,  11.  ii. 
31.  And  see  more  in  Holland's  Plinie, 
bk.  ii.  ch.  XXV.  :  "  By  that  starre  it  was 
signified  (as  the  common  sort  beleeved) 
that  the  soule  of  lulius  Csesar  was 
received  among  the  divine  powers  of 
the  immortal  gods."  That  the  above 
account  in  Golding  of  Cajsar's  constella- 
tion was  familiar  to  Shakespeare  is 
evident  from  the  account  of  the  "  warn- 
ings of  the  Gods"  before  the  murder 
(lines  879-95).  They  supply  the 
"  battles  feyghting  in  the  clowdes," 
"the  rain  of  blood,"  the  "  gastly 
spryghts"ofy7(/i;/s  drsar,  11.  ii.  12-25. 
56.  or  bright — ]  M.  Mason  says, 
"  Pope's  conjecture  is  confirmed  by  this 
peculiar  circumstance,  that  two  blazing 
stars  (the  Jiiliuin  Sidus)  are  part  of  the 
arms  of  the  Drake  family."  And  Malone 
rightly  affirms  that  this  blank  arose 
from  the  transcriber  or  compositor 
not  being  able  to  make  out  the  name. 
The  rhyme  is  the  chief  argument  in 
favour  of  Drake,  which  is  however  very 
unacceptable  of  a  then-living  man. 


64.  lead]  the  lining  or  inner  shell  of 
the  wooden  coffin.  Compare  Beaumont 
and  Fletcher's  Knight  of  Malta,  iv.  ii. : 
"  [They  remove  the  coffin,  lift  Oriaiia 
oiit  of  it,  and  then  put  it  back  into 
the  monument.]  .  .  .  Mir.  Softly  good 
friend  ;  take  her  into  your  arms.  Nor. 
Put  in  the  crust  again."  The  "  crust  " 
here  is  the  lapping  of  lead  mentioned 
in  The  Passionate  Pilgrim,  xxi.  391-95. 
See  too  Middleton's  A  Mad  World,  my 
Masters,  11.  ii. :  "let  him  trap  me  in 
gold,  and  I'll  lap  him  in  lead."  With- 
out a  knowledge  of  this  a  passage  in 
The  Merchant  of  Venice,  n.  vii.  49-51 
loses  its  force.  Marlowe  gives:  "Not 
lapt  in  lead  but  in  a  sheet  of  gold" 
{Tamburlaine,  pt.  ii.,  end  of  Act  ii.). 
"  Wrapt  in  lead,"  meaning  dead,  occurs 
twice  in  Spenser's  Shepheards  Calendar 
(June  and  October),  1579. 

67.  cause  him  .  .  .  yield]  For  "to" 
omitted  after  "cause,"  compare  Greene, 
George-a-Greene  (at  the  end) :  "  Whose 
fathers  he  caus'd  murthered  in  those 
warres." 

70.  this  is  vmttered']  Grafton  has  here 
(i.  562) :  "  the  Duke  of  Bedford  openly 
rebuked  the  Lordes  in  generall,  because 
that  they  in  the  time  of  warre,  through 
their  privie  malice  and  inwarde  grudge, 
had  almost  moved  the  people  to  warre 
and  commocion,  in  which  time  all  men 
should  .  .  .  serve  and  dread  their  sove- 
raigne  Lorde  King  Henry,  in  perform- 
ing his  conquest  in  Fraunce,  which  was 
in  maner  brought  to  conclusion." 


8  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  i. 

That  here  you  maintain  several  factions  ; 

And  whilst  a  field  should  be  dispatch'd  and  fought, 

You  are  disputing  of  your  generals. 

One  would  have  lingering  wars  with  little  cost ; 

Another  would  fly  swift,  but  wanteth  wings;  75 

A  third  thinks,  without  expense  at  all. 

By  guileful  fair  words  peace  may  be  obtain'd. 

Awake,  awake,  English  nobility  ! 

Let  not  sloth  dim  }-our  honours  new-begot : 

Cropp'd  are  the  flower-de-luces  in  your  arms  80 

Of  England's  coat,  one  half  is  cut  away. 
Exe.  Were  our  tears  wanting  to  this  funeral 

These  tidings  would  call  forth  her  flowing  tides. 
Bed.  Me  they  concern.     Regent  I  am  of  France. 

Give  me  my  steeled  coat :   I  '11  fight  for  France.  85 

Away  with  these  disgraceful  wailing  robes  ! 

Wounds  will  I  lend  the  French  instead  of  eyes, 

To  weep  their  intermissive  miseries. 

76.  A  third  thinks]  F  i,  Cambridge;  A  third  man  thinks  Ff  2,  3,  4,  Steevens, 
etc.,  Craig;  a  third  thinks  that  Keightley  conj.  78.  Awake,  awake]  Ff  i,  3,  4  ; 
Awake,  away  F  2.  80,  81.  arms  Of  England's  coat,]  Ff;  arms;  Of  Eng- 
land's coat  Cambridge  ;  arms,  Of  England's  coat  Pope.  83.  her]  Ff,  Malone, 
Steevens  ;  their  Theobald,  Cambridge,  Craig. 

71.  maintain  .  .  .  factions]  back  up,  flower  de  luce  which  was  the  armes  of 
uphold  factions  or  parties.  New  Fraunce  before  King  Edward  the 
Eng.  Diet,  quotes  Hanmer,  Chronicle  of    thirde"  (i.  176). 

Ireland  (ante  160^):  "  His  three  sonnes         81.  coai]  coat  of  arms.    "Your  arms 

.  .  .  formerly    went    into    Ireland    to  of  England's  coat"    is  equivalent    to 

maintaine  one  of  the /ac/jons."      See  "your  English  coat  of  arms,"  spoken 

note,  II.  iv.  109  below,  on /ac<fo?JS.  by  a  foreign  messenger  who   already 

72.  field  ...  dispatch'd]  armtd  force,  uses  English  nobility  in  a  foreign 
or  order  of  battle  made  ready  and  sent  manner.  The  punctuation  should  not 
promptly  away.  be  altered  from  the  old  edition. 

74-76.    One    .    .    .    Another    .    .  .    A         83.  her    flowing     tides]     England's 

third]CompaTeFaerieQueenea.xn.  10.  flowing    tides    (.Malone).     The   prosaic 

80.  floiver-de-luces]  The  fleur  de  lis,  alteration  of  Theobald's   is  gladly  re- 

or  lily  of  France.     A  heraldic  bearing  jected.     A  similar  quibble   (tide,  tied) 

and  artistic  ornament  probably  repre-  is  in  Lyly's  Endymion,  iv.  ii. 
senting  the  Iris.     "  Iris,   this  herbe  is         85.  steeled  coat]  coat  of  mail.     Not 

called    Floure-delyce  "    (R.    Banckes  .'  again  in  -hakespeare.       An  expression 

Herball,  Sig.  D,   ii.   30,   1525).     As  a  of   Greene's    in   Alphonsus,    King    of 

part  of  England's  coat,  Grafton  says:  Arragon    (line    1553):     "Buckle   your 

"  Ihon   Rastall   sayth  in  his  chronicle  helmes,   clap    on   your   steeled  coates." 

that  it  is  not  lyke  to  be  true  that  the  Marlowe   has  "steeled   crests"  (Tam- 

great  Hall  of  Westminster  that  is  now,  bnrlaine,  pt.  11.  ii.  2);  Lodge  has"  thy 

was  buylded  by  this  kmg,  but  rather  in  steeled  crest"   {Wounds  of  Civil  War, 

the  tyme  of  King  Richarde  the  Second.  Hazlitt's   Dodsley,  vii.  114).    Compare 

For  sayth  he,  the  Armes  that  are  there  "  coats  of  steel,"  3  Henry  VI.  11.  i.  160, 

both  on  the  timber  and  on  the  stone  and  note. 

worke,  which  is  the  three  Lyons   quar-         87,  88.  lend  .  .  .  eyes  to  weep]  Com- 

teredwith  the  flower  de  luce,  and  the  pare  Timon  of  Athens,  v.  i.  160. 
white    Hart   for   his   badge,   were  the         88,  intermissive]  coming  at  intervals, 

armes  of  King  Richard.     For  there  was  New  Eng.  Diet,  has  an  earlier  example 

never  king  of  England  that  gave  the  from  Feme's  Blazon  of  Getitrte,  1586. 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


Enter  to  them  another  Messenger. 

Mess.  Lords,  view  these  letters  full  of  bad  mischance. 

France  is  revolted  from  the  English  quite,  90 

Except  some  petty  towns  of  no  import : 

The  Dauphin  Charles  is  crowned  king  in  Rheims ; 

The  Bastard  of  Orleans  with  him  is  join'd  ; 

Reignier,  Duke  of  Anjou,  doth  take  his  part ; 

The  Duke  of  Alencon  flieth  to  his  side.  95 

Exe.  The  Dauphin  crowned  king  !  all  fly  to  him  ! 

0  !  whither  shall  we  fly  from  this  reproach  ? 
Glou.  We  will  not  fly,  but  to  our  enemies'  throats. 

Bedford,  if  thou  be  slack,  I  '11  fight  it  out. 
Bed.  Gloucester,  why  doubt'st  thou  of  my  forwardness?       100 
An  army  have  I  muster'd  in  my  thoughts, 
Wherewith  already  France  is  overrun. 

Enter  another  Messenger. 

Mess.  My  gracious  lords,  to  add  to  your  laments. 

Wherewith  you  now  bedew  King  Henry's  hearse, 

1  must  inform  you  of  a  dismal  fight  105 
Betwixt  the  stout  Lord  Talbot  and  the  French. 

Win.  What !   wherein  Talbot  overcame  ?  is  't  so  ? 
Mess.  O,  no !  wherein  Lord  Talbot  was  o'er-thrown : 

The  circumstance  I  '11  tell  you  more  at  large. 

The  tenth  of  August  last  this  dreadful  lord,  1 10 

Retiring  from  the  siege  of  Orleans, 

92,  96.  Dauphin]  Dolphin  Ff.               94.  Rtignier]  Rowe,  etc.;  Reynold  Ff. 

94.  doth  take]  F  1;  doth   Ff  2,  3,  4;  takes  Hanmer.  g^.  flieth  to]  Ff  i,  2; 

flieth  on  Vi  i,  i^.       95.  s?'rf^.]  Capell ;  sjtff.     Exit.  Ff.  108,145,157.     Mess.] 
3  Mess.  Ff. 

91.  m/ori]  importance.     Usuallyac-  sion  occurs  again  m  2  Henry  IV.  iv. 
cented  on  the  last  syllable.  v.  114:  "the  tears  that  should  bedew 

92.  The  Dauphin  Charles  is  crowned  my  hearse."     Spenser  has  "  salt  teares 
king]  See  note  below,  line  155.  bedeawd  the  hearers  cheeks"  {Faerie 

98.  fly]    attack,    rush    at.      Still    a  Queene,  i.  xii,  16).     For  ''dewed  with 

common    sense     provincially.       "She  tears,  "  see  ^  He«r)'    F/.  ill.  ii.  340. 

fiewatme."     Compare  Golding's  Oi^irf,  105.      dismal]      savage,     ferocious, 

book  vi.  lines  40-43  :    "  Arachne  bent  terrible.     Compare  Macbeth,  i.  ii.  53  : 

hir  browes.      And  louring  on  hir,  left  "began    a    dismal    conflict."      Greene 

hir  worke :   and  hardly   she   eschewes  uses  the  word   in  this  active  fighting 

from  y?yz«g- in  the  Ladies  face."  sense:    "When  the  wild  boare  is  not 

102.  overrun]  harried  and  destroyed  chafed  thou  mayst  chasten  him  with  a 

by  a  hostile  force.     A  very  old  sense  wand,  but  being  once  endamaged  with 

but   not  again   in    Shakespeare.       See  the  dogges,  he  is  dismoll "  (Philomela 

below,  at  "girt,"  in.  i.  171,  for  Marlowe  (Grosart,  xi.    150,  {ante    1592).      This 

example.  dismal  fight  was  the  Battle  of  Patay. 

104.  bedew  .  .  .  A^arse]  This  expres-  109.  c«Vc?o«s<rtwce]  details,  particulars. 


10 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  I. 


Having  full  scarce  six  thousand  in  his  troop, 
By  three-and-twenty  thousand  of  the  French 
Was  round  encompassed  and  set  upon. 
No  leisure  had  he  to  enrank  ]n"s  men  ; 
He  wanted  pikes  to  set  before  his  archers  ; 

112.  /;(/;  sca}xc]  Ff;  scarce /till  Rowe. 


115 


112.  full]  fully,  in  full,  altogether. 
Full  is  very  often  "placed  emphatic- 
ally "  (Schmidt)  before  adjectives  and 
adverbs  by  Shakespeare.  The  sense 
varies  with  the  following  word.  Here 
it  means  "all  told."  See  iv.  i.  20. 
Compare  "full  resolved"  in  Peele's 
Edward  I. :  "  Edward  is/«Z/  resolved  of 
thy  faith"  (387,  b) ;  an  expression  oc- 
curring in  Titus  Andronicus  and  Two 
Gentlemen  of  Verona.  And  see  below, 
"  full  replete  "  (v.  v.  17). 

115.  enrank]  place  in  ranks.  Not 
found  earlier. 

116.  He  wanted  pikes  to  set  before 
his  archers]  The  archers  carried  stakes, 
or  the  other  footmen  carried  them  for 
them,  to  set  in  the  ground  before  the 
former  to  keep  off  the  enemy's  horse. 
A  few  passages  from  Grafton's  Chronicle 
(1569)  of  these  wars  will  illustrate  this. 
"  The  Duke  of  Bedford,  not  ignoraunt 
howe  to  order  his  men,  made  likewise 
an  entier  batayle,  and  suffered  no  man 
to  be  on  horseback  and  set  the  archers 
(every  one  having  a  sharpe  stake)  both 
in  the  front  of  the  battayle,  and  on  the 
sides  lyke  wings,  and  behinde  the 
battayle  were  the  pages  with  the 
charlottes  and  cariages,  and  all  the 
horses  were  tyed  together  either  with 
the  reins  of  their  bridles  or  by  the 
tayles"  (i.  556,  reprint,  1809).  This 
was  a  "pitched  field."  The  chronicler 
continues:  "The  French  men  at  the 
first  sight  remembering  howe  often 
times  in  pitched  fieldes  they  had  bene 
overcome  .  .  .  began  somewhat  to  feare. 
.  .  .  The  french  horsemen  that  daye 
did  little  service :  for  the  archers  so 
galled  their  horses,  that  they  desyred 
not  muche  to  approch  their  presence." 
This  battle  (Patay)  was  fought  the  xxvij 
day  of  August,  1425,  and  was  a  great 
victory  for  the  English.  And  again  (p. 
578)  :  "  Wherefore  Sir  John  Fastolfe 
and  his  Companions  set  all  their  copanie 
in  good  order  of  Battaile,  and  pitched 
stakes  before  every  Archer  to  breake 
the  force  of  the  horsemen.  At  their 
backes  they  set  all  their  wagons  and 
cariages  .  .  .  and   in  this  maner  they 


stood  still,  abiding  the  assault  of  their 
adversaries.  .  .  .  This  conflict  (because 
the  most  part  of  the  cariage  was 
Herynge  and  Lenten  stuffe)  the  French- 
men call  the  unfortunate  battaile  of 
Herynges."  The  next  passage  deals 
with  the  events  before  us  in  the  play. 
It  was  a  surprise.  "  The  lorde  Talbote 
with  five  thousand  men,  was  coming  to 
Meum.  .  .  .  The  Englishe  men  comming 
forwarde  perceyued  the  [French]  horse- 
men, and  imagining  to  deceyue  their 
enemies,  commanded  the  footemen  to 
environe  and  enclose  themselues  about 
with  their  stakes,  but  the  french 
horsemen  came  on  so  fiercely  that  the 
archers  had  no  leysure  to  set  themselues 
in  aray.  There  was  no  remedie,  but 
to  fight  at  adventure.  This  battayle 
continued  by  the  space  of  three  long 
houres.  And  although  the  Englishe 
men  were  overpressed  with  the  number 
of  their  adversaries,  yet  they  never  fled 
back  one  foote,  till  their  Captayne  the 
Lorde  Talbot  was  sore  wounded  at  the 
backe,  and  so  was  taken  .  .  .  there 
were  slayne  about  tweh'e  hundred,  and 
taken  xl.  Whereof  the  Lorde  Talbot, 
the  Lorde  Scales,  the  Lorde  Hungerford 
and  Sir  Thomas  Rampstone  were  the 
chiefe.  .  .  .  From  this  battayle  de- 
parted without  any  stroke  striken,  Syr 
John  Fastolfe,  the  same  yere  for  his 
valyauntnesse  elected  into  the  order  of 
the  Garter  :  For  which  cause  the  Duke 
of  Bedford  in  a  great  anger  toke  from 
hym  the  Image  of  Saint  George,  and 
his  Garter :  but  afterward,  by  meane 
of  friends,  and  apparaunte  causes  of 
good  excuse  by  him  alleged,  he  was  re- 
stored to  the  order  agayne.  agaynst  the 
minde  of  the  Lorde  Talbot"  (page 
582,  Grafton).  It  will  be  seen  that  this 
lengthy  note  supplies  much  information. 
Fastolfe  "  without  any  stroke  striken," 
the  three  hours'  fight,  and  Talbot 
wounded  sore  in  the  back,  are  all 
dealt  with,  as  well  as  the  stakes  to 
break  the  force  of  the  horsemen.  See 
ni.  i.  103  for  Fastolfe's  cowardice 
again. 

116.  pikes]   The   exact    signification 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


11 


Instead  whereof  sharp  stakes  pluck'd  out  of  hedges 

They  pitched  in  the  ground  confusedly, 

To  keep  the  horsemen  off  from  breaking  in. 

More  than  three  hours  the  fight  continued  ;  120 

Where  vaHant  Talbot  above  human  thought 

Enacted  wonders  with  his  sword  and  lance. 

Hundreds  he  sent  to  hell,  and  none  durst  stand  him  ; 

Here,  there,  and  every  where,  enraged  he  slew  : 

The  French  exclaim'd  the  devil  was  in  arms;  125 

All  the  whole  army  stood  agazed  on  him. 

His  soldiers,  spying  his  undaunted  spirit, 

A  Talbot !  a  Talbot !  cried  out  amain. 

And  rush'd  into  the  bowels  of  the  battle. 

Here  had  the  conquest  fully  been  seal'd  up,  1 30 

124.  slew]  Ff ;  Jlew  Rowe  (ed.  2),  Cambridge,  Craig. 


here  is  needful  to  explain  a  line  in 
Greene's  Frier  Bacoti  and  Frier  Bungay 
(Grosart,  xiii.  162)  : — 

"  But  then  the  stormy  threats  of  war 

shall  cease : 
The  horse  shall  stanipe  as  carelcsse 

of  the  pike, 
Drums  shall  be  turn'd  to  timbrels  of 

delight." 
These  pikes  ("stakes  bound  with  yron 
sharpe  at  both  the  ends  of  the  length  of 
V.  or  vj.  foote,  to  be  pitched  before  the 
Archers  ...  so  that  the  footemen 
were  hedged  about ")  were  first  devised 
and  practised  by  that  wise  and  politic 
prince  (Henry  the  Fifth)  at  Agincourt 
(Grafton,  pp.  516-517). 

121.  valiant  Talbot]  Grafton's  words 
on  Talbot  are  (p.  574) :  "  This  ioly 
Capteyn  &  sonne  of  the  valiant  Mars 
.  .  .  which  Lord  Talbot,  beyng  both 
of  noble  birth  and  haute  courage,  after 
his  commyng  into  Fraunce,  obteyned 
so  many  glorious  victories  of  hys 
enimies  that  his  only  name  was,  and 
j'et  is,  dreadful!  to  the  French  nacion, 
and  much  renoumed  amongst  all  other 
people."     See  notes  at  i.   iv.   42  and 

II.  i.  79. 

124.  Here,  there,  and  every  where] 
Occurs  again  in  TroiUts  and  Cressida, 
V.  V.  26.      Also  in   the  Faerie  Queene, 

III.  i.  66: — 

"Here,  there,  and  everywhere,  about 
her  sway'd 
Her  wrathfull  Steele." 
And  again,  in.  xi.  28. 

124.  sZew'jThealteration  to"  flew"  is 
unbearable  and  unwarrantable.  "Slay," 


used   absolutely,  is  a   fine  expression. 
Compare  Julius  Ccesar,  iii.  ii.  2og, 

126.  agazed]  astounded,  amazed. 
Probably  an  old  form  of  aghast.  New 
Eng.  Diet,  gives  examples  from  Chester 
Plays  (c.  1400),  and  Surrey's  Poems, 
1557.  Surrey  affected  Chaucerian  lan- 
guage. 

127.  undaunted  spirit]  See  again 
for  these  words,  iii.  ii.  99  and  v.  v. 
70.  Marlowe  uses  this  in  Edward  III. 
(Dyce,  p.  184,  b)  :  "Th'  undaunted 
spirit  of  Percy  was  appeas'd." 

128.  A  Talbot  t  a  Talbot]Themme 
of  the  leader,  coupled  with  St.  George, 
was  the  usual  battle-cry.  So  in  Graf- 
ton :  "And  in  lyke  maner  the  Duke  of 
Bedford  encouraged  his  people,  and 
foorthwith  they  gave  the  onset  upon 
their  enimies,  crying,  Saint  George, 
Bedford"  (p.  557).  And  again  (p. 
561):  "the  Englishe  men  came  out 
...  by  the  gate  of  the  towne,  cryeng 
Saint  George,  Salisburie :  and  set 
on  their  enimies  both  before  and  be- 
hinde."  And  again  (p.  575) :  "  About 
sixe  of  the  clock  in  the  morning  they 
issued  out  of  the  Castell,  cryeng  Saint 
George,  Talbot." 

129.  bowels  of  the  battle]  Compare  iv. 
vii.  42  below,  and  Coriolanus,  iv.  v.  136. 
"  Bowels  of  the  earth  "  (i  Henry  IV.  i. 
iii.  61)  occurs  in  Golding's  Ovid,  i. 
156. 

130.  scaVd  up]  brought  to  a  deter- 
mination, made  perfect.  Compare 
Greene,  Frier  Bacon  and  Frier  Bungay 
(Grosart,  xiii.  41)  :  "  Then  go  to  bed 
and  seal  up  your  desires." 


1-J 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


If  Sir  John  Fastolfe  had  not  play'd  the  coward. 
He,  being  in  the  vavvard,  plac'd  behind 
With  purpose  to  reHeve  and  follow  them, 
Cowardly  fled,  not  having  struck  one  stroke. 
Hence  grew  the  general  wrack  and  massacre  :  135 

Enclosed  were  they  with  their  enemies. 
A  base  Walloon,  to  win  the  Dauphin's  grace. 
Thrust  Talbot  with  a  spear  into  the  back  ; 
Whom  all  France,  with  their  chief  assembled  strength. 
Durst  not  presume  to  look  once  in  the  face.  140 

Bed.  Is  Talbot  slain  ?  then  I  will  slay  myself. 
For  .living  idly  here  in  pomp  and  ease 
Whilst  such  a  worthy  leader,  wanting  aid, 
Unto  his  dastard  foemen  is  iDetray'd. 

131.  Fastolfe]  Theobald;  Falstaff  Ff.  132.  vaward]  rereward  Hanmer 

(Theobald   conj.).  135.    wrack]   Ff,   Craig;    wreck  Steevens,   Cambridge. 

137.   Walloon]  Ff  3,  4;   Walton  Ff  i,  2.  139.  their  chief]  Ff  i,  2;  their 

Ff  3,  4. 


131.  Fastolfe  .  .  .  play'd  the  coward] 
See  note  at  line  116,  and  see  below,  in. 
ii.  103-9.  Sir  John  Fastolfe  appears 
to  have  satisfactorily  disproved  their 
charge  of  cowardice,  upon  his  return 
home.  His  honours  were  restored  to 
him  and  he  served  the  King  at  home  as 
a  member  of  the  Privy  Council.  Nor 
is  there  any  reference  to  these  accusa- 
tions in  his  claims  against  the  King  for 
various  losses  in  1455.  Nevertheless 
he  was  an  object  of  aversion  to  the 
populace  who  held  him  partly  account- 
able for  the  loss  of  Normandy,  and 
Cade  had  him  proclaimed  as  "the 
greatest  traitor  in  England  or  France." 
He  died  at  Caister  in  Norfolk  on  the 
5th  November,  1459.  P'or  an  ample 
account  of  him  see  Gairdner's  Intro- 
duction to  the  Fasten  Letters,  vol.  i., 
and  the  Letters  themselves.  His  ap- 
pointment to  the  wars  is  mentioned  as 
follows  by  Grafton  :  "  After  this  victory 
['The  Battle  of  Crauant']  .  .  .  the  Re- 
gent .  .  .  constituted  the  Erie  of  Salis- 
burie  (as  he  was  wel  worthy)  Vicegerent 
and  Lieutenant  for  the  king  and  him 
in  the  Countries  of  Fraunce,  Bry  and 
Champaine,  and  Sir  John  Fastolfe  he 
substituted  Deputie  under  him  in  the 
Duchie  of  Normaiidie  on  this  side  of 
the  river  of  Seyne  and  with  that  he 
deputed  him  governor  of  the  Countries 
of  Anjow  and  Mayne"  (i.  552,  553). 

132.  in  the  vaward]  in  the  vanguard. 
Compare  Coriolanus,  i.  vi.  53.     Fastolfe 


was  in  support  (placed  behind)  of  the 
vanguard,  which  was  probably  led  by 
Talbot  himself  The  passage  has 
raised  objections,  but  somebody  had  to 
be  foremost.  In  Greene's  Euphues  His 
Censure  to  Philautus  (Grosart,  vi.  276) 
"  Clytomachcs,  whose  courage  no  perill 
could  daunt  ...  for  proofe  of  his 
owne  resolution,  was  foremost  in  the 
vawardf." 

132.  plac'd  hehitid]  A  military  use, 
posted,  stationed,  as  in  in.  ii.  127.  So 
in  Grafton,  Chronicle,  i.  296  :  "  plant- 
yng  and  placyng  men  of  warre  in  sundrie 
Castels  and  Townes."  See  Much  Ado 
About  Nothing,  in.  iii.  159. 

133.  With  purpose]  on  purpose,  de- 
signedly.   Compare  Merchant  of  Venice, 

I.  i.  91,  and  King  John,  v.  vii.  86. 
137.  Walloo7i]  an  inhabitant  of  the 

border  country  between  the  Netherlands 
and  France  ;  or  the  country  itself,  as  in 

II.  i.  10  below. 

139.  all  France]  See  again  "  all 
Europe,"  line  156  below;  and  "all 
France  "  again,  \.  vi.  15;  "  through  a// 
Athens  "  is  in  Midsummer  Night's 
Dream,  i.  ii.  5.  Compare  (Peele's) 
jfack  Straw:  "We  are  here  four  cap- 
tains just,  Jack  Straw,  Wat  Tyler,  Hob 
Carter  and  Tom  Miller :  Search  me 
all  England  and  find  four  such  captains 
and  by  Gog's  blood  I  '11  be  hanged  " 
(Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  v.  386).  And  Peele, 
Edward  I.  (383,  a) :  "  My  lordes,  'tis 
an  odd  fellow,  as  any  is  in  all  Wales." 


sc.  I]  KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  13 

Mess.  O,  no!  he  lives;  but  is  took  prisoner,  145 

And  Lord  Scales  with  him,  and  Lord  Hungerford : 

Most  of  the  rest  slaughter'd  or  took  likewise. 
Bed.  His  ransom  there  is  none  but  I  shall  pay : 

I  '11  hale  the  Dauphin  headlong  from  his  throne  ; 

His  crown  shall  be  the  ransom  of  my  friend  ;  1 50 

Four  of  their  lords  I  '11  change  for  one  of  ours. 

Farewell,  my  masters  ;  to  my  task  will  I  ; 

Bonfires  in  France  forthwith  I  am  to  make, 

To  keep  our  great  Saint  George's  feast  v/ithal : 

Ten  thousand  soldiers  with  me  I  will  take,  155 

Whose  bloody  deeds  shall  make  all  Europe  quake. 
Mess.  So  you  had  need  ;  for  Orleans  is  besieg'd  ; 

The  English  army  is  grown  weak  and  faint ; 

The  Earl  of  Salisbury  craveth  supply, 

And  hardly  keeps  his  men  from  mutiny,  160 

Since  they,  so  few,  watch  such  a  multitude. 
Exe.  Remember,  lords,  your  oaths  to  Henry  sworn, 

Either  to  quell  the  Dauphin  utterly. 

Or  bring  him  in  obedience  to  your  yoke. 
Bed.  I  do  remember  it ;  and  here  take  my  leave,  165 

To  go  about  my  preparation.  \^Extt. 

Glou.  I  '11  to  the  Tower  with  all  the  haste  I  can. 

To  view  th'  artillery  and  munition ; 

And  then  I  will  proclaim  young  Henry  king.  \Exit. 

Exe.  To  Eltham  will  I,  where  the  young  king  is,  170 

Being  ordain'd  his  special  governor ; 

149.  Dauphin]  Dolphin  Ff  (throughout).         165.  my]  omitted  Ff  2,  3,  4. 

146.  Scales    .    .    .   Hungerford]   See  battayle,  and  to  subdue  by  force.  .  .  . 

note  at  line  ii5  above.  Wherefore    he    having     together    ten 

149.  hale    .    .    .    headlong]  Compare  thousand  good  EngHshe  men    (besides 

Marlowe,  Tamburlaine,  Part  II.   iv.   3  Normans)  departed  out  of  Paris  in  war- 

(65,  a) :    "  Haling  him  headlong  to  the  like  fashion  and  passed  through  Brie  to 

lowest  hell."  Monstrell,  Faultyow,  and  there  sent  by 

154.  our  great  Saint  George's  feast]  Bedforde  his  Herault  letters  to  the 
Held  regularly  on  23rd  April  in  Shake-  French  king"  (Grafton,  i.  583,  ed. 
speare's  time.     Nichols  has  "  Feast  of  1809). 

S^.  G^or^e  now  kept,"  1560(1.  88);  and  156.  a.11  Europe]  See    "  all  France," 

"Feast    of    St.    George    observed    at  above,  line  139. 

Utrecht,"  1586  (ii.  455-57).     A  full  ac-  162.  to  Henry  sworn]  See  note  dit  line 

count  of  the  ceremonies  and  banqueting  70,  above. 

will  be  found  at  the  later  reference.  168.  munition]   war  materials.      See 

155.  Ten    thousand    soldiers]    "The  2ig3.in  King  John,  v.  n.  q^. 

Duke  of  Bedford  hearing  that  these  171.  his  special  governor]  "  The 
townes  had  returned  to  the  parte  of  his  Citie  of  Mouns  thus  being  reduced  into 
adversaries,  and  that  Charles  late  the  English  mens  hands,  the  Lorde 
Dolphin  had  taken  upon  him  the  name  Talbot  departed  to  the  towne  of  Alan- 
and  estate  of  the  King  of  Fraunce  .  .  .  son.  After  which  marciall  feate  man- 
were    driven     only    to     overcome    by  fully   acheeved,  the   Erie   of  Warwike 


14. 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


And  for  his  safety  there  I  '11  best  devise. 
JVi'n.  Each  hath  his  place  and  function  to  attend  : 
I  am  left  out ;  for  me  nothing  remains. 
But  long  I  will  not  be  Jack  out  of  office. 
The  king  from  Eltham  I  intend  to  send, 
And  sit  at  chiefest  stern  of  public  weal. 


[act  I, 
[Exit. 

175 

[Exeunt. 


175.  jfack  out  of  office]  Ff,  Pope;  hyphened  Steevens,  etc. 
Steevens  ;  steal  Singer  (Mason  conj.),  Cambridge. 


176.  send]  Ff, 


departed  into  England  to  be  governour 
of  the  yong  king  in  stead  of  Thomas 
duke  of  Excester,  late  departed  to 
God.  In  whose  steede  was  sent  into 
Fraunce  the  lord  Thomas  Mountacute, 
Erie  of  Salisburie  with  five  thousand 
men  which  landed  at  Calice  and  so 
came  to  the  Duke  of  Bedford  in  Paris" 
(Grafton,  i.  575,  1427). 

175.  Jack  out  of  office]  An  old 
phrase  occurring  in  Heywood's  Pro- 
verbs,i^'^f^  i^ha.rm3in'sed\Uon,Y>.  loi): — 

"And  Jacke  out  of  office  she  may 

bid  me  walke, 
And  thinke   me  as  wise  as  Wal- 

tham's  calfe,  to  talke." 
Sharman  quotes  from  Rich's  Farewell 
to  Militarie  Profession,  1581  :  "  For 
liberalitie  is  tourned  Jacke  out  of  office, 
and  others  appointed  to  have  the 
custodie."  Heywood  has  it  again  in 
Epigrams  tipon  Proverbs,  1562. 

176.  The  king]  See  quotation  at  i.  iii. 
70.  This  charge  forms  Item  2  of  Glou- 
cester's Accusations  :  "  my  sayde  Lorde 
of  Winchester,  without  the  advise  and 
assent  of  my  sayd  Lorde  of  Gloucester, 
or  of  the  King's  counsayle,  purposed  and 
disposed  him  to  set  hand  on  the  kinges 
person,  and  to  have  removed  him  from 
Eltham  the  place  that  he  was  in,   to 


Windsore,  to  the  entent  to  put  him  in 
governaunce  as  him  liste  "  (Grafton,  p. 
563). 

176.  Eltham]  Mentioned  again,  iii.  i. 
156.  A  favourite  palace  of  the  early 
kings  of  England  down  to  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII.,  when  it  began  to  yield  in 
importance  to  Greenwich.  It  was  much 
frequented  by  Elizabeth  and  James  for 
hunting  and  the  healthy  air  of  Kent. 
"  As  for  tythyngs  here,  the  Kyng  is 
way  at  Elihaniand  at  Grenewych  to  hunt 
and  to  sport  hym  there,  byding  the 
Parlement,  and  the  Quene  and  the 
Prynce  byth  in  Walys  alway.  And  is 
with  hir  the  Due  of  Excestre  and 
other"  {Pastou  Letters,  Oct.  12,  1460). 

177.  sit  at  chiefest  stern]  be  in  the 
chiefest  place  of  guidance  of  public 
affairs.  Stern  is  rudder.  It  occurs  in 
this  sense  in  Whetstone's  Promos  and 
Cassandra,  part  i.  (p.  11,  Six  Old 
Plays) :  "I  am  the  stern  that  guides 
their  thoughts." 

177.  public  weal]  A  standard  expres- 
sion occurring  again  in  Coriolatius,  n. 
iii.  189.  It  is  in  Golding's  Ovid  (iv. 
258,  259) :  "  rulde  the  publike  weal  Of 
Persey  "  (Persia).  The  usual  expression 
in  Grafton's  Continuation  of  Hardyng 
(1543),  as  at  p.  574,  is  "  public  weal." 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


15 


SCENE  II. — France.     Before  Orleans. 

Sound  a  Flourish.     Enter  CHARLES,  tvith  his  Forces  ; 
Alen^ON,  Reignier,  and  Others. 

Cha.  Mars  his  true  moving,  even  as  in  the  heavens 
So  in  the  earth,  to  this  day  is  not  known. 
Late  did  he  shine  upon  the  Enghsh  side  ; 
Now  we  are  victors  ;  upon  us  he  smiles. 
What  towns  of  any  moment  but  we  have  ? 
At  pleasure  here  we  He  near  Orleans  ; 
Otherwhiles  the  famish'd  English,  like  pale  ghosts, 
Faintly  besiege  us  one  hour  in  a  month. 

Alen.  They  want  their  porridge  and  their  fat  bull-beeves : 


France.     Before  Orleans']  Before  Orleans  in  France  Theobald. 
Flourish]  F  i,  omitted  Ff  2,  3,  4;  Flourish,  Craig. 


Sound  a 


I.  Mars  his]  So  in  Troilus  and  Cres- 
sida  several  times  ;  in  The  Tempest  and 
Hamlet  the  reading  is  Mars's.  Peele 
has  "  Mars  his  sworn  man,"  "  his 
knights,"  etc.,  very  often.  Golding 
has  "-Mars  his  snake  "  {Ovid,  iii.  671). 

I.  Mars  his  true  movins;]  Steevens 
referred  to  Nashe  for  a  curious  parallel 
here.  The  passage  is  in  "  To  the 
Reader  "  prefixed  to  Have  with  you  to 
Saffron  Walden  (Grosart's  Nashe,  iii. 
28),  1596:  "Nay,  then,  Msopiim  non 
attriuistis,  you  are  as  ignorant  in  the 
true  movings  of  my  Muse  as  the 
Astronomers  are  in  the  true  movings 
of  Mars,  which  to  this  day  they  could 
never  attaine  too.'"  It  was  the  motions 
of  Mars,  watched  for  many  long  years 
by  Tycho  Brahe,  and  studied  for 
twenty  years  by  Kepler,  which  enabled 
the  latter,  in  1609,  to  complete  his 
labours  and  lead  the  planet  captive. 

6.  we  lie  near  Orleans]  "  After  this 
[see  note  at  line  171]  in  the  Moneth  of 
September,  he  [Salisbury]  layde  his 
siege  on  the  one  side  of  the  water  of 
Loyre  and  besieged  the  towne  of 
Orleaunce,  before  whose  comming,  the 
Bastard  of  Orleaunce,  and  the  Byshop 
of  the  Citie  and  a  great  number  of 
Scottes  hering  of  the  Eries  intent,  made 
divers  fortifications  about  the  towne, 
and  destroyed  the  suburbes,  in  the 
which  were  xij  Pari  she  Churches,  and 
foure  orders  of  Friers.  They  cut  also 
downe  all  the  vines,  trees  and  bushes 
within  five  leagues  of  the  towne,  so 
that  the   Englishe   men   should  have 


neyther  comfort,  refuge,  nor  succour  " 
(Grafton,  i.  576). 

7.  pale  ghosts]  See  note  at  raw-boned, 
line  35. 

8.  Faintly]  feebly,  weakly.  Com- 
pare Tamhurlame,  Part  I.  ii.  i :  "  With 
unwilling  soldiers/ain^^y  arm'd  "  (Dyce, 
13.  b). 

9.  porridge]  Compare  Nashe,  Foure 
Letters  Confuted  (Grosart,  ii.  285), 
1592  :  "Amongst  all  other  stratagems 
and  puissant  engins,  what  say  you  to 
Mates  Pumpe  in  Cheapside,  to  pumpe 
over  mutton  a^nA porridge  into  Fraunce  ? 
this  colde  weather  our  souldiers,  I  can 
tell  you,  have  need  of  it,  and,  poore 
field  mise,  they  have  almost  got  the 
colicke  and  stone  with  eating  of  pro- 
vant."  A  suggestive  parallel.  See 
lines  II,  12. 

9.  They  want  their  .  .  .  bull-beeves] 
To  eat  bull  beef  was  supposed  to  con- 
fer courage.  The  expression  had  a 
proverbial  use.  Thus  Gascoigne,  An 
Apologie  of  the  School  of  Abuse  (Arber, 
p.  64),  1579  :  "  They  have  eaten  bulbief, 
and  threatned  highly,  too  put  water 
in  my  woortes,  whensoever  they  catche 
me ;  I  hope  it  is  but  a  coppy  of  their 
countenance,  Ad  diem  fortasse  mini- 
tatitur.  Shrewde  kyne  shall  have  shorte 
homes."  And  Nashe,  Preface  to  Sid- 
ney's Asfrophcl  and  Stella  (Arber's 
English  Garner,  i.  500),  1591 :  "  they 
bear  out  their  sails  as  proudly  as  if 
they  were  ballasted  with  bull  beef." 
"  To  look  as  if  he  had  eaten  bull-beef" 
is  in  Ray's  Proverbs  (ed.  1678). 


16 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act 


Either  they  must  be  dieted  h'ke  mules 

And  have  their  provender  tied  to  their  mouths, 

Or  piteous  they  will  look,  like  drowned  mice. 

Rcig.  Let 's  raise  the  siege  :  why  live  we  idly  here  ? 
Talbot  is  taken,  whom  we  wont  to  fear : 
Remaineth  none  but  mad-brain'd  Salisbury, 
And  he  may  well  in  fretting  spend  his  gall ; 
Nor  men  nor  money  hath  he  to  make  war. 

Cha.  Sound,  sound  alarum  !  we  will  rush  on  them. 
Now  for  the  honour  of  the  forlorn  French  ! 
Him  I  forgive  my  death  that  killeth  me 
When  he  sees  me  go  back  one  foot  or  fly. 


10 


15 


20 
[Exeunt. 


Here  Alarum  ;  they  are  beaten  back  by  the  English  with  great  loss. 
Re-enter  CHARLES,  Alen^ON,  and  Reignier. 

Cha.  Who  ever  saw  the  like  ?  what  men  have  I  ! 

Dogs  !  cowards  !  dastards  !     I  would  ne'er  have  fled 
But  that  they  left  me  'midst  my  enemies. 

II,  12.  And  have  .  .  .  mice]  misplaced  in  Ff.  2,  3,  4  after  line  13.  Here 

.  .  .  loss\  Ff.         Re-enter  .  .  .]  Enter  .  .  .  Ff.         and  Reignier]  Reignier  and 
the  rest.  Capell. 


10,  II.  mules  .  .  .  provender  tied 
to  their  mouths]  Compare  Nashe, 
Summers     Last     Will    (Grosart,     vi. 

137) :- 

"  Except  the  Cammell  have  his  pro- 
vender 
Hung  at  his  mouth   he  will   not 
travel!  on." 
And   Marlowe,   Tamburlaine,   Part    II. 
III.  V.  106  :  — 

"  I'll    have   you    learn   to   feed    on 
provender 
And  in  a  stable  lie." 
Horse  food. 

12.  piteous  .  .  .  like  drowned  mice] 
usually  rats. 

"He    lokyd    furyous     as     a     wyld 
catte. 
And  pale  of  hew  like  a   drouned 
ratte  " 
[Colyn  Blowbres  Testa»icnt(circa  1500), 
Hazlitt's  Early  Popular  Poetry,  i.  93). 
And   Udall's    Erasmus,  1542  (Robert's 
reprint,  p.  203) :  "  Three  heares  on  a 
side,    like    a    drowned    ratte."       And 
Churchyard's  Queen's  Entertainment  in 
Suffolk,   1578  (Nichols'  Progresses,  ii. 
201 ) :    "  pastime  to  see  us  looke  like 
drowned  rattes." 

15.  mad-brain'd]  See  Taming  of 
Shrew,  in.  ii.  165,  and  Timon  of  Athens, 
V.  i.  177;  and  Nashe,  Christes  Teares 


(Grosart,  iv.  257) :   "  Farre  is  hee  from 
that  mad-braine  fondnesse." 

16.  spend  his  gall]  wear  out  his 
bitterness  of  spirit.  Compare  "con- 
sume his  gall  with  anguish  "  [Faerie 
Queene,  in.  x.  18);  and  "wast  his 
inward  5'a// with  deepe  despight "  (ibid. 
I.  ii.  6). 

17.  men  nor  money]  See  line  69  of 
Scene  i.  and  note,  line  171. 

21.  Here  Alarum,  etc.,  etc.]  There  is 
no  such  occurrence  in  the  Chronicle; 
but  compare  the  following  :  "  Thiscour- 
agious  Bastard,  after  the  siege  had 
continued  three  weekes  full,  issued  out 
of  the  gate  of  the  bridge  and  fought 
with  the  Englishmen,  but  they  receyued 
him  with  so  fierce  and  terrible  strokes 
that  he  was  with  al  his  company  com- 
pelled to  retire  and  flie  back  into  the 
Citie  :  but  the  Englishe  men  folowed 
them  so  fast,  in  kylling  and  taking  of 
their  enemies,  that  they  entered  with 
them  the  BuKvarke  of  the  bridge: 
which  with  a  great  Towre  standing  at 
the  ende  of  the  same,  was  taken  in- 
continent by  the  English  men.  In 
which  conflict  many  French  men  were 
taken,  but  mo  were  slaine,  and  the 
keeping  of  the  Towre  and  Bulwarke 
was  committed  to  Wylliam  Glasdale, 
Esquire"  (Grafton,  i.  577). 


SC.    II.] 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


17 


Reig.  Salisbury  is  a  desperate  homicide ;  25 

He  fighteth  as  one  weary  of  his  life  : 

The  other  lords,  like  lions  wanting  food, 

Do  rush  upon  us  as  their  hungry  prey. 
Alen.  Froissart,  a  countryman  of  ours,  records, 

England  all  Olivers  and  Rowlands  bred  30 

During  the  time  Edward  the  Third  did  reign. 

More  truly  now  may  this  be  verified  ; 

For  none  but  Samsons  and  Goliases 

It  sendeth  forth  to  skirmish.     One  to  ten  ! 

Lean  raw-boned  rascals  !  who  would  e'er  suppose  35 

They  had  such  courage  and  audacity  ? 
Cha.  Let 's  leave  this  town  ;  for  they  are  hare-brain'd  slaves, 

27.  The\  F  I ;  To  Ff  2,  3,  4.         30.  hred'\  Rowe ;  breed  Ff.         37.  LcVs  .  .  . 
slaves]  two  lines  in  Ff.         37.  hare-brained]  hair-brained  Ff. 


25.  homicide]  manslayer.  Only  in 
this  play  and  Richard  III.  and  (cor- 
ruptly) in  2  Henry  IV.,  in  Shake- 
speare :  but  in  early  use. 

28.  hungry  prey]  prey  for  their 
hunger.  Compare  wondrous  praise, 
V.  iii.  igo  (praise  of  her  wondrous 
virtues).  A  common  and  often  per- 
plexing kind  of  passage  in  Shakespeare. 
The  hungry  lion  is  perhaps  more 
commonly  met  with  in  Shakespeare 
than  in  any  other  volume,  excepting 
the  Bible. 

30.  Olivers  and  Rowlands]  The  two 
selected  ones  of  Charlemagne's  twelve 
peers  or  knights,  commonly  pitted 
against  each  other  as  exponents  of 
deeds  of  derring-do.  Greene  brings 
them  all  on  the  stage  in  Orlando 
Furiiso,  but  these  two  and  Turpin 
(not  Dick)  and  Ogier  alone  have  parts. 
The  others  are  merely  "Gibson  girls." 
Ben  Jonson  speaks  of"  All  the  mad  Ro- 
lands and  sweet  Olivers"  in  his  Exe- 
cration upon  Vulcan.  Halliwell  quoted 
from  Hall,  Henry  VI.  f.  64 :  "  But  to 
have  a  Roland  to  resist  an  Oliver,  he 
sent  solempne  ambassadors  to  the 
Kyng  of  England."  "A  Rowland  for 
an  Oliver,"  "  mad  Rowland,"  and 
"sweet  Oliver,"  were  common  say- 
ings. 

33.  Goliases]  Compare  Nashe,  Ho,ve 
with  you,  etc.  (Grosart,  iii.  125),  1596: 
"wheretoo,  the  other  (beeing  a  big 
boand  lustie  fellow,  and  a  Golias,  or 
Behemoth,  in  comparison  of  him)." 

34.  to skirniish]toh2ii\.\e.  "Skirmish" 
had  a  more  serious  import  than  it  has 
now.     Compare  Greene,  Euphues  His 

2 


Censure  (Grosart,  vi.  254),  1587  :  "  the 
skirmish  furiously  begun  continuing  for 
the  space  of  three  houres,  with  great 
massacre  and  bloodshed,  fell  at  last  on 
Ortellius  side."  And  Holland's  Plinie 
(1601),  viii.  7:  "  Anniball  forced  those 
captives  whom  he  had  taken  of  our 
men,  to  skirmish  one  against  another 
to  the  utterance."  Common  earlier  as 
in  Lord  Berner's  Froissart. 

35.  raw-boned]  skeleton-like.  Nashe 
uses  the  term  in  Lenten  Stuff e  :  "  Any 
simple  likelihood  or  rawbond  carcase 
of  a  reason  "  (Grosart,  v.  287).  And 
again  in  Christes  Teares  over  Jerusalem 
(Grosart,  iv.  103),  1593:  "So  many 
men  as  were  in  Jerusalem,  so  many 
pale  rawbone  ghosts  you  would  have 
thought  you  had  seene."  See  "  pale 
ghosts,"  line  7,  above.  Spenser  has 
"rawbone  armes "  and  "rawbone 
cheekes  "  in  Faerie  Queene  (i.  viii.  41 
and  I.  ix.  35)  earlier. 

35.  rascals]  lean,  worthless  deer,  not 
worth  killing.  Compare  1  Henry  IV. 
II.  iv.  383  ;  As  You  Like  It,  in.  iii.  58  ; 
and  Coriolanus,  i.  i.  163. 

37.  hare-brained]  Occurs  again  in 
1  Henry  IV.  v.  ii.  ig.  This  is  the 
spelling  in  Hall's  Chronicle,  Henry  V. 
(1548),  the  earliest  example  in  New 
Eng.  Diet.  "  As  wood  as  a  hare " 
occurs  in  Chaucer's  Frere's  Tale,  and 
"as  mad  as  a  March  hare"  was  very 
common  from  about  1500  onwards. 
Some  support  for  "  hair  "  may  be  found 
in  the  old  saying,  "  more  hair  than 
wit."  "■  Hairbrclind  head"  and  a 
"  hairbrainde  blab  "  are  found  in  Geld- 
ing's Ovid  (1567). 


18 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  I. 


And  hunger  will  enforce  them  to  be  more  eager : 
Of  old  I  know  them  ;  rather  with  their  teeth 
The  walls  they'll  tear  down  than  forsake  the  siege. 

Reig.  I  think,  by  some  odd  gimmors  or  device 

Their  arms  are  set  like  clocks,  still  to  strike  on  ; 
Else  ne'er  could  they  hold  out  so  as  they  do : 
By  my  consent,  we  '11  even  let  them  alone. 

Alcn.  Be  it  so. 

Enter  the  Bastard  ^/ORLEANS. 
Bast.  Where 's  the  Prince  Dauphin  ?  I  have  news  for  him. 

41.  gimmors^  F  i ;  gimmals  Ff  2,  3,  4. 


40 


45 


38.  eager]  fierce.  See  3  Henry  VI. 
I.  iv.  3.  See  Hawes'  Pastime  of  Plea- 
sure :  "  He  was  as  egre  as  grype  or 
lyon." 

41.  gimmors']  A  corruption  of  gim- 
mals, a  pair  of  rings  or  other  hinged 
arrangements  jointed  together.  Com- 
pare Holland's  Plinie  (1601),  xxxiii.  i. 
p.  45S :  "  Every  joint  .  .  .  must  have 
some  lesser  rings  and  gemmals  to  fit 
them."  The  singular  is  rare,  but  it 
occurs  in  Greene's  Menaplton  (Grosart, 
vi.  140),  1589  :  "  Such  simplicitie  was 
used,  sayes  the  old  women  of  our  time, 
when  a  ring  of  a  rush  woulde  tye  as 
much  love  together  as  a  Gimmor  [mis- 
printed Gimmon]  of  golde."  Nashe 
has  it  simply  gims  ("  hookes  and 
gymmes  "  of  a  gate)  in  Christes  Teares 
(Grosart,  iv.  gi).  Nares  gives  an  ex- 
ample from  Bishop  Hall  (quoted  by 
Todd) :  "  Who  knows  not  how  the 
famous  Kentish  idol  moved  her  eyes 
and  hands,  by  those  secret  gimmers 
which  now  every  puppet  play  can 
imitate  "  (circa  1650?).  Dekker  gives 
a  good  parallel  in  The  Ravens  Alman- 
acke  (Grosart,  iv.  232),  1609:  "The 
vsurer  had  aclocke  in  his  house,  which 
went  with  such  vices  and  gimmals, 
that  by  letting  downe  a  pullie,  he 
coulde  make  it  strike  what  a  clocke 
himselfe  would  ...  he  went  himselfe 
and  straind  the  pullie,  and  the  clocke 
presently  struck  three."  None  of  these 
examples  (except  Nashe's)  are  in  New 
Eng.  Diet.,  where  ample  explanatory 
information  is  given,  with  many  quota- 
tions. Dekker  is  so  exactly  to  the 
point  that  he  is  somewhat  "  suspect." 
Gim  (?  gimcrack)  is  in  use  in  the  north 
of  Ireland  for  any  trifling  or  ingenious 
little  knick-knack. 
43.  hold  out]  last,  endure.     See  2 


Henry  IV.  iv.  iv.  117  and  Part  HI.  11. 
vi.  24.  Compare  (Peele's)  yack  Straw 
(Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  v.  393) :  "  We  cap- 
taines  are  Lords  within  ourselves,  and 
if  the  world  hold  out,  we  shall  be 
kings  shortly." 

45.  Enter  the  Bastard  of  Orleans] 
"  Here  must  I  a  little  digresse,  and  de- 
clare to  you,  what  was  this  Bastard  of 
Orleaunce  which  was  not  only  now 
Capitayne  of  the  Citie,  but  also  after  by 
Charles  the  Sixt,  made  Erie  of  Dunoys, 
and  in  great  aucthoritie  in  Fraunce,  and 
extreme  enemie  to  the  Englishe  nation 
.  .  .  Lewes  Duke  of  Orleaunce  .  .  . 
was  owner  of  the  Castell  of  Coney  .  .  . 
whereof  he  made  Constable  the  lord  of 
Cawny,  a  man  not  so  wise  as  his  wife 
was  faire,  &  yet  she  was  not  so  faire, 
but  she  was  as  well  beloued  of  the  Duke 
of  Orleaunce  as  of  her  husband  .  .  . 
she  conceyued  a  child,  &  brought  forth 
a  pretie  boy  called  lohn.  .  .  .  The  next 
of  the  kinne  to  my  Lorde  Cawny,  chal- 
enged  the  enheritaunce  alleging  that 
the  boy  was  a  bastard  .  .  .  the  chylde 
came  to  the  age  of  eyghtyeres  olde.  At 
which  time  it  was  demaunded  of  him 
openly  whose  sonne  he  was  ...  he 
boldly  answered,  my  hart  geveth  me, 
and  my  noble  courage  telleth  me,  that 
I  am  the  sonne  of  the  noble  Duke  of 
Orleaunce,  more  glad  to  be  his  Bastard 
with  a  meane  lyving,  then  the  lawfuU 
sonne  of  that  coward  Cuckold  Cawny, 
with  his  foure  thousand  crownes  [a 
yere].  .  .  .  Charles  Duke  of  Orleaunce 
.  .  .  tooke  him  into  his  family  and  gave 
him  great  offices  and  fees,  which  he 
well  deserved,  for  (during  his  captivitie) 
he  defended  his  landes,  expulsed  the 
Englishmen,  and  in  conclusion  procured 
his  deliveraunce  "  (Grafton,  i.  pp.  576, 
577)- 


sc.  II.]       KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


19 


Cha.  Bastard  of  Orleans,  thrice  welcome  to  us. 

Bast.  Methinks  your  looks  are  sad,  your  cheer  appaled. 
Hath  the  late  overthrow  wrought  this  offence  ? 
Be  not  dismay'd,  for  succour  is  at  hand  : 
A  holy  maid  hither  with  me  I  bring. 
Which  by  a  vision  sent  to  her  from  heaven 
Ordained  is  to  raise  this  tedious  siege, 
And  drive  the  English  forth  the  bounds  of  France. 
The  spirit  of  deep  prophecy  she  hath. 
Exceeding  the  nine  sibyls  of  old  Rome ; 

48.  appaled]  appaVd  Ff ;  appalVd,  Steevens,  Cambridge,  Craig 


50 


55 


47.  thrice  welcome']  See  Introduction 
on  these  compounds. 

48.  appaled]  Compare  "  pale  of  cheer  " 
in  Midsummer  Night's  Dream.  New 
Eng.  Diet,  distinguishes  the  two  words 
appall  and  appale.  Both  occur  in 
Golding's  Ovid  (ii.  igo,  viii.  671). 
Greene  is  fond  of  the  word  appale : 
"  whose  gorgeous  presence  so  appaled 
my  senses,  y'  I  stood  astonished " 
{Arbasto  (Grosart,  iii.  190),  1564,  and 
often  elsewhere). 

51,  A  holy  maid  hither  7vith  me  I 
bring]  Holinshed  says  (iii.  163),  1577; 
"  In  time  of  this  siege  at  Orleance 
[March,  1428-9]  .  .  .  was  caried  a 
yoong  wench  of  an  eighteene  yeeres  old, 
called  Jone  Are,  by  name  of  hir  father 
(a  sorie  sheepheard)  lames  of  Are,  and 
Isabell  hir  mother,  brought  up  poorelie 
in  theyr  trade  of  keeping  cattell.  .  .  . 
Of  favour  was  she  counted  likesome, 
of  person  stronglie  made  and  manlie, 
of  courage  great,  bardie  and  stout  with- 
all:  an  understander  of  counsels  though 
she  were  not  at  them ;  great  semblance 
of  chastitie  .  .  .  the  name  of  lesus  in 
hir  mouth  about  all  hir  businesses.  .  .  . 
A  person  (as  theyr  bookes  make  hir) 
raised  up  by  power  divine,  onelie  for 
succour  to  the  French  estate  .  .  .  at  the 
Dolphins  sending  by  her  assignement, 
from  Saint  Katherins  Church  of  Fier- 
bois  in  Touraine  (where  she  never  had 
beene  and  knew  not)  in  a  secret  place 
there  among  old  iron,  appointed  she  hir 
sword  [see  lines  98-101]  to  be  sought 
out  and  brought  hir,  (that  with  five 
floure  delices  was  graven  on  both  sides) 
wherewith  she  fought  and  did  manie 
slaughters  by  hir  owne  hands.  On  war- 
far  rode  she  in  armour  cap  a  pie  & 
mustered  as  a  man ;  before  her  an 
ensigne  all  white,  wherin  was  lesus 
Christ  painted  with  a  floure  delice  in 


his  hand.  Unto  the  Dolphin  into  his 
gallerie  when  first  she  was  brought ; 
and  he,  shadowing  himseife  behind, 
setting  other  gaie  lords  before  him  to 
trie  her  cunning  from  all  the  companie, 
with  a  salutation  (that  indeed  marz  alle 
the  matter)  she  prickt  him  out  alone, 
who  thereupon  had  her  to  the  end  of  the 
gallerie,  where  she  held  him  an  houre 
in  secret  and  private  talke,  that  of  his 
priuie  chamber  was  thought  verie  long 
(see  line  118),  and  therefore  would  have 
broken  it  oft" ;  but  he  made  them  a  signe 
to  let  her  sale  on  .  .  .  she  set  out  unto 
him  the  singular  feats  (forsooth)  given 
her  to  understand  by  reuelation  divine, 
that  in  vertue  of  that  sword  shee  should 
atchive :  which  were,  how  with  honor 
and  victorie  she  would  raise  the  siege 
at  Orleance,  set  him  in  state  of  the 
crowne  of  France,  and  drive  the  English 
out  of  the  countrie  (lines  53,  54).  .  .  . 
Heereuponhehartened  at  full, appointed 
hir  a  sufficient  armie  with  absolute 
power."  Grafton  is  more  condensed 
here,  and  more  scurrilous  concerning 
Puzell :  "a  ramp  of  such  boldnesse," 
etc.  (p.  580).  He  does  not  call  her  "of 
Arc,"  but  "lone  the  Puzell"  from  the 
first. 

54.  forth]  prep,  out  of;  as  in  2  Henry 
VI.  III.  ii.  89,  and  two  or  three  later 
passages.  Compare  Peele,  David  and 
Bethsabe  (473,  b)  :  "he  forced  Thamor 
shamefully,  And  hated  her,  and  threw 
her  forth  his  doors."  In  the  two  later 
folios  the  reading  at  2  Henry  VI.  iii. 
ii.  89  is  "from." 

55.  56.  The  spirit  of  deep  prophecy 
.  .  .  Exceeding  the  7iine  sibyls]  Sibyls 
here  stands  for  the  sibylline  books  which 
the  Cumaean  Sibyl  offered  for  sale  to 
Tarquin,  who  bought  but  three.  The 
Greek  sibyls  were  set  down  at  various 
numbers  (Varro    enumerates  ten),   but 


20 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  I. 


What 's  past  and  what 's  to  come  she  can  descry. 
Speak,  shall  I  call  her  in?     Believe  my  words, 
For  they  are  certain  and  unfallible. 
Cha.  Go,  call  her  in.  [£",17/  Bastard. 

But  first,  to  try  her  skill,  60 

Reignier,  stand  thou  as  Dauphin  in  my  place : 
Question  her  proudly  ;  let  thy  looks  be  stern  : 
By  this  means  shall  we  sound  what  skill  she  hath. 

\^Retires. 

Re-enter  the  Bastard  fl/ ORLEANS  with  La  Bucelle. 

Reig.  B'air  maid,  is  't  thou  wilt  do  these  wondrous  feats  ? 
Puc.  Reignier,  is 't  thou  that  thinkest  to  beguile  me  ?  65 

Where  is  the  Dauphin  ?     Come,  come  from  behind  ; 

I  know  thee  well,  though  never  seen  before. 

Be  not  amazed,  there  's  nothing  hid  from  me  : 

In  private  will  I  talk  with  thee  apart. 

Stand  back,  you  lords,  and  give  us  leave  awhile.  70 


never  at  nine.  Joan's  spirit  of  prophecy 
exceeds  that  of  the  nine  books.  Lane- 
ham  introduces  "one  of  the  ten  sibyls  " 
to  read  "a  proper  poesy  in  Englishe 
rhyme "  before  Queen  EHzabeth  at 
Kenilworth  (1575,  Burn's  reprint,  p.  8) 
on  the  gth  of  July  at  eight  o'clock  in 
the  evening. 

57.  What 's  past  and  what 's  to  come] 
See  Troilns  and  Cressida,  iv.  v.  166. 
Compare  Greene's  jfavies  the  Fourth 
(Grosart,  xiii.  219) : — 

"  Dread  King,  thy  vassall  is  a  man  of 
Art, 
Who  knovves  by  constellations  of 

the  stars, 
By  oppositions,  and  by  dire  aspects, 
The  things  are  past  and  those  that 
are  to  come." 
Most  of  Reginald  Scot's  great  devils 
(bk.  XV.  ch.  ii.),  in  Discoverie  of  Witch- 
craft,  "know  truly  of  things  present, 
past,  and  to  come."     Spenser  allots  the 
gifts  to  "  three  honourable  sages  .  .  . 
"  The  first  of  them  could  things  to 
come  foresee ; 
The  next  could  of  thinges  present 

best  advise; 
The  third  things  past  could  keep  in 
memoree  " 
(11.  ix.  48,  49).    Peele  is  more  matter-of- 
fact  :— 

"  The   feeble    eyes   of   our   aspiring 
thoughts 


Behold  things  present,  and  record 
things  past ; 

But    things    to    come   exceed   our 
human  reach, 

And  are  tiot  painted  yet  in  angels' 
eyes  " 
(David  and  Bethsabe,  484,  a).  Peele's 
is  as  much  the  more  poetical,  as  he  is 
the  more  sensible,  on  this  occasion,  than 
the  other  extracts. 

59.  unfallible]  Elsewhere  in  Shake- 
speare the  word  is  infallible.  Then  as 
now  the  choice  in  this  prefix  seems  to 
have  been  a  matter  of  fancy.  A  few 
common  words,  such  as  unfrequent 
and  unfortunate,  illustrate  this.  Greene 
especially  adheres  to  Un,  as  in  Un- 
constant,  Uncurable,  (indirect,  Un- 
evitable,  Unexperienced,  Unperfect, 
Unpossible,  Unproper,  Unsatiate,  Un- 
sufferable,  Untolerable,  and  Unviolable. 
The  modern  tendency  is  to  use  In,  the 
negative  prefix,  to  words  of  obviously 
Latin  types.  Nashe  affects  unfallible: 
"  unfallible  prescriptions  "  {Pierce  Pcni- 
lesse,  etc.  (Grosart  ii.  126),  1592) :  "un- 
fallible rules "  (Have  with  you,  etc. 
(iii.  11)  1596),  and  unfallibly  in  many 
places. 

64.  wondrous  feats]  Compare  Kyd's 
Spanish  Tragedy,  i.  iii.  62 :  "  Don 
Beltazar  .  .  .  To  winne  renowne  did 
'wondrous  feats  of  armes." 


sc.  II.]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  21 

Reig.  She  takes  upon  her  bravely  at  first  dash. 
Puc.  Dauphin,  I  am  by  birth  a  shepherd's  daughter, 

My  wit  untrain'd  in  any  kind  of  art. 

Heaven  and  our  Lady  gracious  hath  it  pleas'd 

To  shine  on  my  contemptible  estate :  75 

Lo !  whilst  I  waited  on  my  tender  lambs. 

And  to  sun's  parching  heat  display'd  my  cheeks, 

God's  mother  deigned  to  appear  to  me, 

And  in  a  vision  full  of  majesty 

Will'd  me  to  leave  my  base  vocation  80 

And  free  my  country  from  calamity : 

Her  aid  she  promis'd  and  assured  success ; 

In  complete  glory  she  reveal'd  herself; 

And,  whereas  I  was  black  and  swart  before, 

With  those  clear  rays  which  she  infus'd  on  me,  85 

That  beauty  am  I  blest  with  which  you  may  see. 

Ask  me  what  question  thou  canst  possible 

And  I  will  answer  unpremeditated : 

My  courage  try  by  combat  if  thou  dar'st. 

And  thou  shalt  find  that  I  exceed  my  sex.  90 

Resolve  on  this,  thou  shalt  be  fortunate 

If  thou  receive  me  for  thy  war-like  mate. 
Cha.  Thou  hast  astonish'd  me  with  thy  high  terms. 

86.  hle&f]  Ff ;  bless'd  mod.  edd.  86.  which  you  may  sec]  F  i ;  which  you 

see  Ff  2,  3,  4. 

71.  takes   upon  her]  plays  her  part,  ing.      Grafton    speaks   of   "  her    foule 

cuts    a    figure    (Schmidt).      Compare  face "  in  her  early  days.     Shakespeare 

Taming  of  Shrew,  iii.  ii.  216,  and  iv.  has  the  word  (of  the  complexion  only) 

ii.  108.     The  expression  occurs  in  the  again  in  Comedy  of  Errors,  iii.  ii.  104 

old  Taming  of  a  Shrew  {Six  Old  Plays,  and  in  King  John,  in.  i.  46.     He  has 

p.   174):    "I  am  so  stout  [proud],  and  also  swarth,  swarthy,  and  swarty,  in 

take  it  upon  me,  and  stand   upon  my  the  same  sense.     Golding  uses  the  word 

pantofles  to  them  out  of  all  crie."  of  discolouring  clotted  blood:  "all  his 

71.  at  first  dash]  Not  again  in  Shake-  bodye  wext  stark  cold  and  dyed  sivart" 

speare.     It  occurs  twice  (page  89,  Six  (Ovid's  Metamorphoses,  xii.  463)  ;   and 

Old  Plays)  in  Whetstone's  Promos  and  again  "  The  blacke  swart  blood  gusht 

Cassandra,  part  ii.  1578.    See  Appendix  out"  (xii.  357,  1567).    Compare  Grafton, 

to  Measure  for  Measure  (Arden  Edition),  i.  307 :  "  The  king  was  of  stature  talle, 

A  favourite  with  Greene :  "  Shal  I  loue  somewhat  swarte  or  blacke  of  colour, 

so  lightly  ?     shal   Fancie  give   me    the  strong  of  body." 

foyle    at    the  first    dash?"    (Mamillia  85.  infus'd  on  me]  shed,  or  diffused 

(Grosart,  ii.  73),  1583) ;    and  in /l/cirfa  on   me.      Not  in   this  sense   again    in 

(Grosart,  ix.  59),  where  Greene  repeats  Shakespeare.      New  Eng.  Diet,  has  a 

himself.  1420  example  from  Palladius  on  Hus- 

77.  parching  heat]  An  expression  of  bandry. 

Peele's    in    An    Eclogue    Gratulatory,  91.  Resolve  on  this]  decide  on  this, 

1589.      Also   in    Lucrece,    1145.      See  make  your  mind  up  on  this.     "This" 

note   at    "  Summer's    parching    heat "  refers  to  the  following  clause.     With- 

(Peele's  phrase)  in  Part  11.  i.  i.  79.     In  out  "on,"  it  is  a  common  sense.     "  Do 

Peele's  Pageant,  "  Louely  London,"  he  but  look  on  his  hand,   and  that  shall 

has  "parching  zone"  (1585).  resolve  you"  (]on?.or\,  Every  Man  out 

84.  swart]  tawny,  dark,  grimy-look-  of  his  Humour,  v.  2). 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


Only  this  proof  I  '11  of  th)'  valour  make, 

In  .single  combat  thou  shalt  buckle  with  me,  95 

And  it  thou  vanquishest,  thy  words  are  true  ; 

Otherwise  I  renounce  all  confidence. 
Put.   I  am  prepared  :  here  is  my  keen-cdg'd  sword, 

Ueck'd  with  five  flower-de-luces  on  each  side  ; 

The  which  at  Touraine,  in  Saint  Katharine's  church- 
yard, 100 

Out  of  a  great  deal  of  old  iron  I  chose  forth, 
Cha.  Then  come,  o'  God's  name ;  I  fear  no  woman. 
Puc,  And  while  I  live  I  '11  ne'er  fly  from  a  man. 

[^Ilcre  they  fight  and]OK^  LA  PUCELLE  overcomes. 
Cha.  Stay,  stay  thy  hands !  thou  art  an  Amazon, 

And  fightest  with  the  sword  of  Deborah.  105 

Puc.  Christ's  mother  helps  me,  else  I  were  too  weak. 
Cha.  Whoe'er  helps  thee,  'tis  thou  that  must  help  me. 

Impatiently  I  burn  with  thy  desire  ; 

My  heart  and  hands  thou  hast  at  once  subdued. 

gg.  five^  Steevens,  Cambridge,  Craig;  fine  Ff.         103.  ne'er  fly  from  a  man] 
F  I ;  iic'refly  no  man  Ff  2,  3,  4.         103.  jfoan  la  Pucelle]  loane  de  Puzel  Ff. 


95.  buckle  with]  grapple,  or  close 
with.  The  earliest  example  in  New 
Eng.  Diet,  is  from  Grafton's  Continua- 
tion of  Hardyng,  1543.  Shakespeare 
does  not  use  the  expression  again, 
except  in  this  play,  iv.  iv.  5  and 
V.  iii.  28,  and  also  in  3  Henry  VI.  i. 
iv.  50.  It  occurs  in  Greene's  wTitings  : 
"  The  King  of  Lidia  hearing  this  .  .  . 
levied  a  mighty  army,  and  hasted 
forward  to  buckle  7i'ith  Acestes  "  {Or- 
pharion  (Grosart,  xii.  53),  1588-91).  And 
in  The  Second  Part  of  Tritameron 
(Grosart,  iii.  131),  1587 :  "  he  marvelled 
how  Scilla  durst  buckle  with  his 
[Mithridates]  great  fortune,  especially 
knowing  that  she  had  not  deceived 
him  at  any  time."  Greene  uses  it 
again,  and  I  have  no  parallels,  except- 
ing his,  of  the  date  of  these  plays.  See 
too  his  Alphonsus,  King  of  Arragon 
(Grosart, xiii.  393,  line  1585):  "souldiers 
which  themselves  Long  and  desire  to 
buckle  with  the  foe,  do  need  no  words 
to  egge  them  to  the  same."  "  Buckle 
to  fight,"  or  "to  the  field,"  is  the 
Faerie  Queene  form  (i.  vi.  41,  i.  viii.  7). 
F'or  an  exact  parallel  to  this  sense,  see 
extract  from  Hall,  3  Henry  VI.  i.  ii. 
49- 

gg.  flve  flower-de-luces]  See  extract 
at  line  50.  Malone  in  accepting 
Steevens's    correction    (from    "fine") 


says  the  same  mistake  has  happened 
in  Midsummer  Night's  Dream  and  in 
other  places:  "I  have  not  hesitated 
to  reform  the  text,  according  to  Mr. 
Steevens's  suggestion.  In  the  MSS. 
of  the  age,  u  and  n  are  undistinguish- 
able."  To-day's  compositors  are  of 
the  same  opinion.  For  flower-de-luce, 
see  I.  i.  80,  note. 

loi.  old  iron]  The  words  in  Holin- 
shed.  Perhaps  the  sanctity  of  its  luck 
redeems  the  commonplace  :  "  it  is  good 
luck  to  find  old  iron,  but  'tis  naught  to 
keep  it,  and  the  trade  (fighting)  is 
crafty  "  (Three  Lords  and  Three  Ladies 
of  London,  ante  1588,  Hazlitt's  Dods- 
ley,  vi.  485). 

104.  Amazon]See  again 3 Henry  VI. 
IV.  i.  106  and  i.  iv.  114.  Amazons 
were  familiar  figures.  There  was  "A 
Maske  of  Amazones  in  all  Armore 
compleat "  shown  "  before  Her  Majestic 
the  Sonday  night  after  twelf  dale"  in 
1578-79  (Cunningham's  Revels  Ac- 
counts, Shaks.  Society,  1842,  pp.  125- 
126).  Sidney  mentions  a  heroine  who 
"  On  the  same  side  on  her  thigh  she 
ware  a  sword,  which  as  it  witnessed 
her  to  be  an  Amazon,  or  one  following 
that  profession,  so  it  seemed  but  a 
needless  weapon,  since  her  other  forces 
were  without  withstanding"  (Arcadia, 
bk.  i.  p.  97,  ed.  1739). 


SC.    II.] 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


23 


Excellent  Pucelle,  if  thy  name  be  so,  iio 

Let  me  thy  servant  and  not  sovereign  be  : 

'Tis  the  French  Dauphin  sueth  to  thee  thus. 
Puc.   I  must  not  yield  to  any  rites  of  love, 

For  my  profession  's  sacred  from  above  : 

When  I  have  chased  all  thy  foes  from  hence,  1 1 5 

Then  will  I  think  upon  a  recompense. 
Cha.  Meantime  look  gracious  on  thy  prostrate  thrall. 
Reig.  My  lord,  methinks,  is  very  long  in  talk. 
Alen.  Doubtless  he  shrives  this  woman  to  her  smock  ; 

Else  ne'er  could  he  so  long  protract  his  speech.  1 20 

Reig.  Shall  we  disturb  him,  since  he  keeps  no  mean  ? 
Alen.  He  may  mean  more  than  we  poor  men  do  know  : 

These  women  are  shrewd  tempters  with  their  tongues, 
Reig.  My  lord,  where  are  you  ?  what  devise  you  on  ? 

Shall  we  give  over  Orleans,  or  no?  125 

Puc.  Why,  no,  I  say  :  distrustful  recreants  ! 

Fight  till  the  last  gasp  ;   I  will  be  your  guard. 
Cha.  What  she  says  I  '11  confirm  :  we'll  fight  it  out. 
Puc.  Assign'd  am  I  to  be  the  English  scourge. 


no.  Pucelle\  Puzel  Ff. 
ore  Ff. 


113.  rites]  Pope;  rights  Ff.         125.  over]  Rowe ; 


no.  Excellent  Pucelle]  A  very  Shake- 
spearian touch. 

119.  he  shrives  this  womaii]  Compare 
Lodge's  Eiiphues  Golden  Legacie  (Haz- 
litt's  Shaks.  Library,  p.  118),  1590: 
"  and  with  this  tliey  strained  one 
anothers  hand.  Wliich  Ganimede 
espying,  thinking  hee  had  had  his 
mistresse  long  inough  at  shrift,  sayd: 
What,  a  match  or  no  ?  "  And  Nashe's 
The  Unfortimate  Traveller  (Grosart, 
V.  127):  "Toreturneto  Heraclide  be- 
low, whom  the  ugliest  of  all  bloud 
suckers  Esdras  of  Granado  had  under 
shrift." 

121.  keeps  no  mean]  uses  no  modera- 
tion. Not  a  common  expression  ;  but 
compare  Whitney's  Emblems  (of  the 
Seven  Sages),  1586  (edited  Green,  p. 
130) :  "  Keep  still  the  meane  did  Cleo- 
bulus  teache."  "  To  use  a  mean  "  is 
often  found.  Nezv  Eng.  Diet,  quotes 
from  Aureles  and  Isabella,  1556  :  "  The 
king  axade  them  .  .  .  what  meane  one 
oughte  to  keape  in  suche  a  case." 

124.  what  devise  you  on]  what  do  you 
decide  on.  Compare  Ben  Jonson, 
Bartholomew  Fair,  iv.  i  : — 

"  Haggise.  Let  him  alone,  we  have 
devis'd  better  upon  't. 


Purecraft.  And  shall   he  not  into 
the  stocks  then  ? 

Bristles.  No,  mistress." 
New   Eng.  Diet,   has   two  earlier  ex- 
amples of  "devise  upon"  meaning  to 
resolve  or  decide  upon,  which  is  cer- 
tainly applicable  here. 

126.  recr^awii]  cowards.  See  2  Henry 
VI.  IV.  vii.  28. 

127.  the  last  gasp]X.ot\ie  end.  Com- 
pare Nashe,  Epistle  Dedicatorie  io  Have 
with  you,  etc.,  1596:  "  Heere  he  lies 
at  the  last  gaspe  of  surrendering  all  his 
credit  and  reputation."  The  expression 
occurs  ("to  the  last  gasp")  earlier  in 
Stubhs'  Anatomic  of  Abuses,  1583.  "At 
latter  gasp  "  was  commoner  in  poetry. 

128.  fight  it  ouf]  See  i.  i.  gg. 

i2g.  Assign'd  .  .  .  to  be  the  English 
scourge]  Compare  Marlowe's  Tambur- 
lainc.  Part  L  iv.  3,  1586:  "The  scum 
of  men,  the  hate  and  scourge  of  God 
.  .  .  it  is  the  bloody  Tamburlaine." 
And  Greene's  (?)  Selimus,  1592  (Gros- 
art, xiv.  210) : — 

"Selimus 
Is  borne  to  be  a  scourge  unto  them 

all. 
Baiazet.  Hee's  born  to  be  a  scourge 
to  me  &  mine." 


24 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


This  night  the  siege  assuredly  I  '11  raise  :  130 

Expect  Saint  Martin's  summer,  halcyon's  days, 

Since  I  have  entered  into  these  wars. 

Glory  is  like  a  circle  in  the  water, 

Which  never  ceaseth  to  enlarge  itself 

Till  by  broad  spreading  it  disperse  to  nought.  135 

131.  halcyon's  days]  halcyons  days  Ff  i,  2;  halcyon  days  Ff  3,  4. 


Earlier  in  Golding's  Ovid,  bk.  xiii.  line 
781:- 

"  the  fame 
Heereof  too  Agamemnona  earesthe 
squorgc  of  Trojans  came"  (1567). 
The  word  occurs  in  the  same  manner 
several  times  elsewhere  in  Marlowe's 
Tamburlaine,  part  ii.  See  note  at  i.  iv. 
42.  See  too  Peele's  Edward  I.  (Dyce, 
406,  b) :  "  Farewell,  proud  queen  .  .  . 
The  scourge  of  England  and  to  English 
dames!  " 

131.  Saint  Martin's  summer]  summer 
in  late  autumn,  "  Indian  summer,"  at 
the  feast  of  St.  Martin.  Martlemas  (Nov. 
11),  the  time  for  hanging  powdered 
beef,  was  an  important  period.  Nares 
has  confused  this  festival  with  St. 
Martin's  ware,  products  from  one  of 
the  many  St.  Martin's  Lanes.  No  con- 
nection between  St.  Martin  and  the 
Alcyon  has  been  advanced  to  illustrate 
this  passage,  except  the  fortuitous  one 
of  the  weather,  which  may  occur  in 
a  fitting  manner.  -But  there  was  a  St. 
Martin's  bird.  Cotgrave  (quoted  in 
New  Eng.  Diet.)  says  it  (oiseau  de  S. 
Martin)  was  the  hen-harme  or  ring- 
tail. New  Eng.  Diet,  has  only  one 
illustration  of  this,  "  1S97,  F.  S.  Elis 
{Reynard,  38) :  And  straightway  hove 
within  his  sight  Saint  Martin's  bird." 
I  confess  I  am  bewildered.  In  Caxton's 
Reynard  the  Fox,  1481  (Arber,  p.  19), 
there  is  the  following  passage  :  "  Tybert 
made  hym  sone  redy  toward  maleper- 
duys  and  he  sawe  fro  ferre  come  fleyng 
one  of  seynt  martyns  byrdes,  tho  cryde 
he  lowde  and  saide  al  hayl  gentyl  byrde 
torne  thy  wynges  'netherward  and  flee 
on  my  right  side  the  byrde  flewh  forth 
vpon  a  tree  whiche  stoode  on  the  lift 
side  of  the  catte  tho  was  tybert  woo 
ffor  he  thought  hit  was  a  shrewd  token 
and  a  sygne  of  harme."  Does  Caxton 
refer  to  the  hen-harrier  ?  I  can  find  no 
confirmation.  Swainson  says  it  is  now 
held  a  lucky  bird  in  the  Hebrides,  and 
that  the  French  name  is  due  to  its 
appearance  at  that  date.  But  Caxton's 
"  gentyl  bird  "  is  not  suggestive  of  the 


harrier.  At  any  rate  his  passage,  which 
seems  to  have  been  overlooked,  is 
worthy  of  notice. 

131.  halcyon's  days]  "  Now  a  seven- 
night  before  the  Mid-winter  day,  and 
as  much  after,  the  sea  is  allaied  and 
calme  for  the  sitting  and  hatching  of  the 
birds  Halcioncs,  whereupon  these  daies 
took  the  name  Alcionis  "  (Plinie's 
NafurallHistorie(tTzns.  Holland,  1601), 
bk.  ii.  chap,  xlvii.).  "  I  remembred  the 
halcyons  dayes  "  (G.  Joye,  Exp.  Dan., 
7.a,  1545,  Stanford  Dictionary).  The 
term  is  in  Warner's  Albions  England, 
p.  154,  1589,  and  many  early  writers. 

132.  ottered  into  these  wars]  made 
them  my  business ;  taken  them  up. 

133-135.  circle  in  the  water  .  .  .  dis- 
perse to  nought]  This  was  a  favourite 
metaphor.  Malone  and  Holt  White  give 
a  few  parallels,  as  from  Sir  John  Davis' 
Nosce  Teipsiim,  1599,  Harington's  Or- 
lando Furioso  (viii.  63),  Sylvester's  £>!< 
Bartas,  and  Chapman's  Epistle  Dedica- 
torie  to  his  translation  of  the  Iliad. 
Later  it  is  found  in  Beaumont  and 
Fletcher's  Rollo,  ii.  i,  1624,  and  several 
times  in  Pope's  writings.  There  was 
usually  a  stone  or  a  pebble  cast  in  and 
the  applications  manifold.  Nashe  uses 
it:  "The  clearest  spring  a  little  tucht 
is  creased  with  a  thousand  circles  :  as 
those  momentarie  circles  for  all  the 
world,  such  are  our  dreames"  (Terrors 
of  the  Night  (Grosart,  iii.  237),  1594). 
Chapman  has  it  in  Ovids  Banquet  of 
Sense,  1595: — 

"  And  as  a  pebble  cast  into  a  spring, 

We  see  a  sort  of  trembling  circles 
rise. 

One  forming  other  in  their  issuing. 

Till  over  all  the   fount   they   cir- 
culize ; 

So  this  perpetual-motion-making 
kiss,"  etc. 
Rolfe  quotes  here  from  Clarke :  "  The 
simile  and  poetical  image  in  these  lines 
are  more  like  Shakespeare's  manner 
than  anything  in  the  whole  play :  but 
it  is  worthy  of  observation  that  the 
passage  included  within  the  five  lines 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


25 


With  Henry's  death  the  Engh'sh  circle  ends  ; 
Dispersed  are  the  glories  it  included. 
Now  am  I  like  that  proud  insulting  ship 
Which  Caesar  and  his  fortune  bare  at  once. 
Cha.  Was  Mahomet  inspired  with  a  dove  ? 
Thou  with  an  eagle  art  inspired  then. 
Helen,  the  mother  of  great  Constantine, 
Nor  yet  Saint  Philip's  daughters  were  like  thee. 


140 


has  a  remarkable  air  of  irrelevancy  as 
if  it  were  introduced  by  some  other 
hand  than  the  one  that  wrote  the  main 
portion  of  the  scene."  But  Charles's 
reply  develops  this  remarkably  and  yet 
more  irrelevantly ;  the  whole  conca- 
tenation of  metaphors  reminds  one  of 
several  "  other  hands." 

136.  the  English  circle  ends]  Com- 
pare Peele,  David  and  Bethsahe,  480, 
a)  ;- 

"Hereon   depend    Achitophels    de- 
lights 
And  in  this  life  his  circle  must  be 
closed." 
Marlowe  has  "  The  loathsome  circle  of 
my  dated  life "  [Tamburlaine,  Part  I. 
II.  vi.). 

138.  proud  instiliiiig]  "proud  insult- 
ing queen"  and  "  proud  insulting  boy" 
occur  in  2  Henry  VI.  11.  i.  168  and  11. 
ii.  84.  "  Pro7id  insulting  Soliman " 
occurs  in  Soliman  and  Persedea,  v.  iii. 
59  (Boas).  See  note  at  "insulting  tyr- 
anny," IV.  vii.  19  below;  and  at  "proud 
commanding,"  iv.  vii.  88.  See  "proud 
ambitious,"  Part  III.  v.  v.  17. 

138,  139.  proud  insulting  ship  .  .  . 
C(Tsar  and  his  fortune']  The  ship  was 
only  proud  because  of  her  burthen. 
The  anecdote  is  in  Plutarch's  Life  of 
jfulius  CcEsar  (trans.  North,  1579), 
Temple  Classics,  vii.  1712 :  "  he  fol- 
lowed a  dangerous  determination,  to 
embark  unknowen  in  a  little  pinnace  of 
twelve  oars  only  to  pass  over  the  sea 
again,  unto  Brundusium  .  .  .  there 
came  a  great  wind  .  .  .  the  encounter 
was  marvellous  dangerous  .  .  .  the 
master  of  the  pinnace  .  .  .  bade  the 
mariners  to  cast  about  again  .  .  .  but 
Caesar  then  taking  him  by  the  hand  said 
unto  him,  Good  fellow,  be  of  good  cheer 
and  forwards  hardily,  fear!not,  for  thou 
hast  CcEsar  and  his  fortune  with  thee. 
.  .  .  But  at  length  .  .  .  Caesar  then  to  his 
great  grief  was  driven  to  return  back 
again."  Greene  has  this  tale  in  The 
Second  Part  of  Tritameron  (Grosart,  iii. 


131),  1587,  where  the  ship  is  a  "  little 
Frygat."  Greene's  words  are  from  T. 
Bowes's  translation  of  Primaudaye's 
French  Academic  (1577,  trans.  1586). 
See  also  Peele's  Farewell  to  the  Gener- 
als, 15S9  :  "  You  bear,  quoth  he,  Ccesnr 
and  Casar's  fortune  in  your  ships." 

140.  Mahomet  inspired  with  a  dove] 
Grey  quotes  Raleigh's  History  of  tlie 
World,  1614,  bk.  i.  part  i.  ch.  vi.,  to 
this  effect,  the  only  illustration  in 
Steevens's  Shakespeare.  But  Nashe 
made  use  of  the  legend  earlier,  as  in 
The  Terrors  of  the  Night  (Grosart,  iii. 
22S),  1594:  "Socrates  Genius  was  one 
of  this  stampe,  and  the  Doue  where- 
with the  Turks  hold  Mahomet  their 
Prophet  to  bee  inspired."  And  see 
Nashe  again  in  Lenten  Stuff c  (Grosart, 
V.  258),  where  the  fable  is  given  at 
length.  There  was  a  famous  play  of 
this  date  (or  earlier)  now  lost,  named 
The  Turkish  Mahomet  and.  Hiren,  the 
Fair  Greek.  In  the  Irving  Shake- 
speare a  reference  is  given  to  Reginald 
Scot's  Discovcrie  of  Witchcraft  (1584), 
xii.  15,  where  Mahomet's  pigeon  is 
described.     It  is  at  p.  204  of  reprint. 

141.  with  an  eagle  art  inspired]  The 
holy  Joan  is  compared  by  Charles  to 
the  apostle  John.  In  Christian  art  the 
eagle  is  the  attribute  of  St.  John  the 
Evangelist,  the  symbol  of  the  highest 
inspiration.    "With"  means  "by"  here. 

142.  Helen,  the  mother  of  great  Con- 
stantine] An  early  notice  of  Helen  in 
Hakluyt  (edition  1904,  iv.  272)  refers  to 
her  visions :  "  Being  warned  by  some 
visions  she  went  to  Jerusalem  and 
visited  all  the  places  there  which  Christ 
had  frequented.  She  lived  to  the  age 
of  fourescore  yeeres,  and  then  died  at 
Rome  the  15  day  of  August  .  .  .  her 
Sonne  Constantine  the  Emperor  then 
also  living,  and  her  body  is  to  this  day 
very  carefully  preserved  at  Venice." 
Joan  claims  a  vision  (line  79). 

143.  Sai?it  Philip's  daughters]  See 
Acts  xxi.  9. 


26 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  I. 


Bright  star  of  Venus,  fall'n  down  on  the  earth, 
How  may  I  reverently  worship  thee  enough?  145 

Alcn.  Leave  off  delays  and  let  us  raise  the  siege. 
Reig.  Woman,  do  what  thou  canst  to  save  our  honours  ; 

"  Drive  them  from  Orleans  and  be  immortalized. 
CJia.  Presently  we '11  try.     Come,  let's  away  about  it : 

No  prophet  will  I  trust  if  she  prove  false.  150 

\Exeunt. 

SCENE  \\\.— London.     Before  the   Tower. 

Enter  the  Duke  of  GLOUCESTER,  ivith  his  Servingmen,  in  blue 
coats. 

Glou.   I  am  come  to  survey  the  Tower  this  day ; 

Since  Henry's  death,  I  fear  there  is  conveyance. 
Where  be  these  warders  that  they  wait  not  here  ? 
Open  the  gates ;  'tis  Gloucester  that  calls. 

145.  rcvercntly'\  ever  Capell. 

Scene  ///.,  the  Duke  of  Gloucester}  Gloster  Ff.         in  blue  coats']  in  blue.  Capell, 
omitted  Ff. 

Scene  hi. 

2.  conveyance]    underhand    dealing. 

A   common  word  at  this   time.      See 

S  Henry    VI.   in.    iii.   160.      Compare 

Spenser's  Mother  Hubberd's  Tale  (lines 

855-857):— 

"  F'or  he  was  school'd  by  kinde  in 
all  the  skill 

Of    close    conveyance,    and    each 
practise  ill 

Ofcoosinage  and  cleanly knaverie." 
4.  Open  the  gates ;  'tis  Gloucester 
that  calls]  With  reference  to  these  dis- 
sensions, referred  to  already  in  a  note 
at  line  70,  sc.  i.,  Grafton  says  (pp.  562, 
563):  "In  this  season  fell  a  great 
division  in  the  realme  of  England, 
which  of  a  sparkle  was  like  to  growe  to 
a  great  flame  :  For  whether  the  Byshop 
of  Winchester  .  .  .  envied  the  aucthori- 
tie  of  Humfrey  Duke  of  Gloucester 
protector  of  the  realme,  or  whether  the 
Duke  had  taken  disdaine  at  the  riches 
and  pompous  estate  of  the  Bishop,  sure 
it  is  that  the  whole  realme  was  troubled 
with  them  and  their  parte  takers.  .  .  . 
The  XXV  day  of  Marche  (1426)  after 
hyscommyng  to  London,  a  Parliament 
beganne  at  the  towne  of  Leicester.  .  .  . 
In  thys  Parliament  the  Duke  of  Glou- 
cester layd  certaine  articles  to  the 
Byshop  of  Winchesters  charge.  .  .  . 
First,  where  as  he  beyng  Protector  and 


144.  Bright  star  of  Venus]  Perhaps 
recalling  Hawes'  Pastime  of  Pleasure  : 
"O  Venus  1  lady,  and  excellent  god- 
desse,  O  celestiall  slarre  t "  (p.  144, 
rept.) ;  and  p.  148  :  "  She  is  now  gone, 
the  fayre  shining  sterre !  O  lady 
Venus  !  I  pray  thee  provide." 

145.  reverently]  with  respect.  See 
3  Henry  VI.  11.  ii.  109. 

148.  immortalized]  Not  met  with 
again  in  Shakespeare.  The  earliest 
example  in  this  sense,  "  to  cause  to  be 
commemorated  or  celebrated  through 
all  time,"  is  from  Greene's  Menaphon, 
1589:  "holde,  take  thy  favors  (and 
therewith  he  threw  her  her  gloue)  and 
immorlalizc  whom  thou  wilt  with  thy 
toys  ;  for  I  will  to  Arcadie  in  despite  of 
thee"  (Grosart,  vi.  no).  For  a  note 
on  verbs  in  -ize,  see  Love's  Labour's 
Lost,  at  "  sympathised,"  Arden  edition, 
pp.  46,  47.  Harvey  adopts  it  of  him- 
self as  the  one  "  That  must  immortalise 
the  killcowe  Asse  "  [Nashe]  {Pierce's 
Supererogation  (Grosart,  ii.  18),  1592). 
Spenser  wrote  "  whose  living  handes 
immortaliz'd  his  name  "  {Faerie  Queene, 
II.  viii.  13),  earlier  than  the  above  ex- 
amples. Spenser  also  has  "  eternize  " 
in  Faerie  Queene,  i.  x.  59 ;  and  "  tyr- 
annize," II.  x.  57,  HI.  ii.  23.  He 
has  "  equalize "  later,  in  Ruines  of 
Rome. 


Ill]       KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


27 


First  Ward.  Who  's  there  that  knocks  so  imperiously  ?  5 

First  Serv.  It  is  the  noble  Duke  of  Gloucester. 
Second  Ward.  Whoe'er  he  be,  you  may  not  be  let  in. 
First  Serv.  Villains,  answer  you  so  the  lord  protector  ? 
First  Ward.  The  Lord  protect  him  !  so  we  answer  him  : 

We  do  no  otherwise  than  we  are  will'd.  10 

Glou.  Who  willed  you  ?  or  whose  will  stands  but  mine  ? 

There 's  none  protector  of  the  realm  but  I. 

Break  up  the  gates,  I  '11  be  your  warrantize. 

Shall  I  be  flouted  thus  by  dunghill  grooms  ? 

[Gloucester's  Men  rush  at  the  Tower  gates,  and 
Woodvile  the  Lieutenant  speaks  witJiin. 
Wood.  What  noise  is  this  ?  what  traitors  have  we  here  ?         1 5 
Glou.  Lieutenant,  is  it  you  whose  voice  I  hear  ? 

Open  the  gates  !  here  's  Gloucester  that  would  enter. 


5,   7i  9.   Warder  Ff;    Warder  Iwithinl  Malone. 
I  Man.  Ff.  13.  m/"]  ope  Grey  conj. 


6.  First  Serv.]  Glost. 


defender  of  thys  lande,  desyred  the 
Towre  to  be  opened  to  him,  and  to 
lodge  him  therein,  Rychard  Woodeuile 
Esquire,  having  at  that  time  the  charge 
of  the  keeping  of  the  Towre,  refused 
his  desire,  and  kept  the  same  Towre 
agaynst  him,  unduely  and  agaynst 
reason,  by  the  commandement  of  my 
sayde  Lorde  of  Winchester :  and  after- 
ward in  approuing  of  the  sayde  refuse, 
he  receyued  the  sayde  Woodeuile  and 
cherished  him  agaynst  the  state  and 
worship  of  the  King  and  of  my  sayde 
Lorde  of  Gloucester." 

13.  Break  up  the  gates]  batter  them 
to  pieces.  Malone  quotes  from  Hall's 
Chrniicle,  Henry  VI.  (folio  78,  b) : 
"  The  lusty  Kentishmen  hopyng  on 
more  friends,  brake  up  the  gaytes  of  the 
King's  Bench  and  Marshalsea,"  etc. 
Whalley  refers  to  Micah  ii.  13,  and 
St.  Matthew  xxiv.  43.  Compare  for 
the  milder  sense  "  to  open,"  2  Henry  VI. 
I.  iv.  22  ;  Winter's  Tale,  iii.  ii.  132 ; 
Love's  Labour's  Lost,  iv.  i.  56,  etc. 
See  also  Holinshed's  account  of  1381 
rebellion. 

13.  warrantize]  surety,  pledge,  gua- 
rantee. See  Sonnet  cl.  Compare 
Greene,  Orlando  Furioso  (Grosart,  xiii. 

155)  :- 

"  Thou  bringest  store  of  men  from 
Mexico 
To   battaile  him   that   scornes    to 

iniure  thee. 
Pawning  his  colours  for  thy  war- 
rantize." 


Nashe  and  Harvey  both  use  the  word 
later,  and  make  a  verb  of  it. 

14.  flouted]  mocked,  made  a  fool  of. 
A  favourite  word  with  Shakespeare, 
but  not  an  early  term.  Compare  Greene, 
Farewell  to  Folly  (Grosart,  ix.  232) : 
"  Others  w\\\  flout  and  over  reade  euerie 
line  with  a  frumpe,  and  say  tis  scuruie  "  ; 
and  in  his  Alphonsns  :  "doth  black 
Pluto  .  .  .  seeke  for  to  flout  me  with 
his  counterfeit."  See  below  at  iv.  i. 
75  for  example  from  Grafton.  Peele 
has  "  I  flout  you  not "  in  Sir  Clyomon 
(516  a,  Routledge  ed.),  earlier. 

14.  dunghill  grooms]  Compare 
'' dtmghill  curs,"  2  Henry  IV.  v.  iii. 
108.  Greene  has  the  expression  earlier  : 
"  What,  thinkst  thou,  vilain,  that  high 
Amurath  .  .  .  yeeld  his  daughter  .  .  . 
Into  the  hands  of  such  a  dunghill 
Knight  "  (Alphonsus,  King  of  Arra- 
gon,  Grosart,  xiii.  404).  And  (Peele's) 
yack  Straw  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  v. 
406)  :— 

"  How  darest  thou  a  dunghill  bastard 
born. 
To   brave  thy  sovereign    and   his 
nobles  thus  ?  " 
Spenser  has  '^  doonghill  kind"  (Faerie 
Queene,  11.  xii.  87);  "  dounghill  mind" 
(Faerie  Queene,   iii.  x.  15)  ;  "  dunghill 
thoughts"  (Teares  of  the  Muses).     See 
note  in  Todd's  Spenser,  Faerie  Queene, 
VI.  vii.  I.     An  older  expression,  "  dung- 
hil    thoughts,"    occurs    in    Gascoigne 
(Whetstone's  Remembraunce,  Arber,  p. 
18,  1576). 


28 


THE  FIRST  TART  OF 


Wood.   Have  patience,  noble  Duke  ;  I  may  not  open  ; 
The  Cardinal  of  Winchester  forbids: 
From  him  I  have  express  commandment 
That  thou  nor  none  of  thine  shall  be  let  in. 

Glou.   Faint-hearted  VVoodvile,  prizest  him  'fore  me  ? 
Arrogant  Winchester,  that  haughty  prelate, 
Whom  Henry,  our  late  sovereign,  ne'er  could  brook? 
Thou  art  no  friend  to  God  or  to  the  king : 
Open  the  gates,  or  I  '11  shut  thee  out  shortly. 

First  Sen'.  Open  the  gates  unto  the  lord  protector, 

Or  we'll  burst  them  open,  if  that  you  come  not  quickly 


20 


25 


Enter  to  the  Protector  at  the  Tower  Gates,  WINCHESTER  ajtd 
his  men  in  tawny  coats. 

Win.  How  now,  ambitious  Humphrey!  what  means  this? 
Glou.  Peel'd  priest,  dost  thou  command  me  to  be  shut  out  ?  30 

20.  commandtiient']  F  4  ;  commandement ,  Ff  i,  2,  3.         29.  Humphrey]  Theo- 
bald ;   Umpheir,  F ;   U?npire,  Ff  2,  3,  4.         30.  Peel'd]  Piel'd  Ff. 


22.  Faint-hearted]  See  3  Henry  VI. 
I.  i.  183.  Occurs  again  only  in  Titus 
AndronicHS,  in.  i.  65.  Compare  Fac^ic 
Queene,  i.  ix.  52  : — 

"  Fie,  fie,  faint  hearted  knight ! 
What    meanest    thou    by    this   re- 
prochfull  strife  ?  " 

23.  haughty]  See  note  at  "come, 
come,"  III.  iii.  76. 

23,  24.  Arrogant  Winchester  .  .  . 
Whom  Henry  .  .  .  ne'er  could  brook] 
Boswell  Stone's  Shakespere's  Holinshed 
(and  Hall)  does  not  give  the  source  of 
this,  or  the  "  Cardinal  "  references  (lines 
19-49).  I  find  it  in  Grafton,  i.  571,  572 
(The  V.  Yere) :  "  The  Duke  of  Bedford 
.  .  .  landed  at  Calice,  with  whome  also 
passed  the  seas,  Henry  Bishop  of 
Winchester,  which  in  the  sayde  towne 
was  invested  with  the  Habite,  Hat,  and 
dignitie  of  a  Cardinal!,  with  all  Cere- 
monies to  it  apperteynyng.  Which 
degree  King  Henrie  the  fift,  knowyng 
the  haute  courage,  and  the  ambicious 
minde  of  the  man,  prohibited  him  on 
his  aliegeance  once  [altogether],  either 
to  sue  for  or  to  take  :  meanyng  y'  [that] 
Cardinals  Hats  should  not  presume  to 
be  egal  with  princes.  But  now  the 
king  beyng  yong,  and  the  Regent  his 
friend,  he  obteyned  that  dignitie  .  .  . 
so  was  he  surnamed  the  rich  Cardinal! 
of  Winchester,  and  neyther  called 
learned  Bishop,  nor  virtuous  Priest." 
See  V.  i.  32,  33  for  a  further  reference 
to  Henry  V.  and  the  Cardinal. 


28.  tawny  coats]  A  tawny  coat  was 
the  garb  of  an  apparitor  or  sumner,  an 
official  attendant  on  a  bishop.  In  Har- 
ington's  Brief  View  of  the  Stale  of  the 
Church,  160S  (Nug(£  Antiqiuc,  i.  8), 
occurs  this  passage:  "  Docter  White- 
gyte  was  made  Bishop  of  Worcester 
.  .  .  though  the  revenew  of  that  be 
not  very  great,  yet  his  custom  was  to 
come  to  the  Parliament  very  well 
attended,  which  was  a  fashion  the  Queen 
liked  exceeding  well.  It  happened  one 
day  Bishop  Elmer  of  London,  meeting 
this  Bishop  with  such  an  orderly  troop 
of  Tawny  Coats,  and  demanding  of  him 
how  he  could  keep  so  many  men,  he 
answered  it  was  by  reason  he  kept  so 
few  women."  In  Day's  Blind  Beggar 
of  Bednal  Green  the  Cardinal,  who  is 
disguised  as  his  own  servant,  is  called 
Tom  Tawny  Coat.  In  Jonson's  Love's 
Welcome  at  Welbeck,  "  Tawny,  the 
Abbot's  churl,"  is  mentioned,  though 
it  may  refer  to  his  hood.  Musicians, 
pedlars,  and  justices'  clerks  also  wore 
tawny  coats.  See  also  Heywood's 
A  Maidenhead  well  Lost  (Pearson,  p. 
114),  and  Middleton's  A  Roaring  Girl : 
''Enter  Greenwit  like  a  Sumner.  .  .  . 
Husband,  lay  hold  on  yonder  tawny 
coat "  (iv.  ii.). 

30.  Pffr^/]  tonsured,  shaven.  Jonson 
has  the  verb  referring  to  hair:  "  Who 
scorns  at  eld,  peels  off  his  own  young 
hairs"  (Sad  Shepherd,  11.  ii.). 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


29 


Win.  I  do,  thou  most  usurping  proditor, 

And  not  protector,  of  the  king  or  reahn. 

Glou.  Stand  back,  thou  manifest  conspirator, 

Thou  that  contriv'dst  to  murder  our  dead  lord  ; 
Thou  that  giv'st  whores  indulgences  to  sin : 
I  '11  canvass  thee  in  thy  broad  cardinal's  hat, 
If  thou  proceed  in  this  thy  insolence. 

Win.  Nay,  stand  thou  back ;   I  will  not  budge  a  foot 
This  be  Damascus,  be  thou  cursed  Cain, 

34.  dead']  Ff  I,  3,  4  ;  dread  F  2. 


35 


31.  /rorfi/oK]  traitor.  Not  elsewhere 
in  Shakespeare.  Nashe  has  the  deriva- 
tive, "  proditoriously,"  in  Lenten  Stuffe 
(Grosart,  v.  284). 

34.  contriv'dst]  plotted. 

34.  contriv'dst  to  murder  our  dead 
lord]  The  4th  Item  of  Gloucester's 
Accusations  laid  to  Winchester's  charge 
is :  "  that  our  Soueraigne  Lorde  his 
brother,  that  was  King  Henry  the  fift, 
tolde  him  on  a  time  when  our  sayde 
soueraigne  Lorde  beyng  Prince,  was 
lodged  in  the  Palaice  of  Westminster 
in  the  great  Chamber,  by  the  noyes  of 
a  spanyell  there  was  on  a  night  a  man 
spied  and  taken  behinde  a  tapet  of  the 
sayd  chamber,  the  which  man  was  de- 
livered to  the  Erie  of  Arundell  .  .  . 
confessed  that  he  was  there  by  the  stir- 
ring vp  and  procuring  of  my  sayde  Lorde 
of  Winchester  ordeyned  to  have  slaine 
the  sayd  prince  there  in  his  bed : 
Wherefore  the  sayde  Erie  of  Arundell 
let  sacke  him  forthwith  and  drowned 
him  in  the  Thames"  (Grafton,  i.  563, 
The  IIIJ  Yere). 

35.  giv'st  ivhores  indulgences  to  sin] 
The  title  of  an  Act  passed,  1162,  ran: 
"  Ordinances  touching  the  government 
of  the  stewholders  in  Southwark  under 
the  direction  of  the  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester." The  Row  was  on  the  Clink, 
Bankside,  white,  with  signs,  as  Bear's 
Head,  Crane,  Cardinal's  Hat,  Swan, 
Bell,  Castle,  Cross  Keys,  Gun,  Thatched 
House.  There  were  18  in  Henry  VH.'s 
time,  reduced  to  12  in  1506,  abolished 
1545,  but  only  in  name.  Latimer,  in 
1549  (Seven  Sermons,  Arber,  p.  81), 
refers  to  them  :  "  I  here  say,  ther  is 
now  more  whordom  in  London,  than 
ever  ther  was  on  the  bancke."  See 
Stowe's  Survey  of  London.  See  note 
at  III.  ii.  7,  Measure  for  Measure  (Arden 
ed.).  Dekker  gives  the  constitutions 
to  be  observed  at  the  Bordello  (as  these 
stews  were  called)  in  The  Dead  Tearme, 


1608  (Grosart,  iv.  56,  57).  "  Indul- 
gences "  bear  the  papist  sense,  absolu- 
tion from  punishment.  This  is  ex- 
plained by  a  note  at  "pernicious 
usurer,"     iii.    i.    17. 

36.  ca7ivass  thee  .  .  .  cardinal's  hat] 
toss  in  a  canvas  sheet,  blanket,  belabour. 
An  old  form  of  punishment,  or  rough 
amusement,  often  applied  to  a  dog. 
The  use  was  influenced  by  the  other 
meaning,  to  search  out  or  examine 
thoroughly,  as  in  a  canvas  sieve.  Com- 
pare Palsgrave,  Lesclaircisscment, 
1530:  "  I  kanvas  a  dogge  or  a  matter, 
Jetraflique."  And  Nashe:  "they  wrapt 
him  in  a  blanket  (like  a  dog  to  be  can- 
vasde)  .  .  .  and  so  threwe  him  under- 
boord  "  (Martins  Months  Mind  (Grosart, 
i.  194),  1589).  In  the  general  sense  of 
abused  Greene  has  it  often  :  "  too  sore 
canvased  in  the  Nettes,  to  strike  at 
euery  stale  "  (Mamillia,  Grosart,  ii.  17, 
and  again,  p.  169).  Nashe  gives  a  good 
parallel :  "  Hence  Greene  .  .  .  tooke 
occasion  to  canvaze  him  [Harvey] 
a  little  in  his  Cloth-breeches  and  Velvet- 
breeches  "  (Foure  Letters  Confuted 
(Grosart,  ii.  197)1592).  "  The  Cardinal's 
Hat "  was  one  of  the  Bankside  signs 
mentioned  at  line  35  (note).  See  note  at 
"  Arrogant  Winchester,"  line  23,  above. 

38.  /  will  nut  budge  a  foot]  Greene 
has  this  expression  : — 

"  Backe  to  thy  ships,  and  hie  thee  to 
thy  home; 
Bouge   tict   a  foote  to  aid  Prince 
Rodomant" 
(Orlando   Fnrioso,  Grosart,    xiii.    155). 
"  I'll  not  budge  an  inch  "  is  in  Taming 
of  the  Shrew,  Induction,  i.  14. 

39.  Damascus  .  .  .  cursed  Cain] 
Reed  quotes  Maundeville's  Travels, 
ed.  1725,  p.  148:  "And  in  that  place 
where  Damascus  was  founded,  Kaym 
sloughe  Abell  his  brother."  Ritson 
cites  Polychronicon,  folio  xii.  :  "  Da- 
mascus is  as  moche  to  say  as  shedynge 


30  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  i. 

To  slay  thy  brother  Abel,  if  thou  wilt.  40 

Glou.   I  will  not  slay  thee,  but  I  '11  drive  thee  back  : 

Thy  scarlet  robes  as  a  child's  bearing-cloth 

I  '11  use  to  carry  thee  out  of  this  place. 
Win.  Do  what  thou  dar'st ;    I  beard  thee  to  thy  face. 
Glou.  What!  am  I  dar'd  and  bearded  to  my  face?  45 

Draw,  men,  for  all  this  privileged  place  ; 

Blue  coats  to  tawny  coats.     Priest,  beware  your  beard  ; 

I  mean  to  tug  it,  and  to  cuff  you  soundl}\ 

Under  my  feet  I  stamp  thy  cardinal's  hat, 

In  spite  of  pope  or  dignities  of  church  ;  50 

Here  by  the  cheeks  I  '11  drag  thee  up  and  down. 
Win.  Gloucester,  thou  wilt  answer  this  before  the  pope. 
Glou.  Winchester  goose  !   I  cry,  a  rope  !  a  rope  ! 

Now  beat  them  hence ;  why  do  you  let  them  stay? 

Thee  I  '11  chase  hence,  thou  wolf  in  sheep's  array.  55 

Out,  tawny  coats  !   out,  scarlet  hypocrite  ! 

Here  GLOUCESTER'S  Men  beat  out  the  Cardinars  Men,  and  enter 
in  the  hurly-burly  the  Mayor  of  London  and  his  Officers. 

May.  Fie,  lords !  that  you,  being  supreme  magistrates, 

49.  /]  F  I ;  lie  Ff  2,  3,  4.         56.  Mayor]  Ff  2,  3,  4  ;  Maior  F  i. 

of  blood.      For   there    Chayme   slowe  plays,  as  in  Westward  Ho,  Hi.  3:  "The 

Abell,  and  hydde  hym  in  the  sonde."  term    lying  at   Winchester  .  .  .  every 

For  Abel  again,  see  Richard  II.  i.  i.  104.  one  that  met  him  cried  Ware  the  goose, 

42.  child's  bearing-cloth]  christening  collier."     See  too  Beaumont  and  Flet- 

robe.     See  again  Winter's  Tale,  iii.  iii.  cher's  Cure  for  a  Cuckold,  and  Jonson"s 

119.      And   in    Holland's    Plinie,   bk.  Underwoods,  Ixii. 

xxviii.  ch.  19  (p.  341  C) :  "To  come  53.  a  ro/^/ a  ro/^/]  a  halter  I  a  halter! 
now  to  little  infants  ...  If  a  child  be  Similar  to  the  scurrilous  abuse  contained 
lapped  in  a  mantle  or  bearing-cloth  in  the  expressions  "ropery,"  "rope- 
made  of  an  asse  skin,  it  shall  not  be  tricks"  and  "rope-ripe,"  all  in  use  at 
affrighted  at  any  thing."  Gloucester  is  this  period.  And  compare  "  like  the 
still  thinking  perhaps  of  the  canvassing  parrot,  beware  the  rope's  end,"  in 
process.  Comedy  of  Errors,  iv.  iv.  ^6.     "A  rope, 

44.  beard  thee]  defy  thee,  face  thee,  a  rope,"  was  a  parrot-cry   of  abuse ; 

See  again  2  Henry   VI.  iv.  x.  40,  and  "an  almond  for  parrot "  was  the  reward 

1  Henry  IV.  iv.  i.  12.  for  some  parrot-like  tricks.    The  two  are 

47.  Blue  coats]  the  ordinary  wear  of  met  together  in  Lyly's  Mydas,  i.  ii. ; 

serving  men.  and  in  Lyly's  Mother  Dombie,  iii.  iv. : — 

50.  dignities   of  church]   dignitaries  "  The  duck  cries  quack  : 

of  church.     Shakespeare's  plays  do  not  A  rope  the  parrot,  that  holds  tack." 

afford    another    example   of  this   use.  55.  wolf  in  sheep's   array]   See  St. 

New  Eng.  Diet,  has  earlier  references.  Matthew  vii.  15  :  "  ther  is  a  wolfe  in  a 

53.   Winchester    goose]     See     again  lomhe  skynne"  (Digby  Mysteries,  circa 

Troilus  and  Cressida,  v.  x.  55.     A  cant  1485,  ed.  Furnivall,  p.  155). 

name  for  a  venereal  disorder,   with  a  56.  scarlet  hypocrite]  Alludes  to  the 

reference  to  line  35.     See  Nares;  and  cardinal's  red  soutane,  with  a  recollec- 

Cotgrave  in  several  places  (1611).     In  tion  of  Isaiah  i.  18.     Compare  Henry 

Guilpin's   Skialetheia,   1598    {rept.,    p.  VJII.  in.  ii.  255. 

27);  it  is  varied  to  "Hampshire  goose."  56.  Awr/j-ij/r/j]  tumult,  uproar.  For- 

Often   in    Chapman's    and    Webster's  merly  a  more  dignified  word  than  now. 


sc.  Ill]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  31 

Thus  contumelious ly  should  break  the  peace  ! 
Glou.  Peace,  mayor  !  thou  know'st  little  of  my  wrongs. 

Here's  Beaufort,  that  regards  nor  God  nor  king,  6o 

Hath  here  distrain'd  the  Tower  to  his  use. 
Win.  Here 's  Gloucester,  a  foe  to  citizens  ; 

One  that  still  motions  war  and  never  peace, 

O'ercharging  your  free  purses  with  large  fines, 

That  seeks  to  overthrow  religion  65 

Because  he  is  protector  of  the  realm, 

i\nd  would  have  armour  here  out  of  the  Tower, 

To  crown  himself  king  and  suppress  the  prince. 
Glou.  I  will  not  answer  thee  with  words,  but  blows. 

[^Here  they  skirmish  again. 
May.  Nought  rests  for  me  in  this  tumultuous  strife  70 

But  to  make  open  proclamation. 

Come,  officer ;  as  loud  as  e'er  thou  canst, 

Cry. 

Off.   "  All  manner  of  men,  assembled  here  in    arms 

this  day   against  God's  peace  and  the  king's,  we     75 
charge  and  command  you,  in  his  highness'  name, 

59.  mayor\  maior  F  i ;  Mayor,  for  Ff  2,  3,  4.  60.  yior  God]  Ff  i,  2;   not 

Gud  Ff  3,  4.         74.  Off.]  Hanmer,  omitted  Ff. 

58.  contumeliously]  "Contumelious"  persons  of  lowe  estate  of  the  Citie  of 

occurs  again  below,  sc.  iv.  39,  and  in  London  in  great  number  assembled  on 

2  Henry   VI.  ill.  ii.   204.      Elsewhere  a  day  upon  the  Wharffe,  at  the  Crane 

in  Shakespeare  only  in  Timon  of  Athens,  of  the  Vintrie,  and  wished  and  desyred 

V.  i.  177.  that  they  had  there  the  person  of  my 

61.  distrain' d]   seized,    annexed.     A  Lorde  of  Winchester  saiyng:  that  they 

loose  use  of  a  legal  term.     No  parallel  would    haue    throwen    him    into    the 

in  Shakespeare.  Thamise,  to  have  taught  him  to  swim 

63.  motions]    "counsels,    proposes"  with  winges  "  (p.   565,  The  IIIJ  Yere). 

(Schmidt).     Compare  Spenser,  Mother  This  is  part  of  the  Bishop's  answer  to 

Hiibberd's  Tale  (line  125) :—  Gloucester.     He  goes  on  to  say  that 

"  Now  surely  brother  (said  the  Foxe  "after   the    Monday   next    before   All- 

anon)  hallowen  day  .  .  .  the  people  ...  of 

Ye  have  this  matter  motioned  in  London  by  the  commandement  of  my 

season."  sayde  Lorde  of  Gloucester   as   it  was 

70.  rests]  remains.  sayde  assembled  in  the  Citie  armed  and 

70.  tumultuous]  Found  in  these  three  arrayed  .  .  .  sedicious  and  heavie  Ian- 
plays  and  in  Richard  II.  only.  "  Tu-  guage  was  used  and  in  especiall  against 
multuous  strife"  is  in  Hawes'  Pastime  the  person  of  .  .  .  theChancelor  .  .  . 
(1509).  on  the  morowe  .  .  .  earely  my  sayde 

•JO.  strife]   Grafton   may   be   quoted  Lorde  of  Gloucester  sent  unto  the  Maior 

with  reference  to  Gloucester's  threats :  and  Aldermen  ...  to  ordeyn  him  unto 

"  my   saide   Lorde    Chauncelor   [Win-  the  number  of  thre  C  persons  on  horse- 

chester]  aunswereth,  that  he  was  oft  back,    to   acompanie  him  ...  (it  was 

and   dyvers   times  warned   by    dj^ers  sayd)  unto  the  king  to  have  his  person, 

credible   persons,   as  well  at  the  time  and  to  remove  him  from  the  place  that 

of  the  Kinges  last  Parliament  holden  he  was  in"  (Grafton,  p.  565,  The  IIIJ 

at  Westminster,  as  before  and   sithe,  Yere).      This  may  have  suggested  the 

that  my  sayd  Lord  of  Gloucester  pur-  introduction  of  the  Mayor   (this  refers 

posed  him  bodily  harme  .  .  .  that  in  perhaps  to  the  Eltham  charge,  at  i.  i, 

the  tyme  of  the  sayd  Parliament  diverse  176). 


32 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  I. 


to  repair  to  your  several  dwelling-places  ;  and  not 
to  wear,  handle,  or  use  any  sword,  weapon,  or 
dagger,  henceforward,  upon  pain  of  death." 
Glou.  Cardinal,  I  '11  be  no  breaker  of  the  law;  80 

But  we  shall  meet  and  break  our  minds  at  large. 
Win.  Gloucester,  we  will  meet;  to  thy  cost,  be  sure: 
Thy  heart-blood  I  will  have  for  this  day's  work. 
Mtiy.  I  '11  call  for  clubs  if  you  will  not  away. 

This  cardinal's  more  haughty  than  the  devil.  85 

Glou.  Mayor,  farewell  :  thou  dost  but  what  thou  may'st. 
Win.  Abominable  Gloucester!    guard  thy  head; 
For  I  intend  to  have  it  ere  long. 

[Exeunt  severally,  GLOUCESTER  and  WINCHESTER, 
-with  their  Servingmen. 
May.  See  the  coast  clear'd,  and  then  we  will  depart. 

Good  God  !  these  nobles  should  such  stomachs  bear ;     90 
I  myself  fight  not  once  in  forty  year.  [Exeunt. 

82.  we  7vill]  Cambridge  ;  we  'II  Ff.  cosf]  F  i  ;  dear  cost  Ff  2,  3,  4, 

Steevens.     88.  it  ere  long]  Ff  i,   2  ;  it  e're  be  long  Ff  3,  4  ;   it  ere't  be  long 
Capell. 


81.  break  our  niiuds]  reveal  what 's  in 
our  minds.     Compare  Henry   V.  v.  ii. 
265.     Golding   uses   the   expression  in 
Ovid's  Metamorphoses,  x.  458-60: — 
"  But  nerethelesse  shee  gest 
There  was  some  love :  and  stand- 
ing in  one  purpose,  made  request 
Too  breake  her  tnynd  untoo  her  " 
(1567).      New  Eng.  Diet,  has  an  ex- 
ample from    Berner's  Froissart,   1525. 
"  Break  the  matter  "  in  Grafton's  Con- 
tinuation of  Hardyng  (502),   1543,   is 
similar. 

83.  heart-blood]  peculiar  to  these 
three  plays  and  Richard  II.  in  Shake- 
speare. "Vital  energy,  life"  {New 
Eng.  Diet.).  An  old  expression.  Figu- 
ratively used  in  Troihis  and  Cressida. 
See  note,  Part  III.  i.  i.  223, 

84.  call  for  clubs]  See  Nares  at  the 
word  "  clubs  ".  Originally  the  call  to 
summon  the  'prentices  to  part,  or  take 
part  in  a  street  riot.  New  Eng.  Diet. 
quotes  Hall's  Chronicle,  Henry  VIII. 
9 :  "  All  the  young  men  .  .  .  cryed 
prentyses  and  clubbes.  Then  out  at 
euerie  doore  came  chibbes  and  weapons, 
and  the  aldermen  fled"  (1548).  Com- 
pare Three  Lords  and  Three  Ladies  of 
London  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  vi.  459), 
1587,1588:  '' Simplicity.  Clubs!  clubs! 
Nay,  come,  neighbours,  come,  for  here 
they  be :  here  I  left  them,  arrant  thieves, 
rogues,  coseners.  I  charge  ye,  as  you 
will   answer,   'prehend    them.  .  .   .   A 


Constable.  I  charge  ye  keep  the  peace 
and  lay  down  your  weapons."  Malone 
says  it  was  "  for  peace  ofticers  armed 
with  clubs  or  staves."  It  came  to  be 
equivalent  to  our  "  police  !  "  Compare 
Greene,  A  Hee  and  Shee  Cony  catcher 
(Grosart,  x.  215):  "the  Officer  .  .  . 
sayd  hee  was  his  true  prisoner,  and 
cride  chibbes  :  the  Prentises  arose  and 
.  .  .  tooke  the  Officers  part." 

89.  See  the  coast  clear'd]  see  that 
all  obstructions  or  impediments  are  re- 
moved. A  common  expression  occur- 
ing  in  the  play  referred  to  at  line  84, 
note  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  vi.  496) :  "  The 
coast  is  clear.  Come,  follow.  Fraud, 
and  fear  not."  And  Greene:  "Susanna 
.  .  .  thinking  there  secretly  to  washe 
hirselfe,  and  seeing  the  coast  clcere, 
and  hirselfe  solitarily  said  thus "  (A 
Myrror  of  Modestie  (Grosart,  iii.  18), 
1584).  Not  met  with  again  in  Shake- 
speare. 

90.  stomachs]  angry  tempers,  bitter 
resentment.  See  again  iv.  i.  141 ;  and 
Part  II.  II.  i.  55.  Compare  Golding's 
Ov\d's  Metamorphoses,  bk.  v.  308-10: — 

"  Nor  yet  the  perils  he  endurde,  nor 
all  this  troublous  toyles 
Could  cause  thy  stomaeke  to  relent. 
Within  thy  stonie  breast 
Workes  such   a   kinde   of  festred 
hate  as  cannot  be  represt" 
(1567).     Greene  has  the  expression  in 
George-a-Greene  (xiv.  168) :  "  My  friend, 


SC.    IV, 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


33 


SCENE  YSr .~F ranee.     Before  Orleans. 
Enter ^  on  tJu  walls,  the  Master-Gtinner  and  his  Boy. 

M.  Gun.  Sirrah,  thou  know'st  how  Orleans  is  besieg'd, 
And  how  the  English  have  the  suburbs  won. 

Boy.  Father,  I  know ;  and  oft  have  shot  at  them, 
Howe'er  unfortunate  I  miss'd  my  aim. 

M.  Gun.  But  now  thou  shalt  not.     Be  thou  rul'd  by  me :  5 

Chief  master-gunner  am  I  of  this  town  ; 
Something  I  must  do  to  procure  me  grace. 
The  prince's  espials  have  informed  me 
How  the  English,  in  the  suburbs  close  intrench'd, 
Went  through  a  secret  grate  of  iron  bars  10 

Enter  .  .  .]  Enter  the  Master  Gunner  of  Orleans,  and  his  Boy.  Ff.  lo. 

Went]   Ff ;  Wont  Steevens  (1793),  Cambridge,  Craig ;    Watch  Hanmer  ;  View 
Roderick  conj. 


I  see  thou  art  a  faint  hearted  fellow,  thou 
hast  no  stomacke  to  fight,  therefore  let 
us  go  to  the  Alehouse  and  drinke." 

gi.  forty]  A  favourite  number  to  ex- 
press "  many."  Common  in  Shake- 
speare. 

Scene  iv. 
2.  how  the  English  have  the  suburbs 
won]  See  note  at  i.  ii.  21  from  Grafton. 
The  Chronicle  continues  to  the  present 
scene.  "  In  the  Tower  that  was  taken 
at  the  bridge  ende,  as  you  before  have 
heard,  there  was  a  high  Chamber,  hau- 
yng  a  Grate  full  of  barres  of  yron  by  the 
which  a  man  might  loke  all  the  length 
of  the  bridge  into  the  City,  at  which 
grate  many  of  the  chiefe  Capteynes 
stoode  dyverse  times  viewyng  the  Citie, 
and  deuisyng  in  what  place  it  was  best 
assautable.  They  within  the  Citie 
perceyued  well  this  totyng  hole,  and 
layde  a  piece  of  ordinaunce  directly 
agaynst  the  Windowe.  It  so  chaunced 
that  the  lix.  day  after  the  siege  layd 
before  the  Citie,  the  Erie  of  Sarisbury, 
Sir  Thomas  Gargraue,  and  William 
Glasdale,  and  diuerse  other,  went  into 
the  sayde  Tower,  and  so  into  the  high 
Chamber  and  looked  out  at  the  Grate, 
and  within  a  short  space  the  sonne  of 
the  Maister  Goonner,  perceyvyng  men 
look  out  at  the  Chamber  windowe,  took 
his  matche,  as  his  father  had  taught 
him,  which  was  gone  downe  to  dinner, 
and  fired  the  Goon,  which  brake  and 
sheuered  the  yron  barres  of  the  grate, 
whereof  one  strake  the  Erie  so  strongly 

3 


on  the  hed,  that  it  stroke  away  one  of 
his  eyes  and  the  side  of  his  cheeke,  Sir 
Thomas  Gargraue  was  likewise  stricken, 
so  that  he  died  within  two  dayes.  The 
Erie  was  conveyed  to  Meum  upon 
Loyre,  where  he  lay  beyng  wounded, 
viij  dayes,  and  then  died,  whose  bodie 
was  conveyed  into  England,  with  all 
funerall  pompe,  and  buried  at  Bissam 
by  his  progenitors"  (p.  577).  This 
occurred  in  October.  1428. 

8.  espials]  spies.  Occurs  again  below, 
IV.  iii.  6,  and  in  Hamlet,  in.  i.  32. 
Usually  plural.  "  Espial"  is  a  body  of 
spies  in  the  concrete ;  hence  a  spy. 
Greene  uses  it  several  times.  "  The 
Cittie  of  Athens  was  destroyed  by  Silla 
the  Romaine  Dictator,  who  by  his 
espyals  was  admonished  by  the  prattling 
of  certaine  women  washing  of  their 
cloathes,  where  they  talked  of  a  certaine 
place  in  the  Towne  that  was  weake 
and  worst  defended "  (Penelopes  Web 
(Grosart,  v.  222,  223),  1587).  And  again  : 
"  Hector  having  by  his  espials  under- 
standing of  their  comming  "  (vi.  234  ; 
Euphues  his  Censure  to  Philautus,i^&7). 
The  word  is  commonly  used  by  the 
Chroniclers. 

10.  Went]  The  change  to  "  Wont "  is 
desirable,  but  not  imperative.  "  Went," 
in  the  sense  of  went  several  times,  were 
used  to  go  (to  overpeer  the  city  and 
discover,  etc.),  is  very  intelligible,  and 
the  word  had  the  widest  general  usage. 
The  alteration  was  suggested  by  Tyr- 
whitt.  "Wont"  has  already  occurred 
(I.  ii.  14). 


34  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  i. 

In  yonder  tower  to  overpeer  the  city, 
And  thence  discover  how  with  most  advantage 
They  may  vex  us  with  shot  or  with  assault. 
To  intercept  this  inconvenience, 

A  piece  of  ordnance  'gainst  it  I  have  plac'd  ;  1 5 

And  even  these  three  days  have  I  watch'd 
If  I  could  see  them. 

Now  boy  do  thou  watch  for  I  can  stay  no  longer. 
If  thou  spy'st  any,  run  and  bring  me  word  ; 
And  thou  shalt  find  me  at  the  governor's.  [Exit.      20 

Boy.  Father,  I  warrant  you  ;  take  you  no  care  ; 

I  '11  never  trouble  you  if  I  may  spy  them.  [^Exit. 

Enter,  on  the  turrets,  the  Lords  SALISBURY  a7id  Talbot;  Sir 
William  Glansdale,  Sir  Thomas  Gargrave,  and 
Others. 

Sal.  Talbot,  my  life,  my  joy !  again  return'd  ! 

How  wert  thou  handled  being  prisoner, 

Or  by  what  means  got'st  thou  to  be  releas'd,  25 

Discourse,  I  prithee,  on  this  turret's  top. 
Tal.  The  Duke  of  Bedford  had  a  prisoner 

16-18.  And  even  .  .  .  longer]  F  i  ;  And  fully  even  .  .  .  Now  Boy  do  .  .  . 
longer  Ff  2,  3,  4  (lines  beginning  And,  If,  For).  22.  Enter,  on  the  .  .  .]  Enter 
Salisbury  and  Talbot  on  the  l^urrets,  with  others  Ff.  27.  Duke]  Tiieobald ; 
Earle  Ff. 

II.  overpeer]  Occurs  again  in  3  Henry  rupt  passage,  scarcely  improved  by  the 

VI.  V.  ii.  14,  and  in  Hamlet,  iv.  v.  gg,  unimportant    alterations    in    the    later 

and  Merchant  of  Venice,  1.  i.  12,  but  folios  which  were  accepted  by  Steevens, 

the  senses  are  not  the  same  as  here,  who   made  it   his   business   to   attach 

i.e.,  to  look  over,  down  on,  or  across  more  importance  to  the  readings  of  the 

from   above.      It   is   a    favourite   with  second  folio  than  Malone  did — or  than 

Greene,  and  the  first  example  in  New  they  are  entitled  to. 

Eng.  Diet,  is  from  his  Menaphon,  I58g  :  23.    Talbot]    Talbot,   who   was    not 

"a  hiil  that oy^r-Z'etrrt'rf  the  great  Medi-  present    historically    at    this    disaster, 

teraneum."    ?>e&a.^a.\n  Orlando  Furioso  appears  immediately  in  the  Chronicle: 

(Grosart,  xiii.    182):     "On  a   hill  that  "  The  Duke  of  Bedford  .  .  .  seeyng  that 

overpeeres   them   both";   and    p.  121:  dead    men    cannot    with     sorowe    be 

"the  Clifts  That  owfr/'w^' the  bright  and  called  againe  .  .  .  appoynted  the  Erie 

golden   shore."    And    in    The   Spanish  of  Suffolke  to  be  his  Lieutenant  and 

Masquerado  (x58g)  :  "  their  huge  barkes  Capteyne  of  the  Siege,  and  ioyned  with 

built   like    Castles,   overpeering  ours."  him  the  Lord  Scales,  the  Lord  Talbot, 

Compare  Golding's  Ot'Z<f  (iii.  217)  ;   "by  Sir    lohn    Fastolfe,    and  diuerse  other 

the  middle  of  hir  necke  she  ovcrpeerde  valiant  knightes  and  squiers  "  (p.  578, 

them  all  "  (1565) ;  and  Peele's  Arraign-  The  VL  Yere).    Historical  inaccuracy  in 

ment  of  Paris   (Dyce,  352,  b) :    "The  this   drama    is   very    prominent.      The 

double  daisy  and  the  cowslip,  queen  Of  events  are  often  transposed,  backward 

summer  flowers,  do  ot'e/'/fcr  the  green  "  or    forward,   out    of  their  proper  years, 

(meaning  "overtop").    Perhaps  Golding  especially  those  at  home,  with  regard 

introduced  it.  to  those  at  the  seat  of  war.     For  a  note 

16-18.  And  even  .  .  .  longer]  A  cor-  on  Talbot's  repute,  see  i.  i.  121. 


sc.  IV.]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  35 

Called  the  brave  Lord  Ponton  de  Santrailles ; 

For  him  I  was  exchang'd  and  ransomed. 

But  with  a  baser  man  of  arms  by  far  30 

Once  in  contempt  they  would  have  barter'd  me : 

Which  I  disdaining  scorn'd,  and  craved  death 

Rather  than  I  would  be  so  vile-esteem'd. 

In  fine,  redeem'd  I  was  as  I  desir'd. 

But,  O  !  the  treacherous  Fastolfe  wounds  my  heart :       35 

Whom  with  my  bare  fists  I  would  execute 

If  I  now  had  him  brought  into  my  povyer. 
Sal.  Yet  tell'st  thou  not  how  thou  wert  entertain'd. 
Tal.  With  scoffs  and  scorns  and  contumelious  taunts. 

In  open  market-place  produc'd  they  me,  40 

To  be  a  public  spectacle  to  all : 

Here,  said  they,  is  the  terror  of  the  French, 

28.  Santrailles]  Santrayle  F  i ;  Santraile  Ff  2,  3,  4.  33.  so  vile-esteem'd] 

so  vilde-esteem'd  Pope ;  so  pll'd-esteem'd  Ff ;  so  piU'd-esteem'd  Capell ;  so  ill- 
esteem'd  Mason  conj.  ;  so  pile-esteem' d  Malone  conj. ;  so  Philisfin'd  Steevens 
conj.  ;   sop-oil'd  esteem'd  Jackson  conj.  35.  Fastolfe]  Theobald;  Falstaffe 

or  Falstaff  Ff. 

28-29.  L'Ord  Ponton  .  .  .  exchang'd]  33.  vile-esteem'd]    Pope's    correction 

Theransomof  Lord  Talbot,  historically,  is  proved  by  the  first  line  of  Sonnet 

took  place  several  years  later  after  a  cxxi.     Steevens  says  he  "cannot  help 

defeat  by  the  English  at  Beauvais  in  smiling  at  his  own  conjecture." 

1431.       There    was    an    ambush    "of  35.  treacherous    Fastolfe]    See   note 

xxiij  hundreth  men  .  .  .  priuely  in  aclose  at  i.  i.  131.  ' 

place,  not  farre  from  the  sayd  towne.  ..  .  -^6.  bare  fists]  bare  hands.  Craig 
The  Frenchmen  . .  .  issued  out  and  man-  quotes  from  Greene's  Orlando  Furioso 
fully  fought  with  the  Englishmen:  (Grosart,  xiii.  161) :  "  We  will  not  leaue 
which  sodainly  fled  toward  the  stale,  one  of  our  owne  souldiers  aliue,  for  we 
The  Frenchmen  corragiously  followed,  two  will  kill  them  with  our  fists."  Com- 
thinkyng  the  game  gotten  on  their  pare  Golding's  Ovid,  xm.  10,11:  "It 
syde  .  .  .  there  were  slain  and  taken,  easyer  is  therefore  with  woordes  in 
in  maner  all  the  frenchmen.  .  .  .  print  too  maynteine  stryfe,  then  for 
Amongest  the  Captaynes  was  founde  to  fyght  it  out  with  fists"  (the  Battle 
prisoner,  the  valiaunt  Captaine,  called  of  Troy  being  the  scene). 
Poynton  of  Sanctrayles,  which  (with-  39.  contumelious]  See  above,  sc.  iii.  58. 
out  delay)  was  exchaunged  for  the  42.  the  terror  of  the  French]  Graf- 
Lord  Talbot,  before  taken  prisoner  at  ton  writes  at  the  death  of  Talbot 
the  battaile  of  Patay"  (Grafton,  pp.  (pp.  650,  651,  The  XXXH.  Yere)  : 
592-31  The  X.  Yere).  ■'  This  man  was  to  the  French  people 

30,  man  of  arms]  soldier.  Some-  a  very  scourge  and  a  daylie  terror,  in 
times,  as  in  Love's  Labour's  Lost,  iv.  so  much  that  as  his  person  was  fearefull 
iii.  290,  ''man  at  arms."  Compare  and  terrible  to  his  adversaries  present : 
Greene's  Alphonstis  (line  1670): —  so  his  name  and  fame  was  spitefull  and 

"  All  the  men  at  artnes  dreadfull  to  the  common  people  absent, 

Which    mounted   were    on    lustie  in   so  much  that   women    in    Fraunce 

coursers  backes " ;  to    feare    their   yong   children,    would 

and  line  1808:—                 '  crie,  the  Talbot'commeth,  the  Talbot 

"Your    mightie    countrie   and  your  commeth."     See  above,  i.  ii.  129,  and 

men  at  amies,  note  ;   and  below,  11.  iii.  16.    The  same 

Be  conquered  all."  was  said  of  King  Richard  in  the  Holy 

It  occurs  as  '■'man  of  arms"  in  Graf-  Land;  and  of  Drake  by  the  Spaniards. 

ton's  Chronicle,  1569.  "  It   was    also    stated    about    William 

31.  barter'd]  Not  again  in  Shake-  Wallace  as  well  as  the  Black  Douglas 
speare.  and    the    English    mothers"     (Craig). 


36 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  I. 


The  scarecrow  that  affrights  our  children  so. 

Then  broke  I  from  the  officers  that  led  me, 

And  with  my  nails  digg'd  stones  out  of  the  ground,        45 

To  hurl  at  the  beholders  of  my  shame. 

My  grisly  countenance  made  others  fly ; 

None  durst  come  near  for  fear  of  sudden  death. 

In  iron  walls  they  deem'd  me  not  secure  ; 

So  great  fear  of  my  name  'mongst  them  were  spread       50 

That  they  supposed  I  could  rend  bars  of  steel 

And  spurn  in  pieces  posts  of  adamant : 

Wherefore  a  guard  of  chosen  shot  I  had. 

That  vvalk'd  about  me  every  minute-while ; 

And  if  I  did  but  stir  out  of  my  bed  55 

Ready  they  were  to  shoot  me  to  the  heart. 

Enter  the  Boy  with  a  linstock. 
grieve  to  hear  what  torments  you  endured  ; 
43.  scarecroui]  Scar-crow  Ff  i,  2.         50.  were]  Ff ;  was  Rowe,  Cambridge. 


Sa/.   I 


Steevens  quotes  to  the  same  purport 
of  Warwick,  from  Drayton's  Miseries 
of  Queen  Margaret  : — 

"And    still    so    fearful    was    great 
Warwick's  name, 
That   being   once    cry'd    on,    put 
them  oft  to  flight." 
Steevens  also  points  out  that  "  Drj'dcn 
has  transplanted  this  idea  into  his  Don 
Sebastian."     See  note,  11.   i.   79.     The 
legend  about  Talbot,  "  the  valiant  cap- 
tain,  the  very  scourge  of  France,"  is 
found  also  in  E.  K.'s  notes  to  Spenser's 
Shepheards  Calendar  (June),  1579. 

43.  scarecrow]  Again  in  Measure  for 
Measure  and  1  Henry  IV.  Spenser 
calls  his  Braggadocchio  (Faerie  Queene, 
III.  iii.  7)  the  scarecrow. 

45.  nails  .  .  .  stones]  Compa.Te Rich- 
ard II.  V.  V.  18,  ig.  Marlowe  has  the 
same  figure : — 

"  Set  me  to  scale  the  high  Pyramides, 
And    thereon    set   the   diadem   of 

France : 
I  '11  either  rend   it  with  my  nails 

to  naught 
Or  mount  the  top  " 
(Massacre  at  Paris,  Dyce,  1859,  p.  228, 
b).     And  Peele,  Edward  I.  (Dyce,    p. 
378,  a):— 

"  Lords,   these  are  they   will   enter 
brazen  gates 
And   tear   down  lime   and  mortar 
with  their  nails." 
See  "  bare  fists  "  above,  line  36. 
47.  grisly]  grim,  full  of  terror. 


53.  chosen  shot]  picked  gunners. 
Compare  Peele,  Battle  of  Alcazar,  iv. 

"  Haniet,      my     brother,     with     a 
thousand    shot 
On  horseback,  and  choice  harque- 

buziers  all. 
Having   ten  thousand  [foot]  with 

spear  and  shield, 

Shall  make  the  right  wing  of  the 

battle  up." 

As  a  single  marksman,  see  2  Henry  IV. 

III.  ii.  295.     See  passage  from  Spanish 

Tra^frfj  quotedat  "squadrons," IV. ii.  23. 

54.  mitiute-while]  minute's  space. 
Shakespeare  has  "breathing-while,"  and 
other  compounds  elsewhere. 

56.  linstock]  Compare  Henry  V.  iii. 
(chorus,  33).  A  staff  with  a  cleft  end 
to  hold  a  light,  or  prepared  lint  for 
torch.  The  staff  was  of  any  length 
to  suit  the  requirements.  In  Chapman's 
All  Fools  the  term  is  used  of  a  torch 
for  a  tobacconist's  use.  In  Voyage  of 
the  Susan,  etc.,  1582-3  (Hakluyt,  v.  248, 
reprint  1904) :  "  a  gunner  standing  by 
with  a  lint-stocke  in  his  hand  about  four- 
teen or  fifteen  feet  long,  being  (as  we 
thought)  ready  to  give  fire."  Ben 
Jonson  has  the  word:  "they  had 
planted  me  three  demi-culverins  just  in 
the  mouth  of  the  breach :  now,  sir,  as 
we  were  to  give  on,  their  master  gunner 
.  .  .  confronts  me  with  his  linstock, 
ready  to  give  fire  "  (Every  Man  in  his 
Humour,  in.  i.,  1598). 


sc.  IV.]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  37 

But  we  will  be  revenged  sufficiently. 

Now  it  is  supper-time  in  Orleans  : 

Here,  through  this  grate,  I  count  each  one  60 

And  view  the  Frenchmen  how  they  fortify  : 

Let  us  look  in  ;  the  sight  will  much  delight  thee. 

Sir  Thomas  Gargrave,  and  Sir  William  Glansdale, 

Let  me  have  your  express  opinions 

Where  is  best  place  to  make  our  battery  next.  65 

Gar,   I  think  at  the  north  gate  ;  for  there  stand  lords. 

Glan,  And  I,  here,  at  the  bulwark  of  the  bridge. 

Tal.  For  aught  I  see,  this  city  must  be  famish'd 
Or  with  light  skirmishes  enfeebled. 

\^Here  they  shoot.     Salisbury  and  Gargrave  fall. 

Sal.  O  Lord  !  have  mercy  on  us,  wretched  sinners.  70 

Gar.  O  Lord !  have  mercy  on  me,  woeful  man. 

Tal.  What  chance  is  this  that  suddenly  hath  cross'd  us  ? 
Speak,  Salisbury  ;  at  least,  if  thou  canst  speak  : 
How  far'st  thou,  mirror  of  all  martial  men  ? 
One  of  thy  eyes  and  thy  cheek's  side  struck  off!  75 

Accursed  tower  !  accursed  fatal  hand 
That  hath  contriv'd  this  woeful  tragedy  ! 
In  thirteen  battles  Salisbury  o'ercame ; 
Henry  the  Fifth  he  first  train'd  to  the  wars  ; 
Whilst  any  trump  did  sound  or  drum  struck  up,  80 

His  sword  did  ne'er  leave  striking  in  the  field. 
Yet  liv'st  thou,  Salisbury  ?  though  thy  speech  doth  fail. 
One  eye  thou  hast  to  look  to  heaven  for  grace : 
The  sun  with  one  eye  vieweth  all  the  world. 

60.  count  each  one]  F  i ;  can  count  every  one  Ff  2,  3,  4. 

67.  bulwark]   fortification.      A   bul-  Bookes    Messenger     (Grosart,    xi.     6), 

wark  was  manned  with  soldiers.     Com-  Epistle  to  the  Reader:    "  Hee  was  in 

pare  Golding's  Ovid,  viii.  480,  481 : —  outward   shew   a   gentlemanlike   com- 

"  And   looke    with    what   a    violent  panion,    attyred    very    braue,   and    to 

brunt  a  mightie  Bullet  goes  shadowe   his  villany   the  more  would 

From  engines  bent  against  a  wall,  nominate   himselfe  to   be   a  Marshall 

01  bulwarks  full  oi  ioes."  man  .  .  .  forsooth   a    brave  Souldier." 

74.    mirror     of    all    martial    men]  See  again  Lucrece,  line  200.     See  also 

pattern,  exemplar.      Compare  "mirror  Tamburlainc,  Part  I.  iv.  i.  30. 

of  all  Christian  kings,"  Henry    V.  11.  83.  One  eye  thou  hast]  The  servant's 

(chorus).     A  favourite  metaphor  at  this  remark  to    Gloucester    in    King  Lear, 

time.   Compare  Golding's  Ow/J,  Epistle,  iii.  vii.  81,  82,  is  more  human. 

lines  67,  68 : —  84.  sun  with   one  eye]   Polyphemus 

"  Daphnee  turn'd  to  Bay  brings    the   same   comfort  to  Galatea 

A  myrror  of  virginitee "  when  he  courts  her  :  "This  one  round 

(1565-67).     Holinshed  wrote  (of  Henry  eye  of  myne  is  lyke  a  myghty  target. 

v.):    "he  that  both  lived  and  died  a  Why?     Vewes  not  the  Sun  all  things 

paterne  in  princehood,  a  lode-starre  in  from  heaven  ?      Yit  but   one  only  eye 

honour,  and  mirrour  of  magnificence."  Hath  hee"  (Golding's  Ovid,  xiii.  looi- 

74.    martial     men]     military     men,  1003). 
soldiers.      Compare    Greene's    Blacke 


38 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  I. 


Heaven,  be  thou  gracious  to  none  aliv^e,  85 

If  Salisbury  wants  mercy  at  thy  hands  ! 
Bear  hence  his  body ;  I  will  help  to  bury  it. 
Sir  Thomas  Gargrave,  hast  thou  any  life? 
Speak  unto  Talbot ;  nay,  look  up  to  him. 
Salisbury,  cheer  thy  spirit  with  this  comfort ;  90 

Thou  shalt  not  die  whiles- 
He  beckons  with  his  hand  and  smiles  on  me, 
As  who  should  say  "  When  I  am  dead  and  gone, 
Remember  to  avenge  tne  on  the  French." 
Plantagenet,  I  will  ;  and  like  thee,  [Nero],  95 

Play  on  the  lute,  beholding  the  towns  burn : 
Wretched  shall  France  be  only  in  my  name. 

[Af/  alannn  ;  it  thunders  and  lightens. 
What  stir  is  this  ?  what  tumult 's  in  the  heavens  ? 
Whence  cometh  this  alarum  and  the  noise  ? 


Enter  a  Messenger. 
Mess.  My  lord,  my  lord  !  the  French  have  gather'd  head  :    100 

95.  like  thee,  [A^^ro]]  like  thee,  Nero  Malone  ;  like  thee  F  i ;  Nero-like  will  F  2  ; 
Nero-like,  will  Ff  3,  4. 


91.  whiles]  while,  whilst.  It  has 
the  sense  of  until  here,  a  common  use. 
See  Greene's  Looking  Glass  for  London 
and  Efigland  (Grosart,  xiv.  45)  ;  Ben 
Jonson's  The  Devil  is  an  Ass,  i.  ii.  (Cun- 
ningham's Gifford.  vol.  ii.  218,  b) ;  Mas- 
singers  Roman  Actor,  v.  i  (with  notes 
by  Gifford).  And  King  James,  Demono- 
logie:  "When  the  conjured  spirit  ap- 
pears, which  will  not  be  while  after 
many  circumstances."  Still  in  use  in 
provincial  Ireland,  "  wait  while  I  come," 
etc.  Greene's  Pandosto  and  Lodge's 
Euphues  Golden  Legacie  give  examples, 
as  Schmidt  points  out.  Talbot  had 
more  to  tell  him  when  he  breaks  off. 

93.  As  who  should  say]  as  if  he  should 
say,  like  one  that  would  say.  It  occurs 
several  times  in  Shakespeare,  as  in 
Merchant  of  Venice,  i.  ii.  51.  See 
Schmidt,  1040,  b.  And  Nashe,  Pierce 
Penilcsse  (Grosart,  ii.  2S)  :  "  Some 
think  to  be  counted  rare  Politicians  and 
Statesmen,  by  being  solitary,  as  who 
should  say,  I  am  a  wise  man,  a  brave 
man,  Secreta  mea  mihi,"  etc.  And  see 
Gascoigne,  Philomene  (Arber,  p.  90), 
1575  ;  Marlowe,  Jew  of  Malta,  Act  iv. ; 
and  Golding's  Ovid,  bk.  xv.  line  98 
(Moring,  p.  297).  In  the  last  example 
the  meaning  is  doubtful. 


93.  dead  and  gone]  See  2  Henry  VI. 
II.  iii.  37,  and  Ophelia's  song  in //am/^'^ 
IV.  V.  29.  See  Gratton,  Cont.  of  Hard- 
y>^S  (43^).  1543  '■  "  their  capitaines  were 
dedde  and  gone."  New  Eng.  Diet,  gives 
early  examples  of  this  expression  (al- 
ways taken  literally).  It  has  a  sort  of 
ballad-tag  ring  about  it.  Skelton  uses 
it  in  Garlande  of  Laurell.  Several 
times  in  Greene's  plays. 

95.  Nero]  Grafton  (Chronicle,  i.  61) 
gives  a  page  to  this  much-abused  mon- 
arch, describing  the  above  episode: 
"  He  commaunded  the  City  of  Rome  to 
be  set  on  fyre,  and  himself  in  the  meane 
season,  with  all  semblant  of  joy,  sitting 
in  an  high  Tower  to  beholde  the  same, 
played  upon  the  Harpe,  and  sang  the 
destruction  of  Troy."    "The  situations, 


and  there 
referred  to 
i.  40;  and 
King 


and 


look  you,  is  both  alike  .  . 
is  towers  in  both."  Nero 
again  in  3  Henry  VL  III 
in  King  Lear,  Hamlet 
John. 

100.  gather'd  head]  gathered  an 
army.  See  below,  iv.  v.  10,  part  ii., 
and  Titus  Andronicus,  iv.  iv.  63.  Com- 
pare Peele,  Battle  of  Alcazar,  iii.  i  : — 

"  The  Spaniard  ready  to  embark  him- 
selfe. 
Here  gathers  to  a  head'' 


sc.  v.]         KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  39 

The  Dauphin,  with  one  Joan  la  Pucelle  join'd, 

A  holy  prophetess  new  risen  up 

Is  come  with  a  great  power  to  raise  the  siege. 

\Here  Salisbury  liftetJi  Jiiniself  up  and  groans. 
Tal.  Hear,  hear  how  dying  Salisbury  doth  groan  ! 

It  irks  his  heart  he  cannot  be  reveng'd.  105 

Frenchmen,  I  '11  be  a  Salisbury  to  you ; 
Pucelle  or  puzzel,  dolphin  or  dogfish, 
Your  hearts  I  '11  stamp  out  with  my  horse's  heels 
And  make  a  quagmire  of  your  mingled  brains. 
Convey  me  Salisbury  into  his  tent,  1 10 

And  then  we  '11  try  what  these  dastard  Frenchmen  dare. 

\Alaruin.     Exeunt. 

SCENE  v.— The  Same. 

Here  an  alarum  again  and  Talbot  pursueth  the  DAUPHIN, 
and  drive th  h  im  :  then  ^///^r  L  A  P  U  C  E  LLE,  driving  English  - 
men  before  her,  and  exit  after  them.     Then  re-enter  Talbot. 

Tal.  Where  is  my  strength,  my  valour,  and  my  force  ? 

loi.  Joan  la  Pucelle']  loane  de  Puzel  Ff.  107.  Pucelle  or  puzzel]  Pnzel  or 
Pttssel  Ff.  III.  And  then  we  'II  try]  Then  try  we  Steevens  conj. ;  And  then  try 
S.Walker  conj.  iii.  Alarum.  Exeunt]  Ffi,  2 ;  Alarum  omitted  Capell ;  Alarum. 
Exit.  Ff  3, 4  ;  Exeunt  bearing  Salisbury  and  Sir  Thomas  Gargrave  out.  Theobald. 

Scene  v. 
Scene  v.  and  exit  after  them]  Dyce,  omitted  Ff. 

(Dyce,  432,  a).     The  events  of  the  play  spawne  of  a  beastly  dogfish  will  under- 

(subsequent  to  the  death  of  Salisbury)  stand  no  other  language  but  his  owne  " 

are  not  in  agreement  with  history,  for  (Pierces  Supererogation{Gxoszxt,\\.2^S), 

a   considerable    space.      The   English  1592)  ;  and  again  (ii.  122)  :  "  For  what 

retired  from  Orleans,  and  the  recapture  other  quarrel  could  Greens  or  this  dogge- 

by  Talbot  is  fictitious.  fish  ever  pick  with  me."     It  was  pro- 

loi.  jfoan  la  Pucelle]  See  i.  ii.  50  bably  not  uncommon,  the  fish  being  so 

(note).  hated.      "  Dolphin  "  of  the  folio  is  con- 

107.  puzzel]  a  common  drab.     Nares  siderately  allowed  to  stand  in  the  text 

gives  this  word  an  Italian  origin  (puz-  here  for  the  sake  of  the  quibbling, 

zolente)  from  Minshew,  independent  of  log.  (/Md^/MzV^]  A  favourite  illustration 

the  French  pucelle,  a  virgin,  which  had  with  Nashe  :  "  in  their  bellies  they  have 

been  in  use   earlier,   as  in    Laneham's  standing  quag-mires  and  bogs  of  Eng- 

Letter    (1578):    "Then    three    pretty  lish  beere "  (Pi>rt-e  Penilesse  (Grosart, 

/jicf//^  [/i^/jSfZs]  as  bright  as  a  breast  of  ii.    81),    1592);    and   "The  plaine   ap- 

bacon  "  (Burn's  reprint,  p.  30).     Lane-  peared  like  a  quagmire,  overspread  as 

ham's  use  may  be   taken  either  way.  it  was  with  trampled  dead  bodies  .  .  . 

Nares  quotes  from  StubbesM?ja/o;H/fo/"  dead   murthered   men    .    .    .   braines," 

Abuses:  "No,  nor  yet   any   droyle  or  etc.  {The  Unforttmate  Traveller  {Gros,- 

puzzel  in  the  country  but  will  carry  a  art,  v.  45,  46),  1594).     Kyd  has  a  great 

nosegay."     A  wench,  or  country  girl,  stringing  together  of  battle-field  horrors 

"  La  Bel  Pucelle"  is  the  central  figure  in  Cornelia  (Act  v.),  1594  : — 

in  Hawes'  Pastime  of  Pleasure,  1509.  "  Streames  of  blood  .  .  .  that  sur- 

107.  dogfish]  New  Eng.  Diet,  gives  cloyes  the  ground  andof  acham- 

an  example  of  this  word  as  a  term  of  pant  land 

3.huseiTomL,y\y'sPappewith  a  Hatchet,  Makes  it  a.  quagmire,  where  (knee 

1589.     Harvey  uses  it  to  Nashe  :"  the  deepe)  they  stande." 


40 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  I. 


Our  English  troops  retire,  I  cannot  stay  them 
A  woman  clad  in  armour  chaseth  them. 


Re-enter  La  Pucelle, 

Here,  here  she  comes.     I  '11  have  a  bout  with  thee  ; 
Devil,  or  devil's  dam,  I  '11  conjure  thee  :  5 

Blood  will  I  draw  on  thee,  thou  art  a  witch, 
And  straightway  give  thy  soul  to  him  thou  serv'st. 

Puc.  Come,  come ;  'tis  only  I  that  must  disgrace  thee. 

[Here  they  fight. 

Tal.  Heavens,  can  you  suffer  hell  so  to  prevail  ? 

My  breast  I  '11  burst  with  straining  of  my  courage,  10 

And  from  my  shoulders  crack  my  arms  asunder, 
But  I  will  chastise  this  high-minded  strumpet, 

[  They  fight  again. 

4.  a  houfX  about  F  2. 


4.  /  'II  have  a  bout  with  thee]  See 
below,  III.  ii.  56  ;  and  in  Twelfth  Night, 
III.  iv.  337  ;  and  Romeo  and  Juliet,  1. 
V.  19.  No  example  previous  to  Shake- 
speare is  given  in  Nejv  Eng.  Diet. ;  so 
that,  like  the  last,  it  is  characteristic, 
perhaps.  But  it  is  fretjuent  in  Nashe, 
and  earlier,  as  :  "  Euery  mans  spirit 
.  .  .  had  two  bouts  with  the  Apostle 
before  hee  left  him  "  {Pasquils  Returne 
(Grosart,  i.  119),  1589);  and  later  in 
Pierce  Penilesse  (ii.  59) :  "  With  the 
enemies  of  Poetry,  I  care  not  if/  have 
a  bout  "  ;  and  in  Strange  News  (ii.  179), 
1593.  Greene  has  it  also  earlier,  in 
Tullies  Love  (Grosart,  vii.  202),  1589: 
"  in  his  owne  minde  having  a  boute 
or  two  with  fancie."  The  latter  has  it 
again  in  The  Defence  of  Conny-CaLching 
(xi.  79).  Ben  Jonson  makes  it  technical 
of  cudgel-play  in  The  Case  is  Altered 
(1598).  See  too  Loc)'/nf,  n.  ii.:  '^  I  will 
have  a  bout  with  you.      [They  fight.]  " 

5.  devil's  dam]  Quite  curiously  com- 
mon in  Shakespeare.  See  Othello,  iv. 
i.  150,  and  note  (Arden  edition).  Greene 
has  the  expression  once  (at  least)  :  "  I 
wondred  at  it,  and  thought  verily  that 
the  Devill  and  his  Dam  was  in  his 
fingers  '  (Second  Part  of  Conny-Calch- 
ing,  Grosart,  x.  129).  It  is  as  old  as 
Piers  the  Plowman  (1399). 

6.  Blood  will  I  draw  on  thee]  John- 
son's statement,  "the  superstition  of 
those  times  taught  that  he  that  could 
draw  the  witch's  blood  was  free  from 
her  power,"  has  not  been  illustrated, 
though    constantly    quoted.      I    have 


looked  through  all  the  likely  Elizabethan 
writers  that  occurred  to  me  (Reginald 
Scot,  Ben  Jonson,  Middleton,  etc.), 
but  failed  to  detect  a  reference.  Hender- 
son's Folklore  of  the  Northern  Counties 
(Folk-Lore  Society,  1879)  has  the  fol- 
lowing at  p.  181  :  "  To  draw  blood 
above  the  mouth  from  the  person  who 
has  caused  any  witchery  is  the  ac- 
credited mode  of  breaking  the  spell." 
Several  tales  are  told  in  support  of  this, 
from  Durham,  Devonshire  and  Exeter 
of  the  years  1868-70.  On  the  following 
page  a  note  states :  "  In  Brittany,  if 
the  lycanthropist  be  scratched  above  the 
nose,  so  that  three  blood-drops  are  ex- 
tracted, the  charm  is  broken.  In  Ger- 
many, the  werewolf  has  to  be  stabbed 
.  .  .  thrice  on  the  brows."  But  noth- 
ing is  cited  of  early  times.  Nor  do 
Pliny  or  Ovid  come  to  the  rescue. 
Possibly  there  is  no  such  reference  at 
all,  and  Talbot  merely  means  he  will 
prove  that  Joan  is  vulnerable,  and  send 
her  soul  to  hell.  "  To  draw  blood," 
meaning  to  spill  blood,  is  frequent  in 
Shakespeare;  followed  by  "on"  it 
occurs  in  King  Lear,  n.  i.  35. 

12.  high-minded]  "arrogant,  over- 
weening" (Schmidt).  Not  met  with 
again  in  Shakespeare.  The  term  is  not 
credited  with  any  disparaging  sense  in 
New  Eng.  Diet.,  nothing  worse  than 
haughty.  Greene  uses  it  so  in  Friar 
Bacon.  But  compare  Golding's  Ovid's 
Metamorphoses  (bk.  xiii.  line  916), 
where  Polyphemus  rejects  the  warning 
of  Telemus :    "  And   sayd    O    foolish 


sc.  v.]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


41 


Puc.  Talbot,  farewell ;  thy  hour  is  not  yet  come : 
I  must  go  victual  Orleans  forthwith. 

A  short  alarum  :  then  enter  the  Town  with  Soldiers. 

O'ertake  me  if  thou  canst ;  I  scorn  thy  strength,  1 5 

Go,  go,  cheer  up  thy  hungry-starved  men  ; 
Help  Salisbury  to  make  his  testament : 
This  day  is  ours,  as  many  more  shall  be.  {Exit. 

Tal,   My  thoughts  are  whirled  like  a  potter's  wheel ; 

I  know  not  where  I  am,  nor  what  I  do :  20 

A  witch,  by  fear,  not  force,  like  Hannibal, 

Drives  back  our  troops  and  conquers  as  she  lists : 

So  bees  with  smoke,  and  doves  with  noisome  stench. 

Are  from  their  hives  and  houses  driven  away. 

They  call'd  us  for  our  fierceness  English  dogs ;  25 

Now,  like  to  whelps,  we  crying  run  away. 

\_A  short  alarum. 
Hark,  countrymen  !  either  renew  the  fight 
Or  tear  the  lions  out  of  England's  coat ; 

16.  hungry -starved^  Ff  i,  3,  4,  Cambridge;  hongry -starved  F  2  ;  hunger -starved 
Rovve,  Malone,  etc.         26.  like  to\  like  the  Ff  2,  3,  4. 


soothsayre  thou  deceyued  art  in  that. 
.  .  .  Tiius  skorning  him  that  told  him 
truthe  because  he  was  hyghmynded," 
i.e.  bursting  with  conceit.  The  term 
is  in  Grafton's  Continuatio?i  of  Hardy  ng 
(1543)1  P-  522,  in  the  same  sense  (More, 
1513)- 

16.  hungry -starved]  hunger-starved, 
for  which  see  3  Henry  VI.  i.  iv.  5. 
To  starve  is  hardly  now  used  (except 
provincially)  apart  from  hunger  (so  that 
the  compound  seems  tautological),  but 
it  had  the  general  sense  of  to  perish, 
or  suffer  want,  from  any  cause  in 
Shakespeare's  time.  To  hunger-starve 
was  in  regular  use  at  an  early  date  and 
down  to  the  sixteenth  century.  Nashe 
has  a  double  adjective  of  similar  for- 
mation: "He  .  .  .  hath  compelled  a 
tender-starv'd  Mother  to  kille  and  eate 
her  onely  sonne "  {Christes  Teares, 
Grosart,  iv.  no).  The  alteration  of 
the  text  here,  introduced  by  Rowe,  may 
be  tempting,  but  it  is  absolutely  im- 
proper. Hunger-starved  is  in  Golding's 
Ovid. 

18.  as  many  more  shall  be]  Greene 
has  this  construction  : — 

"  Mocke    on    apace !  my    backe    is 

broad  enough 
To  beare  your  flouts,  as  many  as 

they  be  " 


{Alphonsus,  King  of  Arragon,  Grosart, 

xiii.  334,  lines  73,  74).    And  Spenser  : — 

"  I,  of  many  most 

Most  miserable  man  " 

(Daphnaida,  stanza  6). 

ig.  like  a  potter's  tttheel]  Steevens 
suggests  that  this  idea  might  have  been 
caught  up  from  Psalm  Ixxxiii.  13. 

21.  like  Hannibal']  "  See  Hannibal's 
stratagem  to  escape  by  fixing  bundles 
of  lighted  twigs  on  the  horns  of  oxen, 
recorded  in  Livy,  lib.  xxii.  c.  xvi." 
(Holt  White).  Introducing  the  follow- 
ing thoughts  of  smoke  and  stench. 

23,  24.  doves  .  .  .  driven  away] 
Compare  Greene,  Menaphon  (Grosart, 
vi.  47),  1589: 

"  The  Turtle  pearketh  not  on  barren 
trees,  Doves  delight  not  in  foule  cot- 
tages." And  Gabriel  Harvey,  Letters 
between  Spenser  and  Harvey  (Grosart, 
i.  89),  1573-80:  "Fyle  [defile]  me  the 
Doouehouse :  leave  it  unhansome, 
where  the  like  poorehouse  ?  " 

28.  liotis  out  of  England's  coat] 
Greene  is  fond  of  this  kind  of  lan- 
guage :  — 

"  O  English   King,  thou  bearest  in 
thy  crest 
The  King  of  Beasts,  that  harmes 

not  yeelding  ones  .  .  . 
Be  gracious  " 


42  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  i. 

Renounce  your  soil,  give  sheep  in  lions'  stead : 

Sheep  run  not  half  so  treacherous  from  the  wolf,  30 

Or  horse  or  oxen  from  the  leopard, 

As  }'ou  fl>-  from  }'our  oft-subdued  slaves. 

\^Aiarum.     Here  another  skirmish. 
It  will  not  be  :  retire  into  your  trenches  : 
You  all  consented  unto  Salisbury's  death. 
For  none  would  strike  a  stroke  in  his  revenge.  35 

Pucelle  is  enter'd  into  Orleans 
In  spite  of  us  or  aught  that  we  could  do. 
O  !  would  1  were  to  die  with  Salisbury. 
The  shame  hereof  will  make  me  hide  my  head. 

[^Exit  Talbot.     Alarum;  retreat ;  flourish. 

SCENE  Ml.— The  Same. 

Enter,  on  the  walls,  La  Pucelle,  Charles,  Reignier, 
ALENf  ON,  and  Soldiers. 

Puc.  Advance  our  waving  colours  on  the  walls 
Rescued  is  Orleans  from  the  English. 

30.  treachcrou%\  timorous  Pope,  Rolfe. 

Scene  vi. 

2.  English]  F  i ;  English  ivolves  Ff  2,  3,  4. 

{James  the  Fourth,  Grosart,  xiii.  303,  the   opinion  and  language  of  a  man 

1.2234);  and  all  this  animal  metaphor  like   Talbot    cowardice   is    treachery" 

is  much  in  his  style.     In  another  part  (Schmidt). 

of  this  play  (p.  319)  there  is  a  combina-  30.  Sheep   run  .  .  .  wolf]   Compare 
tion  of  a  lion,  lion's  whelp,  fox,  wolf  Peele,  Edward  I.  (Dyce,  378,  a)  :  — 
and    hind.      And    Greene    was    quite  "  At  view  of  whom  the  Turks  have 
familiar  with  the  leopard  in  his  prose  trembling  fled 
writings,  but  Shakespeare  has  no  other  Like  sheep  before  the  wolves." 
reference  to  the  animal  again  excepting  31.  leopard]  trisyllabic.    A  dissyllable 
to  the  Biblical  leopard  and  his  spots,  in    Richard   II.     Compare   Sylvester's 
Peele  has  :—  Du  Bartas    (6th  Day  of  ist  Week) : 
"  These  British  lions  rampant  in  this  "The  lighifoot  Tigre,  spotted  Leopard." 
field  32.  oft-subdued]    No     similar    corn- 
That  never  learned  in  battles'  rage  pound  occurs  in  Shakespeare. 

{Descensus    Astrcece     (542,    b),     1591).  Scene  vi. 

Dryden  is  earliest  in  New  Eng.  Diet.         i.  Advance]  raise;  of  colours  (stan- 

for    "  British  lion,"    nearly   a   century  dards)  it  occurs  again  in  Merry  Wives, 

later.  in.  iv.  85.     Both  words  are  prominent 

29.  ;o-tt;^]  heraldic,  as  in  Merry  Wives,  in  these  historical  plays.     See  Part  II. 

I,  i.  16.  IV.   i.  98.     Compare    Peele,  Descensus 

29.  sheep  in  lions'  stead]  Grafton  has  Astrcea;  (542,  b),  1591 : — 

(p.  188) :  "  We  have  against  us  Robert  "  In   whose   defence   my  colours    I 

Erie    of    Glocester,   who   useth    great  advance, 

threates  and  performeth  small  deedes.  And  girt  me  with  my  sword,  and 

In    mouth   and   countenaunce   lyke   a  shake  my  lance." 

Lyon,  but  in  heart  a  very  sheepe."  And  see  quotation  from  Hall,  3  Henry 

30.  treacherous]   some   modern   edi-  VL  i.  ii.  50. 

tors  altered  to  "  timorous."     "  But  in         2.  Rescued  is    Orleans]  A  favourite 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


43 


Thus  Joan  la  Pucelle  hath  perform'd  her  word. 
Cha.  Divinest  creature,  Astraea's  daughter, 
How  shall  I  honour  thee  for  this  success  ? 
Thy  promises  are  like  Adonis'  garden, 
That  one  day  bloom'd  and  fruitful  were  the  next. 
France,  triumph  in  thy  glorious  prophetess ! 
Recover'd  is  the  town  of  Orleans : 
More  blessed  hap  did  ne'er  befall  our  state. 


4.  A$trcea's\  F  i ;  bright  Astrcea'%  Ff  2, 
Hanmer,  et  seq. 


3,  4- 


10 


6.  garden]  Ff;  gardens 


structure  with  Marlowe.  See  Tanibur- 
laine  (Part  II.):  "  Discomfited  is  all  the 
Aristian  host"  (11.  iii.  i).  But  he  de- 
sists from  it  in  later  plays,  after  the 
well-known  "Cut  is  the  branch"  at 
the  close  of  Doctor  Fatistus,  See  the 
first  line  of  this  play ;  also  "  Assign'd 
am  I  .  .  ."  (i.  ii.  129).  And  Greene- 
Lodge,  A  Looking  Glass,  etc.  (Grosart, 
xiv.  83)  :  "  Loath'd  is  the  life  that  now 
inforced  I  leade."  Earlier  still  in  Peele, 
Arraignment  of  Paris,  Prologue  : — 
"  Done    be     the    pleasure    of    the 

powers  above, 
Whose  bests  men  must  obey  " 
(1584).  See  too  a  passage  at  the  close 
of  Lodge's  Wounds  of  Civil  War  (Haz- 
litt's  Dodsley,  vii.  196).  See  note 
below  at  11.  v.  74,  and  Introduction. 
These  inversions  occur  elsewhere  in 
Peele's  writings  frequently.  Spenser 
set  the  fashion.  See  too  Sonnet  Ixxi. : 
"  When  I  perhaps  compounded  am  with 
clay." 

4.  Astraa]  We  are  to  make  four 
syllables  of  this ;  the  name  of  the 
Goddess  of  Justice.  Golding  can  only 
afford  her  two : — 

"  All   godlynesse  lyes  under   foote. 

And  Lady  Asfrey  cast 
Of  heavenly  vertues  from  this  earth 

in  slaughter  drowned  past  " 
(Ovid's  Metamorphoses,  i.  169,  170). 
Peele  wrote  a  pa.ge3.nt,Descens7is  Astrace, 
to  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London's  entry, 
1591 :  '' Astrcea,  daughter  of  the  im- 
mortal Jove."  Elsewhere  he  speaks 
of  "  Eliza's  court,  Astrcecs's  earthly 
heaven"  (Anglorum  Feria).  Her  in- 
troduction is  characteristic  of  Peele. 

6.  Adonis'  garden]  Spenser's  Fcrrie 
Queene  (iii.  vi.)  gives  a  poetical  account 
of  "The  Garditi  of  Adonis,  farrenowmed 
by  fame  "  (iii.  vi.  29) : — 

"  There    is   continuall    spring,   and 

harvest  there 
Continuall,   both   meeting    at   one 

tyme; 


For  both  the  boughes  doe  laughing 
blossomes  beare. 

And  with  fresh  colours  decke  the 
wanton  Pryme, 

And  eke  attonce  the  heavy   trees 
they  clyme, 

Which  seeme  to  labour  under  their 
fruites  lode  " 
(stanza  xlii.).  Gabriel  Harvey  has  a 
bitter  passage  in  which  he  says :  "  Arte 
.  .  .  beganne  to  sproute  in  M.  Robert 
Greene.  .  .  .  Witt  ...  to  blossome 
in  M.  Pierce  Pennilesse,  as  in  the  riche 
garden  of  poor  Adonis  :  both  to  growe 
to  perfection  in  M.  Thomas  Nashe  .  .  . 
proper  men,  handsome  giftes."  Fas- 
tidious Brisk  in  Jonson's  Every  M«« 
out  of  his  Humour,  iv.  vi.,  says  that  in 
Court  a  man  "  shall  behold  all  the 
delights  of  the  Hesperides,  the  Insula; 
Fortunata;,  Adonis'  Gardens,  Tempe,  or 
what  else."  In  Cynthia's  Revels,  v.  iii.. 
Mercury  says  to  Cupid  :  "  Remember 
thou  art  not  now  in  Adonis'  garden, 
but  in  Cynthia's  presence  where  thorns 
lie  in  garrison  about  the  roses." 
Neither  this  classical  allusion,  nor  that 
to  Astrasa,  are  found  again  in  Shake- 
speare (except  in  Titus  Andronicus,  iv. 
iii.  4).  Pliny  referred  to  this  garden, 
XIX.  iv.  (p.  10,  trans.  Holland,  bk.  ii.)  : 
"  Auncient  writers,  who  had  nothing 
(to  speake  of)  in  more  account  and 
admiration  in  old  time  than  the  gar de^is 
of  the  Hesperides,  of  Adonis,  and 
Alcinous."  There  was  a  battle  fought 
over  the  existence  of  these  gardens  in 
earlier  classical  writers,  amongst  four 
critics  (Bentley,  Theobald,  Dr.  Pearce 
and  Warburton),  with  reference  to  a 
passage  in  Milton,  which  will  be  found 
told  in  Steevens'  Shakespeare,  at  this 
line.  It  appears  that  Adonis  had  no 
garden,  only  a  few  flower-pots  after  his 
death.  But  its  existence  in  the  writings 
of  such  scholars  as  Harvey  and  Jonson 
establishes  the  tradition,  apart  from 
Pliny's  words. 


u 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


Ret£:  Wh}'  ring  not  out  the  bells  aloud  throughout  the  town  ? 

Dauphin,  command  the  citizens  make  bonfires 

And  feast  and  banquet  in  the  open  streets, 

To  celebrate  the  joy  that  God  hath  given  us. 
A/e».  All  France  will  be  replete  with  mirth  and  joy,  1 5 

When  they  shall  hear  how  we  have  play'd  the  men. 
C/ni.  'Tis  Joan,  not  we,  by  whom  the  day  is  won  ; 

For  which  I  will  divide  my  crown  with  her ; 

And  all  the  priests  and  friars  in  my  realm 

Shall  in  procession  sing  her  endless  praise.  20 

A  statelier  pyramis  to  her  I  '11  rear 

Than  Rhodope's  or  Memphis'  ever  was  : 

In  memory  of  her  when  she  is  dead. 

Her  ashes,  in  an  urn  more  precious 


II.   Why  .  .   .  town]  two  lines  in  PT,  ending  aloud,  town. 
of  Memphis  Dyce  (Capell  conj.). 


22.  Of  Memphis'] 


II.  Why  ring  not  out]  Perhaps  the 
line  should  read  "  Ring  out  the  bells," 
etc.  But  Steevens'  remark  that  aloud 
is  redundant  is  to  the  point. 

II,  12,  bells  .  .  .  bonfires]  See  Part 
II.  V.  i.  3  :  "Ring,  bells,  aloud:  burn 
bonfires,  clear  and  bright."  Marlowe 
has  similar  rejoicing  in  Tamburlaine, 
Part  1.  III.  iii. : — 

"  Now  will  the  Christian  miscreants 
be  glad. 
Ringing  with  joy  their  superstitious 

bells, 
And  making  bonfires  for  my  over- 
throw." 

14.  15.  celebrate  .  .  .  with  mirth  and 
joy]  Compare  Greene,  Alphonsus  (Gros- 

art,  xiii.  364) :  — 

"  Let  us  marche  with  speed 
Into  the  Citie,  for  to  celebrate 
With    mirth   and  ioy    this    blisful 
lestiuall " 
(11.  852-54).    The  repetition  of  the  com- 
monplace word  "  joy  "  here  is  Greene's 
foible.     Note    "for    to"    also    in    the 
quotation. 

15.  replete  with]  See  i.  i.  11  (note). 

16.  play'd  tbemen]An  old  expression, 
frequent  in  Grafton  (1569) :  "  Ceassyng 
not  to  say  vnto  them  with  a  loude 
voyce  that  the  same  day  if  they  woulde 
play  the  men  a  little  while,  they  should 
confirme  unto  them,"  etc.  (i.  135). 

20.  shall  in  procession  .  .  .]  Compare 
this  line  with  Contention  lines  iv.  ix. 
23,  24,  in  Part  II.  (Shakespeare  Society, 
p.  62).  And  see  Grafton's  Continua- 
tion ofHardyng  (p.  459),  1543 :  "  When 


Kinge  Edward  had  thus  overcome  them, 
he  went  to  London,  and  ther  for  iii. 
dayes  caused  procession  to  bee  through 
evrye  place  after  the  moost  solempne 
and  devoute  fassyon." 

21,  22.  pyramis  .  .  .  Than  Rhodope's 
or  Memphis']  Capell's  conjecture  "of 
Memphis  "  is  very  reasonable.  The 
illustration  is  almost  certainly  from 
Greene.  In  Mamillia  (Grosart,  ii.  270) 
he  says  ;  ' '  they  which  came  to  Memphis 
thought  they  had  scene  nothing  unlesse 
they  had  viewed  the  Pyratnides  built 
by  Rhodope " ;  and  again  (p.  280) : 
"  That  flourishing  and  beautiful  dame 
Rudophe  which  married  old  Sampniti- 
cus  the  King  of  Memphis  " ;  and  p.  200 : 
"  Was  not  Rodnpe  in  the  prime  of  her 
youth  counted  the  most  famous  or 
rather  the  most  infamous  strumpet  of 
all  Egypt  ?  .  .  .  yet  in  the  floure  of 
her  age  being  married  to  Psammeticus 
the  king  of  Memphis  ...  so  chast  a 
Princes."  And  in  The  Debate  between 
Follie  and  Love  (iv.  219):  "What 
made  Rodope  builde  the  Pyratnides  .  .  . 
but  Follie  ?  "  In  Planetomachia,  1585 
(Grosart,  v.  104),  Saturn's  tragedy  is 
the  story  of  Rhodope  told  at  great 
length.  In  several  other  places  Greene 
refers  to  her,  making  her  a  favourite 
in  his  writings.  See  Pliny's  Natural 
History,  xxxvi.  12.  Marlowe  refers  to 
the  "  Pyramides"  several  times,  and  to 
the  mountain  Rhodope, and  to  Memphis, 
all  in  different  collocations.  Spenser 
also  uses  Rhodope  (the  mount)  in  Faerie 
Queene,  bk.  ii. 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


45 


Than  the  rich-jewell'd  coffer  of  Darius, 
Transported  shall  be  at  high  festivals 
Before  the  kings  and  queens  of  France. 
No  longer  on  Saint  Denis  will  we  cry, 
But  Joan  la  Pucelle  shall  be  France's  saint. 
Come  in,  and  let  us  banquet  royally- 
After  this  golden  day  of  victory. 

{Flourish. 

27.  Before']  Ever  before  Hanmer ;  And  borne  before  Anon.  conj. 
France  up-born  Capell  conj. 


25 


30 


Exeunt. 

27.   France] 


25.  rich-jewell'd  coffer]  Malone  re- 
fers to  Puttenham's  Arte  of  English 
Poesie,  1589  ;  the  passage  will  be  found 
in  Arber's  reprint,  pp.  31,  32  :  "  In  what 
price  the  noble  poemes  of  Homer  were 
holden  with  Alexander  the  Great,  inso- 
much as  euery  night  they  were  layd 
under  his  pillow,  and  by  day  were 
carried  in  the  rich  jewell  coffer  of 
Darius,  lately  before  vanquished  by  him 
in  battaile."  "The  coffer"  was  especially 
applied  to  a  strong  treasure-box. 
"  Chestes  made  of  ivery.  In  coffers 
these  put  nothing  els  save  yellow 
glistring  golde "  (Timothie  Kendall 
(1577),  Flowers  of  Epi grammes,  reprint, 
p.  63).  Shakespeare's  indebtedness  to 
Puttenham  appears  in  Love's  Labour's 
Lost  several  times.  See  Part  II.  i.  iv. 
62.  See  also  Plutarch's  Ltfe  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great. 

26.  high  festivals]  Compare  Grafton 
(i.  203) :  "  the  Archebishop  the  next  day 
addressed  him  to  the  Masse  of  S. 
Stephen  with  all  solemnitie,  as  though 
it  had  bene  an  high  festiuall  day." 

1.8,  29.  Saint  Denis  .  .  .  France's 
saint]  "  When  the  noble  King  Charles 
of  Fraunce  had  heard  his  sisters  lamen- 
tation ...  he  most  comfortably  spake 
...  by  the  fayth  I  owe  to  God  and 
Saint  Denise,  I  shall  right  well  provyde 
for  you  some  remedy"  (Grafton,  Ed- 
taard  the  Second,  i.  317).  According 
to  some  writers,  the  saint  belonged  to 


Paris  :  "  Had  not  everie  citie  in  all  the 
popes  dominions  his  severall  patrone  ? 
As  Paule  for  London,  Denis  for  Paris, 
Ambrose  for  Millen,  Loven  for  Gaunt, 
Romball  for  Machline,  S.  Marks  lion 
for  Venise,  the  three  magician  kings 
for  Cullen,  and  so  of  other  "  (R.  Scot, 
Disc,  of  Witchcraft  (reprint,  p.  442), 
1584).  In  a  preceding  line  he  gives  "  S. 
Michael  for  France." 

30,  31.  let  us  banquet  .  .  .  victory] 
The  proper  ending  for  a  victory  in 
Marlowe's  way.  Compare  Tamburlainc, 
Part  I.,  end  of  Act  iii.  :  — 

"  Come  bring  them  in  :  and  for  this 
happy  conquest 
Triumph  and  solemnize  a  martial 
feast." 
And  Part  II.,  end  of  i.  i.:— 

"  Come  banquet  and  carouse  with  us 
a  while 
And  then  depart  we  to  our  terri- 
tories." 
And  end  of  i.  iii. : — 

"  Then  will  we  triumph,  banquet  and 
carouse  .  .  . 
Come,  let  us  banquet  and  carouse 
the  whiles." 
And  end  of  11.  iii. : — 

"  With  full  Natolian  bowls 
Of    Greekish    wine,    now    let    us 

celebrate 
Our  happy  conquest  and  his  angry 
fate." 
A  handy  way  to  clear  the  stage. 


46 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  II. 


ACT  II 

SCENE   \.— Before  Orleans. 
Enter  to  the  gates,  a  French  Sergeant,  and  tiuo  Sentinels. 

Serg.  Sirs,  take  your  places  and  be  vigilant. 
If  any  noise  or  soldier  you  perceive 
Near  to  the  walls,  by  some  apparent  sign 
Let  us  have  knowledge  at  the  court  of  guard. 

First  Sent.  Sergeant,  you  shall.  S^Exit  Sergeant. 

Thus  are  poor  servitors,        5 
When  others  sleep  upon  their  quiet  beds, 
Constrain'd  to  watch  in  darkness,  rain,  and  cold. 


Enter  Talbot,  Bedford,  liURGUNDV,  and  Forces,  with 
scaling-ladders ;  their  drums  beating  a  dead  march. 

Tal.  Lord  Regent,  and  redoubted  Burgundy, 

4.  court  of  guard]  watch-post,  station 
occupied  by  soldiers  on  guard.  vSee 
note  to  Othello,  ii.  i.  219  (Arden  edition, 
p.  82).  In  a  passage  there  quoted  from 
Greene's  Orlando  Furioso,  I  remarked 
it  was  the  earliest  example  of  the 
Shakespearian  spelling,  or  corruption, 
of  the  original  expression  "corps  de 
gard."  But  Greene  has  it  yet  earlier 
in  Mcnaphon  (Grosart,  vi.  120),  1589: 
"  the  Portcullis  was  let  downe,  the 
bridge  drawen,  the  Court  of  garde, 
thether  I  went."  He  has  it  again  in 
Orpharion  (xii.  58),  1588-89  (?) :  "  hee 
marched  closely  and  secretly  to  the 
Campe  of  Sertorius,  where  he  arrived 
about  midnight :  using  new  pollicy, 
that  before  had  conquered  with  prow- 
esse,  for  that  killing  the  watch  and 
Sentonell,  hee  Y>^?,i\heCoHrte  of  Garde, 
and  set  upon  the  souldiers,  making  a 
great  slaughter  of  such  men  as  were 
sleepie  and  amaz'd."  The  passage  in 
Orlando  Furioso  (Grosart,  xiii.  134-35) 
is  quite  parallel  with  the  present  posi-. 
tion.  Orlando  surprises  a  sleeping 
sentinel  who  is  in  sympathy  with  him, 


on  the  walls  of  a  castle,  and  he  is 
warned  to  keep  clear  of  the  "  Round  of 
Court  of  Gard."  In  this  case  the 
"  guard  "  is  "  pitched  within  a  trench 
of  stones." 

5.  servitors']  those  who  served  in  the 
wars,  soldiers.  Ben  Jonson  uses  it  so 
twice  in  Every  Man  in  his  Humour. 
Knowell  says  to  Bobadile  (iii.  i.) :  "  then 
you  were  a  servitor  at  both,  it  seems, 
Strigonium,  and  what  do  you  call't." 
And  in  Thos.  Sanders'Foj'a^^  to  Tripoli 
(Hakluyt,  ed.  1811,  ii.  308),  1583  :  "  A 
Spaniard  called  Sebastian,  which  had 
bene  an  old  servitour  in  Flanders." 
See  3  Henry  VI.  iii.  iii.  196,  for  an  ex- 
ample from  Hall's  Chronicle. 

7.  drums  heating  a  dead  march] 
This  is  explained  by  line  4  of  the  next 
scene,  at  the  next  appearance  of  Talbot. 
They  are  bringing  Salisbury  on  a 
funeral  procession.  All  historically 
untrue.  In  Jeronimo  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley, 
iv.  377)  is  an  earlier  dead  march. 

8.  redoubted  Burgundy]  Occurs 
again  as  a  title  of  address  in  Richard  II. 
III.  iii.  198 ;  Henry  V.  11.  iv.  14  ;  but  not 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


47 


By  whose  approach  the  regions  of  Artois, 
Walloon,  and  Picardy,  are  friends  to  us, 
This  happy  night  the  Frenchmen  are  secure, 
Having  all  day  caroused  and  banqueted  : 
Embrace  we  then  this  opportunity. 
As  fitting  best  to  quittance  their  deceit 
Contrived  by  art  and  baleful  sorcery. 

Bed.  Coward  of  France !  how  much  he  wrongs  his  fame, 
Despairing  of  his  own  arm's  fortitude, 
To  join  with  witches  and  the  help  of  hell ! 

Bur.  Traitors  have  never  other  company. 

But  what 's  that  Pucelle  whom  they  term  so  pure  ? 

Tal.  A  maid,  they  say. 

Bed.  A  maid  !  and  be  so  martial ! 

Bur.  Pray  God  she  prove  not  masculine  ere  long, 
If  underneath  the  standard  of  the  French 
She  carry  armour  as  she  hath  begun. 


lo 


15 


20 


elsewhere  in  Shakespeare.  It  replaces 
the  earlier  "  renowned,"  and  I  don't 
find  it  in  Greene.  Like  several  other 
expressions  {e.g.  "proud  insulting"), 
which  will  be  grouped  together  later 
on,  they  point  at  least  to  Shakespeare's 
continuous  authorship  or  final  prepara- 
tion. "  Baleful,"  a  few  lines  below,  is 
another  word  characteristic  of  these 
plays,  and  of  Shakespeare's  earlier  work 
\Romco  and  Juliet,  Titus  Andronicus). 
It  was  a  great  favourite  with  Greene. 
10.  Walloon]  See  note,  i.  i.  137. 

12.  caroused  and  banqueted]  Mar- 
lowe's phrase,  twice  at  least,  but  not 
elsewhere  in  Shakespeare.  See  note, 
I.  vi.  30,  31. 

13.  Embrace  we  then  .  .  .]  "  The 
subjunctive  of  the  present,  followed  by 
we,  expressing  an  invitation  =  let  us  " 
(Schmidt,  1343,  a).  References  follow, 
showing  that  the  figure  is  much  more 
prevalent  in  those  three  plays  than 
elsewhere  in  Shakespeare.  See  in. 
ii.  102  ;  III.  iii.  68.  Compare  Sclimus 
(Greene  ?)  (Grosart,  xiv.  209) :  "  But 
go  we  Lords,  and  solace  in  our  campe." 
"Go  we"  seems  to  be  the  starting 
point  of  this  old  form.  It  occurs 
oftenest  {Ki}ig  John,  Richard  III., 
Merchant  of  Venice,  etc.).  I  find  "  Go 
we  to  it  and  be  we  strong"  (Towneley 
Mysteries,  p.  221,  circa  1400) ;  and 
again  pp.  65,  315,  etc.  And  in  Man- 
kind (Early  English  Dramatists)  "  Go 
we  hence  "  occurs  several  times  (pp.  8, 
9,  etc.).  See  "  Stay  we  no  longer,"  Part 
III.  II.  i.  199. 


14.  to  quittance]  to  repay  in  kind, 
requite.  Not  a  common  verb  and  not 
elsewhere  in  Shakespeare.  Greene 
seems  to  be  responsible  for  it  in  this 
sense,  and  uses  it  frequently :  "  to 
quittance  all  my  ils  "  occurs  in  Orlando 
Furioso  (Grosart,  xiii.  140,  line  533) ; 
and  "  to  quittance  all  thy  wrongs  "  is 
found  later  (p.  186)  in  the  same  play. 
He  has  it  again  in  Philomela,  and  else- 
where, but  it  belongs  to  his  latest  work. 

15.  art]  magic.  The  magic  art,  or 
art-magic,  as  it  was  called.  "Art 
magicke  and  sorcery "  (Grafton's 
Chronicle  (rept,  i.  35),  1569).  So  Peele 
in  Old  Wives  Tale  (457,  b) :  "  Without 
this  the  conjuror  could  do  nothing; 
and  so  long  as  this  light  lasts  so  long 
doth  his  art  endure." 

17.  fortitude]  vigour,  strength.  An 
unusual  sense;  but  see  Othello,  i.  iii. 
222,  and  note  in  Arden  edition,  p.  44. 
Neiv  Eng.  Diet,  combines  these  two  as 
"  physical  or  structural  strength,"  with 
one  parallel  from  Eden's  Travels,  1553. 
I  find  a  good  illustration  in  King 
Edward  the  Third,  iii.  iii. : — 

"  As  with  this  armour  I  impale  thy 
breast 
So  be  thy  noble  unrelenting  heart 
Wall'd  in  with  flint  of  matchless 
fortitude.'' 
See  note  at  true-born,  11.   iv.  27.     And 
Hawes'    Pastime     (1509) :     "  dragon's 
taile  of  myghiy  forty tude." 

22.  masculine]  There  is  some  quib- 
bling here  that  is  perhaps  the  better  for 
not  being  intelligible  now. 


48 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act    II. 


Tal.  Well,  let  them  practise  and  converse  with  spirits;  25 

God  is  our  fortress,  in  whose  conquering  name 

Let  us  resolve  to  scale  their  flinty  bulwarks. 
Bed.  Ascend,  brave  Talbot ;  we  will  follow  thee. 
Tal.  Not  all  together :  better  far,  I  guess. 

That  we  do  make  our  entrance  several  ways,  30 

That  if  it  chance  the  one  of  us  do  fail, 

The  other  yet  may  rise  against  their  force. 
Bed.  Agreed  :  I  '11  to  yond  corner. 
Bur.  And  I  to  this. 

Tal.  And  here  will  Talbot  mount,  or  make  his  grave. 

Now,  Salisbury,  for  thee,  and  for  the  right  35 

Of  English  Henry,  shall  this  night  appear 

How  much  in  duty  I  am  bound  to  both. 


Sent.  Arm,  arm 


the  enemy  doth  make  assault ! 
\^Cvy  :  "  St.  George, 


A  Talbot:' 


29.  all  together]  Rowe  ;  altogether  Ff. 


27.  scale  .  .  .  bulwarks]  Compare 
Peele's  David  and  Bethsabe  (465,  a) : 
"  Let  us  assault  and  scale  this  kingly 
tower."  And  Selimns,  line  1130  : 
"  Alarum.  Scale  the  walles.  Enter 
Acomat"  (stage  direction). 

38.  "St.  George,'"  "/I  Talbot"]  See 
note,  I.  i.  128.  This  was  the  battle-cry 
at  an  incident  in  the  wars  which  is  pro- 
bably the  foundation  of  the  present 
scene,  a  fictitious  one  so  far  as  Orleans 
is  concerned.  After  the  English  were 
compelled  to  retire  from  the  "  Citie  of 
Mons"  (Grafton,  pp.  574,  575), 
through  its  rulers  admitting  the  French 
captains  from  outside,  they  escaped  to 
the  castle  of  Saint  Vincent,  where  they 
were  sore  beset.  "  But  all  their  har- 
dinesse  had  not  serued,  nor  all  their 
poUicie  had  not  defended  them,  if  they 
had  not  priuely  sent  a  messenger  to 
the  Lorde  Talbot.  .  .  .  The  Lorde 
Talbot  hering  these  newes,  neyther 
slept  nor  banquetted  but  with  all 
hast  assembled  together  his  valiaunt 
Capitaynes,  to  the  number  of  vij 
hundred  men  of  warre  .  .  .  and  .  .  . 
sent  as  an  espyall  Mathew  Gough 
...  to  shewe  to  his  countreymen  that 
he  was  at  hande,  to  be  their  ayde  and 
rescues.  Mathew  Gough  so  well  sped, 
that  priuely  in  the  night  he  came  into 
the  Castell,  where  he  knew  howe  that 
the    French  men    being    lordes  of  the 


Citie,  and  now  casting  no  perilles,  .  .  . 
beganne  to  waxe  wanton  and  fell  to 
ryot.  .  .  .  When  Mathew  Gough  had 
knowne  all  the  certainty  he  priuely 
returned  agayne  and  within  a  mile  of 
the  Citie  met  with  the  Lorde  Talbot, 
and  the  Lorde  Scales ;  and  made  open 
to  them  all  thinges  according  to  his 
credence,  which  to  speede  the  matter, 
because  the  day  approched,  with  all 
haste  possible  came  to  the  posterne 
gate,  and  alighted  from  their  horses, 
and  about  sixe  of  the  clock  in  the 
morning  they  issued  out  of  the  Castle, 
cryeng  Saint  George,  Talbot.  The 
Frenchmen  which  were  scarce  up,  and 
thought  of  nothing  lesse  than  of  this 
sodaine  approchement,  some  rose  out 
of  their  beds  in  their  shirts,  and  Icpt 
ouer  the  walles,  other  ranne  naked 
out  of  the  gates  for  sauing  of  their 
lives,  leaving  behinde  them  all  their 
apparell,  horses,  armour  and  ryches. 
None  was  hurte  but  such,  which  eyther 
resisted  or  would  not  yeelde,  whereof 
some  were  slaine  and  cast  in  prison  .  .  . 
the  citie  of  Mons  thus  being  reduced 
into  the  English  mens  hands,  the  lorde 
Talbot  departed  to  the  towne  of  Alan- 
son "  (The  VJ  Yere).  See  note  at 
court  of  guard  above  (line  4)  for  a 
parallel  scene  from  Greene's  Orlando 
Furioso,   and  elsewhere  in  his  works. 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


49 


The  French  leap  over  the  walls  in  their  shirts.  Enter,  several 
ways,  the  Bastard  (?/ ORLEANS,  Alencon,  Reignier, 
half  ready,  and  half  unready. 

Alen.   How  now,  my  lords!  what!  all  unready  so? 
Bast.   Unready!  ay,  and  glad  we  'scaped  so  well. 
Reig.  'Twas  time,  I  trow,  to  wake  and  leave  our  beds. 

Hearing  alarums  at  our  chamber-doors. 
Alen.  Of  all  exploits  since  first  I  follow'd  arms, 

Ne'er  heard  I  of  a  war-like  enterprise 

More  venturous  or  desperate  than  this. 
Bast.  I  think  this  Talbot  be  a  fiend  of  hell. 
Reig.  If  not  of  hell,  the  heavens,  sure,  favour  him. 
Alen.  Here  cometh  Charles  :   I  marvel  how  he  sped. 
Bast.  Tut !  holy  Joan  was  his  defensive  guard. 


40 


45 


Enter  CHARLES  and  La  Pucelle. 

Cha.   Is  this  thy  cunning,  thou  deceitful  dame  ? 
Didst  thou  at  first,  to  flatter  us  withal, 


50 


39.  unready]  undressed.  So  in  Put- 
tenham  (Arber,  p.  205),  1589:  "as  he 
that  said  to  a  young  gentlewoman, 
who  was  in  her  chamber  making  her 
selfe  unready,  Mistresse  will  ye  geve 
me  leave  to  unlace  your  peticote." 
Both  expressions,  "  make  ready  "  and 
"make  unready,"  of  a  person,  were  in 
familiar  use  ;  the  former  is  still  common 
provincially. 

43.  follow'd  arms]  Only  again  in 
King  John,  11.  i.  31.  It  occurs  in 
(Peele's)  Jack  Straw  (Hazlitt's  Dod- 
sley,  V.  382) : — 

"  And  rightly  may  you  follow  arms, 
To  rid  you  from  these  civil 
harms." 
The  prevalence  of  trochaic  endings  here 
is  to  be  noticed,  and  in  many  places  in 
this  play;  as  in  scene  ii.  of  the  last 
Act  (e.g.  I.  ii.  70-90).  It  is  char- 
acteristic of  Peele.  In  Jack  Straw 
(Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  v.  388)  the  following 
endings  occur:  levity,  extremity,  in- 
jury, reverence,  courtesy,  policy,  de- 
termines so,  take  in  hand — all  on  a 
single  page.  They  are  equally  pre- 
valent in  Selimus.  Peele  adopted 
them  perhaps  from  his  favourite  Faerie 
Queene.  Occasionally  in  that  great 
poem  Spenser  gives  full  swing  to  them, 
as  in  II.  i.  57 :  mortality,  tyranny,  re- 
gality, infirmity,  weakest  heart,  basest 
part.  Marlowe  took  them  up  also,  as 
in  Tambnrlaine,  Part  I.  11.  i.     For  "  fol- 


low arms "  in  Marlowe,  see   Tambnr- 
laine, Part  II.  I.  iii. : — 

"  But  while  my  brothers /0//0W  arms, 
my  lord. 
Let   me   accompany  my  gracious 
mother." 
44.  war-like]  warrior-like,   soldierly. 
Compare   iv.   iii.    31,   below. 

46.  fend  of  hell]  Occurs  again  in 
Pericles,  IV.  vi.  173,  and  Taming  of 
Shrew,   i.    i.    88. 

47.  favour  him]  support,  befriend 
him.  See  Part  III.  iv.  i.  144.  So 
Brutus  in  his  dying  speech  :  "  Favour 
my  sons,  favour  these  orphans,  lords  " 
(Locrine,  i.  i.). 

48.  sped]  fared,  what  sort  of  experi- 
ence he  had.  A  common  expression. 
See  quotation  from  Grafton  above,  at 
line  38. 

49.  defensive]  See  Richard  II.  11.  i. 
48.  Not  elsewhere  in  Shakespeare,  and 
commoner  as  a  substantive  in  his  time, 
meaning  defence  (Arcadia,  Greene's 
prose  works,  etc.). 

50.  cunning]  magical  power,  skill  in 
the  black  art,  supernatural  cleverness. 
See  below,  in.  iii.  10,  and  Tempest,  in. 
ii.  49.  And  in  "  cunning  man  "  com- 
monly. Compare  Greene,  George-a- 
Greeue  (xiv.  157) :  "  keepe  out  of  my 
circle,  Least  you  be  torne  in  peeces  with 
shee  devils.  Mistres  Bettris,  once,  twice, 
thrice.  [He  throwes  the  gown  in,  and 
she  comes  out.]  Oh  is  this  no  cunning  ?  " 


50  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  n. 

Make  us  partakers  of  a  little  gain, 

That  now  our  loss  might  be  ten  times  so  much  ? 
Phc.  Wherefore  is  Charles  impatient  with  his  friend  ? 

At  all  times  will  you  have  my  power  alike?  55 

Sleeping  or  waking  must  I  still  prevail, 

Or  will  you  blame  and  lay  the  fault  on  me? 

Improvident  soldiers!  had  your  watch  been  good, 

This  sudden  mischief  never  could  have  fallen. 
CJia.  Duke  of  Alencon,  this  was  your  default,  60 

That,  being  captain  of  the  watch  to-night, 

Did  look  no  better  to  that  weighty  charge. 
Aleji.  Had  all  your  quarters  been  as  safely  kept 

As  that  whereof  I  had  the  government, 

We  had  not  been  thus  shamefully  surpris'd.  65 

Bast.  Mine  was  secure. 

Reig.  And  so  was  mine,  my  lord. 

Cha.  And  for  myself,  most  part  of  all  this  night. 

Within  her  quarter  and  mine  own  precinct 

I  was  employ'd  in  passing  to  and  fro, 

About  relieving  of  the  sentinels  :  70 

Then  how  or  which  way  should  they  first  break  in  ? 
Puc.  Question,  my  lords,  no  further  of  the  case, 

How  or  which  way :  'tis  sure  they  found  some  place 

But  weakly  guarded,  where  the  breach  was  made. 

63.  your\  F  i ;  our  Ff  2,  3,  4. 

54.  impatient]  irritable.  63.  quarters  .  .  .  kept]   kept  proper 

58.  Improvident]   heedless,    unwary,  discipline    in   their    allotted   posts   or 

See  again  M«rry  lyji^^s,  II.  ii.  302.  New  charges.    Alencon  had  the  headquarters 

Eng.  Diet,  has  no  earlier  example  in  presumably.       Compare     Day,     Bli7id 

this  sense,  although  Barclay  (1514),  a  Beggar  (BuUen's  edition,  p.  87),  1600: 

Scotch   writer,  uses  the   word  earlier,  "Thus   have  you   heard  your   several 

meaning   "  unforeseeing."      All    these  charges.      Every  one  to  his  court  of 

atoms   of  evidence  of  authorship   are  guard  and  keep  fair  9?(ar<«r."     See  note 

fruitful.  at  Othello,  11.  iii.  185  (Arden  edition,  p. 

59. /a//f»]  come  to  pass.  io5).    An  early  use  of  "  quarter  "  in  the 

60.  default]  fault.  See  below,  iv.  military  sense  occurs  in  T.  Bowes' trans- 
iv.  28,  and  Comedy  of  Errors,  \.\\.  52.  lation  of  Primaudaye'sFr^vc/i  .(4ca(fe»j»f 
Throwing  the  blame  on  another  in  each  (ch.  Hi.),  15S6  :  "  Euery  one  betook  him 
case — "  your  default."  againe   to   his  quarter   and  reconciled 

61.  captain  of  the  watch]\.h&  officer  themselves  unto  their  generall." 
whose  duty  it  was  to  visit  the  various  68.  precinct]  not  used  elsewhere  by 
watches  and  courts  of  guard,  or  was  Shakespeare.  Marlowe  uses  it  of  a 
responsible  for  them.  "  The  court  of  territory  sway  in  Tamburlaine,  Part  1. 
gard  is  put  unto  the  sword.  And  all  the  (Dyce,  ed.  1859,  p.  10,  a)  :  "As  easily 
watch  that  thought  themselves  so  sure"  may  you  get  the  Soldan's  crown,  As 
(Orlando  Furioso,  lines  449,  450).  In  any  prizes  out  ot  my  precinct."  Place 
0</i«Z/o,  Cassio  is  lieutenant  of  the  watch  under  one's  control  or  rule.  "The 
when  the  bonfires  and  pottle-deep  pota-  pourprise  and  precinct"  (Holland's 
tions  of  carousings  are  going  on  at  the  Plinie,  xxviii.  2,  p.  295  (1601),  and 
castle  in  Cyprus,  and  there  (11.  i.  219)  as  elsewhere). 

here  the  terms  are  indiscriminately  used.         74.  Bm/]  only.     A  common  sense. 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


51 


And  now  there  rests  no  other  shift  but  this  ; 
To  gather  our  soldiers,  scatter'd  and  dispers'd, 
And  lay  new  platforms  to  endamage  them. 


75 


Alarum.     Enter  an  English  Soldier,  crying  "A    Talbot  I 
A    Talbot  V    They  fly,  leaving  their  clothes  behind. 

Sold.  I  '11  be  so  bold  to  take  what  they  have  left. 
The  cry  of  Talbot  serves  me  for  a  sword  ; 
For  I  have  loaden  me  with  many  spoils,  8o 

Using  no  other  weapon  but  his  name.  {Exit. 


SCENE  \l.~Orleans.      Within  the  Toivn. 

Enter  Talbot,  BEDFORD,  BURGUNDY,  a  Captain,  and  Others. 

Bed.  The  day  begins  to  break,  and  night  is  fled, 
Whose  pitchy  mantle  over-veil'd  the  earth. 

Scene  //.]  Capell,  omitted  Ff.  a  Captain,  and  Others']  Capell,  omitted  Ff. 


77.  platforms']  plans.  Not  met  with 
again  in  Siiakespeare.  It  occurs  twice 
in  Marlowe's  Dido,  Queen  of  Carthage, 
Act  v.,  in  the  sense  of  Cotgrave :  "  Plate- 
forme  :  f.  A  platforme,  plot,  modell " 
(ground-plan).  See  T.  Bowes'  transla- 
tion of  Primaudaye's  French  Academic, 
1586:  "Aristotle  in  his  platforme  of  a 
happy  commonwelth"  (ch.lxvi.).  Very 
frequent  in  R.  Greene's  writings. 

77.  endamage]  damage.  In  Two 
Gentlemen  of  Verona,  iii.  ii.  43.  Com- 
mon from  Chaucer  downward,  and  often 
spelt  indamage. 

78.  I  HI  be  so  bold  to]  "Bold"  in 
the  sense  of  forward,  free  with,  is  fre- 
quent in  Shakespeare. 

79.  The  cry  of  Talbot]  See  note,  i.  i. 
121,  and  I.  iv.  42,  45.  Compare  Spen- 
ser's Shepheards  Calendar  {jnnt), Glosse 
(1579):  "  No  otherwise  then  the  Frenche- 
men  used  to  say  of  that  valiant  captain, 
the  very  scourge  of  Fraunce,  the  Lorde 
Thalbote,  afterward  Erie  of  Shrewsbury, 
whose  noblesse  bred  such  a  terrour  in 
the  hearts  of  the  French,  that  oft  times 
even  great  armies  were  defaicted  and 
put  to  flyght  at  the  onely  hearing  of  hys 
name.  Insomuch  that  the  French 
women,  to  affray  their  chyldren  would 
tell  them  that  the  Talbot  commeth " 
(Globe  edition,  p.  465).  Noted  by 
Steevens,  who  also  quotes  from  Drayton 
(see  note  at  i.  iv.  42).  Greene  uses  this 
idea  in  George-a-Greene  (Grosart,  xiv. 
130,  11.  189-192)  :  — 


"  Hath  William  Musgrove  seene  an 
hundred  yeres  ? 
Have  I  beene  feared  and  dreaded 

of  the  Scottes, 
That  when  they  heard  my  name  in 

any  roade 
They  fled  away  and  posted  thence 
amaine  ? " 
In  Saturday  Review,  Oct.   5,   1907,  a 
translation  of  a  French  nursery  rhyme 
heard  recently  at  Rouen  is  given — sung 
as  a  lullaby  to   quiet   babes,  the   name 
being  Wellington.    See  below,  11.  iii.  16. 
So.  loaden]  Compare  Marlowe,  Tam- 
biirlainc,  Part  I.  i.  i. : — 

"  milk  white  steeds  of  mine. 
All  loaden  with  the  heads  of  killed 
men." 
And  in  Grafton's  Continuation  of  Har- 
dyjig,  1543  (p.  573):  "So  loden  with 
praies  and  spoiles."  Often  in  this  con- 
nection. 

Scene  ii. 
Scene  ii.     This  scene  of  erecting  a 
tomb   to   Salisbury  in  France,    is   not 
historical.     For  his   funeral,   see   note 
at  I.  iv.  2. 

2.  Whose  pitchy  mantle]  "  Night's 
mantle  "  occurs  in  Chaucer's  Merchant's 
Tale.     See  3  Henry  VI.  iv.  ii.  22. 

2.  pitchy]  Compare  Marlowe,  Doctor 
Faustns  (Dyce,  ed.  1859,  82,  b) : — 
"  The  gloomy  shadow  of  the  earth, 
Longing  to  view  Orion's  drizzling 
look, 


52 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act    II. 


Here  sound  retreat,  and  cease  our  hot  pursuit. 

[Retreat  sounded. 
Tal.  Bring  forth  the  body  of  old  SaHsbury, 

And  here  advance  it  in  the  market-place,  5 

The  middle  centre  of  this  cursed  town. 

Now  have  I  paid  my  vow  unto  his  soul  ; 

For  every  drop  of  blood  was  drawn  from  him 

There  hath  at  least  five  Frenchmen  died  to-niglit. 

And  that  hereafter  ages  may  behol  i  lO 

What  ruin  happen'd  in  revenge  of  him, 

Within  their  chiefest  temple  I  '11  erect 

A  tomb  wherein  his  corpse  shall  be  interr'd  : 

Upon  the  which,  that  every  one  may  read, 

Shall  be  engraved  the  sack  of  Orleans,  15 

The  treacherous  manner  of  his  mournful  death, 

And  what  a  terror  he  had  been  to  France. 

But,  lords,  in  all  our  bloody  massacre, 

I  muse  we  met  not  with  the  Dauphin's  grace, 

6.  centre\  Ff  3,  4;  cenlure  F  i; 


3.  [Retreat  sounded]  Capell ;  Retreat  Ff. 
center  F  2. 


Leaps  from  the  Antarctic  world  unto 
the  sky, 

And  dims  the  welkin  with  her  pitchy 
breath." 
These  lines  are  interesting,  since  they 
are  found  almost  word  for  word  in  the 
old  play  The  Taming  of  a  Shrew,  circa 
1594  (Six  Old  Plays,  p.  16,  Act  i.  sc.  i.). 
Shakespeare  has  "pitchy  day"  in  3 
Henry  VI.  v.  vi.  85.  and  ^'pitchy  night  " 
later  in  All's  Well,  iv.  iv.  24.  See 
Faerie  Queene,  i.  v.  20  for  this  passage. 

2.  ovcr-veil'd]  Shakespeare  was  very 
fond  of  the  prefix  "over,"  especially  in 
his  earlier  work.  "  O'er "  prevails  with 
him  later.  Greene  and  Spenser  led  him 
the  way  with  "over." 

3.  soiaid  retreat]  See  Part  II.  iv.  viii. 
4  and  note.  A  favourite  phrase  in  the 
historical  plays.  And  in  Marlowe,  Tam- 
burlaine,  Part  II.  i.  i. :  "And  they  will, 
trembling,  sound  a  quick  retreat." 

5.  advance]  raise  (Schmidt).  But 
perhaps  "  bring  forward."  In  connec- 
tion with  the  "dead  march"  in  the 
stage  direction  at  11.  i.  7,  it  seems  there 
is  some  sort  of  funeral  procession  in- 
tended here,  preliminary  to  the  erection 
of  the  tomb  (line  13). 

5.  market-place]  an  open  space  in  the 
middle  of  a  town ;  commonly  referred 
to  as  the  public  place  par  excellence. 
Thus  Greene  in  Euphues  His  Censure 
(Grosart,  vi.  280):    "calling  the  soul- 


diers  by  sounde  of  a  Trumpet  to  the 
market  place:  hee  discoursed  unto 
them." 

y.paid  my  vow  unto  his  soul]  Steevens 
quotes  from  the  old  play  of  King 
John  .— 

"  Thus  hath  King  Richard's  son  per- 
form'd  his  vow 
And    offered   Austria's    blood    for 

sacrifice 
Unto  his  father's  ever-living  soul." 
10.  hereafter]  used  adjectively  again 
in  Richard  III.  iv.  iv.  390:  ''hereafter 
time." 

18.  massacre]  A  new  word  at  this 
time,  and  found  only  in  Shakespeare, 
in  the  historical  plays  (1  Henry  IV.,  1 
Henry  VI.  and  Richard  III.)  and  Titus 
Andronicus.  Marlowe  has  both  verb 
(once)  and  substantive  (title).  Greene 
has  both  so  often  in  his  plays  that  the 
word  is  quite  characteristic  of  them. 
He  took  it  from  the  translation  of  Prim- 
audaye's  French  Academic  (1586),  the 
earlier  example  in  New  Eng.  Diet. 
Greene  uses  the  noun  in  The  Spanish 
Masquerado,  1589  (Grosart,  v.  2S2), 
and  in  Euphues  His  Censure  (vi.  254). 
But  Spenser  has  "And  Bangor  with 
massacred  martyrs  fill  "  {Faerie  Queene, 
III.  iii.  35)  and  "  huge  massacres "  (iii. 
xi.  29),  probably  earliest,  and  note  accent. 

19.  /  muse]  I  wonder — a  thoroughly 
Shakespearian  line ;  half-a-dozen  lines 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


53 


His  new-come  champion,  virtuous  Joan  of  Arc,  20 

Nor  any  of  his  false  confederates. 

Bed.  'Tis  thought,  Lord  Talbot,  when  the  fight  began, 
Rous'd  on  the  sudden  from  their  drowsy  beds. 
They  did  amongst  the  troops  of  armed  men 
Leap  o'er  the  walls  for  refuge  in  the  field.  25 

Bur.   Myself,  as  far  as  I  could  well  discern 

For  smoke  and  dusky  vapours  of  the  night. 

Am  sure  I  scar'd  the  Dauphin  and  his  trull, 

When  arm  in  arm  they  both  came  swiftly  running. 

Like  to  a  pair  of  loving  turtle-doves  30 

That  could  not  live  asunder  day  or  night. 

After  that  things  are  set  in  order  here, 

We  '11  follow  them  with  all  the  power  we  have. 

Enter  a  Messenger. 

Mess.  All  hail,  my  lords  !     Which  of  this  princely  train 

Call  ye  the  war-like  Talbot,  for  his  acts  35 

20.  Ayc'\  Rowe  ;  Acre  Ff.         27.  dusky\  dusty  Rowe. 


of  his  begin  so.  Compare  too  "  the 
Archbishop's  grace  of  York  "  (J  Henry  IV. 

III.  ii.  119). 

20.  ftew-come]  See  Merchant  of  Venice, 

IV.  i.  log,  and  Richard  II.  v.  ii.  47. 
Occurs  in  Golding's  Ovid,  and  twice  in 
Faerie  Quecne,  bk.  i. 

21.  confederates']2.s&ociztts,  generally 
of  an  evil  kind,  with  reference  to  the 
old  legal  use,  accomplice.  But  it  has 
not  always  the  ill  sense  in  Shakespeare. 
Sidney's  Arcadia,  '"his  old  friend  and 
cotifederate,  the  king  Basilius,"  affords 
an  example  of  the  best  use  (ally),  at  the 
beginning  of  bk.  v. 

23.  drotvsy'\  inclining  to  sleep,  as  in 
Spenser's  Faerie  Queene,  11.  iii.  i ; 
"  Sir  Guyon  .  .  .  Uprose  from  rfyows?> 
couch."  Compare  Othello,  in.  iii. 
332. 

24.  troops  of  armed  men'\  a  phrase 
from  The  Contention.  See  Part  II.  iii. 
i.  314  (note).  And  in  Kyd's  Cornelia, 
ii.  173. 

27.  dusky  vapours]  ^^  dusky  sky" 
occurs  in  2  Henry  VI.  in.  ii.  104. 
"Dusky"  is  a  rare  word  at  this  time. 
The  expression  in  the  text  occurs  in 
Greene's  Never  too  Late  (Grosart,  viii. 
68),  1590:  — 

"The    Welkin   had    no   racke    that 
seemed  to  glide, 
No     duskie     vapour     did     bright 
Phoebus  shroude." 


There  is  a  well-known  passage  in  Mar- 
lowe's Edward  the  Second  (Dyce,  208, 
b,  ed.  1859) : — 

"  Gallop  apace,  bright  Phcebus, 
through  the  sky  ; 
And  dusky  Night,  in  rusty  iron  car. 
Between  you  both  shorten  the 
time,  I  pray  "; 
which  Shakespeare  made  use  of  in 
Romeo  and  Juliet,  in.  ii.  i,  "  dusky 
night  "  being  "  cloudy  night  "  at  line  4. 
Marlowe  has  the  term  again  in  The 
Massacre  at  Paris.  And  Greene  again 
in  Euphues  His  Censure  (vi.  233)  ; 
"  The  gladsome  yares  of  Phoebus  had 
no  sooner  shaken  of,  by  the  consent  of 
blushing  Aurora,  the  dusky  and  dark- 
some Mantle  that  denied  Tellus  and 
Flora  the  benefits  of  Tytan  "  (1587). 
Golding  however  is  earliest,  with 
"Duskie  Plutoe's  emptie  Realme " 
(Ovid,  Metatnorplioses,  iv.  629),  and 
"duskie  nyght"  (ibid.  xv.  35,  1567). 
Spenser  prelers  duskish. 

28.  trull]  courtesan,  harlot.  Shake- 
speare gives  this  meaning  in  Burgundy's 
speech  at  iii.  ii.  45.  There  is  usually 
the  sense  of  lewdness.  Greene  has  the 
word  very  frequently. 

29,  30.  arm  in  arm  .  .  .  running,  Like 
.  .  .  turtle-doves]  Marlowe  puts  this 
more  poetically  in  Tamburlaine,  Part  I. 
V. :  "  What,  are  the  turtles  fray'd  out 
of  their  nests  ?  " 


54 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act    II. 


So  much  applauded  through  the  realm  of  France  ? 
Tal.  Here  is  the  Talbot :  who  would  speak  with  him  ? 
Mess.  The  virtuous  lady,  Countess  of  Auvergne, 

With  modesty  admiring  by  renown, 

By  me  entreats,  great  lord,  thou  would'st  vouchsafe         40 

To  visit  her  poor  castle  where  she  lies, 

That  she  may  boast  she  hath  beheld  the  man 

Whose  glory  fills  the  world  with  loud  report. 
Bur.   Is  it  even  so  ?     Nay,  then,  I  see  our  wars 

Will  turn  into  a  peaceful  comic  sport,  45 

When  ladies  crave  to  be  encounter'd  with. 

You  may  not,  my  lord,  despise  her  gentle  suit. 
Tal.  Ne'er  trust  me  then  ;  for  when  a  world  of  men 

Could  not  prevail  with  all  their  oratory, 

Yet  hath  a  woman's  kindness  over-ruled.  50 

And  therefore  tell  her,  I  return  great  thanks, 

And  in  submission  will  attend  on  her. 

Will  not  your  honours  bear  me  company  ? 
Bed.   No,  truly,  it  is  more  than  manners  will ; 

And  I  have  heard  it  said,  unbidden  guests  55 

54.  it  w]  Steevens  ;  Vis  Ff. 


36.  realm  of  France]  This  expression 
occurs  some  ten  times  in  the  three  plays, 
Henry  V.,  and  First  and  Second  Henry 
VI.  A  quotation  in  Nezv  Eng.  Diet. 
from  Lidgate  gives  the  phrase,  but  it  is 
side  by  side  with  "  reahn  of  England." 
However,  I  find  it  in  Piers  the  Plowman, 
ed.  Skeat,  vol.  i.  p.  17,  line  192  {ante 
1377)  '■  "  '^or  al  the  realmc  of  Fraunce." 
And  in  Grafton,  i.  576,  1569.  Grafton 
reports  that  Edward  the  Third  "  Sayde 
that  in  hys  opinion  there  was  no  Realme 
to  be  compared  to  the  Realmc  of 
Frauncc"  (i.  335). 

41.   lies]  dwells. 

43.  fills  the  world  with]  See  below, 
V.  iv.  35,  and  Part  III.  v.  v.  44. 

45.  comic]  ludicrous,  raising  mirth. 
See  3  Henry  VI.  v.  vii.  43:  "stately 
triumphs,  mirthfull  comic  shows."  New 
Eng.  Diet,  overlooks  these  two  pas- 
sages. Compare  Greene,  Orlando 
Furioso  (Grosart,  xiii.  43) :  "  We  must 
lay  plots  of  stately  tragedies,  Strange 
comick  showes." 

48.  a  world  of  men]  an  immense 
number.  A  favourite  expression  in 
Shakespeare,  occurring  throughout. 
It  occurs  in  Greene's  Alphonsiis,  King 
of  Arragon  (Grosart,  xiii.  349):  — 
"  Such  terror  have  their  strong  and 
sturdie  blowes 


Strooke  to  their  hearts,  as  for  a 
world  of  gold, 

I  warrant  you,  they  will  not  come 
againe." 
Ben  Jonson  and  all  later  poets  adopt  it, 
Jonson  varies  it  in  one  of  his  Masques, 
1608  (Cunningham's  Gifford,  iii.  37,  a): 
"  girdles,  gyrlonds,  and  worlds  of  such 
like "  (heaps).  See  too  Marlowe's 
Tamburlaine,  Part  II.  i.  i ;  "  He  brings 
a  world  0/ people  to  the  field." 

49.  oratory]  eloquence.  Compare 
Lucrcce,  564,  and  Titus  Androtiicus, 
V.  iii.  90.  These  are  the  earliest  illus- 
trations in  New  Eng.  Diet,  of  this 
sense  of  persuasiveness. 

50.  over-ruled]  prevailed  in  opinion. 
The  earliest  instance  of  this  meaning 
in  New  Eng.  Diet.  See  note  at  over- 
veil'd,  II.  ii.  2.  See  Venus  and  Adonis, 
109. 

54.  waKM^-^-s]"  good  manners."  Com- 
pare Greene,  Cardc  of  Fancie  (Grosart, 
iv.  21),  1584-1587:  "so  shall  all  men 
have  cause  to  prayse  thee  for  thy 
manners  and  commend  thee  for  thy 
modestie."  New  Eng.  Diet,  has  an 
example  from  Lyly's  Euphues,  which  is 
hardly  parallel. 

55.  unbidden  guests]  were  evidently 
a  current  nuisance.  Chapman  has  "  I 
see  unbidden  guests  are  boldest  still  " 


sc.  Ill]       KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  55 

Are  often  welcomest  when  they  are  gone. 
Ta/.  Well  then,  alone,  since  there's  no  remedy, 

I  mean  to  prove  this  lady's  courtesy. 

Come  hither,  captain.    You  perceive  my  mind.     [  Whispers. 
Cap.  I  do,  my  lord,  and  mean  accordingly.  [Exeunt.     60 

SCENE  III. — Auvergne.     Court  of  the  Castle. 
Enter  the  CoUNTESS  afid  her  Porter. 
Count.  Porter,  remember  what  I  gave  in  charge ; 

And  when  you  have  done  so,  bring  the  keys  to  me. 
Port.  Madam,  I  will.  [Exit. 

Count.  The  plot  is  laid :  if  all  things  fall  out  right, 

I  shall  as  famous  be  by  this  exploit  5 

As  Scythian  Tomyris  by  Cyrus'  death. 

Great  is  the  rumour  of  this  dreadful  knight. 

And  his  achievements  of  no  less  account : 

Fain  would  mine  eyes  be  witness  with  mine  ears, 

To  give  their  censure  of  these  rare  reports.  10 

Enter  Messenger  and  Talbot. 
Mess.  Madam,  according  as  your  ladyship  desir'd, 
By  message  crav'd,  so  is  Lord  Talbot  come. 

II.  Madam,  .  .  .  desiy'd]  as  in  Ff ;  two  lines,  Steevens  (1793),  Cambridge. 

{Ovid's  Banquet  of  Sense  (Minor  Poems,  together"   {2  Henry    VI.   iv.    viii.  60). 

ed.  1875,  p.  34),  1595).     They  led  to  a  Without  "mind"  perceive  is  similarly 

proverb  :  "  An  unbidden  guest  knoweth  used  on  p.  511. 

not  where  to  sit,    or   he  should  bring 

his    stool    along."      See     Heywood's  Scene  ill. 

Proverbs   (Sharman   ed.,  p.  35),  1546.  Scene  in.     There  is  no  known  au- 

The   saying   occurs   in   Camden's  Re-  thority    for  this   picturesque   scene  in 

mains    (1614) ;    in    Day's  Law   Tricks,  history.     But,  like  the  last,  it  bears  evi- 

Act  ii.  (1608) ;  in    Rowley's  Match  at  dence  of  Shakespeare's  hand  through- 

Midnight,  and  in  Massinger's  Unnatural  out. 

Combat,  iii.  iii.  6.    Tomyris]      Ben     JonsOn      gives 

57.  there's  no  remedy^ihtxe'^no-wTLj  "Victorious     Thomyris    of    Scythia" 

out  of  it.    Occurs  in  Cha.uceT'sKny ghtes  third  place  in  his   Masque  oj   Queens, 

Tale.      See   Merry  Wives,    11.    ii.    128  1609.      He  tells  that  "  She  is  remem- 

(Arden  ed.,  note).      Compare  Greene,  bered  both  by    Herodotus  and  Justin, 

Alphonsus   (xiii.  377):    "And  is  there,  [with  references,   'in  Clio'  and  '  Epit. 

then,  no  remedie  for  it  ?  "    And  Spanish  lib.   i ']  to  the  great  renown  and  glory 

Tragedy  (see  Introduction).  of    her    kind."      Spenser   selects   her, 

59.  perceive    my    mind]   understand  with     Semiramis     and    Hypsiphil,    in 

me,  grasp  my  meaning.     An  obsolete  Faerie  Queene,  11.  x.  56. 

case  occurring  again  in  2  Henry    VI.  10.  give    their    censure]    pronounce 

III.  i.  374  and  3  Henry   VI.  iii.  ii.  66.  their  judgment,  or  opinion.     The  same 

Compare    Grafton's     Continuation    of  expression  occurs  in   2  Henry    VI.    i. 

Hardyng,  p.   526 :   "  came  to  the  duke  iii.   120  and  Richard   III.    11.    ii.    144, 

in    to    Wales,    and    the  dukes   mynde  It  is  a  favourite  one  with  Greene :    "  it 

throughlye  perceaued  and  knowen,  with  is  hard  for  him  to  give  a  censure  of 

greate  spede  retourned."     This  is  part  painting    that    hath     but    lookt    into 

of  Grafton  not  from  Sir  Thomas  More  Appeles  shoppe  "  (Tritameron  of  Love 

— like  the  quotation  at  "  lay  their  heads  (Grosart,  iii.  78),  1584). 


56 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  II. 


Count.  And  he  is  welcome.     What !  is  this  the  man  ? 

Jl/i-ss.  Madam,  it  is. 

Count.  Is  this  the  scourge  of  France  ? 

Is  this  the  Talbot,  so  much  fear'd  abroad  15 

That  with  his  name  the  mothers  still  their  babes  ? 

I  see  report  is  fabulous  and  false : 

I  thought  I  should  have  seen  some  Hercules, 

A  second  Hector,  for  his  grim  aspect. 

And  large  proportion  of  his  strong-knit  limbs.  20 

Alas!  this  is  a  child,  a  silly  dwarf: 

It  cannot  be  this  weak  and  writhled  shrimp 

Should  strike  such  terror  to  his  enemies. 
Tal.  Madam,  I  have  been  bold  to  trouble  you  ; 

But  since  your  ladyship  is  not  at  leisure,  25 

I  '11  sort  some  other  time  to  visit  you. 


14.  scourge  of  France]  See  extract 
from  Spenser,  11.  ii.  79  note. 

16.  That  with  his  name]  See  note, 
I.  iv.  42,  43.  See  also  iv.  ii.  16.  See 
above,  11.  i.  79,  note  at  "  The  cry  of 
Talbot." 

18,  19.  Hercules,  A  second  Hector,  for 
his  grim  aspect]  Both  Hercules  and 
Hector  were  favourite  heroes  with 
Shakespeare,  and  are  very  often  men- 
tioned in  affectionate  and  commenda- 
tory language.  Hector  in  particular 
was  dear  to  his  heart,  apart  from  the 
Troilus  and  Cressida  representation. 
"  Grim  aspect"  has  not  here  the  sense 
it  now  would  have,  of  ugly,  forbidding. 
Rather  it  means  awe-inspiring,  inflexibly 
stern,  determined  looking  as  befits  a 
warrior.  Shakespeare  is  very  fond  of 
the  word,  with  varied  shades  of  mean- 
ing. "Grim,  sir"  was  a  common  ex- 
pression in  the  ten  years  before  and 
after  this  play,  and  it  meant  very  little 
more  than  dignified,  grave,  austere. 
Marston  has :  "  outstare  the  terror  of  thy 
grim  aspect  "  in  Antonios  Revenge,  iii.  v. 
(1602).  "Second"  in  the  sense  in  this 
line  occurs  again  in  Merchant  of  Venice 
{"  A  second  Daniel  ")  and  in  Taming  of 
Shrew  ("  a.  second  Grissel").  Greene 
has  a  passage  about  Hector  in  Euphues 
His  Censure  to  Philautus  (Grosart,  vi. 
234) :  "  Next  to  these,  Hector,  whose 
countenance  threatned  warres,  and  in 
whose  face  appeared  a  map  of  martiall 
exploits."  Greene  uses  "  second "  in 
the  above  sense  :  "  she  should  send  us 
a  second  AAonvs  to  delude  our  senses" 
(Menaphon  (Grosart,  vi.  96),  1589).  See 
Alcides  (note),  iv.   vii.  60.     Hall,   the 


Chronicler  (1548),  at  the  beginning  ot 
"The XXXI  Yere,"  calls  Talbot  " Thys 
Englishe  Hector  and  marcial  flower." 
20.  strong-knit]  Compare  "  well-knit " 
in  Love's  Labour's  Lost,  i.  ii.  77.  No 
early  examples  of  "  knit  "  in  compound, 
excepting  these  two,  are  known  to  me. 
"Well-A-«f/  Achilles"  is  used  (by  Kyd) 
in  Soliman  and  Perseda,  v.  iii.  72. 

22.  li'rithlcd  shrimp]  For  "  shrimp,' 
see  Love's  Labour's  Lost,  v.  ii.  582,  and 
note,  Arden  edition,  p.  163.  "Writhled  " 
occurs  in  Marston's  Scour ge  of  Villainy 
(Bullen,  iii.  326):  "Cold,  writhled  eld, 
his  life-sweat  almost  spent."  It  seems 
to  be  a  strengthened  form  of  "  writhen  " 
(twisted)  w^ith  the  idea  of  wrinkled 
thrown  in.  Nashe  has  "  riueld  [rivelled] 
barke,  or  outward  rynde  of  a  tree " 
{Terrors  of  Night  (Grosart,  iii.  237), 
1594);  and  on  the  same  page:  "the 
palme  of  his  hand  is  wrythen  and 
pleyted."  He  also  has  "wrinkled- 
faced  "  and  "  writhen-faced."  Steevens 
gives  the  word  from  Spenser:  "Her 
writhled  skin,  as  rough  as  maple  rind." 
Craig  quotes  from  Gascoigne,  Poesies 
(1575) :  "  My  writhled  cheekes  betray 
that  pride  of  heat  is  past  "  [Poesies,  ed. 
Cunliffe,  p.  43).  In  Spenser  the  word 
is  "  wrizled." 

23.  strike  such  terror]  See  quotation 
from  fack  Straw,  below,  in.  iv.  10-12. 
And  Richard  IIL  v.  iii.  217.  See  also 
Locrinc,  v.  i,  quoted  at  "pillars  of  the 
state,"  Part  II.  i.  i.  75. 

26.  sort  some  other  time]  choose  some 
other  time  fittingly.  Compare  Two 
Gentlemen  of  Verona,  iii.  ii.  92,  and 
Romeo  and  jfuliet,  iv.  ii.  34. 


sc  III]       KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  57 

Count.  What  means  he  now  ?     Go  ask  him  whither  he  goes. 
Mess.  Stay,  my  Lord  Talbot ;  for  my  lady  craves 

To  know  the  cause  of  your  abrupt  departure, 
Tal.  Marry,  for  that  she 's  in  a  wrong  belief,  30 

I  go  to  certify  her  Talbot 's  here. 

Re-enter  Porter  with  keys. 

Count.  If  thou  be  he,  then  art  thou  prisoner. 

Tal.  Prisoner  !  to  whom  ? 

Count.  To  me,  blood-thirsty  lord  ; 

And  for  that  cause  I  train'd  thee  to  my  house. 

Long  time  thy  shadow  hath  been  thrall  to  me,  35 

For  in  my  gallery  thy  picture  hangs  : 

But  now  the  substance  shall  endure  the  like, 

And  I  will  chain  these  legs  and  arms  of  thine, 

That  hast  by  tyranny  these  many  years 

Wasted  our  country,  slain  our  citizens,  40 

And  sent  our  sons  and  husbands  captivate. 
Tal.  Ha,  ha,  ha  ! 

Count.  Laughest  thou,  wretch  ?  thy  mirth  shall  turn  to  moan. 
Tal.  I  laugh  to  see  your  ladyship  so  fond 

To  think  that  you  have  aught  but  Talbot's  shadow  45 

Whereon  to  practise  your  severity. 
Count.  Why,  art  not  thou  the  man  ? 
Tal.  I  am,  indeed. 

29.  abrtipt]  Only  here  in  Shakespeare,  tation,  according  to  the  received  custom 

and  the  earliest  example  in  New  Eng.  in  witchcraft  of  the  time  ?    See  11.  45,  46. 
Diet.,  meaning  sudden.     Earlier  in  the         37.  substance]  Playing  on  the  "  sha- 

literal  sense  in  Stubbes,  1588.  dow"  of  the  preceding  line.     The  words 

31.  to  certify  her]  Talbot  knows  she  constantly  introduce  one  another.     See 

intends  to  detain  him  prisoner,  and  his  note,  Merry  Wives,  11.  ii.  216. 
words  have  the  double  meaning,  he  will         38.  arms  of  thine]  See  note  at  "  arms 

inform  her  certainly  he  is  Talbot,  by  of  mine,'  Part  II.   i.  i.   118.     And  see 

going  when  he  chooses.  below,  iv.  vi.  22,  "  blood  I  spill  of  thine," 

34.  train'd]  allured,  enticed  (by  a  followed  by  "  that  pure  blood  of  mine." 
cheat).  The  senses  of  this  verb  need  See  also  Lucrece,  515,  1632;  and 
the  New  Eng.  Diet's,  elucidation.  Richard  III.  iv.  iv.  33 r,  and  Titus 
Greene  uses  it  of  baiting  (a  hook),  and  Andronicus,  i.  i.  306.  Peele  has  it: 
of  tracking  (game).  See  Life  and  Death  "  David  the  King  shall  wear  that  crown 
of  Ned  Browne  (xi.  29):  "Have  I  of  thine."  Golding  has "  those  carelesse 
knowne  sundry  yoong  Gentlemen  of  limbes  of  thyne  "  {Ovid,  ix.  287,  1567) ; 
England  trayned  foorth  to  their  own  he  has  also  "heart  of  hirs"  (vi.  794). 
destruction."    ^e.&  Comedy  of  Errors. in.  ^ee  King  Lear,  i.  i.  267. 

ii.  45.     In  the  sense  of  "artifice,"  train  41.  caf>tivatc]ca.^i.\ve.   Anunfrequent 

is  found  in  Ben  Jonson,  Fox,  in.  vi.,  and  word,  occurring  again  in  this  play,  v. 

Eastward  Ho, v.\.  iii.    107.     Greene   uses  it;  as  "except 

35.  shadow  hath  been  thrall  to  me]  liberality,  as  a  linck  to  knit  these  two  m 
"  Shadow"  here  means  image  or  portrait  their  forces,  presents  the  mindes  of  the 
(a  common  sense  in  Shakespeare),  and  souldiers  captivate  by  their  Captaines 
"thrall"  is  slave.  Does  she  not  mean  she  bounty"  (Euphues  to  Philautus  (vi.  283), 
has  been  torturing  his  waxen  represen-  1587).     And  elsewhere. 


58  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  n. 

Count.  Then  have  I  substance  too. 

Tal.  No.  no,  I  am  but  shadow  of  myself: 

You  are  deceiv'd,  my  substance  is  not  here  ;  50 

For  what  you  see  is  but  the  smallest  part 

And  least  proportion  of  humanity. 

I  tell  you,  madam,  were  the  whole  frame  here, 

It  is  of  such  a  spacious  lofty  pitch, 

Your  roof  were  not  sufficient  to  contain  it.  55 

Count.  This  is  a  riddling  merchant  for  the  nonce  ; 

He  will  be  here,  and  yet  he  is  not  here  : 

How  can  these  contrarieties  agree  ? 
Tal.  That  will  I  show  you  presently. 

Winds  his  horn.     Drums  strike  up  ;  a  peal  of  ordnance. 
Enter  Soldiers. 

How  say  you,  madam  ?  are  you  now  persuaded  60 

That  Talbot  is  but  shadow  of  himself? 
These  are  his  substance,  sinews,  arms,  and  strength, 
With  which  he  yoketh  your  rebellious  necks, 
Razeth  your  cities,  and  subverts  your  towns, 
And  in  a  moment  makes  them  desolate.  65 

Count.  Victorious  Talbot,  pardon  my  abuse : 

59.   Winds  his  horn  .  .  .]  Ff;   Winds.  .  .  .  The  gates  are  forced ;  and  enter 
certain  of  his  troops.  Capell. 

52.  humanity]  mankind.     Earlier  in  Peter   Wakefielde,    a  Yorkeshire  man, 

Lyly's  Euphues.  who  was  an    Hermite,  an  idle  gadder 

54.  /"JicA] elevation.    Marlowe,  13  (a),  about,  and   a   pratlyng    merchant''   (i. 

Greene,  iv.  103.  239,  1569). 

56.  riddling]  The  reference  is  to  the  56.  for  the  nonce]  as  occasion  requires, 

old  saying,  "  riddle  me,  riddle  me  right,"  See  again  Hamlet,  iv.  vii.  161,  and  1 

accompanying  divinations,  as  in  sifting  Henry  IV.  i.  ii.  201.     Used  frequently 

embers,  le'tting  fall  a  staff,  cup-tossing  by  Chaucer,  and  common  afterwards, 

or- handy-dandy.       See  example  from  58.  coK^mriehVs] contradictions.    See 

Nashe  in  next  note.     And   Peele,  Old  again  Coriolanus,  iv.  vi.  73. 

Wives   Tale  (Dyce,  449,   a) :    "  Riddle  62.  sinews  .   .   .  strength]    Compare 

me    a     riddle,   what's     this?"       And  Marlowe,     Tamburlaine,    Part    II.    i. 

especially  apt  is  (Peele's)  Jack  Stra7v  i.  : — 

(Hazlitt's  Dodsley,v.  402) :  "  Riddle  me  "  Stout  lanciers  of  Germany, 

a  riddle,  what 's  this,  I  shall  be  hanged.  The  strength  and  sinews  of  the  im- 

1  shall  not  be  hanged.      [Here  he  tries  perial  seat." 

it  with  a  staff.]  "  64.  subverts]    destroys,    overthrows. 

56.  riddling   merchant]   fellow    who  Compare  Spenser,  Faerie  Queene,  in.  xii. 

speaks  in  riddles.     For  "merchant"  as  42: — 

a  contemptuous  appellation,  see  Romeo  "  Those  goodly  rowmes,  which  erst 

and  Juliet,  11.  iv.   153.     It  was  in  fre-  She  saw  so  rich  and  royally  arayd 

quentuse.    Nashe  has  the  verb  to  riddle  :  Now   vanisht    utterly  and   cleane 

"  riddle  me,  riddle  me,  what  was  he  that  subverst." 

told  a  very  friend  of  his  he  would  owe  "  Subversion"  occurs  in  2  Henry   VI. 

never  a  pennie  in  England"  (Pasquils  iii.  i.  20S.     Neither  is  again  in  Shakes- 

Apologie  (Grosart,  i.  219),  1590).     Graf-  peare.       See   extract    from    Hall  in   3 

ton  has  a  good  instance  of  merchant:  Henry   VI.  11.  i.  iii. 
"  a  false  and  counterfeated  prophet  called 


sc.  IV.]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  59 

I  find  thou  art  no  less  than  fame  hath  bruited, 

And  more  than  may  be  gather'd  by  thy  shape. 

Let  my  presumption  not  provoke  thy  wrath  ; 

For  I  am  sorry  that  with  reverence  70 

I  did  not  entertain  thee  as  thou  art. 
Till.  Be  not  dismayed,  fair  lady  ;  nor  misconster 

The  mind  of  Talbot  as  you  did  mistake 

The  outward  composition  of  his  body. 

What  you  have  done  hath  not  offended  me ;  75 

No  other  satisfaction  do  I  crave, 

But  only,  with  your  patience,  that  we  may 

Taste  of  your  wine  and  see  what  cates  you  have  ; 

For  soldiers'  stomachs  always  serve  them  well. 
Count.  With  all  my  heart,  and  think  me  honoured  80 

To  feast  so  great  a  warrior  in  my  house.  \Excunt. 

SCENE  Wf.— London.     The  Temple  Garden. 

Enter  the  Earls  of  Somerset,  Suffolk,  and  Warwick  ; 
Richard  Plantagenet,  Vernon,  and  a  Lawyer. 

Plan.  Great  lords  and  gentlemen,  what  means  this  silence  ? 
Dare  no  man  answer  in  a  case  of  truth  ? 

72.  misconster'\  Ff ;    misconstrue  Rowe,  Cambridge.  77.  your]  F    i ;   our 

Ff  2,  3,.4- 

SCEA'E  IV. 

Scene  /k.]  omitted  Ff.  Enter  .  .  .]  Capell  ;  Enter  Richard  Plantagenet, 

Warwick,  Somerset,  Poole,  and  others  F  i.  i.  Plan.]  Rowe  ;  Yorke  Ft  (and 

throughout  the  Scene). 

67.  bruited]  reported.      See  again  2  78.  cates]    dainties,    delicates.      Fre- 

Henry  /F.  i.  i.  114.     A  very  common  quent    in    Shakespeare  and  always   in 

word  with  Greene.  the    plural.      A    favourite    word    with 

72.  misconster]  misconstrue.     A  dis-  Greene  also.     In  Neiv  Eng.  Diet,  the 

tinct  form,  not  often  kept  so  by  editors,  earliest    example    in    the    singular    is 

\n  Richard  III.  III.  v.  61,  "Misconster  from  Heywood's  Lancashire   Witches, 

us  in   him  and  wayle  his  death,"  de-  1634. 

mands  the  accent  on  the  second  syl-  79.    stomachs]    appetites.        In     the 

lable,  as   the   passage   before   us  does,  limited  use  here  (hunger  for  food),  com- 

It  is  not  so  easily  placed  there  in  mis-  pare    Peele,    Old    Wives    Tale :    "  Eu- 

construe.      The    same   holds   good    in  menides  walks  up  and  down  and  will 

Merchant  of  Venice,  11.  ii.  197  ;  and  ^5  eat   no    meat.  .   .  .   Emn.    Hostess,    I 

You  Like  It,  I.  ii.  277.    But  in  1  Henry  thank  you,  I  have  no  great  stomach.'" 

IV.   and  Julius   CcEsar  the    folio   has  And  in  Locrinc,  u.  ii.,  when  Strumbo 

"misconstrued."       The    spelling    was  challenges  a  soldier  to  fight,  he  says: 

undergoing  the  change  at  the  date  of  "come,    sir,   will   your    stomach   serve 

the  folio.     But  since  the  accent  is  never  3'ou  ?  " 
on  the  last  syllable  in  Shakespeare,  the 

earlier    form    is     best.       Greene     has  Scene  iv. 
"  misconster "   invariably   in   his  verse 

— not  so  in  his  prose.      See  quotation  Scene  iv.]  There  is  no  authority  in 

from   Jack   Straw    (Peele?)    at  "mis-  history  for  this   scene   and  its   sequel 

conceived"  (v.  iv.  49).  (in.  iv.  28-45;  iv.  i.  78-161). 


(50 


rilE  FIKSr  PAUr  OF 


[act  II. 


Suf.  Within  the  Temple  hall  we  were  too  loud ; 

The  garden  here  is  more  convenient. 
Plan.  Then  say  at  once  if  I  maintain'd  the  truth, 

Or  else  was  wrangling  Somerset  in  the  error  ? 
Suf.  Faith,  I  have  been  a  truant  in  the  law, 

And  never  yet  could  frame  my  will  to  it ; 

And  therefore  frame  the  law  unto  my  will. 
Som.  Judge  you,  my  Lord  of  Warwick,  then,  between  us. 
]Var.  Between  two  hawks,  which  flics  the  higher  pitch; 

Between  two  dogs,  which  hath  the  deeper  mouth  ; 

Between  two  blades,  which  bears  the  better  temper ; 

Between  two  horses,  which  doth  bear  him  best ; 

]3etwecn  two  girls,  which  hath  the  merriest  eye ; 

I  have  perhaps  some  shallow  spirit  of  judgment; 

But  in  these  nice  sharp  quillets  of  the  law, 

Good  faith,  I  am  no  wiser  than  a  daw. 
Plan.  Tut,  tut!  here  is  a  mannerly  forbearance  : 

The  truth  appears  so  naked  on  my  side 

That  any  purblind  eye  may  find  it  out. 


15 


20 


7.  truant]  idler.  doubtfull  quillets,  and  their  causes:  but 

[.  pitch]  a  hawk's  utmost  height  of    to  set  downe  and  shew  the  nature  of 


flight.      Compare  King  Edward   III. 
II.  i.  87:— 

"  Fly  it  a  pitch   above  the  soar  of 
praise, 
For  flattery   fear   not   thou  to  be 
convicted  " 
(1595).     And  Brewer's  Lingua,  v.  xvi. 
{1607) :- 

"  And  by  the  lofty  towering  of  their 
minds 
F"ledged   with    the    feathers    of   a 

learned  muse 
They   raise    themselves    unto    the 
highest />?/c/i." 
And  Ben  Jonson,  Nciv  Inn,  i.  i.  : — 
"Thou 
Ccmmendst  him  fitly. 
Fer.  To  the  pitch  he  flies,  sir." 
And  see  '^  Henry  VI.  11.  i.  6,  12. 

12.  deeper  mouth]  Compare  Taming 
of  the  Shrew,  Induction,  i.  18. 

14.   bear  htm  best]  carry  himself  best. 

16.  shallow    .   .    .  judgment]  See   3 
Henry  VI.  iv.  i.  62. 

17.  quillets]  subtleties,  fine  distinc- 
tions. See  note  to  Love's  Labour's  Lost, 
IV.  iii.  285  (Arden  ed.,  p.  102 
again  in  2  Henry  VI.  in.  i.  261,  and 
though  rare  outside  Shakespeare,  the 
word  is  in  six  different  plays,  the 
earliest  example  known  being  in  Love's 
Labour's  Lost.  "  As  for  me,  my  purpose 
is  not  to  judge  and  determine  of  these 


uch  things  as  be  cleare  and  apparent ' 
(Holland's  Plinie,  bk.  xi.  ch.  iii.,  1601). 

18.  no  wiser  than  a  daw]  Compare 
The  Trial  of  Treasure  (Hazlitt's  Dods- 
ley,  iii.  273),  1567  :  "  Well  said,  Greedy- 
gut,  as  wise  as  a  daw."  And  Golding's 
Ovid,  vi.  47-49  : — 

"  I  am  not  such  a  Dawe, 
But  that  without  thy  teaching   I 

can  well  ynough  advise 
My  selfe  " 
(1565-67).      Compare   "worse   than   a 
daw "   in   a   note   from   yack   Straw, 
Part  II.  IV.  vii.  i. 

19.  Tut,  tut  I]  Occurs  again,  doubled 
as  here,  in  1  Henry  IV.,  Richard  II. 
and  Richard  III.  A  characteristic 
ejaculation  with  Shakespeare.  Com- 
pare Three  Ladies  0/ London  (Hazlitt's 
Uodsley,  vi.  314),  1584:  "Marry,  for 
Conscience,  tut,  I  care  not  two  straws." 

21.  purblind]  short-sighted.  Com- 
pare Gabriel  Harvey,  Pierces  Superero- 
gation (Grosart,  ii.  120) :  "  the  conceit 
of  an  adversarie,  so  weather-beaten  and 
tired  :  the  learning  of  a  schollar,  so 
Occurs  poreblmd  and  lame "  (1592).  Lord 
Timothie  Kendall,  Flowers  of  Epi- 
grams:  "Against  Zvilus.  Black  head, 
red  beard,  short  feete  thou  hast  and 
poreblinde  eke  thou  art"  (Spenser 
Society  reprint,  p.  59),  1577.  See  again 
Venus  and  Adonis,  679.     Elsewhere  in 


sc  IV.]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


61 


Som.  And  on  my  side  it  is  so  well  apparell'd, 

So  clear,  so  shining,  and  so  evident, 

That  it  will  glimmer  through  a  blind  man's  eye. 
Plan.  Since  you  are  tongue-tied  and  so  loath  to  speak,  25 

In  dumb  significants  proclaim  your  thoughts : 

Let  him  that  is  a  true-born  gentleman 

And  stands  upon  the  honour  of  his  birth, 

If  he  suppose  that  I  have  pleaded  truth, 

From  off  this  brier  pluck  a  white  rose  with  me.  30 

Som.  Let  him  that  is  no  coward  nor  no  flatterer, 

But  dare  maintain  the  party  of  the. truth. 

Pluck  a  red  rose  from  off  this  thorn  with  me. 
Wai'-.   I  love  no  colours,  and  without  all  colour 

Of  base  insinuating  flattery  35 

I  pluck  this  white  rose  with  Plantagenet. 
Suf.  I  pluck  this  red  rose  with  young  Somerset, 

And  say  withal  I  think  he  held  the  right. 

26.  significants']  significance  Pope. 


Shakespeare,  as  in  Love's  Labour's 
Lost,  III.  i.  181,  it  means  blind,  which 
(see  Skeat)  is  the  primary  sense,  mean- 
ing pure-bHnd ;  later  confused  with 
"  pore,"  as  if  poring. 

22.  apparell'd]  decked  out,  adorned. 
A  common  figurative  use.  See  Comedy 
of  Errors,  iii.  ii.  12. 

25.  tongue-tied]  A  favourite  expres- 
sion, occurring  a  dozen  times  in  Shake- 
speare. It  occurs  again  in  3  Henry  VL 
and  in  Richard  IIL  I  have  notes  of 
it  in  Palsgrave,  1530  ;  in  Nashe's  Have 
with  you  to  Saffron  Walden  (Grosart, 
iii.  47),  1596 ;  and  twice  in  Lyly's 
Woman  in  the  Moone  {circa  1580),  Fair- 
holt's  edition,  pp.  158,  161. 

26.  sigmficants]  signs,  symbols.  In 
dumb  show.  Compare  Peele,  "  Louely 
London"  Pageant,  15S5  :  "And  offer 
.  .  .  this  emblem  thus  in  show  signifi- 
cant." See  the  use  of  the  word  in 
Love's  Labour's  Lost,  ni.  i.  131.  The 
word  here  may  be  equated  with  signifi- 
cance. There  was  a  strange  confusion 
in  certain  words,  owing  to  identity  of 
sound,  which  is  to  be  noticed.  See  my 
note  to  assistants  in  Love's  Labour's 
Lost,  V.  i.  113  (Arden  ed.,  p.  120), 
where  I  give  a  quotation  from  Nashe 
(Grosart,  iv.  256)  for  the  word  '•  observ- 
ants" =  observance.  "  Occurrents  " 
meaning  "  occurrence  "  is  not  uncom- 
mon. "Exigents"  for  "exigence"  is 
another  case  in  point  of  this  indiscrim- 
inate usage.     Pope  read  significance. 


27.  true-born  gentleman]  "  true-born 
Englishman  "  is  in  Richard  IL  i.  iii. 
309.  "  True-born  sovereign  occurs 
twice  in  Act  iii.  scene  iii.  of  King 
Edicard  the  Third,  a  play  which  bears 
evident  marks  of  Shakespeare's  hand. 
See  note  at  "  base-born,"  Part  II.  i.  iii. 
86,   and  at  "  mean-born,"  Part  II.  iii. 

'.  335- 

28.  stands  upon  the  honour  of  his 
birth]  insists  on  it,  prides  himself  on  it. 
See  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,  11.  ii.  21 
(Arden  ed.,  p.  83),  where  I  have  quoted 
the  expression  from  Nashe's  Pierce 
Penilesse  (Grosart,  ii.  15),  1592.  It 
occurs  earlier  in  Harvey  (nearly) : 
"  Standinge  altogether  uppon  termes 
of  honour  and  exquisite  forms  of 
speaches "  {Letters  (Grosart,  i.  122), 
1573-81).  "  Stand  upon  points  "  and 
"stand  upon  terms"  both  occur  in 
Greene's  plays. 

32.  maintain  .  .  .  ^f-^^A]  support  the 
true  party. 

34.  I  love  no  colours]  I  love  no  tricks, 
or  deceits,  quibbling  on  the  colours  of 
the  roses.  See  Love's  Labour's  Lost, 
IV.  ii.  156 :  "I  do  fear  colourable 
colours."  In  ii  Henry  IV.  v.  v.  gi, 
the  quibble  is  with  "  collar."  "  I  fear 
no  colours"  contains  yet  another 
quibble  (on  flags,  ensigns,  etc.),  and 
became  a  very  common  expression  a 
little  later  than  this  play  {Twelfth 
Night,  Ben  Jonson's  Sejanus,  etc.). 


62  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  n. 

J\-r.  Stay,  lords  and  gentlemen,  and  pluck  no  more 

Till  you  conclude  that  he,  upon  whose  side  40 

The  fewest  roses  are  cropp'd  from  the  tree, 

Shall  yield  the  other  in  the  right  opinion. 
So?f/.  Good  Master  Vernon,  it  is  well  objected : 

If  I  have  fewest  I  subscribe  in  silence. 
P/an.  And  I.  45 

Vvr.  Then  for  the  truth  and  plainness  of  the  case, 

I  pluck  this  pale  and  maiden  blossom  here. 

Giving  my  verdict  on  the  white  rose  side. 
ScvfL   Prick  not  your  finger  as  you  pluck  it  off, 

Lest  bleeding  you  do  paint  the  white  rose  red,  50 

And  fall  on  my  side  so,  against  your  will. 
Ver.   If  I,  my  lord,  for  my  opinion  bleed. 

Opinion  shall  be  surgeon  to  my  hurt. 

And  keep  me  on  the  side  where  still  I  am. 
Som.  Well,  well,  come  on  :  who  else  ?  55 

Law.  Unless  my  study  and  my  books  be  false, 

The  argument  you  held  was  wrong  in  you ; 

In  sign  whereof  I  pluck  a  white  rose  too. 
P/a?i.  Now,  Somerset,  where  is  your  argument  ? 
Som.  Here  in  my  scabbard  ;  meditating  that  60 

Shall  dye  your  white  rose  in  a  bloody  red. 
P/a?i.  Meantime  your  cheeks  do  counterfeit  our  roses  : 

For  pale  they  look  with  fear,  as  witnessing 

The  truth  on  our  side. 
Som.  No,  Plantagenet, 

'Tis  not  for  fear  but  anger  that  thy  cheeks  6$ 

Blush  for  pure  shame  to  counterfeit  our  roses, 

And  yet  thy  tongue  will  not  confess  thy  error. 
P/an.   Hath  not  thy  rose  a  canker,  Somerset  ? 
Som.   Hath  not  thy  rose  a  thorn,  Plantagenet  ? 
P/an.  Ay,  sharp  and  piercing,  to  maintain  his  truth  ;  70 

Whiles  thy  consuming  canker  eats  his  falsehood. 

65.  thy]  Ff  I,  2;  tny  Ff  3,  4. 

43.  objected]  thrown  out,  proposed,  said "   etc.      (R.    Scot,    Discoverie   of 

adduced.     Steevens  quotes  from  Chap-  Witchcraft  (Nicholson's  reprint,  p.  82), 

man's     Homer's    Odyssey,    bk.     xxi. :  1584). 

"  Excites   Penelope  t'  object  the  prize  68-71.  canker  .  .  .  consuming  canker] 

(The  bow  and   bright   steeles)   to  the  the  caterpillar  or  larva  that  feeds  on 

wooers'    strength."     And  in    Greene's  blossoms.     One  of  Shakespeare's  com- 

Repentance   (Grosart,   xii.   158),    1592  :  monest  metaphors.     Found  in  his  con- 

"  So  is  youth  apt  to  admit  of  every  vice  temporaries  more  sparingly.     Compare 

that   is  objected   unto   it."      A   better  Marlowe,  Edward  II.  (Dyce,  ed.  1859, 

instance  is  that  referred  to  in  New  Eng.  p.  195,  a) : — 

Diet.    "  For  the  maintenance  of  witches  "  A  lofty  cedar  .  .  . 

transportations,  they  object  the  words  And  by  the  bark  a  canker  creeps 

of  the    Gospeil,    where    the    divell    is  me  up, 


sc.  IV.]       KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  63 

Som.  Well,  I  'II  find  friends  to  wear  my  bleeding  roses, 

That  shall  maintain  what  I  have  said  is  true, 

Where  false  Plantagenet  dare  not  be  seen. 
Pla7i.  Now,  by  this  maiden  blossom  in  my  hand,  75 

I  scorn  thee  and  thy  faction,  peevish  boy. 
Suf.  Turn  not  thy  scorns  this  way,  Plantagenet. 
Plan.  Proud  Pole,  I  will,  and  scorn  both  him  and  thee. 
Suf.  I  '11  turn  my  part  thereof  into  thy  throat. 
Som.  Away,  away  !  good  William  de  la  Pole  :  80 

We  grace  the  yeoman  by  conversing  with  him. 
War.  Now,  by  God's  will,  thou  wrong'st  him,  Somerset : 

His  grandfather  was  Lionel,  Duke  of  Clarence, 

Third  son  to  the  third  Edward,  King  of  England. 

Spring  crestless  yeomen  from  so  deep  a  root  ?  85 

Plan.  He  bears  him  on  the  place's  privilege, 

Or  durst  not,  for  his  craven  heart,  say  thus. 
So7n.  By  him  that  made  me,  I  '11  maintain  my  words 

On  any  plot  of  ground  in  Christendom. 

Was  not  thy  father,  Richard,  Earl  of  Cambridge,  90 

For  treason  executed  in  our  late  king's  days  ? 

And  by  his  treason  stand'st  not  thou  attainted, 

Corrupted,  and  exempt  from  ancient  gentry  ? 

His  trespass  yet  lives  guilty  in  thy  blood ; 

And,  till  thou  be  restored,  thou  art  a  yeoman.  95 

Plan.  My  father  was  attached,  not  attainted, 

And  gets  into  the  highest  bough  famous    challenge   [Richard  II.    i.    i. 

of  all."  63-65). 

And  Greene,  Never  too  Late  (Grosart,  89.  in  Christendom}  See  2  Henry  VI. 

viii.  16)  :  "the  finest  buds  are  soonest  11.  i.  126  and  3  Henry  VI.  in.  ii.  83. 

nipt  with   frosts,  the  sweetest  flowers  92.  attainted]      tainted,      disgraced, 

sorest  eaten  with  cankers  "  ;  and  Ma-  smirched.       A     word     of    Spenser's  : 

tnillia  (viii.   132),    1583:    "rather   then  "Phoebus  golden  face  it  did  attaint" 

for  tales  of  troth,  thinking  and  fearing  (Faerie    Qucene,    i.    vii.    34).      And    in 

to  find  in  ye  fairest  rose,  a  foule  canker  :  Peele's  Sir  Clyoynon  (531,  b,  Routledge)  : 

and  in  finest  speech,  foulest  falshood."  "Therefore  I'll    take  me  to  my  legs. 

See  extract  from  Grafton  at  iv.  i.  162,  seeing  my  honour  I  must  attaint.''^ 

163,  for  the  "  ca«^£r£(^  malice  "  between  93.  exempt]  excluded.     Prevalent  in 

York  (Richard  Plantagenet)  and  Somer-  Shakespeare's  early  work  and  historical 

set.  plays. 

85.  crestless]  ignoble,  not  bearing  96.  attached,  not  attainted]  arrested, 
arms.  A  Shakespearian  word,  not  not  convicted.  Compare  "of  capital 
found  again.  See  note  at  11.  v.  12  treason  I  attach  you  both,"  in  2  Henry 
below.  IV.  IV.  n.  log.     For  "  attainted  "  in  this 

86.  He  bears  him  on  .  .  .  privilege]  sense,  see  2  Henry  VI.  11.  iv.  59.  But 
"he  shapes  his  conduct  to  the  liberty  does  not  line  97  here  show  that  he  was 
the  place  affords  him  :  he  presumes  on  convicted  ?  If  so,  Plantagenet  means 
the  privilege  of  the  place "  (Schmidt,  that  he  was  not  disgraced  by  the 
p.  88,  b).  See  above,  line  14.  And  conviction,  being  innocent.  Richard, 
compare  Richard  II.  11.  i.  116  :  "  Pre-  Earl  of  Cambridge  was  executed  (with 
summg  on  Sin  ague's  privilege."  Lord  Scrope  and    Sir   Thomas  Gray) 

88.  /  'II  maintain  my  words]  This  by  Henry  the  Fifth  in  his  third  year, 
language   is  developed   in   Mowbray's     There  was  much  question  raised  after- 


64  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  n. 

Condemn'd  to  die  for  treason,  but  no  traitor; 

And  that  I  '11  prove  on  better  men  than  Somerset, 

Were  growing  time  once  ripen'd  to  my  will. 

For  your  partaker  Pole  and  you  yourself,  lOO 

I  '11  note  5'ou  in  my  book  of  memory. 

To  scourge  you  for  this  apprehension  : 

Look  to  it  well  and  say  you  are  well  warn'd. 
Sow.  Ah,  thou  shalt  find  us  ready  for  thee  still, 

And  know  us  by  these  colours  for  thy  foes  ;  1 05 

For  these  my  friends  in  spite  of  thee  shall  wear. 
P/an.  And,  by  my  soul,  this  pale  and  angry  rose, 

As  cognizance  of  my  blood-drinking  hate, 

Will  I  for  ever  and  my  faction  wear, 

Until  it  wither  with  me  to  my  grave  IIO 

Or  flourish  to  the  height  of  my  degree. 
Su/.  Go  forward,  and  be  chok'd  with  thy  ambition  : 

And  so  farewell  until  I  meet  thee  next.  [Exit. 

Som.  Have  with  thee,  Pole.     Farewell,  ambitious  Richard. 

[Exit. 
Plan.  How  I  am  brav'd  and  must  perforce  endure  it !  115 

War.  This  blot  that  they  object  against  your  house 

Shall  be  wip'd  out  in  the  next  parliament, 

117.  wip''d'\  wift  Ff  2,  3,  4  ;  whipt  F  i. 

wards  as  to  the  amount  of  his  guilt,  your  tongue's  end,  as  if  you  were  never 

See    Grafton,    p.    512.      In    any   case  wt// warn^^i  when  you  were  young." 

Plantagenet  maintained  there  was  no  108.  cognizance]hzdge.     "  He  made 

treason.     See  below,  v.  60  et  seq.  and  v.  a  law  also  the  same  time,  against  the 

100.  excessive  takyng  of  Vsurie  by  the  lewes, 

98.  prove  on   better    men]    Compare  and  that  they  should  weare  a  certaine 

Greene,  Georgc-a-Greene   (xiv.   154,  1.  cognisaunce  upon  their  uppermost  gar- 

743)  :    "  He  proue  it  good   upon  your  ment,  whereby  they  should  be  knowne 

carcasses."     Frequent  in  Shakespeare,  from  Christians  "  (Grafton,  i.  285,  Ed- 

100.  partaker]   supporter— one   who  7vard  the  First,  The  VIIJ  Yere).     And 

takes  a  part.    Not  found  again  in  Shake-  again   (p.  300):    "there  met  her   sixe 

speare.      Sidney   used   it    in    Arcadia  hundreth  Citizens  in  one  Lyuery  of  red 

(ante  1586):    "  no  more  solemnized  by  and    white,    with    the    cognisaunce    of 

the  tears  of  his  partakers  than  by  the  diuers  misteries  [trades]  brodered  vpon 

blood    of  his    enemies"    (bk.    ii.).      It  their  sleues." 

occurs    in    the   chroniclers    Hall    and  loS.  blood-dritiking]  See  the  \a.Rt  Vine 

Grafton.     See  quotation  at  iii.  i.  90.  of  this  scene.     Craig  compares  King 

loi.  note y OH  in  my  book  of  memory]  ^ohn,   iii.    i.   342,  343;  Steevens  cites 

Compare  "  table  of  my  memory," //am-  "Dry  sorrow  drinks  our  blood"  from 

let,    I.    V.    98.     Peele   has   "enrol    his  Romeo  and  Juliet,  in.  v.  59.     See  too 

name  in   books  of  memory  "    twice   in  "  blood-drinking  sighs,"  2  Henry    VL 

A   Poem   in    Praise  of  Chastity    from  iii.    ii.    63,   and    "  blood-drinking  pit," 

Phoenix  Nest  (1593).     But  not  parallel.  Titus  Andronicus,  11.  iii.  22^. 

102.  apprehension]  notion,  view,  idea.  112.  chok'd  with  thy  ambition]  A 
upon  the  subject.  Very  likely  Holo-  favourite  expression.  See  below,  11.  v. 
femes'  sense  in  Love's  Labour's  Lost,  123  and  Part  II.  iii.  i.  143.  This  sort 
IV.  ii.  63.  of  moral  suffocation  occurs  several  times 

103.  well  warn'd]  soundly  lectured  in  other  plays  of  Shakespeare,  and 
and  cautioned.     Compare  Locrine,  iii.  seems  to  be  rather  peculiar  to  him. 

3  :  "  You  have  your  rhetoric  so  ready  at         115.  brav'd]  incited,  defied. 


sc.  v.]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  65 

Call'd  for  the  truce  of  Winchester  and  Gloucester ; 

And  if  thou  be  not  then  created  York, 

I  will  not  live  to  be  accounted  Warwick.  1 20 

Meantime,  in  sic^nal  of  my  love  to  thee, 

Against  proud  Somerset  and  William  Pole, 

Will  I  upon  thy  party  wear  this  rose. 

And  here  I  prophesy :  this  brawl  to-day, 

Grown  to  this  faction  in  the  Temple  garden,  125 

Shall  send  between  the  red  rose  and  the  white 

A  thousand  souls  to  death  and  deadly  night. 
Plan.  Good  Master  Vernon,  I  am  bound  to  you. 

That  you  on  my  behalf  would  pluck  a  flower. 
Ver.  In  your  behalf  still  will  1  wear  the  same.  130 

Law.  And  so  will  I. 
Pla7i.  Thanks,  gentle  sir. 

Come,  let  us  four  to  dinner :   I  dare  say 

This  quarrel  will  drink  blood  another  day.  [Exeunt. 

SCENE  v.— The  Tower  of  London. 

Enter  MORTIMER,  brought  in  a  chair  by  two  Gaolers. 

Mor.  Kind  keepers  of  my  weak  decaying  age, 
Let  dying  Mortimer  here  rest  himself 
Even  like  a  man  new  haled  from  the  rack, 
So  fare  my  limbs  with  long  imprisonment  ; 
And  these  grey  locks,  the  pursuivants  of  death,  5 

Nestor-like  aged  in  an  age  of  care, 

132.  gentle  sir]  Ff  2,  3,  4  ;  gentle,  F  i. 

Scene  v. 

6.  an  age]  a  cage  Collier  MS. 

121.  signal]  sign,  token.  sengers.     Lyly  has  this  figure  earlier 

126, 127.  Shall  send  .  .  .  A  thousand  in  The  Woman  in  the  Moon,  iv.  i  (Fair- 

so?</s  to  rfraf^]  Reminding  one  of  Peele's  holt,    p.    188),    circa    1580:     "Ascend 

Arraignment  of  Paris,  iii.  ii.  (1584)  : —  thou  winged  pursevant  of  love."     But 

"  This   little   fruit  if    Mercury   can  the   full  metaphor  is  found  in  a  fine 

spell,  passage  in  King  Edward   the  Third, 

Will  send,  I  fear,  a  world  of  souls  iv.  iv. : — 

to  hell."  "  Now,  Audley 

"  Spell  "  means  foretell.    See  3  Henry  ...  let  those  milkwhite  messen- 

VI.  11.  V.  97-102.  gers  of  time 

127.  deadly  night]ihe  mght  oi Aeaih,  Show  thy  time's  learning  in  this 

death.       Compare     "  Withhold      this  dangerous  time." 

deadly  houre "   (Faerie  Queene,  11.   iii.         6.  Nestor-like    aged]    Greene   takes 

34).     Fatal.  Nestor  as  a  type  of  old   age   in    this 

casual  manner  several  times  : — 
Scene  v.  "  this  minute  ends  the  dayes 

4.  long  imprisonment]  twenty-seven  Of   him    that    lived    worthy    old 
years.     See  note  at  line  7.  Nestors  age" 

5.  pursuivctnts  of  death]  state  mes-  (Orlando  Fnrioso,  Grosart,  xiii.  187,  1. 

5 


G() 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  II. 


Argue  the  end  of  Edmund  Mortimer. 

These  eyes,  Hke  lamps  whose  wasting  oil  is  spent, 

Wax  dim,  as  drawing  to  their  exigent ; 

W'eak  shoulders,  overborne  with  burdening  grief. 

And  pithless  arms,  like  to  a  wither'd  vine 

That  droops  his  sapless  branches  to  the  ground  : 

Yet  are  these  feet,  whose  strengthless  stay  is  numb, 


1419);  and  in  Alphonsus  (at  the  end) : 
"  Take  her  I  say,  and  live  King  Ncsiors 
yeeres."  See  North's  Plutarch  (ed. 
1612,  p.  354),  1579:  "Thus  he  Hved 
as  Nestor,  in  name  three  ages  of  men." 
And  Peele's  Polyhymiiia,  1590:  "the 
noble  English  Nestor  s  sons  "  (line  177). 
7.  Edmund  Mortimer]  was  made 
prisoner  by  Owen  Glendower  in  the 
first  year  of  Henry  the  Fourth  (Grafion, 
p.  485) :  "  he  also  made  warre  upon 
the  Lo.de  Edmond  Mortimer,  Erie  of 
Marche  .  .  .  and  toke  him  prisoner, 
and  fettered  him  in  Cheynes,  and  cast 
him  in  a  deepe  and  miserable  Dun- 
geon." And  later,  in  the  fourth  year 
of  Henry  the  Sixth  (p.  560) :  "  During 
which  season  Edmond  Mortimer,  the 
last  Erie  of  Marche  of  that  name  (which 
long  time  had  been  restrained  from  his 
libertie  and  finally  waxed  lame)  de- 
ceassed  without  issue,  whose  inherit- 
aunce  descended  to  Lord  Richard 
Plantagenet,  sonne  and  heyre  to  Rich- 
ard Erie  of  Cambridge,  behedded  as 
you  have  heard  before,  at  the  towne 
of  Southhampton.  Which  Richard, 
within  lesse  then  XXX  yeres  as  heyre 
to  this  Erie  Edmond  .  .  .  claymed  ye 
crowne  and  sceptre  of  this  Realme." 
"  This  season,"  is  the  Parliament 
which  arranged  the  differences  between 
Gloucester  and  Winchester.  There  is 
no  occasion  here  to  enter  into  the 
disputed  question  as  to  the  identity 
of  this  Edmund  Mortimer,  who  was 
apparently  confounded  with  his  kins- 
man by  the  author  of  this  play,  and 
by  the  old  historians.  See  Stccvens' 
Shakespeare,  ix.  569-73,  1793.  It  is 
dealt  with  by  Ritson,  Malone  and 
Steevens. 

8.  lamps  whose  wasting  oil]  Compare 
Richard  II.  i.  iii.  221 : — 

"  My     oJ/-dried     lamp     and     time- 
bewasted  light 
Shall  be  extinct  with  age." 

8,  g.  eyes  .  .  .  Wax  dim]  Compare 
Peele,  Arraignment  of  Paris  (369,  a, 
Dyce),  1584:  "Then  first  gan  Cupid's 
eyesight  wexen  dim."    And  his  Tale  of 


Troy   (556,    a)    1589:    "The    Trojans 
glory    now   gan    waxen    dim.'"      And 
(Peele  and  Greene's)  Locrine,  i.  i : — 
"  Mine  eyes  wax  dim  o'ercast  with 
clouds  of  age." 

9.  exigent]  end,  extremity.  Com- 
pare Sidney's  Arcadia,  bk.  ii.  (ed. 
1738,  p.  184):  "Now  was  Zelmane 
brought  to  an  exigent,  when  the  King 
turning  his  eyes  that  way."  And 
Greene,  Philomela  (Grosart,  xi.  200)  : 
"  I,  even  I  that  committed  the  deede, 
though  to  the  exigent  of  mine  own 
death,  could  not  but  burst  foorth." 

10.  overborne  with  .  .  .  grief]  Greene 
has  the  line  "  Assaild  with  shame, 
with  horror  overborne,"  twice  in  A 
Looking  Glasse  for  London  (xiv.  96, 
97).  Not  illustrated  in  New  Eng.  Diet., 
and  Shakespeare  has  no  parallel  for 
"  overborne  with."  See  below,  iii.  i. 
53- 

11.  Pj//ites]  strengthless  .  Compare 
Othello,  I.  iii.  83,  the  primary  sense  of 
"  pith  "  being  marrow.  Compare 
"  crestless,"  11.  iv.  85. 

II.  like  to  a  wither'd  vine]  Compare 
Peele,  Polyhymnia  (569,  a)  :^ 

"  Oershadowed  with  a  wither'd  run- 
ning vine 
As  who  should  say,  my  spring  of 
youth  is  past." 
Marlowe  is   fond  of  this  simile — of  a 
king.     He  has  it  twice  in  Edward  the 
Second : — 

"  This    Spenser,    as    a    putrefying 
branch 
That  deads  the  royal  vine  " 
(204,  b).     And  again  : — 

"  So  shall  not  England's  vine  be  per- 
ished 
But  Edward's  name  survive  " 
(213,  a). 

11,12,  13.  pithless  .  .  .  sapless  .  .  . 
strengthless]  This  assemblage  of  new 
compounds  is  remarkable,  and  this 
scene  (like  the  last)  being  assuredly 
all  Shakespeare's  is  worthy  of  close 
attention.  "  Sapless  "  occurs  again  (iv. 
V.  4)  below ;  "strengthless"  is  in  Lncrece, 
709,  and   Venus  and  Adonis,  153,  and 


sc.  v.] 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


67 


Unable  to  support  this  lump  of  clay, 
Swift-winged  with  desire  to  get  a  grave, 
As  witting  I  no  other  comfort  have. 
But  tell  me,  keeper,  will  my  nephew  come  ? 

First  Gaol.  Richard  Plantagenet,  my  lord,  will  come : 
We  sent  unto  the  Temple,  unto  his  chamber, 
And  answer  was  return'd  that  he  will  come. 

Mor.  Enough ;  my  soul  shall  then  be  satisfied. 
Poor  gentleman  !  his  wrong  doth  equal  mine. 
Since  Henry  Monmouth  first  began  to  reign. 
Before  whose  glory  I  was  great  in  arms, 
This  loathsome  sequestration  have  I  had ; 
And  even  since  then  hath  Richard  been  obscured, 
Depriv'd  of  honour  and  inheritance  : 
But  now  the  arbitrator  of  despairs. 
Just  death,  kind  umpire  of  men's  miseries, 
With  sweet  enlargement  doth  dismiss  me  hence. 
I  would  his  troubles  likewise  were  expired. 
That  so  he  might  recover  what  was  lost. 


15 


20 


25 


30 


ig.  unto  his\  F  i  ;  /tjs  Ff  2,  3,  4 ;  to  his  Rowe. 


2  Henry  IV.  i.  i.  141.  We  are  re- 
minded of  Marlowe  here,  who  rejoiced 
in  these  terms.  He  uses  remediless, 
timeless,  ruthless,  quenchless,  remove- 
less,  expressless,  resistless,  hapless. 
Needless  to  say  it  is  only  this  peculiar- 
ity recalls  Marlowe  here — nothing  of 
the  style.  And  Golding  had  already 
(Ovid's  Metamorphoses)  used  wiveless, 
knotless,  hurtless,  luckless,  pleasureless, 
tongueless,  lightless,  headless,  heedless, 
helpless.     See  Introduction. 

13.  ?iuinb]  An  uncommon  word  in 
Shakespeare,  occurring  again  only  in 
Titus  Andronicus  and  Richard  III. 
"  Numbed  '  is  in  Lear.  Compare  Peele, 
Old  Wives  Tale  (450,  a)  :— 

"And  brought  her  hither  to  revive 

the  man, 
That  seemeth  young  and  pleasant 

to  behold. 
And  yet  is  aged,  crooked,  weak  and 

numb." 
And  later  (457,  a)  in  the  same  play : 
"  these  are  my  latest  days.  Alas,  my 
veins  are  tiumb'd,  my  sinews  shrink." 
Spenser  has  "  My  flesh  is  numb'd  with 
fears  "  in  Daphnaida  (stanza  60).  The 
adjective  is  earlier  (Townely  Mysteries) 
in  New  Ens[.  Diet. 

15.  Swift-winged}  See  again  Richard 
III.  II.  ii.  44.    "  Swift-winged  snakes  " 


occurs  in  Selimus  (Grosart's  Greene, 
xiv.  289,  1.  1674).  And  in  Kyd's  Soli- 
man  and  Perseda,  11.  ii.  33  :  "  Thou 
great  commander  of  the  swift-winged 
winds." 

23.  Since  Henry  Monmouth  first 
began  to  reign}  See  note  at  line  7.  It 
is  quite  obvious  that  Grafton  (or  Hall) 
supplied  the  situation.  Mortimer's 
being  brought  forth  at  the  point  of 
death  from  his  prison,  is  a  fine  dramatic 
conception  and  not  inconsistent  with 
what  the  historian  tells.  Whether  it 
be  true  history  or  not  is  of  no  conse- 
quence. Shakespeare  was  not  writing 
history. 

25.  sequestration]  seclusion,  separa- 
tion. See  Othello,  i.  iii.  351,  note, 
Arden  ed.,  p.  56.  See  Henry  V.  i.  i. 
58.  "Sequester"  is  a  not  infrequent 
word  at  this  time,  but  the  term  in  the 
text  seems  to  be  rare  outside  Shake- 
speare.    Properly  a  legal  term. 

28,  29.  arbitrator  .  .  .  umpire]  Com- 
pare Romeo  and  Juliet,  iv.  i.  63,  where 
"  the  original  signification  of  deter- 
mination by  an  umpire  is  still  percept- 
ible" (Schmidt).  And  see  Troilus  and 
Cressida,  iv.  v.  225.  The  only  two 
examples  of  figurative  use  of  the  word 
in  New  Eng.  Diet. 

30.  sweet  enlargement]  happy  release. 


68  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  n. 

Enter  Richard  Plantagenet. 

First  Gaol.  My  lord,  your  loving  nephew  now  is  come. 

Mor.  Richard  Plantagenet,  my  friend,  is  he  come  ? 

Plan.  Ay,  noble  uncle,  thus  ignobly  used,  35 

Your  nephew,  late-despised  Richard,  comes. 

Mcr.  Direct  mine  arms  I  may  embrace  his  neck. 
And  in  his  bosom  spend  my  latter  gasp : 
O !  tell  me  when  my  lips  do  touch  his  cheeks. 
That  I  may  kindly  give  one  fainting  kiss.  40 

And  now  declare,  sweet  stem  from  York's  great  stock. 
Why  didst  thou  say  of  late  thou  wert  despised  ? 

Plan.  First,  lean  thine  aged  back  against  mine  arm. 
And  in  that  ease  I  '11  tell  thee  my  disease. 
This  day,  in  argument  upon  a  case,  45 

Some  words  there  grew  'twixt  Somerset  and  me  ; 
xA.mong  which  terms  he  used  his  lavish  tongue 
And  did  upbraid  me  with  my  father's  death : 
Which  obloquy  set  bars  before  my  tongue, 
Else  with  the  like  I  had  requited  him.  50 

Therefore,  good  uncle,  for  my  father's  sake, 
In  honour  of  a  true  Plantagenet, 
And  for  alliance  sake,  declare  the  cause 
My  father.  Earl  of  Cambridge,  lost  his  head. 

Mor.  That  cause,  fair  nephew,  that  imprison'd  me,  55 

And  hath  detain'd  me  all  my  flow'ring  youth 

47.  Among\  F  i ;  Amongst  Ff  2,  3,  4. 

36.  late-despised]     lately      despised,  an   impetus  to  this   kind   of  writing, 

S-e  below  at  "  late-betrayed,"  iii.  ii.  82.  which  was  very  common. 

38.  latter-  gasp]  See  note  at  i.  ii.  127.  47.  lavish  tongue]  unrestrained,  licen- 

This  is  the  form  in  the  Second  Part  of  tious.    "  Lavish  "  was  expressly  used  of 

Whetstone's    Promos   and    Cassandra,  the  tongue  from  an  early  date,  in  the 

1578  {Six  Old  Plays,  p.  102)  :—  form  of  "lavish  of  the  tongue."     See 

"  That  I  the  grace  may  have  New   Eng.   Diet.     But   the   following 

At  latter  gaspe  the  fear  of  death  examples  (not  in  New  Eng.  Diet.)  are 

to  kyll."  from    Shakespeare's    favourite   writer, 

44.  disease]  trouble,  distress.     So  in  Arthur  Golding's  Ovid,  1565-67 : — 

Sclimus  (Grosart's  Greene,  xiv.  209,  1.  "  This  person   for  his  lavas  tongue 

388) : —  and  telling  tales  might  seeme 

"  Nought  but  the   Turkish   scepter  To  have  deserved  punishment  " 

can  him  please,  (bk.  v.  683-84).     And  again  :— 

And  there  I  know  lieth  his  chiefe  "and  there  with  lavas  tongue 

disease."  Reported    all    the   wanton   words 

For  the  play  on  words  in  ease,  disease,  that  he  had  heard  me  sung  " 

see  also  at  line  6,  "aged  in  an  age  of  (bk.  vii.  1070,  1071).    "  Lavish  tongue" 

care,"  and  at  line  35,  "  noble  uncle  thus  occurs   also    in    The   Contention,    at   2 

ignobly    used."       Mr.    Woollett   in    a  Henry  VI.  iv.  i.  64.    And  in  Marlowe's 

letter    to    me    parallels    these     from  Tamburlaine,  Part  I.  iv.  2  :  "  rein  their 

Marlowe's   Faustus.      And    see    Tarn-  lavish  tongues." 

burlaine,  Part  II.  v.  iii.:  "pitch  their  56.  Jlow'ring]  flourishing,  vigorous, 

pitchy  tents."     Sidney's  Arcadia  gave  Not   an   unfrequent   early   expression. 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


69 


Within  a  loathsome  dungeon,  there  to  pine, 
Was  cursed  instrument  of  his  decease. 

Plan.  Discover  more  at  large  what  cause  that  was, 

For  I  am  ignorant  and  cannot  guess.  6o 

Mor.   I  will,  if  that  my  fading  breath  permit. 

And  death  approach  not  ere  my  tale  be  done. 

Henry  the  Fourth,  grandfather  to  this  king, 

Depos'd  his  nephew  Richard,  Edward's  son, 

The  first-begotten  and  the  lawful  heir  65 

Of  Edward  king,  the  third  of  that  descent : 

During  whose  reign  the  Percies  of  the  north, 

Finding  his  usurpation  most  unjust, 

Endeavour'd  my  advancement  to  the  throne. 

The  reason  moved  these  war-like  lords  to  this  70 

Was,  for  that — young  King  Richard  thus  remov'd, 

Leaving  no  heir  begotten  of  his  body — 

I  was  the  next  by  birth  and  parentage ; 

For  by  my  mother  I  derived  am 

From  Lionel,  Duke  of  Clarence,  the  third  son  75 

To  King  Edward  the  Third ;  whereas  he 

From  John  of  Gaunt  doth  bring  his  pedigree, 

Being  but  fourth  of  that  heroic  line, 

71.  King\  Ff  2,  3,  4  ;  omitted  F  i.         78.  fourth^  F  i ;  the  fourth  Ff  2,  3,  4. 


l^ew  Eng.  Diet,  quotes  Phaer's  .^neid, 
158,  b:— 

"  the  bodies  twayne 
Of  A\mon,  flouring  lad,  and  good 
Galesus  fouly  slayne." 
Craig  quotes  from  Helyas,  Knight  of 
the  Swan  (p.  103,  ed.  1827) :  "  the 
saide  maiden  .  .  .  was  in  pleasaunt  age 
oi  flouriiige  youth."  In  Hawes'  Pas- 
time of  Pleasure  (1509)  "  her  grene 
flowryng  age  "  occurs  (reprint,  pp.  73, 
86).  The  first  words  of  (Dame  Juliana 
Berners)  Treaty se  of  Fysshynge  myth 
an  Angle  (1496)  are  :  "  Salamon  in  his 
parablys  saith  that  a  good  spryte 
makyth  a  flowrynge  aege,  that  is  a 
fayre  aege  &  a  longe."  These  lines 
(55  to  60)  are  worthy  of  note.  They 
are  remarkablj'  mean,  giving  a  feeling 
of  a  hand  inferior  to  most  of  the  writing 
in  this  scene. 

57.  loathsome  dungeon]  See  note  at 
line  7,  above ;  "  deepe  and  miserable 
dungeon.'^ 

6i-go.  The  title  here  given  might 
have  been  taken  from  Camden's  Bri- 
tantiia.  See  Holland's  translation 
(p.  725),  161  a,  where  it  is  set  forth 
more  explicitly  than  in  the  earlier  his- 
torians.    Camden  goes  on,  after  quot- 


ing "the  violent  usurpation  of  Henry 
the  Fourth,"  .  .  .  "  The  duke  immedi- 
ately was  transported  so  headlong  with 
ambition  that  he  went  about  to  pre- 
occupate  and  forestall  his  owne  hopes, 
and  so  he  raised  that  deadly  warre  be- 
tweene  the  houses  of  York  and  Lan- 
caster, distinguished  by  the  white  and 
red  rose  .  .  .  many  Princes  of  the 
roiall  bloud  and  a  number  of  the  Nobility 
lost  their  Hues  :  those  hereditary  and 
rich  Provinces  in  France  belonging  to 
the  King  of  England  were  lost,"  etc.  etc. 

64.  nephew]  cousin.  See  Othello,  i. 
i.  112.     Used  laxly. 

74.  /  derived  am]  For  this  form  of 
inversion,  occurring  again  (86),  "that 
thy  mother  was,"  and  (94),  "  I  no  issue 
have,"  see  Introduction.  It  was  very 
much  used  by  Spenser,  Peele,  Marlowe, 
and  Greene.  Spenser  perhaps  revived 
it  from  earlier  writers.  Mr.  Woollett 
tells  me  he  has  observed  it  in  Gower  and 
other  early  writers.  Spenser  has  it 
often  in  his  most  archaic  poem,  The 
Shepheards  Calendar  (1579) :  "  if  by 
mee  thou  list  advised  bee  "  (June),  "  for 
he  nould  warned  be  "  (May),  and  else- 
where. See  above,  i.  i.  7  and  i.  vi.  2 
(note). 


70  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  n. 

But  mark  :  as  in  this  haughty  great  attempt 

They  laboured  to  plant  the  rightful  heir,  8o 

I  lost  my  liberty  and  they  their  lives. 

Long  after  this,  when  Henry  the  Fifth, 

Succeeding  his  father  Bolingbroke,  did  reign, 

Thy  father,  Earl  of  Cambridge,  then  derived 

From  famous  Edmund  Langley,  Duke  of  York.  85 

Marrying  my  sister  that  thy  mother  was, 

Again  in  pity  of  my  hard  distress 

Levied  an  army,  weening  to  redeem 

And  have  install'd  me  in  the  diadem  ; 

But,  as  the  rest,  so  fell  that  noble  earl,  90 

And  was  beheaded.     Thus  the  Mortimers, 

In  whom  the  title  rested,  were  suppress'd. 
Plan.  Of  which,  my  lord,  your  honour  is  the  last, 
Mor.  True ;  and  thou  seest  that  I  no  issue  have, 

And  that  my  fainting  words  do  warrant  death.  95 

Thou  art  my  heir  ;  the  rest  I  wish  thee  gather  : 

But  yet  be  wary  in  thy  studious  care. 
Plan.  Thy  grave  admonishments  prevail  with  me  : 

But  yet  methinks  my  father's  execution 

Was  nothing  less  than  bloody  tyranny.  lOO 

Mor.  With  silence,  nephew,  be  thou  politic  : 

Strong-fixed  is  the  house  of  Lancaster, 

80.  labo7ired]  Rolfe  calls  attention  to  not  onely  confessed  the  conspiracie, 
"  the  many  instances  in  this  play  in  but  also  declared  that  for  a  great  somme 
which  the  final  edition  of  the  past  tense  of  money  which  they  had  receyued  of 
or  participle  is  made  a  distinct  syllable,  the  French  Kyng  they  entended  eyther 
This  metrical  peculiarity  occurs  far  to  delyuer  the  king  alive  into  the  handes 
more  frequently,  we  think,  than  in  any  of  hisenemyes,  or  else  to  murther  him  " 
of  the  undoubted  plays  of  Sliakespeare,  (p.  511).  This  implies  a  force.  How- 
even  the  earliest."  Peele  often  sounds  ever,  there  is  no  mention  of  one  in 
it  similarly  in  his  early  work.  In  one  Henry  the  Fifth,  ii.  ii. 
co\umr\  o( Arraignment  of  Paris  [-^66,  3i,  89.  diadem^  Grafton  supplies  the 
Routledge,  Act  iv.),  he  has  destined,  following :  "  Of  this  man  [Constantine 
intituled,  praised,  pardoned,  measured,  the  Great]    the  kynges  of  Briteyn  had 

88,  89.  Levied  an  army  .  .   .  diadem]  first    the     priuelege     to     weare    close 

Malone  says  this  is  "another  falsifica-  Crownes  or  Diademes"  (i.  7o(a.d.  310), 

tion  of  history.      Cambridge  levied  no  1569).     The  word  occurs  frequently  in 

army,  but  v.as  apprehended  at  South-  these  three  plays.     It  was  an  especial 

ampton,"  etc.     See  note  at  line  96  in  favourite  with  Greene,  who  has  it  per- 

the  last  scene.     The  words  may  be  a  haps  fifty  times  in  his  half-dozen  plays, 

little  strong,  but  there  was  foundation,  disdaining  the  commonplace  crown. 

Grafton    says:    "the   king  beyng  in  a  98.  admonishments    prevail]    I     will 

readinesse    to  advaunce   forwarde   [for  attend  to  thy  w^arnings.     Occurs  again 

France],   sodeinly  he  was  credibly  in-  in  Troilus  and  Cressida,  v.  iii.  2.     The 

formed,  that  Richard  Erie  of  Cambridge,  word  is  used  by  Golding,  Ovid,  bk.  vi. 

brother  to  Edward,  Duke  of  Yorke,  and  35,  36  : — 

Henry  Lorde  Scrope  and  Sir  Thomas  "  Experience  doth  of  long  continu- 

Gray  had  conspired  his  death  and  utter  ance  spring, 

destruction,  wherefore  he  caused  them  Despise  not  mine  admonishment." 

forthwith  to  be  apprehended  .  .  .  they  And  again  in  bk.  xii.  line  391. 


sc.  v.]         KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  71 

And  like  a  mountain,  not  to  be  removed. 

But  now  thy  uncle  is  removing  hence, 

As  princes  do  their  courts,  when  they  are  cloy'd  105 

With  long  continuance  in  a  settled  place. 
Plan.  O,  uncle  !  would  some  part  of  my  young  years 

Might  but  redeem  the  passage  of  your  age. 
Mor.  Thou  dost  then  wrong  me,  as  that  slaughterer  doth 

Which  giveth  many  wounds  when  one  will  kill.  no 

Mourn  not,  except  thou  sorrow  for  my  good  ; 

Only  give  order  for  my  funeral : 

And  so  farewell ;  and  fair  be  all  thy  hopes, 

And  prosperous  be  thy  life  in  peace  and  war !  \_Dies. 

Plan.  And  peace,  no  war,  befall  thy  parting  soul !  115 

In  prison  hast  thou  spent  a  pilgrimage, 

And  like  a  hermit  overpass'd  thy  days. 

Well,  I  will  lock  his  counsel  in  my  breast ; 

And  what  I  do  imagine  let  that  rest. 

Keepers,  convey  him  hence;  and  I  myself  120 

Will  see  his  burial  better  than  his  life. 

[Exeunt  Gaolers,  bearing-  out  tlie  body  of  Mortimer. 

Here  dies  the  dusky  torch  of  Mortimer, 

Chok'd  with  ambition  of  the  meaner  sort : 

And  for  those  wrongs,  those  bitter  injuries, 

Which  Somerset  hath  offer'd  to  my  house,  125 

I  doubt  not  but  with  honour  to  redress ; 

And  therefore  haste  I  to  the  parliament. 

Either  to  be  restored  to  my  blood, 

Or  make  my  ill  the  advantage  of  my  good.  [Exit. 

103.  monjitaiii,   not  to    be    removed]  (Orlando  Furioso,  Grosart,  xiii.  i86,  1. 

Compare  King  jfohn,  ii.  i.  452.     From  1390).     See  Hamlet,  in.  iii.  86. 

Isaiah   liv.    10;     ''For   the    mountains  115.  parting    soul]    departing    soul, 

shall  depart,  and  the  hills  be  removed  :  Spenser   has   "And    when    life    parts 

but  my  kindness  shall  not  depart  from  vouchsafe  to  close  mine  eye  "   (Daph- 

thee,  neither  shall  my  covenant  of  peace  tiaida,  stanza  73).    See  again  Henry  V. 

be  removed,  saith  the  Lord."     Steevens  11.  iii.  12. 

gives  a   poor    parallel    from    Paradise  116.  /f/o^rjmag-^]  human  life,  a  favour- 

Lost.  ite  term  with  Shakespeare.     New  Eng. 

106.    long    contijiuance]     See    again  Die.  has  examples  back  to  1340. 

T^w/x-s/.  IV.  i.  107  ;  and  quotation  above  117.    overpass'd]    Only   here   and    in 

at  "  admonishment,"  1.  98.  Richard  III.    (twice)    in   Shakespeare. 

108.  redeem  the  passage  of  your  age]  It  is  in   Golding's  Ovid,    iv.  729  ;  and 

prolong  your  days ;  ransom  your  death,  in  Spenser,  Peele,  and  Greene. 

108.  passage  of  your  a^f]  departure,  122.  </«s^j]  Seen.  ii.  27  above.    Com- 

going-hence, death.  Compare  Greene  : —  pare  Mzxlowds  Massacre  at  Paris : — 

"...  Let  me  at  thy  dying  day  in-  "If  ever  Hymen  gron'd  at  marriage- 

treate  rites, 

By  that  same  sphere  wherein  thy  And   had   his    altars    deck'd   with 

soule  shall  rest,  dusky  lights." 

If  Jove  denye  not  passage  to  thy  i^-^.  Chok'd ivith  a7nbitioH]'Se.Qa.ho\e, 

ghost,  II.  iv.  112. 

Thou  tell  me  "  128.  blood]  rank  due  to  my  blood. 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act.  m. 


ACT  III 

SCENE  I. — London.     The  Parliame7it  House. 

Flourish.  Enter  King  HENRY,  Exeter,  GLOUCESTER, 
Warwick,  Somerset,  and  Suffolk;  the  Bishop  of 
Winchester,  Richard  Plantagenet,  and  Others. 
Gloucester  offers  to  put  up  a  bill;  Winchester 
snatches  it,  tears  it. 

Win.  Com'st  thou  with  deep  premeditated  lines. 

With  written  pamphlets  studiously  devis'd, 

Humphrey  of  Gloucester?     If  thou  canst  accuse. 

Or  aught  intend'st  to  lay  unto  my  charge. 

Do  it  without  invention,  suddenly  ;  5 

As  I  with  sudden  and  extemporal  speech 

Purpose  to  answer  what  thou  canst  object. 
GloH.   Presumptuous  priest !  this  place  commands  my  patience 

Or  thou  should'st  find  thou  hast  dishonour'd  me. 

Think  not,  although  in  writing  I  preferr'd  10 

The  manner  of  thy  vile  outrageous  crimes, 

That  therefore  I  have  forged,  or  am  not  able 

Scene  i.    This  scene,  at  least  in  the  See    Lncrece    (Dedication).      A   word 

form  before  us,  must  have  been  written  with  a  remarkable  career.     Spenser  in 

by  Shakespeare.      See  previous  notes  his  Dedication  of  Do/>AHaJrfa  says:  "I 

with  regard  to  this  parliament,  held  in  recommende  this/'(;«(/'A/t^  .  .  .  to  your 

1426.     At  II.  V.  7  a  passage  from  Graf-  honourable  favour." 

ton  fixes  the  death  of  Mortimer  at  this  6.  extemporal']  unpremeditated.    Oc- 

season.      King    Henry   was   now   five  curs  again  Love's  Labour's  Lost,  1.  ii. 

years  of  age.  173  (and  note,  Arden  ed.  p.  28). 

put  tip  a  bill]  statement  of  the  8.  Presumptuous]  Outside  these  three 
accusations.  See  Merry  Wives  (Arden  plays  (in  each  of  which  it  occurs)  Shake- 
edition,  p.  61)  for  note  at  "exhibit  a  speare  uses  this  word  only  once  (All's 
bill  in  the  parliament."  Malone  gives  Well).  A  favourite  word  with  Greene 
another  example  from  Nashe,  Have  beginning  a  line  as  here:  " Presump- 
Tyj7/t^oj<,  etc.  (1596):  "That's  the  cause  tuous  Viceroy,  darst  thou  check  thy 
we  have  so  manie  bad  workmen  nowa-  Lord"  {A  Looking  Glasse  for  London, 
daies  :  put  up  a  bill  against  them  next  Grosart,  xiv.  12,  1.  121).  For  "  proued 
parliament."  presumptuous,"  from  Faerie  Qtieene,  see 

1.  lines]  writing.  See  Titus  An-  note  at  iv.  vii.  88.  A  far  older  word, 
dronicus,  v.  ii.  14  and  22.     Still  extant  common  in  Berner's  Froissart,  etc. 

in  the  expression  "  (marriage)  lines."  10.  preferr'd]  brought  forward. 

2.  pamphlets]  a  written  composition. 


SC.    I.] 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


73 


Verbatim  to  rehearse  the  method  of  my  pen  : 
No,  prelate ;  such  is  thy  audacious  wickedness, 
Thy  lewd,  pestiferous,  and  dissentious  pranks, 
As  very  infants  prattle  of  thy  pride. 
Thou  art  a  most  pernicious  usurer, 
Froward  by  nature,  enemy  to  peace ; 
Lascivious,  wanton,  more  than  well  beseems 
A  man  of  thy  profession  and  degree : 
And  for  thy  treachery,  what's  more  manifest? 
In  that  thou  laid'st  a  trap  to  take  my  life, 
As  well  at  London  Bridge  as  at  the  Tower. 
Beside,  I  fear  me,  if  thy  thoughts  were  sifted. 
The  king,  thy  sovereign,  is  not  quite  exempt 
From  envious  malice  of  thy  swelling  heart. 
Win.  Gloucester,  I  do  defy  thee.     Lords,  vouchsafe 


15 


23,  London  Bridge]  Ff;    London-bridge  Cambridge 
sake  F  2. 


27.  vouchsafe]  voiich- 


13.  Verbatim]  Not  elsewhere  in 
Shakespeare.  Compare  Greene,  Tul- 
lies  Love  (Grosart,  vii.  153) :  "  I  have 
not  translated  Lentulus  letter  verbatim 
worde  for  vvorde  "  (1589). 

15.  pestiferous]  pernicious,  mischiev- 
ous. Occurs  again,  All's  Well,  iv.  iii. 
340.  Greene  has  it  twice  at  least : 
"  no  regard  of  God  or  man  could  pro- 
hibit him  from  his  pestiferous  purpose  " 
(Mamillia,  Grosart,  ii.  118).  Later  in 
Mamillia  (186)  the  word  has  the  literal 
sense.  See  extract  from  Grafton  at  iv. 
i.  162-3. 

15.  dissentious]  qnanelsome.  Also  a 
word  of  Greene's:  "  dissentious  quavTeh" 
Planetomachia,  v.  85),  and  else- 
where. 

17.  a  most  pernicious  usurer]  See  note 
about  Winchester  in  Henry  the  Fifth's 
opinion,  at  11.  iii.  23,  24.  The  passage 
quoted  there  from  Grafton  (p.  572)  states 
further  :  "  he  obteyned  that  dignitie  [the 
Cardinalate]  to  his  great  profite,  and  to 
the  impouerishing  of  the  spiritualtie. 
For  by  a  Bull  Legantine,  which  he 
purchased  at  Rome,  he  gathered  so 
much  treasure  that  no  man  in  maner 
had  money  but  he,  and  so  was  he  sur- 
named  the  rich  Cardinall  of  Win- 
chester." The  "Bull  Legantine," 
which  explains  the  usury,  is  also  re- 
ferred to,  I.  iii.  35.  This  especial  usury 
is,  I  believe,  again  borne  in  mind  in 
Measure  for  Measure,  iii.  ii.  7. 

19  20.  more  than  well  beseems  A  man 
ofthyprofession] "  neyther  calledlearned 


Bishop,  nor  vertuous  Priest"  (Grafton, 
P-  572). 

22,  23.  take  my  life  .  .  .  at  London 
Bridge  as  at  the  Tower]  For  the 
Tower,  see  i.  iii.  Item  3  of  the  Accusa- 
tions says  :  "  My  sayd  Lorde  of  Win- 
chester, untruely  and  agaynst  the  kinges 
peace,  to  the  entent  to  trouble  my  sayd 
Lorde  of  Gloucester  goyngto  the  King, 
purposing  his  death  in  case  that  he  had 
gone  that  way  [to  Eltham  to  frustrate 
Winchester's  design  in  Item  2],  set  men 
of  armes  and  Archers  at  the  ende  of 
London  bridge  next  Southwarke  :  and 
forbarring  of  the  kings  highway,  let 
draw  the  cheyne  of  the  Stulpes  there, 
and  set  up  Pypes  and  Hardelsin  maner 
and  forme  of  Bulwarkes  ;  and  set  men 
in  Chambers,  Sellers  and  Windows,  with 
Bowes  and  arrowes  and  other  weapons 
to  the  entent  to  bring  to  finall  destruc- 
tion my  sayde  Lorde  of  Gloucesters 
person,  as  well  as  of  those  that  then 
should  come  with  him"(Grafton,  p.  563). 

24.  sifted]  examined  in  detail,  scru- 
tinised. 

25.  The  king  .  .  .  not  quite  exempt] 
See  note  at  i.  i.  171,  and  at  i.  iii.  70 
(note  at  line  4).  See  Item  3  of  Accu- 
sations in  previous  note. 

26.  swelling  heart]  This  line  is  re- 
peated (nearly)  in  Titus  Andronicus,  v. 
iii.  13.  And  compare  Veeie's  Alcazar,  11. 
iii. :  "The  fatal  poison  of  my  swelling 
heart  "  where  the  old  printer's  confusion 
of  "  prison  "  (quarto)  occurs.  Spenser 
has "  hart-swellinghate"  (Muiopoimos). 


74 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act    III. 


To  give  me  hearing  what  I  shall  reply. 

If  I  were  covetous,  ambitious,  or  perverse, 

As  he  will  have  me,  how  am  I  so  poor?  30 

Or  how  haps  it  I  seek  not  to  advance 

Or  raise  myself,  but  keep  my  wonted  calling  ? 

And  for  dissension,  who  preferreth  peace 

More  than  I  do,  except  1  be  provoked  ? 

No,  my  good  lords,  it  is  not  that  offends ;  35 

It  is  not  that  that  hath  incensed  the  duke  : 

It  is,  because  no  one  should  sway  but  he; 

No  one  but  he  should  be  about  the  king  ; 

And  that  engenders  thunder  in  his  breast, 

And  makes  him  roar  these  accusations  forth.  40 

But  he  shall  know  I  am  as  good — 
Glou.  As  good  ! 

Thou  bastard  of  my  grandfather  ! 
Win.  Ay,  lordly  sir  ;  for  what  are  you,  I  pray, 

But  one  imperious  in  another's  throne  ? 
Glou.  Am  I  not  protector,  saucy  priest?  45 

Win.  And  am  not  I  a  prelate  of  the  church  ? 
Glou.  Yes,  as  an  outlaw  in  a  castle  keeps. 

And  useth  it  to  patronage  his  theft. 


41.  good — ]  Ff  2,  3,  4  ;  good.  F  t. 
Ff3,  4. 

42.  Thoiibastardof  my grandfatlier  /] 
The  Bishop  of  Winchester  was  an  ille- 
gitimate son  of  John  of  Gaunt,  Duke  of 
Lancaster,  by  Katharine  Swynford, 
whom  the  Duke  afterwards  married 
(M  alone). 

43.  /orrf/v]  proud,  stuck-up.  Only  in 
Lncrece,  1731  (in  a  good  sense);  in 
Richard  III.  iv.  iv.  369  (a  doubtful 
reading) ;  and  in  this  play  and  2  Henry 
VI.  several  times.  Compare  Greene's 
Frier  Bacon  (Grosart,  xiii.  54)  : — 

"  Then  lordly  sir,  whose  conquest  is 

as  great 

In    conquering    love     as    Caesars 

victories." 

Peele  has  "my  lordly  breast  "  in  Battle 

of  Alcazar,  11.  li.     And  in  Jack  Straw 

(Peele?):  "Your  majesty  and  all  your 

lordly  train  "  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  v.  392). 

44.  imperious]  imperial,  majestical ; 
used  sarcastically  and  insolently  with 
the  same  sense  as  lordly.  A  favourite 
word  (seriously)  with  Marlowe: — 

"  For   there  sits  Death ;    there   sits 
imperious  Death, 
Keeping  his  circuit  by  the  slicing 
edge  " 


45.  Am   I  nol]  Ff 


(Tatnburlaine,  Part  I.  v.  i.) ;  and  again 
in  The  Massacre  at  Paris  (ed.  Dyce,  p. 
238,  a)  :— 

'' Amithustobejestedatandscorn'd? 
Tis  more  than  kingly  or  emperious.'" 

45.  saucy  priest]  overbearing,  inso- 
lent. Shakespeare  was  particularly 
partial  to  this  word :  "  Playing  so  the 
sawcye  Jacke"  is  in  Golding's  Ovid, 
xiii.  289.     In  Greene. 

47.  castle  keeps]  Compare  (Peele's) 
Jack  Straw  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  v.  387) : 
"  I  heard  say  he  would  keep  the  castle 
still  for  the  king's  use."  And  see  ex- 
tract from  Hall's  Chronicle  (1548)  at 
3  Henry  VI.  i.  ii.  49. 

48.  patronage]  Greene  seems  to  be 
responsible  for  this  barbaric  verb.  The 
passage  in  the  text  was  the  earliest  in 
New  Eng.  Diet,  proof,  but  I  was  able 
to  furnish  the  following:  "Pallas  .  .  . 
the  goddesse  did  moi^t.  patronage  learn- 
ing and  souldiers  "  (Euphiies  his  Censure 
to  Philautus  (Grosart,  vi.  151),  1587). 
He  has  it  in  the  body  of  the  same  tract 
(p.  239):  "it  is  no  offence  in  Pallas 
temple  to  treate  of  wisdome,  nor  at 
Venus  altars  to  parle  of  loves:    sith 


sc.  i]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


75 


Win.  Unreverent  Gloucester ! 

G/ou.  Thou  are  reverent, 

Touching  thy  spiritual  function,  not  thy  life.  50 

Win.  Rome  shall  remedy  this. 
War.  Roam  thither  then. 

So7?i.  My  lord,  it  were  your  duty  to  forbear. 
War.  Ay,  see  the  bishop  be  not  overborne. 
Som.   Methinks  my  lord  should  be  religious, 

And  know  the  office  that  belongs  to  such.  55 

War.  Methinks  his  lordship  should  be  humbler  ; 

It  fitteth  not  a  prelate  so  to  plead. 
So?;i.  Yes,  when  his  holy  state  is  touch'd  so  near. 
War.  State  holy  or  unhallow'd  what  of  that  ? 

Is  not  his  grace  protector  to  the  king  ?  60 

P/an.  [Aside.]  Plantagenet,  I  see,  must  hold  his  tongue, 

Lest  it  be  said  "  Speak,  sirrah,  when  you  should  ; 

Must  your  bold  verdict  entertalk  with  lords  ?  " 

49.  Unyeverent]  Utireverend  F  ^.  49.  reverent]  reverend  F{  ^,  ^.  51-55. 
War.  Roam  .  .  .  Sotn.  My  lord  .  .  .  War.  Ay,  see  .  .  .  Som.  Me,  thinks  my 
lord  .  .  .  such.]  Arranged  as  by  Theobald,  Cambridge ;  Warw.  Koame  .  .  .  for- 
beare.  Som.  I  see  .  .  .  such.Ff.         61-64.    First  marked  "Aside"  by  Hanmer. 


the  goddesses  doo  patronage  such 
affections."  The  previous  example  is 
from  the  Epistle  Dedicatory ;  and 
Greene  has  the  verb  in  three  other  such 
epistles,  dating  about  1589-1590.  The 
verb  occurs  only  once  elsewhere  in 
Shakespeare,  in  this  play,  below,  iii.  iv. 
32. 

51.  Rome  .  .  .  Roam]  See  Skeat's 
Etymological  Dictionary  on  this  word. 
He  has  an  example  of  the  Romans 
roaming  (ramden)  as  early  as  Laj'nwow, 
the  word  pronounced  broad,  and  akin 
to  ramble.  The  root  was  distinct,  but 
the  verb  was  influenced  by  the  early 
pilgrimages.  Steevens  found  the  quibble 
in  Nashe's  Lenten  Siuffe,  1599  :  "  three 
hundred  thousand  people  romed  to  Rome 
for  purgatorie  pils  and  paternal  veniall 
benedictions"  (Grosart,  v.  247).  Rolfe 
says:  "Elsewhere  Rome  seems  to  be 
pronounced  Room.  Compare  the  quib- 
bles in  King  John,  iii.  i.  180,  and  jfulins 
Ccesar,  i.  ii.  156,  and  the  rhymes  in 
Lucrece,  715,  1644."  Barnaby  Googe 
rhymes  Rome  with  come  and  some  in 
The  Popish  Kingdome,  1570;  and  with 
groom  (spelt  grome).  In  Chaucer's 
Canterbury  Tales  "  roomy  "  rhymes  "  to 
me."  For  the  speaker's  [Warwick] 
presence  in  this  scene,  see  note  below, 
135- 


53.  overborne]  borne  down,  subdued. 
See  V.  i.  60.  "Overborne  with"  has 
occurred  already,  11.  v.  10  (note). 

58.  touch'd  so  near]  concerned  so 
closely,  as  in  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona, 
HI.  i.  60: — 

"  I  am  to  break  with  thee  of  some 
affairs 
That  touch  me  near." 
But  the  expression  here  is  stronger  in 
meaning,  and  identical  rather  with  the 
old  "touch  one  nigh,"  that  is,  hit,  hurt, 
annoy.  Compare  Caxton's  Reynard  the 
Fox,  1481  :  "The  foxe  herde  alle  thyse 
wordes  which  touchid  hym  nygh" 
(Arber,  p.  32) ;  and  again  :  "  And  yf  I 
may  come  to  speche  and  may  be  herde 
I  shal  so  ansuere  that  I  shal  touch 
somone  nygh  ynowh  "  (Arber,  p.  60). 
See  Othello,  11.  iii.  225,  for  the  sense  of 
wounding ;  and  The  Rare  Triumphs  of 
Love  and  Fortune  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley, 
vi.  146),  circa  1580: — 

"  He   hath  been   lately  rubb'd  and 
touch'd  perhaps  too  near ; 
Which  he  ne  can  or  will  put  up 
without  revenge." 
63.  entertalk    with]    Explained    by 
Schmidt:  "  engage  in,  begin  "  conver- 
sation with  lords.     But  I  think  it  was 
meant  to  be  one  word,  "enter  "  stand- 
ing   for    "  inter "    as   was    commonly 


76 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  m. 


Else  would  I  have  a  fling  at  Winchester. 
K.  Hen.  Uncles  of  Gloucester  and  of  Winchester,  65 

The  special  watchmen  of  our  English  weal, 

I  would  prev^ail,  if  pra}'ers  might  prevail, 

To  join  your  hearts  in  love  and  amity. 

O  !  what  a  scandal  is  it  to  our  crown. 

That  two  such  noble  peers  as  ye  should  jar.  70 

Believe  me,  lords,  my  tender  years  can  tell 

Civil  dissension  is  a  viperous  worm. 

That  gnaws  the  bowels  of  the  commonwealth. 

\^A  noise  ivithin.     "  Down  with  the  tawny  coats ! " 

What  tumult 's  this  ? 
War.  An  uproar,  I  dare  warrant, 

Begun  through  malice  of  the  bishop's  men. 

\^A  noise  again.     '*  Stones!  stones!"     75 


the  case.  Greene  has  entermeddle, 
enterrupt,  etc.  Compare  "  interparleys" 
in  Lodge's  Euphues  Golden  Lcgacie 
(Shaks.  Library,  p.  80,  Hazlitt  ed.), 
and  "  interprater  "  in  Lyly's  Sapho  and 
Phao,  IV.  iii.  But  the  word  itself  actu- 
ally occurs  in  Golding's  Ovid  (ii.  201), 
1565-67,  and  there  is  no  better  store- 
house of  Shakespearian  language  : — 
"  While   Phebus  and  his  rechelesse 

sonne  were  eiitertalking  this; 
Aebus,  Aethon,  Phlegon,  and  the 

firie  Pyrois 
The  restlesse  horses  of  the  Sunne 

began  to  ney  so  hie." 
Compare  "enterdeale  "  in  Mother  Hub- 
berd's  Tale  (520,  a,  Globe) ;  and  "  enter- 
blinning"    in    Sylvester's    D%i    Bartas 
(1591),  p.  27,  ed.  1626. 

64.  have  a  fling  ai]  have  a  go,  or 
crack  at ;  make  an  attempt  upon.  A 
favourite  expression  with  Greene  but 
not  found  in  Shakespeare  elsewhere. 
"  They  must  haue  one  fling  at  women  ? 
dispraysing  their  nature"  {Mamillia 
((irosart's  Greene,  ii.  76,  77),  1583). 
"  Hearing  as  he  travelled  abroad  of  this 
Marian,  did  meane  to  haue  a  fling  at 
her"  {Defence  of  Conny-Caiching  (xi. 
87),  1592).  "  Mullidor  .  .  .  sayd  he 
would  leopard  a  ioynt,  and  the  next  day 
haue  a  fling  at  her  "  {Never  too  Late 
(viii.  igo),  1590);  and  again  (p.  218),  "dis- 
sention  will  haue  afliug  amongst  the 
meanest."  New  Eng.  Diet,  gives  "have 
theyr  false  flynges"  from  Bale,  1550, 
which  is  not  identical,  so  that  the  ex- 
pression is  of  or  belonging  to  Greene. 
Oliphant  (who  is  not  reliable)  gives 
earlier    examples    in     New     English. 


From  the  "  flinging  at"  (Gabriel  Harvey, 
i.  164)  or  kicking  of  a  horse.  Here  used 
figuratively,  an  attack  in  words,  a  taunt. 
The  expression  is  also  in  Kyd's  Spanish 
Tragedy,  in.  xii.  21. 

66.  watchmen]  guardians.  Compare 
Hamlet,  i.  iii.  46. 

72.  viperous]  Occurs  again  in  Corio- 
lanus,  III.  i.  287,  and  Cymbeline,  iii.  iv. 
41.  Venomous,  malignant.  Gabriel 
Harvey  uses  it  several  times  in  Pierces 
Supererogation,  1592,  1593.  But  the 
allusion  is  to  the  viper  and  the  mother's 
womb  (or  bowels)  myth.  See  passage 
from  Sylvester  quoted  in  3  Henry  VI. 
II.  v.  12. 

72,  73.  worm  .  .  .  of  the  common- 
wealth] more  familiar  as  "caterpillar of 
the  commonwealth,"  as  in  Richard  II. 
II.  iii.  166.  This  expression  occurs  in 
every  writer  of  the  time  almost,  some- 
times with  a  mocking  allusion  to 
"  pillars  of  the  state,"  but  oftener  with  a 
reference  to  the  word  "piller"  (or  poller). 
Stephen  Gosson  used  it  on  his  title : 
"The  Schoole  of  Abuse  containing  a 
pleasaunt  invective  against  Poets,  Pipers, 
Plaiers,  festers,  and  such  like  cater- 
pillers  of  a  commonwealth"  (1579). 
In  Polimanteia  (1595)  it  is  varied  to 
"  canker  of  a  commonwelth."  Harri- 
son's Description  of  England,  11.  x.  {Neiv 
Shaks.  Soc.  p.  217),  1577,  is  the  earliest 
I  have  met:  "  But  in  fine,  they  are  all 
theeues  andcaterpillers  in  the  common- 
wealth, and  by  the  word  of  God  not 
permitted  to  eat,  sith  they  doo  but  licke 
the  sweat  from  the  true  laborers  browes." 
Greene  has  it  in  several  places. 

73.  tawny  coats]  See  i.  iii.  28. 


sc.  I]         KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  77 

Enter  Mayor. 

May.  O !  my  good  lords,  and  virtuous  Henry, 

Pity  the  city  of  London,  pity  us. 

The  bishop  and  the  Duke  of  Gloucester's  men, 

Forbidden  late  to  carry  any  weapon. 

Have  fill'd  their  pockets  full  of  pebble  stones,  80 

And  banding  themselves  in  contrary  parts, 

Do  pelt  so  fast  at  one  another's  pate, 

That  many  have  their  giddy  brains  knock'd  out : 

Our  windows  are  broke  down  in  every  street. 

And  we  for  fear  compell'd  to  shut  our  shops.  85 

{Enter  Servingmen,  in  skirmish,  with  bloody  pates. 
K.  Hen.  We  charge  you,  on  allegiance  to  ourself, 

To  hold  your  slaught'ring  hands  and  keep  the  peace. 

Pray,  uncle  Gloucester,  mitigate  this  strife. 
First  Serv.  Nay,  if  we  be  forbidden  stones,  we  '11  fall  to  it  with 
our  teeth.  90 

Second  Serv.  Do  what  ye  dare ;  we  are  as  resolute. 

[Skirmish  again. 
Glou.  You  of  my  household,  leave  this  peevish  broil, 

And  set  this  unaccustom'd  fight  aside. 
First  Serv.  My  lord,  we  know  your  grace  to  be  a  man 

Just  and  upright,  and,  for  your  royal  birth,  95 

Inferior  to  none  but  to  his  majesty  ; 

And  ere  that  we  will  suffer  such  a  prince, 

So  kind  a  father  of  the  commonweal, 

To  be  disgraced  by  an  inkhorn  mate, 

85.  otirself]  our  selves  Ff  2,  3,  4. 

78-80.  The  bishop  .  .  .  pebble  stones]  81.  coniyai-y]  Accent  on  middle  syl- 

Boswell  Stone  quotes  here  from  Fabyan  lable.  Shakespeare  used  it  as  he  pleased. 

(596),  that  this  Parliament  of  the  Ar-  See  King  John,  iv.  ii.  ig8,  and  in,  i.  10 

bitrament  "  was  clepyd  of  the  Comon  for  both  quantities, 

people    the    Parlyament    of    Battes :  83.  giddy]  A  word  characteristic  of 

the    cause    was,     for     Proclamacyons  Shakespeare,  like  "  saucy." 

were  made  that  men  shulde  leue  theyr  85.  shut  ojir  shops]  Grafton  has  (p. 

swerdes    and  other  wepeyns   in    theyr  562) :  "  the  whole  realme  was  troubled 

Innys,  the  people  toke  great  battes  and  with  them  and  their  parte  takers  :  so  that 

stauys  in  theyr  neckes,  and  so  folowed  the  Citezens  of  London  .  .  .  were  fayne 

theyr    lordes   and   maisters    unto    the  to  keepe  daylie  and  nightly  watches,  as 

Parlyament.      And  when   that  wepyn  though  their  enemies  were  at  hande  to 

was  Inhybyted  theym,   then  they  toke  besiege  and  destroy  them :   In  so  much 

stonys   and    plummettes   of  lede,   and  that  all  the  shoppes  within  the  Citie  of 

trussyd   them   secretly  in  theyr  sleuys  London  were  shut  in  for  feare  of  the 

and     bosomys"     (Shakespeare's    Ho-  favourers   of  these   two   great  person- 

linshed,  p.  221).  ages." 

80.  pebble-stones]   A    very  old  form,  93.  unaccustom'd]   unusual,  indecor- 

older  than  "pebble."     New  Eng.  Diet,  ous,  uncouth. 

goes  back   to    1000  with  it.      It  is  in  99.  inkhorn    mate]    bookish    fellow, 

Golding's  Oi)frf,  bk.  viii.  722.  scribbling  chap.     For  "mate,"    see   2 


78 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act   III. 


We  and  our  wives  and  children  all  will  fight,  loo 

And  have  our  bodies  slaughter'd  by  thy  foes. 
Third  Scrv.  Ay,  and  the  very  parings  of  our  nails 

Shall  pitch  a  field  when  wc  are  dead,  [Begitt  again. 

Glou.  Stay,  stay,  I  say  ! 

And  if  you  love  me,  as  you  say  you  do, 

Let  me  persuade  you  to  forbear  awhile.  105 

K.  Hen.  O  !  how  this  discord  doth  afflict  my  soul. 

Can  you,  my  lord  of  Winchester,  behold 

My  sighs  and  tears  and  will  not  once  relent? 

Who  should  be  pitiful  if  you  be  not? 

Or  who  should  study  to  prefer  a  peace  1 10 

If  holy  churchmen  take  delight  in  broils  ? 
War.  Yield,  my  lord  protector  ;  yield,  Winchester ; 

Except  you  mean  with  obstinate  repulse 

To  slay  your  sovereign  and  destroy  the  realm. 

104.  And^  An  Dyce  (S.  Walker conj.). 


Henry  IV.  ii.  iv.  134,  and  Taming  of  a 
Shrew,  I.  i.  58.  A  very  common  term 
in  Greene's  plays  (Grosart,xiii.  124, 138, 
342,  396,  366,  etc.)  "  Inkhorn "  in 
this  sneering  sense  is  not  found  in 
Shakespeare.  Compare  Greene,  Mcna- 
plion  (Grosart,  vi.  82):  "an  inkhornc 
desire  to  be  eloquent ";  and  the  introduc- 
tion to  it  by  Nashe  (1589) :  "  count  it 
a  great  peece  of  art  in  an  inkhornc  man, 
in  anietapsterlietearmes  whatever  "  (vi. 
14).  "Inkhorn  terms"  and  "  smellen 
all  of  the  inkehorne"  are  in  Udall's 
Erasmus  (1542),  p.  243,  Robert's  re- 
print. 

102.  parings  of  our  nails]  anything 
pointed  if  stakes  could  not  be  found, 
with  allusion  to  nails  as  weapons  as 
well  as  to  the  old  proverb  for  miserli- 
ness :  "  she  will  not  part  with  the  paring 
of  her  nayles.  She  toylcth  continually 
foravayles"  (Hey wood's  Proverbs  (ed. 
Sharman,  p.  79),  1546).  "  Not  hiv-, pared 
nayle  will  hee  foregoe  "  {HaXVi  Satires, 
IV.  iii.  68,  1598).  "A  wretch,  pinch- 
peny,  penny-father  .  .  .  one  that  would 
not  part  with  the  paring  of  his  nails" 
(Cotgrave,  in  v.  Chiche).  "You  shall 
finde  moreover  among  the  Greeke  writers, 
not  a  few,  that  .  .  .  left  not  out  the 
verie  paring  of  the  vrie  nails  but  they 
could  pick  out  of  them  some  fine  Phy- 
sick  "  (Holland,  Plinie,  xxviii.  1  (p.  293), 
1601).  The  expression  occurs  in  Comedy 
of  Errors,  iv.  iii.  72,  in  a  passage  to  be 


explained  by  Scot's  Discoverie  of  Witch- 
craft and  not  by  a  reference  to  Marlowe's 
Faustus  as  is  suggested  by  Mr.  Cunning- 
ham ( Ardcn  ed.).  The  proverb  is  found  in 
Mabbe,  Celestina  (Act  xii.),  1631;  and 
in  Ray.  These  references  may  be  ac- 
ceptable, since  New  Eng.  Diet,  does 
not  help  nor  the  commentators.  It  is 
quite  Shakespearian  to  re-adapt  a  popu- 
lar proverbial  expression. 

103.  pitch  a  field]  See  note  at  i.  i. 
116.  As  distinguished,  "plain  field," 
seems  to  have  implied  the  absence  of 
stakes.  "  In  so  much  that  at  length  the 
father  and  the  sonne  [William  Rufus 
and  Robert]  met  in  plaine  fielde  with 
two  great  hostes,  and  eyther  with  other 
fought  a  cruell  Battail "  (Grafton,  i. 
166).  "Pitch  a  field"  is  a  common 
expression  in  Grafton. 

113.  repulse]  denial,  rejection,  rebuff. 
New  Eng.  Diet,  has  only  one  example 
(from  a  Scotch  writer,  1555)  preceding 
the  dale  of  this  play.  Greene  uses  it 
of  the  serious  rebuff  Mahomet  gives, 
"  out  of  the  brazen  head,"  to  the  craving 
priests  in /I //>Ao«s7<5  (Grosart,  xiii.  381, 
1.  1293)  :— 

"  Call  this  sentence  back  againe. 
Bring    not    the    Priests    into   this 

dangerous  state : 
For  when  the  Turke  doth  heare  of 

this  repulse, 
We  shall  be  sure  to  die  the  death 
therefore." 


sc.  I]         KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  79 

You  see  what  mischief  and  what  murder  too  1 1  5 

Hath  been  enacted  through  your  enmity  : 

Then  be  at  peace,  except  ye  thirst  for  blood. 
Wm.  He  shall  submit,  or  I  will  never  yield. 
G/ou.  Compassion  on  the  king  commands  me  stoop  ; 

Or  I  would  see  his  heart  out  ere  the  priest  120 

Should  ever  get  that  privilege  of  me. 
War.  Behold,  my  lord  of  Winchester,  the  duke 

Hath  banish'd  moody  discontented  fury, 

As  by  his  smoothed  brows  it  doth  appear : 

Why  look  you  still  so  stern  and  tragical?  125 

Glou.  Here,  Winchester,  I  offer  thee  my  hand. 
K.  Hen.  Fie,  uncle  Beaufort !  I  have  heard  you  preach 

That  malice  was  a  great  and  grievous  sin  ; 

And  will  not  you  maintain  the  thing  you  teach, 

But  prove  a  chief  offender  in  the  same  ?  1 30 

War.  Sweet  king !  the  bishop  hath  a  kindly  gird. 

For  shame,  my  lord  of  Winchester,  relent ! 

What !  shall  a  child  instruct  you  what  to  do  ? 
Win.  Well,  Duke  of  Gloucester,  I  will  yield  to  thee  ; 

Love  for  thy  love  and  hand  for  hand  I  give.  135 

Glou.  [Aside.]  Ay  ;  but,  I  fear  me,  with  a  hollow  heart. 

See  here,  my  friends  and  loving  countrymen, 

131.  king  I]  Pope;  king:  F.         136.  Marked  "  Aside"  first  by  Collier. 

115,  116.  what  murder  too  Hath  been  of  good  loue  and  accord,  the  which  was 

enacted]  Compare  True  Tragedy  (at  3  done  and  the  parliament  was  adjourned 

Henry  VI.  n.  w.  1-6) :"  for  to  revenge  till    after    Easter"    (Grafton,    p.    570). 

the  murders  thou  hast  made."  The  Arbitrators   according  to  Grafton 

124.      smoothed      brows']      Compare  were  (p.  568) :  "  Henry  Archebyshop  of 

Greene,  A  Looking  Glasse  for  London  Cauntorburie.ThomasDukeof  Excester, 

(Grosart,  xiv.  log,  1.  2538) :  "  Exchange  lohn  Duke  of  Norffolke,  Thomas  Byshop 

thy  cloudie  lookes  to  smoothed  smiles."  of  Duresme,    Phillip   Byshop  of  Wor- 

131.  kindly   gird]  Several    commen-  cester,  lohn  Bishop  of  Bathe,  Humfrey 

tators    have    misunderstood    this    line,  Erie    of    Stafford,    Wylliam    Alnewik 

which  means  that  the  bishop  has  received  keper  of  the  kings  privie  seale,  Rauffe 

a  kindly  gird,  or  twit,  from  the  king — in  Lorde  Cromewell  Arbitratoures."     One 

his  "  practise  what  you  preach  "  remark,  glaring  historical   discrepancy  appears 

135.  hand  for  hand  I  give]  At  the  in    these    speeches,     the    presence    of 

close   of  the  lengthy   wording   of  the  Warwick :    "  while   these   things   were 

Arbitrament:   "it  was  decreed  by  the  thus    appointyng   and    concludyng    in 

sayde   Arbitratours  that   my   lorde    of  England:  the  Erie  of  Warwike  Lieuten- 

Gloucester    should  aunswere  and    say,  ant  for  the    Regent  in    the  realme   of 

Faire  Uncle,  sithe  ye  declare  you  suche  Fraunce,   entred  into  the  Countrie   of 

a  man  as  ye  saye,  I  am  right  glad  that  Mayne"  (p.  571). 

it  is  so,  and  for  such  a  man  I  take  you.         136.  hollow    heart]    insincere,    false. 

And  when  this  was  done,  it  was  decreed  A     prevalent     sense    in    Shakespeare, 

by  the  sayd  Arbitratours  that  every  eche  Skelton  has  the  expression  :  "  so  many 

of  my  lordes  of  Gloucester  and  Win-  holow  hartes,    and  so    dowbyll    faces" 

Chester  should  take  eyther  other  by  the  {Spcke,  Parrot  (Dyce,  ii.  24),  circa  1530). 

hande,  in  the  presence  of  the  king,  and  And  Spenser  :   "  a  guilefull  hollow  hart  " 

al  the  parliament,  in  signe  and  token  [Colin  Clout's  come  Home  again,  I.  dgg). 


80  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  m. 

This  token  serveth  for  a  flag  of  truce 

Betwixt  ourselves  and  all  our  followers. 

So  help  me  God,  as  I  dissemble  not !  140 

JVin.  [As/Jr].  So  help  me  God,  as  I  intend  it  not! 
K.  Hen.  O  loving  uncle,  kind  Duke  of  Gloucester, 

How  joyful  am  I  made  by  this  contract! 

xA.way,  my  masters  I  trouble  us  no  more  ; 

But  join  in  friendship,  as  your  lords  have  done.  145 

F/rs^  Scnf.  Content :  I  '11  to  the  surgeon's. 
Second  Set-v.  And  so  will  I. 
Third  Seru.  And  I  will  see  what  physic  the  tavern  affords. 

[Exeunt  Mayor,  Servingmen,  etc. 
War.  Accept  this  scroll,  most  gracious  sovereign, 

Which  in  the  right  of  Richard  Plantagenet  1 50 

We  do  exhibit  to  your  majesty. 
Glou.  Well  urged,  my  Lord  of  Warwick :  for,  sweet  prince, 

And  if  your  grace  mark  every  ciicumstance. 

You  have  great  reason  to  do  Richard  right ; 

Especially  for  those  occasions  155 

At  Eltham-place  I  told  your  majesty. 
K.  Hen.  And  those  occasions,  uncle,  were  of  force  : 

Therefore,  my  loving  lords,  our  pleasure  is 

That  Richard  be  restored  to  his  blood. 
War.  Let  Richard  be  restored  to  his  blood  ;  160 

So  shall  his  father's  wrongs  be  rccompens'd. 
Win.  As  will  the  rest,  so  willeth  Winchester. 
K.  Hen.  If  Richard  will  be  true,  not  that  alone, 

But  all  the  whole  inheritance  I  give 

That  doth  belong  unto  the  house  of  York,  165 

From  whence  you  spring  by  lineal  descent. 
Plan.  Thy  humble  servant  vows  obedience 

And  humble  service  till  the  point  of  death. 
K.  Hen.  Stoop  then  and  set  your  knee  against  my  foot ; 

And,  in  reguerdon  of  that  duty  done,  170 

141.  Marked  "Aside"  first  by  Pope.  153.  And  if\  Ff.  ;  An  if  Theobald. 

163.  alone\  Ff  2,  3,  4  ;  all  alone  F  i. 

149.  scroll]  document,  copy  of  deed,  verb  occurs  below,  in.  iv.  23.  Both 
etc.  See  Tamburlaine,  Part  II.  i.  i.  :  occur  in  Gower's  Con/essio  Atnantis 
"this  truce  ...  of  whose  conditions  (1390),  and  are  hardly  found  again  until 
.  .  .  signed  with  our  hands  each  shall  this  play  {Ne7SJ  Eni^.  Diet.).  Cotgrave 
retain  a  sc^-oW."  hm  "  Reguerdonner.     To  reward  plenti- 

150.  right  of  Richard  Plantagenet]  fully,  guerdon  abundantly"  (1611). 
See  note,  11.  v.  7  ;  and  11.  v.  61.  See  And  compare  Nashe  (Grosart,  v.  250), 
below,  171-173,  note.  Lenten    Stuffe,     1594:     "in    generous 

159.  restored  to  his  blood]  See  above,     reguerdonment  whereof  he   sacrament- 
end  of  Act  II.  note.  ally  obliged  himselfe  that."    Old  French 
170.  reguerdon]  ample  reward.     The     forms.     Not  again  in  Shakespeare. 


SC.    I.] 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


81 


I  girt  thee  with  the  vah'ant  sword  of  York  : 

Rise,  Richard,  Hke  a  true  Plantagenet, 

And  rise  created  princely  Duke  of  York. 
Plati.  And  so  thrive  Richard  as  thy  foes  may  fall ! 

And  as  my  duty  springs,  so  perish  they  175 

That  grudge  one  thought  against  your  majesty ! 
All.  Welcome,  high  prince,  the  mighty  Duke  of  York  ! 
Som.  [Aside.]  Perish,  base  prince,  ignoble  Duke  of  York  ! 
Glou.  Now  will  it  best  avail  your  majesty 

To  cross  the  seas  and  to  be  crown'd  in  France,  180 

The  presence  of  a  king  engenders  love 

Amongst  his  subjects  and  his  loyal  friends, 

171.  girt]  Ff  I,  2,  3,  Steevens,  Craig;  gird  F  4,  Cambridge. 

The  crowning  in  France,  which  occurs 
here  immediately  (1. 180,  below),  belongs 
to  the  tenth  year  (after  the  death  of 
Joan). 

175.  grudge  one  thought]  "think  an  en- 
vious thought"  (New  Eng.  Diet.,  with 
no  other  example  of  the  construction). 
"  To  grudge"  was  commonly  used  for 
to  be  inwardly  discontented,  generally 
with  "  against,"  as  here.  "  To  grudge  a 
thought  "  is  to  have  a  grudging  thought. 
"  Olympia  (although  she  grudged  in- 
wardly, yet  being  loath  to  offend)  helde 
her  peace"  (Greene's  Menaphon  (Grosart, 
vi.  III.),  1587).  And  Grafton's  Con- 
tinuation of  Hardyng  (494) :  "  albeit 
hys  hearte  grudged  that  he  was  not 
afore  made  of  councel  in  this  matter." 

178.  ignoble]  See  v.  iv.  7  and  note. 

179-183.  "  It  was  most  apt  and  mete, 
for  the  time  present,  that  King  Henry 
in  his  royall  person,  with  a  new  armie, 
should  come  downe  into  Fraunce.partely 
to  comfort  and  visite  his  awne  subjects 
there,  partly  eyther  by  feare  or  favour 
(because  a  childe  of  his  age  and  beautie 
doth  commonly  allure  to  him  the  hartes 
of  the  elder  persons)  to  cause  the  French- 
men to  continue  in  their  due  obeysaunce 
towarde  him  "  (Grafton,  i.  590.  The  X 
Yere).  In  Grafton  the  removal  to 
France,  with  a  great  host,  takes  place 
immediately  after  these  words,  and 
"The  Coronation  of  King  Henry  the 
Sixt  in  Paris,  sacred  king  of  Fraunce," 
followed  at  once  in  the  year  143 1.  The 
intimation  here  is  chronologically  and 
dramatically  misplaced.  See  scene  iv. 
of  this  Act,  and  the  beginning  of  the 
next  Act.  Such  jumbling  is  impossible 
to  a  play  constrticted  by  Shakespeare. 
Dramatically,   we   are  to  suppose   the 


171.  girt]^ee  again  2 Henry  VI.  i.  i. 
65  ;  and  compare  engirt,  which  occurs 
a  couple  of  times  in  this  latter  play. 
An  old  form  of  "  gird,"  to  which  it  was 
giving  place.  Greene  has  it  in  Frier 
Bacon  (xiii.  77,  1.  1658):  "■  And  girt 
faire  England  with  a  wall  of  brasse." 
And  A  Looking  Glassefor  London  (xiv. 
51,  1.  1095):  "Go  girt  thy  loines  and 
hast  thee  quickly  hence."  Peele  uses 
the  exact  expression  in  Descensus 
AstrcecE  (1591) : — 

"  In  whose  defence  my  colours  I  ad- 
vance, 
And  girt  me  with  my  sword,  and 
shake  my  lance." 
"Girt"    for    "girded"    was    frequent. 
Earlier  in  Marlowe's  Tatnburlaine,  Part 
II.  III.  5:— 

"  Who  means  to  girt  Natolias  walls 

with  siege, 
Fire  the  town  and  over-run  the  land." 
171-173.  /  girt  thee  .  .  .  Duke  of 
York]  This  occurrence  is  in  its  historical 
sequence  :  "  when  the  great  fyre  of  thy  s 
discention,  betweene  these  two  Noble 
personages  was  thus  .  .  .  utterly 
quenched  out,  and  layde  voder  boorde. 
.  .  .  For  ioy  whereof  the  king  caused  a 
solempne  feast  to  be  kept  on  whitson 
Sonday,  on  the  which  daye  he  created 
Richard  Plantagenet,  sonne  and  heire 
to  the  Erie  of  Cambridge  (whom  his 
father  at  Hampton  had  put  to  execution, 
as  you  before  have  heard),  Duke  of  Yorke, 
not  foreseeing  before,  that  this  prefer- 
ment shoulde  be  his  destruction  "  (Graf- 
ton, i.  570).  These  events,  as  well  as 
the  death  of  Mortimer,  belong  to  the 
fourth  year  of  the  king.  Several  of  the 
preceding  occurrences  in  this  play  took 
place  in  the  fifth  to  the  tenth  years. 
6 


82 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act    III. 


As  it  disanimates  his  enemies. 
A'.  Hcu.  When  Gloucester  says  the  word,  King  Henry  goes ; 

For  friendly  counsel  cuts  off  many  foes.  185 

Glou.  Your  ships  already  are  in  readiness. 

{^Sentiet.     Flonrish.     Exeunt  all  but  Exeter. 
Ext'.  Ay,  we  may  march  in  England  or  in  France, 

Not  seeing  what  is  likely  to  ensue. 

This  late  dissension  grown  betwixt  the  peers 

Burns  under  feigned  ashes  of  forg'd  love,  190 

And  will  at  last  break  out  into  a  flame : 

As  fester'd  members  rot  but  by  degree, 

Till  bones  and  flesh  and  sinews  fall  away, 

So  will  this  base  and  envious  discord  breed. 

And  now  I  fear  that  fatal  prophecy  195 

Which  in  the  time  of  Henry  nam'd  the  Fifth 

Was  in  the  mouth  of  every  sucking  babe  ; 

That  Henry  born  at  Monmouth  should  win  all, 

And  Henry  born  at  Windsor  should  lose  all ; 


186.  Sennet.]  Senet.  F  i ;  omitted,    Ff  2,  3,  4. 
Exeunt,  Manet,  Exeter,  Ff.         199.  lose]  loose  F  i 


Exeunt  all  .  .  .]  Capell ; 
should  lose,  Ff  2,  3,  4. 


events  of  the  next  two  scenes  take  place 
while  the  king  is  on  his  voyage. 

183.  disanimates]  disheartens,  dis- 
courages. New  Eng.  Diet,  gives  an 
earlier  example  (1583)  from  Stubbes' 
Anatomie  of  Abuses,  ii.  39  (New  Shaks. 
Soc.  i8>2).  I  find  It  in  Nashe's  Christes 
Tenres  (Grosart,  iv.  261) :  "  They  [the 
Romans]  with  thunder  from  any  enter- 
prise were  disanimated,  we  nothing  are 
amated."     An  uncommon  word. 

igo.  feigned  ashes  .  .  .  forg'd  love] 
These  terms  are  constantly  jingled  to- 
gether by  Greene :  "  his  great  promises 
and  smal  periormance,  his  fained 
faith  and  forged  flatterie "  (Mamillia 
(Grosart,  ii.  183),  1587).  "To forge  a 
fayntd  tale"  (Alphonsus,  Grosart,  xiii. 
341,  1.  262).  And  the  first  line  of  the 
Prologue  to  Selimus  :  "  No  fained  toy 
noT forged  Tragedie  "  (Grosart,  xiv.  193). 
But  Peele  is  in  evidence  also  :  "  that 
I  should /o>'jD'^  OT  feign  with  you  my  love 
in  aught"  (Sir  C ly onion,  ^q2,  a);  and 
Spenser  :  "  That  feigning  dreame,  and 
that  faire-forged  Spright  "  (i.  2,  2) 

192.  fester'd  members]  A  metaphor 
that  Greene  would  have  written.  Com- 
pare Mamillia  (Grosart,  ii.  125),  1583: 
"  The  surgion,  when  the  festring  Fis- 
tuloe  hath  by  long  continuance  made 
the  sound  flesh  rotten,  can  neither  with 
lenitive  plaisters,  nor  cutting  corasives 
be  cured :  so  loue  craveth  but  only  time 


to  bring  the  body  and  mind  to  bondage." 
See  Hall's  Chronicle,  p.  245. 

195.  that  fatal  prophecy]  Grafton  has 
this:  "And  duryng  the  time  of  this 
s.ege  was  borne  at  VVyndsore  the  kings 
Sonne  called  Henry  whose  Godfathers 
were  lohn  Duke  of  Bedford,  and  Henry 
Bishop  of  Winchester,  and  laquet 
Duches  of  Holland  was  Godmother, 
whereof  the  king  was  certefyed  lyeng 
at  the  siege  of  Meaux,  at  the  which  he 
much  rejoysed,  but  when  he  heard  of 
the  place  of  his  natiuity,  whether  he 
fantasyed  some  olde  blind  prophecie, 
or  else  iudged  of  his  sonnes  fortune, 
he  sayde  to  the  Lorde  Fitz  Hugh  his 
Chamberleyn  these  wordes.  My  Lorde, 
Henry  borne  at  Monmouth,  shall 
small  time  reigne  and  get  much ;  And 
Henry  borne  at  Wyndsore  shall  long 
reigne  and  loose  all :  But  as  God  wyll, 
so  be  it"  (Reprint,  vol.  i.  p.  545). 

197.  sucking  babe]  Occurs  in  Qo\A- 
mgs,  Ovid,  1565-67.  "  Sucking  child  " 
is  the  Biblical  expression.  Greene  uses 
it  ludicrously  as  here  :  "  the  king  com- 
manded upon  paine  of  death,  none 
should  eate  for  so  many  dayes,  no,  not 
the  sucking  infatit "  (Looking  Glasse 
for  London,  xiv.  108,  1.  2500). 

198,  199.  win  all  .  .  .  lose  all]  So  in 
Grafton's  Continuation  of  Hardyng,  p. 
547  (1543) :  "  intendyng  vtterly  ether  to 
lose  all  or  els  to  wynne  all." 


sc.  II.]         KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  83 

Which  is  so  plain  that  Exeter  doth  wish  200 

His  days  may  finish  ere  that  hapless  time,  \^Exit. 

SCENE  II. — France.     Before  Roueti. 

Enter  JOAN  LA  PUCELLE  disguised,  with  four  soldiers  with 
sacks  upon  their  backs. 

Puc.  These  are  the  city  gates,  the  gates  of  Roan, 

Through  which  our  policy  must  make  a  breach  : 

Take  heed,  be  wary  how  you  place  your  words  ; 

Talk  like  the  vulgar  sort  of  market  men 

That  come  to  gather  money  for  their  corn.  5 

If  we  have  entrance,  as  I  hope  we  shall, 

And  that  we  find  the  slothful  watch  but  weak, 

I  '11  by  a  sign  <g\vQ.  notice  to  our  friends, 

That  Charles  the  Dauphin  may  encounter  them. 

First  Sold.  Our  sacks  shall  be  a  mean  to  sack  the  city,  10 

And  we  be  lords  and  rulers  over  Roan  ; 
Therefore  we'll  knock.  \^K7iocks. 

Watch.  [  \Vithin?[     Qui  est  la  ? 

Puc.  Pay  sans,  pauvres  gens  de  France  : 

Poor  market  folks  that  come  to  sell  their  corn.  1 5 

Scene  ii.  Enter  Joan  la  Pucelle]  Enter  Pucell  Ff.        13.  Qiii  est  Id  ?]  Malone  ; 
Cke  la.  Ff.         14.  Paysans,  pauvres]  Rovve ;  Peasanns  la  pouvre  Ff. 

I.  the  gates  of  Roan']  This  fictitious  time  on  the  French  syde.      Thus  one 

capture  of  Rouen  is  perhaps  an  adapta-  gayned  this  day,  and  lost  on  the  next, 

tion  of  a   story  told  by  the  chroniclers  Thus     fortune     chaunged     and     thus 

of    The    XIX    Yere    (1441),    (Grafton,  chaunce  hapned,  accordyng  to  the  olde 

621,     622):     "The     Frenchmen     had  prouerbe,  saiyng:   in  warre  is  nothing 

taken  the  towne  of  Evreux,  by  treason  certaine,    and    victorie   is   ever   doubt- 

of  a  fisher.     Sir  Fraunces  Arragonoys  lull." 

heeiyng  of  that  chance  apparrelled  sixe  2.  policy]  start  again,  as  in  in.  iii.  12. 

strong  men  like  rusticall   people    with  4.  market  men]  marketing  folks, 

sackes  and  basketts  as  cariers  of  corne  "  Men  know  (quoth  I)  I  have  heard 

and  vitaile,  and  sent  them  to  the  Castell  now  and  then, 

of  Cornill  in  the  which  divers  English  How    the    market    goeth   by    the 

men  were  kept  as  prisoners ;    and  he  market  men  " 

with  an  imbushment  of  Englishe  men  (Heywood's  Proverbs  (Sharman  ed.  p. 

lay    in    a    Valey    nie    to  the    fortresse.  65),  1546). 

These  sixe  Companions  entred  into  the  10.  mean]  means.  Used  interchange- 
Castle  unsuspected  and  not  mistrusted,  ably.  "They  perceuyed  well  that  there 
and  straight  came  to  the  Chamber  of  was  none  other  meane,  but  to  defend 
the  Capteyne  and  layde  handes  upon  their  cause  with  dent  of  sworde  "  (Graf- 
him,  gevyng  knowlege  thereof  to  their  ton,  i.  270,  1568,  1569,  reprint), 
imbushement,  which  sodainly  entred  the  10.  sack  the  city]  Falstaff  gives  us  this 
Castell  and  slue  and  toke  all  the  French  quibble  much  better.  "Ay,  Hal;  'tis 
men  prisoners,  and  set  at  libertie  al  the  hot,  'tis  hot,  there  's  that  will  sack  a  city. 
Englishe  men,  which  thing  done  they  [The  Prince  draws  out  a  bottle  of  Sack.]" 
set  the  Castell  on  fire  and  departed  (J  Henry  IV.  v.  iii.  56).  The  expres- 
with  great  spoyle  to  the  citie  of  Roan,  sion  "  sack  a  city  "  is  often  in  Greene's 
Thus  the  Ladie  victorie  sometime  prose,  as  in  Etiphues  his  Censure  to 
smiled  on  the  Englishe  part  and  some-  Philaniiis  (twice),  etc.  etc. 


84 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act    III. 


Watch,  \ppens  the  gate.']  Enter,  go  in  ;  the  market  bell  is  rung. 
Puc.  Now,  Roan,  I  '11  shake  thy  bulwarks  to  the  ground. 

[Exeunt. 

\Entcr   Charles,    the  Bastard  of  ORLEANS,   ALENgON, 
and  Forces. 


Cha.  Saint  Denis  bless  this  happy  stratagem  ! 
And  once  again  we'll  sleep  secure  in  Roan. 

Bast.   Here  enter'd  Pucelle  and  her  practisants ; 
Now  she  is  there  how  will  she  specify 
Where  is  the  best  and  safest  passage  in  ? 

Aicn.  By  thrusting  out  a  torch  from  yonder  tower ; 
Which,  once  discern 'd,  shows  that  her  meaning  is. 
No  way  to  that,  for  weakness,  which  she  enter'd. 


25 


Enter  Joan    LA  PUCELLE  on  the  top,   thrusting  out  a   torch 
hurtling. 


Puc.  Behold  !  this  is  the  happy  wedding  torch 
That  joineth  Roan  unto  her  countrymen, 
But  burning  fatal  to  the  Talbotites. 

Bast.  See,  noble  Charles,  the  beacon  of  our  friend. 
The  burning  torch  in  yonder  turret  stands, 

Cha.  Now  shine  it  like  a  comet  of  revenge, 
A  prophet  to  the  fall  of  all  our  foes ! 


{Exit. 
30 


17.  [Exeunt.]  Ff ;  Guard  open :  and  Pucelle,  and  her  soldiers,  enter  the 
city.  Capell.  the  Bastard  of  Orleans]  Bastard  Ff;  Reignier  Cambridge; 
omitted     Ff;      and    forces     Capell.  21,    22.    specify    Where  .  .  .  in?] 

Rowe  ;  specifie  ?  Here  .  .  .  in  Ff.  23,  33.  Reignier.]  Ff  ;  Alenqon.  Capell. 
25.  o«  the  top]  Ff;  on  a  battlement  Capell.  28.  Talbotites]  Theobald; 
Talbonites  Ff ;  Talbotines  Hanmer.         31.  shine]  Ff  i,  2  ;  shines  Ff  3,  4. 


28 


the 


18.  Saint  Deftis]  See  again,  i, 
and  note. 

20.  practisants]  confederates 
scheme. 

25.  No  way  to  that]  no  way  to  com- 
pare with  that.  Compare  Marlowe, 
yew  of  Malta,  iv.  i. :  "  There  is  no 
music  to  a  Christian's  knell."  And 
Greene,  James  the  Fourth  (Grosart,  xiii. 
225):  ''No  fishing  to  the  sea,  nor 
service  to  a  king."     A  frequent  idiom. 

29,  30.  See  .  .  .  the  beacon  of  our 
friend,  The  burning  torch]  Bosvvell 
Stone  suggests  that  an  incident  in  the 
betrayal  of  Le  Mans  to  the  French  may 
have  suggested  this.  It  is  told 
by    Grafton    (The  VI  Yere)  :  "  When 


the  dayc  assigned  and  the  night  ap- 
pointed was  come,  the  French  Capi- 
taines  priuely  approched  the  towne, 
making  a  little  fire  on  an  hill  in  the 
sight  of  the  towne,  to  signifie  their 
comming  and  approching.  The  Cite- 
zens  .  .  .  shewed  a  burning  Cresset  out 
of  the  Steeple,  which  sodainly  was  put 
out  and  quenched.  What  should  I  saye, 
the  Captaines  on  horseback  came  to 
the  gate,  and  the  Traytors  within  slue 
the  porters  and  watchmen  and  let  in 
their  friendes"  (p.  574). 

31.  shine  it  like  a  comet]  may  it  shine. 
Compare  Peele,  David  and  Bethsabe 
(467,  b):  "hate's  fire  .  .  .  Making  thy 
forehead  like  a  comet,  shine." 


11.] 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


85 


Alen.  Defer  no  time,  delays  have  dangerous  ends; 
Enter,  and  cry  "  The  Dauphin  ! "  presently, 
And  then  do  execution  on  the  watch.  35 

[A/aru7n.     Exeunt. 

An  alarum.     Enter  TALBOT  in  an  excursion. 

Tal.  France,  thou  shalt  rue  this  treason  with  thy  tears, 
If  Talbot  but  survive  thy  treachery. 
Pucelle,  that  witch,  that  damned  sorceress, 
Hath  wrought  this  hellish  mischief  unawares. 
That  hardly  we  escap'd  the  pride  of  France.       {Exit.     40 

Alarum.  Excursions.  BEDFORD,  brought  in  sick  in  a  chair. 
Enter  TALBOT  and  BURGUNDY  without:  within  La 
Pucelle,  Charles,  Bastard,  Alen^on,  ^;2^Reignier, 
on  the  walls. 

Puc.  Good  morrow,  gallants  !     Want  ye  corn  for  bread  ? 

35.  Alarum.  Exeunt.]  Cambridge;  Alarum.  Ff.  Enter  Talbot]  Cambridge; 
Talbot  ¥i.  40.  the  pride]  the  prize  Theobald;  being  prize  Hanmer.  Bur- 
gundy] Burgonie  ¥i{3.nA passim).  Bastard,  Alengon,  and Reignier]Cdimhndge  ; 
Bastard,  and  Reignier  Ff. 


33.  Defer  no  time]  The  verb  occurs 
again  2  Henry  VI.  iv.  vii.  142,  and 
doubtfully  in  Richard  III.  (Qq  neglect). 
Greene  has  the  expression  in  A  Look- 
ing Glasse  for  London  (Grosart,  xiv.  80, 
1.  1813):- 

"  The  houre  is  nie ;  defer  not  tune  : 
Who  knowes  when  he  shall  die  ?  " 
New  Eng.  Diet,  gives  the  phrase  from 
Hall's  Chronicle  (1548)  and  Lyly's 
Eiiphues.  See  extract  from  Hall  in  5 
Henry  VI.  11.  i.  iii. 

33.  delays  have  dangerous  e^ids]  An 
old  proverb  occurring  in  various  forms. 
Hazlitt  quotes  from  Havelok  the  Dane  : 

Delay   hath   often   wrought   scathe '" 


(ed.  Skeat,  1.  1352,  circa  1300?). 


And 


see  Chaucer,  Troilus  and  Cresside,  iii. 
122.  And  Lyly,  Euphues  (Arber,  p.  65), 
1579:  "Delays  breed  dangers."  Gas- 
coigne  gives  the  Latin:  "I  found  .  .  . 
that  this  prouerbe  was  all  too  true, 
Omnismora  trahit  periculum"  (Princely 
Pleasures  at  Kenilworth,  1575,  Nichols' 
Progresses,  ed.  1823,  i.  516).  And 
Greene,  Alphonsus  (Grosart,  xiii.  373, 
1.  1080)  :— 

"  I  see  tis  time  to'looke  about, 
Delay  is  dangerous  and  procureth 
harme." 
35.    do    execution   on]    Occurs  again 


twice  in  Titus  Andronicus,  which  is  the 
earliest  use  in  New  Eng.  Diet.  (1589). 
I  find  it  in  Golding's  Ovid  (viii.  686, 
687),  1565-7:  "his  mothers  giltie  hand 
had  .  .  .  Done  execution  on  hirselfe." 
And  in  Grafton's  Contiymation  of  Har- 
'^y^S  (P-  557)'  1543  •  "  Then  did  he  exe- 
cution of  suchc  rebellions  [rebels]  as 
were  taken." 

36.  France,  thou  shalt  rue]  So  in 
King  John,  in.  i.  323  :  "France,  thou 
shalt  rue." 

39.  unawares]  by  surprise.  Occurs 
again  (three  times)  in  3  Henry  VI.  of 
an  attack,  military  exploit.  In  Golding's 
Ovid  (Epistle,  11.  556,  557)  :— 

"  That  whyle  I  thus  stand  gazing  on 
his  [panther's]  hyde, 
He  may  devour  mee  unbewares  "  ; 
and  bk.  iii.  1.  452  :  "by  stealth  and  un- 
bewares." Elsewhere  in  Shakespeare, 
except  3  Henry  VI.  iv.  viii.  63,  the 
word  is  preceded  by  "  at."  See  note, 
Part  in.  IV.  ii.  23.  Elsewhere  in  Gold- 
ing  and  in  Spenser  the  word  used  is  "  un- 
wares."  Peele  has  "at  unawares" 
(Alcazar,  iv.  ii.). 

40.  the  pride  of  France]  the  power 
and  arrogance  of  France.  Compare  iv. 
vi.  15. 

40.  Alarum.  Excursions.]  This  stage 


8G 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act    III. 


I  think  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  will  fast 

Before  he  '11  buy  again  at  such  a  rate. 

'Twas  full  of  darnel ;  do  you  like  tlie  taste  ? 
Bur.  Scoff  on,  vile  fiend  and  shameless  courtezan  ! 

I  trust  ere  long  to  choke  thee  with  thine  own, 

And  make  thee  curse  the  harvest  of  that  corn. 
C/ia.  Your  grace  may  starve  perhaps  before  that  time. 
Bed.  O  !  let  no  words,  but  deeds,  revenge  this  treason. 
Puc.  What  will  you  do,  good  grey-beard  ?  break  a  lance, 

And  run  a  tilt  at  death  within  a  chair? 
Tal.  Foul  fiend  of  France,  and  hag  of  all  despite, 

Encompass'd  with  thy  lustful  paramours  ! 

Becomes  it  thee  to  taunt  his  valiant  age 


45 


50 


.  chair  ?]VoY)Q\  three  lines  Ff,  ending  gray-beard.  Deaths 


50,  51.  What 
Chayre. 


direction  is  frequent  in  these  plays  :  see 
Part  II.  V.  ii.  "Excursions"  is  not  a 
word  in  the  text  of  Shakespeare.  As  a 
stage  direction  it  is  in  Peele's  David  and 
Bethsabe  (473,  a):  ^'  Alarum,  excursions, 
assault."  And  in  Marlowe's  Edward 
the  Second  (205,  a) :  "  Ahirums,  excur- 
sions." In  Sclimus  only  "-Alarum" 
occurs.  In  Greene's  Alphonsus  it  is 
"strike  up  alarum." 

44.  darnel]  See  again  King  Lear,  iv.  iv. 
5,  and  Henry  V.  v.  ii.  45.  See  note  at 
"  cockle,  "  Love's  Labour's  Lost,  iv.  iii. 
380  (Arden  edition,  p.  107).  Used  in- 
discriminately with  "  cockle  "  for  any 
injurious  weed  in  common,  but  properly 
Lolium.  See  Turner,  Names  of  Hcrbes, 
1548  {Eng.  Diet.  Soc.  1881).  "  To  sowe 
upon  the  good  siede,  the  pestilent 
Dernell "  (W.  Watreman,  Fardle  of 
Facions  (reprint,  Hakluyt,  v.  67,  1812), 
1555)-  Steevens  finds  an  allusion  to 
the  poisonous  properties  of  Lolium, 
quoting  Gerard  :  "  Darnel  hurteth  the 
eyes,  and  maketh  them  dim,  if  it  happen 
either  in  corne  for  breade  or  drinke." 
He  goes  on :  "  Pucelle  means  to  in- 
timate that  the  corn  she  carried  had 
produced  the  same  effect  on  the  guards 
of  Roiien ;  otherwise  they  would  have 
seen  through  her  disguise."  This  seems 
to  be  very  nice,  but  too  far-fetched. 
Only  "  bad  grain "  is  needful.  Is 
Steevens'  quotation  correct  ? 

50.  grey-beard]  old  man.  Occurs 
again  Tamingof  Shrew  {twice),  Julius 
Casar,  and  3  Henry  VL  North's 
Plutarch  (1580)  is  in  Nezv  Eng.  Diet. 
preceding  Shakespeare.  Greene  uses 
it  in  Selimus  (Grosart,  xiv.  246,  1.  1333). 


51.  run  a  tilt  at]  The  expression  "  run 
a  tilt  "  occurs  only  in  2  Henry  VL  1.  iii. 
54  again  in  Shakespeare :  where  it 
comes  from  The  Contention,  sc.  iii. 
It  was  more  usual  to  make  a  verb  of 
tilt.  It  is  in  Marlowe,  Edward  the 
Second  (Dyce,  220,  a) : — 

"  Tell  Isabel  the  queen,  I  looked  not 
thus 
When  for  her  sake  I  ran  at  tilt  in 

France 
And  there  unhorsed  the  Duke  of 
Cleremont." 
It  is  an  expression  of  Greene's :  "  What 
causeth  men  to  just,  tourney,  rufine  at 
tilt,  &  combat,  but  love  ? "  (Debate 
between  Follie  and  Love,  Grosart,  iv. 
212,213).  Andin  Euphjies  his  Censure 
to  Philautus  (vi.  184) :  "  hunting,  hawk- 
ing, running  at  tilt,  and  other  pas- 
times"  (1587). 

52.  Foul  fend]  An  expressly  Shake- 
spearian phrase,  occurring  a  dozen  times 
in  King  Lear,  in.  iv.,  and  once  in 
Richard  IIL  i.  iv.  58.  New  Eng.  Diet. 
has  no  example  earlier  than  King  Lear, 
There  is  a  tang  of  the  early  mysteries 
about  "foul  fiend."  Compare  Neiv  Cus- 
tom (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  iii.  23),  ante 
1573  :  "  The  foul  fiend  of  hell  fetch  me, 
body  and  soul." 

52.  hag]  witch.  New  Eng.  Diet. 
gives  "  That  hateful!  hellish  hagge  of 
ugly  hue  "  (Mirrour  for  Magistrates, 
1587).  And  see  Spenser,  Faerie  Quecne, 
I.  viii.  46.  Shakespeare  has  this  word 
about  a  dozen  times,  always  of  a  witch, 
except  in  King  Lear,  11.  iv.  281. 

52.  despite]  malice,  mischief,  spite. 
Very  frequent  in  Shakespeare. 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


87 


55 


And  twit  with  cowardice  a  man  half  dead  ? 

Damsel,  I  '11  have  a  bout  with  you  again, 

Or  else  let  Talbot  perish  with  this  shame. 
Puc.  Are  ye  so  hot,  sir  ?  yet,  Pucelle,  hold  thy  peace ; 

If  Talbot  do  but  thunder,  rain  will  follow. 

[  The  English  whisper  together  in  council. 

God  speed  the  parliament !  who  shall  be  the  speaker?     6o 
Tal.  Dare  ye  come  forth  and  meet  us  in  the  field  ? 
Puc.  Belike  your  lordship  takes  us  then  for  fools. 

To  try  if  that  our  own  be  ours  or  no. 
Tal.  I  speak  not  to  that  railing  Hecate, 

But  unto  thee,  Alencon,  and  the  rest ;  65 

Will  ye,  like  soldiers,  come  and  fight  it  out? 
Alen.  Signior,  no. 


59.  The  English  .  .  .]  They 


Ff. 


55.  twit  with]  Occurs  again  in  Two 
Gentlemen  of  Verona,  iv.  ii.  8,  3  Henry 
VI.  V.  V.  40,  and  2  Henry  VI.  111.  i. 
178,  but  not  in  Shakespeare  s  mature 
work.  A  favourite  expression  with 
Greene:  "Shee  twits  thee  with  Vesta 
when  God  wotte  Venus  is  the  goddesse 
that  heareth  hir  orisons"  (Ttillies  Love 
(Grosart,  vii.  167),  1589) ;  and  in  A 
Looking  Glassefor  London  (xiv.  12) : — 
"  Darst  thou  check 
Or  twit  him  with  the  laws  that 
nature  lowes  ?  " 
and  again,  p.  28,  1.  534:  "And  dar'st 
thou  twit  me  with  a  womans  fault." 
Peele  has  the  exact  words  in  The  Tale 
of  Troy  (556,  b),  1589 :  "  And  twits 
Ulysses  with  his  cowardice." 

55.  half  dead]  Compare  (Peele's)  Jack 
Straw  :  "  Men  half-dead,  who  lie  killed 
in  conceit"  (HazUtt's  Dodsley,  v.  408). 

56.  have  a  bout  with  you]  See  above, 
I.  V.  4,  note. 

58.  Are  ye  so  hot  ■>]  Occurs  again  in 
Romeo  and  Juliet,  11.  v.  64,  and  else- 
where. "Hot,"'  meaning  hot-tempered, 
cross,  is  frequent  in  Shakespeare. 

59.  thunder,  rain  will  follow]  "After 
thunder  comes  a  rain  "  is  an  old  saw. 
It  is  in  Udall's  Erasmus'  Apophthcgmes, 
1542  (Robert's  reprint,  p.  26),  in  con- 
nection with  Socrates  and  Xantippe ; 
and  in  The  Schole-house  of  Women 
(Hazlitt's  Early  Pop.  Poetry,  iv.  121), 
ante  1570. 

62.  Belike]  Shakespeare  starts  sen- 
tences about  twenty  times  with  belike, 
very  often,  as  here,  in  mocking  passages. 


64.  Hecate]  Here  a  trisyllable,  but  in 
Midsummer  Night's  Dream  and  Mac- 
beth (thrice)  it  is  dissyllabic.  But  we 
have  had  already  some  obvious  hints 
that  Shakespeare  was  familiar  with 
Golding's  Ovid,a.nd  Golding  has  it  both 
ways.  For  Golding  before,  see  line  35, 
"do  execution  on"  (note),  and  "enter- 
talk  with,"  in.  i.  63.  These  are  the 
more  conspicuous  echoes  in  this  Act. 
Golding  spells  Hecate  as  Hecat 
three  times  (Moring's  reprint,  p.  122,  1. 
174;  p.  141,  1.  237;  p.  143,  1.  3it). 
And  at  p.  139,  11.  105,  106  : — 

"To  Persey's  daughter  Hecate  (of 
whome  the  witches  holde) 
As  of  their  Goddesse  "  ; 
and  at  p.  142,  1.  261:  "And  thou  three 
headed  Hecate  who  knowest  best  the 
way,"  we  have  the  trisyllable.  At  p.  139, 
1.  136,  he  gives  it  trisyllabic  value  with- 
out dropping  the  final  e.  These  are  irom 
books  vi.  and  vii.  of  the  Metamor- 
phoses. Greene  would  have  written 
thus  :  "  And  Hell  and  Hecate  shall  faile 
the  Frier"  {Frier Bacon, xin.  22,  1.  378). 
Hecate  is  in  Faerie  Queene,  1.  i.  43. 

66.  fight  it  out]  has  occurred  already, 
I.  i.  99  and  i.  ii.  128.  And  see  3  Henry 
VI.  I.  i.  117  and  i.  iv.  10.  Peculiar  to 
these  plays  in  Shakespeare.  New  Eng. 
Diet,  gives  an  example  from  W.  Patten 
(1548),  in  Arber's  English  Garner,  iii. 
109.  Peele  has  it  in  The  Arraignment 
of  Paris  (Dyce,  358,  a),  1584:  "To  be 
renowo'd  for  happy  victory,  to  fight 
it  out."  "Test  it  out"  occurs  also  in 
Peele. 

67.  Signior,  no]  An  old  piece  of  chaff, 
founded  on  "  Signior  Nobody  "  perhaps. 


88 


THE  FIKST  PART  OF 


Tal.  Signior,  hang  !  base  mulctcrs  of  France  ! 

Like  peasant  foot-boys  do  they  keep  the  walls, 

And  dare  not  take  up  arms  like  gentlemen.  70 

Ptic.  Away,  captains !  let 's  get  us  from  the  walls, 
For  Talbot  means  no  goodness  by  his  looks. 
God  be  wi'  you,  my  lord  :  we  came  but  to  tell  you 
That  wc  are  here.  {^Exeunt  from  the  ivalls. 


Tal.  And  there  will  we  be  too  ere  it  be  lon_ 

Or  else  reproach  be  Talbot's  greatest  fame  ! 
Vow,  Burgundy,  by  honour  of  thy  house, 
Prick'd  on  by  public  wrongs  sustain'd  in  France, 
Either  to  get  the  town  again  or  die  ; 
And  I,  as  sure  as  English  Henry  lives, 
And  as  his  father  here  was  conqueror. 
As  sure  as  in  this  late-betrayed  town 
Great  Cordelion's  heart  was  buried. 
So  sure  I  swear  to  get  the  town  or  die. 
Bur.  My  vows  are  equal  partners  with  thy  vows. 

Tal.  But  ere  we  go,  regard  this  dying  prince, 


75 


80 


85 


73.  came']  F  i ;  come  sir  Ff  2,  3,  4. 


The  remark  is  jerked  in  very  unex- 
pectedly, supposing  there  to  be  no 
further  meaning  than  the  mere  negative. 
Another  form,  probably  the  repartee,  is 
"  Signior,  si,"  varied  to  "  Signior  see" 
sometimes.  See  (for "  Signior  No")  The 
Noble  Souldier  (Bullen's  Old  Plays,  i. 
325)  and  Bullen's  note.  "Signior  No- 
body" occurs  in  Day,  Isle  of  Gulls 
(noted  in  Bullen's  edition).  See  too 
the  old  play  Nobody  and  Somebody  in 
Simpson's  School  of  Shakespeare  and 
notes.  Compare  Armin,  Tjvo  Maids  of 
Moreclacke  (ante  i6og),  (Grosart,  p.  1 1 1)  : 
"Signior  No,  you're  locksome."  And 
Lyly,  Mother  Bombie  :  "  I  faith  sir,  no  " 
(Fairholt  ed.  p.  g6,  and  again  p.  124) ; 
and  Ben  Jonson,  Case  is  Altered  (Cun- 
ningham's Gifford,  p.  549,  b):  "Vat  turn? 
upon  the  toe!  Fin.  O  Signior,  no." 
"  Signior  Si  "  occurs  in  Greene's  He  and 
She  Coneycatcher  (Grosart,  x.  224). 
The  appellation  Signior,  dragged  in 
here,  does  not  occur  again  in  the  trilogy. 
It  is  found  in  the  Orient  and  elsewhere. 
"P'aith  sir  no  "  occurs  in  Greene's  7aw« 
the  Fourth  (xiii.  315),  and  "In  faith  sir, 
no"  in  Alphonsus  (xiii.  355). 

68.  muleters]  muleteers,  mule-drivers. 
See  Antojiy  and  Cleopatra,  iii.  vii.  36. 
Compare  pioner,  engitier,  the  recog- 
nised forms.     From  the  French  :  "Mule- 


tier.  A  Mulletar,  Moylc-keeper,  Moyle- 
dri ver "  (Cotgrave) .  Peele  has  the  word 
in  the  Battle  of  Alcazar,  iv.  i. : 
"  Drudges,  negroes,  slaves  and  mule- 
ters." 

78.  Prick'don]  goaded,  invited.  Fre- 
quent in  Shakespeare. 

82,  83.  in  this  late-betrayed  town 
Great  Cordelion's  heart  was  buried] 
"  Within  three  dayes  after  the  king  was 
hurt,  he  dyed  that  is  to  say  the  IX.  day 
Aprill,  and  was  buryed  as  he  himselfe 
willed  at  Fount  Ebrard  or  Everard  at 
the  Feete  of  his  father.  Howbeit  his 
hart  was  buryed  at  Roan  and  his  bow- 
elles  in  Poytiers"  (Grafton,  i.  230). 

82.  late-betrayed]  Compare  "  late- 
despised  Richard,"  above,  11.  v.  36;  and 
" /a/£'-deceased,"  iii.  ii.  132  below;  and 
in  Titus  Andronicus,  i.  i.  184.  Shake- 
speare has  this  construction  again  in 
Venus  and  Adonis,^i%,  "/a^c-embarked." 
In  1  Henry  IV.  11.  iii.  62,  "  late-d\s- 
turbed."  In  Lucrecc,  1740,  "late- 
sacked."  In  every  case  late  is  to  be 
regarded  adverbially,  and  the  hyphen 
is  open  to  objection.  "Our  late-con- 
firmed league"  occurs  in  The  Spanish 
Tragedy.  And  "  East  India  and  the  Inte- 
discover'd  isles  "  in  Tamburlaine,  Part 
I.  I.  i.  Spenser  has  "his  late-reney/ed 
might"  in  Faerie  Queene,  i.  xi.  35. 


sc.  II.]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


89 


The  valiant  Duke  of  Bedford.     Come,  my  lord, 

We  will  bestow  you  in  some  better  place. 

Fitter  for  sickness  and  for  crazy  age. 
Bed.  Lord  Talbot,  do  not  so  dishonour  me  ;  90 

Here  will  I  sit  before  the  walls  of  Roan, 

And  will  be  partner  of  your  weal  or  woe. 
Bur.  Courageous  Bedford,  let  us  now  persuade  you. 
Bed.  Not  to  be  gone  from  hence  ;  for  once  I  read 

That  stout  Pendragon  in  his  litter  sick  95 

Came  to  the  field  and  vanquished  his  foes. 

Methinks  I  should  revive  the  soldiers'  hearts, 

Because  I  ever  found  them  as  myself. 
Tal.   Undaunted  spirit  in  a  dying  breast ! 

Then  be  it  so :  heavens  keep  old  Bedford  safe  !  100 

And  now  no  more  ado,  brave  Burgundy, 

But  gather  we  our  forces  out  of  hand. 

And  set  upon  our  boasting  enemy. 

{Exeunt  all  but  Bedford  and  Attendants. 


99.    Undaunted]   Undaunting 


103.  \_Exeunt  .  .  .]  Cambridge  ;  Exit. 


Ff. 


89.  crazy]  decrepit.  Not  elsewhere 
in  Shakespeare.  ''Crazed"  was  the  com- 
mon form  at  this  time.  New  Eng.  Diet. 
has  an  earlier  example  than  the  present 
from  Fleming  (1576).  Greene  uses  it  in 
Mamillia  (Grosart,  ii.  181),  1583  :  "  Tra- 
vellers .  .  .  which  take  their  iourney, 
either  that  their  credite  at  home  is  crasie, 
or  else  being  wedded  to  vanitie  seeke  to 
augment  their  follie."  Spenser  speaks 
of  "craesie"  pipes  in  Colin  Clout's 
come  Home  again,  1591. 

94.  from  hence]  So  in  Marlowe,  Tam- 
burlaine,  Part"  II.  i.  2:  "  Depart  yVo/» 
hence  with  me."  And  in  Golding's 
Ovid  :  "  We  haled  are  from  hence." 

95.  That  stout  Pendragon  in  his  litter] 
From  John  Harding,  according  to 
Speed's  Historic,  p.  269,  ed.  1632  :  "  This 
field  was  at  Verolam,  whither  Vter  [Pen- 
dragon] sicke,  and  in  his  Horse-litter, 
was  borne  among  his  Army,  and  after 
long  and  sore  siege,  wonne  from  them 
that  Citie."  This  is  Geoffrey  of  Mon- 
mouth's version.  Holinshed  attributes 
this  heroic  deed  to  Pendragon's  brother, 
Aurelius  Ambrosius.  See  too  Malory, 
Morte  d' Arthur,  i.  4,  where  Merlin  com- 
mands Uther  Pendragon  (King  Arthur's 
father)  "  to  the  field,  though  ye  ride  on 
a  horse  litter.'"  Grafton  tells  of  Se- 
ward, ruler   of  Northumberland    (who 


died  of  a  flux),  in  similar  fashion  to 
Bedford  :  "  When  he  sawe  well  that  he 
should  dye,  he  caused  his  armour  to  be 
put  upon  him,  and  so  armed  and  sitting 
in  a  Chayre,  sayde,  thus  it  becommeth 
a  knight  .  .  .  and  not  lying  in  his  bed  " 
(i.  147).  Peele  has  a  similar  device  in 
the  Battle  of  Alcazar  when  Abdelmelec 
dies  in  battle  : — 

"  as  he  died, 
My  noble  brother  will  we  here  ad- 
vance, 
And  set  him  in  his  chair  with  cun- 
ning props, 
That  our   Barbarians  may  behold 
their  king  " 
(438,  a). 

99.  Undaunted  spirit]  See  above,  1. 1. 
127,  and  note  at  v.  v.  70. 

102.  gather  ive]  See  note  at  "Em- 
brace we  then,"  11.  i.  13,  above.  And 
below,  HI.  iii.  68. 

102.  out  of  hand]  Occurs  as  here 
(meaning  at  once,  directly)  again  in 
Titus  Andronicus,  v.  ii.  77,  and  in  3 
Henry  VI.  iv.  vii.  63.  In  2  Henry  IV. 
HI.  i.  107,  the  meaning  is  ofi' one's  hands, 
done  with.  A  common  expression, 
found  twice  in  Golding's  Ovid,  and  in 
the  second  part  of  Whetstone's  Promos 
and  Cassandra. 


90  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  m. 

An  a/arum  :  exrursions.     Enter  Sir  JOHN  FastOLFE 
and  a  Captain. 

Cap.  \Miither  away,  Sir  John  Fastolfe,  in  such  haste  ? 

Fast.  Whither  away  !  to  save  myself  by  flight :  105 

We  are  like  to  have  the  overthrow  again. 
Cap.  What !  will  you  fly,  and  leave  Lord  Talbot? 
Fast.  Ay, 

All  the  Talbots  in  the  world,  to  save  my  life.  \^Exit. 

Cap.  Cowardly  knight !  ill  fortune  follow  thee  !  \Exit. 

Retreat :  excursions.     La  Pucelle,  Alen^ON,  and 
Charles  ^. 

Bed.  Now,  quiet  soul,  depart  when  heaven  please,  i  ro 

For  I  have  seen  our  enemies'  overthrow. 
What  is  the  trust  or  strength  of  foolish  man  ? 
They  that  of  late  were  daring  with  their  scoffs 
Are  glad  and  fain  by  flight  to  save  themselves. 

[Bedford  dies,  and  is  carried  in  by  two  in  his  chair. 

An  alarum.     Re-enter  TalbOT,  BURGUNDY,  and  the  rest. 

Tal.  Lost,  and  recover'd  in  a  day  again  !  115 

This  is  a  double  honour.  Burgundy  : 

Yet  heavens  have  glory  for  this  victory ! 
Bur.  War-like  and  martial  Talbot,  Burgundy 

103,  104.  Fastolfe'\  Theobald;  Falstaffe  Ff.  107,    108.   Ay  .  .  .  life] 
Hanmer  ;  one  line,  Ff.            114.   Re-enter  .   .   .]  Enter.   .  .  Ff. 

104,  105.  Whither  away]  A  favourite         no,    in.   Now  .  .  .  seen]   Steevens 
expression.    See   Love's  Labour's  Lost,     quotes  St.  Luke  ii.  29. 

IV.    iii.    183  (note,    Arden   ed.    p.    97).  in.  enemies]  Pronounced  here  as  a 

Greene  has  it  in  George-a-Greene  (xiv.  dissyllable,     very    markedly.       Shake- 

156) :     "  George.       How     now    sirrha,  speare  usually   gives   the   mid-syllable 

whither  away  ?  lenkin.  Whither  away  ?  its   value.       So    characteristically    dis- 

why,    who  doe  you    take  me  to  bee  ?  syllabic  is  this  word  in  Golding,  that 

George.    Why,  lenkin,  my  man."  There  he  usually  spells  it  "enmie"  to  make 

seems  to  have  been  something  odd  in  sure. 

the  expression.     It  is  nowhere  so  com-  114. /afn]  rejoiced,  well-pleased.    See 

mon  as  in  Skakespeare,  often   in  chaff.  2  Henry  VI.  ii.  i.  8. 

"  Whither  so  fast  away  "  occurs  in  Syl-  117.   heavens   have  glory]   Compare 

vester's   Du  Bartas   (1591),  p.  27,  ed.  Henry  the  Fifth's  speech,  iv.  viii.  in. 

1626.  Touches  like  this  remind  us  of  Shake- 

106.  overthrow]  defeat.     Frequent  in  speare's   developed   piety   in  the   later 

the  historical  plays,  and  in  the  chroni-  plays.     The  historians  often  tell  us  of 

clers.  such  thanksgiving,   or  repudiate   their 

109.    cowardly  knight]  See  note  on  omission.    Grafton  says  of  Edwyn  (614), 

Sir  John  Fastolfe  at  i.  i.  116.      This  is  "  But  for  all  this  victory  he  forgat  to  be 

an  aggravated  offence  against  Fastolfe.  thankfull  unto  God,  the  giuer  not  onlye 

He  was  accused,  as  we  have  seen,  of  of  his  health  but  also  of  the  same  vic- 

flying  at  the  battle  of  Patay;  but  not  tory  "   (i.  93).     See  below,  in.  iv.   12. 

at  Rouen.  Biblical  language. 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


91 


Enshrines  thee  in  his  heart,  and  there  erects 

Thy  noble  deeds  as  valour's  monument.  120 

Tal.  Thanks,  gentle  duke.     But  where  is  Pucelle  now  ? 

I  think  her  old  familiar  is  asleep : 

Now  where 's  the  Bastard's  braves,  and  Charles  his  gleeks? 

What !  all  amort  ?     Roan  hangs  her  head  for  grief 

That  such  a  valiant  company  are  fled.  125 

Now  will  we  take  some  order  in  the  town, 

Placing  therein  some  expert  officers. 

And  then  depart  to  Paris  to  the  king ; 

For  there  young  Henry  with  his  nobles  lie. 
Bur.  What  wills  Lord  Talbot  pleaseth  Burgundy.  130 

Tal.  But  yet,  before  we  go,  let 's  not  forget 

The  noble  Duke  of  Bedford  late-deceas'd, 

123.  gleek%\  Hanmer ;  glikes  Ff. 

119.  £wsAnHfs]Notmet  within  Shake- 
speare again.  The  earhest  example  of 
the  figurative  use  in  New  Eng.  Diet. 
Compare  Greene  (?),  Selimus  (Grosart, 
xiv.  199) : — 

"  in  whose  high  thoughts 
A  map  of  many  valures  is  enshrin'd." 
And  Locrine  (by  Greene  and  Peele) : — 
"Nature's    sole    wonder    in    whose 
beauteous  breasts 
All  heavenly  grace  and  virtue  was 
enshrined  " 
(v.  iv.). 

122.  familiar]  attendant  spirit.  For 
"  Pucelle,"  see  note,  i.  ii.  50.  We  get 
the  English  viewofher  inthis  Act.  See 
Love's  Labour's  Lost,  i.  ii.  162  (note, 
Arden  ed.  p.  27). 

123.  braves]  expressions  of  defiance, 
brags,  boasts.  A  very  common  word  in 
Greene's  prose  and  plays.  As  in  Frier 
Bacon  (1. 1921),  "such  shamelesse  braves 
as  manhood  cannot  brooke." 

123.  gleeks]  scoffs.  See  Romeo  and 
Juliet,  IV.  V.  115.  And  Greene's  Fare- 
well to  Follie  [Gioszn,  ix.251) :  "Among 
the  rest  messieur  Benedetto  galled 
Peratio  with  this  gleeke."  Both  these 
terms  occur  commonly  at  the  time. 

124.  all  amort]  very  downcast.  Oc- 
curs again  in  Taming  of  the  Shrew,  iv. 
iii.  36.  Greene  has  it  twice,  as  in  Frier 
Bacon  (1.  28,  Grosart,  xiii.  S) :  "  Shall 
he  thus  all  amort  live  malecontent  ?  " 
And  in  The  Thirde  Part  of  Canny- 
Catching  (x.  171):  "  Blancke  and  all 
amort  sits  the  poore  Cutler,  and  with 
such  a  pittifull  countenaunce."  New 
Eng.  Diet,  has  no  earlier  examples,  but 
it  occurs  in  Whetstone's  Promos  and 


Cassandra,PgLn  I. (1575), as  I  have  shown 
in  Appendix  II.  io  Measure  for  Measure 
(Arden  ed.  p.  153).  See  too  Peele's 
Edward  I.  (Dyce,  392,  a) :  "  What,  all 
amort !     How  doth  my  dainty  Nell  ?  " 

126.  take  some  order]  make  arrange- 
ments. A  favourite  expression  of  Shake- 
speare's. Neiv  Eng.  Diet,  quotes  from 
Grafton's  Chronicle,  i.  176, 1568:  "When 
the  king  had  thus  taken  order  with  his 
affaj'res  in  Denmarke,  he  returned 
shortly  into  England  "  (not  the  reference 
for  the  reprint).  See  Peele,  Edward  I. 
(Dyce,  397,  b)  :— 

"  He  is  thine  own,  as  true  as  he  is 
mine; 
Take  order,  then,  that  he  be  passing 
fine." 

127.  expert]  experienced,  skilled,  as 
in  Henry  V.  in.  vii.  139.  For  placing, 
see  note  at  i.  i.  132.  In  Tamburlaine, 
Part  II.  Act  I.  Marlowe  has:  "A 
hundred  thousand  f^/fri  soldiers."  See 
Faerie  Qneene,  1.  ix.  4 :  "In  warlike 
feates  th'  expertest  man  alive." 

132.  late-deceas'd]  Again  in  Titus 
Andronictis,  i.  i.  184.  As  the  Duke  of 
Bedford  has  barely  died  at  this  point, 
the  expression  perhaps  implies  some  of 
the  natural  confusion  in  the  mind  of 
the  writer  of  the  sequence  of  events. 
See  note  at  "late-betrayed,"  above,  iii. 
ii.  82. 

132,  133.  Duke  of  Bedford  .  .  .  exe- 
quies] There  is  this  much  truth  in  this 
unhistorical  scene,  that  the  Duke  of 
Bedford  kept  his  Norman  court  and 
parliament  at  Roan  :  "  the  xiiij  day  of 
September,  died  lohn  Duke  of  Bedford 
Regent  of  Fraunce,  a  man  as  politique  in 


92 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act   III. 


But  see  his  exequies  fulfill'd  in  Roan. 

A  braver  soldier  never  couched  lance, 

A  gentler  heart  did  never  sway  in  court;  135 

But  kings  and  mightiest  potentates  must  die, 

For  that's  the  end  of  human  misery.  [Exeunt. 


SCENE  III. —  T/ie  Same.     The  Plains  near  Rouen. 

Enter  CHARLES,  the  Bastard  of  ORLEANS,  ALEN90N,  La 
PUCELLE,  and  forces. 

Puc.  Dismay  not,  princes,  at  this  accident, 
Nor  grieve  that  Roan  is  so  recovered  : 
Care  is  no  cure,  but  rather  corrosive, 
For  things  that  are  not  to  be  remedied. 

3.  Corrosive]  Ff  i,  4 ;  Corrasive  Ff  2,  3. 


peace,  as  hardy  in  warre,  whose  bodie 
was  with  great  funerall  solempnitie 
buried  in  the  Cathedrall  Church  of  our 
Lady  in  Roan,  on  the  North  side  of  the 
high  Aulter,  under  a  sumptuous  and 
costly  monument"  (Grafton,  i.  605,  The 
XIIIJ  Yere). 

133.  exequies]  funeral  rites.  Not 
again  in  Shakespeare.  In  Wyclif,  2 
Samuel  iii.  31  (1382).  And  in  Ben 
Jonson,  Sad  Shepherd,  i.  ii.  Elsewhere 
in  I  Shakespeare  it  is  "  obsequies."  In 
Grafton,  i.  308  :  "  his  father  was  buryed, 
and  the  Exequies  scantly  finished." 
See  Locrine  (last  speech). 

134.  couched  lance]  laid,  or  levelled 
for  attack,  by  lowering  the  point. 
"Couched  spear"  occurs  in  Malory's 
Morte  d' Arthur,  i.  xi.  (1480),  Xew  Eng. 
Diet.  Not  in  Shakespeare  again.  For 
the  structure  of  these  two  lines,  see 
Part  II.  I.  i.  15,  16  (note).  "Couched 
his  spear"  is  often  in  Faerie  Queene. 

136.  mightiest potentatcs]''VoiQnid,tQ" 
is  only  in  Shakespeare's  earliest  plays 
(Love's Labour's  Lost  a.nd  Two  Gentle- 
menof  Verona).  "  Mighty  potentate  "  is 
an  expression  of  Greene's  in  several 
places,  as  £,"!</>/i«f5  to  Philautus  (vi.  177) : 
"  to  be  loved  of  such  a  mighty  Potentate." 
"Potentate"  is  very  common  in  Greene. 

137.  This  weak-ending  wretched  line 
is  of  a  sort  that  abounds  in  Greene. 
Misery,  prophecy,  certainty,  injury, 
speedily,  company,  destiny,  ebony, 
penalty,  presently,  majesty,  heresy, 
courtesy,  victory,  comedy,  all  end  lines 
in  Alphonsus — to  say  nothing  of  packed 


monosyllables.      And  similarly  in  Or- 
lando.    See  above,  11.  i.  43. 

Scene  hi. 

I.  Dismay  not]  do  not  be  frightened. 
The   intransitive   verb     is     not    found 
again      in      Shakespeare.         Compare 
Stephen   Hawes,  Pastime  of  Pleasure, 
xxxiv.  5, 1509  (Percy  reprint,  p.  171) : — 
"  Be  of  good  chere,  and  for  nothyng 
dismaye, 
I  spake  with  her  but  now  this  other 
daye." 
New  Eng.  Diet,  has  another  earlier  ex- 
ample.   Spenser  has  it  in  Faerie  Queene. 

3.  Care  is  no  cure]  grief,  sorrow,  is  the 
meaning  of  "care"  here,  as  in  "past 
cure,  past  care"  [Love's  Labour's  Lost, 
V.  ii.  28).  Ray  and  Fuller  {Gnomologia, 
1732)  adopt  this  as  a  proverb. 

3.  corrosive]  fretting,  giving  pain. 
The  noun  occurs  in  2  Henry  VL  m.  ii. 
403.  Neither  of  them  appears  again  in 
Shakespeare,  in  which  he  is  peculiar,  as 
they  were  very  popular  with  the  drama- 
tists in  the  forms  corsie,  corsive,  cor- 
rosive, etc.  An  "  inward  corsie,"  or  "a 
corsie  to  the  heart,"  occurs  three  times 
in  Golding's  Ovid  (1567).  Greene  has 
the  noun  "corasive"  several  times  in 
Mamillia:  "the  corasive  of  despair  " 
(p.  152),  "  a  corasive  to  renew  thy  gritfe  " 
(p.  171).  etc.  Compare  Gascoigne,  The 
Steele  Glas  (Arber,  p.  43),  1576 :  "  The 
corrosyvc  of  care  woulde  quickely  con- 
founde  me."  And  Spenser,  Faerie 
Queene,  i.  x.  25  and  iv.  ix.  14  ("  bitter 
corsive"). 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


93 


Let  frantic  Talbot  triumph  for  a  while, 
And  like  a  peacock  sweep  along  his  tail ; 
We  '11  pull  his  plumes  and  take  away  his  train 
If  Dauphin  and  the  rest  will  be  but  ruled. 

Cha.  We  have  been  guided  by  thee  hitherto, 
And  of  thy  cunning  had  no  diffidence  : 
One  sudden  foil  shall  never  breed  distrust. 

Bast.  Search  out  thy  wit  for  secret  policies. 

And  we  will  make  thee  famous  through  the  world. 

Alen.  We'll  set  thy  statue  in  some  holy  place. 

And  have  thee  reverenced  like  a  blessed  saint : 
Employ  thee  then,  sweet  virgin,  for  our  good. 

Puc.  Then  thus  it  must  be ;  this  doth  Joan  devise  : 
By  fair  persuasions  mix'd  with  sugar'd  words 


15 


6,  7.  peacock  .  .  .  plumes]  Occurs 
twice  in  Whetstone,  Promos  and  Cas- 
sandra, 1575  ;  and  many  times  in 
Greene's  prose  works,  generally  with 
reference  to  the  ugly  feet.  These  lines 
read  like  Greene — slightly  altered. 

7.  pull  his  plumes']  Craig  {Little 
Quarto)  refers  to  Greene,  George-a- 
Greene  (Dyce,  261,  b) :  "  What  shall 
he  ?  George.  Pull  all  your  plumes  and 
sore  dishonour  you."  Greene  has  it 
again  in  his  Metamorphosis  (Grosart,  ix. 
22) :  "  I  was,  Sonne  .  .  .  once  young 
and  buxsome  .  .  .  where  now  a  tawny 
hiew  pulleth  downe  my  plumes."  And 
in  his  Farewell  to  Follie  (ix.  260) : 
"  Cresus  was  proude  of  his  pelfe,  but 
Solon  pulde  downe  his  plumes."  And  no 
doubt  it  occurs  elsewhere  in  Greene. 
But  all  these  are  later  than  Tambur- 
laine.  Part  1. 1.  i. :  "  Tamburlaine,  That 
.  .  .  as  I  heare  doth  mean  to  pull  my 
plumes." 

7.  train]  tail,  particularly  a  fine  one. 
Davies  has  "  thy  gay  peacocks  traine  " 
in  The  Immortality  of  the  Soul,  xxxiv. 
viii.  (1592).  And  in  the  old  Taming  of 
a  Shrew  {Six  Old  Plays,  p.  203): 
"  Bewteous  and  stately  as  the  eie- 
trained  bird  "  occurs. 

10.  of  thy  cunning  had  no  diffidence] 
of  thy  magic  cleverness  had  no  distrust. 
See  King  John,  i.  i.  65,  for  "  diffidence  " 
again.     And  for  "  cunning,"  see  11.  i.  50. 

11.  foil]  "defeat,  miscarriage" 
(Schmidt).  See  again,  v.  iii.  23,  the 
only  parallel  in  Shakespeare  :  "  give  the 
French  the  foil."  It  is  a  phrase  met 
elsewhere  in  Greene :  "  Shal  I  loue  so 
lightly?  shal  Fancie  give  me  the  foyle 
at  the  first  dash  ?  "  {Mamillia  (ii,  73)). 
Greene  repeats  these  words  later  in  his 


Metamorphoses  (ix.  59).  In  Frier  Bacon 
(xiii.  61,  1.  1301)  Greene  has  "take 
not  now  the  foile."  Earlier  examples 
are  given  in  New  Eng.  Diet.  Marlowe 
has  "  And  never  had  the  Turkish  em- 
peror So  great  a  foil  by  any  foreign 
foe"  {Tamburlaine,  Part  I.,  end  of  Act 
iii.). 

12.  policies]  stratagems,  schemes, 
dodges,  tricks.  The  most  unmistak- 
able example  of  this  meaning,  since  the 
only  plural  one.  Elsewhere  (as  glossed 
by  Schmidt)  it  may  mean  much  what  it 
does  now — plan  of  action.  It  is  a 
favourite  word,  in  a  bad  sense,  with 
Greene  in  his  Conny-Catching  tracts : 
"  They  will  straight  spotte  him  by  sundry 
pollicies,  and  in  a  black  horse,  marke 
saddle-spots,"  etc.  {Second  Part  of 
Conny-Catching,  x.  77).  And  in  A 
Looking  Glasse  for  London  (xiv.  82) : 
"  I  have  a  pollicie  to  shift  him,  for  1 
know  he  comes  out  of  a  bote  place,"  etc. 
In  George-a-Greene  (xiv.  146,  1.  551) 
this  very  expression  occurs:  "  But  now 
He  flie  to  secret  policie." 

18.  sugar'd  words]  See  again,  3  Henry 
VI.  HI.  ii.  45  (note),  and  Richard  III. 
in.  i.  13.  "  In  the  days  when  sugar  of 
any  kind  was  a  rarity,  and  consequently 
a  delicacy,  our  English  poets  used  the 
word  [sugar]  with  a  certain  appetite 
in  their  comparisons." — Note  to  a  trans- 
lation of  Persian  poetry  by  Sir  Richard 
Burton,  in  his  Life,  1893,  ii.  68.  In 
Persian  it  still  holds  its  ground.  It  is 
a  standard  phrase  with  Greene  :  "  they 
seeke  with  sugred  words  and  filed  speech 
to  inveigle  thesillie  eyes  of  wel  meaning 
Gentlewomen"  {Mamillia  (Grosart,  ii. 
258),  1583).  And  again :  "  Love  commeth 
in  ...  by  seeing   natures  workes   not 


94 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


We  will  entice  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 

To  leave  the  Talbot  and  to  follow  us.  20 

Cha.  Ay,  marry,  sweeting,  if  we  could  do  that, 

France  were  no  place  for  Henry's  warriors  ; 

Nor  should  that  nation  boast  it  so  with  us, 

But  be  extirped  from  our  provinces. 
Alen.  For  ever  should  they  be  expuls'd  from  France,  25 

And  not  have  title  of  an  earldom  here. 
Puc.  Your  honours  shall  perceive  how  I  will  work 

To  bring  this  matter  to  the  wished  end. 

\Drinn  sounds  afar  off. 

Hark  !  by  the  sound  of  drum  you  may  perceive 

Their  powers  are  marching  unto  Paris-ward.  30 


by  hearing  sugred  wordes"  (p.  283). 
And  often  elsewhere.  He  has  "  stigred 
speech"  in  Tritameron  (1584),  etc.,  etc. 
Spenser  has  "  sngrcd  words  and  gentle 
blandishment"  (Faerie  Quccne,  in.  vi. 
25). 

19,  20.  We  will  entice  the  Duke  .  .  . 
to  follow  Ms]  There  is  this  much  his- 
torical accuracy  here,  that  it  was  in  the 
year  of  Bedford's  death  that  Burgundy 
deserted  the  English  for  the  French 
king.  Grafton  says  (p.  604) :  "  He 
therefore  imagined,  and  determined  with 
himselfe  to  returne  into  the  pathe  againe, 
from  the  which  he  had  strayed  and 
erred,  and  to  take  part  and  ioyne  with 
his  awne  bloud  and  Nation  :  so  that 
some  honest  meane  might  be  sought 
by  other,  and  not  by  himselfe,  least  .  .  . 
he  might  be  noted  of  vntruth  and  traytor- 
ous  behaviour  toward  the  King  of  Eng- 
land and  his  nation  :  to  whom  he  had 
done  homage,  league,  and  sworne  fealtie. 
Now  this  counsayle  [of  Arras]  was  to 
him  a  cloke  for  the  rayne,  as  who  should 
say,  that  he  sought  not  amitie  of  the 
french  king  (which  thing  in  his  hert 
most  coveted  and  desyred)  but  was  there- 
unto persuaded  by  the  generall  coun- 
sayle, and  by  the  Bishop  of  Rome." 
There  is  here  no  mention  of  Joan's 
influence ;  she  is  the  dramatist's  own 
introduction  for  "  the  honest  meane  he 
sought  for"  as  a  cloak  for  the  rain,  or 
the  excuse  he  sought  for.  But  Rolfe 
transcribes  a  letter  of  Joan's  to  the  Duke 
of  Burgundy  (published  by  Barante, 
Histoire  des  Dues  de  Bourgogne,  iv.  259), 
of  date  1429,  "using  arguments  not  at 
all  unlike  those  of  this  scene."  The 
original  is  at  Lille.  Rolfe  thinks  the 
author  of  this  play  must  have  had  access 


to  some  French  chronicler  by  whom 
the  substance  of  the  letter  was  given. 
The  letter  is  too  long  to  transcribe 
and  I  do  not  find  it  the  least  con- 
vincing. 

21.  sweeting]  See  Othello,  11.  iii.  257 
(note,  Arden  edition,  p.  in).  A  favour- 
ite word  with  Greene:  "Tell  me  faire 
sweeting,wnnts  thou  any  thing  Conteind 
within  the  threefold  circle  of  the  world?  " 
{A  Looking  Glasse,  Grosart,  xiv.  45). 
And  again,  p.  13  :  "  so  bright  a  sweetings 
armes"  ;  and  again  (p.  10)  in  the  same 
play ;  and  elsewhere  in  his  prose. 
Shakespeare  has  it  several  times. 

24.  extirped]  extirpates.  Occurs  again 
in  Measure  for  Measure,  iii.  ii.  no:  see 
note,  Arden  edition.  Occurs  in  Hall's 
Chronicle,  and  in  the  Faerie  Queene,  i. 
X.  25. 

25.  expuls'd]  expelled.  Not  unfre- 
quently  used  in  this  century  (16th),  but 
not  again  in  Shakespeare.  Nashe  uses 
it  of  academic  rustication :  "  touching 
his  whole  persecution  by  the  Fellowes 
of  the  House  about  it,  and  how,  except 
he  had  mercie  on  him,  he  were  expulst '' 
(Have  with  you,  etc.,  Grosart,  iii.  119). 
And  Gascoignc,  The  Steele  Glas,  1576 
(Arber,  p.  .13):  "  Themistocles  ...  by 
his  unkinde  citizens  of  Athens  expulsed 
from  his  owne."  The  word  occurs 
several  times  in  Golding's  Ovid's  Meta- 
morphoses. 

28.  bring  .  .  .  to  the  wished  end] 
Compare  Locrine,  u.  i.  (Peele  and 
Greene  ?) :  "  And  bring  our  wished  joys 
to  perfect  end."  See  note  at  Part  II. 
III.  ii.  113.  "  Wished  day  "  and  "  wished 
haven  "  both  occur  in  Faerie  Queene,  11. 
(1.  32  and  iv.  22). 

29.  sound  of  drum]  Not  in  Shake- 


sc.  Ill]       KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  95 

Here  soimd  an  English  march.     Enter,  and  pass  over  at  a 
distance,  Talbot  and  his  forces. 

There  goes  the  Talbot,  with  his  colours  spread, 
And  all  the  troops  of  English  after  him. 

French  marcJi.     Enter  the  Duke  ^y"  BURGUNDY  and  forces. 

Now  in  the  rearward  comes  the  duke  and  his : 

Fortune  in  favour  makes  him  lag  behind. 

Summon  a  parley;  we  will  talk  with  him.  35 

[  Ti'iimpcts  sound  a  parley. 
Cha.  A  parley  with  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  ! 
Bur.  Who  craves  a  parley  with  the  Burgundy  ? 
Puc.  The  princely  Charles  of  France,  thy  countryman. 
Bur.  What  say'st  thou,  Charles  ?  for  I  am  marching  hence. 
Cha.  Speak,  Pucelle,  and  enchant  him  with  th}^  words.  40 

Puc.  Brave  Burgundy,  undoubted  hope  of  France  1 

Stay,  let  thy  humble  handmaid  speak  to  thee. 
Bur.  Speak  on  ;  but  be  not  over-tedious. 
Puc.  Look  on  thy  country,  look  on  fertile  France, 

And  see  the  cities  and  the  towns  defaced  45 

By  wasting  ruin  of  the  cruel  foe. 

As  looks  the  mother  on  her  lowly  babe 

When  death  doth  close  his  tender  dying  eyes, 

See,  see  the  pining  malady  of  France  ; 

Behold  the  Avounds,  the  most  unnatural  wounds,  50 

Which  thou  thyself  hast  given  her  woeful  breast. 

O  !  turn  thy  edged  sword  another  way  ; 

Strike  those  that  hurt,  and  hurt  not  those  that  help. 

30.  Here  .  .   .  march.]  Ff.       Enter  .  .  .]  Capell ;  omitted  Ff.         32.  French 
march]  Ff.         Enter  .  .  .]  Capell;  omitted  Ff. 

speare  again.      Spenser  has  it,  Faerie  aries    (Palgrave,     Levins).      Compare 

Queene,  i.  ix.  41 : —  again,  Faerie  Qucene  : — 

"  He  that  points  the  Centonell  his  "  Behind  her  farre  away  a  dwarfe  did 

roome,  lag, 

Doth  Hcense  him  depart  at  sound  of  That  lasie   seemed   in  being  ever 

morning  droome."  last " 

32.  French    marcJi]   Very    slow    and  (i.  i.  6). 

time    for    lagging.      "He    comes    but  ^^.  fertile  France]  Again  in  Henry  V. 

slowly  on  as   if  hee   trodde  a   French  v.  ii.  37. 

March"    (Dekker,  Seven  Deadly  Sins  49.  malady  of  France]  Againin  Henry 

(Grosart,  ii.  51),  1606).  V.  v.  i.  87,  in  a  very  different  and  less 

33.  rearward]    rearguard.      Always  prosaic  context. 

figuratively      elsewhere      in      Shakes-  52.  edged  sword]  Compare  (Peele's) 

peare.  yack  Straw  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  v.  410) : 

24.  Fortune  in  favour]  Fortune  favour-  "  running  furiously  into  the  danger  of 

ably  disposed.      The   same  expression  the  law,  as  mad  and  frantic  men  upon 

occurs  in  King  John,  11.  i.  393.  an  edged   sword."      Not  elsewhere  in 

34.  lag  behind]  no  earlier  example  in  Shakespeare,    except     figuratively     in 
New  Eng.  Diet.,  except  from  diction-  Henry  V.  iii.  v.  38. 


96 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act   III. 


One  drop  of  blood  drawn  from  thy  country's  bosom 

Should  grieve  thee  more  than  streams  of  foreign  gore.    55 

Return  thee  therefore  with  a  flood  of  tears 

And  wash  away  thy  country's  stained  spots. 
Bur.  Either  she  hath  bewitch'd  me  with  her  words, 

Or  nature  makes  me  suddenly  relent. 
Puc.  Besides,  all  F"rench  and  France  exclaims  on  thee,  60 

Doubting  thy  birth  and  lawful  progeny. 

Who  join'st  thou  with  but  with  a  lordly  nation 

That  will  not  trust  thee  but  for  profit's  sake  ? 

When  Talbot  hath  set  footing  once  in  France, 

And  fashion'd  thee  that  instrument  of  ill,  65 

Who  then  but  English  Henry  will  be  lord. 

And  thou  be  thrust  out  like  a  fugitive  ? 

Call  we  to  mind,  and  mark  but  this  for  proof, 

Was  not  the  Duke  of  Orleans  thy  foe. 

And  was  he  not  in  England  prisoner  ?  70 


55.  for eignlforr nine  Ff  i, 
3.4- 

50.  Return  thee]  See  extract  at  11.  19, 
20,  above. 

57.  stained]  disgraceful,  (spots)  caused 
by  a  stain.  See  Schmidt  on  this  word 
{1418,  a).  Compare  Lucrece,  1059, 
1316. 

60.  exclaims  on  thee]  Compare  Kyd's 
Spanish  Tragedy,  iil.  xiv.  70: — 

"what  a  scandale  wert  among 
the  kings 
To  heare   Hieronymo   exclaim   on 
thee  ?  " 
Often  with  "upon." 

61.  progeny]  descent.  Compare 
Greene,  Planetomachia  (v.  40)  :  "  the 
destinies  have  appoynted  my  progenie 
from  such  a  peevish  Parent  " ;  and 
Menaphon  (vi.  no):  "My  parents  and 
progenie  are  envied  by  obscuritie  "  ;  and 
A  Princely  Mirrour  of  PeerelessModestie 
(iii.  9) :  "  Honored  generallie  of  all  men 
for  his  parentage  and  progenie"  \  and 
passim  in  Greene,  meaning  parentage, 
but  not  so  used  by  Shakespeare.  Bur- 
gundy's original  reason  for  allying  him- 
self with  the  English  was  :  "  Beyng 
much  desyrous  to  reuenge  and  punishe 
the  shameful!  murther  done  to  his  father  " 
(Grafton,  604).  Grafton  illustrates  "  pro- 
geny "  (i.  306) :  "  This  Erie  was  of  the 
bloud  royall  ...  To  whome  the  king 
not  respecting  his  bloud  and  progeny 
sayde  .  .  .  then  is  it  meetethathe  .  .  . 
should  hang  higher  then  any  of  the 
other." 


common  Ff  3,  4.         62.  Who]  F  i ;  whom  Ff  2, 


64.  set  footing]  Occurs  again  Richard 
II.  11.  ii.  48 ;  2  Henry  VI.  iii.  ii.  87  ; 
Henry  VIII.  m.  i.  183. 

66.  67.  Who  then  but  .  .  .  fugitive] 
This  was  Burgundy's  chief  reason  with 
himself,  according  to  the  Chronicler : 
"  For  he  in  the  beginning  of  his  rule  .  .  . 
beganne  to  be  associate,  and  to  reigne 
with  the  English  power,  and  to  serve  the 
King  of  England,  thinking  that  by  his 
amitie  and  ioyning,  he  shoulde  neither 
harme  nor  hurte  the  common  wealth  of 
the  County,  whereof  at  that  time  he 
bore  the  whole  rule,  nor  yet  lose  one 
iote  or  point  of  his  aucthoritie  or  govern- 
aunce.  But  when  it  happened  contrary 
to  his  expectation,  that  the  King  of 
Englande  .  .  .  tooke  upon  him  the 
whole  rule  .  .  .  and  that  he  was  not 
had  ...  in  a  perfite  trust,"  etc.  (p. 
604). 

67.  fugitive]  a  runaway  to  the  other 
party.  Very  bad  sense,  see  Marlowe, 
Tamburlaine,  Pa.Tt  II.  ill. v.:  "Villain, 
traitor,  damntd fugitive  "  (Tamburlaine 
to  Almeyda). 

68.  Call  zve]  See  above,  11.  i.  13,  and 
III.  ii.  102. 

68-73.  Call  we  to  mind  .  .  .friends] 
This  narration  is  jumbled  history,  and 
the  passage  stating  the  real  facts  will  be 
found  in  Grafton,  i.  618,  6ig  (or  Hall, 
192,  193).  But  it  is  lengthy  and  intri- 
cate, and  need  not  be  more  than  referred 
to. 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


97 


But  when  they  heard  he  was  thine  enemy, 

They  set  him  free  without  his  ransom  paid, 

In  spite  of  Burgundy  and  all  his  friends. 

See  then,  thou  fight'st  against  thy  countrymen. 

And  join'st  with  them  will  be  thy  slaughter-men.  75 

Come,  come,  return  ;  return,  thou  wand'ring  lord  ; 

Charles  and  the  rest  will  take  thee  in  their  arms. 

Bur.  I  am  vanquished  ;  these  haughty  words  of  hers 
Have  batter'd  me  like  roaring  cannon-shot. 
And  made  me  almost  yield  upon  my  knees.  80 

Forgive  me,  country,  and  sweet  countrymen ! 
And,  lords,  accept  this  hearty  kind  embrace : 
My  forces  and  my  power  of  men  are  yours. 
So,  farewell,  Talbot ;  I  '11  no  longer  trust  thee. 

Puc.  [Aside.]    Done  like  a  Frenchman :  turn,  and  turn 

again!  85 


yS.  I  am  ..  .  hers]  one  line,  Rowe  ;  two  in  Ff. 
Capell. 


85.  Marked  "  Aside  "  by 


72.  They  set  him  free]  Ritson  says 
here :  "  The  duke  was  not  liberated  till 
after  Burgundy's  decline  to  the  French 
interest ;  which  did  not  happen,  by  the 
way,  till  some  years  after  the  execution 
of  this  very  Joan  la  Pucelle :  nor  was 
that  during  the  regency  of  York,  but 
of  Bedford."  This  blundering  "over- 
tedious  "  stuff  reminds  me  all  the  time 
of  Greene.  The  repeated  words ' '  Come, 
come,  return  :  return  "  (1.  76)  are  his,  as 
in  11.  50,  53  above,  and  44. 

75.  join'st]  This  rugged  monosyllable 
occurs  above,  I.62.  Peele  is  given  to  this. 
In  Edward  I.  he  uses  pay'st,  see'st, 
dart'st,  may'st,  etc.  See  "fight'st" 
above,  1.  74 ;  and  in  2  Henry  VI.  And 
"  fail'st,"  3  Henry  VI.  11.  i.  190. 

75.  slaughter -men]  See  again,  3 
Henry  VI.  i.  iv.  169,  and  Titus  An- 
dronicus,  iv.  iv.  58.  Also  in  Cymbeline 
and  Henry  V.  It  occurs  in  Greene's 
Groats  Worth  of  Wit  (xii.  142) :  "  Onely 
Tyrants  should  possesse  the  earth,  and 
they  striuing  to  exceede  in  tyranny, 
should  each  to  other  bee  a  slaughter 
man :  till  the  mightiest  out-liuing  all, 
one  stroke  were  left  for  Death."  The 
word  is  found  (later)  in  Arden  of 
Fever  sham. 

76.  Coyne,  come  .  .  .  wand'ring  lord] 
See  note  at  1.72.  "  Haughty  "in  the  next 
line  is  characteristic  of  Greene,  but  not 
a  very  common  word  earlier  and  found 
in  Shakespeare  only  in  his  earliest  work. 
It  occurs  five  times  in  this  play.     See 

7 


next   note.      Craig    says    Shakespeare 
never  uses  "  haughty  "  in  a  good  sense. 

78.  haughty  words]  So  Greene, 
George-a-Greene  (xiv.  132) :  "  Nick,  as 
you  know,  is  hautie  in  his  wordes " ; 
and  Orlando  Fiirioso  :  "  Hawtie  their 
words"  (xiii.  170). 

79.  roaring  cannon-shot]  "  Cannon- 
shot  "  does  not  occur  in  Shakespeare, 
and  the  example  in  the  text  is  the 
earliest  in  Neiv  Eng.  Diet.,  the  next 
being  Urquhart's  Rabelais,  1653.  The 
whole  expression  is  Greene's : — 

"  Fearce  is  the  fight  and  bloudie  is 
the  broyle ; 
No  sooner  had  the  roaring  cannon- 
shot 
Spit  forth  the  venome  of  their  fired 
panch  " 
[Alphonsus,  King  of  Arragon,  xiii.  397, 
1.  1662). 

85.  Frenchman  .  .  .  turn,  and  turn 
a^a/?2]  Dr.  Johnson  said  :  "The  incon- 
stancy of  the  French  was  always  the 
subject  of  satire:  I  have  read  a  disser- 
tation written  to  prove  that  the  index  of 
the  wind  upon  our  steeples  was  made  in 
form  of  a  cock,  to  ridicule  the  French 
for  their  frequent  changes."  Clark  adds 
that  the  sneer  is  so  out  of  place  in  Joan's 
mouth,  it  is  inconceivable  Shakespeare 
should  have  assigned  It  to  her.  See  iv. 
i.  138.  For  "  turn  and  turn  again,"  see 
Othello,  IV.  i.  264.  Joan,  of  Lorraine, 
would  not  hesitate  to  speak  thus  of  the 
French  people. 


98  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  m. 

Cha.  Welcome,  brave  duke !  thy  friendship  makes  us  fresh. 
Bast.  And  doth  beget  new  courage  in  our  breasts. 
Alen.  Pucclle  hath  bravely  played  her  part  in  this, 

And  doth  deserve  a  coronet  of  gold. 
Cha.  Now  let  us  on,  my  lords,  and  join  our  powers,  90 

And  seek  how  we  may  prejudice  the  foe.  \Exeiint. 


S  C  E  N  E  I Y.— Paris.      The  Palace. 

Enter  the  KiNG,  GLOUCESTER,  Bishop  of  WINCHESTER, 
York,  Suffolk,  Somerset,  Warwick,  Exeter  ; 
Vernon,  Basset,  and  others.  To  them  with  his 
soldiers,  TaLBOT. 

Tal.  My  gracious  prince,  and  honourable  peers. 
Hearing  of  your  arrival  in  this  realm, 
I  have  awhile  given  truce  unto  my  wars, 
To  do  my  duty  to  my  sovereign : 

In  sign  whereof,  this  arm,  that  hath  reclaim'd  5 

To  your  obedience  fifty  fortresses, 
Twelve  cities,  and  seven  walled  towns  of  strength. 
Beside  five  hundred  prisoners  of  esteem, 
Lets  fall  his  sword  before  your  highness'  feet; 

go.  Now  .  .   .  powers']  one  line,  Rowe ;  two  in  Ff. 

Scene  iv. 
SCE.VE  /K.]   Scczna  Quart  a   Ff.  Bishop   of  Winchester]   Winchester  Ff. 

Vernon,  Basset,  and  others]  omitted  Ff. 

88.  played  her  part]  Compare  Peele,  Scene  iv. 
Battle  of  Alcazar,  v.  i.  (438,  a) :  "  Fare- 
well, brave  world,  for  I  hzve  played  my  ScE.VE  IV.]    This  imaginary  scene  of 
part.''     Compare  Faerie  Queene,  11.  iv.  Talbot's   interview   with    King  Henry, 
27:  "  he  went,  and  his  owne  false  part  preceding  the  coronation,  may  be  taken 
playd."  as  a  stepping-stone  to  the  latter  to  an- 

91.  And  seek  how  we  may  prejudice  nounce  Henry's  arrival  in  France.    The 

the  foe]  Clarke  (quoted  by  Rolfe)  writes :  coronation  took  place  in  1431,  Talbot's 

"  We  cannot   think   that    Shakespeare  advancement  in  1442  :  see  line  26  (note). 

even  when  a  schoolboy,  would  have  put  5.  reclaim'd]  subdued.     See  2  Henry 

forth   so    soddenly  vapid    a  sentence."  VI.  v.  ii.  54 ;  Romeo  and  ynliet,  iv.  ii. 

There  are  many  worse  in  the  play,  ac-  47  ;  and  "  unreclaim'd  "  in  Hamlet,  11.  i. 

cording  to  my  taste.    But  itis  of  interest,  34.     An  old  term  especially  applied  to 

since '■  prejudice  "  (to  injure)  is  not  a  taming  wild  animals,  birds,  etc. 

Shakespearian  word,  but  commonly  used  8.  prisoners  of  esteem]  Compare  v.  v. 

(as  here)  by  Greene:  "  What  dales  and  27:    "another  lady  of  esteem."      New 

nightes  they  spende  in  watching  either  En<r.  Diet,  has  a  parallel  from  Caxton, 

to   preuent   or  preiudice   the   enemie "  and  then  a  long  gap  in  time  down  to 

{Farewell  to  Follie  (ix.  247),  ante  1591).  these  two  examples.     Compare  Greene, 

And  in  Never  too  Late  (viii.  53),  1590:  George-a-Greene  (xiv.  126,  1.  105) : — 

"  Set  not  upon  a  weaponlesse  woman  "  Who   scornes    that   men    of   such 

least  in  thinking  to  triumph  .  .  .  you  esteemc  as  these 

be  prejudicte  with  the  taint  of  cowar-  Should  brooke  the  braves  of  any 

disc."  trayterous  squire." 


sc.  IV.]       KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


99 


And  with  submissive  loyalty  of  heart  lo 

Ascribes  the  glory  of  his  conquest  got 

First  to  my  God,  and  next  unto  your  grace.  [Kneels. 

K.  Hen.  Is  this  the  Lord  Talbot,  uncle  Gloucester, 

That  hath  so  long  been  resident  in  France  ? 
Glou.  Yes,  if  it  please  your  majesty,  my  liege.  15 

K.  Hen.  Welcome,  brave  captain  and  victorious  lord  ! 

When  I  was  young,  as  yet  I  am  not  old, 

I  do  remember  how  my  f-^.ther  said 

A  stouter  champion  never  handled  sword. 

Long  since  we  were  resolved  of  your  truth,  20 

Your  faithful  service  and  your  toil  in  war ; 

Yet  never  have  you  tasted  our  reward. 

Or  been  reguerdon'd  with  so  much  as  thanks, 

Because  till  now  we  never  saw  your  face : 

Therefore,  stand  up  ;  and  for  these  good  deserts,  25 

We  here  create  you  Earl  of  Shrewsbury  ; 

And  in  our  coronation  take  your  place. 

\_Sennet.     Flourish.     Exeunt  all  but  Vernon  and 
Basset. 


12.  \Kneels\  Cambridge. 
Flourish.]  F  i ;  omitted  Ff  2, 
.  .  .  Ff  I ;  Exeunt.     Manent 


20.  tvcre'\'Fi  1,  2;  have  Ff  3,  4.         27.  [Sennet. 
3,  4._  Exeunt  all  but  .  .  .]  Exeunt.    Manet 

3,4- 


Ff: 


See  Romeo  and  Juliet,  i.  iii.  70.     But 
the  parallel  is  not  good. 

II,  12.  Ascribes  the  glory  .  .  .  to  my 
God]  See  above,  in.  ii.  117.  And  Faerie 
Queene,   i.  x.  i ; — 

"  Ne  let  the  man  ascribe  it  to  his  skill 

That  thorough  grace  hath  gained 
victory 

...  All  the  good  is  God's." 
And    (Peele's)    Jack    Straw    (Hazlitt's 
Dodsley,  v.  407)  : — 

"  It  is  our  God  that  gives  the  victory. 

Drag  this  accursed  villain  through 
the  streets 

To  strike  a  terror  to  the  rebels' 
hearts." 
From  the  Bible,  i  Chron.  xxix.  11; 
Psalm  xcviii.  i  ;  i  Cor.  xv.  57,  etc. 
See  Grafton's  account  of  the  vic- 
tory of  Agincourt  (i.  518,  1809),  1567: 
"After  this  last  conflict,  the  King  of 
Englande  .  .  .  caused  a  retrayte  to  be 
blowen  .  .  .  callyng  his  prelates  to- 
gether, caused  them  to  geve  thankes  to 
God  [as  Hall  sayth]  by  whose  almightie 
power  he  had  receaved  that  victorie,  and 
to  sing  the  Psalme  of  In  exitn  Israel, 
etc.  Commaundingeuery  man  tokneele 
downe  when  they  came  at  that  verse, 
Non  nobis  domine,  non  nobis,  sed 
nomini  tuo  da  gloriam  .  .  .  and  then 


caused  the  psalme  of  Te  deum  to  be 
song." 

17,  18.  When  I  was  young,  as  yet  I 
am  not  old,  I  do  remember  how  my  father 
said]  Malone  says  :  "  The  author  of  this 
play  was  not  a  very  correct  historian. 
Henry  was  but  nine  months  old  when 
his  father  died,  and  never  saw  him." 

19.  A  stouter  .  .  .  never]  See  above, 
III.  ii.  134  and  135.  But  it  is  purely 
Spenserian  (learned  by  him  from  earlier 
poets?)  like  "well  I  wot."  See  Faerie 
Queene,  in.  v.  5  ;  Ruines  of  Time  (496,  a, 
Globe). 

20.  resolved]  convinced,  satisfied.  See 
3  Henry  VI.  11.  ii.  124. 

23.  reguerdon'd]  See  ill.  i.  170  (note). 

24.  Because  .  .  .  face]  This  seems  to 
me  more  "  soddenly  vapid"  than  line 
gi  above,  the  end  of  last  scene. 

26.  create  you  Earl  of  Shrewsbury] 
Grafton  writes,  in  the  xxii.  year  (1442-3): 
"  About  this  season,  the  King  remem- 
bering the  valiaunt  service  and  noble 
actesoflohn  Lorde  Talbot,  created  him 
Earl  of  Shrewsburie,  and  with  a  com- 
pany of  three  thousand  men,  sent  him 
agayne  into  Normandie,  for  the  better 
tuicion  of  the  same,  which  neyther 
forgat  his  duetie  nor  forslowed  his 
businesse,"  etc.  (p.  623). 


100  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  m. 

Ver.  Now,  sir,  to  you,  that  were  so  hot  at  sea, 

Disgracing  of  these  colours  that  I  wear 

In  honour  of  my  noble  Lord  of  York,  30 

Dar'st  thou  maintain  the  former  words  thou  spak'st  ? 
Bas.  Yes,  sir  ;  as  well  as  you  dare  patronage 

The  envious  barking  of  your  saucy  tongue 

Against  my  lord  the  Duke  of  Somerset. 
Ver.  Sirrah,  thy  lord  I  honour  as  he  is.  35 

Bas.  Why,  what  is  he  ?  as  good  a  man  as  York. 
Ver.  Hark  ye  ;  not  so :  in  witness,  take  ye  that.    [Strikes  him. 
Bas.  Villain,  thou  knowest  the  law  of  arms  is  such 

That  whoso  draws  a  sword,  'tis  present  death, 

Or  else  this  blow  should  broach  thy  dearest  blood.  40 

But  I  '11  unto  his  majesty,  and  crave 

I  may  have  liberty  to  venge  this  wrong  ; 

When  thou  shalt  see  I  '11  meet  thee  to  thy  cost. 
Ver.  Well,  miscreant,  I  '11  be  there  as  soon  as  you  ; 

And,  after,  meet  you  sooner  than  you  would.  45 

\_Exeunt. 

34.  my  lord]  F  i  ;  omitted  Ff  2,  3,  4.  37.  ye]  Ff  i,  2  ;  you  Ff  3,  4.  38. 

Villain  .  .  .  shcK]  one  line,  Rowe;   two  in  Ff.  38.  knowest]  Ff;  know'st, 

Pope,  Cambridge.         39.  whoso]  Rowe;  who  so  Ff. 

28.  hot]  passionate,  hot-tempered.  ing  in  the  king's  palace,  or  before  the 

29.  DJs^m««^o/]  For  the  superfluous  king'sjudges,  was  punished  with  death  " 
"of"  to  fill  the  line,  compare  "re-  (Commentaries,  vol.  iv.  p.  124).  And 
solved  of,"  above,  line  20.  A  weak  trick  again:  ■' By  the  ancient  common  law, 
found  often  in  Greene.  Shakespeare  also  before  the  conquest,  striking  in  the 
would  more  readily  omit  than  add  the  king's  court  of  justice,  or  drawing  a 
trifling  word.  See  iv.  ii.  22,  v.  i.  5,  sword  therein,  was  a  capital  felony" 
IV.  vii.  37.  (p.  125). 

32.  patronage]  See  above,  iii.  i.  48  40.  broach  .  .  .  blood]  See  2  Henry 
(note).  VI.  IV.  X.  40,  and  3  Henry   VI.  11.  iii. 

33.  envious  barking]  Craig  quotes  16.  "  Broaching  blood"  does  not  occur 
from  Spenser,  lines  prefixed  to  Shep-  again,  not  even  in  Tilus  Andronicus, 
heards  Calendar  (1589) : —  but   Shakespeare   makes   fun   of  it    in 

"  And  if  that  em^y  bark  at  thee.  Midsummer  Night's  Dream,  v.  i.  148 ; 

As  sure  it  will,  for  succour  flee  no  doubt  with  a  good-humoured  recol- 

Under  the  shadow  of  his  wing."  lection. 

Occurs  in  Trotlus  and  Cressida,  11. 1.  ^8.  40.    dearest   blood]   Compare   (Peele 

38.  law  of  arms]  Again  in  Henry  V.  and  Greene's)  Locrine,  i.  i. : — 

and  Ki}tg  Lear.     And  below,  iv.  i.  100.  "  And  for  this  gift  his  life  and  dearest 

See  Tamburlaine,  Part  I.  11.  iv.  (16,  a):  blood 

"  Thou  break'st  the  la^a  of  arms  unless  Will    Corineus   spend  for   Brutus' 

thou  kneel."  good." 

39.  whoso  .  .  .  death]  Reed  quotes  Occurs  again,  Part  iii.  v.  i.  6g ;  and  i. 
from  Sir  William  Blackstone:  "by  the  i.  223  ("heart  blood"). 

ancient  law  before  the  Conquest,  fight- 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


101 


ACT  IV 


SCENE  \.— Paris.     A  halL  of  state. 

Enter  the  King,  GLOUCESTER,  Winchester,  York,  Suffolk, 
Somerset,  Warwick,  Exeter,  Talbot,  the  Governor 
of  Paris,  and  others. 

Glou.  Lord  bishop,  set  the  crown  upon  his  head. 

Win.  God  save  King  Henry,  of  that  name  the  sixth. 

Glou.  Now,  governor  of  Paris,  take  your  oath. 
That  you  elect  no  other  king  but  him, 
Esteem  none  friends  but  such  as  are  his  friends,  5 

And  none  your  foes  but  such  as  shall  pretend 
Malicious  practices  against  his  state  : 
This  shall  ye  do,  so  help  you  righteous  God  ! 

Enter  Sir  JOHN  FastoLFE. 
Fast.  My  gracious  sovereign,  as  I  rode  from  Calais, 


Scene  /.]  Grafton  gives  the  list  of 
those  present:  "There  were  in  his 
company  of  his  awne  Nation,  his 
Vncle  the  Cardinall  of  Winchester,  the 
Cardinall  and  Archebyshop  ofYorke,  the 
Dukes  of  Bedford,  Yorke,  and  Norfolke, 
the  Earles  of  Warwike,  SaHsburie, 
Oxford,  Huntyngdon,  Ormonde,  Mor- 
tayn,  Suffolke,  and  of  Gascoynes  .  .  . 
he  was  met  at  the  Chapell,  in  the  meane 
way,  by  Syr  Simon  Moruer  Provost  of 
Paris,  with  a  great  company"  (The 
X  Yere,  1431,  p.  591).  Boswell  Stone 
says  (p.  228)  :  "  Gloucester  was  in  Eng- 
land .  .  .  Lieutenant  of  England  during 
the  King's  absence."  "Somerset"  was 
Edmund  Beaufort,  then  Earlof  Mortain; 
Talbot  was  a  prisoner  in  143 1 ;  Exeter 
(Thomas  Beaufort)  died  about  five  years 
before;  the  French  Governor  of  Paris 
is  a  fictitious  personage  (the  last  re- 
mark may  be  set  aside).  Grafton  tells 
us  that  after  "  divers  riche  and  notable 
burgesses "  had  done  their  reverence 
"  there  approched  to  the  king  the  IX. 
worthies,  sytting  richely  on  horseback, 
armed  with  the  armes  to  them  apper- 
teyning."  .  .  .  "  And  onthe  xvij  of  the 


sayde  Moneth  [December]  he  departed 
from  the  Palace  in  great  triumph, 
honorably  accompanyed  to  our  Lady 
Church  of  Paris :  wherewith  all  solemp- 
nitie  he  was  annoynted  and  crowned 
King  of  Fraunce  by  the  Cardinall  of 
Winchester :  (the  Byshop  of  Paris  not 
being  content  that  the  Cardinall  should 
doe  such  a  high  ceremonie  in  his 
Church  and  jurisdiction)."  The  men- 
tion of  the  Nine  Worthies  is  interesting. 
At  about  the  time  this  play  passed 
through  Shakespeare's  hands,  he  v/as 
introducing  them  into  Love 's  Labour  's 
Lost. 

6.  pretend]  aim  at,  mean,  intend. 
See  Two  Getitlemen,  11.  vi.  37,  and  Mac- 
beth, II.  iv.  24. 

7.  practices]  stratagems. 

8.  Sir  John  Fastolfe]  See  note  at  i. 
i.  116.  The  note  there  gives  the  name 
Patay,  Capell's  correction  for  Poictiers, 
which  was  fought  a  century  before  this 
date  (line  19).  It  was  the  Duke  of 
Bedford  who  "  in  a  great  anger  toke 
from  hym  the  Image  of  Saint  George 
and  the  Garter."  They  were  restored 
again  against  Talbot's  wishes. 


102  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  iv. 

To  haste  unto  your  coronation,  lo 

A  letter  was  deliver'd  to  my  hands, 

Writ  to  your  grace  from  the  Duke  of  Burgund)^ 
Tal.  Shame  to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  and  thee ! 

I  vow'd,  base  knight,  when  1  did  meet  thee  next, 

To  tear  the  garter  from  thy  craven's  leg  ;  [Plucks  it  off.  15 

Which  I  have  done,  because  unworthily 

Thou  wast  installed  in  that  high  degree. 

Pardon  me,  princely  Henry,  and  the  rest: 

This  dastard,  at  the  battle  of  Patay, 

When  but  in  all  I  was  six  thousand  strong,  20 

And  that  the  French  were  almost  ten  to  one, 

Before  we  met  or  that  a  stroke  was  given. 

Like  to  a  trusty  squire  did  run  away : 

In  which  assault  we  lost  twelve  hundred  men  ; 

Myself  and  divers  gentlemen  beside  25 

W^ere  there  surpris'd  and  taken  prisoners. 

Then  judge,  great  lords,  if  I  have  done  amiss; 

Or  whether  that  such  cowards  ought  to  wear 

This  ornament  of  knighthood,  yea  or  no. 
GI021.  To  say  the  truth,  this  fact  was  infamous  30 

And  ill  beseeming  any  common  man, 

Much  more  a  knight,  a  captain  and  a  leader. 
Tal.  When  first  this  order  was  ordain'd,  my  lords, 

Knights  of  the  garter  were  of  noble  birth, 

14.  theel  the  F  i.  15.  [Plucking  it  off]  Capell ;  omitted  Ff.  18.  me, 

princely]  me  Princely  Ff  i,  2 ;  my  Princely  Ff  3,  4.         19.  Patay]  Malone  (Capell 
conj.),  Poic tiers  Ff. 

19.  dastard]  a  coward  of  an  extra  bad  remarkable  in  the  diction,  nor  is  there 

sort ;  one  who  shrinks  from  danger  in  anything  of  Greene's  style  of  import- 

the  path  of  duty  or  honour.      Occurs  ance.    See  3 //^nrj  F/.  reference  (note), 

several    times  in  these   plays,   and   in  33.  this  order]  Compare  this  passage 

Coriolanus  and  Richard  II.  with   another   prosy   reference   to   the 

19.  Patay]  "a  small  Vyllage  called  oider  in  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,  v.  v. 
Patay  "  (Grafton,  p.  582).  65-77.      There  is  not  much  to  choose, 

20.  six  thousand]  See  i.  i.  Ii2.  for  poetry,  between  them,  but  this  is 
22.  or  that  a  stroke  was  given]  he     more  dignified  and  suitable.     See  again 

fled  "not  having  struck  one  stroke,"  or  Richard  III.   iv.  iv.  370.     Grafton  has 

"without   any  stroke   striken"    (Graf-  a  legend  about  this  order  for  which  he 

ton),   but   not   before    the    battle   was  seems  to  be  responsible  himself:  "  But 

engaged.  King  Richard,  as  sayth  an  olde  written 

30.  fact]  evil  deed,  crime:  Abun-  Chronicle,  before  his  departure  called 
dantly  so  used  by  Shakespeare,  and  all  his  Lordes  and  knightes  to  him,  and 
frequent  at  the  time.  did  swere  them  for  evermore  to  be  true 

31.  ill  beseeming]  Occurs  again  unto  him,  and  to  take  his  part.  And  in 
(hyphened)  2  Henry  IV.  iv.  i.  84;  3  token  thereof  he  gaue  to  every  of  them 
Henry  VI.  i.  iv.  113;  and  twice  in  a  blewe  Lace  or  Ribband  to  be  knowen 
Romeo  and  Juliet.  Seems  to  be  a  term  by,  andhereof(sayththatoldeChronicIe) 
of  Shakespeare's  own;  and  as  in  other  btgan  the  first  occasion  of  the  order  of 
places  his  hand  seems  apparent  at  the  the  Garter "  {Richard  the  First,  The 
opening  of  a  scene.     There  is  nothing  VI.  Yere).     Speed  gives  this  at  greater 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


103 


Valiant  and  virtuous,  full  of  haughty  courage, 
Such  as  were  grown  to  credit  by  the  wars ; 
Not  fearing  death,  nor  shrinking  for  distress, 
But  always  resolute  in  most  extremes. 
He  then  that  is  not  furnish'd  in  this  sort 
Doth  but  usurp  the  sacred  name  of  knight, 
Profaning  this  most  honourable  order, 
And  should,  if  I  were  worthy  to  be  judge. 
Be  quite  degraded,  like  a  hedge-born  swain 
That  doth  presume  to  boast  of  gentle  blood. 
K.  Hen.   Stain  to  thy  countrymen  !  thou  hear'st  thy  doom 
Be  packing  therefore,  thou  that  wast  a  knight : 
Henceforth  we  banish  thee  on  pain  of  death. 

{^Exit  Fastolfe. 
And  now,  my  lord  protector,  view  the  letter 
Sent  from  our  uncle  Duke  of  Burgundy. 


35 


40 


45 


length,  and  quotes  besides  from  Camden 
that  it  was  founded  "  to  adorne  Martiall 
vertue  with  honours,  rewards  and 
splendour." 

35.  haughty  courage'^  high  courage. 
In  a  good  sense  here.  See  note  at  iii. 
iii.  76,  77. 

36.  credif]  honourable  reputation. 

38.  most  extremes']  the  greatest  ex- 
tremes, or  extremities,  dangers,  straits. 
"  Most  '■  is  very  commonly  used  without 
the  article  by  Shakespeare.  "  Ex- 
tremes" in  this  sense  occurs  in  several 
of  Shakespeare's  plays.  Compare  Gold- 
ing's  Ovid,  ix.  354  :  "  my  most  fo."  And 
Peele,  Sir  Clyotnon  (527,  a,  Routledge) : 
"  My  most  misfortunes." 

43.  hedge-born]  born  or  brought  up 
under  a  hedge ;  contemptuously  used. 
Boorish,  low,  common.  Compare 
"hedge-priest,"  Love's  Labour's  Lost, 
V.  ii.  536,  and  note  Arden  edition.  And 
see  2  Henry  VI.  iv,  ii.  55.  There  were 
many  such  compounds,  amply  collected 
in  New  Eng.  Diet.  For  the  latter 
member,  compare  base-born,  true-born, 
etc.  in  these  plays. 

43.  swain]  Shakespeare  was  ex- 
tremely partial  to  this  word.  Spenser 
uses  it  in  two  senses,  youth  and  servant. 
In  the  text  here  it  is  a  term  of  con- 
tempt. See  note  in  Todd's  Spenser 
{Faerie  Queene,  i.  viii.  13). 

44.  gentle  blood]  Only  again  (in  this 
sense)  in  "gentler  blood"  (below,  v.  iv. 
8)  in  Shakespeare.  In  ancient  use, 
occurring  in  Cursor  Mundi  (ante  1300) 
(New  Eng.  Diet.).  And  Faerie  Queene, 
II.    iv.    I :    "  But   chiefly   skill   to   ride 


seemes  a  science  Proper  to  gentle 
blood." 

46.  Be  packing]  away  with  you. 
Frequent  in  Shakespeare. 

48.  the  letter]  Grafton  narrates  this 
episode :  "  when  thysleaguewas  sworne, 
and  this  knot  knit,  the  Duke  of  Burgoyne 
.  .  .  sent  Thoison  Dor,  his  king  at 
armes  to  King  Henry  with  letters:  that 
he  being  not  only  waxed  faint  and 
wearyed  .  .  .  but  also  chafed  dailie  with 
complaints  and  lamentation  of  his 
people  .  .  .  affirming  that  he  onely  was 
the  supporter  and  mainteiner  of  the 
English  people,  .  .  .  and  that  he  .  .  . 
intentively  toke  paine,  both  to  keepe  and 
maintaine  the  Englishemen  in  Fraunce 
.  .  .  rather  then  to  restore  King  Charles 
his  Cosyn  to  his  rightfull  inheritaunce, 
by  reason  of  which  things  and  many 
other,  he  was  in  maner  compelled  and 
constrayned  to  take  a  peace,  and  con- 
clude an  amitie  with  King  Charles, 
exhorting  King  Henry  ...  to  make 
an  ende  of  the  warre  .  .  .  with  many 
glosyng  and  flatteryng  wordes.  .  .  , 
This  letter  was  not  a  little  looked  on, 
nor  smally  regarded  of  the  King  of 
England  .  .  .:  not  onely  for  the  waigh- 
tinesse  of  the  matter,  but  also  for  the 
sodaine  change  of  the  man,  and  for  the 
straunge  superscription  of  the  letter, 
which  was :  To  the  high  and  mightie 
prince,  Henry  by  the  grace  of  God,  King 
of  England  his  welbeloved  Cosyn : 
Neyther  naming  him  King  of  Fraunce, 
nor  his  soveraigne  Lorde  .  .  .  wherfore 
all  they  which  were  present  .  .  .  openly 
called  him  Traytor,  deceyuer,  and  most 


104  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  iv. 

Glou.  What  means  his  grace,  that  he  hath  chang'd  his  style?  50 
No  more  but,  plain  and  bkintly,  To  the  King  I 
Hath  he  forgot  he  is  his  sovereign  ? 
Or  doth  this  churlish  superscription 
Pretend  some  alteration  in  good  will  ? 
What's  here?     "  I  have,  upon  especial  cause,  55 

Moved  with  compassion  of  my  country's  wrack, 
Together  with  the  pitiful  complaints 
Of  such  as  your  oppression  feeds  upon, 
Forsaken  your  pernicious  faction 
And  join'd  with  Charles,  the  rightful  King  of  France."    60 

0  monstrous  treachery !     Can  this  be  so. 
That  in  alliance,  amity,  and  oaths. 

There  should  be  found  such  false  dissembling  guile? 
K.  Hen.  What !  doth  my  uncle  Burgundy  revolt  ? 
Glou.   He  doth,  my  lord,  and  is  become  your  foe.  65 

K.  Hen.   Is  that  the  worst  this  letter  doth  contain  ? 
Glou.  It  is  the  worst,  and  all,  my  lord,  he  writes. 
K.  Hen.  Why  then,  Lord  Talbot  there  shall  talk  with  him, 

And  give  him  chastisement  for  this  abuse. 

How  say  you,  my  lord  ?  are  you  not  content  ?  70 

Tal.  Content,  my  liege !     Yes  :  but  that  I  am  prevented, 

1  should  have  begg'd  I  might  have  been  employ'd. 

K.  Hen.  Then  gather  strength  and  march  unto  him  straight : 
Let  him  perceive  how  ill  we  brook  his  treason. 
And  what  offence  it  is  to  flout  his  friends.  75 

65.  your]  F  i  ;  my  Ff  2,  3,  4. 

inconstant  prince  .  .  .  when  the  Mes-  ^flcy^  S/mw(HazHtt'sDodsley,v.  388): — 

senger  was  departed,  the  King  of  Eng-  "These  unnatural  rebels  and  unjust 

lande  and  hyscounsayle  thought  and  de-  That    threaten    ivrack    unto    this 

termined  to  worke  some  displeasure  to  wretched  land." 

the  Duke"   (The  XIIIJ  Yere,  p.  605).  "  Wreck"  might  well  be  limited  to  the 

53.  superscription']  address  or  direc-  sea  or  similar  sudden  catastrophes. 
tion  of  the  letter,  the  same  as  "  super-  68.  talk  with  him]  have  a  serious 
script"  in  Love's  Labour's  Lost,  iv.  ii.  settlement;  make  him  explain  himself; 
123  (Arden  ed.).  Compare  R.  Harvey,  a  few  "  cold  words."  Compare  SWfwi/s 
Plaine  Percevall  (1589):  "  The  boy  which  (Greene  ?),  Grosart,  xiv.  212  : — 
greeted  his  father  with  a  letter,  clapt  full  "And  tell  him,  messenger,  another 
of    commendations    .    .    .    proovde    as  time 

untoward  a  sonne,  as  he  that  directed  He  shall  have  talke  inough   with 

his  superscription  to  his  most  obedient  Baiazet." 

parents."  71.  prevented]  anticipated.     Often  in 

54.  Pretend]  mean,  convey,  import :  Shakespeare,  as  in  Merchant  of  Venice, 
see  above,  line  6.    "  Churlish,"  in  previ-  i.  i.  61,  etc. 

ousline,  is  a  pet  word  with  Shakespeare.  73.  strength]  forces,  an  army.     Fre- 

56.   wrack]  ruin.      It  is  an  unfortu-  quent  in  the  historical  plays,  and  in  the 

nate  thing  that  Theobald's  alteration  of  Chroniclers.     Also  in  Titus  Andronicus, 

the  old  "wrack"   (universal  in  the  old  ard  in  Antony  and  Cleopatra. 

editions)  should  have  been  ever  followed.  74.  iroo/t]  endure. 

See  above,  i.  i.  135.     Compare  (Peele's)  75.  Jlout]  mock  ;  both  very  frequent  in 


sc.  I]         KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  105 

Tal.  I  go,  my  lord  ;  in  heart  desiring  still 

You  may  behold  confusion  of  your  foes.  {Exit. 

Enter  Vernon  and  Basset. 

Ver.  Grant  me  the  combat,  gracious  sovereign  ! 

Bas.   And  me,  my  lord  ;  grant  me  the  combat  too ! 

York.  This  is  my  servant :  hear  him,  noble  prince  !  80 

So7n.  And  this  is  mine  :  sweet  Henry,  favour  him  ! 

K.  Hen.   Be  patient,  lords  ;  and  give  them  leave  to  speak. 

Say,  gentlemen,  what  makes  you  thus  exclaim  ? 

And  wherefore  crave  you  combat  ?  or  with  whom  ? 
Ver.  With  him,  my  lord  ;  for  he  hath  done  me  wrong.  85 

Bas.  And  I  with  him  ;  for  he  hath  done  me  wrong. 
K.  Hen.  What  is  that  wrong  whereof  you  both  complain  ? 

First  let  me  know,  and  then  I  '11  answer  you. 
Bas.  Crossing  the  sea  from  England  into  France, 

This  fellow  here,  with  envious  carping  tongue,  90 

Upbraided  me  about  the  rose  I  wear ; 

Saying,  the  sanguine  colour  of  the  leaves 

Did  represent  the  colour  of  my  master's  blushing  cheeks, 

When  stubbornly  he  did  repugn  the  truth 

About  a  certain  question  in  the  law  95 

Argu'd  betwixt  the  Duke  of  York  and  him  ; 

With  other  vile  and  ignominious  terms  : 

87.  whereof]  F  i ;  whereon  Ff  2,  3,  4.         go.  cnvioitsl  F  i  ;  omitted  Ff  2,  3,  4. 
93.  represent]  F  i ;  present  Ff  2,  3,  4. 

Shakespeare.    So  Grafton,  i.  309  :  "In  The  combate  was  granted,  and  in  Smith- 

somuch  that  he  disdeynedthe  Lordesof  field  (the  Duke  of  Yorke  exercising  the 

England,  flouted,  scorned,  and  rudely  office  of  high  Constable)  they  fought  in 

taunted  them."      Kyd    has    it    in    The  lists.     In  the  end  the  King's  name  was 

Spanish  Tragedy.  used  to  part  and  forgive  them  ''  (p.  8ig, 

78.  Grant  me  the  combat]  lio  source  ed.  1632).     The  exact  date  of  this  public 

for  this  incident   (continued  from    the  challenge  (the  cause  being  the  Duke  of 

close  of  the  last  Act)  has  been  advanced.  York),  the  trial  by  combat  and  the  in- 

Speed  narrates  an  occurrence  which  has  terference  of  the  king  to  settle  it,  are 

many  points  in  common  with  this  com-  more  than  coincidences, 

bat  challenged  by  Vernon  and  Basset :  90.  carping]  cavilling  at.     See  Much 

"  The  next  yeere  after  his  corronation  Ado   About   Nothing,    iii.   i.    71,    and 

in    England,    hee    passeth    over    into  Richard  III.  in.  v.  68. 

France,  there  also  to  receive  the  Dia-  94.  r^/i^^g-w]  reject,  repel,  refute.    Not 

deme  thereof.      The  Constableship  of  again  in  Shakespeare,  but  a  common 

England  was  before  his  departure  as-  word  at  this  time.      See  extract  from 

signed  by  Patent,  for  tearme  of  life,  to  Hall's  Chronicle  at  Part  III.  in.  ii.  98. 

Richard  Duke  of  Yorke  (which  gave  him  97.  ignominious   terms]  See  note   to 

a  more  feeling  of  greatnesse,  and  secretly  "  ignominious  words,"  Part  II.  iii.  i.  179. 

whetted  his   ambitious  appetite)  upon  Marlowe  has: — 

this    occasion :     One     lohn  Vpton    of  "  Wherein  he   wrought   such    igno- 

Feversham    in   Kent  Notarie,  accused  minious  wrong 

lohn  Down  of  the  same  place  gentleman,  Unto   the   hallowed    person   of  a 

That  he  and  his  complices  did  imagine  prince  " 

the  King's   death  at  his   Corronation.  {Tamburlaine,    Part  I.    iv.    3).       And 


106  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  iv. 

In  confutation  of  which  rude  reproach, 

And  in  defence  of  my  lord's  worthiness, 

I  crave  the  benefit  of  law  of  arms.  loo 

Vcr.  And  that  is  my  petition,  noble  lord  : 

For  though  he  seem  with  forged  quaint  conceit 

To  set  a  gloss  upon  his  bold  intent, 

Yet  know,  my  lord,  I  was  provok'd  by  him  ; 

And  he  first  took  exceptions  at  this  badge,  105 

Pronouncing  that  the  paleness  of  this  flower 

Bewray'd  the  faintness  of  my  master's  heart. 
Vo?-A'.  Will  not  this  malice,  Somerset,  be  left? 
Som.  Your  private  grudge,  my  Lord  of  York,  will  out, 

Though  ne'er  so  cunningly  you  smother  it.  1 10 

K.  Hen.  Good  Lord  !  what  madness  rules  in  brainsick  men. 

When  for  so  slight  and  frivolous  a  cause 

Such  factious  emulations  shall  arise ! 

Good  cousins  both,  of  York  and  Somerset, 

Quiet  yourselves,  I  pray,  and  be  at  peace.  1 1  5 

York.  Let  this  dissension  first  be  tried  by  fight, 

And  then  your  highness  shall  command  a  peace. 
Som.  The  quarrel  toucheth  none  but  us  alone ; 

Betwi.xt  ourselves  let  us  decide  it  then. 
York.  There  is  my  pledge ;  accept  it,  Somerset.  120 

Ve7'.  Nay,  let  it  rest  where  it  began  at  first. 
Bas.  Confirm  it  so,  mine  honourable  lord. 
Glou.  Confirm  it  so  !     Confounded  be  your  strife  ! 

And  perish  ye,  with  your  audacious  prate! 

115.  7  pray^  F  i ;  omitted  Ff  2,  3,  4. 

in    Tamburlaine,    Part    II.    v.    i.    6g,  Secowrf  (Dyce,  186,  b) :"  Doth  no  man 

a : —  take  exceptions  at  the  slave  ?  " 

"  And,  Hke  base  slaves,  abject  our  107.  Bewray'd]  made  known,  or  dis- 

princely  minds                 '  closed  involuntarily ;  betrayed. 

To  vile  and  j^«ow/«io!«  servitude  "  loy.  faintness]  lack  of   spirit,  pusil- 

— the  language  of  the  text.  lanimity.     "  Send  a.  faintness  into  their 

g8.  confutaliun]   refutation,    disprov-  hearts "  (Leviticus  xxvi.  36). 

ing.     Not  found  in  Shakespeare's  plays  in.  6raJ«5«VA]  addle-headed,  foolish. 

again.  Common  at  this  time,  and  occurring  as 

100.  benefit]  privilege,  or  bestowal  of  early   as  Caxton.      It   is  in   Edward's 

rights.     Compare  Richard  III.  in.  vii.  Damon  and  Pithias  {ante  1566) ;  Mis- 

196.     A  legal  term.  fortunes  of  Arthur  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley, 

102.  with  .  .  .  quaint  conccit]\vith  a  iv.  307),  1587  ;   Marlowe,  jfe7v  of  Malta; 

neat  invention,  or  wit.  and  Greene  has  it  several  times.     See 

lo'i.  To  set  a  gloss  upon]  to  ^ive  a.  fa'iT  Troilus  and  Cressida,   u.   ii.   122,  and 

appearance  to.     See  Timon  of  Athens,  Lucrece,  175.        In  Titus  Andronicus, 

I.   ii.    16.      Nashe  uses  the  phrase  in  and  twice  in  2  Henry  VI. 

Lenten   Stuffe.      Greene    has    "put   a  11;^.  factious]  dissentious,  rebellious, 

gloss  on  "  in  Penelopes  Web.  Frequent  in  these  three  plays,  and  in 

105.  took  exceptions  at]  disapproved  Troilus  and  Cressida. 

of,  condemned.       See  Two  Gentlemen  113.    emulations]    jealousies.       See 

of  Verona,  v.  ii.  3.     I  find  the  phrase  Galatians  v.  19,  20  (Craig), 
again  (later)  in  Marlowe's  Edward  the 


sc.  i]         KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  107 

Presumptuous  vassals!  are  you  not  asham'd  125 

With  this  immodest  clamorous  outrage 

To  trouble  and  disturb  the  king  and  us  ? 

And  you,  my  lords,  methinks  you  do  not  well 

To  bear  with  their  perverse  objections ; 

Much  less  to  take  occasion  from  their  mouths  130 

To  raise  a  mutiny  betwixt  yourselves  : 

Let  me  persuade  you  take  a  better  course. 
Exe.   It  grieves  his  highness:  good  my  lords,  be  friends. 
K.  Hen.  Come  hither,  you  that  would  be  combatants. 

Henceforth  I  charge  you,  as  you  love  our  favour,  135 

Quite  to  forget  this  quarrel  and  the  cause. 

And  you,  my  lords,  remember  where  we  are ; 

In  France,  amongst  a  fickle  wavering  nation. 

If  they  perceive  dissension  in  our  looks. 

And  that  within  ourselves  we  disagree,  140 

How  will  their  grudging  stomachs  be  provok'd 

To  wilful  disobedience,  and  rebel ! 

Beside,  what  infamy  will  there  arise. 

When  foreign  princes  shall  be  certified 

That  for  a  toy,  a  thing  of  no  regard,  145 

King  Henry's  peers  and  chief  nobility 

Destroy'd  themselves,  and  lost  the  realm  of  France ! 

0  !  think  upon  the  conquest  of  my  father, 
My  tender  years,  and  let  us  not  forgo 

That  for  a  trifle  that  was  bought  with  blood.  150 

Let  me  be  umpire  in  this  doubtful  strife. 

1  see  no  reason,  if  I  wear  this  rose,     {^Putting  on  a  red  rose. 

152.  [Putting  .  .  .]  Johnson;  omitted  Ff. 

125.  Pre5umptuous]0n\y  in  AH'sWell,  discontented  tempers.  The  word  is 
I.  iii.  204,  besides  each  of  these  three  frequent  in  the  early  histories  :  "  They 
plays.  Greene  has  it  frequently  in  his  tooke  their  stomakes  so  couragiously 
plays,  especially  Alphonsus.  In  A  unto  them,  and  gave  them  so  fierce  and 
Looking  Glasse  for  London  (xiv.  12),  sharpe  an  onset,  that  they  overthrew 
"■Presumptuous  Viceroy,  darst  thou  them,  man  and  mothers  sonne "  (Graf- 
check  thy  Lord"  (1.   120),  is  similar  to  ton,  i.  301). 

the  line  before  us.     In  AlVs   Well  the  144.  c^r/Z/f^rf]  informed,  made  certain 

application  is  very  different.     "  Proud  of  it.       Compare   Greene,    James    the 

/^^((^w^/jWMs  "  has  been  already  quoted  Fourth,   xii.    261:  "a   knight  hard  by 

from  Faerie  Queene,  bk  i.  ...  whom    I    must   certifie,    that    the 

130.  take  occasion~\  take  the  oppor-  lease  of  East  Spring  shall  be  confirmed." 
tunity.  In  common  use. 

131.  mutiny]  strife.  147.  realm  of  France]  See  above,  11. 
133-  good  my  lords]  See  Part  III.  11.     li.  36. 

ii.  75  (note).  149.  tender  years]  King  Henry  has 

138.  France  .  .  .  fickle]  See  in.  iii.     told  his  hearers  of  his  tender  years  al- 

85.  ready  (iii.  iv.  17).  The  expression  occurs 

140.  disagree]  Not    elsewhere     in     continually  in  Shakespeare. 
Shakespeare.  149.  forgo]   forfeit.        See    Lucrece, 

141.  grudging   stomachs]   resentful,     228.     An  old  word  becoming  obsolete. 


108 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act    IV. 


That  an\'  one  should  therefore  be  suspicious 

I  more  incline  to  Somerset  than  York : 

Both  are  my  kinsmen,  and  I  love  them  both.  155 

As  well  they  may  upbraid  me  with  my  crown, 

Because,  forsootli,  the  king  of  Scots  is  crown'd. 

But  your  discretions  better  can  persuade 

Than  I  am  able  to  instruct  or  teach : 

And  therefore,  as  we  hither  came  in  peace,  160 

So  let  us  still  continue  peace  and  love. 

Cousin  of  York,  we  institute  your  grace 

To  be  our  regent  in  these  parts  of  France : 

And,  good  my  Lord  of  Somerset,  unite 

Your  troops  of  horsemen  with  his  bands  of  foot;  165 

And,  like  true  subjects,  sons  of  your  progenitors, 

Go  cheerfully  together  and  digest 

Your  angry  choler  on  your  enemies. 

Ourself,  my  lord  protector,  and  the  rest. 


[67.  digest]  disgest  F  2. 


162,  163.  Cousiti  of  York  .  .  .  our 
regent  iti  these  parts  of  France]  "After 
the  death  of  .  .  .  the  Duke  of  Bedford 
.  .  .  the  Enghshe  people  .  .  .  set  up  a 
new  sayle,  andbeganne  thewarre  newe 
agayne,  and  appointed  for  Regent  in 
Fraunce,  Richard  Duke  of  Yorke  .  .  . 
althoughe  the  Duke  of  Yorke,  both  for 
birth  and  courage,  was  worthy  of  this 
honour  and  preferment,  yet  he  was  so 
disdayned  of  Edmonde  Duke  of  Somer- 
set, beyng  Cosyn  to  the  king,  that  he 
was  promoted  to  so  high  an  office  (which 
he  in  ver\'  deede  gaped  and  looked  for) 
that  by  all  wayes  and  meanes  possible, 
he  both  hindered  and  detracted  him, 
glad  of  his  losse,  and  sorie  of  his  well 
doing  ;  causing  him  to  linger  in  England 
without  dispatch,  till  Parys  and  the 
Flower  of  Fraunce  were  gotten  by  the 
French  king.  The  Duke  of  Yorke  per- 
ceyving  his  euill  will,  openly  dissimuled 
that  which  he  inwardly  thought,  eche 
working  things  to  the  others  displeasure. 
This  cancared  malice  and  pestiferous 
diuision  so  long  continued  in  the  hartes 
of  these  two  Princes,  till  mortall  warre 
consumed  them  both,  and  almost  all 
their  lines  and  ofsprings,  as  within  fewe 
yeres  you  shall  perceyue  "  (The  XI II J 
Yere  (p.  606),  1435).  Boswell  Stone 
omits  this  obviously  needed  passage 
(from  Hall  and  Grafton) ;  he  proceeds 
here  to  consider  "  good  my  lord  of 
Somerset,    unite   .    .  .   your  horsemen 


.  .  ,  with  his  foot"  (164, 165),  and  finds 
historical  warrant  in  1443  for  the  joined 
forces  in  the  following  passage,  in  Graf- 
ton (The  XIX  Yere  (1440,  not  1443),  p. 
619):  "The  Dukes  of  YorkeandSommer- 
set,  lykewise  entered  into  the  Duchie  of 
Aniow,  and  Countie  of  Mayne,  destroi- 
yng  townes,  spoilyng  the  people,  and 
with  great  pray  and  profite,  repayred 
again  into  Normandie."  This  is  quite 
a  needless  and  confusing  excursion  to 
mention  here.  Nothing  in  the  play 
arises  out  of  Henry's  friendly  mandate 
to  the  two  rivals.  But  that  it  was  of 
no  effect,  Grafton  tells  us  (607) :  "  Many 
other  townes  in  Fraunce  were  taken 
and  betrayed,  for  lacke  of  succours  and 
sufficient  garrisons,  then  the  Duke  of 
Yorke  appoynted  at  the  Parliament 
before  to  be  regent  of  Fraunce,  and  by 
the  disdejTi  and  envy  of  the  Duke  of 
Sommerset  and  other,  not  till  now  dis- 
patched, was  sent  into  Normandie." 

167.  digest]  distribute,  disperse,  dis- 
sipate.    The  oldest  sense  of  this  word, 
often  spelt  "  disgest"  at  this  time,  and 
still  provinciallv  in  the  North.    Compare 
Airs  Well  that  Ends   Well,  v.  iii.   74. 
Physical  language  of  the  time.     Com- 
pare Kyd's  Cornelia,  iv.  ii.  220-223  : — 
"  Wicked  Enuie  .  .  . 
To  choller  doth  convart 
Purest  blood  about  the  heart, 
Which  oreflou  ing  of  their  brest 
Suft'reth  nothing  to  digest." 


sc.  I]  KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  109 

After  some  respite  will  return  to  Calais  ;  17O 

From  thence  to  England,  where  I  hope  ere  long 

To  be  presented,  by  your  victories, 

With  Charles,  Alencon,  and  that  traitorous  rout. 

^Flourish.     Exeunt  all  but  YORK,  WARWICK, 
Exeter,  and  Vernon. 
War.  My  Lord  of  York,  I  promise  you,  the  king 

Prettily,  methought,  did  play  the  orator.  1/5 

York.  And  so  he  did  ;  but  yet  I  like  it  not 

In  that  he  wears  the  badge  of  Somerset. 
War.  Tush  !  that  was  but  his  fancy,  blame  him  not ; 

I  dare  presume,  sweet  prince,  he  thought  no  harm. 
Yo7^k.  An  if  I  wist  he  did,— but  let  it  rest ;  1 80 

Other  affairs  must  now  be  managed. 

^Exeunt  all  but  ExETER. 
Exe.  Well  didst  thou,  Richard,  to  suppress  thy  voice; 

For  had  the  passions  of  thy  heart  burst  out, 

I  fear  we  should  have  seen  decipher'd  there 

More  rancorous  spite,  more  furious  raging  broils,  185 

Than  yet  can  be  imagined  or  supposed. 

But  howsoe'er,  no  simple  man  that  sees 

173.  [Flourish]  Ff  (after  line  iSi).  Exeunt  all  but  .  .  .]  Exeunt,  Manet 
.  .  .  Ff  I,  2;  Exeunt,  Manent  .  .  .  Ff  3,  4.  180.  An  if  I  wist  he  did,—] 
Capell;  And  if  I  wish  he  did,  Ff.  181.  Exeunt  .  .  .]  Exeunt,  Flourish. 
Manet,  Exeter,  Ff. 

zyo.  respite]  delay,  rest.     So  Spenser,  178.    r»sA /]  Shakespeare's  favourite 

Faerie  Queene,  11.  xi.  8,  9 : —  ejaculation.     See  Othello,  i.  i.  i  (note, 

"Lawlesse    lustes  .  .    .  Arden  ed.). 

Against  the  bulwarke  of  the  sight  180.  An  if  I  wist  he  did,—]  Rowe, 

Did  lay  strong  siege  .  .  .  Theobald  and  Steevens  read  this  line 

Ne  once  did  yield  it  respitt  day  nor  variously.     York  means  to  say,  menac- 

night."       ^  ingly,  "  if  I  thought  he  did  " — but  checks 

174.  I  promise  yo%i]  I  assure  you.  his  threat  with  "  let  it  rest."  The  same 
See  Merchant  of  Venice,  iii.  v.  3,  etc.  figure  occurs  in  Coriolanus,  11.  iii.  8g, 
etc.  Occursmany  times  in  Shakespeare,  and  elsewhere  (Malone).  "  An  if"  is 
Sometimes  equivalent  to  "  methinks."  very  common  in  Shakespeare  for  "  if." 

175.  play  the  orator]  Occurs  again,  184.  rfeapA^rW]  discovered,  disclosed. 
3  Henry  VI.  i.  ii.  2;  11.  ii.  43;  iii.  ii.  See  Titus  Andronicns,  iv.  ii.  8.  Com- 
188  ;  and  Richard  III.  iii.  v.  95.  Very  pare  Peele  :  "  Ulysses  .  .  .  In  pedler's 
near  also  in  Part  II.  in.  ii.  274.  One  base  array  decipher'd  him"  {Tale  of 
of  the  many  phrases  showing  continuity  Troy  (15S9)  554.  b).  Greene  often  uses 
of  authorship.      Two  out  of  the  three  the  word  also. 

uses  in  Part  III.  are  in  Qq.     The  last  185.    rancorous    spite] 

is  not.     Marlowe  has  it  in  Tamburlaine,  "  There  sate 

Part  I. : —  Cruell  Revenge,  and  rancorous  De- 

"  Shall  we  fight  courageously  with  spight, 

them,  Disloyall  Treason,  and  hart-burn- 

Or   look   you    I    should    play    the  ing  Hate; 

orator  ?  "  But  gnawing  Gealosy,  out  of  their 

(i.  2).  sight 

177.   badge]  cogn\z3.nce.     See  ii.  iv.  Sitting  alone " 

108,  note.  (Faerie  Queene,  11.  vii.  22). 


110  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  iv. 

This  jarring  discord  of  nobility, 

This  shouldering  of  each  other  in  the  court, 

This  factious  bandying  of  their  favourites,  190 

But  that  it  doth  presage  some  ill  event. 

'Tis  much  when  sceptres  are  in  children's  hands  ; 

But  more  when  envy  breeds  unkind  division : 

There  comes  the  ruin,  there  begins  confusion.  [Exi^. 

SCENE  U.— Before  Bourdeaux. 

Enter  Talbot,  with  trump  and  drum. 

Tal.  Go  to  the  gates  of  Bourdeaux,  trumpeter  ; 
Summon  their  general  unto  the  wall. 

Tnanpet  sounds.     Enter  General  and  others,  aloft. 

English  John  Talbot,  captains,  calls  you  forth, 
Servant  in  arms  to  Harry  King  of  England  ; 

191.  But  that  it\  Ff  I,  2;  By  that  it  Ff  3,  4.  194.  There  comes]  F  i ;  Then 
comes  Ff  2,  3,  4. 

Scene  11. 

Scene  II.— Before  .  .  .  drum]  Enter  Talbot,  toithTrumpe  and  Drumme,  before 
Burdeaux.  Ff  (Trumpet  Ff  2,  3 ;  Trumpets  F  4).  2.  Trumpet  sounds]  Sounds 
Ff.         and  others]  Malone  ;  omitted  Ff. 

iSS.  jarring  discord]  Compare  "jar-  traitor   doth  presage   his   harm";  and 

ring  notes''  (Taming  of  Shrew,  v.  ii.  i);  again  v.  4.    And  Faerie  Quecne,i.  x.  61. 

and  ''inning  concord"  (All's  Well  that  192.   'Tis    much]   it's    a    hard   case. 

Ends  Well,  I.  I  186).  Compare     Venus    and     Adonis,    411; 

189.  s/fO!<Wmno']  Spenser  uses  this: —  Richard  III.  in.  vii.  93  ;  Othello,  iv.  i. 
"  Some  thought  to  raise  themselves  254,  etc.     Thoroughly  in  Shakespeare's 

to  high  degree  way. 

By  riches  and  unrighteous  reward :  192.  sceptres  .  .   .   children's  hands] 

Some  by  close  shouldring ;   some  See  2  Henry  VI.  i.  i.  245. 

byflatteree"  193.  wM^inff]  unnatural. 

(Faerie  Queene,n.\\\.<^^).    The  passage  193.  <ftt)Jsio«]  disunion.     See  extract 

•is  descriptive  of  the  Court  of  Ambition,  at  11.  162,  163,  above.     In  the  foregoing 

And  in  Colin  Clout's  Come  Home  Again,  scene  there  is  little  evidence  of  Greene's 

speaking  of  court  he  says  : —  work. .    Exeter's  closing  speech,  with  the 

"  Ne  is  there  place  for  any  gentle  "furious  raging  broils"  and  his  favourite 

wit  .  .  .  "deciphered,"  comes  near  him.  But  even 

But  shouldred  is  or  out  of  doore  there  the  broils  would  have  been  bloody, 

quite  shit"  cz-cvc 

(11.  707-709).     And  in  Faerie  Qucene,  n.  ^ceme  ii. 

xii.    23:    "  Spring-headed  hydres;    and  Scene   ii. — Before  Bourdeaux]  The 

sea.-shouldering  whales."  sequence  of  events  in  the  play  requires 

190.  bandying]  contending.  See  us  to  travel  forward  from  the  fourteenth 
Romeo  and  Jtdiet,  iii.  i.  92,  where  the  year  of  King  Henry  to  the  thirty-first 
word  is  substantively  used.  A  new  term  and  thirty-second— from  1435  to  1451-3. 
in  this  sense.  In    1451,  in  consequence  of  "the  pesti- 

19 1.  presage]  presage  or  foretell  (to  ferous  division  which  reigned  in  Eng- 
him).  Occurs  several  times  in  vShake-  l„nd,"  and  "so  inveigled  the  brains  of 
speare  meaning  indicate  (prophetically),  the  noblemen  there,"  no  succour  came 
Compare  Locrine,  in.  ii. :  "  See  how  the  to  the  English  subjects  in  Aquitaine  and 


SC.    II.] 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


111 


And  thus  he  would  :  Open  your  city  gates, 
Be  humble  to  us,  call  my  sovereign  yours. 
And  do  him  homage  as  obedient  subjects, 
And  I  '11  withdraw  me  and  my  bloody  power ; 
But  if  you  frown  upon  this  proffer'd  peace, 
You  tempt  the  fury  of  my  three  attendants. 
Lean  famine,  quartering  steel,  and  climbing  fire ; 
Who  in  a  moment  even  with  the  earth 


lo 


6.  humble]  F  i ;  humbled  Ff  2,  3,  4. 


the  Gascon  towns,  of  which  the  French 
king  was  determined  to  get  possession. 
Grafton  gives  a  fullaccount  of  how,  one 
by  one,  all  were  lost— all  Normandy — 
and  especially  Bourdeaux,  which  had 
been  English  for  about  three  centuries. 
At  this  time  the  Duke  of  York,  in  order 
to  advance  privily,  without  spot  of 
usurpation,  his  title  to  the  crown, 
thought  it  expedient  to  pick  a  quarrel 
with  the  Duke  of  Somerset:  "which 
ruled  the  king,  ordered  the  realme  and 
most  might  doe  with  the  Queene : 
Whome  the  commons,  for  the  losse  of 
Normandy,  worse  then  a  Tode  or 
Scorpion  hated,  disdained  and  abhorred, 
in  so  much  that  diverse  evill  ruled 
persons,  brake  his  house  and  spoyled 
his  goods  "  (p.  646).  During  the  factions 
and  commotions  that  ensued  (Black 
heath,  Brent  heath)  "came  Ambassa- 
dors from  the  heddes  and  Magistrates 
of  the  City  of  Burdeaux  .  .  .  which 
signified  to  the  Counsaile,  that  if  they 
would  send  an  armie  into  Gascoyn,  the 
Gascoynes  would  revert  and  turne 
againe  to  the  Englishe  part  (p.  648). 
.  .  .  The  Counsayle  of  Englande  .  .  . 
appointed  the  noble  souldiour  and 
valyaunt  Capitayne  lohn  Lorde  Talbot, 
and  Erie  of  Shrewsburie  to  be  Chiefe- 
tayne  of  the  armie  which  should  in  all 
haste  be  transported  into  Aquitayne. 
The  Lordes  of  Gascoyne  .  .  .  glad  of 
their  aunswere  .  .  .  exhorting  every 
man  to  be  firme  ...  to  the  King  of 
England  and  his  heyres,  under  whose 
liberty  .  .  .  they  had  prospered  ,  .  . 
above  three  hundred  yeres,  rather  than 
now  to  fall  into  the  French  captivity : 
whose  .  .  .  daylie  exactions  were  to 
them  importable  .  .  .  The  Erie  of 
Shrewsburie  toke  his  chaunce  .  .  .  his 
army,  being  scant  three  thousand  men, 
and  destroyed  all  the  Countrey  between 
Burdeaux  and  Blay,  and  toke  the  strong 
towne  and  Castell  of  Fronsac,  and  divers 
other  townes  .  .  .  till  he  came  before 


the  Citie  of  Burdeaux.  The  citizens 
.  .  .  opened  one  gate  and  let  in  a  great 
parte  of  the  Englishe  armie." 

10,  II.  three  attendants  .  .  .  climb- 
ingj^re]  See  Henry  V.  Act  i.  chorus, 
1.  7.  From  a  speech  of  King  Henry 
the  Fifth  after  the  siege  of  Rouen,  when 
messengers  of  surrender  come  to  him 
with  a  "subtile  and  crafty  invention," 
he  said :  "  If  these  things  be  to  you  blind 
and  obscure,  I  will  declare  and  open 
them  to  you.  The  Goddesse  of  warre 
called  Bellona  (which  is  the  Correctrice 
of  Princes  for  right  withholdyng,  or 
injury  doyng,  and  the  plague  of  God  for 
evill  lyvng)  hath  these  three  hand- 
maydes,  euer  of  necessitie  to  attend 
vpon  her,  that  is,  blood,  fyre  and  famine 
which  three  Damosellesbe  of  that  force 
and  strength  that  euery  of  them  alone  is 
able  to  torment  and  afflict  a  proude 
Prince;  But  they  all  beyng  ioyned  to- 
gether, are  of  puyssaunce  able  to  destroy 
the  most  populous  Countrie  and  richest 
region  of  the  worlde.  ...  I  have  ap- 
poynted  the  mekest  of  the  three  Damo- 
sels  to  afflict  and  plague  you,  until  you 
be  brydeled  and  brought  to  reason,  which 
shall  be  when  it  shall  please  me  .  .  . 
the  choyse  is  in  my  hande  to  tame  you 
eyther  with  blood,  fyre  or  famin,  or  wyth 
all,  I  will  take  the  choyse  at  my  pleasure 
and  not  at  yours  "  (Grafton  (or  Hall), 
The  VIJ  Yere,  Henry  the  Fift).  Ho- 
linshed  has  this  abridged.  vSo  Peele  in 
Battle  of  Alcazar,  11.  iii. : — 

"  Crying  for  battle,  famine,  sword, 
and  fire, 
Rather  than   calling  for  relief  or 
life  " 
(428  a,  Routledge). 

II.  Lean  famine]  Shakespeare 
abounds  in  epithets  to  personifications. 
See  "pale  destruction,"  below,  1.  27. 
"  Lean "  is  usually  appropriated  by 
Envy.  See  Whitney's  Emblems  (ed. 
Green,  p.  94),  1586:  "This  Envie  is 
leane,  pale,  and  full  of  yeares." 


112 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act    IV. 


Shall  lay  your  stately  and  air-braving  towers, 
If  you  forsake  the  offer  of  their  love. 
Gen.  Thou  ominous  and  fearful  owl  of  death,  1 5 

Our  nation's  terror  and  their  bloody  scourge ! 
The  period  of  thy  tyranny  ap[:)roacheth. 
On  us  thou  canst  not  enter  but  by  death  ; 
For,  I  protest,  we  are  well  fortified. 

And  strong  enough  to  issue  out  and  fight :  20 

If  thou  retire,  the  Dauphin,  well  appointed, 
Stands  with  the  snares  of  war  to  tangle  thee: 
On  either  hand  thee  there  are  squadrons  pitch'd 
To  wall  thee  from  the  liberty  of  flight ; 
And  no  way  canst  thou  turn  thee  for  redress  25 

But  death  doth  front  thee  with  apparent  spoil. 
And  pale  destruction  meets  thee  in  the  face. 
Ten  thousand  French  have  ta'en  the  sacrament 
To  rive  their  dangerous  artillery 


28.  Ten  .  .  .  sacrament]  placed  before  line  25  in  Ff  2,  3,  4. 
3,  4  ;  ryue  Ff  i,  2  ;  drive  Johnson  conj. ;  rain  Vaughan  conj. 


29.  rive]  Ff 


14.  If  you  forsake  the  offer  of  their 
love]  Steevens  compares  Henry  VIII. 

III.  ii.  3,  4:— 

"  If  you  omit 
The   offer   of  this  time,   1  cannot 
promise." 

15.  ouil  of  death]  See  Richard  III. 

IV.  iv.  509.      Compare  Golding's  Ovid 
(bk.  X.  11.  521,  522) : — 

"  Three  tymes  the  deathfull  owle  that 
eeven 
With  doolefull  noyse  prognosticates 
unhappie  lucke." 
Spenser  has  "The  messenger  of  death, 
the  ghastly  owle"  (Faerie  Queene,  1.  v. 
30).     Todd  refers  to  Virgil's  Mneid,  iv. 
462. 

16.  their  bloody  scourge]  See  I.  iv.  42, 
43,  and  11.  iii.  i5  (notes).  See  extract 
from  Grafton  (p.  650)  at  the  opening  of 
Sc.  V. :  "  I,  thy  father,  which  onely  hath 
bene  the  terror  znAscotirge  to  the  French 
people."  This  is  used  by  Marlowe  in 
Tambiirlaine,  Part  II.  i.  iii.:  "scourge 
and  terror  of  the  world,"  three  times  on 
one  page. 

23.  On  either  hand  thee]  i.e.  of  thee. 
See  note,  ill.  iv.  29. 

23.  squadrons  pitch'd]  Compare  Kyd's 
Spanish  Tragedy,  i.  ii.  32: — 

"Our  battels  both  were  pitch'd   in 
squadron  forme. 
Each    comer    strongly    fenst   with 
wings  of  shot; 


But  ere  we  ioynd  and  came  to  push 
of  Pike, 

I  brought  a  squadron  of  our  readiest 
shot 

From  out  our  rearward  to  begin  the 
fight; 

They  brought  another  wing  to  in- 
counter  us." 
26.  a/'/>arfK<5/>oJ/]  destruction  in  sight. 

28.  ta'en  the  sacrament]  See  All's 
Well  that  End's  Well,  iv.  iii.  156; 
Richard  II.  (three  times) ;  and  Richard 
III.  (twice).  A  solemn  public  assevera- 
tion was  made  in  this  way  by  Edward  IV. 
at  York  :  "  A  masse  was  said  at  ye  gates, 
wher  he  receiuyng  the  sacrament,  pro- 
mised feithiully  upon  his  othe  that  he 
would  obserue  bothe  the  thynges  afore 
named"  (Grafton,  Continuation  of  Har- 
dyng  (452),  1543). 

29.  rive  their  .  .  .  artillery]  Ex- 
plained "  fire  till  they  split,"  which  is 
not  satisfactory.  The  object  is  not  to 
burst  the  guns  but  to  hit  Talbot.  I 
should  like  to  read  "  rove,"  an  ordinary 
term,  meaning  to  find  the  elevation  or 
aim.  See  Nares  for  examples.  Used 
by  Sir  John  Harington,  Spenser,  etc. 
And  in  Greene :  "  But  Bacon  roves  a 
bow  beyond  his  reach"  {Frier  Bacon, 
Grosart,  xiii.  17).  However,  no  one 
except  Shakespeare  would  have  made 
this  bold  and  expressive  use  of  the  word 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


113 


30 


35 


Upon  no  Christian  soul  but  English  Talbot. 

Lo  !  there  thou  stand'st  a  breathinor  valiant  man, 

Of  an  invincible  unconquer'd  spirit : 

This  is  the  latest  glor}'  of  thy  praise, 

That  I,  thy  enemy,  due  thee  withal ; 

For  ere  the  glass,  that  now  begins  to  run, 

Finish  the  process  of  his  sandy  hour. 

These  eyes,  that  see  thee  now  well  coloured, 

Shall  see  thee  wither 'd,  bloody,  pale,  and  dead. 

yDrum  afar  o^. 
Hark  !  hark  !  the  Dauphin's  drum,  a  warning  bell. 
Sings  heavy  music  to  thy  timorous  soul,  40 

And  mine  shall  ring  thy  dire  departure  out. 

{Exeunt  General^  etc. 
Tal.  He  fables  not ;  I  hear  the  enemy. 

Out,  some  light  horsemen,  and  peruse  their  wings. 
O  !  negligent  and  heedless  discipline  ; 

34.  due\  Theobald  ;  dew  Ff. 

34.  due\  endue,  endow.     New  Eng. 

Did.  has  an  example  of  this  verb  (in 

this  sense)  from  Piers  Plowman.   "Dew'' 

might  be  defended  as  meanincr    abso- 


lutely to  shed  tears  for,  mourn  for. 
"  Dewing  tears  "  was  often  used,  as  in  2 
Henry  VI.  in.  ii.  340.  It  is  twice  in 
Greene's  A  Maidens  Dreame,  but  not  so 
violently. 

36.  sandy  hour]  hour  measured  by 
the  sand  of  the  glass.  Compare  Mer- 
chant of  Venice,  i.  i.  25 :  "I  should  not 
see  the  sandy  hour-glass  run." 

38.  wither'd]  See  3  Henry  VI.  11.  v. 
102. 

39.  warning  bell]  Compare  Romeo 
and  ynliet,  v.  iii.  207.  Greene  has  the 
term  in  A  Looking  Glasse  for  London 
(Grosart,  xiv.  87,  1.  1981) : — 

"  Sinne  growne  to  pride,  to  misery  is 
thrall. 
The  warning  bell  is  rung,  beware 
to  fall." 

41.  departure]  death.  Not  again  in 
Shakespeare.  New  Eng.  Diet,  quotes 
from  a  Will,  1558.  And  from  2  Timothy 
(A.V.),  161 1,  It  is  in  Kyd's  Cornelia, 
in.  iii.  85  (Boas  ed.) :  "  Hee  that  of  his 
departure  tooke  the  spoyle  "  ;  and  earlier, 
^^ departure  or  decease"  occurs. 

42.  He  fables  not]  The  verb  is  found 
again  only  in  3  Henry  VI.  v.  v.  25. 
Steevens  quotes  from  Greene's  George- 
a-Greene,  The  Pinner  of  Wakefield 
(Grosart,  xiv.  153):  "good  father, /a6/f 
Mo^  with  him"  (the  Hnes  are  miserable 
stuff).      Greene    has    it  again    in    The 


Carde  of  Fancie  (Grosart,  iv.  163),  1584  : 
"  Why  Gwydonius  (quoth  he)  wilt  thou 
seeke  to  proue  thy  selfe  loyall,  when  the 
hearers  deeme  thee  a  lyar  .  .  .  Dost 
thou  think  my  fathers  furie  wil  suffer 
thee  to  fable  ?" 

43.  some  light  horsemen]  "light- 
armed  cavalry  soldiers,"  acting  as 
scouts.  New  Eng.  Diet,  quotes  from 
Patten,  Expedition  to  Scotland,  154S. 
I  find  the  term  in  a  Letter  from  the 
Queen  to  the  Bishop  of  Chester,  1580 
(Nichols'  Progresses,  ii.  298,  ed.  I1823) : 
"  We  thinke  yt  verie  convenient  and 
needfull  for  oure  present  service  and  the 
defence  of  that  our  realme  [Ireland]  to 
have  a  certaine  number  of  horsemen 
put  in  readiness  to  serve  as  light 
horsemen "  ;  and  again  next  page. 
Compare  Peele,  Battle  of  Alcazar,   iv. 

"  Consisting  of  light  armed  horse 
And  of  the  garrisons  from  Tangier 
brought " 
(P-  435,  a). 

43.  peruse]  examine.  In  Golding's 
Ovid,  bk.  xiv.  11.  312,  313 : — 

"  And  so  perusing  evexy  herb  by  good 
advysement,  she 
Did  wey  them  out." 
See  Richard  II.  lu.  iii.  53  and  2  Henry 
IV.  IV.  ii.  94. 

43.  wings]  a  military  term.  See 
quotation  at  "  chosen  shot,"  i.  iv.  53. 
In  ^«'5  Well  that  Ends  Well,  Cymbelitie, 
etc.  See  quotation  from  Spanish  Tra- 
gedy at  1.  23. 


114 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act    IV. 


How  are  we  park'd  and  bounded  in  a  pale, 

A  little  herd  of  Eng^iand's  timorous  deer, 

Maz'd  with  a  yelping  kennel  of  French  curs ! 

If  we  be  English  deer,  be  then  in  blood; 

Not  rascal-like,  to  fall  down  with  a  pinch, 

But  rather  moody,  mad,  and  desperate  stags, 

Turn  on  the  bloody  hounds  with  heads  of  steel 

And  make  the  cowards  stand  aloof  at  bay  : 

Sell  every  man  his  life  as  dear  as  mine. 

And  they  shall  find  dear  deer  of  us,  my  friends. 

God  and  Saint  George,  Talbot  and  England's  right, 

Prosper  our  colours  in  this  dangerous  fight ! 

\^Exe2int 


45 


50 


55 


50.  moody,  mad,  and"[  moodie  mad:  And  Ff  i,  2,  3 ;  moodic  mad  and  F  4; 
moody-mad  and  Capell,  Cambridge.  56.  {Exeunt]  omitted  F  i. 


45.  park'd}  enclosed,  as  in  a  park. 
New  Eng.  Diet,  has  several  examples 
ranging  backwards  to  beginning  of  cen- 
tury. "  Pale,"  an  enclosure,  is  frequent 
in  Shakespeare.  Compare  Puttenham, 
Arte  of  English  Poesie  (Arber,  p. 
112) : — 

'♦  Within  the  pale  of  true  obeysaunce  : 

Holding  imparked  as  it  were, 

Her  people  like  to  heards  ofdeere." 

Shakespeare   often    recalls    Puttenham. 

See  Love  's  Labour 's  Lost  (Introduction, 

Arden  ed.). 

47.  Maz'd]  stupefied,  dazed. 

48.  in  blood]  in  perfect  trim.  See 
Love's  Labour's  Lost,  iv.  ii.  4,  note, 
Arden  edition,  p.  71.  See  Coriolanus, 
I.  i.  163.  Compare  Jonson's  Sad  Shep- 
herd, I.  ii. : — 

"A  heart  of  ten  .  .  .   good  venison. 
According    to    the   season    in    the 
blood." 
A  sportsman's  term. 

49.  rascal-like]  like  the  worthless  deer 
of  a  herd,  with  reference  to  the  ordinary 
sense  oi  rascal.     See  i.  ii.  35  (note). 

49.  pinch]    a    snap,    or    slight    bite. 
From  the  verb  used  3  Henry   VI.  11.  i. 
16.      A  recognised  term  in  the  chase ; 
see  note   at  last  reference.     The   verb 
occurs  twice  in  Golding's  Ovid.     And  in 
Spenser's  Visions  0/ Petrarch,  i.  : — 
"  Two  eager  dogs  ...  so   in  their 
cruell  race 
They  pinch t  the  haunches  of  that 
gentle  beast." 


50.  moody]  sulky,  "dangerous." 
Compare  Golding's  Ovid,  vi.  42,  43 : — 
"  Hir  countnance  did  bewray 
Hir  7>ioodie  minde." 
I  am  quite  unable  (from  some  mental 
obliquity)  to  see  the  desirability  of 
Capell's  interjected  hyphen  here.  The 
adjective  is  a  favourite  one  with  Shake- 
speare. 

50.  mad]  passionate,  furious.  See 
below,  iii.  28. 

52.  stand  aloof]  Occurs  several  times 
in  Shakespeare,  who  uses  "aloof"  only 
with  "  stand  "  and  "  keep."  "  Off  a/00/" 
occurs  below,  iv.  iv.  21.  Compare 
Locrine,  i.  i. : — 

"  I  will  not  stand  aloof  from  off  the 
lure, 
Like  crafty  dames  that  most  of  all 

deny 
That   which   they    most   desire   to 
possess  " 
(lines  recalling  Shakespeare  more  than 
is  often  the  case). 

54.  dear  deer]  a  favourite  quibble  in 
Shakespeare.  See  Love 's  Labour 's 
Lost,  IV.  i.  1 12  (and  note,  Arden  edition). 
Schmidt  references  it  no  less  than  nine 
times. 

55.  God  and  Saint  George]  See  again 
3  Henry  VI.  11.  i,  204,  and  iv.  ii.  29 ; 
Richard  III.  v.  iii.  270.  We  may 
safely  set  this  scene,  like  its  predecessor, 
down  to  Shakespeare. 

55.  Talbot  and  England's  right]  See 
I.  i.  128,  note. 


sc.  Ill]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  115 

SCENE  III. — Plains  in  Gas  cony. 
Enter  YORK,  with  Forces ;  to  him,  a  Messenger. 

York.  Are  not  the  speedy  scouts  return'd  again 

That  dogg'd  the  mighty  army  of  the  Dauphin  ? 
Mess.  They  are  return'd,  my  lord,  and  give  it  out 

That  he  is  march'd  to  Bourdeaux  with  his  power, 

To  fight  with  Talbot.     As  he  march'd  along,  5 

By  your  espials  were  discovered 

Two  mightier  troops  than  that  the  Dauphin  led. 

Which  join'd  with  him  and  made  their  march  for  Bourdeaux. 
York.  A  plague  upon  that  villain  Somerset, 

That  thus  delays  my  promised  supply  lO 

Of  horsemen  that  were  levied  for  this  siege ! 

Renowned  Talbot  doth  expect  my  aid, 

And  I  am  louted  by  a  traitor  villain 

And  cannot  help  the  noble  chevalier. 

God  comfort  him  in  this  necessity  !  15 

If  he  miscarry,  farewell  wars  in  France. 

Enter  Sir  WiLLIAM  LuCY, 

Lucy.  Thou  princely  leader  of  our  English  strength, 
Never  so  needful  on  the  earth  of  France, 
Spur  to  the  rescue  of  the  noble  Talbot, 
Who  now  is  girdled  with  a  waist  of  iron  20 

Scene  ///.]  Capell ;  omitted  Ff.  Plains  .  .  .]  Capell ;  Another  part  of 
France.  Theobald.  it,.  lotded^lowtedVl;  flouted ]ohnsox\con].  16.  Enter 
Sir    William   Lucy]   Theobald;    Enter  another   Messenger   Ff.  17.   Lucy] 

2  Mes.  Ff  (and  throughout  the  Scene).         20.  waist]  Steevens  ;  waste  Ff. 

Scenes  hi.  and  iv.     The  presence  13.  louted]  made  a  lout  or  fool  of; 

of   York    and    Somerset    during    these  formed  as  "fooled." 

occurrences    culminating     in     Talbot's  Xi\.  chevalier]on\ymKingyohn,u.\. 

death,  is  imaginary.     They  were  rais-  287  again,  except  in  a  French  sentence, 

ing  civil  war  in  England  at  this  time.  Henry  V.  iv.  iv.  59.     Occurs  in  Paston 

See  extract  at  the  opening  of  the  last  L<?;'/<-rj,  1478,  iii.  p.  221  (1874).    Stanford 

scene.  Dictionary  also  quotes  Coningsby,  Siege 

2.  dogg'd]   tracked,    followed,    keep-  of  Rouen,  Camden  Misc.  vol.  i.  p.  37 

ing    knowledge    of    the    whereabouts;  {1847),  1591  :  "in    which  [army]  there 

"shadowed."     Greene  uses  the  word  in  are  a  nombre  of  CAewa/i^rrs." 

A    Hee    atzd    a    Shee    Conny-Catcher  20.  girdled  with  a  waist  of  iron]The 

(Grosart,  x.  207) :  "  And  then  dogge  the  same  expression  occurs  in  King  John, 

partie  into  a  presse  where  .  .  .  hee  shall  n.i.217:  "  those  sleeping  stones  that  as 

not   feele   when    we    strip   him    of   his  a  waist  doth  girdle  you  about."      See 

boung";  and  p.  214:   "They  haunted  Measure  for  Measure,  iii.  ii.  41,  Arden 

about  the  Inne  where  he  laie,  and  dogd  edition  (p.  79),  for  an  example  of  "waist" 

him  into  divers  places."  in    this   sense   from    The    Troublesome 

6.  espials]  See  i.  iv.  8  and  note.  Raigiie.    The  spelling  of  the  word  indif- 

9.  that  villain  Somerset]  See  extrsicts  ferently  "waste"   and  "waist"  led  to 

at  IV.  i,  162,  163.  constant  quibbling  (as  in  Lyly's  Endy- 


116 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  IV. 


And  hemm'd  about  with  grim  destruction. 

To  Bourdeaux.  war-like  duke  !  to  Bourdeaux,  York  ! 

Else,  farewell  Talbot,  France,  and  England's  honour. 
Yofk.  O  God !  that  Somerset,  who  in  proud  heart 

Doth  stop  my  cornets,  were  in  Talbot's  place : 

So  should  we  save  a  valiant  gentleman 

By  forfeiting  a  traitor  and  a  coward. 

Mad  ire  and  wrathful  fury  make  me  weep 

That  thus  we  die,  while  remiss  traitors  sleep. 
Lticy.  O  !  send  some  succour  to  the  distress'd  lord. 
York.   He  dies,  we  lose ;  I  break  my  war-like  word  ; 

VVe  mourn,  France  smiles  ;  we  lose,  they  daily  get ; 

All  long  of  this  vile  traitor  Somerset. 


25 


30 


33.  long]  Ff ;  'Ions;  Johnson,  Cambridge. 


mion,  III.  iii.).     Here  there  is  probably  a 
thought  of  the  equivalent  "vast"  as  in 
Hamlet,  I.  ii.  198.     Peele  affords  a  good 
example  of  "  waist "  meaning  girdle : — 
"  That  so  I  might  have  given  thee  for 
thy  pains 
Ten   silver  shekels  and  a  golden 
waist" 
(Quarto  "wast"),  David  and  Bethsabe, 
(481,  a). 

21.  hemni' d  about  with  .  .  .  destruc- 
tion] Compare  Troilus  and  Cressida,  iv. 
V.  195 ;  and  Venus  and  Adonis,  229, 
1022.  See  also  Marlowe  and  Nashe, 
Dido  (Grosart,  vi.  28),  11.  i. :  — 

"  And  after  him,  his  band  of  Mirmi- 
dons, 
With  balles  of  wilde  fire  .  .  . 
All  which  hemd  me  about,  crying, 
this  is  he." 
And  Tamburlaine,  Part  I.  11.  iv. :  "  Till 
I    may   see   thee   hemm'd  with   armed 
men." 

25.  cornets]  bands  of  cavalry.  Peele 
has  the  word  at  the  beginning  of  i.  ii. 
in  Battle  of  Alcazar  : — 

"  Pisano,  take  a  cornet  of  our  horse, 
As  many  argolets  and  armed  pikes. 
And  with  our  carriage  march  away 
before." 
And  in   connection   with    Peek's    part 
authorship    of    Locrine,    compare    the 
beginning  of  11.  iv.  in  that  play: — 
"  Hubba  go   take  a  coronet   of  our 
horse. 
As  many  lanciers   and  light-armed 

knights 
As  may  suffice  for  such  an  enter- 
prise." 
"  Light-armed  horse"  occurs  in /l/caaar. 


near  the  end.     See  Introduction.    Com- 
pare Kyd's  Spanish  Tragedy,  i.  ii.  41  : — 

"  Don  Pedro  their  chiefe  Horsemens 
Corlonell 
Did  with  his  Cornet  bravely  make 

attempt 
To  breake  the  order  of  our  battell 
rankes." 
See    for    this    further    at    "  squadrons 
pitched,"  IV.  ii.  23. 

29.  remiss]  negligent,  careless.  Oc- 
curs half  a  dozen  times  in  Shakespeare. 

31,  32.  He  dies,  we  lose  .  .  .]  Words 
set  in  opposition  like  these,  or  grouped 
in  heaps  of  nominatives  and  verbs  and 
accusatives,  separated,  are  met  with  not 
only  in  Shakespeare  but  almost  all 
poetical  writers  of  the  latter  half  of  the 
century.  See  Puttenham,  Arber  reprint, 
p.  242.  Upton  gives  a  good  note  to 
Faerie  Queene  (Todd's  ed.),  i.  xi.  28, 
with  examples  from  Fairfax  and  Milton. 
He  quotes  also  from  Cicero  and  says 
"they  are  called  versus  paralleli,  cor- 
relation, correspondents,  etc."  See 
Faerie  Queene  again,  11.  iv.  35  ;  11.  vi. 
II,  12.  Peele  has  some  amazing  ex- 
amples, as  in  Alcazar,  Act  v. ;  and  the 
opening  lines  of  David  aiid  Bethsabe. 
Spenser  varies  the  form  poetically  in 
Faerie  Queene,  11.  xii.  70;  and  in 
Shepheards  Calendar  (January) ;  Lodge, 
Womtds  of  Civil  War. 

33.  long  oj]  along  of,  in  consequence 
of.  Still  in  use  provincially,  and  occurs 
again  in  Love 's  Labour  's  Lost,  11.  i.  119 
(see  note,  Arden  ed.  p.  34) ;  and  in 
Coriolanus,  Cymbeline  and  Midsummer 
Night's  Dream.  See  line  46  below,  and 
3  Henry  VL  iv.  vii.  32. 


sc.  Ill]       KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


117 


Lucy.  Then  God  take  mercy  on  brave  Talbot's  soul; 

And  on  his  son  young  John,  whom  two  hours  since         35 

I  met  in  travel  toward  his  war-like  father. 

This  seven  years  did  not  Talbot  see  his  son  ; 

And  now  they  meet  where  both  their  lives  are  done. 
York.  Alas  !  what  joy  shall  noble  Talbot  have 

To  bid  his  young  son  welcome  to  his  grave  ?  40 

Away  !  vexation  almost  stops  my  breath 

That  sunder'd  friends  greet  in  the  hour  of  death. 

Lucy,  farewell :  no  more  my  fortune  can 

But  curse  the  cause  I  cannot  aid  the  man. 

Maine,  Blois,  Poictiers,  and  Tours,  are  won  away,  45 

Long  all  of  Somerset  and  his  delay. 

{Exit,  with  his  soldiers. 
Lucy.  Thus,  while  the  vulture  of  sedition 

Feeds  in  the  bosom  of  such  great  commanders, 

Sleeping  neglection  doth  betray  to  loss 

The  conquest  of  our  scarce  cold  conqueror,  50 

That  ever  living  man  of  memory, 

Henry  the  Fifth  :  whiles  they  each  other  cross, 

Lives,  honours,  lands,  and  all  hurry  to  loss. 


36.  toward']  F  i ;  towards  Ff  2,  3,  4. 
bridge.         53.  [Exit]  omitted  F  i. 

37.  This  seven  years]  this  long  time. 
Not  to  be  taken  literally,  though  dates 
and  days  are  quite  plastic  in  this  play. 
A  common  expression  in  Shakespeare, 
as  in  J  Henry  IV.  11.  iv.  343,  and  2 
Henry  VI.  11.  i.  2.  A  very  old  phrase 
occurring  in  Chaucer's  Knightes  Tale 
(1. 1452) ;  and  in  Piers  Plowman  (Skeat's 
edition,  vol.  i.  p.  i^j),  ante  1377;  in 
most  of  the  early  Mystery  plays,  and 
very  common  in  the  i6th  century. 
Perpetuated  in  more  than  one  proverb, 
as  "  It  hapth  in  one  hour  that  hapth  not 
in  seven  yeare "  (Heywood,  1546,  etc. 
etc.). 

41.  stops  my  breath]  kills  me.  Com- 
pare Faerie  Qt/eene,  ii.  x.  60  :  "  through 
poison  stopped  was  his  breath." 

46.  Long  all  of]  all  along  of,  all  owing 
to;  see  line  33  above. 

47,  48.  vulture  .  .  .  Feeds  in  the 
bosotn]  a  metaphor  from  Prometheus 
and  Tityus.  See  Merry  Wives  of 
Windsor,  i.  iii.  94  :  "  Let  vultures  gripe 
thy  guts,"  and  note  in  Arden  edition, 
p.  43.  Shakespeare  has  this  allusion 
several  times.  Perhaps  there  is  no 
commoner  loan  to  the  poets  from  the 


[Exit. 

46.  Long]  Ff ;  'Long  Johnson,  Cam- 


ancients.      Twice    in  Golding's    Ovid 
the  bird  is  named  a  "  Grype." 

48.  great  commanders]  Occurs  again 
in  Troilus  and  Cressida,  and  in  Henry 
V.  Compare  Peele,  A  Talc  of  Troy 
(558,  a) :  "  The  great  commander  of 
such  lordly  peers  "  ;  and  Locrine,  11.  iv. : 
"  Albanact,  The  great  commander  of 
these  regions." 

49.  neglection]  disregard ;  found  again 
Troilus  and  Cressida,  i.  iii.  127  ;  and  in 
Pericles,  ill.  iii.  20  (¥i  neglect:).  Halli- 
well  gives  it  as  a  Gloucestershire  pro- 
vincialism. New  Eng.  Diet,  has 
no  example  earlier  than  Shakespeare, 
and  only  one  of  any  sort  from  Owen 
Feltham. 

50.  scarce  cold  conqueror]  Compare 
"scarce  cold  battle,"  Cymbeline,  v.  v. 
469. 

51.  ever  living  man  of  memory]  An 
example  of  the  transposition  of  words 
so  commonly  adopted  by  Shakespeare 
(man  of  ever  living  memory).  "  Ever- 
living  "  was  an  early  compound.  See  In- 
troduction ;  Faerie  Queene,  i.  i.  38, 
39,41;  "ever-damned."  This  scene  is 
undoubtedly  Shakespeare's. 


118  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  iv. 

SCENE  IV. — Other  plains  in  Gascony. 

Enter  Somerset,  with  his  army ;  a  Captaiit  (t/Talbot's 
with  hitn. 

SoiH.  It  is  too  late  ;  I  cannot  send  them  now  : 

This  expedition  was  by  York  and  Talbot 

Too  rashly  plotted  :  all  our  general  force 

Might  with  a  sally  of  the  very  town 

Be  buckled  with  :  the  over-daring  Talbot  5 

Hath  sullied  all  his  gloss  of  former  honour 

By  this  unhecdful,  desperate,  wild  adventure: 

York  set  him  on  to  fight  and  die  in  shame, 

That,  Talbot  dead,  great  York  might  bear  the  name. 
Cap.  Here  is  Sir  William  Lucy,  who  with  me  10 

Set  from  our  o'ermatch'd  forces  forth  for  aid. 

Enter  Sir  William  Lucy. 

Som.  How  now.  Sir  William  !  whither  were  you  sent? 

Lucy.  Whither,  my  lord  ?  from  bought  and  sold  Lord  Talbot ; 

Scene  /v.]  Capell.  Other  plains  .  .  .]  Capell ;  Another  part  of  France. 
Theobald.  a  Captain  .  .  .]  an  Officer  .  .  .  Capell;  omitted  Ff.  11.  Enter 
.  .  .]  Theobald;  omitted  Ff.  12.  whither]  whether  F  i.  13.  Whither] 
Whether  F  i. 

4.  sally]  See  again,  i  Henry  IV.  u.  8.  5«<  A/m  oh]  incited  him.  Abundant 
iii.  54,  and  Troilus  and  Cressida,  v.  iii.     in  Shakespeare. 

14.  II.     o'ermatch'd]    Occurs    again     3 

5.  buckled  7vith]  See  note,  i.  ii.  95.         Henry  VI.  i.  iv.  64;  "over-matching" 

5.  over-daring]  Only  here  in  Shake-  occurs  in  that  play  also  (i.  iv.  21). 
speare.  Marlowe  uses  it  in  Ed^vard  The  verb  is  old,  but  the  example  in  the 
the  Second  (Dyce,  ed.  1859,  188,  a) :  text  is  the  earliest  for  the  participial 
"  Meet  you  ior  this,  proud  over-daring  adjective  in  New  Eng.  Diet.  "  Over- 
peers  ?  "  He  has  the.  v&xh  m  7'ambur-  matching  foes "  is  in  Marlowe's  Tam- 
laine.  Part  IL  in.  v.  (Dyce,  59,  a):  6!<r/at««,  Part  I.  (Dyce,  ed.  1859,  13,  b), 
"  To  over-dare  the  pride   of  Graecia "  1586. 

(1587).       Marlowe   is   strong   in   verbs  13.  bought      and      sold]      Compare 

with   "over."       Compare    too   Locrine  "Dickon    thy   master    is    bought    and 

(Greene  and  Peele),  I.  i. :"  Ixion's  07)fr-  soW,"   Richard  III.  v.  iii.  305;  King 

daring    son."       And     Sylvester's    Du  jfohii,  v.  iv.  10;  and  Comedy  of  Errors, 

Bartas  (ed.  1626,  p.  17),  1591 :   "  Sen-  in.  i.  72.     New  Eng.  Diet,  says  :  "  be- 

acherib's  proud  over-daring  Hoast."  trayed  for  a  bribe,"  and  quotes  Cursor 

6.  sullied  all  his  gloss]  Craig  com-  Mundi  {ante  1300) :  "  How  that  ioseph 
pares  0//!e//o,  I.  iii.  228,  229 :  "slubber  was  boght  and  sold."  It  came  to 
the^/r;55ofyournewfortunes."  "Gloss"  mean  simply  "  made  a  fool  of."  Com- 
is  a  favourite  word  with  Shakespeare,  pare  Nashe,  The  Unfortunate  Trav- 
"  Sully  "  occurs  again  Merry  Wives  of  eller  (Grosart,  v.  21):  "  Oh,  quoth  he, 
Windsor,  11.  i.  102,  and  1  Henry  IV.  I  am  bought  &>  solde  for  doing  my 
Ti.  iv.  84.  And  "un-sullied"  is  in  country  such  good  service  as  I  have 
Love's  Labour's  Lost,  v.\\.  -i^-z.  done"    (1594).       See    Lyly's    Mother 

7.  unheedful]TZ.&h.  Shakespeare  has  Bombic,  w.n.:  "  Lz<c/o.  Nay,  Sir,  there 
this  again  in  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona,  is  no  harme  done  ;  they  have  neither 
II.  vi.  n  ;  and  the  adverb,  i.  ii.  3  in  the  bought  nor  solde,  they  may  be  twins  for 
same  play.  theyr  wits  and  yeeres  "  (i.e.,  neither  has 


sc.  IV.]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  119 

Who,  ring'd  about  with  bold  adversity, 

Cries  out  for  noble  York  and  Somerset,  15 

To  beat  assailing  death  from  his  weak  legions : 

And  whiles  the  honourable  captain  there 

Drops  bloody  sweat  from  his  war-wearied  limbs, 

And,  in  advantage  lingering,  looks  for  rescue. 

You,  his  false  hopes,  the  trust  of  England's  honour,         20 

Keep  off  aloof  with  worthless  emulation. 

Let  not  your  private  discord  keep  away 

The  levied  succours  that  should  lend  him  aid. 

While  he,  renowned  noble  gentleman. 

Yields  up  his  life  unto  a  world  of  odds  :  25 

Orleans  the  Bastard,  Charles,  Burgundy, 

Alen^on,  Reignier,  compass  him  about. 

And  Talbot  perisheth  by  your  default. 
Som.  York  set  him  on  ;  York  should  have  sent  him  aid. 
Lucy.  And  York  as  fast  upon  your  grace  exclaims  ;  30 

Swearing  that  you  withhold  his  levied  host 

Collected  for  this  expedition. 
Som.  York  lies  ;  he  might  have  sent  and  had  the  horse  : 

I  owe  him  little  duty,  and  less  love, 

And  take  foul  scorn  to  fawn  on  him  by  sending.  35 

Lucy.  The  fraud  of  England,  not  the  force  of  France, 

Hath  now  entrapp'd  the  noble-minded  Talbot. 

16,  legions']  Rowe ;  regions  Ff.  23.  should]  F  i;  shall  Ff  2,  3,  4.  25. 
Yields']  Yeeld  F  i.  26.  Burgundy]  and  Burgnndie  Ff  2,  3,  4.  27.  Reignier] 
Rowe ;  Reignard  Ff. 

taken  in  the  other).     New  Eng.  Diet.  28.  by    your    default]    shortcoming, 

quotes  from  Burns,  1791.  See  11.  i.  60. 

14.  ritig'd     about     with]     Compare  35.  takefoulseorn]FTom  the  common 

Greene,   Frier    Bacon    (Grosart,    xiii.  expression  "  think  scorn,"  which  occurs 

26)  : —  in   Marlowe's  Edward  the   Second,  in 

"  Great  men  of  Europe,  monarks  of  Lyly's  Euphues,  and  several  times  in 

the  West,  Shakespeare,  as  in  Love's  Labour's  Lost, 

Ringde    with     the    wals     of    old  i.  ii.  60  (see  note,  Arden  ed.  p.  21).    Sir 

Oceanus."  Philip     Sidney    has     "  thinking    fo^^l 

16.  legions]  may  be  right,  but  it  im-  scorn    to  submit   myself"   in  Arcadia, 

plies   considerable   troops,  more    than  bk.    iv.;    and   Craig   quotes   the  same 

the    unhappy   Talbot    had   with    him.  expression  from  Robert  Earl  of  Hunt- 

"  Regions,"    meaning   places,  may   be  ington    (Hazlitt's   Dodsley,   viii.    123). 

right  also.  But  perhaps  "  take  scorn  "  was  earlier, 

18.  war-ivearied     limbs]      Compare  or  independent,  since  it  occurs  in  Gold- 

"  war-worn  coats,"  Henry  V.  iv.  Pro-  ing's  Ovid  (bk.  xiii.  1.  986)  : — 

logue,  26.  "  Now  come  my  Galat,  come  away  ; 

ig.  in    advantage   lingering]   "Pro-  And  of  my  present  to^e  ;jo  sforw^." 

tracting  his  resistance  by  the  advantage  37.  noble-minded]     Again    in    Titus 

of  a  strong  post  "  (Johnson).  Andronicus,  i.  i.  209,  but  nowhere  else. 

21.  aloof]  See  11.  ii.  52  above,  note.  An  expression  of  Peele's : — 

21.  emulation] '}eci\ousy .     See  above,  "Him   noble-minded  Nowell    pricks 

i.  114.  to  meet, 

25.  world  of  odds]  See  11.  ii.  48,  note.  All  arm'd  in  sables  " 


120 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act    IV. 


Never  to  England  shall  he  bear  his  life, 

But  dies,  betray'd  to  fortune  by  your  strife. 
Som.  Come,  go ;  I  will  despatch  the  horsemen  straight 

Within  six  hours  they  will  be  at  his  aid. 
Lucy.  Too  late  comes  rescue:  he  is  ta'en  or  slain, 

For  fly  he  could  not  if  he  would  have  fled  ; 

And  fly  would  Talbot  never,  though  he  might. 
Som.   If  he  be  dead,  brave  Talbot,  then  adieu ! 
Lzicy.   His  fame  lives  in  the  world,  his  shame  in  you. 

[Exeunt 


40 


45 


SCENE  V. —  T/te  English  camp  near  Bourdeaux. 
E7iter  Talbot  and  his  Son. 

Tal.  O  young  John  Talbot !   I  did  send  for  thee 
To  tutor  thee  in  stratagems  of  war, 
That  Talbot's  name  might  be  in  thee  reviv'd 
When  sapless  age  and  weak  unable  limbs 

42.  rescue :  he  is]  rescue,  he  is  Ff  i,  2  ;  rescue,  if  he  is  Ff  3,  4. 

Scene  v. 


Scene  v.]  Capell. 
John  his  son  Cambndg 


The  English  camp  .  .  .]  M  alone. 


his  son]  Ff; 


(Polyhymnia  (570  a),   1590).       And  in 
Locrinc,  iii.  i. : — 

"  Priam  .   .  . 
When  he  beheld  his  noble-minded 

son 
Slain  traitorously  by  all  the  Mir- 
midons." 

Scenes  v.-vii.  Grafton  (pp.  649-650) 
continues  from  the  extract  quoted  at 
the  opening  of  Scene  ii. :  " .  .  .  After 
the  regayning  of  Burdeaux,  arrived  at 
Blay  the  Bastarde  of  Sommerset,  Sir 
John  Talbot  Lorde  Lisle,  by  his  wife 
Sonne  to  the  sayde  Erie  of  Shrewsbury 
...  the  Erie  of  Shrewsbury  .  .  .  forti- 
fied Burdeaux  with  English  men  .  .  . 
after  that  he  rode  into  the  Countrey 
abroad,  where  he  obteyned  Cities  &  gat 
townes  without  stroke  or  dent  of  sworde 
.  .  .  The  French  King  .  .  .  assembled  a 
great  armie  ...  of  xxij  thousand  men, 
and  .  .  .  marched  towarde  Calice.  .  .  . 
After  that  towne  gayned,  the  French 
King  divided  his  armie  into  two  parties 
.  .  .  the  one  ...  he  appointed  to  take 
the  next  way  toward  Burdeaux  .  .  . 
the  other  armie  whereof  he  wasCapitayn 
.  .  .  he  kept  and  reteyned  still  beside  Ca- 


leys  .  .  .  and  sent  the  two  Marshalles 
of  I'raunce  ...  to  besiege  the  towne 
of  Chastilon  in  Perigot.  .  .  .  The  Erie 
of  Shrewsbury  hearing  of  these  newes, 
and  pcrceyving  that  ...  he  must  of 
necessitie  .  .  .  fight  with  two  armies, 
determined  ...  to  assay  the  least  power 
...  he  assembled  together  eyght  C 
horsemen,  whereof  the  Lord  Lisle  his 
Sonne,  the  Lorde  Molyns  .  .  .  were 
chiefe,  and  so  marched  forward  toward 
Chastylon  ...  he  asauted  the  Towre 
.  .  .  and  by  force  entered.  .  .  .  They 
within  the  towne  .  .  .  sent  out  worde 
to  the  Englishe  men  that  the  French 
men  had  fled.  The  courageous  Erie 
hearing  these  newes  .  .  .  not  tariyng 
till  his  footemen  were  come,  set  forward 
toward  his  enimies  .  .  .  where  the 
French  men  were  encamped  (as  /Eneas 
Silvius  testifieth)  were  three  hundred 
peeces  of  Brasse  .  .  .  and  subtill 
engines  .  .  .  unknowne,  and  I  no- 
thing suspected,  they  lighted  all  on 
foote  the  Erie  of  Shrewsburie  onely 
except,  which  because  of  his  age,  rode 
on  a  little  Hackeny,  and  fought  fiercely 
with  the  French  men  and  gat  the  entrie 
of  their  Campe.  .  .  .  Thys  conflict  con- 


sc.  v.] 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


121 


Should  bring  thy  father  to  his  drooping  chair. 

But,  O  mahgnant  and  ill-boding  stars! 

Now  thou  art  come  unto  a  feast  of  death, 

A  terrible  and  unavoided  danger : 

Therefore,  dear  boy,  mount  on  my  swiftest  horse, 

And  I  'II  direct  thee  how  thou  shalt  escape 

By  sudden  flight :  come,  dally  not,  be  gone. 


tinued  in  doutfull  iudgement  of  victorie 
two  long  houres  :  during  which  fight 
the  Lords  of  Montamban  and  Huma- 
dayre,  with  a  great  company  of  French 
men  entered  the  battayle  and  began  a 
new  fielde  and  sodainely  the  Gonners 
.  .  .  discharged  their  ordinaunce,  and 
slue  three  hundred  persons  nere  to 
the  Erie,  who  perceyving  the  imminent 
ieopardie,  and  subtle  labirynth  in  the 
which  he  and  his  people  were  enclosed 
and  wrapped,  dispising  his  awne  save- 
guarde,  and  desiring  the  lyfe  of  his  en- 
tierly  and  wellbeloved  sonne  the  Lord 
Lisle,  willed,  aduertised,  and  counsayled 
him  to  departe  out  of  the  fielde  and  to 
save  himself.  But  when  the  sonne  had 
aunswered  him  that  it  was  neyther 
honest  nor  naturall  for  him  to  leaue 
his  father  in  the  extreme  ieopardie  of 
his  lyfe,  and  that  he  would  taste  of  that 
draught  which  his  father  and  Parent 
should  assay  and  beginne :  The  noble 
Erie  and  comfortable  Capitayne  sayde 
to  him  :  Oh  sonne,  sonne,  I  thy  father, 
which  onely  hath  bene  the  terror  and 
scoiu-ge  to  the  French  people  so  many 
yeres,  which  hath  subverted  so  many 
townes  .  .  .  neyther  can  flie  or  depart 
without  perpetuall  shame.  .  .  .  But  be- 
cause this  is  thy  first  iourney  and  enter- 
prise neyther  thy  flyeng  shall  redounde 
to  thy  shame,  nor  thy  death  to  thy 
glorie ;  for  as  hardie  a  man  wisely 
flyeth  as  a  rashe  person  folishely 
abideth,  therefore  the  flyeng  of  me 
shall  be  the  dishonor,  not  onely  of 
me  and  my  progenie,  but  also  a  discom- 
fiture of  all  my  company :  thy  departure 
shall  saue  thy  lyfe,  and  make  thee  able 
another  tyme,  if  I  be  slayne  to  reuenge 
my  death.  .  .  .  But  nature  so  wrought 
in  the  sonne,  that  neyther  desire  of 
lyfe,  nor  thought  of  securitie,  could  with- 
draw or  plucke  him  from  his  naturall 
father :  Who  considering  the  constancie 
of  his  childe  .  .  ,  cheared  his  Capit- 
aynes,  and  valiauntly  set  on  his  enimies 
and  slue  of  them  more  in  number  then 
he  had  in  his  company.  But  his  enimies 
.  .  .  first  shot  him  through  the  thighe 


with  a  handgonne,  and  slue  his  horse, 
and  cowardly  kylled  him,  lyeng  on  the 
ground,  whome  they  never  durst  looke 
in  the  face,  while  he  stoode  on  his  feete, 
and  with  him  there  dyed  manfully  his 
sonne  the  Lord  Lisle,  his  bastard  sonne 
Henry  Talbot  and  Syr  Edward  Hull, 
elect  to  the  order  of  the  Garter,  and 
XXX  valyaunt  personages,  .  .  .  and  the 
Lorde  Molyns  was  there  taken  prisoner 
with  Ix.  other.  The  residew  fled  to  Bur- 
deaux  and  other  places,  whereof  in  the 
flight  were  slavne  aboue  a  thousand 
persons"  (The  XXXIJ  Yere). 

2.  To  tutor  thee']  This  not  common 
verb  occurs  eight  or  ten  times  in  Shake- 
speare. See  Romeo  and  yuliet,  in.  i.  32. 

2.  stratagems  of  war]  Peele  has  this 
phrase  :  "  Train'd  up  in  feats  and 
stratagems  of  war  "  {David  and  Beth- 
sabe  i^T],  b)). 

4.  sapless]  See  note  at  11.  v.  11,  12, 18. 

5.  to  his  drooping  chair]  Compare 
2  Henry  VI.  v.  ii.  48  :  "  In  thy  rever- 
ence, and  thy  chair-days."  Hardly 
well-turned  expressions,  either  of  them, 
poetically. 

6.  malignant]  having  an  evil  in- 
fluence. A  Shakespearian  use.  "What 
fatall  starre  malignant  "  occurs  in  True 
Tragedie  (Quarto  of  3  Henry  VI.)  at 
II.  iii.  8. 

6.  ill-boding]  See  again  5  Henry  VI. 
II.  vi.  59.  Inauspicious.  Milton  used 
the  expression  later  [New  Eng.  Diet.). 
No  earlier  use  in  New  Eng.  Diet. 
"  Bode  "  is  a  favourite  with  Peele  : 
"  What  chance  did  bode  this  ill "  {Battle 
of  Alcazar,  v.  i)  ;  "  sith  my  stars  bode 
me  this  tragic  end  "  {ibid.  439,  a). 

8.  unavoided]  inevitable.  See  Rich- 
ard II.  II.  i.  268  ;  Richard  III.  iv.  iv. 
217.  It  occurs  similarly  m  Golding's 
Ovid  ,— 

"  With   deadly  stripe  of  unavoyded 
blow 
Strake  through  the  breast  " 
(bk.  ii.  11.  760,  761).     And  again  : — 

"  thunderclaps  and  lightning  .  .  . 
Of  deadly  unavoyded  dynt  " 
(bk.  iii.  11.  377.  378). 


122  THE  FIKS T  PART  OF  [act  iv. 

John.  Is  my  name  Talbot?  and  am  I  your  son  ? 

And  shall  I  fly  ?     O  !  if  you  love  my  mother, 

Dishonour  not  her  honourable  name, 

To  make  a  bastard  and  a  slave  of  me :  15 

The  world  will  say,  he  is  not  Talbot's  blood 

That  basely  fled  when  noble  Talbot  stood. 
Till.  Fly,  to  revenge  my  death  if  I  be  slain. 
John.  He  that  flies  so  will  ne'er  return  again. 
Tal.  If  we  both  stay,  we  both  are  sure  to  die.  20 

John.  Then  let  me  stay ;  and  father,  do  you  fly : 

Your  loss  is  great,  so  your  regard  should  be  ; 

My  worth  unknown,  no  loss  is  known  in  me. 

Upon  my  death  the  French  can  little  boast ; 

In  yours  they  will,  in  you  all  hopes  are  lost.  25 

Flight  cannot  stain  the  honour  you  have  won ; 

But  mine  it  will  that  no  exploit  have  done : 

You  fled  for  vantage  every  one  will  swear ; 

But  if  I  bow,  they  '11  say  it  was  for  fear. 

There  is  no  hope  that  ever  I  will  stay  30 

If  the  first  hour  I  shrink  and  run  away. 

Here,  on  my  knee,  I  beg  mortality, 

Rather  than  life  preserv'd  with  infamy. 
Tal.  Shall  all  thy  mother's  hopes  lie  in  one  tomb  ? 
Johti.  Ay,  rather  than  I  '11  shame  my  mother's  womb.  35 

Tal.   Upon  my  blessing  I  command  thee  go. 
John.  To  fight  I  will,  but  not  to  fly  the  foe. 
Tal.   Part  of  thy  father  may  be  sav'd  in  thee. 
John.  No  part  of  him  but  will  be  shame  in  me. 
Tal.  Thou  never  hadst  renown,  nor  canst  not  lose  it.  40 

John.  Yes,  your  renowned  name  :  shall  flight  abuse  it  ? 
Tal.  Thy  father's  charge  shall  clear  thee  from  that  stain. 

37.  tofly\  fiyc  Ff  3,  4.         42.  thai]  ylV  \\ycV  %\  the  Ff  3,  4. 

16-17.  i^oorf  ...  s/oo(f]  The  deliberate  29.  feozf]  bend,  show  signs  of  yield- 
excursion  into  rhyming  couplets  is  very  ing,  stoop, 
noteworthy  here.  Traces  of  it  ap-  32.  mortality]  death, 
pear  at  the  end  of  the  previous  scene,  34-42.  These  rhyming  lines  in  a 
and  in  an  early  speech  of  La  Pucelle's.  dialogue,  whether  in  consecutive  or  in 
But  in  the  following  scenes  it  is  adopted  alternate  lines,  belong  to  the  earliest 
continually  down  to  vii.  50.  This  re-  period  of  Shakespeare's  work.  They 
calls  Peele.  But  rhyming  does  not  abound  in  Love's  Labour's  Lost, 
preclude  Shakespeare's  early  work.  Comedy  of  Errors,  Two  Gentlemen  of 
Love's  Labour's  Lost  and  Comedy  of  Verona  s^nd  Richard  III.  The  practice 
Errors  afford  plenty  of  it.  It  may  was  common  (rhymed  or  unrhymed) 
be  regarded  as  legitimate  stage-  in  the  earlier  dramatists,  and  was  a 
work  of  the  time.  See  below,  34-42,  favourite  trick  in  Greek  tragedy.  It  is 
note.  harmless  enough  as  a  conversationalist 

26.  Flight  cannot  stain}  John's  argu-  method  perhaps  (as   in    Lyly's    plays), 

ments   in   this  speech  are  mostly  bor-  but    becomes    very    artificial    and    un- 

rowed    from    his    father's    speech    in  suitable    in   various   situations.     Good 

Grafton.  illustrations  of  the  unrhymed   method 


sc.  VI  ]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  123 

John.  You  cannot  witness  for  me,  being  slain. 

If  death  be  so  apparent,  then  both  fly. 
Tal.  And  leave  my  followers  here  to  fight  and  die  ?  45 

My  age  was  never  tainted  with  such  shame. 
John.  And  shall  my  youth  be  guilty  of  such  blame  ? 

No  more  can  1  be  severed  from  your  side 

Than  can  yourself  yourself  in  twain  divide. 

Stay,  go,  do  what  you  will,  the  like  do  I ;  50 

For  live  I  will  not  if  my  father  die. 
Tal.  Then  here  I  take  my  leave  of  thee,  fair  son, 

Born  to  eclipse  thy  life  this  afternoon. 

Come,  side  by  side  together  live  and  die, 

And  soul  with  soul  from  France  to  heaven  fly.  5  5 

\Exeiint. 

S  C  EN  E  V I  .—A  Jleld  oj  battle. 

Alarum :  excursions,  wherein  Talbot's  Son  is  hemmed  about, 
and  Talbot  rescues  him. 

Tal  Saint  George  and  victory  !  fight,  soldiers,  fight ! 
The  regent  hath  with  Talbot  broke  his  word. 
And  left  us  to  the  rage  of  France  his  sword. 
Where  is  John  Talbot  ?     Pause,  and  take  thy  breath ; 
I  gave  thee  life  and  rescu'd  thee  from  death.  5 

John.  O  !  twice  my  father,  twice  am  I  thy  son : 

The  life  thou  gav'st  me  first  was  lost  and  done, 
Till  with  thy  war-like  sword,  despite  of  fate. 
To  my  determin'd  time  thou  gav'st  new  date. 

Tal.  When  from  the  Dauphin's  crest  thy  sword  struck  fire,     10 
It  warm'd  thy  father's  heart  with  proud  desire 
Of  bold-faced  victory.     Then  leaden  age, 
Ouicken'd  with  youthful  spleen  and  war-like  rage, 
Beat  down  Alencon,  Orleans,  Burgundy, 
And  from  the  pride  of  Gallia  rescu'd  thee.  15 

Scene  vi.  A  field  of  battle']  Capell. 

are  in  Whetstone's  Da>HO«  anii  Pii/u'as ,  rhymed    lines,    see   note    at    v.    15-16 

of  the  rhymed  in  Promos  and  Cassandra,  above. 

The   former   is   known   as   (TTixofJ-vOia,  9.  dctcnnin'd]  fixed,  ended, 
as   is    mentioned    in   the  Irving  Shak-  9.  date]  See  a  quotation  from  Peele's 
speare's   notes   at   this   passage.      See  O/i/ tKJi'cs  Tfl/t  (457,  a)  given  at  "time- 
again,  Part  III.  III.  ii.  36-59.  less,"  below,  v.  iv.  5. 

53.  eclipscjextinguish.    Steevenssaw  12.  bold-faced]  occurs  in  Venus  and 

the  quibble    here  between  "son"  and  Adonis,   1.  6.     Dekker   uses   the   com- 

"sun,"    so    frequent    in    Shakespeare,  pound  in  a  parodying  line  in  T/ti?  GeK</e 

See  note    at    Part   III.  iv.   vi.   63    for  Cra/^  (Pearson,  p.  55),  1600:  "  Like  to 

Greene's  use.  a  bold-faced  debtor." 

o-„.„  ,.,.  15.    pride    of    Gallia]     full     power 

CiCENE  VI.  (Schmidt).     Compare   Henry    V.  i.  ii. 

2,3.  word     .    .  .     sword]    For    the  112  ;  and  see  above,  iii.  ii.  40.     But  the 


124 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act 


The  ireful  bastard  Orleans,  that  drew  blood 

From  thee,  my  boy,  and  had  the  maidenhood 

Of  th)'  first  fight,  I  soon  encountered, 

And,  interchanging  blows,  I  quickly  shed 

Some  of  his  bastard  blood  ;  and  in  disgrace  20 

Bespoke  him  thus  :   "  Contaminated,  base 

And  misbegotten  blood  I  spill  of  thine. 

Mean  and  right  poor,  for  that  pure  blood  of  mine 

Which  thou  didst  force  from  Talbot,  my  brave  boy : " 

Here,  purposing  the  Bastard  to  destroy,  25 

Came  in  strong  rescue.     Speak,  thy  father's  care, 

Art  thou  not  weary,  John  ?  how  dost  thou  fare? 

Wilt  thou  yet  leave  the  battle,  boy,  and  fly. 

Now  thou  art  seal'd  the  son  of  chivalry  ? 

Fly,  to  revenge  my  death  when  I  am  dead ;  30 

The  help  of  one  stands  me  in  little  stead. 

O !  too  much  folly  is  it,  well  I  wot, 

To  hazard  all  our  lives  in  one  small  boat. 

If  I  to-day  die  not  with  Frenchmen's  rage. 

To-morrow  I  shall  die  with  mickle  age:  35 


meaning  here  is  ratlier  the  flower,  or 
special  glory  in  arms  of  Gallia — in  the 
person  of  Alencpon,  etc. 

16.  ireful]  Shakespeare  had  an  early 
partiality  for  this  word,  afterwards 
neglected.  See  3  Henry  VI.  11.  i.  57 
and  II.  V.  132  ;  Venus  and  Adonis,  628, 
and  Comedy  of  Errors,  v.  i.  151.  It  is  in 
Thcstylis  by  L.  Bryskett,  in  Spenser's 
Astrophel:  "Thy  tVe/w/Z  hemes  have 
chilld  our  harts  with  cold."  Sylvester 
uses  it  in  his  Dm  Bar^as,  1591  (ed.  1621, 
p.  138). 

17.  maidenhood]  in  this  figurative 
sense,  the  word  "  maidenhead  "  is  com- 
monly used,  as  in  1  Henry  IV.  iv.  i. 

59- 

22-23.  of  thine  .  .  .  of  mine]  See 
Part  II.  I.  i.  118  and  above,  11.  iii.  38. 

29.  son  of  chivalry]  Elsewhere  Shake- 
speare has  son  of  darkness,  war,  hell 
and  fortune.  Jonson  was  fond  of  this 
figure  ;  he  has  son  of  the  sword,  silence, 
earth,  noise,  physic,  etc.  Lodge  has 
"  sons  of  subtlety  "  (A  Fig  for  Momus). 
Beaumont  and  Fletcher  adopt  it  freely. 

32.  well  I  wot]  In  Midsummer 
Nighfs  Dream,  in.  ii.422.  Elsewhere 
this  expression  is  found  only  in  the 
historical  plays,  as  Richard  II.  v.  vi. 
18;  3  Henry  VI.  u.  ii.  134,  iv.  vii.  83 
and  V.  iv.  71.  It  is  characteristic  of 
Greene;     he    uses    it    four    times    in 


Alphonsus,  King  of  Arragon  (Grosart, 
xiii.  361,  362,  398,  402) ;  and  again  in 
A  Looking  Glasse  for  London  (yiw .  104). 
Hence  it  has  been  made  a  test  of 
Greene's  handiwork.  But  Peele  has  it 
in  A  Farewell  to  the  General  (1589) 
and  twice  in  Polyhymnia,  and  twice  in 
Jack  Straw.  Peele  would  know  it 
from  his  favourite  Faerie  Quecne,  for  it 
is  found  four  times  in  the  first  two 
books.  All  of  these  writers  would 
have  known  it  from  Grafton's  Chronicle 
in  Richard  II. 's  speech  on  his  deposi- 
tion (i.  476) :  "  For  well  I  wote  and 
knowlege  and  deme  my  selfe  to  be, 
and  have  bene,  insufficient,"  etc. 
Probably  "well  I  wot"  came  from  the 
North,  like  many  other  expressions  at 
this  date  (1550-1600).  It  occurs  several 
times  in  The  Townely  Mysteries  (circa 
1460).  Richard  II. 's  speech  was  in 
1389. 

33.  hazard  all  .  .  .  one  small  boat] 
Compare  Merchant  of  Venice,  i.  i.  42  : 
"  My  ventures  are  not  in  one  bottom 
trusted."  This  latter  expression  be- 
came a  common  proverb,  but  I  have  no 
example  of  the  boat  phrase. 

35.  mickle  age]  Occurs  again  ;? //«iry 
VI.  V.  i.  174 :  "  That  bows  unto  the 
grave  with  mickle  age."  "  Mickle  "  is  a 
scarce  word  in  Shakespeare,  met  with 
again  in  Romeo  and  Juliet,  Comedy  of 


sc.  VI]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  125 

By  me  they  nothing  gain  an  if  I  stay ; 

'Tis  but  the  short'ning  of  my  Hfe  one  day. 

In  thee  thy  mother  dies,  our  household's  name, 

My  death's  revenge,  thy  youth,  and  England's  fame. 

All  these  and  more  we  hazard  by  thy  stay  ;  40 

All  these  are  sav'd  if  thou  wilt  fly  away. 
Joh7i.  The  sword  of  Orleans  hath  not  made  me  smart ; 

These  words  of  yours  draw  life-blood  from  my  heart. 

On  that  advantage,  bought  with  such  a  shame, 

To  save  a  paltry  life  and  slay  bright  fame,  45 

Before  young  Talbot  from  old  Talbot  fly, 

The  coward  horse  that  bears  me  fall  and  die  ! 

And  like  me  to  the  peasant  boys  of  France, 

To  be  shame's  scorn  and  subject  of  mischance  ! 

Surely,  by  all  the  glory  you  have  won,  50 

An  if  I  fly,  I  am  not  Talbot's  son  : 

Then  talk  no  more  of  flight,  it  is  no  boot ; 

If  son  to  Talbot,  die  at  Talbot's  foot, 
Tal.  Then  follow  thou  thy  desperate  sire  of  Crete, 

Thou  Icarus.     Thy  life  to  me  is  sweet :  55 

If  thou  wilt  fight,  fight  by  thy  father's  side, 

And,  commendable  proved,  let 's  die  in  pride. 

\Exeunt. 

36.  an  if]  Capell ;  and  if  Ff.  44,  45.  On  that  advantage  .  .  .  fame]  On 
that  bad  vantage  .  .  . /i3?m£  Theobald  (conj.) ;  Out  on  that  vantage  .  .  .fame.' 
Theobald.         51.  ^«  ?/]  Theobald  ;  And  if  Ff.  57.  ExeuntlRowe;  Exit  FL 

Errors   and    Henry    V.      Greene   uses  "  So  Persey  who  did  itch 

"  mickle "     ad     nauseam,     sometimes  To    be     at     host    with     both     of 

meaning  many  ("mickle  more");  and  them  .  .  . 

several   times  the  expression    "  mickle  upon  advantage  spide 

praise,"  great  praise.  Did  wound  me." 

37.  short'ning  of  my  life  one  day]  48.  like]  liken,  compare.  See  2 
Steevens  compared  here  :  "God  shorten  Henry  IV.  n.  i.  97. 

Harry's  happy  life  one  day,"  2  Henry  54,  55.    Crete,  Thou   Icarus]  See   3 

/F.  V.  ii.  145.     Stezlso  Winter's  Tale,  Henry   VI.   v.  vi.   18.     The  fable  is  in 

IV.  iv.  432  :  "shorten  thy  life  one  week,"  Golding's  Ovid,  bk.  viii.      See  below, 

and  Hamlet,  v.  i.  22  and  Richard  II.  vii.  16. 

I.  iii.  227.  But "  shortening  one's  days  "  Note. — The  foregoing  Scene  falls  to 

was  an  ancient  and  biblical  expression,  a  lower  level  than  the  rest  of  this  Act, 

For  the  unnecessary   "of"  see  above,  unless  it  be  regarded   as  matched   by 

III.  iv.  29,  and  below,  v.  i.  5.  the  following.     But  this  one  in  particu- 

42.  synart]  suffer,  grieve.     Compare  lar  wears  an  air  of  superfluity,  and  in 

Peele,  Old  ■  Wives  Tale   (453,  a)  :  "  Ply  connection  with  the  retrograde   intro- 

you  your  work  or   else  you're  like   to  duction  of  rhymes,   the    falling   off  in 

smart."  Shakespearian  language,    and   the  re- 

44.  On   that  advantage]  making  an  newed  reminders  of  Greene,  the  remark 

opportunity  that  way,  on  such  an  open-  seems    justifiable,    although    Talbot's 

ing.     Compare  Golding's  Ovid,  bk.  v.  death    scene    (rhymed)    is    undeniably 

210: —  Shakespeare's  own. 


V26 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act    IV. 


SCEN  E  V 1 1.— A  nothcr  part  of  the  field. 
Alarum  :  excursions.     Enter  old  TaLBOT,  led  by  a  servant. 

Tal.  Where  is  my  other  life  ?  mine  own  is  gone ; 

O  !  where 's  young  Talbot?  where  is  valiant  John  ? 

Triumphant  death,  smear'd  with  captivity, 

Young  Talbot's  valour  makes  me  smile  at  thee. 

When  he  perceived  me  shrink  and  on  my  knee,  5 

His  bloody  sword  he  brandish'd  over  me, 

And  like  a  hungry  lion  did  commence 

Rough  deeds  of  rage  and  stern  impatience  ; 

But  when  my  angry  guardant  stood  alone, 

Tend'ring  my  ruin  and  assail'd  of  none,  lO 

Dizzy-eyed  fury  and  great  rage  of  heart 

Suddenly  made  him  from  my  side  to  start 

Into  the  clust'ring  battle  of  the  French  ; 

And  in  that  sea  of  blood  my  boy  did  drench 

His  over-mounting  spirit ;  and  there  died  15 

My  Icarus,  my  blossom,  in  his  pride. 
Serv.  O  !  my  dear  lord,  lo  !  where  your  son  is  borne. 


Scene   vu. — Another 
Enter  .  .  .  led.  Ff. 


]    Malone. 


Enter 


led   by   a   servant.] 


3.  Triumphant  death,  smear'd  with 
captivity]  Talbot  exults  that  death  has 
triumphed  over  him,  with  no  blemish  of 
captivity.  Death,  the  conqueror  dis- 
graced by  captivity,  has  triumphed. 
"  With  "  means  "  by,"  as  it  often  does. 
Talbot  means  to  welcome  death,  free 
from  the  stain  himself  of  captivity.  He 
is  greater  than  death. 

7.   hungry  lion]  See  note,  i.  ii.  28. 

9.  guardant]  protector,  guard.  Com- 
pare Coriolanus,  v.  ii.  67.  Seems  to  be 
a  peculiarly  Shakespearian  use. 

10.  Tend'ring  my  ruin]  solicitous, 
tenderly  anxious,  over  my  fall.  Com- 
pare Winter's  Tale,  11.  iii.  128,  133 
(Schmidt).  It  is  almost  hopeless  to 
assign  a  meaning,  within  verbal  limits, 
to  the  verb  tender,  which  was  mixed  up 
with  the  adjective  tender  on  the  one 
side,  and  the  verb  tender  (for  acceptance) 
on  the  other.  Greene  does  the  same. 
Compare  too  Whetstone's  Promos  and 
Cassandra,  Part  I.  (p.  8,  Six  Old 
Plays,  Argument),  1578 :  "  The  kinge 
tendringe  the  generall  benefit  of  the 
common  weale."  This  is  the  legitimate 
sense ;  as  in  Greene's  James  the  Fourth 
(xiii,  269) : — 


"  I  love,  I  tender  thee 
Thou  art  a  subject  fit  to  serve  his 
grace." 
And  his  Cardeof  Fancie  (iv.  165) :  "  The 
young  storkes  so  tender  the  old  ones  in 
their  age,  as  they  will  not  suffer  them  so 
much  as  to  flie  to  get  their  owne  living." 
And  A  Maidens  Dreame  (xiv.  304) : — 
"  And   like   a   father    that   affection 
beares 
So  tendred  he  the  poore  with  in- 
ward teares." 
See  Part  II.  in.  i.  277  (note). 

II.  Dizzy-eyed]  giddy,  dazzled. 
Shakespeare  has  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
compounds  ending  in  eyed. 

13.  clust'ring]  crowding,  swarming. 
Compare  Greene,  Alphonsus  (xiii.  333) : 
"  Such  clients  clustred  to  thy  Court." 

14.  blood  .  .  .  drench]  Peele  has 
"  Thus  into  a  lake  of  blood  .  .  . 

Hath  drencht  himself." 
And  in  Locrifte,  ii.  4:  "drenched  in  my 
foemen's  blood." 

15.  16.  His  over-mounting  spirit  .  .  . 
My  Icarus]  Compare  G.  Harvey,  Foure 
Letters  (Grosart,  i.  193),  1592  :  "  I  have 
heard  of  .  .  .  yong  Phaetons,  younge 
Icary,  young  Choroebi,  and  I  shall  say 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


127 


Enter  Soldiers,  with  the  body  <?/"JOHN  Talbot. 


Tal.  Thou  antic  death,  which  laugh'st  us  here  to  scorn, 
Anon,  from  thy  insulting  tyranny, 
Coupled  in  bonds  of  perpetuity. 
Two  Talbots,  winged  through  the  lither  sky, 
In  thy  despite  shall  'scape  mortality. 
O  !  thou  whose  wounds  become  hard-favour'd  death, 
Speak  to  thy  father  ere  thou  yield  thy  breath ; 
Brave  death  by  speaking  whether  he  will  or  no ; 
Imagine  him  a  Frenchman  and  thy  foe. 
Poor  boy !  he  smiles,  methinks,  as  who  should  say, 
Had  death  been  French,  then  death  had  died  to-day. 
Come,  come,  and  lay  him  in  his  father's  arms : 
My  spirit  can  no  longer  bear  these  harms. 
Soldiers,  adieu  !   I  have  what  I  would  have, 
Now  my  old  arms  are  young  John  Talbot's  grave. 


20 


25 


VDi 


17.  Enter  .  .  .]  Capell ;    Enter  with   John  Talbot,  borne.  Ff  [born  Ff  3,  4). 
23.    hard-favour  d}   Theobald;    hard  favoured   Ff.  25.  whether']   Ff  3,    4; 

whither  Ff  i,  2. 


young  Babingtons,  and  how  many 
miUions  of  greene  youthes  haue  in 
over-mounting  most  ruefully  dis- 
mounted, and  left  behinde  them  full- 
lamentable  Histories."  And  Locrine 
(Peele  and  Greene),  i.  i : — 

"  Soaring  with  Icarus  too  near  the 
sun 
May  catch  a  fall  with  young  Bel- 
lerophon." 
For  "  blossom,"  see  note,  3  Henry  VI. 
V.  V.  62. 

18.  Thon  antic  death]  See  Richard 
II.  III.  ii.  162.  The  buffoon,  death. 
See  too  "old  father  Antic  the  law," 
1  Henry  IV.  i.  ii.  6g.  Greene  opened 
his  play,  The  Scottish  Hystorie  of 
lames  the  Fourth,  with  "a  dance  of 
Antiques"  (Grosart,  xiii.  205,  209). 

ig.  Anon]  A  favourite  line-beginning 
with  Shakespeare. 

ig.  insulting  tyranny]  See  again 
Richard  III.  11.  iv.  51:  "Insulting 
tyranny  begins  to  jet."  See  i.  ii.  138 
above,  and  note.  The  passage  there  is 
the  earliest  containing  this  word  in  New 
Eng.  Diet. ;  the  verb  being  a  little 
earlier  (1572,  Lambarde's  Kent).  This 
adjective  is  found  in  Shakespeare  again 


in  Lucrece,  509,  in  Richard  II.  and  1 
Henry  IV.  Compare  Greene's  Mena- 
phon  (Grosart,  vi.  g8) :  "  tyrannising  so 
Lordlie  ouer  his  boies  .  .  .  insulting 
ouer  their  children  "  (1589). 

21.  /j^/z^r]  pliant,  supple.  New  Eng. 
Diet,  quotes  Cooper's  Thesaurus  (1565) 
for  this  sense  of  a  much  earlier  word. 
As  Craig  first  pointed  out,  Shakespeare 
found  it  in  Golding's  Ovid  (1565-1567). 
He  quotes  two  passages  containing 
"lither  air"  (viii.  1.  1027,  xiv.  1.  48g). 
Elsewhere  Golding  has:  "And  in  his 
lither  hand  he  hilld  a  potte  of  wyne  " 
(xii.  351);  and  "the  drowzye  God  of 
sleepe  his  lither  limbes  dooth  rest"  (xi. 
711).  Golding  had  consulted  Cooper? 
The  word  belongs  to  his  1567  transla- 
tions. 

23.  hard-favour'd]  See  3  Henry  VI. 
V.  V.  78.  It  occurs  nine  times  in  Shake- 
speare.    Found  in  Greene,  and  earlier. 

25.  whether  he  will  or  no]  A  common 
expression  in  Shakespeare,  occurring 
in  The  Tempest,  Midsummer  Night's 
Dream,  2  Henry   VI.,  etc. 

25.  will  or  no]  See  Part  II.  iii.  ii.  265. 

27.  as  who  should  say]  See  note  at 
I.  iv.  93  above. 


128  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  iv. 

Enicr  Charles,  Alen^on,  Burgundy,  Bastard, 
La  Pucelle,  and  forces. 
Cha.  Had  York  and  Somerset  brought  rescue  in 

We  should  have  found  a  bloody  day  of  this. 
Bast.   How  the  young  whelp  of  Talbot's,  raging  wood,  35 

Did  flesh  his  pun}-  sword  in  Frenchmen's  blood ! 
Piic.  Once  I  encounter'd  him,  and  thus  1  said : 

"  Thou  maiden  youth,  be  vanquish'd  by  a  maid  ;  " 

But  with  a  proud  majestical  high  scorn. 

He  answer'd  thus :  "  Young  Talbot  was  not  born  40 

To  be  the  pillage  of  a  giglot  wench." 

So,  rushing  in  the  bowels  of  the  French, 

He  left  me  proudly,  as  unworthy  fight. 
Bur.  Doubtless  he  would  have  made  a  noble  knight; 

See,  where  he  lies  inhearsed  in  the  arms  45 

Of  the  most  bloody  nurser  of  his  harms. 
Bast.  Hew  them  to  pieces,  hack  their  bones  asunder, 

Whose  life  was  England's  glory,  Gallia's  wonder. 
Cha.  O,  no  !  forbear ;  for  that  which  we  have  fled 

During  the  life,  let  us  not  wrong  it  dead.  50 

Enter  Sir  WiLLIAM  LuCY,  attended ;  Herald  of  the  French 
preceding. 
Lucy.   Herald,  conduct  me  to  the  Dauphin's  tent. 

To  know  who  hath  obtain'd  the  glory  of  the  day. 
Cha.  On  what  submissive  message  art  thou  sent? 
Lucy.  Submission,  Dauphin  !  'tis  a  mere  French  word ; 

32.  Enter  .  .  .  a«(f/oycfs.]  Cambridge ;  Enter  .  .  .  and  Pucelle.  Ff;  Alarums, 
Exeunt  Soldiers  and  Servant  bearing  the  two  bodies,  drums.  Capell.  35.  Tal- 
bot's, raging  wood]  Talbots  raging  wood,  Ff;  Talbofs,  raging-wood  Capell, 
Cambridge.  42.  So  .  .  .  French]   Fi ;    omitted  Ff  2,  3,  4.  50.   Enter 

.  .  .]  Capell;  Enter  Lucie.  Ff. 

34.  found  a  bloody  day  of  this]  Com-  41.  giglot]  wanton.  See  Cymbeline, 
pare  2  Henry  IV.  v.  iv.  14 :  "  He  would  iii.  i.  31 :  "giglot  fortune."  And  Mea- 
make  this  a  fc/oorfj  day  to  somebody."  sure  for  Measure,  v.  i.  352.  Compare 
And  see  Richard  III.  v.  v.  36.  Greene,  Orlando  Furioso  (xiii.  124) : — 

35.  raging  wood]  There  is  no  need  for  "  that  Greekish  giglots  love, 
hyphens    in   many  conjectured   places.             That    left   her    Lord,    [her    Lord] 
"  Raging  mad  "  is  not  hyphened  now,                 Prince  Menelaus." 

for  example.  42.  bowels  of  the  French]See  note  at 

35.  wood]  mad.  See  again  Ventcs  i.  i.  129:  "  rush'd  into  the  6o«/eZs  of  the 
and  Adottis,  740;  Midsummer  Night's  battle."  Compare  Spenser,  Faerie 
Dream,   11.  i.    192.      Greene  has   it   in  Queene,  11.  x.  23  : — 

Orlando  Furioso  (xiii.  161) :  "  P'ranticke  "  He   with    his    victour    sword   first 

companion,      lunaticke     and      wood."  opened 

Several     times    in     Spenser's    Faerie  The    bowels    of   wide    France,    a 

Queene,    and  in  Peele's  Edward  I.  forlorne  Dame." 

36.  flesh  .  .  .  sword]  Compare  i  45.  inhearsed]  inclosed  as  in  a  coffin. 
Henry  IV.  v.  iv.  133  : —  See  Sonnet  Ixxxvi.  3. 

"full  bravely  hast  thou _;?eiA'rf  50.    Enter   .   .    .   Herald]  With  the 

Thy  maiden  sword."  entrance  of  the  herald  we  seem  to  usher 

And  in  Marlowe,  Tamburlaine,  Part  H.  in   Greene   again   and   lose    sight     of 

IV.  i. :  "  To  flesh  our  taintless  swords."  Shakespeare  for  the  present. 


sc.  vii]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


129 


We  English  warriors  wot  not  what  it  means.  55 

I  come  to  know  what  prisoners  thou  hast  ta'en 
And  to  survey  the  bodies  of  the  dead. 

Cha.  For  prisoners  ask'st  thou  ?  hell  our  prison  is. 
But  tell  me  whom  thou  seek'st. 

Lticy.  But  where 's  the  great  Alcides  of  the  field,  60 

Valiant  Lord  Talbot,  Earl  of  Shrewsbury? 
Created,  for  his  rare  success  in  arms. 
Great  Earl  of  Washford,  Waterford,  and  Valence ; 
Lord  Talbot  of  Goodrig  and  Urchinfield, 
Lord  Strange  of  Blackmere,  Lord  Verdun  of  Alton,        65 
Lord  Cromwell  of  Wingfield,  Lord  Furnival  of  Sheffield, 
The  thrice-victorious  Lord  of  Falconbridge, 
Knight  of  the  noble  order  of  Saint  George, 
Worthy  Saint  Michael  and  the  Golden  Fleece, 
Great  marshal  to  Henry  the  Sixth  70 

Of  all  his  wars  within  the  realm  of  France  ? 

Puc.   Here  is  a  silly  stately  style  indeed ! 

The  Turk,  that  two-and-fifty  kingdoms  hath. 
Writes  not  so  tedious  a  style  as  this. 


70.  Henry]  F  i ;  our  King  Henry  Ff  2,  3,  4. 
Dyce. 


72.  silly  stately]  silly-stately 


60.  the  great  Alcides]  Greene  men- 
tions Alcides  in  Menaphon  (vi.  89)  ; 
but  none  of  the  poets  use  the  name  as 
freely  as  Shakespeare.  Spenser  speaks 
of  "great  Alcides"  (Faerie  Qiieene,  i. 
vii.  17).     See  above,  11.  iii.  18. 

67.  thrice-victorious]  See  Introduc- 
tion. 

71.  realm  of  France]  See  note,  11.  ii. 

72.  Here  is  .  .  .  indeed]  Compare  this 
interjected  line  with  11.  iii.  56. 

72.  silly  stately  style]  Boswell  Stone 
quotes  this  epitaph  on  Talbot,  in  almost 
exactly  the  same  words,  from  Richard 
Crompton's  Mansion  of  Magnanijnitie, 
1599,  sig.  E  4,  from  whom  it  was 
copied  into  Ralph  Brooke's  Catalogue 
and  Succession  of  the  Kings,  etc.  etc. 
(ed.  i6ig,  p.  ig6),  with  one  or  two  very 
trifling  changes.  Boswell  Stone  says 
Crompton  has  a  marginal  note  "  Cam- 
den, 462,"  but  a  reference  to  Camden 
(ed.  1594),  at  that  page,  has  merely  a 
notice  of  Talbot's  tomb  at  Whitchurch, 
and  does  not  even  quote  another  epi- 
taph on  Talbot  once  existing  at  Whit- 
church. No  other  edition  (says 
Stone)  of  Camclen,  pngr  to  1599,  con- 
9 


tains  any  reference  to  Talbot  at  p.  462. 
Camden,  in  his  Rcniaines  Concerning 
Britaine  (ed.  1623,  p.  332),  mentions 
that  he  has  "  elsewhere  noted  the  Epi- 
taph "  of  "the  terrour  of  France". 
And  in  his  Britannia  (ed.  1610,  p.  598) 
he  gives  it  in  Latin  and  English : 
"  Orate  Pro  Anima  .  .  .  that  is :  Pray 
for  the  soule  of  the  right  Noble  Lord, 
Sir  lohn  Talbot,  sometimes  Earle  of 
Shrewsburie,  Lord  Talbot,  Lord  Furni- 
vall.  Lord  Verdon,  Lord  Strange  de 
Black-Mere,  and  Mareshall  of  France  : 
Who  died  in  the  battaile  at  Burdews, 
VII.  lulii.  M.cccc.Liii."  If  Crompton 
had  authority  earlier  than  Shakespeare, 
it  would  be  vastly  interesting  to  know 
what  it  was.  Apparently  he  amended 
Camden  by  a  reference  to  this  pas- 
sage. 

73.  Turk]  Compare  the  account  of 
Bejazeth's  dignities  in  Marlowe's  Tam- 
burlaine.  Part  I.  Act  iii..  and  else- 
where. Shakespeare  probably  refers  to 
this  silly-stately  language  in  Marlowe's 
play  here.  He  has  "successive  heir" 
(in  Part  II.  iii.  i.  49)  ;  "  all  the  hundred 
and  thirty  kingdoms"  of  the  Turk 
occurs. 


180 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act    IV. 


Him  tliat  thou  magnifiest  with  all  these  titles  75 

Stinking  and  fl\--blown  lies  here  at  our  feet. 
Lucy.  Is  Talbot  slain,  the  Frenchmen  s  only  scourge, 

Your  kingdom's  terror  and  black  Nemesis  ? 

O  !  were  mine  eyeballs  into  bullets  turned. 

That  I  in  rage  might  shoot  them  at  your  faces.  80 

O !  that  I  could  but  call  these  dead  to  life, 

It  were  enough  to  fright  the  realm  of  France. 

Were  but  his  picture  left  amongst  you  here 

It  would  amaze  the  proudest  of  you  all. 

Give  me  their  bodies,  that  I  may  bear  them  hence  85 

And  give  them  burial  as  beseems  their  worth. 
Puc.   I  think  this  upstart  is  old  Talbot's  ghost. 

He  speaks  with  such  a  proud  commanding  spirit. 

For  God's  sake,  let  him  have  him ;  to  keep  them  here 

They  would  but  stink  and  putrefy  the  air.  90 


88.  proud  coDunanding]  proud-commniidingS.  Walker  (conj.). 
'em  Theobald,  Cambridge. 


89.  him]  Ff ; 


75.  magnifiesf]  Not  elsewhere  in 
Shakespeare. 

76.  Jly-blown]  Earlier  in  Gabriel 
Harvey,  several  times;  but  not  again 
in  Shakespeare.  Compare  The  Tem- 
pest, V.  i.  284. 

78.  Ntf7iesis]  Not  met  again  in 
Shakespeare.  Gascoigne  calls  on 
Nemesis  in  two  places  in  his  Complayrit 
of  Philomene  (Arber,  pp.  89,  114),  1576. 
Peele  has  her  several  times  in  the 
Battle  of  Alcazar  : — 

"Nemesis,  high  mistress  of  revenge, 
That  with  her  scourge  keeps  all 
the  world  in  awe  " 
(ed.  Dyce,  42 r,  b).  And  Greene  in 
Orlando  Fiirioso  (xiii.  193) :  "  Angry 
Nemesis  sits  on  my  sword"  ;  and  earlier 
in  Orphario)!. 

79.  eyeballs]  See  Part  II.  in.  ii.  49 
and  169  (note). 

84.  the  proudest  of  you  all]  See 
Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,  11.  ii.  77; 
Taming  of  the  Shrew,  iv.  i.  89  ; 
Richard  III.  11.  i.  128.  An  expression 
of  Greene's  :  "  A  companie  of  scabbes, 
the  proudest  of  you  all  drawe  your 
weapon  if  he  can  "  {Frier  Bacon, 
Grosart,  xiii.  31) ;  and  in  Alphonsus 
(xiii.  396)  :— 

"  How    now  sir  boy  ?    let  Amurack 
himselfe, 
Or  any  he,  the  proudest  of  you  all. 
But  offer  once  for  to  unsheath  his 
sword," 


One  of  these  lines  is  found  in  3  Henry 
VI.  II.  ii.  96  : — 

"  here  I  stand  to  answer  thee, 
Or  any  he,  the  proudest  of  thy 
sort." 
But  the  expression  comes  from  Hall  (or 
Grafton).  Speaking  of  a  wish  on  the 
part  of  certain  noblemen  to  deface 
Bedford's  tomb  at  Roan,  King  Lewis 
the  XI.  said :  "  let  his  body  now  lye  in 
rest,  which  when  he  was  alyve  would 
have  disquieted  the  proudest  of  us  all" 
(Grafton,  i.  606). 

88.  proud  commanding  spirit]  Com- 
pare "proud  insulting,"  I.  ii.  i38(see  note). 
Greene  has  "  proud  injurious,"  "  proud 
blasphemous";  Peele,  "proud  usurping." 
The  word  seemed  to  require  help.  Mar- 
lowe has  "  proud  usurping"  in  Tainbur- 
laine,  Part  II.  in.  i.,  probably  earlier 
than  Peele's  Alcazar,  1.  i.  I  believe 
they  all  picked  it  up  from  Spenser's 
Faerie  Queene :  "proud  presumptuous 
gate  "  (gait),  i.  viii.  12  ;  "  proud  avenging 
boy"  (Cupid),  i.  ix.  12,  etc.  etc.  See 
Peele  and  Greene,  passim.  Spenser  has 
"proud  rebellious,"  11.  v.  10;  "proud 
presumed  force,"  Faerie  Queene,  11.  vi. 
30  ;  "  proud  luxurious  pomp,"  i.  xii.  14. 

89.  have  him]  Referring  to  Talbot, 
the  most  prominent  spirit,  and  the  body 
Lucy  has  come  to  seek  (1.  59).  'Em 
was  not  a  common  contraction  at  the 
date  of  this  play — if  known  at  all.  It 
must  be  rejected. 


sc.  vii]       KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  131 

Cha.  Go,  take  their  bodies  hence. 

Lucy.   I  '11  bear  them  hence  ;  but  from  their  ashes  shall  be  rear'd 

A  phoenix  that  shall  make  all  France  afeard. 
Cha.  So  we  be  rid  of  them,  do  with  him  what  thou  wilt. 

And  now  to  Paris,  in  this  conquering  vein  :  95 

All  will  be  ours  now  bloody  Talbot's  slain. 

{^Exeunt. 

94.  rid  .  .  ,  what]  F  i ;  rid  of  them,  do  with  them  what  Ff  2,  3,  4;  rid  of 
them,  do  with  'em  what  Malone,  Cambridge.  96.  Exexinf]  Rovve ;  Exit  Ff  i, 
2,  3;  omitted  Ff  4. 

92.  93.  ashes  .  .  .  phcenix]  This  use,  but  with  no  one  more  than  Shake- 
metaphor  is  repeated  in  3  Henry  VI.  speare,  who  adopts  it  constantly. 
I.  iv.  35  (see  note);  Golding's  Ovid  Greene  has  it  a  few  times:  "hearing 
may  be  consulted  (middle  of  last  book),  their  Lady  in  so  goode  a  vaine"  {Penc- 

93.  rt/mrrf]  Occurs  about  thirty  times  lopes  Web  (Grosart,  v.  162),  1587). 
in  Shakespeare.  Prior  to  Shakespeare  it  generally  stood 

94.  do  with  him]  See  note  at  line  8g,  alone,  "in  the  vein  "  meaning  in  good 
above.  form,  in  a  happy  mood. 

95.  veiti]  had  a  very  free  iigurative 


132 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act 


ACT  V 


SCENE  I. — London.     The  Palace. 


Sennet.     Enter  King  Henry,  GLOUCESTER,  and  EXETER. 

K,  Hen.   Have  you  perused  the  letters  from  the  pope, 
The  Emperor,  and  the  Earl  of  Armagnac  ? 

Glou.   I  have,  my  lord  ;  and  their  intent  is  this : 
They  humbly  sue  unto  your  excellence 

Sennet}  F  i ;  omitted  Ff  2,  3,  4.         2.  Armagnac]  Arminack  Ff. 


In  the  beginning  of  this  scene  two 
historical  events  of  different  dates  are 
again  combined  :  the  interference  of 
the  pope,  and  the  proffer  of  marriage  to 
King  Henry.  In  "The  XIIJ  Yere  " 
(1434),  Grafton  writes  (p.  602):  "The 
crie  and  noyse  of  this  perillous  and  in- 
saciable  warre,  was  blasted  through 
Europe,  detested  through  Christendome, 
and  especially  at  the  counsaile  of  Basil). 
.  .  .  Wherefore,  the  Emperour  and  the 
temporall  Princes  .  .  .  desired  Eugeny 
then  Bishop  of  Rome,  to  be  the  aucth- 
our  and  Arbiter  of  that  great  strife. 
.  .  .  Wherefore  by  aucthoritie  of  this 
generall  Counsaill,  two  Cardinals  came 
to  the  towne  of  Arras,  .  .  .  whither  were 
sent  for  the  King  of  England  .  .  . 
Winchester  .  .  .  Yorke  .  .  .  Suffolke  .  .  . 
and  for  the  French  King  .  .  .  Burbon 
.  .  .  Vandosme.  .  .  .  Upon  the  day  of 
the  first  session,  the  Cardinall  .  .  . 
declared  to  the  three  parties  the  in- 
numerable mischiefes  .  .  .  exhorting  and 
requiring  them  for  the  honor  of  God 
.  .  .  that  they  would  laye  all  rancour 
aparte  .  .  .  and  conforme  themselves 
to  reason  and  to  godly  concordc.  .  .  . 
After  which  admonition  .  .  .  euery  parte 
brought  in  their  demaunde  which  were 
most  contrary.  .  .  .  The  Cardinalles 
.  .  .  offered  .  .  .  condicions  .  .  .  both 
parties  .  .  .  openly  refused  :  In  so  much 
as  the  English  men  in  great  displeasure 
departed  to  Calice,  and  so  intoEngland." 
In    "The  XXIJ  Yere"  (1443).  P-  623, 


Grafton  has :  "  All  christendome  la- 
mented the  continuall  destruction  of  so 
noble  a  realme,  and  the  effusion  of  so 
much  christian  blood,  wherfore  to  ap- 
pease the  mortall  warre  .  .  .  there 
was  a  great  diet  appointed,  to  be 
kept  at  the  Citie  of  Tours  in  Tourayne, 
where  for  the  King  of  England  appered 
William  de  la  Pole,  Erie  of  Suffolke  .  .  . 
the  Erie  of  Suffolk,  extending  his  com- 
mission to  the  uttermost  .  .  .  because 
the  French  King  had  no  daughter  of  ripe 
age  .  .  .  desired  to  have  the  Ladye 
Margaret,  Cosyn  to  the  French  King, 
and  daughter  to  Reyner  Duke  of  Aniow, 
callyng  himselfe  King  of  Sicile,  Naples, 
and  lerusalem,  having  only  the  name 
and  style  of  the  same,  without  any  peny 
profile  or  foote  of  possession.  This 
mariage  was  made  straunge  to  the  Erie 
a  good  space.  .  .  .  Oyther  corrupted 
with  bribes  or  to  much  affection  to  this 
unprofitable  mariage,  condiscended  and 
agreed  to  their  mocion,  that  the  Duchie 
of  Aniow,  and  the  Countie  of  Mayne, 
should  be  released  and  deliuered  to  the 
king  her  father,  demaunding  for  her 
mariage  neyther  peny  nor  farthing  (as 
who  would  say)  that  this  newe  affinitie 
excelled  ryches  and  surmounted  Golde 
and  precious  stone.  .  .  .  Although  this 
mariage  pleased  well  the  King,  and  .  .  . 
such  as  were  adherents  and  fautors  to 
the  Erie  of  Suffolke,  yet  Humfrey  Duke 
of  Gloucester,  Protector  of  the  realme, 
repugned  and  resisted  as  muche  as  in 


SC.    I.] 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


133 


To  have  a  godly  peace  concluded  of 

Between  the  realms  of  England  and  of  France. 

K.  Hen.  How  doth  your  grace  affect  their  motion  ? 

Glou.  Well,  my  good  lord  ;  and  as  the  only  means 
To  stop  effusion  of  our  Christian  blood, 
And  stablish  quietness  on  every  side. 

K.  Hen.  Ay,  marry,  uncle ;  for  I  always  thought 
It  was  both  impious  and  unnatural 
That  such  immanity  and  bloody  strife 
Should  reign  among  professors  of  one  faith. 

Glou.  Beside,  my  lord,  the  sooner  to  effect 
And  surer  bind  this  knot  of  amity. 
The  Earl  of  Armagnac,  near  knit  to  Charles, 
A  man  of  great  authority  in  France, 
Proffers  his  only  daughter  to  your  grace 
In  marriage,  with  a  large  and  sumptuous  dowry. 


15 


7.  their'l  this  F  4. 
Pope,  Theobald. 


him  lay,  this  newe  alliaunce  .  .  .  declar- 
ing that  the  King  by  his  Ambassadors 
.  .  .  had  concluded  and  contracted  a 
mariage  betwene  his  highnes  and  the 
daughter  of  the  Erie  of  Arminack,  upon 
conditions  both  to  him  and  his  realme, 
as  much  profitable  as  honorable.  .  .  . 
The  Duke  was  not  heard,  but  the 
Erles  doings  were  condiscended  unto 
and  allowed.  Which  fact  engendered 
such  a  flame,  that  it  never  went  out, 
till  bothe  the  parties  with  many  other 
were  consumed  and  slaine."  The 
underlined  passage  above  shows  that 
Shakespeare  used  Hall  or  Grafton  here, 
not  Holinshed. 

A  considerable  part  of  the  machinery 
of  Act  V.  is  covered  by  these  two  ex- 
tracts, especially  the  latter  one.  But 
it  must  be  again  repeated  that  history 
is  in  kaleidoscopic  confusion.  Very 
few  traces  of  Shakespeare's  work  ap- 
pear in  this  Act.  From  Scene  iii.  on- 
wards, none. 

5.  concluded  of]  For  the  needless 
"  of,"  see  note  at  iii.  iv.  29. 

9.  effusion  .  .  .  blood]  For  this  line 
see  the  extract  from  Grafton  at  the 
opening  of  the  Act.  See  also  Henry  V. 
III.  vi.  138.  And  Locrine,  11.  i.  (quoted 
at  "ruthful,"  Part  III.).  "Effusion  of 
Christian  blood  "  occurs  twice  on  one 
page  of  Holinshed,  thirty-eighth  year  of 
Henry  VI.  "  Effuse  of  blood  "  occurs 
in  3  Henry  VI.  11.  vi.  28. 

10.  stablish]  Not  elsewhere  in  Shake- 


16.  this]  his  F  4.         17.  knit]  Ff,  Capell,  Steevens  ;  kin 


speare's  plays.  "  Stablishment "  occurs 
in  Antony  and  Cleopatra.  A  very  old 
form  found  in  Piers  Plowman  (as  "  stab- 
lisse ").  And  in  Grafton's  Chronicle 
(vol.  i.  p.  359) :  "  the  King  [Edward  the 
Thirde]  builded  a  Chappell  of  Saint 
George  within  the  sayde  Castell  of 
Windsore,  and  stablished  therein  cer- 
tein  Chanons  .  .  .  and  endued  them 
with  .  .  .  possessions."  • 

13.  immanity]  ferocity,  monstrous 
cruelty.  Neiv  Eng.  Diet,  has  an  earlier 
example.  Not  again  in  Shakespeare. 
Compare  A  Warning  for  Faire  Women, 
ii.  line  873  (Simpson's  School  of  Shake- 
speare) :  "  The  horror  of  their  foule 
immanity  "  (1599). 

17.  ^wj;]  tied  by  relationship.  "Knit" 
and  "knot"  were  frequently  brought  into 
juxtaposition,  as  here.  See  Coriolanus, 
IV.  ii.  32;  Titus  Androniciis,  iii.  ii.  4; 
Antony  and  Cleopatra,  11.  ii.  129; 
Romeo  and  Juliet,  iv.  ii.  24,  and  Merry 
Wives  of  Wifidsor,  iii.  ii.  76.  See 
Greene's  Mamillia  (Grosart,  ii.  64), 
1583,  quoted  in  Arden  edition  of  Merry 
Wives  of  Windsor,  p.  124 ;  and  his 
Looking  Glassefor  London  (xiv.  no)  : — 
"  come,  with  a  holy  band 
Lets  knit  a  knot  to  salve  our  former 
shame." 
Compare  Grafton,  i.  657  :  "  their  hartes 
were  knit  and  coupled  in  one." 

20.  sumptuous]  Occurs  again  once  in 
1  Henry  IV.  and  twice  in  2  Henry  VI. ; 
the  adverb  in  Titus  Andronicus.  Greene 


134  THE  FIKST  PART  OF  [act  v. 

K.  Heu.  Marriage,  uncle  !  alas  !  my  years  are  young 
And  fitter  is  m}-  study  and  my  books 
Than  wanton  dalliance  with  a  paramour. 
Yet  call  the  ambassadors;  and  as  you  please, 
So  let  them  have  their  answers  every  one  :  25 

I  shall  be  well  content  with  any  choice 
Tends  to  God's  glorj'  and  my  country's  weal. 

Enter  WINCHESTER  in  Cardinars  habit,  a  Legate  and  two 
A  vibassadors. 

Exc.  What !  is  my  lord  of  Winchester  install'd, 

And  call'd  unto  a  cardinal's  degree  ? 

Then  I  perceive  that  will  be  verified  30 

Henry  the  Fifth  did  sometime  prophesy: 

"  If  once  he  come  to  be  a  cardinal, 

He'll  make  his  cap  co-equal  with  the  crown." 
K.  Hen.  My  lords  ambassadors,  your  several  suits 

Have  been  consider'd  and  debated  on.  35 

Your  purpose  is  both  good  and  reasonable ; 

And  therefore  are  we  certainly  resolv'd 

To  draw  conditions  of  a  friendly  peace; 

Wliich  by  my  lord  of  Winchester  we  mean 

Shall  be  transported  presently  to  France.  40 

Glou.  And  for  the  proffer  of  my  lord  your  master, 

I  have  inform'd  his  highness  so  at  large, 

As,  liking  of  the  lady's  virtuous  gifts, 

27.  Enter  .  .  .  ]  Cambridge,  Globe;  Zt«/^T  Winchester  and  three  Ambassadors. 
Ff. 

has  it  several  times  earlier,  as  in  Pene-  and  iv.  i.  17  above  ;  and  in  3  Henry  VI. 

lopes  Web  (v.  200),  1587:  ''sumptuous  iii.   i.  46.     Elsewhere   only   in   Henry 

attyre " ;    and  Alphousus    (xiii.    388):  VIII.    in.   ii.    401.     One   of  Greene's 

"  siunptiious  triumphs  "  ;  and  in  A  Look-  particularly    abundant    "  silly-stately  " 

ing  Glasse   (xiv.    11):    "He    have   my  words.     Sometimes,  as  in  Se/jwn/s  (xiv. 

weddinge   sumptuous,"   etc.      Spenser  222,  281),  he  varies  it  to  "  enstal." 

uses  the  word  in  the  first  two  books  of  31.  Henry  the  Fifth]  See  note  at  i. 

Faerie   Queene.       "  Sumptuous  "    and  lii.  23-24  for  this  prophecy. 

"  sumptuousness"  arebothinGolding's  2^.  co-equal   with    the   crown]    "  co- 

Ovid  (1565-7).  equal  "  is  not  in  Shakespeare.    Compare 

23.  paramour]  "A  thing  of  naught "  Greene,  Orlando  Furioso  (Grosart,  xiii. 

{Midsummer  Night's  Dream,  iv.  ii.  12).  128) : — 

See  above,  ni.    ii.  53:    "lustful  para-  "  Me  thinkes  I  fit  my  forehead  for  a 

mours."     And  meaning  mistress,  v.  iii.  Crowne ; 

81  (below)  ;  also  in  Romeo  and  Juliet,  And  when  I  take  my  trunchion  in 

V.  iii.    105.     Only  in  these  early  plays  my  fist  .  .  . 

and  always  with  a  repugnant  sense.    A  Mightie,  glorious,  and  excellent, — 

particular  favourite  with  Greene,  male  1  (aye)  these  .  .  . 

and  female,  good  and  bad.     This  line  Make  me  in  termes  coequall  with 

is  altogether  like  Greene's  diction.  the  gods." 

28.  install'd]  Occurs  again  11.  v.  89 


sc.  II.]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  135 

Her  beauty,  and  the  value  of  her  dower, 

He  doth  intend  she  shall  be  England's  queen.  45 

K.  Hen.   In  argument  and  proof  of  which  contract, 

Bear  her  this  jewel,  pledge  of  my  affection. 

And  so,  my  lord  protector,  see  them  guarded 

And  safely  brought  to  Dover ;  wherein  shipp'd 

Commit  them  to  the  fortune  of  the  sea.  50 

[Exeunt  all  but  Winchester  and  Legate. 
Win.  Stay,  my  lord  legate  :  you  shall  first  receive 

The  sum  of  money  which  I  promised 

Should  be  deliver'd  to  his  holiness 

For  clothing  me  in  these  grave  ornaments. 
Leg.   I  will  attend  upon  your  lordship's  leisure.  55 

Win.  [Aside.]  Now  Winchester  will  not  submit,  I  trow, 

Or  be  inferior  to  the  proudest  peer. 

Humphrey  of  Gloucester,  thou  shalt  well  perceive 

That  neither  in  birth  or  for  authority 

The  bishop  will  be  overborne  by  thee ;  60 

I  '11  either  make  thee  stoop  and  bend  thy  knee, 

Or  sack  this  country  with  a  mutiny.  [Exeunt. 

SCENE   n. — France.     Plains  in  Anjon. 

Enter  Charles,  Burgundy,  Alen^on,  Bastard,  Reignier, 
La  Pucelle,  and  Forces. 

Cha.  These  news,  my  lords,  may  cheer  our  drooping  spirits  : 
'Tis  said  the  stout  Parisians  do  revolt 
And  turn  again  unto  the  war-like  French. 

49.  wherein  shipp'd]  Ff  i,  2,  3  ;  where  inshipp'd  F  4.  50.  Exeunt  .  .  .] 

Cambridge;  E-tr^K/ii.  Ff.         s^.  Win.  [Aside]]     Cambridge ;  iyj«.  Ff. 

Scene  n. 
Scene  //.]  Capell ;  Scetia  Tertia  Ff.  France]  Pope.  Plains  in  Anjoii] 

Capell.    Enter  .  .  .]  Cambridge  ;  Enter  .  .  .  and  Jone  Ff,       Bastard,  Reignier] 
omitted  Capell.  and  Forces]  and  Forces,  marching.      Capell ;  omitted  Ff. 

I.  These]  Ff  i,  2  ;  This  Ff  3,  4.         3.  turn]  F  i ;  return  Ff  2,  3,  4. 

49.  shipp'd]    New    Eng.    Diet,    has  and     Peele.       Compare    Jack    Straw 

one    example    of    "inshipped"    from  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  v.  388):   "he   will 

Daniel,  1615.     "Shipped"  being  a  fre-  make     the    proudest     rebel     know"; 

quent  word,  and  the  fourth  folio  being  and — 

insufficient  to   outweigh   the   previous  "  I  think  the  proudest  foe  he  hath 

three,  I  restore  the  text.  Shall  find  more  work  than  he  will 

55.  I   will    .   .    .    leisure]   Such   in-  take  in  hand" 

tolerably  prosaic  lines  as  this  and  its  {ibid.). 

neighbours,     constantly     reappearing,  60.  bishop  .  .  .  overborne]  See  iii.  i. 

make   one   certain    of    an    underlying  53. 

inferior  hand.                                            ..  ScENE  II. 

57.  proudest  peer]  bee  above,  iv.  vu. 

84.     "  Proudest,"  so  frequent  in  these  2.  Parisians  do  revolt]  Hall  is  fuller 

plays,  was  greatly  affected  by  Greene  than  Grafton  here.      He   says  (XHIJ 


13G  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  v. 

Aleu.  Then  march  to  Paris,  royal  Charles  of  France, 

And  keep  not  back  }-our  powers  in  dalliance.  5 

Puc.   Peace  be  amongst  them  if  they  turn  to  us ; 
Else,  ruin  combat  with  their  palaces  ! 

Enter  Scout. 

Scout.  Success  unto  our  valiant  general. 

And  happiness  to  his  accomplices  ! 
Cha.  What  tidings  send  our  scouts  ?     I  prithee,  speak.  10 

Scout.  The  English  army,  that  divided  was 

Into  two  parties,  is  now  conjoin'd  in  one, 

And  means  to  give  you  battle  presently. 
Cha.  Some\\^hat  too  sudden,  sirs,  the  warning  is  ; 

But  we  will  presently  provide  for  them.  15 

Bur.   I  trust  the  ghost  of  Talbot  is  not  there  : 

Now  he  is  gone,  my  lord,  you  need  not  fear. 
Puc.  Of  all  base  passions,  fear  is  most  accurs'd. 

Command  the  conquest,  Charles,  it  shall  be  thine ; 

Let  Henry  fret  and  all  the  world  repine.  20 

Cha.  Then  on,  my  lords ;  and  France  be  fortunate  ' 


[Exeunt. 


5.  powers]  ¥  i ;  power  Ff  2,  3,  4. 


Yere,  p.  179) :   "the  losse  ...  of  the  in  the  historical  plays)  the  word  is  the 

noble  citee  of  Paris.     For  where  before  proper  old  form,  "  complice,"  the  accre- 

tymes  there  were  sent  over  for  the  aide  tionary  ac.  being  unaccounted  for.     The 

and  tuicion  of  the  tounsand  citees  .   .  .  earliest  example  in  New  Eng.  Diet,  of 

thousands  of  men,  apte  and  meete  tor  "accomplice" appears  to  be  from  Nashe's 

the   warre    .    .    .   now    were    sent    into  introduction     to     Greene's    Menaphon 

Fraunce    hundreds,   yea   scores,    some  (1589),  where  it  is  spelt  "  accomplisshe," 

rascall,  and  some  not  able  to  draw  a  which   points  to  a  fancied   connection 

bowe  .  .  .  Which  weakenes  King  Charles  with  "  accomplish."    New  Eng.  Diet,  at 

well  perceived  .  .  .  the  Parisians  .  .  .  the  word /I cco;h/>/zc«  confounds  the  two 

when  they  saw  the  Englishmen  at  their  forms. 

weakest,  turned   the    leafe    and    sang         12.  eonjoin'd]\imieA.    Occurs  several 

another    song :    declaryng    to   all  men  times  elsewhere   in    Shakespeare.      A 

their  inconstant  harts.  .  .  .  Thus  was  common  word  at  the  time, 
the  citee  of  Paris   brought  again  into         13.  give  you    battle]    Occurs   again 

the  possession  of  the    French   kyng."  in  As   You   Like   It   only.      Compare 

But    Paris   was   lost   before    the    play  Marlowe's    Tamburlaine,    Part    II.    v. 

began  (see  i.  i.  61-65),  but  the  corona-  3  : — 

tion  of  Henry  was  held   there  in   the  "...  death  with  armies  of  Cimmerian 

fourth  act.  spirits 

5.  dalliance]    trifling,    idle   waste   of  Gives   battle  'gainst   the  heart  of 

time.  Tamburlaine." 

9.  accomplices]  The  only  use  of  this  Defoe's  seems  to  be  the  only  example  in 

word  in  Shakespeare.     Elsewhere  (only  New  Eng  Diet. 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


137 


SCENE  III.— Be/ore  Angiers. 
Alarums.     Excursions.     Enter  La  PuCELLE. 


Puc.  The  regent  conquers  and  the  Frenchmen  fly. 
Now  help,  ye  charming  spells  and  periapts  ; 
And  ye  choice  spirits  that  admonish  me 
And  give  me  signs  of  future  accidents : 
You  speedy  helpers,  that  are  substitutes 
Under  the  lordly  monarch  of  the  north, 
Appear  and  aid  me  in  this  enterprise ! 


[  Thunder. 
5 


Enter  Fiends. 

This  speedy  and  quick  appearance  argues  proof 

Of  your  accustom'd  diligence  to  me. 

Now,  ye  familiar  spirits,  that  are  cull'd  lO 

Out  of  the  powerful  regions  under  earth. 

Scene  ///.]  Capell ;  Ff  continue  the  scene.  Before  Anglers]  Under  Angiers 

Capell.         lo.  cull'd]  call'd  Collier.         ii.  regions]  Ff ;  legions  Singer  (Warbur- 
ton  conj.). 


2.  charming  spells]  varied  to  "  spell- 
ing charms,"  below  (1.  31). 

2.  periapts]  inscribed  bandages  or 
charms.  From  Scot's  Discoverie  of 
Witchcraft  (1584),  where  the  term  is 
used  several  times.  "  These  vertues 
under  these  verses  .  .  .  are  conteine^i 
in  a  periapt  or  tablet,  to  be  continuallie 
worne  about  one,  called  Agnus  Dei" 
(reprint,  p.  185).  This  chapter  (bk.  xii. 
ch.  ix.)  is  headed  "  Popish  periapts, 
amulets  and  charms,"  etc.  etc.  No- 
where else  in  Shakespeare. 

3,  4.  admonish  me  .  .  .  of  future 
accidents]  notify,  or  inform  me  of  them. 
Compare  Golding's  Ovid  (xi.  442) : 
"  His  wyfe  Alcyone  by  the  noyse  ad- 
monisht  of  the  same."  Wrongly  ex- 
plained by  Schmidt,  with  reference  to 
a  different  use  in  Hebrews  viii.  5. 

6.  lordly  monarch  of  the  north]  Out 
of  the  north  all  ill  (spirits)  came  forth. 
Many  references  might  be  cited  from 
the  Discoverie  of  Witchcraft,  bk.  xv. 
Two  will  suffice ;  "  How  to  raise  and 
exorcize  all  sorts  of  Spirits  belonging 
to  the  Airy  Region "  (p.  481)  (see 
"regions"  in  line  11).  And:  "  A  form 
of  conjuring  Luridan  the  Familiar.  .  .  . 
Luridan  is  a  Familiar  Domestick  Spirit 
of  the  North,  who  is  now  become  Ser- 
vant to  Balkin,  Lord  and  king  of  the 
Northern    Mountains"    (p.    485).      In 


another  place  (p.  327)  Zimimar  is  "  king 
of  the  north."  But  Greene  is  the 
authority  here  to  be  noticed  most. 
Compare  Frier  Bacon  (Grosart,  xiii. 
62):— 

"  Bacon,    that    bridles    headstrong 
Belcephon, 
And  rules  Asmenoth,  guider  of  the 

North, 
Bindes  me  from  yielding  unto  Van- 
dermast." 
And  p.  81 : — 

"  But  proud  Astmeroth,  ruler  of  the 
North, 
And  Demegorgon  maister   of  the 

fates, 
Grudge  that  a  mortall  man  should 

worke  so  much ; 
Hell  trembled .  . .  Fiendesfrown'd," 
etc. 
II.  regions  under  earth]  Steevens 
very  pertinently  asks,  with  reference  to 
Singer's  ridiculous  alteration  of  the  text 
(to  "legions"):  "The  regions  under  earth 
are  the  infernal  regions.  Whence  else 
should  the  sorceress  have  selected  or 
summoned  her  fiends  ?  "  She  might 
have  had  them  from  other  regions  (see 
lastnote),buttheword  "powerful"  shows 
she  needs  those  out  of  Erebus  itself. 
"Powerful  regions"  are  the  homes  of  the 
powerful.  Compare  Marlowe,  Tambur- 
laine,  Part  H.  iv.  3  (65,  a) :  "  O  thou  that 


138 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  v. 


Help  me  this  once,  that  France  may  get  the  field. 

[  They  walk,  atid  speak  not. 

0  !  hold  me  not  with  silence  over-long. 
Where  I  was  wont  to  feed  you  with  my  blood, 

1  '11  lop  a  member  off  and  give  it  you  1 5 
In  earnest  of  a  further  benefit, 

So  3'ou  do  condescend  to  help  me  now. 

[  They  hang  their  heads. 
No  hope  to  have  redress  ?     My  body  shall 
Pa}'  recompense  if  )Ou  will  grant  my  suit. 

[  They  shake  their  heads. 
Cannot  my  body  nor  blood-sacrifice  20 

Entreat  you  to  your  wonted  furtherance  ? 
Then  take  my  soul  ;  my  body,  soul,  and  all, 
Before  that  England  give  the  French  the  foil. 

'[They  depart. 
See  !  they  forsake  me.     Now  the  time  is  come 
That  France  must  vail  her  lofty  plumed  crest,  25 

25.  lofty  plumed]  Ff ;  lofty -plumed  Capell,  Cambridge. 


sway'st  the  region  luidcr  earth  ...  a 
king  as  absolute  as  Jove." 

14.  feed  you  with  my  blood]  I  find  no 
note  to  this  passage.  We  have  already 
had  a  blood-superstition  (i.  v.  6)  with 
regard  to  witches.  This  relates  to  their 
dealings  with  the  familiar  or  devil  from 
which  they  derive  their  powers.  Pro- 
bably the  belief  was  common  amongst 
peasants,  and  will  be  found  illustrated 
in  early  trials.  Scot  does  not,  I  think, 
refer  to  it  anywhere.  On  the  contrary, 
part  of  his  refutation  that  he  insists 
upon,  is  that  devils  are  bloodless,  and  do 
not  need  or  care  for  blood  ;  and  in  the 
first  chapter  of  the  third  book  "  The 
witches  bargaine  with  the  devill,  ac- 
cording to  .  .  .  Bodin,"  etc.  etc.,this  is 
no  part  of  the  compact.  Witches  had 
fifteen  crimes  laid  to  their  charge  (p. 
26),  one  of  which  was  that  "  They  eate 
the  flesh  and  dnnke  the  bioud  of 
men,  women  and  children  openly."  So 
much  for  Scot  on  this  point.  In  Middle- 
ton's  Witch  (BuUen's  edition,  v.  417) : — 
"[A  spirit  like  a  cat  descends. 
Voice  above.  Hecate. 
"  There's  one  comes  down  to  fetch 
his  dues, 

A  kiss,  a  coll,  a  sip  of  blood; 

And  why  thou  stayst  so  long, 
I  muse,  I  muse" 
(circa    1610).      A  fuller  example  is    in 
Ford's  A  Witch  of  Edmonton.     Mother 


Sawyer  obtains  the  services  of  the  devil 
in  the  shape  of  a  black  dog.  "  E7iter  a 
Black  Dog.  Ho!  have  I  found  thee 
cursing?  now  thou  art  Mine  own" 
(Dyce's  ed.  iii.  201).  He  then  makes 
her  to  "  make  a  deed  of  gift  Of  soul  and 
body  to  me  .  .  .  And  seal  it  with  thy 
blood  .  .  .  [She  pricks  her  arm,  which 
he  sucks.  Thunder  and  lightning.]"  He 
then  executes  her  wishes  (of  revenge) 
on  an  old  churl,  and  continues  to  do 
so,  receiving  his  due  each  time  she 
summons  him,  until  he  is  weary  and 
refuses  to  partake,  when  he  leaves  her 
to  her  fate — playing  the  devil  with  her 
in  fact.  The  date  of  this  play  is  about 
1625.  Mephistopheles  found  no  such 
carnal  attraction  in  Faustus,  although 
he  required  his  blood  for  writing  pur- 
poses. 

15.  lop  a  member]  Compare  Kyd's 
Soliman  and  Perseda,  iv.  ii.  23  (Boas 
ed.). 

16.  In  earnest]  prepayment  to  seal  a 
bargain  ;  handsel.  Frequent  in  Shake- 
speare. 

23.  give  the  French  the  foil]  See  note 
at  in.  iii.  11. 

25.  vail]  lower.  See  Merchant  of 
Venice,  i.  i.  28,  and  Love's  Labour 's 
Lost,  V.  ii.  297.  Not  a  common  verb  with 
Shakespeare,  except  metaphorically,  but 
very  much  so  with  Greene.  See  Love's 
Labour's  Lost,  Arden  edition,  p.  141: 


sc.  Ill]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


139 


And  let  her  head  fall  into  England's  lap. 
My  ancient  incantations  are  too  weak, 
And  hell  too  strong  for  me  to  buckle  with : 
Now,  France,  thy  glory  droopeth  to  the  dust. 


\_Exit. 


Excursions.     Re-enter  La  P  UC  ELLE  fighti7ig  hand  to  hand  with 
York:  La  Pucelle  is  taken.      The  French  fly. 


York.  Damsel  of  France,  I  think  I  have  you  fast 


30 


29.  Re-enter   ha   Pucelle 
French  flye.  Ff. 


"He  make  them  vayle  their  plumes" 
{George-a-Greene,  xiv.  123).  And  Or- 
lando  Furioso  (xiii.   185) : — 

"  Then  mayest  thou  think  that  Mars 
himselfe  came  downe 

To  vaile  thy  plumes  and  heave  thee 

from  thy  pompe." 

25.  lofty  plumed  cresf]  Compare  King 

John,  II.  i.  317,  and  J  Henry  IV.  iv.  i.  gS. 

See  too  Spenser's  Faerie  Queene  (i,  vii. 

32):- 

"  Upon  the  top  of  all  his  loftie  crest 

Abounchofheares  .  .  .  Didshake." 
Again : — 

"They  let  their  cruell  weapons  fall 

And   lowly  did  abase    their    lofty 
crests  " 
(11.  ii.  32).     Hence  crestfallen  probably 
(not  from  cock-fighting). 

28.  buckle  zcith]  See  i.  ii.  95  (note), 
and  IV.  iv.  5.  An  expression  of  Greene's. 
30.  Damsel  .  .  .  I  have  you  fasti 
The  "woomg  of  Margaret"  belongs  to 
1443-4;  see  note  at  beginning  of  this 
Act.  The  loss  of  Paris  had  occurred 
before  the  play  opened ;  see  note  at  iii. 
ii.  3.  And  1430  (May  23)  "is  the 
historic  date  of  La  Pucelle's  capture. 
On  that  day  she  accompanied  a  sally 
from  Compiegne,  then  besieged  by  the 
English  and  Burgundians,  and  was 
taken  before  she  could  re-enter  the 
town.  Bedford  was  '  Regent '  (i.  i.)  at 
the  time,  but  the  dramatist  killed  him  in 
Act  III.  sc.  ii.  York— whose  prisoner 
she  becomes  in  this  scene — held  no  such 
post  until  1436."  I  quote  here  from 
Boswell  Stone.  Any  arrangement  of 
dates  is  only  distracting.  That  way 
madness  lies.  Here  is  Grafton's  ac- 
count of  Joan's  capture  (The  IX.  Yere, 
p.  58S) :  "  And  it  happened  in  the  night 
of  the  Ascention  of  our  Lorde,  that  Pon- 
thon  of  Xentrales,  lone  the  Puzell,  and 
fiue  or  sixe  hundred  men  of  armes  issued 
out  of  Compeigne  by  the  gate  of  the 


.]   Burgitndie  and    Yorke  fght   hand  to  hand. 


bridge  .  .  .  they  assembled  a  great 
number  of  men,  as  well  English  as 
Burgonions,  and  couragiously  set  on  the 
Frenche  men.  Sore  was  the  fight  and 
great  was  the  slaughter,  in  so  much  that 
the  French  men,  not  able  longer  to  in- 
dure,  fled  into  the  towne  so  fast,  that 
one  letted  the  other  to  enter.  In  which 
chace  was  taken,  lone  the  Puzell  and 
diuers  other :  which  lone  was  sent  to 
the  Duke  of  Bedford  to  Roan,  where 
(after  long  examination)  she  was  brent 
to  ashes.  This  witch  or  manly  woman 
(called  the  mayde  of  God)  the  French 
men  greatly  glorified  and  highly  extoled, 
alleging  that  by  her  Orleaunce  was 
vitayled ;  by  her  King  Charles  was  sacred 
at  Reynes.  .  .  .  What  blot  is  this  to  the 
French  Nation  !  What  more  rebuke  can 
be  imputed  to  a  renowned  Region,  then 
to  affirme  .  .  .  that  all  notable  victories 
.  .  .  were  gotten  and  achiued  by  a  shep- 
herdes  daughter,  a  Chamberlein  in  an 
hostrie,  and  a  beggersbrat :  which  blind- 
ing the  wittes  of  the  French  nation,  by 
reuelations,  dreames,  and  phantasticall 
visions,  made  them  beleue  things  not  to 
be  supposed  .  .  .  if  creditemay  be  geuen 
to  the  actes  of  the  Clergie  .  .  .  thys 
woman  was  not  inspyred  with  the  holy 
ghost  .  .  .  but  an  Enchanteresse,  an 
organe  of  the  Deuill,  sent  from  Sathan 
.  .  .  as  by  a  letter  sent  from  the  King 
of  England  may  appere :  But  for  that 
the  same  is  long  [over  100  long  lines — 
in  full  in  Hall]  I  thought  it  sufficient  to 
rehearse  the  effect  thereof.  .  .  .  And 
for  a  true  declaration  of  the  falsitie  and 
lewdnesse  of  her  doing,  she  being  called 
before  the  Byshop  and  the  Vniversity  of 
Pares,  was  there  with  greac  solempnity 
adjudged  and  condenipned  a  super- 
stitious Sorceresse  and  a  diuelishe  Blas- 
phemere  of  God,  and  as  an  erronyous 
wretch  was  consumed  with  fyre.  And  at 
the  time  of  her  death,  she  confessed  how 


140  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  v. 

Unchain  your  spirits  now  with  spelling  charms, 

And  try  if  they  can  gain  your  liberty. 

A  goodly  prize,  fit  for  the  devil's  grace  ! 

See  how  the  ugly  witch  doth  bend  her  brows, 

As  if  with  Circe  she  would  change  my  shape.  35 

Puc.  Chang'd  to  a  worser  shape  thou  canst  not  be. 
York.  O  !   Charles  the  Dauphin  is  a  proper  man  : 

No  shape  but  his  can  please  your  dainty  eye. 
Puc.  A  plaguing  mischief  light  on  Charles  and  thee ! 

And  may  ye  both  be  suddenly  surpris'd  40 

By  bloody  hands,  in  sleeping  on  your  beds  ! 
York.  Fell  banning  hag,  enchantress,  hold  thy  tongue ! 
Puc.   I  prithee,  give  me  leave  to  curse  awhile. 
York.  Curse,  miscreant,  when  thou  comest  to  the  stake. 

\Exeunt. 


Alarums.     Enter  SUFFOLK,  leading  in  Lady  MARGARET. 

Suf.  Be  what  thou  wilt,  thou  art  my  prisoner.       \Gases  071  her, 

0  fairest  beauty  !  do  not  fear  nor  fly,  46 
For  I  will  touch  thee  but  with  reverent  hands. 

1  kiss  these  fingers  for  eternal  peace, 
And  lay  them  gently  on  thy  tender  side. 

Who  art  thou  ?  say,  that  i  may  honour  thee.  50 

Mar.  Margaret  my  name,  and  daughter  to  a  king, 

The  King  of  Naples,  whosoe'er  thou  art. 
Suf.  An  earl  I  am,  and  Suffolk  am  I  call'd. 

Be  not  offended,  nature's  miracle, 

the  Deuill   had  deluded  and  deceaued  42.  enchantress]  This  is  the  term  em- 

her."    A  terrible  reading  and  record  for  ployed  of  La  Pucelle  in  the  chroniclers 

the  church.  Hall  and  Grafton.     See  extract  at  line 

31.  spelling charms]CompaTe" cha.Tm-  30  above, 

ing  spells,"  line  2  above.     Whether  the  44.  miscreant]  See  above,  in.  iv.  44. 

verb  spell  here  means  to  charm,  or  to  44.  Enter  Suffolk,  leading  in   Lady 

decipher  out,  character,  or  both  quib-  Margaret]    This    interview   is   entirely 

blingly,  may  be  left  to  the  reader.  fictitious.     See  extract  at  the  beginning 

34.   bend  her  brows]  See  note  at  "  she  of  the  Act. 

knits  her  brows,"  3  Henry  VI.  in.  iii.  8.  48,  49.  /  kiss  .  .  .  tender  side]  Capell 

See  Kitig  John,  iv.  ii.  90.  transposed  these  utterly  puerile  lines, 

39.    plaguing]    tormenting,    plaguy.  \n^trtmg{''  kissing  her  hand"]  vjiih  2in 

See  below,  v.  iv.  154.  effort  at  improvement,  not  worth  adopt- 

42.     banning]    cursing.       The    verb  ing,  even  if  allowable. 

occurs    several    times   again,    but    the  54.  nature's  miracle]  Compare  Peele, 

participial     adjective     not     elsewhere.  Edward   I.    ('sgo,   a) :    "  Sweet    Ellen, 

New   Eng.   Diet,    gives  one   other   ex-  miracle  of  nature's  hand,  [Hell  in]  thy 

ample    from    Warner,    1581.      Greene  name,  but  heaven  is  in  thy  looks."     A 

has  it  in  Meytaphon  :    "  Wherefore  no  fearsome  pun  if  the  text  be  right.     On 

time   by   banning  praiers  shall  pause,  the   previous  page  occurs:    "mould  of 

till  proud  she  repent"  (Grosart,  vi.  106),  beauty,  miracle  of  fame." 
1589. 


sc.  Ill]       KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  141 

Thou  art  allotted  to  be  ta'en  by  me :  55 

So  doth  the  swan  her  downy  cygnets  save, 

Keeping  them  prisoner  underneath  her  wings. 

Yet,  if  this  servile  usage  once  offend. 

Go  and  be  free  again,  as  Suffolk's  friend.       [She  is  going. 

O,  stay  !     I  have  no  power  to  let  her  pass  ;  60 

My  hand  would  free  her,  but  my  heart  says  no. 

As  plays  the  sun  upon  the  glassy  streams, 

Twinkling  another  counterfeited  beam, 

So  seems  this  gorgeous  beauty  to  mine  e)es. 

Fain  would  I  woo  her,  yet  I  dare  not  speak  :  65 

I  '11  call  for  pen  and  ink  and  write  my  mind. 

Fie,  de  la  Pole  !  disable  not  thyself; 

Hast  not  a  tongue  ?  is  she  not  here  ? 

Wilt  thou  be  daunted  at  a  woman's  sight  ? 

Ay ;  beauty's  princely  majesty  is  such,  70 

Confounds  the  tongue  and  makes  the  senses  rough. 
Mar.  Say,  Earl  of  Suffolk,  if  thy  name  be  so, 

What  ransom  must  I  pay  before  I  pass  ? 

For  I  perceive  I  am  thy  prisoner. 
S2if.  How  canst  thou  tell  she  will  deny  thy  suit,  75 

Before  thou  make  a  trial  of  her  love  ? 
Mar.  Why  speak'st  thou  not  ?  what  ransom  must  I  pay  ? 


59.  She  is  going]  Ff;  She  turns  from  him,  as  going.  Capell.  68.  here?] 
F  I ;  here  thy  prisoner  P  Ff  2,  3,  4.         71.  Confounds]  'Coifounds  F  i.         makes 

the  senses  rough]  Ff;  makes  the  senses  crouch  Hanmer;  makes  the  senses  touch 
Jackson  conj. ;  makes  the  sense's  touch  Singer ;  mocks  the  sense  of  touch  Collier, 
Bullen.             77.  pay]  pray  F  2. 

56.  downy  cygnets]  See  Troilus  and  Walter    Raleigh's    well-known    line    to 

Cressida,  i.  i.  58,  for  "  cygnet's  down  "  Queen  Elizabeth  :  "  Fain  would  I  climb 

again.     But  the  metaphor  is  Greene's :  yet  fear  I  to  fall."     Lodge  and  Greene 

"The  sucking  fawne  followeth  the  steps  worked  together  and  have  much  com- 

of  the  Doe  ;  The  Ctgnets  dare  not  resist  munity  of  expression, 

the  call  of  the  old  Swan  .  .  .  And  should  67.  rf;saZ)/f]  disparage.    See  Merchant 

I  then,  syr,  be  so  voide  of  grace"  [Ma-  of  Venice,  11.  vii.  30;  and  As  You  Like 

millia  (Grosart,  ii.  167),  1583).  It,  iv.  i.  34,  v.  iv.  80. 

62.  glassy]  Peele  uses  this  epithet  of  71.    Confounds]  "  destroys  the  office 

water  in  Edward  I. : —  of."     The  lines  are  not  worth  tinkering, 

"  bridegroom-like  shall  march  but  Mr.  Bullen  would  read  "  makes  our 

With  lovely  Thetis  to  her  glassy  senses  vouch"  ("vouch"  meaning  evi- 

bed"  dence).      Dulls  or  blunts  the  senses  is 

(380,  b),  recalling,  as  he  does  elsewhere,  the  meaning. 

Spenser's  famous  simile  in  Fa«m(3M«i£'«^,  75-  Pope  put  in  [Aside]  after  this  and 

I.  v.  2 ;  ''glassy  stream"  is  in  Hamlet  several    other    succeeding    speeches    of 

also  (iv.  vii.  16S).  Suffolk's.        Cambridge    edition    omits 

65.  Fain  would  I  woo  her,  yet  I  dare  them  as  so  obvious  as  to  be  unnecessary, 

not  speak]   Compare  Lodge's  Euphues  and  I  quite  agree.      It  was  a  favourite 

Golden  Legacie  (Hazlitt's  Shakes.  Lib.  stage-trick ;     Falstaff    and    the    Chief 

83) :    "  Faine  would  I  trust,  but  yet  I  Justic?  being  the  best  example, 
dare  not  trie."      Both  preceded  by  Sir 


142 


THE  FlKSr  TAirr  OF 


[act  v. 


Suf.  She 's  beautiful  and  therefore  to  be  woo'd ; 

She  is  a  woman,  therefore  to  be  won. 
J\Tar.  Wilt  thou  accept  of  ransom,  yea  or  no?  8o 

Suf.  Fond  man  !  remember  that  thou  hast  a  wife ; 

Then  how  can  Margaret  be  thy  paramour  ? 
Mar.   I  were  best  to  leave  him,  for  he  will  not  hear. 
Suf.  There  all  is  marr'd  ;  there  lies  a  cooling  card. 
Mar.  He  talks  at  random;  sure,  the  man  is  mad.  85 

Suf  And  yet  a  dispensation  may  be  had. 
Mar.  And  yet  I  would  that  you  would  answer  me, 
Suf  I  '11  win  this  Lady  Margaret.     For  whom  ? 

Why,  for  my  king  :  tush  !  that 's  a  wooden  thing. 
3far.  He  talks  of  wood  :  it  is  some  carpenter.  90 

Suf.  Yet  so  my  fancy  may  be  satisfied. 

And  peace  established  between  these  realms. 

But  there  remains  a  scruple  in  that  too ; 

For  though  her  father  be  the  King  of  Naples, 

Duke  of  Anjou  and  Maine,  yet  is  he  poor,  95 

And  our  nobility  will  scorn  the  match. 

85.  rando7n'\  Ff  3,  4;  randon  Ff  i,  2. 


78,  79.  She 's  beautiful  .  .  ,  She  is  a 
woman]  A  stock  expression  of  Greene's, 
and  repeated  in  Titus  Andronicus,  11,  i. 
82,  83.  Greene  has  it  as  follows  :  "  Pa- 
sylla  was  a  woman,  and  therefore  to  be 


cess,  Act  I. ;  and  as  late  as  Dryden's 
Kind  Keeper,  i.  i.  (1675),  Greene  has  it 
in  the  Dedicatory  Epistle  to  Mamillia 
(his  first  known  piece) :  "  there  is  not  a 
greater  cooling  carde  to  a  rash  wit  than 


wonne:  if  beautiful  with  pray  aes;  ifcoie  want"  (Grosart,  ii.  6),  1583;  and  twice, 
with  praiers"  [Planctomachia  (Grosart, 
V.  56),  1585) ;  "shee  is  a  woman  and  there- 
fore to  be  wonne  with  prayses  or  pro- 
mises, for  that  shee  is  a  woman  "  {ibid. 
no).  The  first  passage  is  repeated  in 
Pcrymedes  the  Blacksmith  (vii,  68).  He 
has  it  again  in  Orpharion  (xii.  31) ; 
and  at  page  78  in  Orpharion  (1588  ?) : 
"  Argentina  is  a  woman  &  therfore  to 
be  wooed,  &  so  to  be  won."  See  again 
in  Richard  III.  1.  ii.  228,  22g. 

82.  paramour]  See  v.  i.  23  (note). 

84.  a  cooling  card]  anything  that 
checks  one's  enthusiasm  or  moderates 
one's  transports — a  cooler.  Not  again  in 
Shakespeare.  New  Eng.  Diet,  quotes 
it  from  Holinshed's  Chronicle,  iii.  188 
(1577).  Greene  made  this  expression  one 
of  his  special  characteristics,  taking  it, 
like  much  of  his  writing,  out  of  Lyly's 
Enphnes,  1579-80  :  "  that  he  might  bridle 
the  overlashing  affections  .  .  .  which  he 
termed  a  cooling  card"  (A.rber,  p.  105). 
It  occurs  also  in  Gabriel  Harvey's 
Letters  (Grosart.  i.  139),  1573  ;  in  Muce- 
dorus  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  vii.  250),  1598  ; 
in  Nashe's  Have  with  you,  etc.,  1596  ;  in 
Beaumont  and  Fletcher's  Island  Prin- 


later,  in  the  same  piece — and  indeed  it  is 
constant  through  his  interminable  prose 
tracts.  I  wish  to  enforce  this  because  it 
is  a  fair  view  of  a  most  distorted  bit  of 
evidence  given  by  Fleay  several  times, 
who  makes  this  expression  a  test  of 
Lodge  because  he  found  it  in  The 
Wounds  of  Civil  War  (Hazlitt's  Dods- 
ley, vii.  155),  1594.  See  his  English 
Drama,  ii.  49  ;  and  his  other  Lodge-test, 
"  rasors  of  Palermo,"  given  there  also,  is 
in  Edward's  Damon  and  Pithias  {ante 
1566).  Gabriel  Harvey  (1573)  is  perhaps 
the  earliest  user  of  this  phrase. 

85.  He  talks  at  random]  recklessly. 
Occurs  again  (with  verb  of  action)  in  Two 
Gentlemen  of  Verona,  11.  i.  117.  Greene 
uses  it  often  in  his  prose,  as  though 
specially  belonging  to  archery  or  marks- 
manship. Compare  North's  Plutarch 
(Tudor  trans,  i.  148,  Lycurgus),  1579 : 
"  They  dyd  never  use  to  speake  vaine 
wordes  at  randone";  and  Golding's 
Ovid  (viii.  301):    "To  fly  at  randon." 

89.  7i)Ooden  thing]  expressionless,  in- 
sensible thing — referring  to  the  king.  See 
note  at  i.  i.  19  for  a  parallel  from  Greene's 
Orpharion  for  this  contemptuous  term. 


sc.  Ill]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  143 

Mar.  Hear  ye,  captain  ?     Are  you  not  at  leisure  ? 
Suf.   It  shall  be  so,  disdain  they  ne'er  so  much  : 

Henry  is  youthful  and  will  quickly  yield. 

Madam,  I  have  a  secret  to  reveal.  lOO 

Mar.  What  though  I  be  enthrall'd  ?  he  seems  a  knight. 

And  will  not  any  way  dishonour  me. 
Suf.  Lady,  vouchsafe  to  listen  what  I  say. 
Mar.  Perhaps  I  shall  be  rescu'd  by  the  French  ; 

And  then  I  need  not  crave  his  courtesy.  105 

Suf.  Sweet  madam,  give  me  hearing  in  a  cause — 
Mai^.  Tush  !  women  have  been  captivate  ere  now. 
Suf.  Lady,  wherefore  talk  you  so  ? 
Mar.  I  cry  you  mercy,  'tis  but  quid  for  quo. 
Suf.  Say,  gentle  princess,  would  you  not  suppose  no 

Your  bondage  happy  to  be  made  a  queen  ? 
Mar.  To  be  a  queen  in  bondage  is  more  vile 

Than  is  a  slave  in  base  servility  ; 

For  princes  should  be  free. 
Suf  And  so  shall  you. 

If  happy  England's  royal  king  be  free,  1 1 5 

Mar.  Why,  what  concerns  his  freedom  unto  me  ? 
Suf  I  '11  undertake  to  make  thee  Henry's  queen, 

To  put  a  golden  sceptre  in  thy  hand, 

And  set  a  precious  crown  upon  thy  head. 

If  thou  wilt  condescend  to  be  my — 
Mar.  What?  120 

Suf  His  love. 

Mar.  I  am  unworthy  to  be  Henry's  wife. 
Suf.  No,  gentle  madam  ;  I  unworthy  am 

To  woo  so  fair  a  dame  to  be  his  wife 

And  have  no  portion  in  the  choice  myself  125 

How  say  you,  madam,  are  ye  so  content  ? 
Mar.  An  if  my  father  please,  I  am  content, 

106.  cause — ]  Capell;  cause.  Ff.  120,  121.  to  be  my —      What?      His 
love]  to —     What.'     His /owe  Steevens  (conj.)  (1793). 

loi.  enthrall'd]  taken  prisoner.     Not  109.    /  cry  you    mercy]  I  beg  your 

again  in  Shakespeare  literally.      Com-  pardon.      See  Othello,  v.  i.  69  (Arden 

pare  Marlowe's  Tambiirlaine,  Part  I.  v.  edition,  note). 

li. : —  109.  quid  for  quo]  Earlier  examples  (in 

"  Though  my  right  hand  have  thus  serious  literature)  are  given  in  Stanford 

enthralled  thee,  Dictionary.    Compare  Lyly's  Mirfas,  iii. 

Thy  princely  daughter  here  shall  set  ii.  (1591-2):   "Then  we  will  have  quid 

thee  free  "  pro  quo,  a  tooth  for  a  beard." 

(1586).  113.  servility]  slsLvery.     Not  again  in 

107.  ca/>/Ji)ai«J  taken  prisoner.    See  11.  Shakespeare. 

iii.  42,  the  only  parallel  in  Shakespeare,  120.  condescend]See above, 1. 17.  No- 
though  "  captivates  "  occurs  in  3  Henry  where  else  in  Shakespeare,  but  a  favour- 
F/,  I.  iv,  115.     In  Greene,  ite  with  Greene — of  course  far  older. 


144  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  v. 

Suf.  Then  call  our  captains  and  our  colours  forth  ! 
And,  madam,  at  your  father's  castle  walls 
We'll  crave  a  parley,  to  confer  with  him.  130 

A  Parley  sounded.     E?ifer  Reignier,  on  the  walls. 

See,  Reignier,  see  thy  daughter  prisoner ! 
Reig.  To  whom  ? 
Suf.  To  me. 

Reig.  Suffolk,  what  remedy? 

I  am  a  soldier,  and  unapt  to  weep 

Or  to  exclaim  on  fortune's  fickleness. 
Suf.  Yes,  there  is  remedy  enough,  my  lord  :  135 

Consent,  and  for  thy  honour  give  consent, 

Thy  daughter  shall  be  wedded  to  my  king, 

Whom  I  with  pain  have  woo'd  and  won  thereto ; 

And  this  her  easy-held  imprisonment 

Hath  gain'd  thy  daughter  princely  liberty.  140 

Reig.  Speaks  Suffolk  as  he  thinks? 
Suf.  Fair  Margaret  knows 

That  Suffolk  doth  not  flatter,  face,  or  feign. 
Reig.  Upon  thy  princely  warrant,  I  descend 

To  give  thee  answer  of  thy  just  demand. 

S^Exit  from  the  walls. 
Sif.  And  here  I  will  expect  thy  coming.  145 

Truvipets  sound.     Enter  REIGNIER. 
Reig.  Welcome,  brave  earl,  into  our  territories : 

Command  in  i\njou  what  your  honour  pleases. 
Suf.  Thanks,  Reignier,  happy  for  so  sweet  a  child. 

Fit  to  be  made  companion  with  a  king. 

What  answer  makes  your  grace  unto  my  suit  ?  1 50 

Reig.  Since  thou  dost  deign  to  woo  her  little  worth 

130.  A  parley  sounded]  Cambridge ;  Trumpet  sounds  a  parley  Capell ;  Sou7id 
Ff.         Enter  .  .  .  ]  Ff.         144.  [Exit  .  .  .  ]  Capell ;  omitted  Ff. 

132.  what  remedy]  See  Merry  Wives  "  To  laughe,  to  lie,  to  flatter,  to 
of  Windsor,  v.  v.  250,  the  earliest  ex-  face ; 

ample   in    New   Eng.   Diet.,  except  a  Foure  waies  in  Court  to  win  men 

Scotch  one   from    Dunbar,    1500-1520.  grace." 

See  again    Twelfth   Night,    1.   v.   56:  And   Hay   any    Work   (1589):    "Thou 

"  There 's  no  help  for  it."  canst  cog,  face,  and  lye  as  fast  as   a 

133.  ?<;ta/)/]  "not  propense  or  ready"  dog  can  trot."  Spenser  recalled 
(Schmidt).  Occurs  in  Venus  and  Ascham  in  Mother  Hubberd's  Tale 
Adonis,  34;  1  Henry  IV.,  and   Corio-  (II.  504-506): — 

lanus  in  the  same  sense.  "  For    there    [at    the    Court]    thou 

134.  exclaim  on]  See  above,  iii.  lii.  needs  must  learne  to  laugh,  to 
60.     To  abuse  in  language,  or  accuse.                   lie, 

142.  face]   deceive,   humbug,    feign.  To  face,   to   forge,   to    scoffe,    to 

New  Eng.  Diet,  quotes  Roger  Ascham,  companie, 

The  Scholemaster,  1570  (Arber,  p.  54) :  To  crouche,  to  please." 


sc.  Ill]       KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  145 

To  be  the  princely  bride  of  such  a  lord, 

Upon  condition  I  may  quietly 

Enjoy  mine  own,  the  country  Maine  and  Anjou, 

Free  from  oppression  or  the  stroke  of  war,  1 5  5 

My  daughter  shall  be  Henry's,  if  he  please. 
Suf.  That  is  her  ransom  ;   I  deliver  her ; 

And  those  two  counties  I  will  undertake 

Your  grace  shall  well  and  quietly  enjoy. 
Reig.  And  I  again,  in  Henry's  royal  name,  i6o 

As  deputy  unto  that  gracious  king, 

Give  thee  her  hand  for  sign  of  plighted  faith. 
Suf.  Reignier  of  France,  I  give  thee  kingly  thanks, 

Because  this  is  in  traffic  of  a  king  : 

\^Aside.'\  And  yet,  methinks,  I  could  be  well  content     165 

To  be  mine  own  attorney  in  this  case. 

I  '11  over  then  to  England  with  this  news 

And  make  this  marriage  to  be  solemniz'd. 

So  farewell,  Reignier :  set  this  diamond  safe 

In  golden  palaces,  as  it  becomes.  170 

Reig.  I  do  embrace  thee,  as  I  would  embrace 

The  Christian  prince,  King  Henry,  were  he  here. 
Mar.  Farewell,  my  lord.     Good  wishes,  praise  and  prayers 

Shall  Suffolk  ever  have  of  Margaret.  \^Goiiig. 

5^^/  Farewell,  sweet  madam  !     But  hark  you,  Margaret ;     175 

No  princely  commendations  to  my  king  ? 
Mar.  Such  commendations  as  becomes  a  maid, 

A  virgin  and  his  servant,  say  to  him. 
Suf.  Words  sweetly  placed  and  modestly  directed. 

But,  madam,  I  must  trouble  you  again  ;  180 

No  loving  token  to  his  majesty  ? 
Mar.  Yes,  my  good  lord  ;  a  pure  unspotted  heart, 

Never  yet  taint  with  love,  I  send  the  king. 

165,  166.  Marked  '■'Aside"  by  Rowe.  174.  \Going\  Cambridge;  Shee  is 
going  Ff.         179.  modestly]  modestie  F  i. 

155.  stroke  of  war]  a  standard  term,  "princely."     Such  people,  such  words, 

like"  stroke  of  death."     See  Tambur-  In  Kyd's  Spanish  Tragedy  (iii.  xii.)  an 

laine,    Part   II.    11.    v.    (Dyce,    16,  b) :  ambassador  repeats  "kingly"  three  or 

"  Since  he  is  yielded  to  the  stroke  of  four  times  in  a  few  lines.     The  guise  of 

war."  court. 

166.  mine  own  attorney]  See  note,  182.  unspotted  heart]  Occurs  again 
V.  V.  56.  And  Comedy  of  Errors,  v.  i.  2  Henry  VI.  iii.  i.  100.  A  well-known 
100:  "And  will  have  no  attorney  but  expression  of  Peele's : — 

myself."      And  Richard  III.  v.  iii.  83.  "But  though  from  court  to  cottage 

Favourite   language   in    Shakespeare's  he  depart, 

early  plays.  His  saint  is  sure  of  his  unspotted 

176.  princely]   See  above,  11.  70,  140,  heart "  {Polyhymnia). 

143  and  152.    Five  timesin  one  scene,  an  183.  Never  yet  taint]  never  yet  at- 

allowance  that  Shakespeare  must  have  tainted,  or  attaint,  as  in  v.  v.  81  below, 

overlooked.    Greene  was  very  fond  of  "  Taint "  in  the  sense  of  tinge,  tint  (as  of 
10 


146 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  v. 


Siif.  And  this  withal. 

Mar.  That  for  thyself:   I  will  not  so  presume 
To  send  such  peevish  tokens  to  a  king. 

\Exciint  Reignier  and  Margaret. 

Suf.  O  !  wert  thou  for  myself.     But,  Suffolk,  stay  ; 
Thou  may'st  not  wander  in  that  labyrinth  ; 
There  Minotaurs  and  ugly  treasons  lurk. 
Solicit  Henry  with  her  wondrous  praise:  190 

Bethink  thee  on  her  virtues  that  surmount, 
And  natural  graces  that  extinguish  art ; 
Repeat  their  semblance  often  on  the  seas, 
That,  when  thou  com'st  to  kneel  at  Henry's  feet, 
Thou  may'st  bereave  him  of  his  wits  with  wonder.         195 

[Exit. 


[Kisses  her. 
185 


i86.  Exeunt]  Capell ;  omitted  Ff. 
2,3.  4- 


192.  And]  Capell;  Mad  F  i ;  Made  Ff 


a  blush,  a  flower's  hue),  is  common  in 
Greene,  verb  and  noun.  "  Love  "  here 
has  an  impure  sense  of  lust.  Shake- 
speare uses  "taint"  or  "tainted  with" 
as  a  reproach  in  the  plays.  See  Part 
III.  III.  i.  40. 

186.  peevish]  silly,  foolish. 

188,  189.  labyrinth  ;  There  Mino- 
taurs] "  Minotaurs,"  meaning  monsters, 
is  seldom  found  in  the  plural,  but  it 
occurs  in  Greene's  Never  too  Late 
(Grosart,  viii.  104),  ante  1590:  "Here 
be  such  monstrous  Minotatires  as  first 
devour  the  threed,  and  then  the  person." 
See  too  Spenser,  Faerie  Queene,  iii. 
X.  40.  Shakespeare  has  no  other  men- 
tion of  the  Minotaur,  but  he  appears 
very  frequently  in  Greene's  euphu- 
istical  love-tales.  Spenser  has  them 
again  in  Mother  Hnbberd's  Tale  : 
"  Griffons,  Minotanres,  Crocodiles, 
Dragons,  Beavers  and  Centaures." 

192.  naturtil  graces  .  .  .  art]  Com- 
pare for  this  sentiment,  King  Lear,  iv. 
vi.  86;  All's  Well  that  Ends  Well,  11. 
i.  121  ;  Timon  of  Athens,  v.  i.  88,  etc. 

192.  extinguish]  Only  again  in  Lu- 
crece,  313. 

193.  Repeat  their  semblance]  repro- 
duce the  mental  representation  of  them. 
Shakespeare  was  decidedly  affected  to 
this  word  "  semblance,"  but  it  is  rather 
obscure  here.  Compare  Greene,  Jatnes 
the  Fourth  (Grosart,  xiii.  291) : — 

"  Go  to  mine  Ida,  tell  her  that  my 
soule 


Shall  keepe  her  semblance  closed 
in  my  brest." 
Greene  uses  the  word  with  the  meaning 
recognition  in  Mamillia  (ii.  55) :  "  She 
passed  on  without  any  semblance  of  his 
sight" — an  obsolete  sense  that  might 
better  explain  this  line.  See  extract 
from  Holinshed  at  i.  ii.  50,  for  the 
ordinary  use  of  "  semblance." 

The  foregoing  scene  is  composed  of 
such  simple  featureless  verse,  since  Mar- 
garet's appearance,  that  it  is  scarcely 
capable  ot"  identification.  The  frequent 
occurrence  of  "  prmcely  " — five  times  in 
100  lines — a  favourite  word  with  Greene, 
recalls  that  writer,  but  he  is  rarely  so 
prosaic.  In  Greene's  Frier  Bacon  Lacy 
courts  Margaret,  the  keeper's  daughter, 
for  himself  when  he  should  be  wooing 
her  for  his  prince  (Henry  the  Third's 
son),  but  beyond  this  outline  the  parallel 
does  not  stretch.  For  the  "  traffic"  be- 
tween Reignier  and  Suffolk  see  extract 
at  the  beginning  of  the  Act,  which 
covers  the  following  scene  as  well, 
time  and  place  being  disregarded  his- 
torically. The  transition  of  method 
and  style,  or  from  one  hand  and  mind 
to  another,  is  nowhere  more  marked  in 
this  play  than  between  this  scene  and 
its  successor,  however  delightful  be  the 
matter.  In  the  later  plays  we  shall  see 
that  Margaret  becomes  a  more  finished 
and  important  poetical  creation  at  the 
hands  of  Shakespeare  himself. 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


147 


SCENE  IV. — Camp  of  the  Duke  of  York  in  Anjou. 
Enter  YORK,  WARWICK,  and  Others. 
York.  Bring  forth  that  sorceress,  coiidemn'd  to  burn. 

Enter  La  Pucelle  guarded,  and  a  Shepherd. 

Shep.  Ah,  Joan,  this  kills  thy  father's  heart  outright ! 
Have  I  sought  every  country  far  and  near, 
And,  now  it  is  my  chance  to  find  thee  out. 
Must  I  behold  thy  timeless  cruel  death  ? 
Ah,  Joan,  sweet  daughter  Joan,  I  '11  die  with  thee ! 

Puc.  Decrepit  miser !  base  ignoble  wretch  ! 
I  am  descended  of  a  gentler  blood  : 
Thou  art  no  father  nor  no  friend  of.  mine. 

Shep.  Out,  out !     My  lords,  an  please  you,  'tis  not  so  ; 
I  did  beget  her  all  the  parish  knows : 
Her  mother  liveth  yet,  can  testify 
She  was  the  first  fruit  of  my  bachelorship. 


lo 


2.  kills  thy  father's  heart]  An  old  ex- 
pression ;  see  Love's  Labour  's  Lost,  v. 
ii.  149,  note,  Arden  edition,  p.  131. 
See  again  As  Yoic  Like  It,  in.  ii.  260; 
Winter's  Tale,  iv.  iii.  88  ;  Richard  IL 
V.  i.  100 ;  Henry  the  Fifth,  11.  i.  92. 

3.  sought]  searched;  used  here  as 
though  it  were  the  participle  of 
" search,"  not  "seek."  Compare  "  un- 
sought" in  Comedy  of  Errors,  i.  i.  136. 

5.  timeless]  untimely,  premature.  A 
Shakespearian  word.  See  Tzvo  Gentle- 
men of  Verona,  iii.  i.  21 ;  Richard  IL 
IV.  i.  5  ;  5  Henry  VI.  in.  ii.  187,  and 
v.  vi.  42  ;  Richard  III.  1.  ii.  117  ;  Titus 
Andronicus,  11.  iii.  265  ;  Romeo  and 
Juliet,  V.  iii.  162.  Steevens  gave  an 
example  of  "  timeless  death  "  from 
Drayton's  Legend  of  Robert  Duke  of 
Normandy  (taken  from  here),  1596.  A 
regular  Marlowe  use.  Compare  Tam- 
burlaine,  Part  II.  (last  lines) :  "  Let 
earth  and  heaven  his  timeless  death  de- 
plore." And  Edward  the  Second  (Dyce, 
186,  a)  :— 

"  This  ground  .  .  . 
Shall  be  their  timeless  sepulchre  or 
mine." 
And    The  Massacre   at   Paris    (begin- 
ning) :— 

"  the  blood  of  innocents, 
That  Guise  hath  slain  by  treason 

of  his  heart. 
And   brought   by  murder   to  their 
timeless  ends." 


Without  finding  Marlowe's  own  work 
in  this,  as  in  other  doubtful  plays,  we 
find  his  influence  on  Shakespeare,  for 
this  scene  is  Shakespeare's  own.  In 
the  case  of  Greene,  one  sees  Shake- 
speare's remodelling  of  him.  Peele 
has  (Old  Wives  Tcde,  457,  a):  "And 
now  my  timeless  date  is  come  to  end 
[^Dies],"  where  the  sense  is  rather  pre- 
viously undetermined  (compare  iv.  vi.  9). 

7.  Decrepit]  See  Love's  Labour's 
Lost,  I.  i.  139  ;  Venus  and  Adonis,  1148  ; 
Sonnet  37.     Worn  with  age. 

7.  miser]  a  miserable  wretch.  Not 
elsewhere  in  Shakespeare  in  this  sense. 
Compare  Sir  Philip  Sidney's  Arcadia, 
book  ii.  (ed.  1738,  ii.  p.  217)  :  "  Most 
blessed  paper,  which  shalt  kiss  that 
hand,  whereto  all  blessedness  is  in 
nature  a  servant,  do  not  yet  disdain 
to  carry  with  thee  the  woeful  words  of 
a  miser  now  despairing"  {ante  1586). 
Steevens  quotes  from  Holinshed,  and 
from  Jacob  and  Esau,  1568.  No  doubt 
Spenser  gave  the  word  fresh  life  in 
Faerie  Queene,  11.  i.  9,  and  11.  iii.  8. 

7.  jo-Ko6/^]  of  low  descent.  See  above 
III.  i.  178 ;  3  Henry  VI.  iv.  i.  70,  and 
Richard  III.  in.  vii.  127. 

8.  gentler  blood]  See  iv.  i.  44  above, 
and  note.  "  Men,  noble  and  ignoble," 
occurs  in  the  chroniclers  Fabyan,  Hall 
and  Grafton. 

13.  first  fruit]  In  Winter's  Tale,  in. 
ii.    98,  it   is   "first   fruits"    (plural  for 


148 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  v. 


JVcjr.  Graceless!  wilt  thou  deny  thy  parentage? 

York.  This  argues  what  her  kind  of  life  hath  been  :  15 

Wicked  and  vile ;  and  so  her  death  concludes. 
S //€/).   Fie!  Joan,  that  thou  wilt  be  so  obstacle; 

God  knows  thou  art  a  col  lop  of  my  flesh  ; 

And  for  thy  sake  have  I  shed  many  a  tear : 

Deny  me  not,  I  prithee,  gentle  Joan.  20 

Puf.  Peasant,  avaunt !     You  have  suborn'd  this  man. 

Of  purpose  to  obscure  my  noble  birth. 
S/ie/>.  'Tis  true  I  gave  a  noble  to  the  priest 

The  morn  that  I  was  wedded  to  her  mother. 

Kneel  down  and  take  my  blessing,  good  my  girl,  25 

Wilt  thou  not  stoop  ?     Now  cursed  be  the  time 

Of  thy  nativity  !     I  would  the  milk 

Thy  mother  gave  thee  when  thou  suck'dst  her  breast, 


singular).  First  born.  This  sense 
seems  to  have  escaped  New  Eng.  Diet. 
For  fruit  =  offspring,  see  3  Henry  VI.  iv. 
iv.  24. 

13.  bachelorship]  No  other  example 
in  New  Eng.  Diet,  excepting  from 
Lamb's  Elia.  See  note  below  at 
"attorneyship,"  v.  v.  56. 

14.  20,  32.  deny]  disown.  Compare 
Romeo  and  yuliet,  ii.  ii.  34. 

15.  This  argues  .  .  .  kind  of  life] 
Compare  2  Henry  VI.  ill.  iii.  30:  "So 
bad  a  death  argues  a  monstrous  life." 
See  too  Othello,  iii.  iv.  38.  This  is 
evidence  of  Shakespeare,  if  needs  be. 

17.  obstacle]  "An  old  vulgar  corrup- 
tion of  '  obstinate,'  which  has  oddly 
lasted  since  our  author's  time  till  now" 
(Johnson).  New  Eng.  Diet,  has  an 
example  from  a  1536  Will.  Steevens 
quotes  from  Chapman's  May  Day 
(161 1)  and  The  Tragedy  of  Hoffman, 
1631.  He  says  further:  "It  may  be 
met  with  in  Gower." 

18.  a  collop  of  my  flesh]  Ritson 
quoted  from  The  History  of  Morindos 
and  Miracola,  i6og — a  far  cry.  The 
expression  is  an  old  one,  occurring  in 
Goldmg's  Ovid  (v.  650-651) : — 

"...  my  daughter  is  a  Jewell  deare 
and  leefe ; 
A  colliip  of  mine  owne  flesh  cut  as 
well  as  out  of  thine." 
So,  too,  in  Haywood's  Proverbs  (1546), 
edited  by  Sharman,  p.  49  :  "  For  I  have 
heard  say,  it  is  a  deare  eollup  that  is  cut 
of  th'  owne  flesh." 

23.  noble]  Johnson  imade  out  some 
far-fetched  explanation  here  "of  the 
nobleman   and    royal    man"   (i    King 


Henry  IV.  11.  iv.  321)  which  I  have  not 
pursued.  The  shepherd  affects  not  to 
understand  any  meanmg  of  "noble" 
except  the  pecuniary  one,  in  a  quite 
Shakespearian  way.  In  "  The  XV 
Yere"  of  Edward  the  Third,  Grafton 
says  (vol.  i.  p.  347):  "And  in  this  yere 
the  king  caused  a  new  coyne  of  Gold 
to  be  coyned  called  the  Noble,  of  the 
value  of  vj  shillings  viij  pence  or  ix 
pence,  &c.  Wherein  was  mixed  and 
quartered  the  armes  of  Fraunce  and 
England"  (1339-1340). 

25.  good  my  girl]  A  favourite  trans- 
position of  Shakespeare's,  occurring  in 
the  majority  of  his  plays.  See  note  at 
Love's  Labour  's  Lost,  iii.  i.  144  (Arden 
edition,  p.  52). 

27.  tiativity]  See  Comedy  of  Errors, 
IV.  iv.  32  and  As  You  Like  It,  iv.  i.  36. 
Not  commonly  used  in  the  ordinary 
sense  of  birth.  For  the  sentiment  com- 
pare Greene's  George-a-Greene  (Grosart, 
xiv.  131):— 

"  I  say.  Sir  Gilbert,  looking  on  my 
daughter, 
I  curse  the  houre  that  ere  I  got  the 
girle." 
And  Faerie  Queene,  iii.  vi.  2: — 
"  The  Hevens  .  .  . 
Looking  with  myld  aspect  upon  the 

earth 
In  th'  Horoscope  of  her  nativitee." 

28.  suck'dst]  See  note  at  "  meant'st," 
III.  ii.  222,  Part  II.  Occurs  again 
Coriolanus,  iii.  ii.  129,  and  Titus  An- 
dro7ticus,  u.  iii.  144.  The  use  of  these 
forms,  now  stilted  or  disused,  belonged 
to  the  formerly  much  commoner  ' '  thou  " 
and  "  thee."     As  in  biblical  language. 


sc.  IV.]       KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  149 

Had  been  a  little  ratsbane  for  thy  sake ! 

Or  else,  when  thou  didst  keep  my  lambs  a-field,  30 

I  wish  some  ravenous  wolf  had  eaten  thee ! 

Dost  thou  deny  thy  father,  cursed  drab  ? 

0  !  burn  her,  burn  her :  hanging  is  too  good.  [Exif. 
York.  Take  her  away ;  for  she  hath  lived  too  long 

To  fill  the  world  with  vicious  qualities.  35 

P21C.  First,  let  me  tell  you  whom  you  have  condemn'd  : 
Not  me  begotten  of  a  shepherd  swain, 
But  issued  from  the  progeny  of  kings  ; 
Virtuous  and  holy ;  chosen  from  above. 
By  inspiration  of  celestial  grace,  40 

To  work  exceeding  miracles  on  earth. 

1  never  had  to  do  with  wicked  spirits : 
But  you,  that  are  polluted  with  your  lusts, 
Stain'd  with  the  guiltless  blood  of  innocents. 

Corrupt  and  tainted  with  a  thousand  vices,  45 

Because  you  want  the  grace  that  others  have, 

You  judge  it  straight  a  thing  impossible 

To  compass  wonders  but  by  help  of  devils. 

No,  misconceived  !     Joan  of  Arc  hath  been 

A  virgin  from  her  tender  infancy,  5° 

Chaste  and  immaculate  in  very  thought ; 

Whose  maiden  blood,  thus  rigorously  effused. 

Will  cry  for  vengeance  at  the  gates  of  heaven. 

York.  Ay,  ay :  away  with  her  to  execution ! 

War.  And  hark  ye,  sirs;  because  she  is  a  maid,  55 

Spare  for  no  fagots,  let  there  be  enow : 

Marlowe    has    this    jaw-breaker    as   a  nor  sent  from  God  (as  the  Frenchmen 

monosyllable  in  Edward  II.     See  In-  beleeue)  but  an  enchantress  "  (Hall), 

troduction.  43.  polluted    with]     Not    again    in 

29.  ratsbane]  Mentioned  again  3  Shakespeare.  Pucelle's  language  is  in- 
Henry  IV.  i.  ii.  48,  and  King  Lear,  iii.  tentionally  Biblical.  Compare  Ezekiel 
iv.  55.  The  only  example  in  iVez^' £  Kg-,  xxiii.  17,  30,  xx.  31,  etc. 
Diet,  of  an  earlier  date  than  this  (which  49.  misconceived]  Not  again  in  Shake- 
is  not  cited)  is  from  a  Church  Warden's  speare.  Peele  (?)  has  a  good  passage 
account.  Ratsbane  was  sublimate,  in  Jack  Straw  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  v. 
Compare     Jonson's     and     Chapman's  384)  : — 

Eastward  Ho!  iv.  i. :   "Take  arsenic,  "  The  Multitude,  a  beast   of  many 

otherwise  called  realga,  which  indeed  is  heads, 

plain  ratsbane,  sublime  'hem  three  or  Of  misconceiving  and  misconstru- 

four  times."      And  Every   Alan  in  his  ing  minds." 

Humour,  11.  iii. :  "  Its  little  better  than  The  word  is  found  in  Chaucer's  Canter- 
ratsbane  or  rosaker."     And  Epicene,  11.  btiry  Tales. 

i. :  "take  a  little  sublimate  and  go  out  52,  53.  blood  .  .  .  cry  for  vengeance] 

of  the  world  like  a  rat."  Compare  Richard  II.  i.  i.  104-106  : — 

32.  drab]    strumpet.       Frequent     in  "  Whose  blood  .  .  .  cries  .  .  . 

Shakespeare.  To  me  for  justice  " 

40.  inspiration     of    celestial    grace]  (Genesis  iv.  10). 

See  extract  at  v.  iii.  30:  "This  woman  56.  Spare  for  no  faggots]  Compare 

was  not  inspyred  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  Much  Ado  About  Nothing,  iii.  v.  66: 


150 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  v. 


Place  barrels  of  pitch  upon  the  fatal  stake, 

That  so  her  torture  may  be  shortened. 
Puc.  Will  nothing  turn  your  unrelenting  hearts? 

Then,  Joan,  discover  thine  infirmity,  60 

That  warranteth  by  law  to  be  thy  privilege. 

I  am  with  child,  ye  bloody  homicides : 

Murder  not  then  the  fruit  within  my  womb, 

Although  ye  hale  me  to  a  violent  death. 
York.  Now  heaven  forfend  !  the  holy  maid  with  child  !  65 

War.  The  greatest  miracle  that  e'er  ye  wrought ! 

Is  all  your  strict  preciseness  come  to  this  ? 
York.  She  and  the  Dauphin  have  been  juggling: 

I  did  imagine  what  would  be  her  refuge. 
War.  Well,  go  to;  we  will  have  no  bastards  live;  70 

Especially  since  Charles  must  father  it. 
Puc.  You  are  deceiv'd  ;  my  child  is  none  of  his  : 

It  was  Alengon  that  enjoy'd  my  love. 
York.  Alencon !  that  notorious  Machiavel  : 


60.  discover^  Ff  3,  4;  discovet  Ff  i,  2. 
Matchevile  F  4. 

"  We  will  Sparc  for  no  wit "  ;  and  Romeo 
and  Juliet,  iv.  iv.  6.  Greene  has  it  in 
Orlando  Furioso  (xiii.  164,  1.  1021) : — 

"  Kunne  to   Charlemaine,  spare  for 
no  cost : 
Tell   him   Orlando   sends  for   An- 
gelica." 
And   Grafton,  i.  339 :  "  Eche  of  them 
kept  a  great  estate  and  port,  and  spared 
no  cost." 

59.  unrelenting']  Occurs  again  3  Henry 
VI.  II.  i.  58,  and  in  Titus  Andronicus, 
n.  iii.  141.  Marlowe  has  '^unrelenting 
ears"  in  Tamburlaine,  Part  11.  v.  iii. 

62.  homicides']  See  i.  ii.  25  above. 

65.  heaven  forfend  t]  Occurs  nine  or 
ten  times  in  Shakespeare,  usually  with 
"  heavens."  See  3  Henry  VI.  11.  i.  191. 
"  Forfended  "  (forbidden)  occurs  separ- 
ately, only  in  King  Lear,  v.  i.  11. 

74.  Aleni;on  !  that  notorious  Machi- 
avel] See  again  3  Henry  VI.  iii. 
ii.  193,  and  note.  And  Merry  Wives 
of  Windsor,  iii.  i.  104.  Ne7v  Eng. 
Diet,  quotes  from  Buchanan's  Admoni- 
tion, 1570  :  "  Proud  contempnars  or 
machiavell  mokkaris  of  all  religioun 
and  vertew."  Machiavel  was  a  great 
writer  and  consummate  politician,  and 
the  infamous  methods  advanced  in  his 
II  Principe  (1513)  are  regarded  now  as 
rather  a  necessity  of  his  time,  and  an 
advance  on  his  contemporaries.  Gabriel 


74.   Machiavel]  Machevile  Ff  i,  2,  3  ; 


Harvey  says  :  "  So  Caesar  Borgia,  the 
souerain  Type  of  Machiavels  Prince, 
wan  the  Dukedome  of  Vrbin,  in  one 
day  "  [Pierces  Supererogation  (Grosart, 
'••  305"3o6),  1592).  By  stratagem  and 
sudden  assault.  My  friend,  Mr.  Francis 
Worllett,  sends  me  an  interesting  note 
on  Machiavel,  with  regard  to  Alencon. 
Machiavel  was  known  chiefly  to  Eliza- 
bethans from  the  Frenchman  Gentillet, 
not  from  the  Italian.  Of  course  one 
excepts  Bacon,  who  appreciated  him, 
as  possibly  did  also  Harvey.  Gentillet's 
Discourse  against  Machiavel  is  a 
French  refutation  or  misrepresentation 
of  him,  published  in  1576.  The  preface 
to  the  English  version  is  dated  1577, 
although  the  first  printed  edition  we 
have  is  much  later.  The  French  book 
was  dedicated  to  the  Due  d'Alen9on, 
and  Gentillet  brought  upon  himself 
much  ridicule  by  not  knowing  that  the 
Duke  was  a  most  notorious  Machiavel. 
This  tones  down  the  anachronism  into 
an  interesting  topical  allusion  in  the 
passage  in  the  text.  Hall  tells  us  that 
John,  Duke  of  Alencon,  who  was  exe- 
cuted in  P'rance  in  Henry's  thirty-sixth 
year,  was  accused  of  high  treason  and 
of  conspiring  with  the  English  to  re- 
rover  Normandy,  whereupon  he  suffered 
death  very  unjustly.  He  had  been  a 
prisoner  and  well  entertained  in  Eng- 


sc.  IV.]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


151 


It  dies  an  if  it  had  a  thousand  h"ves.  75 

Puc.  O  !  give  me  leave ;   I  have  deluded  you  : 

'Twas  neither  Charles  nor  yet  the  duke  I  nam'd, 
But  Reignier,  King  of  Naples,  that  prevail'd. 

War.  A  married  man  !  that 's  most  intolerable. 

York.  Why,  here 's  a  girl  !  I  think  she  knows  not  well,  80 

There  were  so  many,  whom  she  may  accuse. 

War.  It's  sign  she  hath  been  liberal  and  free. 

York.  And  yet,  forsooth,  she  is  a  virgin  pure. 

Strumpet,  thy  words  condemn  thy  brat  and  thee : 
Use  no  entreaty,  for  it  is  in  vain.  85 

Puc.  Then  lead  me  hence ;  with  whom  I  leave  my  curse  : 
May  never  glorious  sun  reflex  his  beams 
Upon  the  country  where  you  make  abode  ; 
But  darkness  and  the  gloomy  shade  of  death 


75.  an  if]  Theobald  ;  and  if  Ff. 


land  (p.  238).  York's  remark  is  there- 
fore quite  uncalled  for,  except  in  the 
sense  of  his  being  two  Alen^ons  rolled 
into  one — a  position  which  several 
characters  occupy  in  these  plays.  Even 
then  it  is  more  likely  Shakespeare  had 
in  his  mind  the  notorious  AIen9on 
(afterwards  Henri  III.)  of  the  massacre 
at  St.  Bartholomew's  (then  Anjou). 
Readers  of  Dumas  will  recall  his  char- 
acter, brought  up  as  he  was  in  the 
Italian  school  of  politics  by  his  mother, 
Catherine  de'  Medici.  The  Alen9on  to 
whom  Gentillet  dedicated  his  Discours 
in  1576  was  Francis  of  Valois,  fourth 
son  of  Catherine.  He  died  at  the  age 
of  thirty  in  1584.  For  an  account 
of  Maciiiavel's  character  as  found  in 
Elizabethan  literature,  with  an  attempt 
to  relieve  him  from  the  extravagant  re- 
probation therein,  see  Pioneer  Human- 
ists, by  J.  M.  Robertson.  It  is  from 
Herr  Edward  Meyer's  book  (Weimar, 
1897),  who  counted  395  references  to 
Machiavel,as  a  monster  of  wickedness, 
usually. 

84.  Strumpet,     thy    words    condemn 

.  .  .  thee]  an  additional  plea.     Compare 

Greene,  Orlando  Furioso  (xiii.  188)  :— 

"We  will  have  her  punisht  by   the 

lawes  ol  France, 
To  ende  her  burning  lust  in  fiames 

of  fire." 
Boswell  Stone  quotes  here  from  Holin- 
shed  (iii.  604):  "and  yet  seeking  to 
eetch  out  life  as  long  as  she  might, 
stake  [stuck]  not  (though  the  shift 
were  shamefull)  to  confesse  herselfe  a 


strumpet,  and  (unmaried  as  she  was) 
to  be  with  child.  For  triall,  the  lord 
regent's  lenitie  gave  hir  nine  moneths 
stale,  at  the  end  wherof  she  (found  here- 
in as  false  .  .  .)  was  thereupon  deliuered 
ouer  to  secular  power,  and  so  executed." 

87.  sun  reflex  his  beams]  This  verb 
is  not  found  again  in  Shakespeare. 
The  phrasing  is  Marlowe's  : — 

"  For  neither  rain  can  fall  upon  the 
earth, 
Nor  sun  reflex  his  virtuous  beams 
thereon  " 
{Tamburlaine,  Fart    I.    iii.    ii.    (20,  a), 
1586).     One  is  inclined  to  give  Marlowe 
credit  for  a  good  deal  of  the  savagery 
here,  such  as  lies  in  lines  87-93. 

88.  make  abode]  dwell,  live.  See 
again  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona,  iv.  iii. 
23,  and  King  Lear,  i.  i.  136.  Drayton 
uses  it  in  his  Heroical  Epistles. 

89.  darkness  .  .  .  death]  Malone 
points  out  that  this  is  scriptural:  "to 
give  light  to  them  that  sit  in  darkness 
and  the  shadow  oi  death." 

89.  gloomy]  Occurs  again  only  in 
Titus  Andronicus,  iv.  i.  53,  and  Lti- 
crece,  803.  Another  example  of  the 
many  words  seemingly  deliberately 
dropped  out  of  Shakespeare's  later  work. 
"  Glooming  "  is  in  Romeo  and  yitlict,  v. 
iii.  305.  Both  forms  occur  in  the  first 
book  of  the  Faerie  Quecne :  "A  little 
glooming  light,  much  like  a  shade  "  (i. 
i.  14);  "a  gloomy  glade"  (i.  vii.  4). 
Peele  has  "gloomy"  several  times: 
^'gloomy  Time  sat  whipping  on  the 
team"  {Polyhymnia).     And  Alcazar,  iv. 


152  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  v. 

Environ  you,  till  nmischief  and  despair  90 

Drive  you  to  break  your  necks  or  hang  yourselves ! 

[Exi^,  guarded. 
York.  Break  thou  in  pieces  and  consume  to  ashes, 
Thou  foul  accursed  minister  of  hell ! 

Enter  Cardinal  BEAUFORT,  Bishop  of  Wl'^CllEST'EK,  attejidcd. 

Car.  Lord  regent,  I  do  greet  your  excellence 

With  letters  of  commission  from  the  king.  95 

For  know,  my  lords,  the  states  of  Christendom, 

Mov'd  with  remorse  of  these  outrageous  broils. 

Have  earnestly  implor'd  a  general  peace 

Betwixt  our  nation  and  the  aspiring  French ; 

And  here  at  hand  the  Dauphin  and  his  train  lOO 

Approacheth  to  confer  about  some  matter. 

York.   Is  all  our  travail  turn'd  to  this  effect  ? 
After  the  slaughter  of  so  many  peers, 
So  many  captains,  gentlemen,  and  soldiers, 
That  in  this  quarrel  have  been  overthrown,  105 

And  sold  their  bodies  for  their  country's  benefit, 
Shall  we  at  last  conclude  effeminate  peace? 
Have  we  not  lost  most  part  of  all  the  towns. 
By  treason,  falsehood,  and  by  treachery, 
Our  great  progenitors  had  conquered  ?  1 10 

O  !  Warwick,  Warwick,  I  foresee  with  grief 
The  utter  loss  of  all  the  realm  of  France. 

War.  Be  patient,  York  :  if  we  conclude  a  peace, 

93.  Enter  Cardinal  .  .  ,]  Enter  Cardinall  Ff  (after  line  gi) ;  Enter  Cardinal 
Beaufort,  attended  Capell.  loi.  matter]  F  i ;  matters  Ff  2,  3,  4.  102. 

travail]  travel  Ff. 

ii. :  "  Best,  then,  betimes   t '  avoid  this  strength  in  the  remainder  of  this  scene 
gloomy  storm."      And  David  and  Beth-  that  is  quite  in  the  v/ay  of  Shakespeare. 
sabe  (473,  a) : —  There    is    no    need    to    question    this 
"  hurls  through  the  ^/ooOTj  air,  authority.       It    is     altogether     outside 
His  radiant  beams."  Greene   or    Marlowe's   work.     But  al- 
New  Eng.  Diet,  has  Titus  Andronicus,  though  we  meet  the  language  of  Shake- 
dated  1588,  as  earliest  use.     This   date  speare,  we  look  in  vain  for  his  genius. 
follows  Fleay  [Manual),  an    unreliable  gg.  aspiring  French]    This   is    again 
authority  who  rejected  tliat   date   later  like  Marlowe.     "  Th'  aspiring  Guise" 
placing    it  not   earlier   than    I5g3    (for  occurs  several  times  in  T/te  Massacr^'a^ 
Shakespeare's  part),  which  is   probably  Paris;    "■aspiring  Lancaster"    in    Erf- 
correct.    Golding  gives  the  word's  evolu-  7vard  the  Second  (184,  b).     Greene  has 
tion:    "some  mistie  cloud  that  ginnes  "Aspiring  traitor"  \n  George-a-Greene 
to  gloom  and  loure"  (Ovid,  vi.  2g2).  (xiv.  161).     In  this  sense  of  ambitious 
93.  minister]  servant.  (applied  to  a  person   or   persons)    it   is 
93.  Enter  Cardinal  Beaufort  .  .  .  ]  scarcely  met  with  in    Shakespeare,  but 
For  the  negotiations  here   referred  to,  Spenser  used  it. 

see  extract  at  the  beginning  of  this  Act.  112.  realm  of  France]  See  note  at  11. 

There  is  a  certain   quiet  dignity  and  ii.  36, 


sc.  IV.]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  153 

It  shall  be  with  such  strict  and  severe  covenants 

As  little  shall  the  Frenchmen  gain  thereby.  1 1 5 

Enter  Charles,  ALENgON,  Bastard,  Reignier,  and  others. 

Cha.  Since,  lords  of  England,  it  is  thus  agreed 

That  peaceful  truce  shall  be  proclaim'd  in  France, 
We  come  to  be  informed  by  yourselves 
What  the  conditions  of  that  league  must  be. 

York.  Speak,  Winchester;  for  boiling  choler  chokes  120 

The  hollow  passage  of  my  poison'd  voice, 
By  sight  of  these  our  baleful  enemies. 

Car.  Charles,  and  the  rest,  it  is  enacted  thus : 
That,  in  regard  King  Henry  gives  consent, 
Of  mere  compassion  and  of  lenity,  125 

To  ease  your  country  of  distressful  war, 
And  suffer  you  to  breathe  in  fruitful  peace, 
You  shall  become  true  liegemen  to  his  crown. 
And,  Charles,  upon  condition  thou  wilt  swear 
To  pay  him  tribute,  and  submit  thyself,  130 

Thou  shalt  be  placed  as  viceroy  under  him, 
And  still  enjoy  thy  regal  dignity. 

Alen.  Must  he  be  then  as  shadow  of  himself? 

115.  Ba%iard\   Ff ;    omitted    Capell.  and   others]    Capell ;    omitted   Ff. 

121.  poison'd]  prison'd  Theobald.         133.  as]  a  F  4. 

120.  boiling]  In  this  sense  is  selected  in  Alcazar,  11.  iii.,  where  Dyce  says  the 

for    ridicule     in    Midsummer    Night's  quarto  reads  "  prison."     In  Edward  I. 

Dream.     Compare  Grafton's  Continua-  (411,  a,  Routledge)  he  has 

tion  of  Hardyng,  p.  583:  "his  wicked-  "...  in  this  painful  prison  of  my 

nes  boylyng  so  hote  within  his  brest."  soul 

120,  121.  choler  chokes  .  .  .  passage  A  world  of  dreadful  sins  holp  there 

of  my  .  .  .  voice]   Compare  Marlowe,  to  fight." 

Tamhurlaine,  Part  II.  in.  ii.: —  Prisons  were  very  poisoned  places. 

"  My  mother's  death  hath  mortified  125.  lenity]   mildness.      Twice  in  8 

my  mind  Henry  VI.  and  in  several  other  plays. 

And   sorrow  stops   the  passage  of  Compare  (Peek's)  Jack  Straw  : — 

my  speech."  "  And  though  his  looks  bewray  such 

Developed  by  ?  lenity 

121. /oJson'c^]  Theobald's  emendation  Yet  at  advantage  he  can  use  ex- 
is  very  probably  correct.     But  compare  tremity " 

Othello,  V.  ii.  364,  and  Coriolanus,  v.  ii.  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  v.  388).     And  Seli- 

92,  for  the  obsolete  sense  of  "  destroy  "  mus  (Grosart's  Greene,  xiv.  210) :  "  My 

which  the  verb  had.  There  is  much  more  /fwi^u' addes  fuel  to  his  fire." 

to  be  said  for  "prison"  here  than   in  131.  viceroy]  Compare  Tamhurlaine, 

Love's  Labour's  Lost,  IV.  iii.  ^02  (Arden  Part  II.  v.  i.  (6g,  a):    "Come,   Asian 

edition,  p.  103,  note),  where  Theobald  viceroys."      See   below,   1.  143.      Only 

would  also  make  the  alteration.  It  was  an  again  (jocularly)  in  The  Tempest. 

old  confusion  with  printers.     Peele  has  133-135-  shadow  .  .  .  suhstance]See 

"O  deadly  wound  that  passeth  by  note,    n.    iii.    37.      Shakespeare    never 

mine  eye,  wearied  of  knocking  these  two  words 

The   fatal  poison  of  my    swelling  together, 
heart " 


154  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  v. 

Adorn  his  temples  with  a  coronet, 

And  yet,  in  substance  and  authority,  135 

Retain  but  privilege  of  a  private  man  ? 

This  proffer  is  absurd  and  reasonless. 
Cha.  'Tis  known  already  that  I  am  possess'd 

With  more  than  half  the  Gallian  territories, 

And  therein  reverenced  for  their  lawful  king:  140 

Shall  I,  for  lucre  of  the  rest  unvanquish'd, 

Detract  so  much  from  that  prerogative 

As  to  be  call'd  but  viceroy  of  the  whole? 

No,  lord  ambassador  ;  I  '11  rather  keep 

That  which  I  have  than,  coveting  for  more,  145 

Be  cast  from  possibility  of  all. 
York.   Insulting  Charles  !  hast  thou  by  secret  means 

Us'd  intercession  to  obtain  a  league. 

And,  now  the  matter  grows  to  compromise, 

Stand'st  thou  aloof  upon  comparison?  150 

Either  accept  the  title  thou  usurp'st. 

Of  benefit  proceeding  from  our  king 

And  not  of  any  challenge  of  desert. 

Or  we  will  plague  thee  with  incessant  wars. 
Reig.  My  lord,  you  do  not  well  in  obstinacy  155 

To  cavil  in  the  course  of  this  contract : 

If  once  it  be  neglected,  ten  to  one 

We  shall  not  find  like  opportunity. 
Alen.  To  say  the  truth,  it  is  your  policy 

To  save  your  subjects  from  such  massacre  160 

And  ruthless  slaughters  as  are  daily  seen 

By  our  proceeding  in  hostility  ; 

And  therefore  take  this  compact  of  a  truce, 

Although  you  break  it  when  your  pleasure  serves. 

149.  compromise]  compremize  Ff.  155-158.  [To  the  Dauphin  Aside.JHa.nmtT. 
159-164.  [Aside  to  the  Dauphin.]  Pope. 

137.     reasonless]    Occurs     in     Two  Errors,  i.  i.  51,  and  the  historical  plays. 

Gentlemen  0/ Verona,  u.  iv.  igS.  Greene    has     "incessant    prayer"    in 

139.  Gallian]  Occurs  again,  Cymbe-  jfames  the  Fourth   (Grosart,  xiii.  253), 

line,  I.  vi.  66.  and  "inccssaunt  labours"  in  the  same 

142.    D^^rac^]  The  verb  occurs  in   a  play  (p.  321).    Several  times  in  Spenser, 

different  sense  (derogate)  in  The  Tern-  161.    ruthless   slaughters]    "ruthles 

pest,  II.  ii.  96,  but  only  there.      Take  rage  "  occurs  in  The  Spanish  Tragedy, 

away,  subtract.  i.  iv.  23. 

146.  cast  from]  driven  from.     Com-  163.  compact]  The  earliest   example 

pare  Cymbeline,  v.  iv.  60.  of  the  substantive  in  New  Eng.  Diet. 

150.  Stand'st  .  .  .  upon]  See  note,  The  use  of  the  word  points  to  Shake- 
II.  iv.  150  above.  Make  a  point  of  speare's  use  of  Grafton's  Continuation 
comparisons.  Spenser  has  "stands  of  Hardy  ng  (15^2) '■  "  Butsuche  was  the 
on  terms  of"  in  Mother  Hubberds  good  fortune  of  Englande  that  this 
Tale.  craftye     compacte     took     no     place " 

154.   incessant]  Only  in    Comedy   of    (p.  534).    The  word  is  also  in  Hall  later. 


sc.  v.]        KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  155 

War.   How  say'st  thou,  Charles?  shall  our  condition  stand?  165 

Cha.  It  shall ; 

Only  reserv'd,  you  claim  no  interest 
In  any  of  our  towns  of  garrison. 

York.  Then  swear  allegiance  to  his  majesty, 

As  thou  art  knight,  never  to  disobey  170 

Nor  be  rebellious  to  the  crown  of  England, 
Thou,  nor  thy  nobles,  to  the  crown  of  England. 
So  now  dismiss  your  army  when  ye  please  ; 
Hang  up  your  ensigns,  let  your  drums  be  still, 
For  here  we  entertain  a  solemn  peace.  175 

\_Exetint. 

SCENE  V. — London.      The  royal  palace. 

Enter  SUFFOLK  in  conference  with  the  King,  GLOUCESTER 
and  Exeter. 

K.  Hen.  Your  wondrous  rare  description,  noble  earl. 
Of  beauteous  Margaret  hath  astonish'd  me  : 
Her  virtues  graced  with  external  gifts 
Do  breed  love's  settled  passions  in  my  heart : 
And  like  as  rigour  of  tempestuous  gusts  5 

Provokes  the  mightiest  hulk  against  the  tide, 
So  am  I  driven  by  breath  of  her  renown 

165.  Two  lines  in  Ff. 

Scene  v. 

Scene  k.]  Capell ;  Actus  Quintus  F  i ;  omitted  Ff  2,  3,  4.         London  .  .  .] 

Cambridge;  Changes  to  England  Pope  ;  London.     A  room  in  the  palace.    Capell. 
Enter  .  .  .]  Ff,  Cambridge. 

168.  garrison]  See  again  Part  IL  iii.  animate  stuff  in    such   a   position    for 

i.  117,  the  only  other  example  in  Shake-  thrilling  thoughts.     Peele  occurred  to 

speare.      The  verb  to  garrison  occurs  me,  but  at  this  date,  Peele,  the  author 

in  Hamlet  a.ndCytnbeline.    The  passage  of    The    Arraignment    of   Paris    and 

in  the  text  is  the  earliest  use  of  "  town  Edward  the  First  was  at  the  top  of  his 

of  garrison"  in  New  Eng.  Diet.,  but  it  powers  and  could  not  have  kept  so  low 

is  probably  earlier  in  Greene's  Life  and  a    level.      Lodge    alone    seems    prosy 

Death  of  Ned  Browne  (Gvosart,  xi.  2y):  enough,    but    there    are    none    of  his 

"in  aTowneof  Gam50«  heleaves  you,  peculiarities.       Marlowe    is    never    so 

runnes    av/ay  with  your  money,    and  poor,  so  impoverished  in  thought,  not 

makes  you  glad   to  betake  your  self  to  even  in  The  Massacre  at  Paris. 

prouant."  Srs-vs' 

175.     entertain']    give    reception    to,  dCENE  v. 

allow     to     enter,     accept.       Compare  p.  tempestuous  gusts]  Occ\ix?,a.g2iir].in 

Comedy  of  Errors,  11.  ii.  188.     See  the  Titus  Andronicus,  v.  iii.  6g  :  "  Scatter'd 

last  sense  but  one  of  the  verb  in  New  by  winds  and  high  tempestuous  gusts," 

Eng.  Diet.,  where  early  examples  are  the  only  passage  containing  "  tempes- 

given.     Schmidt's  analysis  of  this  word  tuous  "  in  Shakespeare.    "  Tempestuous 

is  confusing  and  in  want  of  revision.  fortune"  occurs  in  the  Faerie  Queene, 

I.  vii.  25. 

The  close  of  this  scene  is  certainly  a  6.  Provokes]  impels, 

puzz'e.      It    is    almost    impossible    to  7.  driven   by  breath  of  her  renown] 

imagine  Shakespeare  writing  such  in-  This  recalls  a  beautiful  passage  at  the 


156 


THE  FIRST  PART  OF 


[act  v. 


Either  to  suffer  shipwreck,  or  arrive 
Where  I  may  have  fruition  of  her  love. 
Suf.  Tush !  my  good  lord,  this  superficial  tale 
Is  but  a  preface  of  her  worthy  praise ; 
The  chief  perfections  of  that  lovely  dame, 
Had  I  sufficient  skill  to  utter  them. 
Would  make  a  volume  of  enticing  lines, 
Able  to  ravish  any  dull  conceit : 
And,  which  is  more,  she  is  not  so  divine. 
So  full  replete  with  choice  of  all  delights. 
But  with  as  humble  lowliness  of  mind 
She  is  content  to  be  at  your  command  ; 
Command,  I  mean  of  virtuous  chaste  intents, 

II.  of  hcr'\  Ff  I,  2  ;   to  her  Ff  3,  4. 


10 


15 


beginning  of  Peele's  Edzvard  the  First 
(circa  1583  ?) : — 

"  And  now  .  .  . 
Comes  lovely  Edward  from  Jeru- 
salem, 
Veering  before  the  wind,  plough- 
ing the  sea  ; 
His  stretched  sails  fill'd  with  the 

breath  of  men 
That   through    the   world    admire 
his  manliness." 

8.  suffer shipwreckl  "Shipwreck"  is 
used  again,  metaphorically,  in  Titus  An- 
dronicus,  11.  i.  24:  "see  his  shipivreck 
and  his  commonweal's."  The  earlier 
and  usual  expression  was  "  to  make 
shipwreck  of,"  as  in  i  Timothy  i.  19  ; 
while  "  suffer  shipwreck"  occurs  liter- 
ally, 2  Corinthians  xi.  25.  Greene  has 
"  make  shipwracke  of  her  chastitie  "  in 
Penelopes  Web  (Grosart,  v.  209),  1587. 
And  in  Sharpham,  Cupid's  Whirligig, 
ii.  (1607) :  "  all  his  hopes  will  suffer  ship- 
wreck."   See  Faerie  Queene,  11.  xii.  7  : — 

"  make  shipwracke  violent 
Both  of  their  life  and  fame." 

9.  fruition]  Not  again  in  Shake- 
speare. Compare  Marlowe,  Tambtir- 
laine,  Part  II.  v.  iii.  (73,  a) :  "  Deny  my 
soul  fruition  of  her  joy." 

"...  Absalon  may  glut  his  long- 
ing soul 
With  sole  fruition  of  his  father's 
crown  " 
(David  and  Bethsabe,  478,  a).     An  old, 
but  little  used,  word. 

10.  Tush  !]  Shakespeare's  favourite 
ejaculation — from  the  Bible.  See  Oth- 
ello, I.  i.  I,  note  (Arden  edition).  It 
occurs  at  least  twenty  times. 

11.  preface]  Not  met  with  elsewhere 


in  Shakespeare.    Compare  Greene  (and 
Marlowe),  Selitnus  (Grosart,  xiv,  234): — 
"  March   to   Natolia,  there  we  will 
begin. 
And  make  a  preface  to  our  mas- 
sacres." 
15.  yaT^wA]  entrance,  enchant.    Com- 
mon  use  in  Shakespeare  ;    "  conceit," 
meaning  imagination,  of  mind  gener- 
ally, is  also  a  common  use. 

i6.  which  is  more]  Shakespeare  liked 
this.  See  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,  11. 
ii.  78;  Measure  for  Measure,  i.  ii.  68  ; 
and  Much  Ado  About  Nothing,  iv.  ii. 
83,  84.  I  find  it  earlier  in  J.  Aske, 
Elizabetha  Triumphans  (Nichols'  Pro- 
gresses, ii.  555),  1588  : — 

"  Yea,  which  is  more,  he  '11  cause  a 
devillish  doult 
Of  France,  a  Doctor   (Parry  I  do 
meane)." 
Our  "  what's  more." 

17.  full]  altogether  (adv.).  See  i. 
i.  112. 

17.  replete  with]  See  note  i.  i.  12. 
Characteristic  of  Shakespeare's  earliest 
work. 

17.  full  replete  7vith]  An  expression 
used  by  Peele  (?)  in  jfack  Straw  (Haz- 
litt's  Dodsley,  v.  412) : — 

"  Whose  thankful  hearts   I  find  as 
full  replete 
With  signs  of  joy  and  duty  to  your 

grace 
As  those  unnatural  rebels'  hateful 

mouths 
Are  full  of  foul  speeches  and  un- 
honourable." 
20.  /  mean]  A  weak  unpoetical  trick 
of  Peele's.    Compare  Jack  Straw  (Haz- 
litt's  Dodsley,  v.  389) : — 


sc.  v.] 


KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH 


157 


To  love  and  honour  Henry  as  her  lord. 
K.  Hen.  And  otherwise  will  Henry  ne'er  presume. 

Therefore,  my  lord  protector,  give  consent 

That  Margaret  may  be  England's  royal  queen. 
Glou.  So  should  I  give  consent  to  flatter  sin.  25 

You  know,  my  lord,  your  highness  is  betroth'd 

Unto  another  lady  of  esteem  ; 

How  shall  we  then  dispense  with  that  contract, 

And  not  deface  your  honour  with  reproach  ? 
Suf.  As  doth  a  ruler  with  unlawful  oaths  :  30 

Or  one  that,  at  a  triumph  having  vow'd 

To  try  his  strength,  forsaketh  yet  the  lists 

By  reason  of  his  adversary's  odds  : 

A  poor  earl's  daughter  is  unequal  odds, 

And  therefore  may  be  broke  without  offence.  35 

Glou.  Why,  what,  I  pra}^,  is  Margaret  more  than  that? 

Her  father  is  no  better  than  an  earl, 

Although  in  glorious  titles  he  excel. 
Suf.  Yes,  my  lord,  her  father  is  a  king, 

39.  my  lord]  F  1;  my  good  lord  Ff  2,  3,  4. 

William  De  La  Pool,  Duke  of  Suffolk, 
to  Qiicen  Margaret) : — 

"Thou  know'st  how  I  (thy  beauty 
to  advance) 
For   thee   refus'd   the    Infanta   of 

France  ; 
Brake   the   contract    Duke    Hum- 
phrey first  did  make 
'Twixt    Henry   and    the    Princess 

Arminack : 
Only   that    here    thy    presence    I 

might  gain, 
I  gave  Duke  Regnier  Anjou,  Mons, 

and  Main, 
Thy  peerless  beauty  for  a  dower 

to  bring, 
As  of  itself  sufficient  for  a  king  .  .  . 
And  to  the  king  relating  of  thy 

story 
My  tongue  flow'd  with  such  plen- 
teous oratory  .  .  . 
Nor  left  him  not,  till  he  for  love 

was  sick, 
Beholding  thee  in  my  sweet  rhet- 
orick." 
"Whereupon"    (says   Drayton,  in    his 
Annotations)  "  the    Earl   of  Arminack 
(whose  daughter  was  before  promised 
to  the  king)  seeing  himself  to  be  de- 
luded, caused  all  the  Englishmen  to  be 
expulsed  Aquitain,  Gascoine  and  Guien  " 
(Edition    1753,    vol.     i.    pp.    312-318). 
Drayton  makes  free  use  of  Henry   VI. 
31.  trititnph]  tournament. 


"so  good  a  gentleman 
As  is  that  knight  Sir  John  Morton 

/  mean, 
Would  entertain,"  etc. 
See  Part  HI.  iii.  ii.  53.  And  in  Titus 
Andronicus  the  same  stuffing  occurs 
several  times.  Jack  Straw  gives  other 
examples  of  it  (p.  392) :  "  /  mean  against 
j'Our  manor  of  Greenwich  town,"  giving 
one  the  impression  of  so-much-a-word 
composition.  See  Richard  III.  iv.  iv. 
262,  and  in  Henry  VIII.  And  in 
Jack  Straw  again  (p.  410).  Several 
times  in  Part  HI.  (see  iii.  ii.  58).  Com- 
pare Kyd's  Spanish  Tragedie,  11.  i. 
63.  And  Peele  again  in  Sir  Clyomon 
(522,  a). 

27.  of  esteem]  See  iii.  iv.  8  (note). 

28.  dispense  with]  set  aside,  neglect. 
See  Love's  Labour's  Lost,  i.  i.  148,  and 
Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,  11.  i.  47. 
Twice  in  Kyd's  Cornelia.  And  Mar- 
lowe, Tamburlaine,  Part  I,  v.  i. : — 

"  I  fear  the  custom  .  .  . 
Will  never  be  dispensed  with   till 
our  deaths." 

29.  deface]  disfigure,  soil.  Not  in 
Shakespeare's  maturer  work,  but  com- 
mon at  the  time. 

For  the  previous  betrothal  and  the 
discord  raised  between  Gloucester  and 
Suffolk,  see  extract  at  the  beginning  of 
this  Act.  Drayton  may  be  quoted  here 
(England's  Heroical   Epistles,    1597-8, 


158  THE  FIRST  PART  OF  [act  v. 

The  king  of  Naples  and  Jerusalem;  40 

And  of  such  great  authority  in  France 

As  his  alliance  will  confirm  our  jDcace, 

And  keep  the  Frenchmen  in  allegiance. 
Glou.  And  so  the  Earl  of  Armagnac  may  do, 

Because  he  is  near  kinsman  unto  Charles.  45 

Exe.  Beside,  his  wealth  doth  warrant  a  liberal  dower, 

Where  Reignier  sooner  will  receive  than  give. 
Suf.  A  dower,  my  lords !  disgrace  not  so  your  king, 

That  he  should  be  so  abject,  base,  and  poor, 

To  choose  for  wealth  and  not  for  perfect  love.  50 

Henry  is  able  to  enrich  his  queen, 

And  not  to  seek  a  queen  to  make  him  rich : 

So  worthless  peasants  bargain  for  their  wives, 

As  market-men  for  oxen,  sheep,  or  horse. 

Marriage  is  a  matter  of  more  worth  55 

Than  to  be  dealt  in  by  attorneyship  : 

Not  whom  we  will,  but  whom  his  grace  affects, 

Must  be  companion  of  his  nuptial  bed  ; 

And  therefore,  lords,  since  he  affects  her  most, 

It  most  of  all  these  reasons  bindeth  us,  60 

In  our  opinions  she  should  be  preferr'd. 

For  what  is  wedlock  forced  but  a  hell. 

An  age  of  discord  and  continual  strife  ? 

Whereas  the  contrary  bringeth  bliss, 

And  is  a  pattern  of  celestial  peace.  65 

Whom  should  we  match  with  Henry,  being  a  king, 

But  Margaret,  that  is  daughter  to  a  king? 

Her  peerless  feature,  joined  with  her  birth. 

Approves  her  fit  for  none  but  for  a  king : 

/j6.  warrant  a]  F  i ;  warrant  Ff  2,  3,  4.  55.  Marriage]  F  i ;  But  marriage 
Ft  2,  3,  4.  60.  It  most]  Rowe;  Most  Ff.  64.  bringeth]  F  i ;  bringeth  forth 
Ff  2,  3,  4. 

54.  market-meyi]  See  in.  ii.  4  for  the  has  no  earlier  example  of  "attorneyship," 

only  other  use  by  Shakespeare.  which    is    only    here   in    Shakespeare. 

56.  attorneyship]  proxyship,  by  proxy.  "Township"  (older)  is  in  2  Henry  VI. 
Steevens  remarked  "this  is  a  phrase  of  64.  contrary]  Malone  believed  this 
which  Shakespeare  is  peculiarly  fond."  word  was  used  here  as  a  quadrisyllable. 
It  (not  theword)  occuTsin  King  Richard  Steevens  had  "  little  confidence  in  this 
///.  (11.  iii.  134  ;  IV.  iv.  127,  413  ;  v.  iii.  remark,"  and  read  "bringeth  forth." 
83).  See,  too,  Comedy  of  Errors,  v.  i.  Contorarj^  is  a  frequent  pronunciation, 
100;  As  You  Like  It,  iv.  i.  94,  etc.  etc.  however  (in  Ireland),  where  the  letter  r 
Shakespeare's  hand  at  mixing  compounds  is  properly  pronounced, 
appears  above  in  "bachelorship,"  v.  65.  pattern]  example,  instance, 
iv,  13.  In  Part  II.  we  have  "regentship,"  Compare  Hetiry  V.u.  iv.  61,  andOthello, 
I.  iii.  107,  and  "protectorship,"  11.  i.  30.  v.  ii.  11.  And  Spenser,  Teares  of  the 
"  Lordship,"  too,  gets  a  special  sense  in  Muses,  Dedication  :  "  that  most  honour- 
Part  II.  IV.  vii.  5.  All  formed  on  the  able  Lorde,  the  verie  Patterne  of  right 
early  "  worship,"  etc.  New  Eng.  Diet.  Nobilitie." 


sc.  v.]         KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH  159 

Her  valiant  courage  and  undaunted  spirit,  70 

More  than  in  women  commonly  is  seen, 
Will  answer  our  hope  in  issue  of  a  king ; 
For  Henry,  son  unto  a  conqueror, 
Is  likely  to  beget  more  conquerors. 

If  with  a  lady  of  so  high  resolve  75 

As  is  fair  Margaret  he  be  link'd  in  love. 
Then  yield,  my  lords  ;  and  here  conclude  with  me 
That  Margaret  shall  be  queen,  and  none  but  she. 
K.  Hen.  Whether  it  be  through  force  of  your  report, 

My  noble  Lord  of  Suffolk,  or  for  that  80 

My  tender  youth  was  never  yet  attaint 

With  any  passion  of  inflaming  love, 

I  cannot  tell ;  but  this  I  am  assur'd, 

I  feel  such  sharp  dissension  in  my  breast, 

Such  fierce  alarums  both  of  hope  and  fear,  85 

As  I  am  sick  with  working  of  my  thoughts. 

Take,  therefore,  shipping ;  post,  my  lord,  to  France  ; 

Agree  to  any  covenants,  and  procure 

That  Lady  Margaret  do  vouchsafe  to  come 

To  cross  the  seas  to  England  and  be  crown'd  90 

King  Henry's  faithful  and  anointed  queen. 

For  your  expenses  and  sufficient  charge, 

Among  the  people  gather  up  a  tenth. 

70.  JiwtiaMw/fcf]  This  is  the  third  occur-  vii.   34:    "Phoebus   golden    face  it   did 

rence  of"  undaunted  spirit "  (i.i.  127;  III.  attaint.'"     See  note  at  attainted,  11.  iv. 

ii.  99).     Only  again  in  Macbeth.     With  96  above. 

regard  to  this  description  of  Margaret,  86.  working  of  my  thoughts]  Malone 

compare  Grafton,   p.  625    (The  XXIIJ  refers  to  Henry  V.  iii.  Prol.  25.     Shake- 

Yere) :  "  This  woman  excelled  all  other,  speare  constantly  applies  the  verb  "  to 

as  well  in  beautie  and  favour,  as  in  wyt  the   motions  or  labours  of  the  mind" 

and  pollicie,  and  was  of  stomacke  and  (Schmidt). 

courage,  more  lyke  to   a   man   then  a  87.  Take  .  .  .  shipping]  A  recognised 

woman  "  (see  line  71).     See  note  at  i.  i.  expression.    Compare  Lyly,  The  Woman 

127.     Probably  in  one  of  the  Chronicles,  in  the  Moone,  iv.  i.  [circa  15 10  ?) :  "  tell 

76.  link'd^  similarly  used  in  3  Henry  me  which  way  shall  we  go  ?    Pandora. 

V I .  IV .  \\.  lib  (•' link' d  \n  friendship");  Unto  the  sea-side,   and   take   shipping 

and  in  Antony  and  Cleopatra,  i.  ii.  193.  streight."      And  in  The  Queen's  Enter- 

Compare  Greene,  James  the  Fourth  (xiii.  tainmcnt  at  Rycot  (Nichols'  Progresses, 

269):  "  love,  the  faithfull  Z?«c^e  of  loyall  iii.  170),  1592:    "Being  readie  to  take 

hearts."     An  alliterative  touch.  shipping. " 

78.   none   but  she]  recalls  Marlowe's  88.  procure]  contrive. 

"And  none  but  thou  shall  be  my  para-  93.  gather  up  a  tenth]  This  is  wrong, 

mour  "  (Faustus,  ed.  Dyce,  p.  100,  a).  "  The  king  had  with  her  not  one  pennie, 

81.    attaint]  attainted,  infected.     See  and  for  the  fetchyng  of  her,  the  Marques 

"taint"   above,   v.   iii.   183.      Compare  of  Suffolke  demaunded  a  whole  fiftene 

Golding's   Ovid,   xiv.   68:    "she   sawe  in  open  Parliament"  (Grafton,  p.  625). 

her   hinderloynes    with    barking    buggs  But  it  is  correctly  announced  in  2  Henry 

atteint."     And  Peele,  Sir  C  ly  onion  : —  F/.  i.  i.  133.    A.nA.in'Dra.yion,  England's 

"  my  heart  to  fight  doth  faint,  Heroical  Epistles  :   "  A  fifteen's  tax  in 

Therefore  He  take  me  to  my  legs,  France   I    freely    spent    In    triumphs." 

seeing  my  honour  I  must  a</a?H^"  But  this  belongs  to  another  story. 

(531,  b).    And  Spenser,  Faerie  Queene,  i. 


160      KING  HENRY  THE  SIXTH    [act  v.  sc. 


Be  gone,  I  say  ;  for  till  you  do  return 
I  rest  perplexed  with  a  thousand  cares. 
And  )-ou,  good  uncle,  banish  all  offence  : 
If  )-ou  do  censure  me  by  what  you  were, 
Not  what  you  are,  I  know  it  will  excuse 
This  sudden  execution  of  my  will. 
i\nd  so  conduct  mc,  where  from  company 
I  may  revolve  and  ruminate  my  grief. 

Glon.  Ay,  grief,  I  fear  me,  both  at  first  and  last. 

\^Exeunt  Gloucester  and 

Siif.  Thus  Suffolk  hath  prevail'd  ;  and  thus  he  goes, 
As  did  the  youthful  Paris  once  to  Greece ; 
With  hope  to  find  the  like  event  in  love, 
But  prosper  better  than  the  Trojan  did. 
Margaret  shall  now  be  queen,  and  rule  the  king ; 
But  I  will  rule  both  her,  the  king,  and  realm. 


95 


lOO 

{Exit. 
Exeter. 


105 


{Exit. 


I02.  Exeunt  .  .  .]  Capell ;  Exit  Gloucester  Ff. 


97.  censure]  ]udge,  criticise. 
loi.  revolve  and  ruminate]  Occurs 
again  in  Troilus  and  Cressida,  11.  iii. 
ig8:  "revolve  and  ruminate  himself." 
Oftener  without  than  with  "on"  in 
Shakespeare.  Compare  Greene,  Orlando 
Furioso  (xiii.  140) :  "  There  solemnely  he 
ruminates  his  loue." 

104.  Paris  once  to  Greece]  Greene 
never  wearies  of  Paris ;  he  has  him  (or 
Helen)  in  cxery  place  and  tract : — 

"  Should  Paris  enter  in  the  courts  of 
Greece, 
And  not  lie  fettered  in  faire  Hellens 
lookes?  " 


{Frier  Bacon  (xiii.  S3)).  In  this  scene, 
like  several  others,  Shakespeare  seems  to 
disappear  towards  the  end  as  though  he 
wearied  of  the  task  of  revi\'ifying  and  re- 
modelling. We  see  nevertheless  evidence 
of  his  work  in  several  turns  of  language. 
105.  event]  result,  consequence— a 
common  use  in  Shakespeare.  "  I  '11  after 
him,  and  see  the  event  of  this  "  (Taming 
of  the  Shrew,  in.  ii.  129),  and  above,  iv.  i. 
191 — in  every  play  perhaps.  The  word 
is  not  commonly  met  with  so  early. 
Lyly  has  it  in  Sapho  and  Phao  (1584) 
V.  i. :  "I  will  expect  the  event  and  tarye 
for  Cupid." 


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