The Arden Shakespeare Complete Works

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The Arden Shakespeare Complete Works Page 200

by William Shakespeare


  Bishop of WINCHESTER

  Henry Beaufort, great-uncle to the King, and later Cardinal

  Duke of SOMERSET

  WOODVILLE

  Lieutenant of the Tower of London

  RICHARD Plantagenet

  Later Duke of YORK, and Regent of France

  Duke of SUFFOLK

  (William de la Pole)

  VERNON

  a gentleman of the Inns of Court, who joins the party of Richard Plantagenet

  Edmund MORTIMER

  KING Henry the Sixth

  BASSET

  a follower of the Duke of Somerset

  Three MESSENGERS

  to the funeral of Henry V

  Two WARDERS

  of the Tower of London

  SERVINGMEN

  of Winchester and Gloucester

  MAYOR

  of London

  His OFFICERS

  LAWYER

  of the Temple

  GAOLERS

  of Edmund Mortimer

  LEGATE

  from the Pope to Winchester

  Ambassadors to the English court

  THE ENGLISH ARMY IN FRANCE

  Duke of BEDFORD

  Regent of France

  Earl of SALISBURY

  Sir John TALBOT

  later Earl of Shrewsbury

  Sir Thomas GARGRAVE

  Sir William GLANSDALE

  Sir John FASTOLFE

  Sir William LUCY

  JOHN

  Talbot’s son

  SOLDIER

  at the siege of Orleans

  MESSENGER

  to Sir John Talbot

  Talbot’s CAPTAIN

  MESSENGER

  to York

  SERVANT

  to Sir John Talbot

  Soldiers, two Attendants on Bedford

  THE FRENCH

  CHARLES, the Dolphin

  crowned by the French as King Charles VII,

  of France

  a title unrecognised by the English

  Duke of ALENÇON

  REIGNIER

  Duke of Anjou and Maine, King of Naples and Jerusalem

  BASTARD of Orleans

  JOAN Puzel

  a peasant

  Duke of BURGUNDY

  COUNTESS of Auvergne

  MARGARET

  daughter of King Reignier

  Master GUNNER of Orleans

  Master Gunner’s BOY

  his son

  SERGEANT

  of a band

  Two SENTINELS

  before Orleans

  MESSENGER

  to Talbot from the Countess of Auvergne

  PORTER

  to the Countess of Auvergne

  Four SOLDIERS

  at Rouen

  WATCH

  of the City of Rouen

  Governor of Paris

  CAPTAIN

  of the French forces in Bordeaux

  SCOUT

  SHEPHERD

  who claims to be Joan Puzel’s father

  Soldiers, Fiends, Herald

  1.1 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 WINCHESTER; and the Duke of SOMERSET.

  BEDFORD

  Hung be the heavens with black. Yield day to night.

  Comets, importing change of times and states,

  Brandish your crystal tresses in the sky

  And with them scourge the bad revolting stars

  That have consented unto Henry’s death –

  5

  King Henry the Fifth, too famous to live long.

  England ne’er lost a king of so much worth.

  GLOUCESTER England ne’er had a king until his time.

  Virtue he had, deserving to command,

  His brandished sword did blind men with his beams,

  10

  His arms spread wider than a dragon’s wings:

  His sparkling eyes, replete with wrathful fire,

  More dazzled and drove back his enemies

  Than midday sun fierce bent against their faces.

  What should I say? His deeds exceed all speech;

  15

  He ne’er lift up his hand but conquered.

  EXETER

  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

  20

  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

  25

  Conjurers and sorcerers, that, afraid of him,

  By magic verses have contrived his end?

  WINCHESTER

  He was a king, blest of the King of kings.

  Unto the French the dreadful Judgement Day

  So dreadful will not be as was his sight.

  30

  The battles of the Lord of Hosts he fought;

  The Church’s prayers made him so prosperous.

  GLOUCESTER

  The Church? Where is it? Had not churchmen

  prayed,

  His thread of life had not so soon decayed.

  None do you like but an effeminate prince,

  35

  Whom like a schoolboy you may overawe.

  WINCHESTER

  Gloucester, whate’er we like, thou art Protector,

  And lookest to command the prince and realm.

  Thy wife is proud, she holdeth thee in awe,

  More than God or religious churchmen may.

  40

  GLOUCESTER

  Name not religion, for thou lov’st the flesh,

  And ne’er throughout the year to church thou goest –

  Except it be to pray against thy foes.

  BEDFORD

  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’ moistened 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 –

  Enter a Messenger.

  MESSENGER My honourable lords, health to you all.

  Sad tidings bring I to you out of France,

  Of loss, of slaughter and discomfiture.

  Guyenne, Champagne, Reims, Rouen, Orleans,

  60

  Paris, Gisors, Poitiers are all quite lost.

  BEDFORD

  What sayest 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.

  GLOUCESTER Is Paris lost? Is Rouen yielded up?

  65

  If Henry were recalled to life again

  These news would cause him once more yield the ghost.

  EXETER

  How were they lost? What treachery was used?

  MESSENGER

  No treachery, but want of men and money.

  Amongst the soldiers this is muttered:

  70

  That here you maintain several factions,

  And whilst a field should be dispatched and fought

  You are disputing of your generals.

  O
ne 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 obtained.

  Awake, awake, English nobility,

  Let not sloth dim your honours new begot;

  Cropped are the flower-de-luces in your arms;

  80

  Of England’s coat one half is cut away. Exit.

  EXETER Were our tears wanting to this funeral

  These tidings would call forth her flowing tides.

  BEDFORD

  Me they concern; regent I am of France.

  Give me my steeled coat. I’ll fight for France.

  85

  Away with these disgraceful wailing robes;

  Wounds will I lend the French, instead of eyes,

  To weep their intermissive miseries.

  Enter to them another Messenger.

  2 MESSENGER

  Lords, view these letters, full of bad mischance.

  France is revolted from the English quite,

  90

  Except some petty towns of no import.

  The Dolphin Charles is crowned king in Reims:

  The Bastard of Orleans with him is joined.

  Reignier, Duke of Anjou, doth take his part.

  The Duke of Alençon flieth to his side. Exit.

  EXETER The Dolphin crowned king? All fly to him?

  96

  O whither shall we fly from this reproach?

  GLOUCESTER

  We will not fly, but to our enemies’ throats.

  Bedford, if thou be slack, I’ll fight it out.

  BEDFORD

  Gloucester, why doubt’st thou of my forwardness?

  100

  An army have I mustered in my thoughts,

  Wherewith already France is overrun.

  Enter another Messenger.

  3 MESSENGER

  My gracious lords – to add to your laments,

  Wherewith you now bedew King Henry’s hearse,

  I must inform you of a dismal fight

  105

  Betwixt the stout Lord Talbot and the French.

  WINCHESTER What? Wherein Talbot overcame, is’t so?

  3 MESSENGER

  O no: wherein Lord Talbot was o’erthrown.

  The circumstance I’ll tell you at more large.

  The tenth of August last, this dreadful lord

  110

  Retiring from the siege of Orleans,

  Having full scarce six thousand in his troop,

  By three and twenty thousand of the French

  Was round incompassed and set upon.

  No leisure had he to enrank his men.

  115

  He wanted pikes to set before his archers,

  Instead whereof sharp stakes plucked 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 valiant Talbot, above human thought,

  Enacted wonders with his sword and lance.

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

  Here, there and everywhere enraged he slew.

  The French exclaimed 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 rushed into the bowels of the battle.

  Here had the conquest fully been sealed up,

  130

  If Sir John Fastolfe had not played the coward.

  He being in the vanguard, placed behind

  With purpose to relieve 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 villain, to win the Dolphin’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

  BEDFORD 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 betrayed.

  3 MESSENGER O no, he lives, but is took prisoner,

  145

  And Lord Scales with him, and Lord Hungerford:

  Most of the rest slaughtered, or took likewise.

  BEDFORD His ransom there is none but I shall pay.

  I’ll hale the Dolphin headlong from his throne;

  His crown shall be the ransom of my friend.

 

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