The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works

by William Shakespeare

Thy grandfather, Roger Mortimer, Earl of March.

  I am the son of Henry the Fifth,

  Who made the Dauphin and the French to stoop

  And seized upon their towns and provinces.

  WARWICK

  Talk not of France, sith thou hast lost it all.

  KING HENRY

  The Lord Protector lost it, and not I.

  When I was crowned, I was but nine months old.

  RICHARD

  You are old enough now, and yet, methinks, you lose.

  (To York) Father, tear the crown from the usurper’s

  head.

  EDWARD (to York)

  Sweet father, do so—set it on your head.

  MONTAGUE (to York)

  Good brother, as thou lov‘st and honour’st arms,

  Let’s fight it out and not stand cavilling thus.

  RICHARD

  Sound drums and trumpets, and the King will fly.

  YORK Sons, peace!

  ⌈NORTHUMBERLAND⌉

  Peace, thou—and give King Henry leave to speak.

  KING HENRY

  Ah, York, why seekest thou to depose me?

  Are we not both Plantagenets by birth,

  And from two brothers lineally descent?

  Suppose by right and equity thou be king—

  Think’st thou that I will leave my kingly throne,

  Wherein my grandsire and my father sat?

  No—first shall war unpeople this my realm;

  Ay, and their colours, often borne in France,

  And now in England to our heart’s great sorrow,

  Shall be my winding-sheet. Why faint you, lords?

  My title’s good, and better far than his.

  WARWICK

  Prove it, Henry, and thou shalt be king.

  KING HENRY

  Henry the Fourth by conquest got the crown.

  YORK

  ’Twas by rebellion against his king.

  KING HENRY ⌈aside⌉

  I know not what to say—my title’s weak.

  (To York) Tell me, may not a king adopt an heir?

  YORK What then?

  KING HENRY

  An if he may, then am I lawful king—

  For Richard, in the view of many lords,

  Resigned the crown to Henry the Fourth,

  Whose heir my father was, and I am his.

  YORK

  He rose against him, being his sovereign,

  And made him to resign his crown perforce.

  WARWICK

  Suppose, my lords, he did it unconstrained—

  Think you ’twere prejudicial to his crown?

  EXETER

  No, for he could not so resign his crown

  But that the next heir should succeed and reign.

  KING HENRY

  Art thou against us, Duke of Exeter?

  EXETER

  His is the right, and therefore pardon me.

  YORK

  Why whisper you, my lords, and answer not?

  EXETER ⌈to King Henry⌉

  My conscience tells me he is lawful king.

  KING HENRY ⌈aside⌉

  All will revolt from me and turn to him.

  NORTHUMBERLAND (to York)

  Plantagenet, for all the claim thou lay’st,

  Think not that Henry shall be so deposed.

  WARWICK

  Deposed he shall be, in despite of all.

  NORTHUMBERLAND

  Thou art deceived—’tis not thy southern power

  Of Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, nor of Kent,

  Which makes thee thus presumptuous and proud,

  Can set the Duke up in despite of me.

  CLIFFORD

  King Henry, be thy title right or wrong,

  Lord Clifford vows to fight in thy defence.

  May that ground gape and swallow me alive

  Where I shall kneel to him that slew my father.

  KING HENRY

  O, Clifford, how thy words revive my heart!

  YORK

  Henry of Lancaster, resign thy crown.

  What mutter you, or what conspire you, lords?

  WARWICK

  Do right unto this princely Duke of York,

  Or I will fill the house with armed men

  And over the chair of state, where now he sits,

  Write up his title with usurping blood.

  He stamps with his foot and the soldiers show

  themselves

  KING HENRY

  My lord of Warwick, hear me but one word—

  Let me for this my lifetime reign as king.

  YORK

  Confirm the crown to me and to mine heirs,

  And thou shalt reign in quiet while thou liv’st.

  KING HENRY

  I am content. Richard Plantagenet,

  Enjoy the kingdom after my decease.

  CLIFFORD

  What wrong is this unto the prince your son?

  WARWICK

  What good is this to England and himself?

  WESTMORLAND

  Base, fearful, and despairing Henry.

  CLIFFORD

  How hast thou injured both thyself and us?

  WESTMORLAND

  I cannot stay to hear these articles.

  NORTHUMBERLAND Nor I.

  CLIFFORD

  Come, cousin, let us tell the Queen these news.

  WESTMORLAND (to King Henry)

  Farewell, faint-hearted and degenerate king,

  In whose cold blood no spark of honour bides.

  ⌈Exit with his soldiers⌉

  NORTHUMBERLAND (to King Henry)

  Be thou a prey unto the house of York,

  And die in bands for this unmanly deed.

  ⌈Exit with his soldiers⌉

  CLIFFORD (to King Henry)

  In dreadful war mayst thou be overcome,

  Or live in peace, abandoned and despised.

  Exit ⌈with his soldiers⌉

  WARWICK (to King Henry)

  Turn this way, Henry, and regard them not.

  EXETER (to King Henry)

  They seek revenge and therefore will not yield.

  KING HENRY

  Ah, Exeter.

  WARWICK Why should you sigh, my lord?

  KING HENRY

  Not for myself, Lord Warwick, but my son,

  Whom I unnaturally shall disinherit.

  But be it as it may. (To York) I here entail

  The crown to thee and to thine heirs for ever,

  Conditionally, that here thou take thine oath

  To cease this civil war, and whilst I live

  To honour me as thy king and sovereign,

  And nor by treason nor hostility

  To seek to put me down and reign thyself.

  YORK

  This oath I willingly take and will perform.

  WARWICK

  Long live King Henry. (To York) Plantagenet, embrace him.

  ⌈York descends.⌉ Henry and York embrace

  KING HENRY (to York)

  And long live thou, and these thy forward sons.

  YORK

  Now York and Lancaster are reconciled.

  EXETER

  Accursed be he that seeks to make them foes. Sennet. Here York’s train comes down from the state

  YORK (to King Henry)

  Farewell, my gracious lord, I’ll to my castle. Exeunt York, Edward, and Richard, ⌈with soldiers⌉

  WARWICK

  And I’ll keep London with my soldiers.

  Exit ⌈With soldiers⌉

  NORFOLK

  And I to Norfolk with my followers.

  Exit ⌈With soldiers⌉

  MONTAGUE

  And I unto the sea from whence I came.

  Exit ⌈with soldiers⌉

  KING HENRY

  And I with grief and sorrow to the court. ⌈King Henry and Exeter turn to leave.⌉

  Enter Queen Margaret and Prince Edward

  EXETER

  Here comes the Queen, whose l
ooks bewray her anger. I’ll steal away.

  KING HENRY Exeter, so will I.

  QUEEN MARGARET

  Nay, go not from me—I will follow thee.

  KING HENRY

  Be patient, gentle Queen, and I will stay.

  QUEEN MARGARET

  Who can be patient in such extremes?

  Ah, wretched man, would I had died a maid

  And never seen thee, never borne thee son,

  Seeing thou hast proved so unnatural a father.

  Hath he deserved to lose his birthright thus?

  Hadst thou but loved him half so well as I,

  Or felt that pain which I did for him once,

  Or nourished him as I did with my blood,

  Thou wouldst have left thy dearest heart-blood there

  Rather than have made that savage Duke thine heir

  And disinherited thine only son.

  PRINCE EDWARD

  Father, you cannot disinherit me.

  If you be king, why should not I succeed?

  KING HENRY

  Pardon me, Margaret; pardon me, sweet son—

  The Earl of Warwick and the Duke enforced me.

  QUEEN MARGARET

  Enforced thee? Art thou king, and wilt be forced?

  I shame to hear thee speak! Ah, timorous wretch,

  Thou hast undone thyself, thy son, and me,

  And giv’n unto the house of York such head

  As thou shalt reign but by their sufferance.

  To entail him and his heirs unto the crown—

  What is it, but to make thy sepulchre

  And creep into it far before thy time?

  Warwick is Chancellor and the Lord of Calais;

  Stern Falconbridge commands the narrow seas;

  The Duke is made Protector of the Realm;

  And yet shalt thou be safe? Such safety finds

  The trembling lamb environèd with wolves.

  Had I been there, which am a seely woman,

  The soldiers should have tossed me on their pikes

  Before I would have granted to that act.

  But thou preferr’st thy life before thine honour.

  And seeing thou dost, I here divorce myself

  Both from thy table, Henry, and thy bed,

  Until that act of Parliament be repealed

  Whereby my son is disinherited.

  The northern lords that have forsworn thy colours

  Will follow mine, if once they see them spread—

  And spread they shall be, to thy foul disgrace

  And the utter ruin of the house of York.

  Thus do I leave thee. (To Prince Edward) Come, son,

  let’s away.

  Our army is ready—come, we’ll after them.

  KING HENRY

  Stay, gentle Margaret, and hear me speak.

  QUEEN MARGARET

  Thou hast spoke too much already.

  ⌈To Prince Edward⌉ Get thee gone.

  KING HENRY

  Gentle son Edward, thou wilt stay with me?

  QUEEN MARGARET

  Ay, to be murdered by his enemies.

  PRINCE EDWARD (to King Henry)

  When I return with victory from the field,

  I’ll see your grace. Till then, I’ll follow her.

  QUEEN MARGARET

  Come, son, away—we may not linger thus.

  Exit with Prince Edward

  KING HENRY

  Poor Queen, how love to me and to her son

  Hath made her break out into terms of rage.

  Revenged may she be on that hateful Duke,

  Whose haughty spirit, winged with desire,

  Will coast my crown, and, like an empty eagle,

  Tire on the flesh of me and of my son.

  The loss of those three lords torments my heart.

  I’ll write unto them and entreat them fair.

  Come, cousin, you shall be the messenger.

  EXETER

  And I, I hope, shall reconcile them all.

  Flourish. Exeunt

  1.2 Enter Richard, Edward Earl of March, and the Marquis of Montague

  RICHARD

  Brother, though I be youngest give me leave.

  EDWARD

  No, I can better play the orator.

  MONTAGUE

  But I have reasons strong and forcible.

  Enter the Duke of York

  YORK

  Why, how now, sons and brother—at a strife?

  What is your quarrel? How began it first?

  EDWARD

  No quarrel, but a slight contention.

  YORK About what?

  RICHARD

  About that which concerns your grace and us—

  The crown of England, father, which is yours.

  YORK

  Mine, boy? Not till King Henry be dead.

  RICHARD

  Your right depends not on his life or death.

  EDWARD

  Now you are heir—therefore enjoy it now.

  By giving the house of Lancaster leave to breathe,

  It will outrun you, father, in the end.

  YORK

  I took an oath that he should quietly reign.

  EDWARD

  But for a kingdom any oath may be broken.

  I would break a thousand oaths to reign one year.

  RICHARD (to York)

  No—God forbid your grace should be forsworn.

  YORK

  I shall be if I claim by open war.

  RICHARD

  I’ll prove the contrary, if you’ll hear me speak.

  YORK

  Thou canst not, son—it is impossible.

  RICHARD

  An oath is of no moment being not took

  Before a true and lawful magistrate

  That hath authority over him that swears.

  Henry had none, but did usurp the place.

  Then, seeing ’twas he that made you to depose,

  Your oath, my lord, is vain and frivolous.

  Therefore to arms—and, father, do but think

  How sweet a thing it is to wear a crown,

  Within whose circuit is Elysium

  And all that poets feign of bliss and joy.

  Why do we linger thus? I cannot rest

  Until the white rose that I wear be dyed

  Even in the luke-warm blood of Henry’s heart.

  YORK

  Richard, enough! I will be king or die.

  (To Montague) Brother, thou shalt to London presently

  And whet on Warwick to this enterprise.

  Thou, Richard, shalt to the Duke of Norfolk

  And tell him privily of our intent.

  You, Edward, shall to Edmund Brook, Lord Cobham,

  With whom the Kentishmen will willingly rise.

  In them I trust, for they are soldiers

  Witty, courteous, liberal, full of spirit.

  While you are thus employed, what resteth more

  But that I seek occasion how to rise,

  And yet the King not privy to my drift,

  Nor any of the house of Lancaster.

  Enter a Messenger

  But stay, what news? Why com’st thou in such post?

  MESSENGER

  The Queen, with all the northern earls and lords,

  Intend here to besiege you in your castle.

  She is hard by with twenty thousand men,

  And therefore fortify your hold, my lord.

  YORK

  Ay, with my sword. What—think’st thou that we fear

  them?

  Edward and Richard, you shall stay with me;

  My brother Montague shall post to London.

  Let noble Warwick, Cobham, and the rest,

  Whom we have left protectors of the King,

  With powerful policy strengthen themselves,

  And trust not simple Henry nor his oaths.

  MONTAGUE

  Brother, I go—I’ll win them, fear it not.

  And thus most hu
mbly I do take my leave. Exit

  Enter Sir John Mortimer and his brother Sir Hugh

  YORK

  Sir John and Sir Hugh Mortimer, mine uncles,

  You are come to Sandal in a happy hour.

  The army of the Queen mean to besiege us.

  SIR JOHN

  She shall not need, we’ll meet her in the field.

  YORK What, with five thousand men?

  RICHARD

  Ay, with five hundred, father, for a need.

  A woman’s general—what should we fear?

  A march sounds afar off

  EDWARD

  I hear their drums. Let’s set our men in order,

  And issue forth and bid them battle straight.

  YORK ⌈to Sir John and Sir Hugh⌉

  Five men to twenty—though the odds be great,

  I doubt not, uncles, of our victory.

  Many a battle have I won in France

  Whenas the enemy hath been ten to one—

  Why should I not now have the like success? Exeunt

  1.3 Alarums, and then enter the young Earl of Rutland and his Tutor, a chaplain

  RUTLAND

  Ah, whither shall I fly to scape their hands?

  Enter Lord Clifford with soldiers

  Ah, tutor, look where bloody Clifford comes.

  CLIFFORD (to the Tutor)

  Chaplain, away—thy priesthood saves thy life.

  As for the brat of this accursed duke,

  Whose father slew my father—he shall die.

  TUTOR

  And I, my lord, will bear him company.

  CLIFFORD Soldiers, away with him.

  TUTOR

  Ah, Clifford, murder not this innocent child

  Lest thou be hated both of God and man.

  Exit, guarded

  ⌈Rutland falls to the ground⌉

  CLIFFORD

  How now—is he dead already?

  Or is it fear that makes him close his eyes?

  I’ll open them.

  RUTLAND ⌈reviving⌉

  So looks the pent-up lion o‘er the wretch

  That trembles under his devouring paws,

  And so he walks, insulting o’er his prey,

  And so he comes to rend his limbs asunder.

  Ah, gentle Clifford, kill me with thy sword

  And not with such a cruel threat’ning look.

  Sweet Clifford, hear me speak before I die.

  I am too mean a subject for thy wrath.

  Be thou revenged on men, and let me live.

  CLIFFORD

  In vain thou speak’st, poor boy. My father’s blood

  Hath stopped the passage where thy words should