Complete Plays, The

by William Shakespeare

There were so many, whom she may accuse.

  Warwick

  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.

  Joan La Pucelle

  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

  Environ you, till mischief and despair

  Drive you to break your necks or hang yourselves!

  Exit, guarded

  York

  Break thou in pieces and consume to ashes,

  Thou foul accursed minister of hell!

  Enter Cardinal Of Winchester, attended

  Cardinal

  Bishop of Winchester

  Lord regent, I do greet your excellence

  With letters of commission from the king.

  For know, my lords, the states of Christendom,

  Moved with remorse of these outrageous broils,

  Have earnestly implored a general peace

  Betwixt our nation and the aspiring French;

  And here at hand the Dauphin and his train

  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

  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?

  O Warwick, Warwick! I foresee with grief

  The utter loss of all the realm of France.

  Warwick

  Be patient, York: if we conclude a peace,

  It shall be with such strict and severe covenants

  As little shall the Frenchmen gain thereby.

  Enter Charles, Alencon, Bastard Of Orleans, Reignier, and others

  Charles

  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

  The hollow passage of my poison’d voice,

  By sight of these our baleful enemies.

  Cardinal

  Bishop of Winchester

  Charles, and the rest, it is enacted thus:

  That, in regard King Henry gives consent,

  Of mere compassion and of lenity,

  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, submit thyself,

  Thou shalt be placed as viceroy under him,

  And still enjoy thy regal dignity.

  Alencon

  Must he be then as shadow of himself?

  Adorn his temples with a coronet,

  And yet, in substance and authority,

  Retain but privilege of a private man?

  This proffer is absurd and reasonless.

  Charles

  ’Tis known already that I am possess’d

  With more than half the Gallian territories,

  And therein reverenced for their lawful king:

  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’ll rather keep

  That which I have than, coveting for more,

  Be cast from possibility of all.

  York

  Insulting Charles! hast thou by secret means

  Used intercession to obtain a league,

  And, now the matter grows to compromise,

  Stand’st thou aloof upon comparison?

  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.

  Reignier

  My lord, you do not well in obstinacy

  To cavil in the course of this contract:

  If once it be neglected, ten to one

  We shall not find like opportunity.

  Alencon

  To say the truth, it is your policy

  To save your subjects from such massacre

  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.

  Warwick

  How say’st thou, Charles? shall our condition stand?

  Charles

  It shall;

  Only reserved, 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

  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 ensign, let your drums be still,

  For here we entertain a solemn peace.

  Exeunt

  SCENE V. LONDON. THE PALACE.

  Enter Suffolk in conference with King Henry VI, Gloucester and Exeter

  King Henry VI

  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 rigor of tempestuous gusts

  Provokes the mightiest hulk against the tide,

  So am I driven by breath of her renown

  Either to suffer shipwreck or arrive

  Where I may have fruition of her love.

  Suffolk

  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,

  To love and honour Henry as her lord.

  King Henry VI

  And otherwise will Henry ne’er presume.

  Therefore, my lord protector, give consent

  That Margaret may be England’s royal queen.

  Gloucester

  So should I give consent to flatter sin.

  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?

  Suffolk

  As doth a ruler with unlawful oaths;

  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.

  Gloucester

  Why, what, I pray, is Margaret more than that?

  Her father is no better than an
earl,

  Although in glorious titles he excel.

  Suffolk

  Yes, lord, her father is a king,

  The King of Naples and Jerusalem;

  And of such great authority in France

  As his alliance will confirm our peace

  And keep the Frenchmen in allegiance.

  Gloucester

  And so the Earl of Armagnac may do,

  Because he is near kinsman unto Charles.

  Exeter

  Beside, his wealth doth warrant a liberal dower,

  Where Reignier sooner will receive than give.

  Suffolk

  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.

  Henry is able to enrich his queen

  And not 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

  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,

  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.

  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:

  Her valiant courage and undaunted spirit,

  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

  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.

  King Henry VI

  Whether it be through force of your report,

  My noble Lord of Suffolk, or for that

  My tender youth was never yet attaint

  With any passion of inflaming love,

  I cannot tell; but this I am assured,

  I feel such sharp dissension in my breast,

  Such fierce alarums both of hope and fear,

  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

  King Henry’s faithful and anointed queen:

  For your expenses and sufficient charge,

  Among the people gather up a tenth.

  Be gone, I say; for, till you do return,

  I rest perplexed with a thousand cares.

  And you, good uncle, banish all offence:

  If you do censure me by what you were,

  Not what you are, I know it will excuse

  This sudden execution of my will.

  And so, conduct me where, from company,

  I may revolve and ruminate my grief.

  Exit

  Gloucester

  Ay, grief, I fear me, both at first and last.

  Exeunt Gloucester and Exeter

  Suffolk

  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.

  Exit

  The Second Part of King Henry the Sixth

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHARACTERS OF THE PLAY

  ACT I

  SCENE I. LONDON. THE PALACE.

  SCENE II. GLOUCESTER’S HOUSE.

  SCENE III. THE PALACE.

  SCENE IV. GLOUCESTER’S GARDEN.

  ACT II

  SCENE I. SAINT ALBAN’S.

  SCENE II. LONDON. YORK’S GARDEN.

  SCENE III. A HALL OF JUSTICE.

  SCENE IV. A STREET.

  ACT III

  SCENE I. THE ABBEY AT BURY ST. EDMUND’S.

  SCENE II. BURY ST. EDMUND’S. A ROOM OF STATE.

  SCENE III. A BEDCHAMBER.

  ACT IV

  SCENE I. THE COAST OF KENT.

  SCENE II. BLACKHEATH.

  SCENE III. ANOTHER PART OF BLACKHEATH.

  SCENE IV. LONDON. THE PALACE.

  SCENE V. LONDON. THE TOWER.

  SCENE VI. LONDON. CANNON STREET.

  SCENE VII. LONDON. SMITHFIELD.

  SCENE VIII. SOUTHWARK.

  SCENE IX. KENILWORTH CASTLE.

  SCENE X. KENT. IDEN’S GARDEN.

  ACT V

  SCENE I. FIELDS BETWEEN DARTFORD AND BLACKHEATH.

  SCENE II. SAINT ALBAN’S.

  SCENE III. FIELDS NEAR ST. ALBAN’S.

  CHARACTERS OF THE PLAY

  King Henry VI

  Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, his uncle

  Henry, Cardinal Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, great-uncle to the King

  Richard, Duke of York

  Edward, his son

  Richard, also son to the Duke of York

  Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset

  William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk

  Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham

  Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron Clifford

  Young Clifford, his son

  Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury

  Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick

  Lord Scales

  Lord Say

  Sir Humphrey Stafford

  William Stafford, his brother

  Sir John Stanley

  Vaux

  Matthew Goffe

  Alexander Iden, a Kentish Gentleman

  Lieutenant, Shipmates, Master's Mate, and Walter Whitmore

  Two Gentlemen, prisoners with Suffolk

  John Hume and John Southwell, priests

  Roger Bolingbrook, a conjurer

  Thomas Horner, an armorer

  Peter Thump, his apprentice

  Clerk of Chartam

  Mayor of Saint Albans

  Simcox, an impostor

  Jack Cade, a rebel

  George Bevis, John Holland, Dick the butcher, Smith the Weaver, Michael, etc., followers of Jack Cade

  Two murderers

  Margaret of Anjou, Queen to King Henry

  Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester

  Margaret Jourdain, a witch

  Wife to Simcox

  Spirit

  Lords, Ladies, attendants, heralds, soldiers, etc.

  ACT I

  SCENE I. LONDON. THE PALACE.

  Flourish of trumpets: then hautboys. Enter King Henry VI, Gloucester, Salisbury, Warwick, and Cardinal, on the one side; Queen Margaret, Suffolk, York, Somerset, and Buckingham, on the other

  Suffolk

  As by your high imperial majesty

  I had in charge at my depart for France,

  As procurator to your excellence,

  To marry Princess Margaret for your grace,

  So, in the famous ancient city, Tours,

  In presence of the Kings of France and Sicil,

  The Dukes of Orleans, Calaber, Bretagne and Alencon,

  Seven earls, twelve barons and twenty reverend bishops,

  I have perform’d my task and was espoused:

  And humbly now upon my bended knee,

  In sight of England and her lordly pee
rs,

  Deliver up my title in the queen

  To your most gracious hands, that are the substance

  Of that great shadow I did represent;

  The happiest gift that ever marquess gave,

  The fairest queen that ever king received.

  King Henry VI

  Suffolk, arise. Welcome, Queen Margaret:

  I can express no kinder sign of love

  Than this kind kiss. O Lord, that lends me life,

  Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness!

  For thou hast given me in this beauteous face

  A world of earthly blessings to my soul,

  If sympathy of love unite our thoughts.

  Queen Margaret

  Great King of England and my gracious lord,

  The mutual conference that my mind hath had,

  By day, by night, waking and in my dreams,

  In courtly company or at my beads,

  With you, mine alder-liefest sovereign,

  Makes me the bolder to salute my king

  With ruder terms, such as my wit affords

  And over-joy of heart doth minister.

  King Henry VI

  Her sight did ravish; but her grace in speech,

  Her words y-clad with wisdom’s majesty,

  Makes me from wondering fall to weeping joys;

  Such is the fulness of my heart’s content.

  Lords, with one cheerful voice welcome my love.

  All

  [Kneeling] Long live Queen Margaret, England’s happiness!

  Queen Margaret

  We thank you all.

  Flourish

  Suffolk

  My lord protector, so it please your grace,

  Here are the articles of contracted peace

  Between our sovereign and the French king Charles,

  For eighteen months concluded by consent.

  Gloucester

  [Reads] ‘Imprimis, it is agreed between the French king Charles, and William de la Pole, Marquess of Suffolk, ambassador for Henry King of England, that the said Henry shall espouse the Lady Margaret, daughter unto Reignier King of Naples, Sicilia and Jerusalem, and crown her Queen of England ere the thirtieth of May next ensuing. Item, that the duchy of Anjou and the county of Maine shall be released and delivered to the king her father’—

  Lets the paper fall

  King Henry VI

  Uncle, how now!

  Gloucester

  Pardon me, gracious lord;

  Some sudden qualm hath struck me at the heart

  And dimm’d mine eyes, that I can read no further.

  King Henry VI

  Uncle of Winchester, I pray, read on.

  Cardinal

  [Reads] ‘Item, It is further agreed between them, that the duchies of Anjou and Maine shall be released and delivered over to the king her father, and she sent over of the King of England’s own proper cost and charges, without having any dowry.’