Book Read Free

Complete Plays, The

Page 216

by William Shakespeare


  Repairs him with occasion? This happy day

  Is not itself, nor have we won one foot,

  If Salisbury be lost.

  Richard

  My noble father,

  Three times to-day I holp him to his horse,

  Three times bestrid him; thrice I led him off,

  Persuaded him from any further act:

  But still, where danger was, still there I met him;

  And like rich hangings in a homely house,

  So was his will in his old feeble body.

  But, noble as he is, look where he comes.

  Enter Salisbury

  Salisbury

  Now, by my sword, well hast thou fought to-day;

  By the mass, so did we all. I thank you, Richard:

  God knows how long it is I have to live;

  And it hath pleased him that three times to-day

  You have defended me from imminent death.

  Well, lords, we have not got that which we have:

  ’Tis not enough our foes are this time fled,

  Being opposites of such repairing nature.

  York

  I know our safety is to follow them;

  For, as I hear, the king is fled to London,

  To call a present court of parliament.

  Let us pursue him ere the writs go forth.

  What says Lord Warwick? shall we after them?

  Warwick

  After them! nay, before them, if we can.

  Now, by my faith, lords, ’twas a glorious day:

  Saint Alban’s battle won by famous York

  Shall be eternized in all age to come.

  Sound drums and trumpets, and to London all:

  And more such days as these to us befall!

  Exeunt

  The Third Part of King Henry the Sixth

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHARACTERS OF THE PLAY

  ACT I

  SCENE I. LONDON. THE PARLIAMENT-HOUSE.

  SCENE II. SANDAL CASTLE.

  SCENE III. FIELD OF BATTLE BETWIXT SANDAL CASTLE AND WAKEFIELD.

  SCENE IV. ANOTHER PART OF THE FIELD.

  ACT II

  SCENE I. A PLAIN NEAR MORTIMER’S CROSS IN HEREFORDSHIRE.

  SCENE II. BEFORE YORK.

  SCENE III. A FIELD OF BATTLE BETWEEN TOWTON AND SAXTON, IN

  SCENE IV. ANOTHER PART OF THE FIELD.

  SCENE V. ANOTHER PART OF THE FIELD.

  SCENE VI. ANOTHER PART OF THE FIELD.

  ACT III

  SCENE I. A FOREST IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND.

  SCENE II. LONDON. THE PALACE.

  SCENE III. FRANCE. KING LEWIS XI’S PALACE.

  ACT IV

  SCENE I. LONDON. THE PALACE.

  SCENE II. A PLAIN IN WARWICKSHIRE.

  SCENE III. EDWARD’S CAMP, NEAR WARWICK.

  SCENE IV. LONDON. THE PALACE.

  SCENE V. A PARK NEAR MIDDLEHAM CASTLE IN YORKSHIRE.

  SCENE VI. LONDON. THE TOWER.

  SCENE VII. BEFORE YORK.

  SCENE VIII. LONDON. THE PALACE.

  ACT V

  SCENE I. COVENTRY.

  SCENE II. A FIELD OF BATTLE NEAR BARNET.

  SCENE III. ANOTHER PART OF THE FIELD.

  SCENE IV. PLAINS NEAR TEWKSBURY.

  SCENE V. ANOTHER PART OF THE FIELD.

  SCENE VI. LONDON. THE TOWER.

  SCENE VII. LONDON. THE PALACE.

  CHARACTERS OF THE PLAY

  King Henry VI.

  Prince Edward, Prince of Wales, his son.

  King Lewis XI,

  King of France.

  Duke of Somerset,

  Duke of Exeter,

  Earl of Oxford,

  Earl of Northumberland,

  Earl of Westmoreland,

  Lord Clifford,

  Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York.

  Edward, Earl of March, afterwards King Edward IV,

  Edmund Earl of Rutland,

  George, afterwards Duke of Clarence,

  Richard, afterwards Duke of Gloucester,

  his sons.

  Duke of Norfolk.

  Marquess of Montague.

  Earl of Warwick.

  Earl of Pembroke.

  Lord Hastings.

  Lord Stafford.

  Sir John Mortimer,

  Sir Hugh Mortimer,

  uncles to the Duke of York. Henry, Earl of Richmond, a youth.

  Lord Rivers, brother to Lady Grey.

  Sir William Stanley.

  Sir John Montgomery.

  Sir John Somerville.

  Tutor, to Rutland.

  Mayor, of York.

  Lieutenant of the Tower.

  A Nobleman,

  Two Keepers.

  A Huntsman,

  A Son, that has killed his father.

  A Father, that has killed his son.

  Queen Margaret.

  Lady Grey, afterwards Queen Elizabeth, Queen to Edward IV.

  Bona, sister to the French Queen.

  Soldiers, Attendants, Messengers, Watchmen, &c.

  Scene: England and France.

  ACT I

  SCENE I. LONDON. THE PARLIAMENT-HOUSE.

  Alarum. Enter York, Edward, Richard, Norfolk, Montague, Warwick, and Soldiers

  Warwick

  I wonder how the king escaped our hands.

  York

  While we pursued the horsemen of the north,

  He slily stole away and left his men:

  Whereat the great Lord of Northumberland,

  Whose warlike ears could never brook retreat,

  Cheer’d up the drooping army; and himself,

  Lord Clifford and Lord Stafford, all abreast,

  Charged our main battle’s front, and breaking in

  Were by the swords of common soldiers slain.

  Edward

  Lord Stafford’s father, Duke of Buckingham,

  Is either slain or wounded dangerously;

  I cleft his beaver with a downright blow:

  That this is true, father, behold his blood.

  Montague

  And, brother, here’s the Earl of Wiltshire’s blood,

  Whom I encounter’d as the battles join’d.

  Richard

  Speak thou for me and tell them what I did.

  Throwing down Somerset’s head

  York

  Richard hath best deserved of all my sons.

  But is your grace dead, my Lord of Somerset?

  Norfolk

  Such hope have all the line of John of Gaunt!

  Richard

  Thus do I hope to shake King Henry’s head.

  Warwick

  And so do I. Victorious Prince of York,

  Before I see thee seated in that throne

  Which now the house of Lancaster usurps,

  I vow by heaven these eyes shall never close.

  This is the palace of the fearful king,

  And this the regal seat: possess it, York;

  For this is thine and not King Henry’s heirs’

  York

  Assist me, then, sweet Warwick, and I will;

  For hither we have broken in by force.

  Norfolk

  We’ll all assist you; he that flies shall die.

  York

  Thanks, gentle Norfolk: stay by me, my lords;

  And, soldiers, stay and lodge by me this night.

  They go up

  Warwick

  And when the king comes, offer no violence,

  Unless he seek to thrust you out perforce.

  York

  The queen this day here holds her parliament,

  But little thinks we shall be of her council:

  By words or blows here let us win our right.

  Richard

  Arm’d as we are, let’s stay within this house.

  Warwick

  The bloody parliament shall this be call’d,

  Unless Plantagenet, Duke of York, be king,

  And bashful Henry deposed, whose cowardice


  Hath made us by-words to our enemies.

  York

  Then leave me not, my lords; be resolute;

  I mean to take possession of my right.

  Warwick

  Neither the king, nor he that loves him best,

  The proudest he that holds up Lancaster,

  Dares stir a wing, if Warwick shake his bells.

  I’ll plant Plantagenet, root him up who dares:

  Resolve thee, Richard; claim the English crown.

  Flourish. Enter King Henry VI, Clifford, Northumberland, Westmoreland, Exeter, and the rest

  King Henry VI

  My lords, look where the sturdy rebel sits,

  Even in the chair of state: belike he means,

  Back’d by the power of Warwick, that false peer,

  To aspire unto the crown and reign as king.

  Earl of Northumberland, he slew thy father.

  And thine, Lord Clifford; and you both have vow’d revenge

  On him, his sons, his favourites and his friends.

  Northumberland

  If I be not, heavens be revenged on me!

  Clifford

  The hope thereof makes Clifford mourn in steel.

  Westmoreland

  What, shall we suffer this? let’s pluck him down:

  My heart for anger burns; I cannot brook it.

  King Henry VI

  Be patient, gentle Earl of Westmoreland.

  Clifford

  Patience is for poltroons, such as he:

  He durst not sit there, had your father lived.

  My gracious lord, here in the parliament

  Let us assail the family of York.

  Northumberland

  Well hast thou spoken, cousin: be it so.

  King Henry VI

  Ah, know you not the city favours them,

  And they have troops of soldiers at their beck?

  Exeter

  But when the duke is slain, they’ll quickly fly.

  King Henry VI

  Far be the thought of this from Henry’s heart,

  To make a shambles of the parliament-house!

  Cousin of Exeter, frowns, words and threats

  Shall be the war that Henry means to use.

  Thou factious Duke of York, descend my throne,

  And kneel for grace and mercy at my feet;

  I am thy sovereign.

  York

  I am thine.

  Exeter

  For shame, come down: he made thee Duke of York.

  York

  ’Twas my inheritance, as the earldom was.

  Exeter

  Thy father was a traitor to the crown.

  Warwick

  Exeter, thou art a traitor to the crown

  In following this usurping Henry.

  Clifford

  Whom should he follow but his natural king?

  Warwick

  True, Clifford; and that’s Richard Duke of York.

  King Henry VI

  And shall I stand, and thou sit in my throne?

  York

  It must and shall be so: content thyself.

  Warwick

  Be Duke of Lancaster; let him be king.

  Westmoreland

  He is both king and Duke of Lancaster;

  And that the Lord of Westmoreland shall maintain.

  Warwick

  And Warwick shall disprove it. You forget

  That we are those which chased you from the field

  And slew your fathers, and with colours spread

  March’d through the city to the palace gates.

  Northumberland

  Yes, Warwick, I remember it to my grief;

  And, by his soul, thou and thy house shall rue it.

  Westmoreland

  Plantagenet, of thee and these thy sons,

  Thy kinsman and thy friends, I’ll have more lives

  Than drops of blood were in my father’s veins.

  Clifford

  Urge it no more; lest that, instead of words,

  I send thee, Warwick, such a messenger

  As shall revenge his death before I stir.

  Warwick

  Poor Clifford! how I scorn his worthless threats!

  York

  Will you we show our title to the crown?

  If not, our swords shall plead it in the field.

  King Henry VI

  What title hast thou, traitor, to the crown?

  Thy father was, as thou art, Duke of York;

  Thy grandfather, Roger Mortimer, Earl of March:

  I am the son of Henry the Fifth,

  Who made the Dauphin and the French to stoop

  And seized upon their towns and provinces.

  Warwick

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

  King Henry VI

  The lord protector lost it, and not I:

  When I was crown’d I was but nine months old.

  Richard

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

  Father, tear the crown from the usurper’s head.

  Edward

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

  Montague

  Good brother, as thou lovest and honourest arms,

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

  Richard

  Sound drums and trumpets, and the king will fly.

  York

  Sons, peace!

  King Henry VI

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

  Warwick

  Plantagenet shall speak first: hear him, lords;

  And be you silent and attentive too,

  For he that interrupts him shall not live.

  King Henry VI

  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 VI

  Henry the Fourth by conquest got the crown.

  York

  ’Twas by rebellion against his king.

  King Henry VI

  [Aside] I know not what to say; my title’s weak.—

  Tell me, may not a king adopt an heir?

  York

  What then?

  King Henry VI

  An if he may, then am I lawful king;

  For Richard, in the view of many lords,

  Resign’d 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 unconstrain’d,

  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 VI

  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

  My conscience tells me he is lawful king.

  King Henry VI

  [Aside] All will revolt from me, and turn to him.

  Northumberland

  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 Ke
nt,

  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 VI

  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 VI

  My Lord of Warwick, hear me but one word:

  Let me for this my life-time reign as king.

  York

  Confirm the crown to me and to mine heirs,

  And thou shalt reign in quiet while thou livest.

  King Henry VI

  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!

  Westmoreland

  Base, fearful and despairing Henry!

  Clifford

  How hast thou injured both thyself and us!

  Westmoreland

  I cannot stay to hear these articles.

  Northumberland

  Nor I.

  Clifford

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

  Westmoreland

  Farewell, faint-hearted and degenerate king,

  In whose cold blood no spark of honour bides.

  Northumberland

  Be thou a prey unto the house of York,

  And die in bands for this unmanly deed!

  Clifford

  In dreadful war mayst thou be overcome,

  Or live in peace abandon’d and despised!

  Exeunt Northumberland, Clifford, and Westmoreland

  Warwick

  Turn this way, Henry, and regard them not.

  Exeter

  They seek revenge and therefore will not yield.

  King Henry VI

  Ah, Exeter!

  Warwick

  Why should you sigh, my lord?

  King Henry VI

  Not for myself, Lord Warwick, but my son,

  Whom I unnaturally shall disinherit.

  But be it as it may: I here entail

  The crown to thee and to thine heirs for ever;

  Conditionally, that here thou take an oath

  To cease this civil war, and, whilst I live,

  To honour me as thy king and sovereign,

  And neither by treason nor hostility

  To seek to put me down and reign thyself.

 

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