Dramatis Personae
- KING HENRY
- the Sixth.
- PRINCE OF WALES
- his son. (PRINCE EDWARD:)
- KING LEWIS XI
- King of France. (KING LEWIS XI:)
- DUKE OF SOMERSET
- (SOMERSET:)
- DUKE OF EXETER
- (EXETER:)
- EARL OF OXFORD
- (OXFORD:)
- EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND
- (NORTHUMBERLAND:)
- EARL OF WESTMORELAND
- (WESTMORELAND:)
- LORD CLIFFORD
- (CLIFFORD:)
- RICHARD PLANTAGENET
- Duke of York. (YORK:)
- afterwards King Edward IV. |
- Gloucester, (GLOUCESTER:) |
- (KING EDWARD IV:)
- GEORGE (GEORGE:) afterwards Duke of Clarence (CLARENCE:)
- RICHARD (RICHARD:) afterwards Duke of
- his sons.
- DUKE OF NORFOLK
- (NORFOLK:)
- MARQUESS OF MONTAGUE
- (MONTAGUE:)
- EARL OF WARWICK
- (WARWICK:)
- EARL OF PEMBROKE
- (PEMBROKE:)
- LORD HASTINGS
- (HASTINGS:)
- LORD STAFFORD
- (STAFFORD:)
- SIR JOHN MORTIMER (JOHN MORTIMER:)
- SIR HUGH MORTIMER (HUGH MORTIMER:)
- uncles to the Duke of York.
- HENRY
- Earl of Richmond, a youth (HENRY OF RICHMOND:).
- LORD RIVERS
- brother to Lady Grey. (RIVERS:)
- SIR WILLIAM STANLEY
- (STANLEY:)
- SIR JOHN MONTGOMERY
- (MONTGOMERY:)
- SIR JOHN SOMERVILLE
- (SOMERVILLE:)
- Tutor to Rutland. (Tutor:)
- Mayor of York. (Mayor:)
- Lieutenant of the Tower. (Lieutenant:)
- A Nobleman. (Nobleman:)
- Two Keepers.
- (First Keeper:)
- (Second Keeper:)
- A Huntsman. (Huntsman:)
- A Son that has killed his father. (Son:)
- A Father that has killed his son. (Father:)
- QUEEN MARGARET
- LADY GREY
- afterwards Queen to Edward IV. (QUEEN ELIZABETH:)
- BONA
- sister to the French Queen.
- Soldiers, Attendants, Messengers, Watchmen, &c.
- (Soldier:)
- (Post:)
- (Messenger:)
- (First Messenger:)
- (Second Messenger:)
- (First Watchman:)
- (Second Watchman:)
- (Third Watchman:)
- 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 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 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.
- YORK
- This oath I willingly take and will perform.
- WARWICK
- Long live King Henry! Plantagenet embrace him.
- KING HENRY VI
- 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 they come down]
- YORK
- Farewell, my gracious lord; I'll to my castle.
- WARWICK
- And I'll keep London with my soldiers.
- NORFOLK
- And I to Norfolk with my followers.
- MONTAGUE
- And I unto the sea from whence I came.
- [Exeunt YORK, EDWARD, EDMUND, GEORGE, RICHARD,
- WARWICK, NORFOLK, MONTAGUE, their Soldiers, and
- Attendants]
- KING HENRY VI
- And I, with grief and sorrow, to the court.
- [Enter QUEEN MARGARET and PRINCE EDWARD]
- EXETER
- Here comes the queen, whose looks bewray her anger:
- I'll steal away.
- KING HENRY VI
- Exeter, so will I.
- QUEEN MARGARET
- Nay, go not from me; I will follow thee.
- KING HENRY VI
- 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 nourish'd him as I did with my blood,
- Thou wouldst have left thy dearest heart-blood there,
- Rather than have 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 VI
- 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 given 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 environed with wolves.
- Had I been there, which am a silly woman,
- The soldiers should have toss'd 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 repeal'd
- 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 utter ruin of the house of York.
- Thus do I leave thee. Come, son, let's away;
- Our army is ready; come, we'll after them.
- KING HENRY VI
- Stay, gentle Margaret, and hear me speak.
- QUEEN MARGARET
- Thou hast spoke too much already: get thee gone.
- KING HENRY VI
- Gentle son Edward, thou wilt stay with me?
- QUEEN MARGARET
- Ay, to be murder'd by his enemies.
- PRINCE EDWARD
- 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.
- [Exeunt QUEEN MARGARET and PRINCE EDWARD]
- KING HENRY VI
- 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 cost 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.
- [Exeunt]