King Henry VI, Part III

King Henry VI, Part III

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,	5
	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.	10
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,	15
	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!	20
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.	25
	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.	30
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.	35
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,	40
	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.	45
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.	50
	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.	55
	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:	60
	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	65
	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.	70
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,	75
	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.	80
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.	85
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.	90
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;	95
	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,	100
	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.	105
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	110
	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.	115
	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.	120
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.	125
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,	130
	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.	135
KING HENRY VI	Aside
	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,	140
	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?	145
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?	150
EXETER	My conscience tells me he is lawful king.
KING HENRY VI	Aside
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,	155
	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:	160
	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?	165
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 showthemselves
KING HENRY VI	My Lord of Warwick, hear me but one word:	170
	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.	175
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.	180
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,	185
	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.	190
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	195
	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	200
	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.	205
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.	210
	Exeunt YORK, EDWARD, EDMUND, GEORGE, RICHARD,WARWICK, NORFOLK, MONTAGUE, their Soldiers, andAttendants
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.	215
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	220
	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,	225
	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:	230
	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	235
	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;	240
	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,	245
	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,	250
	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	255
	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.	260
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.	265
	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	270
	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.	275
	Exeunt