| ACT I SCENE I | London. The Parliament-house. | |
| [
Dead March. Enter the Funeral of KING HENRY the
Fifth, attended on by Dukes of BEDFORD, Regent of
France; GLOUCESTER, Protector; and EXETER, Earl of
WARWICK, the BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, Heralds, &c
] |
| [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, | 5 |
| 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, | 10 |
| 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. | 15 |
| 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. | 20 |
| 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, | 25 |
| 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. | 30 |
| 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, | 35 |
| 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, | 40 |
| 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, | 45 |
| 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, | 50 |
| 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 | 55 |
| 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. | 60 |
| 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. | 65 |
| 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, | 70 |
| 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; | 75 |
| 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. | 80 |
| 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? | 85 |
| 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 | 90 |
| 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. | 95 |
| 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 | 100 |
| 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? | 105 |
| 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. | 110 |
| 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. | 115 |
| 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! | 120 |
| 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, | 125 |
| 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? | 130 |
| 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.--
| 135 |
| 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] 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. | 155 |
| 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, | 160 |
| 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. | 165 |
| 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. | 170 |
| [
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, | 175 |
| 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! | 180 |
| 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. | 185 |
| 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. | 190 |
| 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. | 195 |
| 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, | 200 |
| 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! | 205 |
| 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. | 210 |
| 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. | 215 |
| 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, | 220 |
| 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, | 225 |
| 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? | 230 |
| 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; | 235 |
| 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? | 240 |
| 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. | 245 |
| 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 | 250 |
| 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; | 255 |
| 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. | 260 |
| 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. | 265 |
| 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, | 270 |
| 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. | 275 |
| EXETER | And I, I hope, shall reconcile them all. |
[Exeunt] |
The Essential Student History Quiz (with answers and illustrations)