Shakespeare's Richard III 5.2 - True hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings

Richard III

Please see the bottom of this page for full explanatory notes.

ACT V SCENE II	Plain near Tamworth.
	Enter, with drum and colors, RICHMOND, OXFORD, BLUNT, HERBERT, and others, with forces marching.
RICHMOND	Fellows in arms, and my most loving friends,
	Bruis'd underneath the yoke of tyranny,
	Thus far into the bowels of the land
	Have we march'd on without impediment;
	And here receive we from our father Stanley
	Lines of fair comfort and encouragement.
	The wretched, bloody, and usurping boar,
	That spoil'd your summer fields and fruitful vines,
	Swills your warm blood like wash, and makes his trough	10
	In your embowell'd bosoms, this foul swine
	Lies now even in the centre of this isle,
	Near to the town of Leicester, as we learn
	From Tamworth thither is but one day's march.
	In God's name, cheerly on, courageous friends,
	To reap the harvest of perpetual peace
	By this one bloody trial of sharp war.
OXFORD	Every man's conscience is a thousand swords,
	To fight against that bloody homicide.
HERBERT	I doubt not but his friends will fly to us.	20
BLUNT	He hath no friends but who are friends for fear.
	Which in his greatest need will shrink from him.
RICHMOND	All for our vantage. Then, in God's name, march:
	True hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings:
	Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings.
	[ Exeunt.

Richard III, Act 5, Scene 3

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Explanatory Notes for Act 5, Scene 2
From King Richard III. Ed. Brainerd Kellogg. New York: Clark & Maynard.

Abbreviations. — A.-S. = Anglo-Saxon: M.E. = Middle English (from the 13th to the 15th century) ; Fr. = French ; Ger. = German ; Gr. = Greek ; Cf. = compare (Lat. confer) ; Abbott refers to the excellent Shakespearean Grammar of Dr. Abbott; Schmidt, to Dr. Schmidt's invaluable Shakespeare Lexicon.

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2. Bruis'd, crushed.

7. Boar. Richard, from his cognizance.

10. Swills, greedily drinks. Wash, the drink given to hogs from washed dishes.

11. Tamworth is about fifteen miles from Bosworth.

21. Dearest need, greatest need.

How to cite the explanatory notes:
Shakespeare, William. Richard III. Ed. Brainerd Kellogg. New York: Clark & Maynard, 1886. Shakespeare Online. 20 Feb. 2014. < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/richardiii_5_2.html >.

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