THE action of this play opens just after the first battle | of St. Albans [May 23, 1455,] wherein the York faction carried the day; and closes with the murder of King Henry VI. and the birth of Prince Edward, afterwards King Edward V. [November 4, 1471.] So that this history takes in the space of full sixteen years. The title of the old play, which Shakspeare altered and improved, is 'The True Tragedie of Richard Duke of Yorke, and the Death of good King Henry the Sixth with the whole Contention between the Two Houses of Lancaster and Yorke: as it was sundrie times acted by the Right Honourable the Earle of Pembroke his Ser. rants. Printed at London by P. S. for Thomas Milling. ton, and are to be solde at his Shoppe under St Peter's Church in Cornewal, 1595.' There was another edition in 1600 by the same publisher: and it was repro duced with the name of Shakspeare on the title page, printed by T. P. no date, but ascertained to have been printed in 1619. The present historical drama was altered by Crown, and brought on the stage in 1680, under the title of The Miseries of Civil War. Surely the works of Shak. speare could have been little read at that period; for Crown, in his prologue,-declares the play to be entirely his own composition: For by his feeble skill 'tis built alone, The divine Shakspeare did not lay one stone, Whereas the very first scene is that of Jack Cade, copied almost verbation from the Second Part of King Henry VI. and several others from this Third Part, with as little variation. Whose warlike ears could never brook retreat, Cheer'd up the drooping army; and himself, Lord Clifford, and Lord Stafford, all abreast, Charg'd our main battle's front; and, breaking in, 'Were by the swords of common soldiers slain.2 Edw. Lord Stafford's father, duke of Bucking ham, Is either slain, or wounded dangerous: [Showing his bloody Sword. Mont. And, brother, here's the earl of Wiltshire's blood, [To YORK, showing his. Whom I encounter'd as the battles join'd. 2 See the former play, p. 256. Shakspeare has fallen into this inconsistency by following the old plays in the construction of these dramas. Rich. Speak thou for me, and tell them what I did. [Throwing down the DUKE of SOMERSET'S Head. ✦ York. Richard hath best deserv'd of all my sons. What, is your grace dead, my lord of Somerset ? Norf. Such hope have all the line of John of Gaunt! Rich. Thus do I hope to shake King Henry's head. War. 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. Norf. 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. War. And, when the king comes, offer him no violence, 'Unless he seek to thrust you out by force. [They retire. *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. Rich. Arm'd as we are, let's stay within this house. War. The bloody parliament shall this be call'd, Unless Plantagenet, duke of York, be king; And bashful Henry depos'd, 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. War. 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.2 I'll plant Plantagenet, root him up who dares :Resolve thee, Richard; claim the English crown. [WARWICK leads YORK to the Throne, who seats himself. Flourish. Enter KING HENRY, CLIFFORD, NORTHUMBERLAND, WESTMORELAND, EXETER, and others, with red Roses in their Hats. K. Hen. 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 1 Shakspeare was also led into this anachronism by the old plays. At the time of the first battle of St. Albans, where Richard is represented to have fought in the last scene of the preceding play, he was not one year old; having been born at Fotheringay Castle, Oc. tober 21, 1454. At the time to which the third scene of the present act refers, he was but six years old; and in the fifth act, in which Henry is represented as having been killed by him in the Tower, not more than sixteen and eight months. 2 The allusion is to falconry. Hawks had sometimes little bells hung on them, perhaps to dare the birds; that is, to fright them from rising. 3 The old play reads as the kingdom is.' Why Shakspeare altered it, it is not easy to say, for the new My gracious lord, here in the parliament Let us assail the family of York. North. Well hast thou spoken, cousin; be it so. K. Hen. Ah, know you not, the city favours them, And they have troops of soldiers at their back? Exe. But when the duke is slain, they'll quickly fly. K. Hen Far be the thought of this from Henry's heart, To make a shambles of the parliament-house! [They advance to the Duke. York. 'Twas my inheritance, as the earldom was.3 Ere. Thy father was a traitor to the crown, War. Exeter, thou art a traitor to the crown, In following this usurping Henry. Clif. Whom should he follow, but his natural king? War. True, Clifford ; and that's Richard, dake of York. 'K. Hen. And shall I stand, and thou sit in my throne? "York. It must and shall be so. Content thyself. War. Be duke of Lancaster, let him be king. West. He is both king and duke of Lancaster: And that the lord of Westmoreland shall maintain. War. And Warwick shall disprove it. You forget, That we are those, which chas'd you from the field, And slew your fathers, and with colours spread March'd through the city to the palace gates. 'North. Yes, Warwick, I remember it to my grief; And, by his soul, thou and thy house shall rue it. West. Plantagenet, of thee, and these thy sons, Thy kinsmen, and thy friends, I'll have more lives, Than drops of blood were in my father's veins, Clif. Urge it no more; lest that, instead of words, I send thee, Warwick, such a messenger, As shall revenge his death, before I stir. 'War. 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. K. Hen. What title hast thou, traitor, to the crown? line only exhibits the same meaning more obscurely. York means that the dukedom was his inheritance froin his father, as the earldom of March, was his inheritance from his mother. His title to the crown was not as duke of York, but as earl of March, and by naming that he covertly asserts his right to the crown. 4 Another mistake of the author of the old play. York's father was earl of Cambridge, and was beheaded in the lifetime of his elder brother, Edward duke of York. 5 The military reputation of King Henry V. is the sole support of his son. The name of King Henry the Fifth dispersed the followers of Cade. 6 Since. A contraction of sithence. York. Sons, peace! K. Hen. Peace thou! and give King Henry leave to speak. War. Plantagenet shall speak first:-hear him, lords; And be you silent and attentive too, For he, that interrupts him, shall not live. 'K. Hen. Think'st thou, that I will leave my Wherein my grandsire, and my father, sat? Ay, and their colours-often borne in France; War. But prove it, Henry, and thou shalt be king. crown. York. 'Twas by rebellion against his king. K. Hen. I know not what to say; my title's weak. Whom I unnaturally shall disinherit. The crown to thee, and to thine heirs forever; K. Hen. An if he may, then am I lawful king: To honour me as thy king and sovereign; '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. Think York. He rose against him, being his sovereign, And made him to resign his crown perforce. War. Suppose, my lords, he did it unconstrain'd, you, 'twere prejudicial to his crown?2 Eze. No; for he could not so resign his crown, But that the next heir should succeed and reign. K. Hen. Art thou against us, duke of Exeter? Eze. His is the right, and therefore pardon me. York. Why whisper you, my lords, and answer not? Ere. My conscience tells me he is lawful king. K. Hen. All will revolt from me, and turn to him. North. Plantagenet, for all the claim thou lay'st, Think not, that Henry shall be so depos'd. 'War. Depos'd he shall be, in despite of all. North. Thou art deceiv'd: '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. Clif. 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! 'K. Hen. O Clifford, how thy words revive my heart! York. Henry of Lancaster, resign thy crown:What mutter you, or what conspire you, lords? War. Do right unto this princely duke of York; Or I will fill the house with armed men, And, o'er the chair of state, where now he sits, Write up his title with usurping blood. [He stamps, and the Soldiers show themselves. 'K. Hen. 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 whilst thou liv'st. K. Hen. I am content: Richard Plantagenet, Enjoy the kingdom after my decease. Chf. What wrong is this unto the prince your son? War. What good is this to England, and himself? West. Base, fearful, and despairing Henry! Clif. How hast thou injur'd both thyself and us? West. I cannot stay to hear these articles. North. Nor I. Clif. Come, cousin, let us tell the queen these *And neither by treason, nor hostility, *To seek to put me down, and reign thyself. York. This oath I willingly take, and will perform. [Coming from the Throne. War. Long live King Henry !-Plantagenet, em brace him. I'll steal away. K. Hen. Exeter, so will I. [Going. 'Q. Mar. Nay, go not from me, I will follow thee. K. Hen. Be patient, gentle queen, and I will stay. 'Q. Mar. 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 prov'd so unnatural a father! *Hath he deserv'd to lose his birthright thus? *Hadst thou but lov'd 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 would'st have left thy dearest heart-blood there, Rather than have made that savage duke thine heir, *And disinherited thine only son. *Prince. Father, you cannot disinherit me: *If you be king, why should not I succeed? *K. Hen. Pardon me, Margaret ;-pardon me, sweet son; The earl of Warwick, and the duke, enforc'd me. *Q. Mar. Enforc'd thee! art thou king, and wilt be forc'd? I shame to hear thee speak. Ah, timorous wretch! quered, and seek to be revenged. They are not influenced by principle but passion.'-Johnson. 4 Malone asserts that neither, either, brother, and many similar words, were used by Shakspeare as mo nosyllables. Steevens doubts this, with seeming pro priety, and observes that the versification of this and the preceding play, has many lines as unmetrical and irregular as this. 5 Sandal Castle, near Wakefield, in Yorkshire. 6 Betray, discover. Thou hast undone thyself, thy son, and me, And creep into it far before thy time? And yet shalt thou be safe? *such safety finds Until that act of parliament be repeal'd, The northern lords, that have forsworn thy colours, Q. Mar. Thou hast spoke too much already; get thee gone. K. Hen. Gentle son Edward, thou wilt stay with Q. Mar. Ay, to be murder'd by his enemies. thus. [Exeunt QUEEN MARGARET, and the Prince. K. Hen. Poor queen! how love to me, and to her son, Hath made her break out into terms of rage! Reveng'd may she be on that hateful duke; *Whose haughty spirit, winged with desire, Will coast 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. *Ere. And I, I hope, shall reconcile them all. [Exeunt. SCENE II. A Room in Sandal Castle, near Rich. Brother, though I be youngest, give me Edw. No, I can better play the orator. 1 The queen's reproach is founded on a position long received among politicians, that the loss of kingly power is soon followed by loss of life. 6 York. I took an oath that he should quietly reign. Edw. But, for a kingdom, any oath may be broken:" I'd break a thousand oaths, to reign one year. forsworn. York. I shall be, if I claim by open war. Rich. I'll prove the contrary, if you'll hear me speak. "York. Thou canst not, son; it is impossible. Rich. An oath is of no moment, being not took Before a true and lawful magistrate, That hath authority over him that swears; " Henry had none, but did usurp the place; * And all that poets feign of bliss and joy. You, Edward, shall unto my Lord Cobham, But, stay; What news? Why com'st thou in "Mess. The queen, with all the northern earls any thing. The old form of the word appears to have 2 The person here meant was Thomas Nevil, bastard son to the Lord Faulconbridge, a man (says Hall) of no lesse corage than audacitie, who for his cruel condicions was such an apte person, that a more meter could not be chosen to set all the world in a broyle, and 6 Shakspeare seems to have thought York and Monto put the estate of the realme on an ill hazard. He had tague brothers-in-law. But Montague was brother to been appointed by Warwick, vice-admiral of the sea, Warwick; Warwick's daughter was married to a son of and had in charge so to keep the passage between Do-York, but not during the life of York. Steevens thought ver and Calais, that none which either favoured King that as Shakspeare uses the expression brothers of the Henry or his friends, should escape untaken or un- war in King Lear, something of the kind might be drowned: such, at least, were his instructions with re- meant here. spect to the friends and favourers of King Edward after the rupture between him and Warwick. On Warwick's death, he fell into poverty, and robbed, both by sea and land as well friends as enemies. He once brought his ships up the Thames, and with a considerable body of the men of Kent and Essex, made a spirited assault on the city, with a view to plunder and pillage, which was not repelled but after a sharp conflict, and the loss of many lives; and, had it happened at a more critical pe. 9 The folio reads Enter Gabriel. It was the name riod, might have been attended with fatal consequences of the actor, probably Gabriel Singer, who played this to Edward. After roving on the sea some little time lon-insignificant part. The emendation is from the old play, ger, he ventured to land at Southampton, where he was and was made by Theobald. taken and beheaded. See Hall and Holinshed.-Ritson. 3 To coast is, apparently, to pursue, to hover about 7 The obligation of an oath is here eluded by a very despicable sophistry. A lawful magistrate alone has the power to exact an oath, but the oath derives no part of its force from the magistrate. The plea against the obligation of an oath obliging to maintain a usurper, taken from the unlawfulness of the oath itself, in the foregoing play, was rational and just-—Johnson. s Of sound judgment. 10 I know not (says Johnson) whether the author intended any moral instruction, but he that reads this has 'Intend here to besiege you in your castle : She is hard by with twenty thousand men ; And therefore fortify your hold, my lord. York. Ay, with my sword. What! think'st thou, that we fear them? Edward and Richard, you shall stay with me; My brother Montague shall post to London! Let noble Warwick, Cobham, and the rest, * Whom we have left protectors of the king, With powerful policy strengthen themselves, And trust not simple Henry, nor his oaths. Mont. Brother, I go; I'll win them, fear it not: And thus most humbly I do take my leave. [Exit. Enter SIR JOHN and SIR HUGH MORTIMER. York. Sir John, and Sir Hugh Mortimer, mine uncles! You are come to Sandal in a happy hour; The army of the Sir John. She shall mean to besiege us. not need, we'll meet her in the field. SCENE III. Plains near Sandal Castle. Ala- Rut. Ah, whither shall I fly to 'scape their Ah, tutor! look, where bloody Clifford comes! Clif. Chaplain, away! thy priesthood saves thy life. As for the brat of this accursed duke, Tut. And I, my lord, will bear him company. Tut. Ah, Clifford! murder not this innocent Lest thou be hated both of God and man. [Exit, forced off by Soldiers. Cliff. How now! is he dead already? Or, is it fear, That makes him close his eyes ?--I'll open them. Rut. So looks the pent-up lion o'er the wretch That trembles under his devouring paws: And so he walks, insulting o'er his prey; 'And so he comes to rend his limbs asunder.Ah, gentle Clifford, kill me with thy sword, And not with such a cruel threat'ning look. Sweet Clifford, hear me speak before I die ;I am too mean a subject for thy wrath, Be thou reveng'd on men, and let me live. Clif. In vain thou speak'st, poor boy; my Hath stopp'd the passage where thy words should blood enter. father's a striking admonition agamst precipitancy, by which We often use unlawful means to do that which a little delay would put honestly in our power. Had York stayed but a few moments, he had saved his cause from the stain of perjury. Rut. Then let my father's blood open it again; Were not revenge sufficient for me; 1A priest called Sir Robert Aspall. Hall, fo. 99. 21. e. the father of which brat, namely the duke of York. 3 Steevens remarks that the epithet derouring, which might well have characterized the whole animal, is oddly enough bestowed on his paws. 4 Rutland was born in 1443; or at latest, according to Hall, in 1448, and Clifford's father was slain at the battle of St. Albans, in 1455. Consequently Rutland was then at least seven years old, more probably twelve. No, if I digg'd up thy forefathers' graves, [Lifting his hand. Clif. Thy father hath. Rut. Ah, let me live in prison all my days; Thy father slew my father; therefore, die. Rut. Dii faciant, laudis summa sit ista tuæ !^ Clif. Plantagenet! I come, Plantagenet! And this thy son's blood cleaving to my blade, Shall rust upon my weapon, till thy blood, Congeal'd with this, do make me wipe off both. [Exit. SCENE V. The same. Alarum. Enter YORK. Or lambs pursu'd by hunger-starved wolves. My sons--God knows, what hath bechanced them: But this I know,-they have demean'd themselves Like men born to renown, by life, or death. Three times did Richard make a lane to me; In blood of those that had encounter'd him: Richard cried,-Charge! and give no foot of ground! And cried,-A crown, or else a glorious tomb! A sceptre, or an earthly sepulchre ! With this we charg'd again: but, out, alas! We bodg'd again; as I have seen a swan With bootless labour swim against the tide, And spend her strength with overmatching waves. [A short Alarum within. Ah, bark! the fatal followers do pursue; And I am faint, and cannot fly their fury: And, were I strong, I would not shun their fury: The sands are number'd, that make up my life; 'Here must I stay, and here my life must end. 5 Since. 6 This line is in Ovid's Epistle from Phillis to Demo phoon. The same quotation is in Nash's Have with you to Saffron Walden, 1596. 7 These were two bastard uncles by the mother's side, Sir John and Sir Hugh Mortimer, See Grafton's Chronicle, p. 649. S Bodged is probably the same as budged, from bouger, French. Steevens thought that it was the same as boggled, i. e. made bad, or bungling work of the attempt to rally. But the following passage, in which Coriolanus speaks of his army who had fled from their adversaries, seems decisive :- The mouse ne'er shunn'd the cat, as they did budg● From rascals worse than they.' |