William Shakespeare

Name: Henry VI, Part 1
Author: William Shakespeare

Summary

"Henry VI, Part 1," by William Shakespeare, is a historical drama chronicling the early reign of King Henry VI and the English struggle against French forces during the Hundred Years' War. Centered on figures like Talbot, Joan of Arc, and the Duke of Gloucester, the play explores themes of war, leadership, and the destabilizing effects of internal strife among English nobles.

Through battles, political intrigue, and the rise of Joan as a symbol of French resistance, Shakespeare portrays a realm torn by "broils" and the burden of dynastic rivalry. The text highlights the fragility of power, the cost of conflict, and the interplay between divine fate and human ambition, culminating in a narrative that reflects the turbulent legacy of medieval chronicles.

Quotes from Henry VI, Part 1 (William Shakespeare)

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1

“ The sun with one eye vieweth all the world.
Heaven, be thou gracious to none alive
If Salisbury wants mercy at thy hands!
Bear hence his body; I will help to bury it.
Sir Thomas Gargrave, hast thou any life?
Speak unto Talbot; nay, look up to him.
Salisbury, cheer thy spirit with this comfort,
Thou shalt not die whiles
He beckons with his hand and smiles on me,
As who should say 'When I am dead and gone,
Remember to avenge me on the French.'
Plantagenet, I will; and like thee, Nero,
Play on the lute, beholding the towns burn.
Wretched shall France be only in my name. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1 (1623)

“ CHARLES Then come, o' God's name; I fear no woman.
JOAN LA PUCELLE And while I live, I'll ne'er fly from a man.
Here they fight, and JOAN LA PUCELLE overcomes
CHARLES Stay, stay thy hands! thou art an Amazon
And fightest with the sword of Deborah.
JOAN LA PUCELLE Christ's mother helps me, else I were too weak.
CHARLES Whoe'er helps thee, 'tis thou that must help me:
Impatiently I burn with thy desire;
My heart and hands thou hast at once subdued.
Excellent Pucelle, if thy name be so,
Let me thy servant and not sovereign be:
'Tis the French Dauphin sueth to thee thus. ”

[↩︎]

Source: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/1henryvi/full.html

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1

“ God speed the parliament! Who shall be the Speaker?
TALBOT. Dare ye come forth and meet us in the field?
PUCELLE. Belike your lordship takes us then for fools,
To try if that our own be ours or no.
TALBOT. I speak not to that railing Hecate,
But unto thee, Alencon, and the rest.
Will ye, like soldiers, come and fight it out?
ALENCON. Signior, no.
TALBOT. Signior, hang! Base muleteers of France!
Like peasant foot-boys do they keep the walls,
And dare not take up arms like gentlemen.
PUCELLE. Away, captains! Let's get us from the walls;
For Talbot means no goodness by his looks. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1

“ Whom like a school-boy you may overawe.
WINCHESTER. Gloucester, whate'er we like, thou art
Protector
And lookest to command the Prince and realm.
Thy wife is proud; she holdeth thee in awe
More than God or religious churchmen may.
GLOUCESTER. Name not religion, for thou lov'st the flesh;
And ne'er throughout the year to church thou go'st,
Except it be to pray against thy foes.
BEDFORD. Cease, cease these jars and rest your minds in peace;
Let's to the altar. Heralds, wait on us.
Instead of gold, we'll offer up our arms,
Since arms avail not, now that Henry's dead. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1

“ And I'll direct thee how thou shalt escape
By sudden flight. Come, dally not, be gone.
JOHN. Is my name Talbot, and am I your son?
And shall I fly? O, if you love my mother,
Dishonour not her honourable name,
To make a bastard and a slave of me!
The world will say he is not Talbot's blood
That basely fled when noble Talbot stood.
TALBOT. Fly to revenge my death, if I be slain.
JOHN. He that flies so will ne'er return again.
TALBOT. If we both stay, we both are sure to die.
JOHN. Then let me stay; and, father, do you fly. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1

“ Prosper this realm, keep it from civil broils,
Combat with adverse planets in the heavens.
A far more glorious star thy soul will make
Than Julius Caesar or bright
Enter a MESSENGER
MESSENGER. My honourable lords, health to you all!
Sad tidings bring I to you out of France,
Of loss, of slaughter, and discomfiture:
Guienne, Champagne, Rheims, Orleans,
Paris, Guysors, Poictiers, are all quite lost.
BEDFORD. What say'st thou, man, before dead Henry's corse?
Speak softly, or the loss of those great towns
Will make him burst his lead and rise from death.
GLOUCESTER. Is Paris lost? ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1

“ TALBOT. Lord Regent, and redoubted Burgundy,
By whose approach the regions of Artois,
Wallon, and Picardy, are friends to us,
This happy night the Frenchmen are secure,
Having all day carous'd and banqueted;
Embrace we then this opportunity,
As fitting best to quittance their deceit,
Contriv'd by art and baleful sorcery.
BEDFORD. Coward of France, how much he wrongs his fame,
Despairing of his own arm's fortitude,
To join with witches and the help of hell!
BURGUNDY. Traitors have never other company.
But what's that Pucelle whom they term so pure?
TALBOT. A maid, they say. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1

“ On us thou canst not enter but by death;
For, I protest, we are well fortified,
And strong enough to issue out and fight.
If thou retire, the Dauphin, well appointed,
Stands with the snares of war to tangle thee.
On either hand thee there are squadrons pitch'd
To wall thee from the liberty of flight,
And no way canst thou turn thee for redress
But death doth front thee with apparent spoil
And pale destruction meets thee in the face.
Ten thousand French have ta'en the sacrament
To rive their dangerous artillery
Upon no Christian soul but English Talbot. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1

“ If death be so apparent, then both fly.
TALBOT. And leave my followers here to fight and die?
My age was never tainted with such shame.
JOHN. And shall my youth be guilty of such blame?
No more can I be severed from your side
Than can yourself yourself yourself in twain divide.
Stay, go, do what you will, the like do I;
For live I will not if my father die.
TALBOT. Then here I take my leave of thee, fair son,
Born to eclipse thy life this afternoon.
Come, side by side together live and die;
And soul with soul from France to heaven fly. Exeunt
SCENE 6. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1

“ In honour of my noble Lord of York
Dar'st thou maintain the former words thou spak'st?
BASSET. Yes, sir; as well as you dare patronage
The envious barking of your saucy tongue
Against my lord the Duke of Somerset.
VERNON. Sirrah, thy lord I honour as he is.
BASSET. Why, what is he? As good a man as York!
VERNON. Hark ye: not so. In witness, take ye that.
[Strikes him]
BASSET. Villain, thou knowest the law of arms is such
That whoso draws a sword 'tis present death,
Or else this blow should broach thy dearest blood. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1 (1623)

“ And, now it is my chance to find thee out,
Must I behold thy timeless cruel death?
Ah, Joan, sweet daughter Joan, I'll die with thee!
JOAN LA PUCELLE Decrepit miser! base ignoble wretch!
I am descended of a gentler blood:
Thou art no father nor no friend of mine.
Shepherd Out, out! My lords, an please you, 'tis not so;
I did beget her, all the parish knows:
Her mother liveth yet, can testify
She was the first fruit of my bachelorship.
WARWICK Graceless! wilt thou deny thy parentage?
YORK This argues what her kind of life hath been,
Wicked and vile; and so her death concludes. ”

[↩︎]

Source: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/1henryvi/full.html

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1

“ Which thou didst force from Talbot, my brave boy.'
Here purposing the Bastard to destroy,
Came in strong rescue. Speak, thy father's care;
Art thou not weary, John? How dost thou fare?
Wilt thou yet leave the battle, boy, and fly,
Now thou art seal'd the son of chivalry?
Fly, to revenge my death when I am dead:
The help of one stands me in little stead.
O, too much folly is it, well I wot,
To hazard all our lives in one small boat!
If I to-day die not with Frenchmen's rage,
To-morrow I shall die with mickle age. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1 (1623)

“ Open the gates; here's Gloucester that would enter.
WOODVILE Have patience, noble duke; I may not open;
The Cardinal of Winchester forbids:
From him I have express commandment
That thou nor none of thine shall be let in.
GLOUCESTER Faint-hearted Woodvile, prizest him 'fore me?
Arrogant Winchester, that haughty prelate,
Whom Henry, our late sovereign, ne'er could brook?
Thou art no friend to God or to the king:
Open the gates, or I'll shut thee out shortly.
Serving-Men
Open the gates unto the lord protector,
Or we'll burst them open, if that you come not quickly. ”

[↩︎]

Source: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/1henryvi/full.html

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1 (1623)

“ Thou Icarus; thy life to me is sweet:
If thou wilt fight, fight by thy father's side;
And, commendable proved, let's die in pride.
Exeunt
SCENE VII. Another part of the field.
Alarum: excursions. Enter TALBOT led by a Servant TALBOT Where is my other life? mine own is gone;
O, where's young Talbot? where is valiant John?
Triumphant death, smear'd with captivity,
Young Talbot's valour makes me smile at thee:
When he perceived me shrink and on my knee,
His bloody sword he brandish'd over me,
And, like a hungry lion, did commence
Rough deeds of rage and stern impatience ”

[↩︎]

Source: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/1henryvi/full.html

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1

“ DAUPHIN and driveth him. Then enter JOAN LA PUCELLE
driving Englishmen before her. Then enter TALBOT
TALBOT. Where is my strength, my valour, and my force?
Our English troops retire, I cannot stay them;
A woman clad in armour chaseth them.
Enter LA PUCELLE
Here, here she comes. I'll have a bout with thee.
Devil or devil's dam, I'll conjure thee;
Blood will I draw on thee—thou art a witch
And straightway give thy soul to him thou serv'st.
PUCELLE. Come, come, 'tis only I that must disgrace thee.
[Here they fight]
TALBOT. Heavens, can you suffer hell so to prevail? ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1 (1918)

“ My death's revenge, thy youth, and England's fame.
All these and more we hazard by thy stay; 40
All these are sav'd if thou wilt fly away.
John. The sword of Orleans hath not made me smart;
These words of yours draw life-blood from my heart.
On that advantage, bought with such a shame, 44
To save a paltry life and slay bright fame,
Before young Talbot from old Talbot fly,
The coward horse that bears me fall and die!
And like me to the peasant boys of France, 48
To be shame's scorn and subject of mischance! ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1

“ SALISBURY. Yet tell'st thou not how thou wert entertain'd.
TALBOT. With scoffs, and scorns, and contumelious taunts,
In open market-place produc'd they me
To be a public spectacle to all;
Here, said they, is the terror of the French,
The scarecrow that affrights our children so.
Then broke I from the officers that led me,
And with my nails digg'd stones out of the ground
To hurl at the beholders of my shame;
My grisly countenance made others fly;
None durst come near for fear of sudden death. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1

“ One sudden foil shall never breed distrust
BASTARD. Search out thy wit for secret policies,
And we will make thee famous through the world.
ALENCON. We'll set thy statue in some holy place,
And have thee reverenc'd like a blessed saint.
Employ thee, then, sweet virgin, for our good.
PUCELLE. Then thus it must be; this doth Joan devise:
By fair persuasions, mix'd with sug'red words,
We will entice the Duke of Burgundy
To leave the Talbot and to follow us.
CHARLES. Ay, marry, sweeting, if we could do that,
France were no place for Henry's warriors ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1 (1623)

“ As very infants prattle of thy pride.
Thou art a most pernicious usurer,
Forward by nature, enemy to peace;
Lascivious, wanton, more than well beseems
A man of thy profession and degree;
And for thy treachery, what's more manifest?
In that thou laid'st a trap to take my life,
As well at London bridge as at the Tower.
Beside, I fear me, if thy thoughts were sifted,
The king, thy sovereign, is not quite exempt
From envious malice of thy swelling heart.
BISHOP
OF WINCHESTER Gloucester, I do defy thee. Lords, vouchsafe
To give me hearing what I shall reply. ”

[↩︎]

Source: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/1henryvi/full.html

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1 (1918)

“ Was not thy father, Richard Earl of Cambridge,
For treason executed in our late king's days?
And, by his treason stand'st not thou attainted,
Corrupted, and exempt from ancient gentry?
His trespass yet lives guilty in thy blood; ⁠94
And, till thou be restor'd, thou art a yeoman.
Plan. My father was attached, not attainted;
Condemn'd to die for treason, but no traitor;
And that I'll prove on better men than Somerset,
Were growing time once ripen'd to my will. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1 (1623)

“ His brandish'd sword did blind men with his beams:
His arms spread wider than a dragon's wings;
His sparking eyes, replete with wrathful fire,
More dazzled and drove back his enemies
Than mid-day sun fierce bent against their faces.
What should I say? his deeds exceed all speech:
He ne'er lift up his hand but conquered.
EXETER We mourn in black: why mourn we not in blood?
Henry is dead and never shall revive:
Upon a wooden coffin we attend,
And death's dishonourable victory
We with our stately presence glorify,
Like captives bound to a triumphant car. ”

[↩︎]

Source: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/1henryvi/full.html

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1

“ One would have ling'ring wars, with little cost;
Another would fly swift, but wanteth wings;
A third thinks, without expense at all,
By guileful fair words peace may be obtain'd.
Awake, awake, English nobility!
Let not sloth dim your honours, new-begot.
Cropp'd are the flower-de-luces in your arms;
Of England's coat one half is cut away.
EXETER. Were our tears wanting to this funeral,
These tidings would call forth their flowing tides.
BEDFORD. Me they concern; Regent I am of France.
Give me my steeled coat; I'll fight for France. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1 (1623)

“ Enter CHARLES, the BASTARD OF ORLEANS, ALENCON, JOAN LA PUCELLE, and forces JOAN LA PUCELLE Dismay not, princes, at this accident,
Nor grieve that Rouen is so recovered:
Care is no cure, but rather corrosive,
For things that are not to be remedied.
Let frantic Talbot triumph for a while
And like a peacock sweep along his tail;
We'll pull his plumes and take away his train,
If Dauphin and the rest will be but ruled.
CHARLES We have been guided by thee hitherto,
And of thy cunning had no diffidence:
One sudden foil shall never breed distrust. ”

[↩︎]

Source: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/1henryvi/full.html

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1

“ SECOND MESSENGER. Lords, view these letters full of bad
mischance.
France is revolted from the English quite,
Except some petty towns of no import.
The Dauphin Charles is crowned king in Rheims;
The Bastard of Orleans with him is join'd;
Reignier, Duke of Anjou, doth take his part;
The Duke of Alencon flieth to his side.
EXETER. The Dauphin crowned king! all fly to him!
O, whither shall we fly from this reproach?
GLOUCESTER. We will not fly but to our enemies' throats.
Bedford, if thou be slack I'll fight it out.
BEDFORD. Gloucester, why doubt'st thou of my forwardness? ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1 (1623)

“ Here sound an English march. Enter, and pass over at a distance, TALBOT and his forces
There goes the Talbot, with his colours spread,
And all the troops of English after him.
French march. Enter BURGUNDY and forces
Now in the rearward comes the duke and his:
Fortune in favour makes him lag behind.
Summon a parley; we will talk with him.
Trumpets sound a parley
CHARLES A parley with the Duke of Burgundy!
BURGUNDY Who craves a parley with the Burgundy?
JOAN LA PUCELLE The princely Charles of France, thy countryman.
BURGUNDY What say'st thou, Charles? for I am marching hence. ”

[↩︎]

Source: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/1henryvi/full.html

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1

“ PUCELLE. Talbot, farewell; thy hour is not yet come.
I must go victual Orleans forthwith.
[A short alarum; then enter the town with soldiers]
O'ertake me if thou canst; I scorn thy strength.
Go, go, cheer up thy hungry starved men;
Help Salisbury to make his testament.
This day is ours, as many more shall be. Exit
TALBOT. My thoughts are whirled like a potter's wheel;
I know not where I am nor what I do.
A witch by fear, not force, like Hannibal,
Drives back our troops and conquers as she lists. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1

“ YORK. Alas, what joy shall noble Talbot have
To bid his young son welcome to his grave?
Away! vexation almost stops my breath,
That sund'red friends greet in the hour of death.
Lucy, farewell; no more my fortune can
But curse the cause I cannot aid the man.
Maine, Blois, Poictiers, and Tours, are won away
Long all of Somerset and his delay. Exit with forces
LUCY. Thus, while the vulture of sedition
Feeds in the bosom of such great commanders,
Sleeping neglection doth betray to loss
The conquest of our scarce cold conqueror,
That ever-living man of memory,
Henry the Fifth. ”

William Shakespeare

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Quotes from Henry VI, Part 1 (William Shakespeare)

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