William Shakespeare

“ RICHARD.
Then, executioner, unsheathe thy sword.
By Him that made us all, I am resolved
That Clifford’s manhood lies upon his tongue.
EDWARD.
Say, Henry, shall I have my right, or no?
A thousand men have broke their fasts today
That ne’er shall dine unless thou yield the crown.
WARWICK.
If thou deny, their blood upon thy head;
For York in justice puts his armour on.
PRINCE EDWARD.
If that be right which Warwick says is right,
There is no wrong, but everything is right.
RICHARD.
Whoever got thee, there thy mother stands;
For well I wot thou hast thy mother’s tongue. ”

“ That cries “Retire,” if Warwick bid him stay.
EDWARD.
Lord Warwick, on thy shoulder will I lean;
And when thou fail’st—as God forbid the hour!—
Must Edward fall, which peril heaven forfend!
WARWICK.
No longer Earl of March, but Duke of York.
The next degree is England’s royal throne;
For King of England shalt thou be proclaimed
In every borough as we pass along,
And he that throws not up his cap for joy
Shall for the fault make forfeit of his head.
King Edward, valiant Richard, Montague,
Stay we no longer dreaming of renown,
But sound the trumpets and about our task. ”

“ To weep is to make less the depth of grief:
Tears, then, for babes; blows and revenge for me!
Richard, I bear thy name; I’ll venge thy death,
Or die renowned by attempting it.
EDWARD.
His name that valiant duke hath left with thee;
His dukedom and his chair with me is left.
RICHARD.
Nay, if thou be that princely eagle’s bird,
Show thy descent by gazing ’gainst the sun;
For chair and dukedom, throne and kingdom say,
Either that is thine, or else thou wert not his.
March. Enter Warwick, Marquess Montague and their army.
WARWICK.
How now, fair lords! What fare? What news abroad? ”

“ Upon that Clifford, that cruel child-killer.
CLIFFORD.
I slew thy father; call’st thou him a child?
RICHARD.
Ay, like a dastard and a treacherous coward,
As thou didst kill our tender brother Rutland,
But ere sunset I’ll make thee curse the deed.
KING HENRY.
Have done with words, my lords, and hear me speak.
QUEEN MARGARET.
Defy them then, or else hold close thy lips.
KING HENRY.
I prithee, give no limits to my tongue.
I am a king, and privileged to speak.
CLIFFORD.
My liege, the wound that bred this meeting here
Cannot be cured by words; therefore be still. ”

“ Why, Warwick, canst thou speak against thy liege,
Whom thou obeyed’st thirty and six years,
And not bewray thy treason with a blush?
WARWICK.
Can Oxford, that did ever fence the right,
Now buckler falsehood with a pedigree?
For shame! Leave Henry, and call Edward king.
OXFORD.
Call him my king by whose injurious doom
My elder brother, the Lord Aubrey Vere,
Was done to death? And more than so, my father,
Even in the downfall of his mellowed years,
When nature brought him to the door of death?
No, Warwick, no; while life upholds this arm,
This arm upholds the house of Lancaster. ”

“ RICHARD.
You are old enough now, and yet, methinks, you lose.
Father, tear the crown from the usurper’s head.
EDWARD.
Sweet father, do so; set it on your head.
MONTAGUE.
Good brother, as thou lov’st 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!
KING HENRY.
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. ”

“ Enter Richard and Clifford.
RICHARD.
Now, Clifford, I have singled thee alone.
Suppose this arm is for the Duke of York,
And this for Rutland; both bound to revenge,
Wert thou environed with a brazen wall.
CLIFFORD.
Now, Richard, I am with thee here alone.
This is the hand that stabbed thy father York,
And this the hand that slew thy brother Rutland;
And here’s the heart that triumphs in their death
And cheers these hands that slew thy sire and brother
To execute the like upon thyself;
And so have at thee!
They fight. Warwick comes; Clifford flies. ”

“ WARWICK.
The bloody parliament shall this be called,
Unless Plantagenet, Duke of York, be king,
And bashful Henry deposed, whose cowardice
Hath made us bywords 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,
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.
[Warwick leads York to the throne, who seats himself.] ”

“ Why com’st thou in such post?
MESSENGER.
The Queen, with all the northern earls and lords
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. ”

“ EDWARD.
Smile, gentle heaven, or strike, ungentle death;
For this world frowns and Edward’s sun is clouded.
WARWICK.
How now, my lord, what hap? What hope of good?
Enter George.
GEORGE.
Our hap is loss, our hope but sad despair;
Our ranks are broke and ruin follows us.
What counsel give you? Whither shall we fly?
EDWARD.
Bootless is flight, they follow us with wings;
And weak we are and cannot shun pursuit.
Enter Richard.
RICHARD.
Ah, Warwick, why hast thou withdrawn thyself?
Thy brother’s blood the thirsty earth hath drunk,
Broached with the steely point of Clifford’s lance ”

“ KING HENRY.
A persecutor I am sure thou art.
If murdering innocents be executing,
Why, then thou art an executioner.
RICHARD.
Thy son I killed for his presumption.
KING HENRY.
Hadst thou been killed when first thou didst presume,
Thou hadst not lived to kill a son of mine.
And thus I prophesy: that many a thousand
Which now mistrust no parcel of my fear,
And many an old man’s sigh, and many a widow’s,
And many an orphan’s water-standing eye,
Men for their sons’, wives for their husbands’,
Orphans for their parents’ timeless death,
Shall rue the hour that ever thou wast born. ”

“ Enter Somerset with drum and colours.
SOMERSET.
Somerset, Somerset, for Lancaster!
[He and his forces enter the city.]
RICHARD.
Two of thy name, both Dukes of Somerset,
Have sold their lives unto the House of York;
And thou shalt be the third if this sword hold.
Enter George (Duke of Clarence) with drum and colours.
WARWICK.
And lo, where George of Clarence sweeps along,
Of force enough to bid his brother battle;
With whom an upright zeal to right prevails
More than the nature of a brother’s love.
[Richard and George whisper.]
Come, Clarence, come; thou wilt if Warwick call. ”

“ OXFORD.
Women and children of so high a courage,
And warriors faint! Why, ’twere perpetual shame.
O, brave young Prince, thy famous grandfather
Doth live again in thee. Long mayst thou live
To bear his image and renew his glories!
SOMERSET.
And he that will not fight for such a hope,
Go home to bed and, like the owl by day,
If he arise, be mocked and wondered at.
QUEEN MARGARET.
Thanks, gentle Somerset. Sweet Oxford, thanks.
PRINCE EDWARD.
And take his thanks that yet hath nothing else.
Enter a Messenger.
MESSENGER.
Prepare you, lords, for Edward is at hand
Ready to fight ”

“ And who durst smile when Warwick bent his brow?
Lo, now my glory smeared in dust and blood!
My parks, my walks, my manors that I had,
Even now forsake me; and of all my lands
Is nothing left me but my body’s length.
Why, what is pomp, rule, reign, but earth and dust?
And live we how we can, yet die we must.
Enter Oxford and Somerset.
SOMERSET.
Ah, Warwick, Warwick, wert thou as we are,
We might recover all our loss again.
The Queen from France hath brought a puissant power;
Even now we heard the news. Ah, couldst thou fly!
WARWICK.
Why, then I would not fly. Ah, Montague! ”

“ NORTHUMBERLAND.
Be it with resolution then to fight.
PRINCE EDWARD.
My royal father, cheer these noble lords,
And hearten those that fight in your defence.
Unsheathe your sword, good father; cry “Saint George!”
March. Enter Edward, George, Richard, Warwick, Norfolk, Montague and Soldiers.
EDWARD.
Now, perjured Henry, wilt thou kneel for grace
And set thy diadem upon my head,
Or bide the mortal fortune of the field?
QUEEN MARGARET.
Go rate thy minions, proud insulting boy!
Becomes it thee to be thus bold in terms
Before thy sovereign and thy lawful king? ”

“ GEORGE.
A little fire is quickly trodden out,
Which, being suffered, rivers cannot quench.
WARWICK.
In Warwickshire I have true-hearted friends,
Not mutinous in peace, yet bold in war.
Those will I muster up; and thou, son Clarence,
Shalt stir up in Suffolk, Norfolk, and in Kent
The knights and gentlemen to come with thee.
Thou, brother Montague, in Buckingham,
Northampton, and in Leicestershire shalt find
Men well inclined to hear what thou command’st.
And thou, brave Oxford, wondrous well beloved,
In Oxfordshire shalt muster up thy friends. ”

“ But buckle with thee blows twice two for one.
QUEEN MARGARET.
Hold, valiant Clifford; for a thousand causes
I would prolong awhile the traitor’s life.
Wrath makes him deaf; speak thou, Northumberland.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
Hold, Clifford, do not honour him so much
To prick thy finger, though to wound his heart.
What valour were it, when a cur doth grin,
For one to thrust his hand between his teeth,
When he might spurn him with his foot away?
It is war’s prize to take all vantages,
And ten to one is no impeach of valour.
[They lay hands on York, who struggles.] ”

“ Enter King Edward, Richard (Duke of Gloucester) and Soldiers.
KING EDWARD.
Seize on the shame-faced Henry, bear him hence,
And once again proclaim us King of England.
You are the fount that makes small brooks to flow.
Now stops thy spring; my sea shall suck them dry
And swell so much the higher by their ebb.
Hence with him to the Tower. Let him not speak.
[Exeunt some with King Henry.]
And, lords, towards Coventry bend we our course,
Where peremptory Warwick now remains.
The sun shines hot, and, if we use delay,
Cold biting winter mars our hoped-for hay. ”

“ CLIFFORD.
Here burns my candle out; ay, here it dies,
Which whiles it lasted gave King Henry light.
O Lancaster, I fear thy overthrow
More than my body’s parting with my soul!
My love and fear glued many friends to thee;
And, now I fall, thy tough commixtures melts,
Impairing Henry, strengthening misproud York.
The common people swarm like summer flies;
And whither fly the gnats but to the sun?
And who shines now but Henry’s enemies?
O Phoebus, hadst thou never given consent
That Phaëthon should check thy fiery steeds,
Thy burning car never had scorched the earth! ”

“ Humbly to kiss your hand, and with my tongue
To tell the passion of my sovereign’s heart,
Where fame, late entering at his heedful ears,
Hath placed thy beauty’s image and thy virtue.
QUEEN MARGARET.
King Lewis and Lady Bona, hear me speak
Before you answer Warwick. His demand
Springs not from Edward’s well-meant honest love,
But from deceit, bred by necessity;
For how can tyrants safely govern home
Unless abroad they purchase great alliance? ”

“ KING HENRY.
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.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
Well hast thou spoken, cousin. Be it so.
KING HENRY.
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. ”

“ Say Warwick was our anchor; what of that?
And Montague our topmast; what of him?
Our slaughtered friends the tackles; what of these?
Why, is not Oxford here another anchor?
And Somerset another goodly mast?
The friends of France our shrouds and tacklings?
And, though unskilful, why not Ned and I
For once allowed the skilful pilot’s charge?
We will not from the helm to sit and weep,
But keep our course, though the rough wind say no,
From shelves and rocks that threaten us with wrack.
As good to chide the waves as speak them fair.
And what is Edward but a ruthless sea? ”

“ Even for the loss of thee, having no more,
As Priam was for all his valiant sons.
I’ll bear thee hence; and let them fight that will,
For I have murdered where I should not kill.
[Exit with the body.]
KING HENRY.
Sad-hearted men, much overgone with care,
Here sits a king more woeful than you are.
Alarums. Excursions. Enter Queen Margaret, Prince of Wales and Exeter.
PRINCE EDWARD.
Fly, father, fly, for all your friends are fled,
And Warwick rages like a chafed bull.
Away, for death doth hold us in pursuit. ”

“ Let me embrace thee, sour adversity,
For wise men say it is the wisest course.
2 KEEPER.
Why linger we? Let us lay hands upon him.
1 KEEPER.
Forbear awhile; we’ll hear a little more.
KING HENRY.
My queen and son are gone to France for aid;
And, as I hear, the great commanding Warwick
Is thither gone to crave the French King’s sister
To wife for Edward. If this news be true,
Poor queen and son, your labour is but lost,
For Warwick is a subtle orator,
And Lewis a prince soon won with moving words.
By this account, then, Margaret may win him,
For she’s a woman to be pitied much. ”