KING HENRY the Sixth DUKE OF GLOUCESTER, uncle to the King, and Protector DUKE OF BEDFord, uncle to the King, and Regent of France afterwards Cardinal JOHN BEAUFort, Earl, afterwards Duke, of Somerset afterwards Duke of York EARL OF WARWICK EARL OF SALISBURY EARL OF SUFFOLK LORD TALBOT, afterwards Earl of Shrewsbury JOHN TALBOT, his son EDMUND MORTIMER, Earl of March SIR JOHN FASTOLFE SIR WILLIAM LUCY SIR WILLIAM GLANSDALE SIR THOMAS GARGRAVE Mayor of London : WOODVILE, Lieutenant of the Tower VERNON, of the White-Rose or York faction A Lawyer, Mortimer's Keepers CHARLES, Dauphin, and afterwards King, of France REIGNIER, Duke of Anjou, and titular King of Naples DUKE OF ALENÇON Governor of Paris Master-Gunner of Orleans and his Son General of the French forces in Bordeaux An old Shepherd, father to Joan la Pucelle MARGARET, daughter to Reignier, afterwards married to King Henry COUNTESS OF AUVERGNE JOAN LA PUCELLE, commonly called Joan of Arc Lords, Warders of the Tower, Heralds, Officers, Soldiers, Messengers, and Attendants Fiends appearing to La Pucelle SCENE: Partly in England, and partly in France SYNOPSIS By J. ELLIS BURDICK ACT I By the death of the valiant King Henry V his infant son, Henry VI, succeeded to the thrones of England and France. The young King's guardians, forgetful of their country's interests, engage in quarrels with each other. The French take advantage of this weakness to regain many of their cities. Joan la Pucelle, or Joan of Arc, as she is known in history, renders valuable aid to the Dauphin of France, later Charles VII; she assists him to raise the siege of Orleans in spite of the able resistance of Talbot, the English general. ACT II The English retake Orleans by a sudden attack while the French are feasting in celebration of their victory. In England the quarrels of Richard Plantagenet, afterwards the Duke of York, and John Beaufort, Earl, afterwards the Duke, of Somerset, grow more violent and develop into the civil war known as the War of the Roses from the colors and flowers worn by either side-white roses by the Plantagenets (the House of York) and red ones by the Somersets (the House of Lancaster). ACT III Aided by La Pucelle, the French capture Rouen, but the English under Talbot retake it. Leaving a garrison in the town, Talbot and his army go to Paris, where the young monarch, Henry VI, is awaiting his coronation as King of France. The French Duke of Burgundy, who has been serving in the English army, is met by La Pucelle and the Dauphin and persuaded to return to his old allegiance. Henry creates Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury in recognition of his services. ACT IV Talbot and his son John attempt to capture Bordeaux, but are surrounded by a much larger force of the French under the Dauphin. The quarrels of the Dukes of York and Somerset prevent them from sending additional troops to the Talbots and they are slain in a strongly contested battle. ACT V Henry VI consents to his guardians' plans for his marriage with the daughter of the French Earl of Armagnac. In a battle before Angiers, the English capture Joan of Arc and Margaret of Anjou, Joan is condemned to death at the stake and Henry is persuaded by the Duke of Suffolk to break his engagement with the Earl of Armagnac's daughter in favor of an alliance with Margaret. Charles the Dauphin swears allegiance to Henry VI and reigns as viceroy of France. THE FIRST PART OF KING HENRY VI ACT FIRST.. SCENE I Westminster Abbey. Dead March. Enter the Funeral of King Henry the Fifth, attended on by the Duke of Bedford, Regent of France; the Duke of Gloucester, Protector; the Duke of Eхеter, the Earl of Warwick, the Bishop of Winchester, Heralds, &c. Bed. Hung be the heavens with black, yield day to night! Comets, importing change of times and states, Brandish your crystal tresses in the sky, And with them scourge the bad revolting stars That have consented unto Henry's death! King Henry the Fifth, too famous to live long! England ne'er lost a king of so much worth. Glou. England ne'er had a king until his time. Virtue he had, deserving to command: His brandish'd sword did blind men with his beams: 1. The upper part of the stage was in Shakespeare's times technically called the heavens, and was used to be hung with black when tragedies were performed. To this custom the text probably refers. -Η. Ν. Η. 3. "crystal," unnecessarily changed by Hanmer to "crisped"; Warburton, "cristed” or “crested"; Roderick, "tristful tresses in the sky," or "tresses in the crystal sky."-I. G. 10 His arms spread wider than a dragon's wings; Than mid-day sun fierce bent against their What should I say? his deeds exceed all speech: Exe. We mourn in black: why mourn we not in blood? Henry is dead and never shall revive: And death's dishonorable victory 20 The epithet Crystal was often bestowed on Comets by the old writers.-H. N. Η. 5. consented unto, conspired to bring about.-C. H. Η. 6. "King Henry the Fifth"; Pope, "Henry the Fifth"; Walker, "King Henry Fifth"; Pope's reading has been generally followed by modern editors. I. G. 12. "wrathful"; Rowe, "awful."-I. G. 17. Thomas Beaufort, the present duke of Exeter, was son to John of Ghent by Catherine Swynford; born out of wedlock, but legitimated along with three other children in the time of Richard II. Of course therefore he was great uncle to King Henry VI. At the death of Henry V he was appointed governor of the infant king, which office he held till his death in 1425. The Poet, however, prolongs his life till 1444, the period of the First Part. Holinshed calls him "a right sage and discreet counsellor." The name Beaufort was derived from the place of his birth, which was Beaufort castle in France.-H. N. Η. |