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THE THIRD PART OF

KING HENRY VI

ACT FIRST

SCENE I

London. The Parliament-house.

Alarum. Enter the Duke of York, Edward, Richard, Norfolk, Montague, Warwick, and Soldiers.

War. I wonder how the king escaped our hands. York. While we pursued the horsemen of the north,

He slily stole away and left his men:

Whereat the great Lord of Northumberland,
Whose warlike ears could never brook retreat,
Cheer'd up the drooping army; and himself,
Lord Clifford and Lord Stafford, all a-breast,
Charged our main battle's front, and breaking
in

Were by the swords of common soldiers slain.

9. It was seen in the note to 1. 30 of Act. v. sc. 2, of the preceding play, that the circumstances of old Clifford's death are here stated as they really were. As the representation is in both cases the same in the quarto as in the folio, it is obvious that on the principle of Malone's reasoning this discrepancy proves the two parts of the

Edw. Lord Stafford's father, Duke of Buckingham,

Is either slain or wounded dangerously;

10

I cleft his beaver with a downright blow: That this is true, father, behold his blood Mont. And, brother, here's the Earl of Wiltshire's blood,

Whom I encounter'd as the battles join'd. Rich. Speak thou for me and tell them what I did.

[Throwing down the Duke of Somerset's head. York. Richard hath best deserved of all my sons.

But is your grace dead, my Lord of Somerset? Norf. Such hope have all the line of John of Gaunt!

quarto to have been by different hands. Of course the personal fight of York and Clifford in the former play was for dramatic effect; and here the Poet probably fell back upon the historical facts without thinking of his preceding fiction.-In the present scene Shakespeare brings into close juxtaposition events that were in fact more than five years asunder. The first battle of St. Albans was fought May 22, 1455, and the parliament at Westminster, whose proceedings are here represented, was opened October 7, 1560. In October, 1459, the Yorkists had been dispersed, and the duke himself with his son Edmund had fled to Ireland; but they soon rallied again, and in July, 1460, a terrible battle was fought at Northampton, wherein the Yorkists were again victorious, and got the king into their hands, and compelled him soon after to call the parliament in question.-H. N. H.

11. "dangerously," Theobald's correction (from Qq.); Ff., "dangerous."-I. G.

14. In this play York and Montague are made to address each other several times as brothers. Perhaps the Poet thought that John Nevil, marquess of Montague, was brother to York's wife, whereas he was her nephew. Montague was brother to the earl of Warwick; and the duchess of York was half-sister to their father, the earl of Salisbury.-H. N. H.

18. "But is your grace"; Pope, "Is his grace"; Capell, "Is your grace"; Malone (from Qq.), "What, is your grace”; Steevens, “What, 's your grace"; Lettsom, "What, Is your grace."-I. G.

19. "hope"; Capell, "ena"; Dyce (Anon. conj.), “hap.”—I. G.

D

Rich. Thus do I hope to shake King Henry's head. War. And so do I. Victorious Prince of York, 21 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. 30 York. Thanks, gentle Norfolk: stay by me, my lords;

And, soldiers, stay and lodge by me this night

[They go up. War. And when the king comes, offer him no

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violence,

Unless he seek to thrust you out perforce.

York. The queen this day here holds her parlia

ment,

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, 40
And bashful Henry deposed, whose cowardice
Hath made us by-words to our enemies.

34. “thrust you out perforce"; Rowe, "thrust you out by force"; Capell (from Qq.), “put us out by force.”—I. G.

36. "council"; Pope's emendation of Ff. 1, 2, "counsaile"; F. 3, ""counsell"; F. 4, "counsel.”—I. G.

41. "And bashful Henry deposed, whose cowardice"; Qq., “be leposde"; as the line stands in the Ff. "Henry" must be either dissyllabic or monosyllabic,-I. G.

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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. I'll plant Plantagenet, root him up who dares: Resolve thee, Richard; claim the English

crown.

Flourish. Enter King Henry, Clifford, Northumberland, Westmoreland, Exeter, and the rest.

K. Hen. My lords, look where the sturdy rebel sits, Even in the chair of state: belike he means, 51 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 revenge

On him, his sons, his favorites and his friends. North. If I be not, heavens be revenged on me! Clif. The hope thereof makes Clifford mourn in

steel.

West. What, shall we suffer this? let's pluck him down:

47. 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. The quarto has "the proudest bird that holds up Lancaster."-H. N. H.

55. "You both have vow'd"; F. 4, "you have both vow'd"; Pope, "you vow'd"; Collier MS., "you have vow'd"; Collier conj. "both have vow'd"; Vaughan conj. "you both vow'd."-I. G.

56. "favorites"; Capell, "favorers."—I. G.

My heart for anger burns; I cannot brook it. 60 K. Hen. Be patient, gentle Earl of Westmoreland.

Clif. 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. North. Well hast thou spoken, cousin: be it so. K. Hen. Ah, know you not the city favors them,

And they have troops of soldiers at their beck? Exe. But when the duke is slain, they 'll quickly fly.

K. Hen. Far be the thought of this from Henry's heart,

70

To make a shambles of the parliament-house!
Cousin of Exeter, frowns, words and threats
Shall be the war that Henry means to use.
Thou factious Duke of York, descend my
throne,

And kneel for grace and mercy at my feet;
I am thy sovereign.

York.

I am thine.

Exe. For shame, come down: he made thee Duke

of York.

York. 'Twas my inheritance, as the earldom was.

62. "poltroons, such as he"; F. 1, “Poultroones, such as he"; Ff. 2, 3, "Poultroones, and such is he"; F. 4, "Poltroons, and such is he"; Capell, "poltroons, and such as he.”—I. G.

70. "Far be the thought of this from Henry's heart"; Capell (from Qq.), “Far be it from the thoughts of Henry's heart.”—I. G.

76. "I am thine"; Rowe, "Henry, I am thine"; Theobald (from Qq.), “Thou'rt deceiv'd, I'm thine.”—I. G.

78. "The earldom was," i. e. the earldom of March, by which he claimed the throne; Theobald (from Qq.), "The kingdom is,”

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