his sons KING HENRY the sixth EDWARD, Prince of Wales, his son DUKE OF SOMERSET DUKE OF EXETER EARL OF OXFORD EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND EARL OF WESTMORELAND LORD CLIFFORD RICHARD PLANTAGENET, Duke of York EDWARD, Earl of March, afterwards King Edward IV, EDMUND, Earl of Rutland, GEORGE, afterwards Duke of Clarence, RICHARD, afterwards Duke of Gloucester, DUKE OF NORFOLK MARQUESS OF MONTAGUE EARL OF WARWICK EARL OF PEMBROKE LORD STAFFORD SIR JORN MORTIMER, SIR HUGH MORTIMER, uncles to the Duke of York HENRY, Earl of Richmond, a youth LORD RIVERS, brother to Lady Grey SIR WILLIAM STANLEY SIR JOHN MONTGOMERY SIR JOHN SOMERVILLE Tutor to Rutland. Mayor of York A Son that has killed his father A Father that has killed his son QUEEN MARGARET LADY GREY, afterwards Queen to Edward IV BONA, sister to the French Queen Soldiers, Attendants, Messengers, Watchmen, &c. SCENE: England and France SYNOPSIS By J. ELLIS BURDICK ACT I Before Henry VI reaches London, the Duke of York is there and is seated on the throne by the Earl of Warwick. The king enters the Parliament-house and finding threats of no avail to make York give up the throne, promises that York shall be his heir. Margaret is very angry that her son should thus be denied the succession and she herself raises an army. A battle takes place between the forces of the queen and those of York, in which the latter is defeated and slain. ACT II Edward and Richard, York's sons, are much disheartened over the death of their father, but are encouraged when Warwick joins them. Another battle is fought near Towton and Henry's forces are routed. Edward and his followers then proceed to London, there to crown Edward as king. ACT III After Edward's coronation, Warwick journeys to France to arrange a marriage between the new king and the Princess Bona, sister of the queen of France. King Henry is taken prisoner and carried to the London Tower. At the French court Warwick meets Margaret; both plead with Lewis, the first for the hand of Bona for his king and the latter for aid to restore Henry to his throne. Lewis has just promised to accede to Warwick's wishes when a post enters bringing letters. They contain the news of Edward's marriage with Lady Elizabeth Grey. Angry with Edward for his broken faith, Warwick and Lewis both turn to Margaret; Warwick is reconciled to her and Lewis promises her the French troops she so much needs. ACT IV Warwick hastens to England, by forced marches surprises Edward, deposes him, and restores the crown to Henry. Edward escapes from his captors and flees to Burgundy, where he succeeds in recruiting fresh troops. He returns to his dukedom of York in England and is there joined by his own friends and their followers. They march upon London and Henry is again seized and imprisoned in the Tower. ACT V Warwick "the King-maker" and Edward meet in battle near Barnet and the forces of the Earl are defeated, he himself being killed. The king then proceeds to Tewksbury, where he meets Margaret and her French troops. The queen is taken prisoner, and the prince, her son, stabbed to death by York's brother. Edward's brother, the Duke of Gloucester, hastens to London and kills Henry. Edward ascends the throne with every prospect of peace and security for the future were it not for the mutterings of the Duke of Gloucester. 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: 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 Bucking ham, 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. |