So am I driven, by breath of her renown, Suf. Tush! my good lord! this superficial tale And, which is more, she is not so divine, K. Hen. And otherwise will Henry ne'er pre sume. Therefore, my lord protector, give consent, How shall we then dispense with that contract, A poor earl's daughter is unequal odds: Her father is no better than an earl, 1 A triumph then signified a public exhibition; such as a tournament, mask, or revel. Thus Milton in L'Allegro : -knights and barons bold, In weeds of peace, high triumphs hold.' See first note in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Suf. Yes, my good lord, her father is a king, The king of Naples, and Jerusalem; And of such great authority in France, As his alliance will confirm our peace, And keep the Frenchmen in allegiance. Glo. And so the earl of Armagnac may do, Because he is near kinsman unto Charles. Exe. Beside, his wealth doth warrant liberal dower; While Reignier sooner will receive than give. That he should be so abject, base, and poor, And not to seek a queen to make him rich: Not whom we will, but whom his grace affects, 2 By the intervention of another man's choice; or the discretional agency of another. The phrase occurs twice in King Richard III.— Again Be the attorney of my love to her.' I, by attorney, bless thee from thy mother." (More than in women commonly is seen), As is fair Margaret, he be link'd in love. me, That Margaret shall be queen, and none but she. K. Hen. Whether it be through force of your report, My noble lord of Suffolk; or for that I cannot tell; but this I am assur'd, Agree to any covenants: and procure That Lady Margaret do vouchsafe to come To censure is here simply to judge. If in judging me you consider the past frailties of your own youth.' 4 Grief, in the first line, stands for pain, uneasiness; in the second, especially for sorrow. Suf. Thus Suffolk hath prevail'd: and thus he goes, As did the youthful Paris once to Greece; Or this play there is no copy earlier than that of the folio in 1623, though the two succeeding parts are extant in two editions in quarto. That the second and third parts were published without the first, may be admitted as no weak proof that the copies were surreptitiously obtained, and that the printers of that time gave the public those plays, not such as the author designed, but such as they could get them. That this play was written before the two others is indubitably collected from the series of events; that it was written and played before Henry the Fifth is apparent, because in the epilogue there is mention made of this play, and not of the other parts: 'Henry the Sixth in swaddling bands crown'd king, That they lost France, and made his England bleed: FRANCE 19 LOST in this play. The two following contain, as_the old title imports, the contention of the houses of York and Lan caster. The Second and Third Parts of Henry VI. were printed in 1600. When Henry V. was written, we know not, but it was printed likewise in 1600, and therefore before the publication of the first and second parts. The First Part of Henry VI. had been often shown on the stage, and would certainly have appeared in its place, had the author been the publisher. JOHNSON. THAT the second and third parts, as they are now called, were printed without the first, is a proof, in my apprehension, that they were not written by the same author: and the title of The Contention of the Houses of York and Lancaster, being affixed to the two pieces which were printed in quarto, is a proof that they were a distinct work, commencing where the other ended, but not written at the same time; and that this play was never known by the title of The First Part of King Henry VI. till Heminge and Condell gave it that name in their volume, to distinguish it from the two subsequent plays: which being altered by Shakspeare, assumed the new titles of the Second and Third Parts of King Henry VI. that they might not be confounded with the original pieces on which they were formed. The first part was originally called The Historical Play of King Henry VI. MALONE. |