Henry VI, Pt. 3
Act I, Scene 1
London. The Parliament House.
- Alarum. Enter Richard Plantagenet, the Duke of York, Edward,
- Richard, Norfolk, Montague, Warwick, with Drum and Soldiers,
- with white roses in their hats.
Earl of Warwick
1- I wonder how the King escap’d our hands.
Duke of York
2 - 9- While we pursu’d the horsemen of the north,
- He slyly 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 abreast,
- Charg’d our main battle’s front; and breaking in,
- Were by the swords of common soldiers slain.
Edward
10 - 13- Lord Stafford’s father, Duke of Buckingham,
- Is either slain or wounded dangerous;
- I cleft his beaver with a downright blow.
- That this is true, father, behold his blood.
Marquess Montague
14 - 15- And, brother, here’s the Earl of Wiltshire’s blood,
- Whom I encount’red as the battles join’d.
Richard
16- Speak thou for me and tell them what I did.
- Showing the Duke of Somerset’s head.
Duke of York
17 - 18- Richard hath best deserv’d of all my sons.
- But is your Grace dead, my Lord of Somerset?
Duke of Norfolk
19- Such hope have all the line of John of Gaunt!
Richard
20- Thus do I hope to shake King Henry’s head.
Earl of Warwick
21 - 27- And so do I, victorious prince of York.
- 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’.
Duke of York
28 - 29- Assist me then, sweet Warwick, and I will,
- For hither we have broken in by force.
Duke of Norfolk
30- We’ll all assist you; he that flies shall die.
Duke of York
31 - 32- Thanks, gentle Norfolk. Stay by me, my lords,
- And, soldiers, stay and lodge by me this night.
- They go up.
Earl of Warwick
33 - 34- And when the King comes, offer him no violence,
- Unless he seek to thrust you out perforce.
Duke of York
35 - 37- The Queen this day here holds her parliament,
- But little thinks we shall be of her council.
- By words or blows here let us win our right.
Richard
38- Arm’d as we are, let’s stay within this house.
Earl of Warwick
39 - 42- The bloody parliament shall this be call’d,
- Unless Plantagenet, Duke of York, be king,
- And bashful Henry depos’d, whose cowardice
- Hath made us by-words to our enemies.
Duke of York
43 - 44- Then leave me not, my lords, be resolute,
- I mean to take possession of my right.
Earl of Warwick
45 - 49- 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.
- York takes the throne.
- Flourish. Enter King Henry, Clifford, Northumberland,
- Westmorland, Exeter, and the rest, with red roses in their
- hats.
King Henry the Sixth
50 - 56- My lords, look where the sturdy rebel sits,
- Even in the chair of state. Belike he means,
- 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.
Earl of Northumberland
57- If I be not, heavens be reveng’d on me!
Lord Clifford
58- The hope thereof makes Clifford mourn in steel.
Earl of Westmorland
59 - 60- What, shall we suffer this? Let’s pluck him down.
- My heart for anger burns, I cannot brook it.
King Henry the Sixth
61- Be patient, gentle Earl of Westmorland.
Lord Clifford
62 - 65- Patience is for poltroons, such as he.
- He durst not sit there, had your father liv’d.
- My gracious lord, here in the parliament
- Let us assail the family of York.
Earl of Northumberland
66- Well hast thou spoken, cousin, be it so.
King Henry the Sixth
67 - 68- Ah, know you not the city favors them,
- And they have troops of soldiers at their beck?
Duke of Exeter
69- But when the Duke is slain, they’ll quickly fly.
King Henry the Sixth
70 - 76- Far be the thought of this from Henry’s heart,
- 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.
Duke of York
77- I am thine.
Duke of Exeter
78- For shame, come down. He made thee Duke of York.
Duke of York
79- It was my inheritance, as the earldom was.
Duke of Exeter
80- Thy father was a traitor to the crown.
Earl of Warwick
81 - 82- Exeter, thou art a traitor to the crown,
- In following this usurping Henry.
Lord Clifford
83- Whom should he follow but his natural king?
Earl of Warwick
84- True, Clifford, that’s Richard Duke of York.
King Henry the Sixth
85- And shall I stand, and thou sit in my throne?
Duke of York
86- It must and shall be so. Content thyself.
Earl of Warwick
87- Be Duke of Lancaster, let him be King.
Earl of Westmorland
88 - 89- He is both King and Duke of Lancaster,
- And that the Lord of Westmorland shall maintain.
Earl of Warwick
90 - 93- And Warwick shall disprove it. You forget
- That we are those which chas’d you from the field,
- And slew your fathers, and with colors spread
- March’d through the city to the palace gates.
Earl of Northumberland
94 - 95- Yes, Warwick, I remember it to my grief,
- And by his soul, thou and thy house shall rue it.
Earl of Westmorland
96 - 98- Plantagenet, of thee and these thy sons,
- Thy kinsmen and thy friends, I’ll have more lives
- Than drops of blood were in my father’s veins.
Lord Clifford
99 - 101- Urge it no more, lest that, in stead of words,
- I send thee, Warwick, such a messenger
- As shall revenge his death before I stir.
Frontpiece for Henry VI, Part 3
From Cassell's Illustrated Shakespeare
Mary Cowden Clarke, Charles Cowden Clarke, 1870
Earl of Warwick
102- Poor Clifford, how I scorn his worthless threats!
Duke of York
103 - 104- Will you we show our title to the crown?
- If not, our swords shall plead it in the field.
King Henry the Sixth
105 - 110- What title hast thou, traitor, to the crown?
- Thy father was, as thou art, Duke of York,
- Thy grandfather, Roger Mortimer, Earl of March:
- I am the son of Henry the Fifth,
- Who made the Dauphin and the French to stoop,
- And seiz’d upon their towns and provinces.
Earl of Warwick
111- Talk not of France, sith thou hast lost it all.
King Henry the Sixth
112 - 113- The Lord Protector lost it, and not I;
- When I was crown’d I was but nine months old.
Richard
114 - 115- You are old enough now, and yet methinks you lose.
- Father, tear the crown from the usurper’s head.
Edward
116- Sweet father, do so, set it on your head.
Marquess Montague
117 - 118- Good brother, as thou lov’st and honorest arms,
- Let’s fight it out, and not stand cavilling thus.
Richard
119- Sound drums and trumpets, and the King will fly.
Duke of York
120- Sons, peace!
King Henry the Sixth
121- Peace thou! And give King Henry leave to speak.
Earl of Warwick
122 - 124- Plantagenet shall speak first. Hear him, lords,
- And be you silent and attentive too,
- For he that interrupts him shall not live.
King Henry the Sixth
125 - 131- Think’st thou that I will leave my kingly throne,
- Wherein my grandsire and my father sat?
- No; first shall war unpeople this my realm;
- Ay, and their colors, often borne in France,
- And now in England to our heart’s great sorrow,
- Shall be my winding-sheet. Why faint you, lords?
- My title’s good, and better far than his.
Earl of Warwick
132- Prove it, Henry, and thou shalt be King.
King Henry the Sixth
133- Henry the Fourth by conquest got the crown.
Duke of York
134- ’Twas by rebellion against his king.
King Henry the Sixth
135 - 136- Aside.
- I know not what to say, my title’s weak.—
- Tell me, may not a king adopt an heir?
Duke of York
137- What then?
King Henry the Sixth
138 - 141- And if he may, then am I lawful king;
- For Richard, in the view of many lords,
- Resign’d the crown to Henry the Fourth,
- Whose heir my father was, and I am his.
Duke of York
142 - 143- He rose against him, being his sovereign,
- And made him to resign his crown perforce.
Earl of Warwick
144 - 145- Suppose, my lords, he did it unconstrain’d,
- Think you ’twere prejudicial to his crown?
Duke of Exeter
146 - 147- No; for he could not so resign his crown
- But that the next heir should succeed and reign.
King Henry the Sixth
148- Art thou against us, Duke of Exeter?
Duke of Exeter
149- His is the right, and therefore pardon me.
Duke of York
150- Why whisper you, my lords, and answer not?
Duke of Exeter
151- My conscience tells me he is lawful king.
King Henry the Sixth
152- Aside.
- All will revolt from me and turn to him.
Earl of Northumberland
153 - 154- Plantagenet, for all the claim thou lay’st,
- Think not that Henry shall be so depos’d.
Earl of Warwick
155- Depos’d he shall be, in despite of all.
Earl of Northumberland
156 - 159- Thou art deceiv’d. ’Tis not thy southern power
- Of Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, nor of Kent,
- Which makes thee thus presumptuous and proud,
- Can set the Duke up in despite of me.
Lord Clifford
160 - 163- King Henry, be thy title right or wrong,
- Lord Clifford vows to fight in thy defense.
- May that ground gape, and swallow me alive,
- Where I shall kneel to him that slew my father!
King Henry the Sixth
164- O Clifford, how thy words revive my heart!
Duke of York
165 - 166- Henry of Lancaster, resign thy crown.
- What mutter you, or what conspire you, lords?
Earl of Warwick
167 - 170- Do right unto this princely Duke of York,
- Or I will fill the house with armed men,
- And over the chair of state, where now he sits,
- Write up his title with usurping blood.
- He stamps with his foot, and the Soldiers show themselves.
King Henry the Sixth
171 - 172- My Lord of Warwick, hear but one word:
- Let me for this my lifetime reign as king.
Duke of York
173 - 174- Confirm the crown to me and to mine heirs,
- And thou shalt reign in quiet while thou liv’st.
King Henry the Sixth
175 - 176- I am content: Richard Plantagenet,
- Enjoy the kingdom after my decease.
Lord Clifford
177- What wrong is this unto the Prince your son!
Earl of Warwick
178- What good is this to England and himself!
Earl of Westmorland
179- Base, fearful, and despairing Henry!
Lord Clifford
180- How hast thou injur’d both thyself and us!
Earl of Westmorland
181- I cannot stay to hear these articles.
Earl of Northumberland
182- Nor I.
Lord Clifford
183- Come, cousin, let us tell the Queen these news.
Earl of Westmorland
184 - 185- Farewell, faint-hearted and degenerate king,
- In whose cold blood no spark of honor bides.
- Exit.
Earl of Northumberland
186 - 187- Be thou a prey unto the house of York,
- And die in bands for this unmanly deed!
- Exit.
Lord Clifford
188 - 189- In dreadful war mayst thou be overcome,
- Or live in peace abandon’d and despis’d!
- Exit.
Earl of Warwick
190- Turn this way, Henry, and regard them not.
Duke of Exeter
191- They seek revenge, and therefore will not yield.
King Henry the Sixth
192- Ah, Exeter!
Earl of Warwick
193- Why should you sigh, my lord?
King Henry the Sixth
194 - 203- Not for myself, Lord Warwick, but my son,
- Whom I unnaturally shall disinherit.
- But be it as it may.
- To York.
- I here entail
- The crown to thee and to thine heirs forever,
- Conditionally that here thou take an oath
- To cease this civil war, and whilst I live
- To honor me as thy king and sovereign,
- And neither by treason nor hostility
- To seek to put me down and reign thyself.
Title page of the play now known as Henry VI Part 3
1595
Duke of York
204- This oath I willingly take and will perform.
Earl of Warwick
205- Long live King Henry! Plantagenet, embrace him.
King Henry the Sixth
206- And long live thou, and these thy forward sons!
Duke of York
207- Now York and Lancaster are reconcil’d.
Duke of Exeter
208- Accurs’d be he that seeks to make them foes!
- Sennet. Here they come down.
Duke of York
209- Farewell, my gracious lord, I’ll to my castle.
- Exeunt York and his sons with Soldiers.
Earl of Warwick
210- And I’ll keep London with my soldiers.
- Exit with Soldiers.
Duke of Norfolk
211- And I to Norfolk with my followers.
- Exit with Soldiers.
Marquess Montague
212- And I unto the sea, from whence I came.
- Exit with Soldiers.
King Henry the Sixth
213- And I with grief and sorrow to the court.
- Enter the Queen Margaret and Prince Edward.
Duke of Exeter
214 - 215- Here comes the Queen, whose looks bewray her anger.
- I’ll steal away.
King Henry the Sixth
216- Exeter, so will I.
Queen Margaret
217- Nay, go not from me, I will follow thee.
King Henry the Sixth
218- Be patient, gentle queen, and I will stay.
Queen Margaret
219 - 229- Who can be patient in such extremes?
- Ah, wretched man, would I had died a maid
- And never seen thee, never borne thee son,
- Seeing thou hast prov’d so unnatural a father!
- Hath he deserv’d to lose his birthright thus?
- Hadst thou but lov’d him half so well as I,
- Or felt that pain which I did for him once,
- Or nourish’d him as I did with my blood,
- Thou wouldst have left thy dearest heart-blood there
- Rather than have made that savage duke thine heir,
- And disinherited thine only son.
Prince
230 - 231- Father, you cannot disinherit me.
- If you be king, why should not I succeed?
King Henry the Sixth
232 - 233- Pardon me, Margaret, pardon me, sweet son,
- The Earl of Warwick and the Duke enforc’d me.
Queen Margaret
234 - 260- Enforc’d thee? Art thou king, and wilt be forc’d?
- I shame to hear thee speak. Ah, timorous wretch,
- Thou hast undone thyself, thy son, and me,
- And giv’n unto the house of York such head
- As thou shalt reign but by their sufferance.
- To entail him and his heirs unto the crown,
- What is it, but to make thy sepulchre,
- And creep into it far before thy time?
- Warwick is chancellor and the lord of Callice,
- Stern Faulconbridge commands the Narrow Seas,
- The Duke is made Protector of the realm,
- And yet shalt thou be safe? Such safety finds
- The trembling lamb environed with wolves.
- Had I been there, which am a silly woman,
- The soldiers should have toss’d me on their pikes,
- Before I would have granted to that act.
- But thou prefer’st thy life before thine honor;
- And seeing thou dost, I here divorce myself
- Both from thy table, Henry, and thy bed,
- Until that act of parliament be repeal’d
- Whereby my son is disinherited.
- The northern lords that have forsworn thy colors
- Will follow mine, if once they see them spread;
- And spread they shall be, to thy foul disgrace,
- And utter ruin of the house of York.
- Thus do I leave thee. Come, son, let’s away.
- Our army is ready; come, we’ll after them.
King Henry the Sixth
261- Stay, gentle Margaret, and hear me speak.
Queen Margaret
262- Thou hast spoke too much already; get thee gone.
King Henry the Sixth
263- Gentle son Edward, thou wilt stay with me?
Queen Margaret
264- Ay, to be murder’d by his enemies.
Prince
265 - 266- When I return with victory from the field
- I’ll see your Grace; till then, I’ll follow her.
Queen Margaret
267- Come, son, away, we may not linger thus.
- Exeunt Queen Margaret and the Prince.
King Henry the Sixth
268 - 276- Poor queen, how love to me and to her son
- Hath made her break out into terms of rage!
- Reveng’d may she be on that hateful duke,
- Whose haughty spirit, winged with desire,
- Will cost my crown, and like an empty eagle
- Tire on the flesh of me and of my son!
- The loss of those three lords torments my heart;
- I’ll write unto them and entreat them fair;
- Come, cousin, you shall be the messenger.
Duke of Exeter
277- And I, I hope, shall reconcile them all.
- Flourish. Exeunt.