William Shakespeare: The Complete Works 2nd Edition (130 page)
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Authors: William Shakespeare
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BOOK: William Shakespeare: The Complete Works 2nd Edition
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The play’s treatment of history, deriving principally from Lord Berners’s translation (1535) of Froissart’s
Chronicles
, is loose. As with
Henry V
, the opening episode shows the English king seeking reassurance about his claims to the throne of France. Lorraine’s subsequent demand that Edward swear allegiance to the French king meets with derision. Attention turns to England’s relations with Scotland, where King David, France’s ally, has besieged the castle of Roxburgh, imprisoning the Countess of Salisbury. Edward instructs his son Edward (Ned) the Black Prince to raise troops against France; Edward himself will march against the Scots. At Roxburgh the King rescues and attempts to seduce the Countess, who is also desired by King David and Sir William Douglas. In the principal scenes ascribed to Shakespeare, the enraptured King expresses his passion in attractively lyrical verse recalling that of
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
. He attempts to persuade the Earl of Warwick, the Countess’s father, to further his suit, but the Countess, virtuous (and married), repudiates his adulterous desires, threatening to kill herself if he persists. Penitent, he reverts to the French conflict. This, presented in episodes of ambitious rhetoric rather than of violent action, reaches its first climax in young Edward’s conquest over the King of Bohemia, for which his father knights him. Edward’s queen, Philippa, who with her followers has overcome the Scots, joins him, and persuades him to show mercy to the burghers of the besieged town of Calais. Young Edward, believed dead, is revealed as the conqueror of the French, and the play ends with a jingoistic English triumph. It has had a few modern productions, including one by the Royal Shakespeare Company in
Chronicles
, is loose. As with
Henry V
, the opening episode shows the English king seeking reassurance about his claims to the throne of France. Lorraine’s subsequent demand that Edward swear allegiance to the French king meets with derision. Attention turns to England’s relations with Scotland, where King David, France’s ally, has besieged the castle of Roxburgh, imprisoning the Countess of Salisbury. Edward instructs his son Edward (Ned) the Black Prince to raise troops against France; Edward himself will march against the Scots. At Roxburgh the King rescues and attempts to seduce the Countess, who is also desired by King David and Sir William Douglas. In the principal scenes ascribed to Shakespeare, the enraptured King expresses his passion in attractively lyrical verse recalling that of
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
. He attempts to persuade the Earl of Warwick, the Countess’s father, to further his suit, but the Countess, virtuous (and married), repudiates his adulterous desires, threatening to kill herself if he persists. Penitent, he reverts to the French conflict. This, presented in episodes of ambitious rhetoric rather than of violent action, reaches its first climax in young Edward’s conquest over the King of Bohemia, for which his father knights him. Edward’s queen, Philippa, who with her followers has overcome the Scots, joins him, and persuades him to show mercy to the burghers of the besieged town of Calais. Young Edward, believed dead, is revealed as the conqueror of the French, and the play ends with a jingoistic English triumph. It has had a few modern productions, including one by the Royal Shakespeare Company in
THE PERSONS OF THE PLAYThe EnglishKING EDWARD IIIQUEEN PHILIPPA, his wifeEdward, PRINCE OF WALES, their eldest sonThe EARL OF SALISBURYThe COUNTESS OF SALISBURY, his wifeThe EARL OF WARWICK, the Countess’s fatherSir William de MONTAGUE, Salisbury’s nephewThe EARL OF DERBYSir James AUDLEYHenry, Lord PERCYJohn COPLAND, an esquire, later knightedLODOWICK, King Edward’s secretaryTwo SQUIRESA HERALD to King Edward from the Prince of Wales Four heralds who bear the Prince of Wales’s armour SoldiersAllied with the EnglishRobert, COMTE D’ARTOIS and Earl of RichmondJean, COMTE DE MONTFORT, later Duc de BretagneGOBIN de Grace, a French PrisonerThe FrenchJean II de Valois, KING OF FRANCEPrince Charles, Jean’s eldest son, Duc de Normandie, the DAUPHINPRINCE PHILIPPE, Jean’s younger sonThe DUC DE LORRAINEVILLIERS, a prisoner sent as an envoy by the Earl of Salisbury to the DauphinThe CAPTAIN OF CALAISAnother FRENCH CAPTAINA MARINERThree HERALDS to the Prince of Wales from the King of France, the Dauphin and Prince PhilippeSix POOR MEN, residents of CalaisSix SUPPLICANTS, wealthy merchants and citizens of CalaisFive other FRENCHMENA FRENCIIWOMAN with two childrenSoldiersAllied with the FrenchThe KING OF BOHEMIAA POLISH CAPTAINPolish and Muscovite soldiersDavid II, KING OF SCOTLANDSir William DOUGLASTwo Scottish MESSENGERS
Enter King Edward, the Earl of Derby, the Earl of Warwick,⌉ Edward Prince of Wales, Lord Audley and the Comte d’Artois
KING EDWARD
Robert of Artois, banished though thou be
From France thy native country, yet with us
Thou shalt retain as great a seigniory:
For we create thee Earl of Richmond here.
And now go forwards with our pedigree:
Who next succeeded King Philippe of Beau?
From France thy native country, yet with us
Thou shalt retain as great a seigniory:
For we create thee Earl of Richmond here.
And now go forwards with our pedigree:
Who next succeeded King Philippe of Beau?
COMTE D’ARTOIS
Three sons of his, which all successively
Did sit upon their father’s regal throne,
Yet died and left no issue of their loins.
Did sit upon their father’s regal throne,
Yet died and left no issue of their loins.
KING EDWARD
But was my mother sister unto those?
COMTE D’ARTOIS
She was, my lord, and only Isabel
Was all the daughters that this Philippe had,
Whom afterward your father took to wife.
And from the fragrant garden of her womb
Your gracious self, the flower of Europe’s hope,
Derived is inheritor to France.
But note the rancour of rebellious minds:
When thus the lineage of Beau was out
The French obscured your mother’s privilege
And, though she were the next of blood, proclaimed
Jean of the house of Valois now their king.
The reason was, they say, the realm of France
Replete with princes of great parentage
Ought not admit a governor to rule
Except he be descended of the male.
And that’s the special ground of their contempt
Wherewith they study to exclude your grace.
Was all the daughters that this Philippe had,
Whom afterward your father took to wife.
And from the fragrant garden of her womb
Your gracious self, the flower of Europe’s hope,
Derived is inheritor to France.
But note the rancour of rebellious minds:
When thus the lineage of Beau was out
The French obscured your mother’s privilege
And, though she were the next of blood, proclaimed
Jean of the house of Valois now their king.
The reason was, they say, the realm of France
Replete with princes of great parentage
Ought not admit a governor to rule
Except he be descended of the male.
And that’s the special ground of their contempt
Wherewith they study to exclude your grace.
KING EDWARD
But they shall find that forged ground of theirs
To be but dusty heaps of brittle sand.
To be but dusty heaps of brittle sand.
COMTE D’ARTOIS
Perhaps it will be thought a heinous thing
That I, a Frenchman, should discover this.
But heaven I call to record of my vows:
It is not hate nor any private wrong,
But love unto my country and the right
Provokes my tongue thus lavish in report.
You are the lineal watchman of our peace,
And Jean of Valois indirectly climbs.
What then should subjects but embrace their king?
Ah, wherein may our duty more be seen
Than striving to rebate a tyrant’s pride
And place thee, the true shepherd of our commonwealth?
That I, a Frenchman, should discover this.
But heaven I call to record of my vows:
It is not hate nor any private wrong,
But love unto my country and the right
Provokes my tongue thus lavish in report.
You are the lineal watchman of our peace,
And Jean of Valois indirectly climbs.
What then should subjects but embrace their king?
Ah, wherein may our duty more be seen
Than striving to rebate a tyrant’s pride
And place thee, the true shepherd of our commonwealth?
KING EDWARD
This counsel, Artois, like to fruitful showers,
Hath added growth unto my dignity,
And by the fiery vigour of thy words
Hot courage is engendered in my breast,
Which heretofore was raked in ignorance
But now doth mount with golden wings of fame
And will approve fair Isabel’s descent,
Able to yoke their stubborn necks with steel
That spurn against my sovereignty in France.
A messenger. Lord Audley, know from whence.
Hath added growth unto my dignity,
And by the fiery vigour of thy words
Hot courage is engendered in my breast,
Which heretofore was raked in ignorance
But now doth mount with golden wings of fame
And will approve fair Isabel’s descent,
Able to yoke their stubborn necks with steel
That spurn against my sovereignty in France.
Sound a horn
⌈
Enter a messenger, the Duc de Lorraine
⌉
AUDLEY
The Duke of Lorraine, having crossed the seas,
Entreats he may have conference with your highness.
Entreats he may have conference with your highness.
KING EDWARD
Admit him, lords, that we may hear the news.
(
To Lorraine
) Say, Duke of Lorraine, wherefore art thou come? 55
(
To Lorraine
) Say, Duke of Lorraine, wherefore art thou come? 55
DUC DE LORRAINE
The most renowned prince, King Jean of France,
Doth greet thee, Edward, and by me commands
That, forsomuch as by his liberal gift
The Guienne dukedom is entailed to thee,
Thou do him lowly homage for the same.
And for that purpose, here I summon thee
Repair to France within these forty days
That there, according as the custom is,
Thou mayst be sworn true liegeman to our king;
Or else thy title in that province dies
And he himself will repossess the place.
Doth greet thee, Edward, and by me commands
That, forsomuch as by his liberal gift
The Guienne dukedom is entailed to thee,
Thou do him lowly homage for the same.
And for that purpose, here I summon thee
Repair to France within these forty days
That there, according as the custom is,
Thou mayst be sworn true liegeman to our king;
Or else thy title in that province dies
And he himself will repossess the place.
KING EDWARD
See how occasion laughs me in the face!
No sooner minded to prepare for France
But straight I am invited—nay, with threats,
Upon a penalty, enjoined to come!
‘Twere but a childish part to say him nay.
Lorraine, return this answer to thy lord:
I mean to visit him as he requests.
But how? Not servilely disposed to bend,
But like a conqueror to make him bow.
His lame unpolished shifts are come to light,
And truth hath pulled the vizard from his face
That set a gloss upon his arrogance.
Dare he command a fealty in me?
Tell him the crown that he usurps is mine,
And where he sets his foot he ought to kneel.
’Tis not a petty dukedom that I claim
But all the whole dominions of the realm
Which if, with grudging, he refuse to yield
I’ll take away those borrowed plumes of his,
And send him naked to the wilderness.
No sooner minded to prepare for France
But straight I am invited—nay, with threats,
Upon a penalty, enjoined to come!
‘Twere but a childish part to say him nay.
Lorraine, return this answer to thy lord:
I mean to visit him as he requests.
But how? Not servilely disposed to bend,
But like a conqueror to make him bow.
His lame unpolished shifts are come to light,
And truth hath pulled the vizard from his face
That set a gloss upon his arrogance.
Dare he command a fealty in me?
Tell him the crown that he usurps is mine,
And where he sets his foot he ought to kneel.
’Tis not a petty dukedom that I claim
But all the whole dominions of the realm
Which if, with grudging, he refuse to yield
I’ll take away those borrowed plumes of his,
And send him naked to the wilderness.
DUC DE LORRAINE
Then, Edward, here, in spite of all thy lords,
I do pronounce defiance to thy face.
I do pronounce defiance to thy face.
PRINCE OF WALES
Defiance, Frenchman? We rebound it back
Even to the bottom of thy master’s throat!
And, be it spoke with reverence of the King,
My gracious father, and these other lords,
I hold thy message but as scurrilous,
And him that sent thee like the lazy drone
Crept up by stealth unto the eagle’s nest,
From whence we’ll shake him with so rough a storm
As others shall be warned by his harm.
EARL OF WARWICK (
to Lorraine
)
Bid him leave off the lion’s case he wears
Lest, meeting with the lion in the field,
He chance to tear him piecemeal for his pride.
Even to the bottom of thy master’s throat!
And, be it spoke with reverence of the King,
My gracious father, and these other lords,
I hold thy message but as scurrilous,
And him that sent thee like the lazy drone
Crept up by stealth unto the eagle’s nest,
From whence we’ll shake him with so rough a storm
As others shall be warned by his harm.
EARL OF WARWICK (
to Lorraine
)
Bid him leave off the lion’s case he wears
Lest, meeting with the lion in the field,
He chance to tear him piecemeal for his pride.
COMTE D’ARTOIS (
to Lorraine
)
to Lorraine
)
The soundest counsel I can give his grace
Is to surrender ere he be constrained.
A voluntary mischief hath less scorn
Than when reproach with violence is borne.
Is to surrender ere he be constrained.
A voluntary mischief hath less scorn
Than when reproach with violence is borne.
DUC DE LORRAINE
Regenerate traitor, viper to the place
Where thou wast fostered in thine infancy!
Bear’st thou a part in this conspiracy?
Where thou wast fostered in thine infancy!
Bear’st thou a part in this conspiracy?
⌈
Lorraine
⌉
draws his sword
KING EDWARD ⌈
drawing his sword
⌉
drawing his sword
⌉
Lorraine, behold the sharpness of this steel:
Fervent desire that sits against my heart
Is far more thorny-pricking than this blade
That, with the nightingale, I shall be scarred
As oft as I dispose myself to rest
Until my colours be displayed in France.
This is thy final answer. So be gone.
Fervent desire that sits against my heart
Is far more thorny-pricking than this blade
That, with the nightingale, I shall be scarred
As oft as I dispose myself to rest
Until my colours be displayed in France.
This is thy final answer. So be gone.
DUC DE LORRAINE
It is not that, nor any English brave,
Afflicts me so, as doth his poisoned view:
That is most false, should most of all be true. Exit
Afflicts me so, as doth his poisoned view:
That is most false, should most of all be true. Exit
KING EDWARD
Now, lords, our fleeting barque is under sail,
Our gage is thrown, and war is soon begun,
But not so quickly brought unto an end.
Our gage is thrown, and war is soon begun,
But not so quickly brought unto an end.
Enter Sir William Montague
But wherefore comes Sir William Montague?
(
To Montague
) How stands the league between the Scot and us?
(
To Montague
) How stands the league between the Scot and us?
MONTAGUE
Cracked and dissevered, my renowned lord.
The treacherous King no sooner was informed
Of your withdrawing of your army back
But straight, forgetting of his former oath,
He made invasion on the bordering towns.
Berwick is won, Newcastle spoiled and lost,
And now the tyrant hath begirt with siege
The Castle of Roxburgh, where, enclosed,
The Countess Salisbury is like to perish.
The treacherous King no sooner was informed
Of your withdrawing of your army back
But straight, forgetting of his former oath,
He made invasion on the bordering towns.
Berwick is won, Newcastle spoiled and lost,
And now the tyrant hath begirt with siege
The Castle of Roxburgh, where, enclosed,
The Countess Salisbury is like to perish.
KING EDWARD (
to Warwick
)
to Warwick
)
That is thy daughter, Warwick, is it not?
Whose husband hath in Bretagne served so long
About the planting of Lord Montfort there?
Whose husband hath in Bretagne served so long
About the planting of Lord Montfort there?
EARL OF WARWICK It is, my lord.
KING EDWARD
Ignoble David, hast thou none to grieve
But seely ladies with thy threat’ning arms?
But I will make you shrink your snaily horns.
(
To Audley
) First, therefore, Audley, this shall be thy charge:
Go levy footmen for our wars in France.
(
To the Prince of Wales
) And, Ned, take muster of our men-at-arms.
In every shire elect a several band.
Let them be soldiers of a lusty spirit,
Such as dread nothing but dishonour’s blot.
Be wary therefore, since we do commence
A famous war, and with so mighty a nation.
(
To Derby
) Derby, be thou ambassador for us
Unto our father-in-law, the Earl of Hainault.
Make him acquainted with our enterprise,
And likewise will him, with our own allies
That are in Flanders, to solicit, too,
The Emperor of Almagne in our name.
Myself, whilst you are jointly thus employed,
Will, with these forces that I have at hand,
March and once more repulse the traitorous Scot.
But sirs, be resolute. We shall have wars
On every side. (
To the Prince of Wales)
And, Ned, thou must begin
Now to forget thy study and thy books,
And ure thy shoulders to an armour’s weight.
But seely ladies with thy threat’ning arms?
But I will make you shrink your snaily horns.
(
To Audley
) First, therefore, Audley, this shall be thy charge:
Go levy footmen for our wars in France.
(
To the Prince of Wales
) And, Ned, take muster of our men-at-arms.
In every shire elect a several band.
Let them be soldiers of a lusty spirit,
Such as dread nothing but dishonour’s blot.
Be wary therefore, since we do commence
A famous war, and with so mighty a nation.
(
To Derby
) Derby, be thou ambassador for us
Unto our father-in-law, the Earl of Hainault.
Make him acquainted with our enterprise,
And likewise will him, with our own allies
That are in Flanders, to solicit, too,
The Emperor of Almagne in our name.
Myself, whilst you are jointly thus employed,
Will, with these forces that I have at hand,
March and once more repulse the traitorous Scot.
But sirs, be resolute. We shall have wars
On every side. (
To the Prince of Wales)
And, Ned, thou must begin
Now to forget thy study and thy books,
And ure thy shoulders to an armour’s weight.
PRINCE OF WALES
As cheerful sounding to my youthful spleen
This tumult is of war’s increasing broils,
As at the coronation of a king
The joyful clamours of the people are
When
‘Ave
Caesar’ they pronounce aloud.
Within this school of honour I shall learn
Either to sacrifice my foes to death,
Or, in a rightful quarrel, spend my breath.
Then cheerfully forward, each a several way.
In great affairs ’tis naught to use delay. Exeunt
This tumult is of war’s increasing broils,
As at the coronation of a king
The joyful clamours of the people are
When
‘Ave
Caesar’ they pronounce aloud.
Within this school of honour I shall learn
Either to sacrifice my foes to death,
Or, in a rightful quarrel, spend my breath.
Then cheerfully forward, each a several way.
In great affairs ’tis naught to use delay. Exeunt
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