Henry V (New Swan Shakespeare Series) 0582527236, 9780582527232

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NEW

SWAN

SHAKESPEARE

HENRYV

NEW SW AN SHAKESPEARE GENERAL EDITOR BERNARD LOTT M.A., Ph.D.

Henry V

NEW SWAN SHAKESPEARE

As You Like It Henry IV, Part I Henry V Julius Caesar Macbeth The Merchant of Venice A Midsummer Night's Dream Romeo and Juliet The Tempest Twelfth Night

NEW SWAN SHAKESPEARE ADVANCED SERIES

Antony and Cleopatra Coriolanus Hamlet King Lear Much Ado About Nothing Othello

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Henry V EDITED BY H. M. HULME, M.A., Ph.D.

LONGMAN

LONGMAN GROUP LIMITED

Longman House, Burnt Mill, Harlow, Essex CM20 2JE, England and Associated companies throughout the world

© Longman Group Ltd 1963

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Copyright owner.

First published 1963 Second edition (with illustrations) *1966 New impressions * 1966; * 1967; *1972; *1973, *1974; *1986; *1991 (twice)

ISBN

□ -582-52723-6

Illustrations by John Mousedale

Produced by Longman Singapore Publishers Pte Ltd Printed in Singapore

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this book is to give and explain, in the simplest way, the text of one of Shakespeare's plays. The text itself is complete; spelling and punctuation have been modernised and notes and a glossary have been added; a section giving hints to examination candidates has been included at the end of the book (page 223). All explanations have been given within the range of a speciallychosen list of 3,ooo most commonly used English root-words. Every word in the book which falls outside this list is explained. This is done in the following way: words which are not used in everyday Modern English as Shakespeare used them, or which are not now used at all, will be found explained in notes on the pages facing the text; words which are still used in ordinary modern English with their meaning unchanged, but which are not among the 3,000 root-words of the chosen list, will be found explained in the glossary at the back of the book. References to one or other of these places, and a study of section 3 of this introduction, should be sufficient to remove all difficulty in the understanding of the text. Explanations of longer passages are also given within the range of the word-list. The rest of this introduction is arranged under the following headings: I The Story of Henry V p. v 2 The Play as Drama p. vi 3 The Language of the Play p. vii 4 The Structure of the Play p. xvi 5 The Characters of the Play . p. xviii 6 The Lessons of History . p. xxiii r The Story of Henry V In 1414, the second year of his reign, Henry V, formerly a wild young prince but now praised for wisdom and learning, determines, as the great-grandson of Edward Ill, to revive the claim of English kings to the throne of France. Cambridge, Scroop, and Grey, who V

have plotted. to kill the king at Southampton, are denounced as traitors, and Henry crosses the Channel to France. The French king is ready to give Henry his daughter Katharine in marriage, with some poor dukedoms as her dowry, but he refuses this offer, lays siege to the important town of Harfleur and forces it to surrender. The French, full of shame at Henry's victories, resolve to attack his army as he marches north on his way back to Calais. Although they fail to capture a bridge at an important river-crossing, they bring up an army which has five times as many men as that of the English, and are confident of victory in battle on the following day. The English are short of provisions, and many soldiers are weak and ill, but, fired by the courage of their king, who does not wish for one man more to share with them the honour of St. Crispin's day, they fight bravely and the French lines are broken. As the battle begins afresh, the English baggage tents are plundered by French runaways and Henry orders the killing of all French prisoners. Soon this battle of Agincourt is over and the English are victorious; Henry, giving all thanks to God, returns to England. After some time he comes back to France to make a treaty of peace on his own terms: he is to marry Katharine and is recognised as heir to the French throne. 2

The Play as Drama

Dramatists of Shakespeare's time often based their plays on wellknown stories or on actual history, and Shakespeare was able to use for Henry V the history of his reign as given by Holinshed in his Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (1587) and by Hall in an earlier account (1548)_. On this foundatio1~ he const~ucted an exciting and poetic play, adding to and rearrangmg the thmgs that actually happened, imagining the thoughts and feelings of his characters and writing all their speeches. It is probable that the play was written in 1599; it was first printed in 1600 but without the authority of Shakespeare's theatre-company; the first authoritative edition was that of 1623. The theatre in Shakespeare's time was different in some ways from the theatre of today. For example, the stage stretched far out into the open space where the audience sat or stood- so far, in fact, that they were gathered round three sides ofit. The fourth side extended vi

back a considerable way, and formed a recess which was roofed over by a second floor. Some of the action could be set on the upper floor itself; the Governor of Harfleur would, no doubt, appear there "on the walls" of the town, and King Henry and Exeter might perhaps go up to this balcony after the town had surrendered and opened its gates to the English. This old type of stage was most suitable, too, on the occasions when an actor speaks to himself so as to let the audience know what he is thinking; he would walk to the front of the stage, in close contact with the audience. When King Henry is alone before the battle of Agincourt and considering the heavy responsibilities of a king, he could so express his thoughts that the audience would share his mood and feel, with him, the emptiness of the "idol ceremony". The audience would understand also the sincerity of his prayer to God not to remember against him on this day of battle the fault which his father had committed in taking the crown from Richard. In the public theatres plays were given in the afternoon, by daylight; as far as is known there was no special stage lighting and practically no scenery. This, as it happens, was to onr advantage. For, having no painted scenery, Shakespeare put into the mouths of his characters and the Chorus swift and telling descriptions, poetry which paints the scenes in the mind's eye. The English fleet sailing out from Southampton is pictured as

A city on the inconstant billows dancing. We see its brave silken streamers and hear the shrill whistle of the ships' masters. On the night before the battle of Agincourt we hear amid all the varied hum of preparation the hammering of the armourers, and we see the pale flames of the camp fires. The Chorus is useful also in telling the audience about some of the important changes of scene and in describing briefly some of the real happenings of history which Shakespeare does not need to show at length • in his play. 3 The Language of the Play The English of Shakespeare's time was in many ways different from the English we speak today. In this book, notes facing the text vu

of the play explain most of these differences as they occur; a number of words and forms, however, which are found in Shakespeare's English, occur so often in the play that it is better to explain them once rather than to mention them again and again every time they appear. These words and forms have either changed in meaning since Shakespeare's day, or have fallen out of use altogether in everyday modern English, or are shortened forms which Shakespeare used for special effects, e.g. so as to fit in with the metrical pattern of the lines. (No attempt should be made to learn this list by heart; it is to be read through at once and consulted afterwards when difficulties occur which are not explained in the notes.) alack, alas - exclamations of flourish - "burst of music". great sorrow. 'fiore - "befiore" . alarum (= alarm) "call to arms, 'gainst- "against". warning of danger". hence - "from this place". an - "if". hither - "to this place". arrant - "thorough". how now - "How are you aught - "anything". getting on? What arc you ay- "yes". doing here? What is the before-(sometimes) "in front of". matter?" cousin, coz, used as a term of liege - "lord". friendship by the king to a marry - "indeed; by the holy noblemanofthesamecountry. Lady Mary". do, does, did are often used with mass, by the m., "by the holy another verb and without service of the church". adding any separate meaning, methinks - "it seems to me". e.g. mine-(sometimes) "my". Your highness, lately sending ne'er - "never". into France, nor - (sometimes) "neither". Did claim some certain duke- nought - "nothinf. doms, ~.ii.247). or - (sometimes) 'either". e' er - " ever ,, . o' er - " over ,, . enow - "enough". presently - "at once". ere - "before". prithee - "please" (short for "I farewell, fare you well - "goodpray thee"). save - (sometimes) "except". bye". Vlll

'h t - (sometimes • )"at once" . straig 't- "it"; e.g. 'tis- "itis". "(" thee - "you smgu1) ar . thence - "from that place". thither - "to that place". "(· thou - "you smgu1) ar . This is the word often used as the second person singular subject; the verb associated with it ends in -est or -st, e.g. Trail' st thou the puissant pike? (IV.i.40). The verb to be and a few others are, however, irregular in this respect, e.g. Art thou his friend? (IV.i.58}; Thou never shalt hear herald any more (IV.iii.127). 'twixt - "between".

we, us, our - "I , n1e, my " ; kings often refer to themselves in this way, using the 'royal plural'. whence - "from which place". whiles, while that - "while". whither - "to which place". withal - "indeed"; "with", at the end of a sentence, and for emphasis. would- would like; (sometinies) "I wish that", e.g. Would it were day! (III.vii.1). ye - "you" (plural). yea - "yes, indeed' . yet - (sometimes) "again". r.ou, yond, yonder - "that, there". 'of" is sometimes shortened to o' and "he" to 'a.

Shakespeare was a poet, and, like all poets, he employed language in a way which is not usual for the making of direct statements in prose. There is much splendid and colourful poetry in Henry V and the vigorous poetic rhythms add much to our enjoyment. Most of the speeches are in what is called blank verse, and the lines follow a fixed pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables; e.g.: The king hath note of ill that they intend, By mterception which they dream not 6f (II.ii.6). This is an example of the usual arrangement in Shakespeare's plays: the lines are without rhyme and the rhythm depends upon five stressed syllables in each line, separated from one another by unstressed syllables. This kind of verse is very suitable for a play, as the pattern can be easily changed from line to line to fit in with the natural rhythms of speech; the position of the stressed syllables may vary and the stress may fall lightly on an unaccented syllable: IX

I was not angry since I came to France Until this instant. Take a trumpet, herald; Ride thou unto the h6rsemen on yon hill (N.vii.44). Sometimes as a character is leaving the stage, and often at the end of a scene, the lines rhyme in a couplet (two lines together): Cheerly to sea! The signs of war advance: No king of England, if not king of France (II.ii. 19 3). Now forth, lord constable and princes all, And quickly bring us word of England's fall (III.v.68). Prose is used 1. for informal and humorous conversation; so by the French nobles before the battle (III.vii. and IV.ii.1-5). 2. by brave and honest characters of humble birth; so by the Boy and the common soldiers, Bates, Court and Williams (IV.i. and IV.viii). King Henry uses prose when speaking informally to Fluellen {III.vi.94--9); also, when speaking in the character of a soldier to Williams and his friends. As a king among his nobles, when he tells Williams who gave him the glove, he speaks in blank verse: 'T was I, indeed, thou promisedst to strike; And thou hast given me most bitter terms (N.viii.36). 3. by comic characters such as the Hostess, Nym and Bardolph; Pistol, by contrast, since he likes to express himself in a poetic, affected way, speaks blank verse. 4. for letters, proclamations and similar writings (as III.vi.104, V.ii.300). The question may well be asked: since in ordinary life people do not speak in poetry, what was Shakespeare's purpose in making most of his characters do so? The answer is that by using poetry Shakespeare could make his characters say more effectively what he wished them to. Poetry is often more precise and carries more meanings along with it at one time than prose can usually do. The swing of the rhythm in lines of verse moves the play along quickly, as when, for instance, the Chorus describes the sailing of the English fleet from Southampton (Prologue, Act III) : X

Thus with imagined wing our swift scene flies In motion of no less celerity Than that of thought. Suppose that you have seen The well-appointed king at Hampton pier Embark his royalty; and his brave fleet With silken streamers the young Phoebus fanning .... Discussion of matters of state and policy is made more interesting by the rhythm of the lines, as when, in the first scene of the play, the Archbishop of Canterbury speaks to the Bishop of Ely of the proposed new law which will so injure the church: If it pass against us, We lose the better half of our possession (1.i.7). It is easier to attend to the long speech by the Archbishop on the subject of Salic law (I.ii.) because of the smooth poetic rhythms of his lines, e.g. There is no bar To make against your highness' claim to France But this ... (line 35). The repeated rhythmic pattern gives greater emphasis to language which is already firm and strong, as when King Henry tells the treacherous noblemen: You must not dare, for shame, to talk of mercy (II.ii.82). or sends back a last message of defiance, through the herald Montjoy, before the battle of Agincourt: Bid them achieve me and then sell my bones (IV.iii.91). The poetic use oflanguage is also characterised by imagery, which adds to ordinary statements visions of something different but at the same time similar in some respects. So, for example, on the night before the battle of Agincourt, as King Henry moves through the English camp, his cheerful looks and words are described as Thawing cold fear (Prologue, IV. 45). xi

We know that his soldiers are not actually freezing to death but the image makes us appreciate that their king's looks of courage acted on them like the sunshine, so that their hearts, which had been filled with fear, were warmed and gladdened. Imagery may be expressed by the use of simile or metaphor. A simile is a direct comparison between the subject treated and an image which that subject brings to mind; similes are usually introduced by such words as as or like. The French king wants his nobles to attack King Henry in such a way that he has no chance at all of resisting them: Rush on his host, as doth the melted snow Upon the valleys (III.v.51). The Archbishop of Canterbury, in explaining the different duties of the members of one state, uses a long simile about the way in which the bee kingdom is organised: for so work the honey-bees (I.ii.188-205). Imagery takes the form of metaphor when a comparison is not mentioned as such, but suggested, as when Pistol, on leaving for the wars, tells his wife always to ask for immediate payment from those who buy drink in her ale-house: Trust none; For oaths are straws, men's faiths are wafer-cakes (II.iii.40). Pistol believes that men will always be ready to make promises that they will pay later, but, however strongly they swear to do this, their promises are straws or the thinnest of biscuits - broken at once. As in this last example, the imagery used can be quite simple; elsewhere, however, we find more complicated passages and it is clear that both Shakespeare and his audience enjoyed all kinds of clever image patterns. In the Prologue to Act I, the Chorus speaks of the difficulty of bringing the battle-fields of France into the "wooden O" of their theatre, and then goes on to refer to the actors as "ciphers", other figures of 0, to which the imagination of the audience, standing for the figure 1, is to give great "force" or value: xii

And let us, ciphers to this great accompt, On your imaginary forces work. The audience is asked to see a thousand soldiers in one actor: Into a thousand parts divide one man, And make imaginary puissance. Shakespeare's audience would admire the skill with which he introduces the accom1t, or story, of King Henry's victories, by speaking of the arithmetical figures used in an accoW1t book. (See page xxx for a full explanation of this image.) An image may be used several times in the same play or series of plays, so that the power of the image is increased as the hearer remembers the earlier instances. In Shakespeare's history plays, the image of the sun is often used to refer to the king, and Henry V, • sending a message to the Dauphin after receiving his gift of tennis balls, tells how he will take the French throne and shine there with the sun's full splendour: But I will rise there with so full a glory That I will dazzle all the eyes of France, Yea, strike the Dauphin blind to look on us (I.ii.279). Although the word "sun" is not mentioned here, the image is brought vividly before us by the words "rise" and "dazzle", which fittingly suggest, to an English audience, the great triumph of an English king. It is the king's courage and powers of leadership which bring about this triumph and we are reminded once more of this fact as the Chorus, in the Prologue to Act IV, describes King Henry, before the great battle, cheering his soldiers as he passes through the camp in the darkness of the night (line 43):

A largess universal like the sun His liberal eye doth give to every one ... Amid all the fear and hardship of war, the king has still something of the sun's power. The kind of image in which a thing or idea is spoken of as a person is known as personification. In a long and carefully thought-out xiii

speech Henry personifies the ceremony which surrotmds a king, as he asks, for example, What kind of god art thou? (IV.i.213) and What drinkst thou oft, instead of homage sweet, But poisoned flattery? (IV.i.222) Pistol speaks of Fortune as That goddess blind, That stands upon the rolling restless stone (III.vi.24), and as he tells Fluellen that Bardolph has been condemned to death, he complains that Fortune is Bardolph's foe, and frowns on him (III.vi.34). Fluellen, in return, explains to him exactly why "Fortune is painted blind, with a muffier afore her eyes". He findsit"anexcellentmoral", and, no doubt, the men of Shakespeare's own time would also find it so. (See page 102.) Very many examples of the pun (play on the several meanings of a single word) are found in Shakespeare's plays. Such puns are often humorous as when Pistol says, when he is setting off for the wars with Nym (II.i.97), I '11 live by Nym, and Nym shall live by me; he will live by stealing ('nimming') and his friend Nym shall live in his company and share in his gains. Pistol makes a single pun here and perhaps feels proud to be so witty, but a character who is really skilful may make a whole string of puns in quite a short space. The Boy, for instance, does this as he describes the cowardice of Pistol, Nym, and Bardolph (III.ii.24-45). Sometimes the puns express tragedy rather than humour, as when the Chorus tells us that Cambridge, Scroop, and Grey Have, for the gilt of France - 0 guilt indeed! Confirmed conspiracy with fearful France (Prologue, II. 26-27). In return for gold (gilt), these noblemen have committed the crime (guilt indeed) of conspiracy with England's enemies. xiv

Dramatic irony is shown when a speak.er understands his words in one way, but the audience, or the characters who are listening to him, give more meaning to the speaker's words than he can himsel£ Because the audience has already been told by the Chorus of this treacherous plot to kill the king, and has learnt also of the king's discovery of it, there is a special meaning, which the traitors do not understand, in King Henry's promise to give deserved rewards to those who serve him. Henry wishes to set free from prison the poor man who, when foolish with drink, has "railed" against the king. He pretends to be sorry that the noblemen want this man to be punished more severely: Alas, your too much love and care of me Are heavy orisons 'gainst this poor wretch! If little faults, proceeding on distemper, Shall not be winked at, how shall we stretch our eye When capital crimes, chewed, swallowed and digested, Appear before us? (II.ii.52). Shakespeare creates other opportunities for very effective dramatic irony when he shows us King Henry, on the night before the battle of Agincourt, wearing the cloak of Sir Thomas Erpingham, and speaking to Pistol under the name of Harry le Roy. The French 'le roi' means 'the king' but Pistol thinks it is a Cornish name. Further, and more serious, examples of dramatic irony are found in King Henry's talk with Bates and Williams about the character, courage, and responsibilities of the King. Part of the interest of Henry V lies in the variety of its speech and language. Alice and the princess Katharine speak the prettiest broken English; Pistol misunderstands the words moi and bras of his French prisoner; the Hostess of the tavern speaks in a rather uneducated style, and misuses and mispronounces some of her words. Because King Henry was a great national hero, Shakespeare shows us men from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales serving together in his army. CaftainJamy (andJamy is still a good Scottish name) says sal for "shall •, vary for "very", gud (with a sound probably like the French vowel in lune) for "good". He does not use the English sounds in words like 'faith', 'both', 'these' and 'I', and says mess for xv

'mass' and tway for 'two'. The Irish captain Macmorris says ish for "is" and Crish for "Christ". He makes mistakes in grammar and talks very excitedly. Fluellen has a number of amusing mannerisms: he pronowices b as p, e.g. pridge, plue, plows, pashful, gipes, and v asf, e.g. falorous, prerogatifs, aggriefed; he says Cheshu for "Jesu" and athversary for "adversary". He uses is to mean "are", "have" and "will": e.g. "the mines is not ... "; "the French is gone off"; "I hope your majesty is pear me testimony". He often says "Look you" to draw attention to the points he is making. Shakespeare's audience would, no doubt, much enjoy these different ways of speaking by the actors of the play. In the London of their own time many different accents were heard, and people who had come to the city from all parts of the cowitry felt themselves united as faithful subjects of their queen Elizabeth. 4 The Structure of the Play Henry V is sometimes spoken of as an epic drama since it has as its subject the great deeds of a national hero. Like the epic plays of ancient Greece it has a Chorus to comment on events and to describe to the audience those parts of the action not shown on the stage. Through the words of the Chorus, Shakespeare is able, for instance, to tell us, in only four and a half lines, of the message brought to King Henry from the French king before the battle of Harfleur (Prologue, 111.28-32); the unsuccessful attempt by the emperor to arrange a peace treaty between France and England after the Agincourt campaign can be dealt with in less than four lines (Prologue, V.36-39). The Chorus also serves as a link between Shakespeare and the actors on the one hand and the audience in the theatre on the other. The audience can be made to feel the excitement of dramatist and players, to share their pride in the history of England's victories and to understand the problems and difficulties of staging such a play. Splendid descriptions by the Chorus help the audience to imagine the pageantry of war-like preparation, although the hardships of war, together with its inevitable cruelty and bloodshed are also brought vividly to nund. The great central figure of the play is the "war-like" king, and the play's subject is his winning of the French kingdom, "the world's

xvi

best garden". In the earlier history/lays of this series Prince Henry has been shown as one who woul rather spend his time drinking and jesting with the fat and humorous Sir John Falstaff in the Lor.don taverns than listening to serious discussion of state affairs in his father's palace. But even as a young man in these earlier plays the prince is brave and generous; he loves his father and intends to give up all his wild ways when he comes to the throne; he pictures to himself how he will surprise everyone by his sudden reformation. At the beginning of Henry V therefore we need to be reminded of how he has kept this resolve: the Archbishop of Canterbury tells us that, at the moment of his father's death, it seemed that the character of Prince Henry, now King Henry V, was suddenly changed and he appeared as one learned in affairs of state, war and policy. Also in the first act we are given a full account, from the English side, of the justice of King Henry's claim to France; the king wishes to know if the Salic law (which forbids inheritance through a woman) can bar his claim and asks the Archbishop of Canterbury to discuss this with complete honesty. Only after Henry's resolution to make this claim does the act end with the Dauphin's insulting message. In Act II there is described the illness and death of Falstaff, a character who has no place in the serious scenes of warfare; Pistol, Nym and Bardolph are introduced to supply some comic interest. Three English noblemen, traitors to the English cause, are condemned to death. In Act III King Henry appears for the first time as a military commander, full of the fiercest energy. Sympathy is further shifted from the cowardly, thieving Pistol and his friends, for while we laugh at the oddities of speech in the Welshman Fluellen we cannot but admire his bravery and sense of discipline. Realising the unavoidable savagery of war, the governor of Harfleur is persuaded to surrender the town but the French nobles on the eve of Agincourt still look on war as a game of chivalry. Act IV is the most important of the play: before the battle, Bates and Williams speak with moving simplicity of the real fears of the common soldier; the exchange of gloves promises a comic scene to come; King Henry considers the heavy responsibilities of a warrior king and the heavy odds against the English are shown. Then, while XVll

the main battle may be supposed to take place, there follows a comic scene between Pistol and his French prisoner. The battle is long and its outcome uncertain; after their first defeat the French forces still far outnumber the English armies; there is a new alarm as the English baggage tents are plundered. Finally it is the French herald who tells King Henry that the victory is England's. The leek theme is introduced and the glove episode is concluded. In Act V the struggle is over: there is time for Pistol to eat Fluellen's leek and we enjoy the sincerity and energy of King Henry's wooing of the princess Katharine. The play ends, however, with a brief reminder of how France was lost in the days of the infant king Henry VI.

5 The Characters of the Play It is often supposed that, when a writer creates a character whose conduct and habits are perfect, he cannot at the same time make that character into a person who will act and speak in a way that is lively, natur_al and sometimes unexpected. But when in Henry V Shakespeare writes of the perfect English king, that king is also a man, active, energetic, sincere and comradely. The Archbishop of Canterbury tells us that Henry's wildness of character died in him at the moment of his father's death, and the Constable of France realises, after talking with the French ambassadors, how much the Dauphin is mistaken in believing the English king a vain and giddy youth. But it is possible also that the wild prince Henry has brought with him to his new duties a wider and truer knowledge of people and practical affairs than he could ever have gained within the narrow and more formal life of his father's court. On the eve of Agincourt he is able, in his borrowed cloak, to talk with the ordinary soldiers on terms of equality and easy friendship. Because they believe him one of themselves and speak freely of their fears, he is able to strengthen them in their resolution to "fight lustily" on the next day. He enjoys the glove episode but loses none of his natural dignity in the contrived irony of the situation. His wooing of Katharine is gay and lively; in spite of his face being "not worth the sun-burning" his pleading as a "plain soldier" wins her heart. XVlll

As king and leader Henry is strong and self-reliant. He seeks the opinion of the Archbishop of Canterbury on the justice of his claim to France but the decision to invade is his own and it is he who first voices the need to defend England against a possible invasion by the Scots. It is he who chooses the moment to expose the three English nobles who have plotted his death, and, as head of the state, he hands them over to the just punishment of the law. As military commander he recognises that war is unavoidably cruel and so is ready, in time of battle, to "imitate the action of the tiger" since there can be no half-heartedness in fighting the enemy. He warns the governor of Harfl.eur of the horrible deeds that will follow if the town is taken by force and the English soldiers are no longer under his control. Once the town has surrendered, however, he asks Exeter to "Use mercy to them all" and he will not allow any Frenchman to be insulted or robbed by his soldiers as they march north; Bardolph is executed for robbing a church. In the battle of Agincourt, as the French bring up reinforcements and begin the battle afresh with their numbers still far greater than the English army, Henry at once gives the necessary order for the killing of their French prisoners. After the battle he is once more merciful; the French are allowed to move freely over the battlefield to list and bury their dead. He shows himself firm and resolute in the peace negotiations. As Burgundy speaks of the civilising arts of peace and of the sufferings which France has undergone, Henry gives a clear answer; the French can buy the peace they long for by agreeing to his just demands. Henry has trained himself to know the qualities necessary for a man and a king: except on the battlefield, modesty and humility are most becoming. When the French ambassadors suggest that the Dauphin's message, if plainly spoken, may offend him, he gives them permission to make it known. Before Agincourt he freely admits to the French herald that his men are weak with fever and his numbers lessened. He knows himself, above all, as ambitious for honour: ifhe cannot win the French throne he will lie in a nameless grave. For him, true nobility consists in courage and under his inspiration nobles and common soldiers are united for victory. He is genuinely devout and gives to God all honour for his triumph at Agincourt; in XlX

the same way, before the battle, he asks God not to remember against him the fault by which his father won the crown. King Henry is the one great figure of the play and we know little of the personal character of the English noblemen who play supporting parts. Exeter is able to argue well in favour of King Henry's making his claim to the French throne (I.ii.174); he has the duty of arresting the three traitors and is particularly shocked at the treachery of Lord Scroop (11.ii.8). As ambassador to the French court he presents King Henry's claim and warns the French king in forceful language of the bloodshed that must follow if the claim. is denied. To the Dauphin he speaks King Henry's message of scorn and defiance, and assures him of the difference which the king's subjects have found Between the promise of his greener days And these he masters now. (II.iv. I 37) As a gallant soldier he plays a large part in England's success by holding the bridge at an important river crossing, but he is tenderhearted also and, in describing the deaths of Suffolk and York on the battlefield, he tells how he was moved to tears. In military discipline, however, he can be very strict; under him, Bardolph is condemned for stealing from a church. At the end of the play, when he takes part in arranging the peace treaty with France, he is careful to watch over the interests of England and reminds King Henry of the one clause not yet agreed: that Henry shall be recognised as heir to France. As head of the church in England, the Archbishop of Canterbury is afraid that a bill may be passed taking away from the church all those lands given to the church by the owners when they died; he trusts, however, that the king will deal justly with the clergy. He greatly admires the learning and wisdom of the new king and, at the beginning of the play, has already offered a very large sum of money to be used against France. He shows himself a clear and energetic speaker when asked by the king to give his opinion on the Salic law, and as a patriotic Englishman he reminds King Henry of the great deeds of his ancestor, Edward xx

III; he remembers also how the king of Scotland was captured when he led his men into England during Edward's absence in France. It is his belief that in good government different men can fulfil different offices, and he is confident that, if King Henry decides on the invasion of France, those left at home can defend themselves as bold Englishmen against any Scottish invaders. Westmoreland also encourages the king to make his claim to France: the hearts of the English nobles and other loyal subjects are, he says, already in France, ahead of their bodies. He speaks with wisdom and caution of the need to make provision for the defence of the northern borders, which are his special responsibility and it is he, before the battle of Agincourt, who wishes that they had with them another ten thousand of the men who on that day, St. Crispin's day, are on holiday in England. But he is ready at once for the onset of battle: Perish the man whose mind is backward now, (IV.iii. 72} and inspired, like the others, by Henry's desire for honour, would be ready to fight for the English cause even if he were alone at the king's side. Captain Fluellen is first seen angrily driving on the cowardly Pistol and Nym in the attack on Harfleur. He is a brave soldier, proud of both his birth and education: he reminds Macmorris of his noble ancestry and gives Pistol a lesson on Fortune and her image. He is quite ready to tell the Dulce of Gloucester how the mines might be better dug and scolds Captain Gower, on the eve of Agincourt, with many whispered reproaches, for calling his name too loudly. It is his belief that the true discipline of warshouldalways be followed and the wars, for him, are not those of his own day but the old wars of Roman history. Captain Jamy, he grants, has good knowledge of these, but the fiery Macmorris, who seems to have excellent practical experience of explosives, Fluellen counts as ignorant as a puppy-dog. Because he is himself honest and as good as his word, he is at first misled by the eloquent Pistol and mistakes his behaviour for bravery; he is certain, however, that discipline must be used against Bardolph. This same respect for discipline keeps him

:xxi

from punishing Pistol's mockery of his leek emblem; the insult was offered, he says, "in a place where I could breed no contention with him" but he is able to repay Pistol's scorn with many a jest and blow on the following day. The king is for him a fellow-countryman of whose deeds he can be proud and he talks freely to him at the river crossing, giving a vivid description of how Bardolph's fire is out. When he is with Gower at Agincourt he tries, with something of Welsh superstition, to bring out the similarities between King Henry and Alexander the Pig. Henry recognises that he is both valiant and hot-tempered and will be quick to attack the soldier Williams, but when the glove story has been explained, it is Fluellen who tries to impress on the soldier the need to keep out of quarrels. With the generous pride of one who is not over-rich he tries to add his shilling to the gloveful of crowns which Williams is given "by the king. Captain Gower is very sensible in warning Fluellen against Pistol; he admires King Henry for ordering the slaughter of the French prisoners the moment it becomes necessary and is plain-spoken and energetic in his reproof of Pistol for "gleeking and galling" at

Fluellen. Bates and Williams are soldiers of courage and good sense. Bates shows no surprise when told of Sir Thomas Erpingham' s estimate of their danger since they are indeed "as men wrecked upon a sand, that look to be washed off the next tide" but he is anxious to know that Sir Thomas has not told his thought to the king. His duty, as he se~ it, is that of an obedient subject, and, while he does not desire that the king should answer for his sins if he dies in battle, he is nonetheless ready "to fight lustily for him". Williams sees the dawn breaking and cannot think that he will be alive to see the ~Y'.s ending, bu~ he ~c~epts. his fears as p~rt of a soldier's life and m his next words 1s praising Sir Thomas Erpmgham as a "good old commander and a most kind gentleman". He argues that the soldiers cannot know if the king's cause is just; if it is not, he believes that the sins of his dead soldiers will be a heavy reckoning against the king. Henry's sp~ech however ch~ge_s this o?inion an~ he is ready to agree that for every man that dies ill, the ~ upon his own head". He is shrewd enough to calculate that the king may be xxii

ransomed after their throats are cut, and cheerfully exchanges gloves with the king when Henry protests that, if this happens, he will never again trust the monarch's word. When he learns later that it was the king he promised to strike, he defends himself with manly simplicity. The frivolity of the French nobles is in striking contrast to the sober resolution of the ordinary English soldiers. The Dauphin has no sense of statesmanship: his foolish jest of the gift of tennis balls can be expected only to strengthen the determination of the English king. Even as the French prepare for Henry's invasion, the Dauphin cannot bring himself to fear this "vain, giddy, shallow, humorous youth", and, perhaps as a result of his serious under-estimation of Henry's energy and power, he is not ready to relieve Harfleur, and the town has to be surrendered. On the eve of Agincourt, while Henry visits and cheers his English troops, the Dauphin is boasting with his noble friends about his horse. Certainly he fights bravely but war is for him largely a matter of personal pride. The Constable of France seems more experienced and rather more responsible. After hearing the report of the French ambassadors, he speaks with generous praise of King Henry. When Harfleur has fallen, he urges that Henry must be made to give battle. Knowing that the English soldiers are sick and hungry, he expects, in his over-confidence, that Henry will accept defeat and offer ransom. At Agincourt his fear is that the French gallants will find insufficient sport in fighting this "poor and starved band" of English. After the first defeat of the French forces, when they know that they will still far outnumber the English, he can offer no plan of action and can only suggest that they give up their lives in the disorder of the battlefield.

6 The Lessons of History The Elizabethans considered that history was the best of teachers: in telling of the greatness of nations and of their rise and fall, historians could help men to understand what was the best form of government for their own day. From a study of history, a king might learn what were the responsibilities of the ruler, and his subjects might be shown what evil consequences would follow from any disobedience or rebellion. It was firmly believed that a king who XXlll

came to the throne by right of succession was the agent of God on earth; if such a king did wrong in any way, only God could punish him. Many great works of history were produced in the fifteenth, sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries and there was much discussion of the science of government, and the relation of the citizen to the monarch and the state. Edward Hall's history (The Union of the two noble ... families of Lancaster and York, published in 1548) deals with the events of English history during eight reigns, beginning with that of Henry IV (father of Henry V) and concluding with that of Henry VIII {father of Queen Elizabeth I). Hall's main purpose was to show the destruction that had followed upon rebellion and disobedience within the English kingdom. His first chapter is entitled Th~ unquiet time of King Henry the Fourth and he begins his actual history where Shakespeare begins his play of Richard II, describing how and why King Richard was deposed by his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, afterwards Henry IV. Some of those who had helped Bolingbroke to seize power afterwards rebelled against him, but he was able to hold his position and hand on the throne to his eldest son. Hall's second section is entitled The victorious acts of King Henry the Fifth and tells of the great deeds of one who was considered the pattern of all Christian kings. In his life Henry was triumphant, but after his death came the "troublous season" of King Henry VI; the country which had allowed the deposition of King Richard was now to suffer from civil war between the great opposing families of Lancaster and York. This thirty-year contest ended in 1485, when the murderous Richard III was defeated in battle, and Henry VII, grandfather of Queen Elizabeth, re-established the rule of law, and the unity of the kingdom. As well as historians, poets and dramatists also wrote of the duties of the ruler and the responsibilities of the subject. A Mirror for Magistrates (first published in 1559 and later much extended in length), a collection of stories in verse by different authors, with accompanying prose comment, tells of the sad end of a number of XXlV

statesmen and others, guilty of rebellion and disobedience to their king, during the period covered by Hall's Chronicle. William Baldwin, in his preface to this collection, speaks to the noblemen and to all those in office in his time, asking them to see "as in a looking glass" - if they are now guilty of any faults - how such faults have been punished in earlier times. The importance of obedience to the ruler, and the wickedness and misery of civil war are emphasised throughout: For indeed officers be God's deputies and it is God's office which they bear ... And therefore whosoever rebelleth against any ruler, either good or bad, rebelleth against God, and shall be sure of a wretched end. Shakespeare's plays concerning English history echoed many of the political teachings of the time. In Henry V the English are shown as triumphant in a righteous cause; the warrior-king does always what the perfect ruler should do. The Archbishop praises him for his learning and scholarship: he can speak of religious matters, of state business and of military affairs with "sweet and honeyed sentences". Similar praise was given, in Shakespeare's time, to Queen Elizabeth, and there is no doubt that such praise was deserved; much care was given to the education of men and women of the ruling classes. It is necessary for Henry to be fully satisfied that he may "with right and justice" make claim to the throne of France; only if his cause is just can he hope for the help of God. He seeks the advice of the Archbishop, but the final decision for peace or war is made by"him, as king. The treachery of Cambridge, Scroop, and Grey is a crime against king and state which can meet with no mercy. Although as a man Henry would seek for no revenge against them, he must, as a ruler, guard worthily the safety of his kingdom. The traitors themselves recognise their guilt and go to their deaths repentant. This also is entirely in keeping with Elizabethan beliefs. In Shakespeare's time and earlier, there was much argument about the theory and conduct of war. When the French make plans to prepare for the English attack, saying that peace must not make a nation dull and lazy, their words would be accepted as true by the Elizabethan audience; much money was spent on the maintenance XXV

of a strong army in Elizabeth's reign. King Henry's mercy to the surrendered town of Harfleur is in accordance with the rules of war for a Christian king; so too his strict instructions that the English soldiers shall not rob the French churches or the French people. On the night before the battle of Agincourt, King Henry, disguised in a borrowed cloak, talks with Bates and Williams about the different responsibilities of king and soldiers. The soldiers themselves, it is argued, are not responsible for the justice of the cause in which they are fighting; their only duty is to obey their king. The king is responsible for the justice of the cause in which he orders his soldiers to fight, but he is not responsible for their sins as private persons. This argument also would be fully acceptable to the Elizabethans. Henry is able to defeat the great armies of France because God fights on his side. So, in Elizabeth's day, the English believed, God had helped the English to defeat the power of Spain.

FRANCE Map of places named in the play xxvi

SHORT READING UST FOR MORE SENIOR STUDENTS For details of Shakespearian word-meaning students may consult: A Shakespeare Glossary, by C. T. Onions, Oxford University Press, 1911. Shakespeare-Lexicon, by A. Schmidt, 1923, de Gruyter, Berlin and Leipzig. Explorations in Shakespeare's Language, by Hilda M. Hulme, Longmans, 1962. For a study of Shakespeare's history plays: Shakespeare's Histories: Mirrors of Elizabethan Policy, by Lily B. Campbell, Huntingdon Library: San Marino, California, 1947. Shakespeare's History Plays, by E. M. W. Tillyard, London, 1944. For the history of Tudor England and of Elizabeth's reign: Tudor England, by S. T. Bindoff, Penguin Books, 1950. Queen Elizabeth I, by J. E. Neale, Penguin Books, 196o. For the study of Shakespearian criticism: Shakespeare and his critics, by F. E. Halliday, London, 1958. For Shakespearian imagery and word-play: Shakespeare's Imagery and what it tells us, by Caroline F. E. Spurgeon. Beacon Press, Boston, 1958. The Development of Shakespeare's Imagery, by W. H. Clemen, London, 1951. Shakespeare's Word-play, by M. M. Mahood, London, 1957. For Shakespeare, his theatre and his times: A Companion to Shakespeare Studies, ed. by H. Granville Barker and G. B, Harrison, Cambridge, 1934.

xxvii

I

Within this wooden 013

DRAMA TIS PERSONAE KING HENRY

the Fifth

DUKE OF GLOUCESTER } brot hers oif the K'ing D UKE OF B EDFORD DuKE OF EXETER, uncle of the King DUKE OF YoRK, cousin of the King EARLS OF SALISBURY, WESTMORELAND, and WAR WICK ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY BISHOP OF ELY EARL OF CAMBRIDGE LORD SCROOP OF MASHAM SIR THOMAS GREY SIR THOMAS ERPINGHAM, GOWER, FLUELLEN, MACMORRIS, ]AMY, officers in King Henry's army BATES, CouRT, WILLIAMS, soldiers in the same PISTOL, NYM, BARDOLPH Boy A Herald CHARLES the Sixth, King of France LEWIS, the Dauphin DUKES OF BURGUNDY, ORLEANS, and BOURBON The Constable of France RAM BURES and GRANDPRE, French Lords Governor of Harfleur MONTJOY, a French Herald Ambassadors to the King of England

ls ABEL, Queen of France KATHARINE, daughter of Charles and Isabel ALICE, a lady attending on her Hostess of a tavern in Eastcheap, formerly

Mistress

Quickly, and

now married to Pistol Lords, Ladies, Attendants Chorus

Officers,

Soldiers,

Citizens,

The scenes are laid in England and France. XXlX

Messengers,

and

[HENRY V

The Chorus, who speaks on behalf of dramatist and actors, voices Shakespeare's wish that he could write the finest poetry and give the most splendid staging continued on page z 14 the very casques ... air- "even the (the 1 Chorus - actor who speaks to the audience before each act of this play. very) helmets (not to speak of the 2 Muse of fire. According to the old sold_iers) .~hat made the very air afraid .... Greek stories, there were nine Muses (i.e. goddesses of the arts), the Muse of 15 Agincourt: the battle fought on St. history, of poetry, music, dancing, Crispin's day, October 25th, 1415, as etc., and an artist would begin his King Henry with a force of less than work by asking for the inspiration of 6,000 men was trying to make his one of these. Shakespeare wishes that way back to the French coast. The French army which outnumbered the he might have the help of some yet English by ten to one was defeated more powerful Muse, an imagined Muse of fire, since in earlier times fire with very great loss. was believed to be the lightest of the 16 a crookid.fig11re .. . million - "a hookfour elements - earth, air, fire and shaped (crooked) figure (1) taking little water - and so able to rise highest. room (space) can represent as much as Also the last and highest of the nine a million" (attest, certify to. In the heavens was the heaven of fire. figure of a million, 1,000,000, the 3 invention - poetic imagination. very important figure I (then written 4 swelling - growing more and more rather like a seven) takes up less space splendid. than the o's. S like himself . .. Mars - himself playing 17 ciphers ... work. The force of a cipher is the part of the king (like himself), take the meaning of the figure o; the accompt or "account" is the great sum on (Assume) the bearing (port) of Mars, the god of War. of King Henry's glory. So the poor 6 Leashed . .. employment. The sufferings actors, like figures of o, of no value in which belong to and follow upon themselves, hope to work on the war are thought of as swift hunting powers of imagination (imap.inary forces) of the audience, so that the dogs (hounds) which would wait little they can show on the stage may obediently at the heels of Mars or of be multiplied a million times over. King Henry until they were let loose from the leash and set to work. 18 Suppose ... asunder. The audience is asked to imagine that the two great 7 gentles - "gentlemen". kingdoms of England and France are 8 1mraisid - "uninspired". shut in (con.fined) within the encircling 9 scaffold- "platform". walls of the theatre (girdle of thm 10 object - "spectacle". walls) and that their cliffs, raised high n cockpit - floor of the theatre {literally, (high upreared) and standing out from the area in which gamecocks were set the land (abutting), face each other, to fight). separated by the narrow yet dangeru vasty - "vast" (i.e. very large). ous English Channel. 13 0 - "circle". Perhaps a reference to the famous Globe theatre, finished in 19 Piece out - "Add to and complete". 20 make imaginary puissance - "create 1599 soon after this play was written, powerful armies (puissance) in yonr where many of Shakespeare's plays imagination". were acted. Like other theatres of this time it was built of wood and was circular inside. XXX

PROLOGUE]

THE LIFE OF KING HENRY V Prologue Enter

CHORUS 1

CHORUS

0 for a Muse of fire, 1 that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention, 8 A kingdom for a stage, princes to act And monarchs to behold the swelling' scene! Then should the warlike Harry, like himself, Assume the port of Mars; 6 and at his heels, Leashed in like hounds, should famine, sword and fire Crouch for employment. 8 But pardon, gentles 7 all, The .Bat unraised 8 spirits that have dared On this unworthy scaffold 0 to bring forth So great an object.Io Can this cockpit11 hold The vasty11 fields of France? Or may we cram Within this wooden 0I8 the very casques That did affright the air14 at Agincourt?11 0, pardon! Since a crooked figure may Attest in little place a million - 18 And let us, ciphers to this great accompt, On your imaginary forces work. 17 Suppose within the girdle of these walls Are now confined two mighty monarchies, Whose high upreared and abutting fronts The perilous narrow ocean parts asunder.Is Piece out18 our imperfections with your thoughts: Into a thousand parts divide one man, And make imaginary puissance; 10 Think, when we talk of horses, that you see th.em 1

s

10

15

20

25

[HENRY V

to his play. But their theatre is too small to hold the great battlefields and the armies which they pretend to show; the actors are only ciphers, figures of o, and it is the imagination of the audience which (as the figure 1) turns these noughts into a million (1,000,000). Accordingly he asks those watching the play to imagine within the theatre's walls the great kingdoms of France and England; they must see one actor as a thousand fighting men and must remember that the events of history which occupied many years have to be shown in the theatre as if they took place within a single hour. So as to help the audience make this effort of the imagination, the Chorus asks that he may be allowed to explain what is going on before the various parts of the play begin.

Printing- "setting the mark of". drck - "dress". 23 Turning . . . hour-glass - "changing (Turning) what took many years to carry through (the accomplishment of many years) into a story lasting only an hour" (hour-glass, glass containing sand used for measuring hours). 21 22

24 for the which ... me - "to help you to

supply this effort of the imagination, allow me to come in (admit me) ... ". 25 prologue-like - "as the actor making the introductory speech". 26 Gently - "courteously".

the very casques That did affright the air 14 at Agincourt 2

PROLOGUE]

Printing 21 their proud hoofs i' the receiving earth; For 'tis your thoughts that now must deck22 our kings, Carry them here and there;jumping o'er times, Turning the accomplishment of many years Into an hour-glass :28 for the which supply, Admit me 24 Chorus to this history; Who prologue-like25 your humble patience pray, Gently 28 to hear, kindly to judge, our play.

30

[Exit

an hour-g/ass 23

R-B

3

[ACT ONB

(l.i) The play begins in 1414, the second year of the reign of Henry V. The Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church, speaks to the Bishop of Ely of a bill, first put forward four years ago and now being reconsidered, which would take away much of the property of the Church so as to supply the king with money and soldiers. The Archbishop has confidence in the king's justice and hopes that the bill will not become law. He praises the learning and wisdom of the king and wonders at his sudden change of character when he succeeded to the throne; since the age of miracles is past they must suppose that the wild young prince was secretly studying all kinds of practical affairs while he was enjoying life with his low companions. The Archbishop tells how he has begun to explain to the king by what right he may claim certain French dukedoms and the crown of France itself; he has offered to give him for this purpose a larger sum of money than has ever before been given by the English clergy. As the scene ends they go to hear the message brought to the king by the French ambassador.

s on -

self bill is urged - "same legal measure is being put forward and strongly supported". A Bi// is the draft of an Act of Parliamept put forward for discussion; if the bill is passed by the Members of Parliament and becomes law, it is then known as an Act. 2 eleventh year .•. last king's reign. 1410; Henry IV, father of Henry V, ruled from 1400 to 1413. 3 Was like, and had- "was likely to have been, and would have been". 4 But ... question - "except only (But) that the time was one of rebellion (llambling) and disorder so that further discussion (question) of it was p~ vented". I

"about".

6 fall - "as many as, quite". 7 esquires - esquire, a m:in of the higher order of English gentry, in rank next

below a knight. 8 to relief . . . age - "for the helping (relief) oflepers (lazars) and of the old and sick (weak age) ... ". 9 faint souls - "helpless old people". 10 btsitlt . • • by the year - "besido (beside), .,C1,ooo every year".

the coffers of the king 4

SCENE 1]

ACT ONE Scene I. London. An ante-chamber in tTie KING's palace. Enter the ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY and the BIS HOP

OF ELY

CANTERBURY

My lord, I '11 tell you; that self bill is urged,1 Which in the eleventh year of the last king's reign2 Was like, and had 3 indeed against us passed, But that the scambling and unquiet time Did push it out of further question. 4

5

ELY

But how, my lord, shall we resist it now? CANTERBURY

It must be thought on. 5 If it pass against us, We lose the better half of our possession; For all the temporal lands which men devout By testament have given to the church Would they strip from us; being valued thus: As much as would maintain, to the king's honour, Full 6 fifteen earls and fifteen hundred knights, Six thousand and two hundred good esquires; 7 And, to relief of lazars and weak age, 8 Of indigent faint souls• past corporal toil, A hundred almshouses right well supplied; And to the coffers of the king beside, A thousand pounds by the year: 10 thus runs the bill. ELY

This would drink deep.

5

IO

15

[ACT ONE

n This would ... cup and all. The rich

18 such a sudden •.• made - "a man of wisdom and learning so suddenly created". 19 reformation . . . faults. The king's determination to become a better man (reformation) is spoken of as a great river (jlooa) running with a strong (heady) current (cu"ance), vigorously washing away (scouring) his earlier faults of character. This is perhaps a reference to Hercules' cleansing of the Augean stables by causing two rivers to run through them. Hercules, a hero of old Greek story, was promised immortality ifhe could perform twelve tasks of great difficulty and danger. 20 Hydra-headed. Another of the labours of Hercules was to kill a monster with nine heads. As soon as one head was struck off, two more appeared. Prince Henry's strong determination to have his own way (wilfulness) was like this monster (Hydra) with many heads; his wilfulness was shown in many ways. 21 his seat - "its throne, power". 22 Hear .•• reason in - "Only hear him argue on the subject of ...". 23 all-admiring- "full of wonder".

possessions of the Church are spoken of as precious liquid. Ely thinks that much would be lost, but Canterbury thinks that nothing at all would be left. 12 what prevention? - "what way is there of preventing it?" 13 grace •.. regard - "good will towards us (grace) and careful consideration (regara) of what is just (fair)". 14 The courses ... not - "His way of life (courses) as a young man made us expect (promisea) something different".

IS But that . .. mortified- "than (But that) his wildness, destroyed or killed (mortifieil)".

16 Consideration - "the thought of his kingly duties". 17 offending Adam, used in two senses: I. In Biblical story, after Adam had sinned by disobeying God, he was driven from Paradise by an angel 2. The English phrase 'the old Adam' refen to the inborn wickedness found in every man because of the sin of this first Adam. On the death of his father, the senseofresponsibility of the new king Henry V drove away all his old faults of conduct and he became like a paradise in which only angels and angelic qualities of character are found.

Hydra-headed 20 wilfulness

6

SCENE 1] CANTERBURY

'T would drink the cup and all.11

20

ELY

But what prevention?11 CANTERBURY

The King is full of grace and fair regard. 13 ELY

And a true lover of the holy church. CANTERBURY

The courses of his youth promised it not. u The breath no sooner left his father's body, But that his wildness, morti.fied15 in him, Seemed to die too; yea, at that very moment Consideration,1 8 like an angel, came And whipped the offending Adam17 out of him, Leaving his body as a paradise, To envelop and contain celestial spirits. Never was such a sudden scholar made. 18 Never came reformation in a flood, With ,such a heady currance, scouring faults; 11 Nor never Hydra-headed 20 wilfulness So soon did lose his seat81 and all at once As in this king. ELY

We are blessed in the change. CANTERBURY

Hear him but reason inzz divinity And all-admiring, 23 with an inward wish, 7

25

30

35

[ACT ON!!

24 of commonwe4/th 4.ff4irs . . . study "about (of) state (commonwe11l1h) business, you would say that it was the only subject he had studied". 25 List - "Listen to". 26 rendered you ... policy - "described to you with the order and beauty of music. Question him about any important matter of state". 27 Gordi4n knot. According to an old story, Gordius, first king of Phrygia (a country of Asia Minor), tied a knot which it seemed impossible to undo. It was believed that any man who could undo it would become king of Asia. Alexander the Great, conqueror of Asia, cut the knot with his sword. In a similar way, King Henry is able to explain and disentangle every difficulty as easily as if he were untying his garter. 28 that - "so that". 29 a chartered libertine - "privileged (chartered) as one free to move where he wishes (liberti11e)". 30 mute wonder lurketh. It seems as if admiration (wonder) lies hidden (lurketlt) and dumb (mute). 31 So that the art ... courses vain - "And it must be therefore (So that) that the experience (art) and practical (practic) knowledge of the king give him thi. mastery in (be the mistress to) the theory (theoric) of learning and state affairs. It is surprising how his majesty could have picked up this experience of state, since his whole inclination (addiction) was to idle (vain) ways of life (courses)"; (glean, to gather what is left after the grain has been cut).

32 companies unlettered - "companions

w1educated". 33 riots - "noisy and unlawful actions".

34 noted - "was there seen". 3s sequestration . . . popularity - "withdrawal (sequestration) from places where common people gather (open haunts) or from mixing with ordinary people (popularity)". 36 The strawberry . . . quality. Strawberries grow best under the shadow of other plants, as the Bishop of Ely well knows; the strawberry-beds of his palace gardens were famous. The nettle is an unpleasant plant like the company Prince Hal once kept. 37 obscured ... veil - "hid (obscured) his observation and study (contemplation) under the pretence (veiO .. .". 38 which, no doubt - "and without any doubt this study and knowledge ... ". 39 Unseen ... faculty - "not seen to grow, although by its nature (in his faculty) growing (crescive)". 40 miracles ... perfected - "there are no longer any miracles; and so we have, of necessity (nerds), to accept as true (admit) the ways (means) in which (how) things grow to perfection".

8

SCENE 1]

You would desire the king were made a prelate. Hear him debate of commonwealth affairs, You would say it hath been all in all his study.H List 95 his discourse of war, and you shall hear A fearful battle rendered you in music. Turn him to any cause of policy, 28 The Gordian knot 27 of it he will unloose, Familiar as his garter; that, 28 when he speaks, The air, a chartered libertine, 29 is still, And the mute wonder lurketh• 0 in men's ears, To steal his sweet and honeyed sentences; So that the art and practice part of life Must be the mistress to this theoric: Which is a wonder how his grace should glean it, Since his addiction was to courses vain, 81 His companies unlettered, 82 rude and shallow, His hours filled up with riots,18 banquets, sports, And never noted 34 in him any study, Any retirement, any sequestration From open haunts and popularity."

40

45

so

55

BLY

The strawberry groweth underneath the nettle And wholesome berries thrive and ripen best Neighboured by fruit of baser quality; 88 And so the prince obscured his contemplation Under the veil 87 of wildness; which, no doubt, 11 Grew like the summer grass, fastest by night, Unseen, yet crescive in his faculty. 18 CANTERBURY

It must be so; for miracles are ceased; And therefore we must needs admit the means How things are perfected. ,o

9

60

[ACT ONE

ELY

But, my good lord, How now for mitigation of this bill Urged by the commons? 41 Doth his majesty Incline to it, or no? CANTERBURY

He seems indifferent, Or rather swaying more upon our part Than cherishing the exhibiters 42 against us; For I have made an offer to his majesty, Upon our spiritual convocation And in regard of causes now in hand, Which I have opened to his grace at large, As touching 43 France, to give a greater sum Than ever at one time the clergy yet Did to his predecessors part withal.

75

80

44 of- "by". 45 Jain - "gladly". 46 severals ... passages - "various details (severals) and clear lines of descent (pas~ages)". 47 generally - "in general". 48 seal - "throne". 49 E.dward. Edward III, 1327-1377. 50 craved audience- "begged to be heard". 51 embassy - "message". 52 wait 11pon - "attend on, accompany".

How now ... the commons? - "What can we do to make less serious this proposal (bill) which is strongly supported (Urged) by the members of the lower house of Parliament (commons)?" 42 ind!lferent ... exhibiters - "not supporting either side, or rather leaning more to our side than favouring (cherishing) the proposers (exhibiters) of the bill ... ". 43 Upon our spiritual ... As touching "on behalf of (Upon) our assembly (convocation) of the clergy (spiritual), and so as to help with (in regard of) plans (causes). now in hand, which I have made known (opened) to his gracious majesty in detail (at large) concerning (As touching) ... "; (his grace, a title of courtesy, formerly used in referring to a king). 41

10

SCENE I] ELY

How did this offer seem received, my lord? CANTERBURY

With good acceptance of44 his majesty; Save that there was not time enough to hear, As I perceived his grace would fain' 6 have done, The severals and unhidden passages'° Of his true titles to some certain dukedoms And generallyn to the crown and seat 48 of France, Derived from Edward, 0 his great-grandfather.

85

ELY

What was the impediment that broke this off?

90

CANTERBURY

The French ambassador upon that instant Craved audience; 60 and the hour, I think, is come To give him hearing. Is it four o'clock? ELY

It is. CANTERBURY

Then go we in to know his embassy; 61 Which I could with a ready guess declare, Before the Frenchman speak a word of it.

95

ELY

I '11 wait upon61 you, and I long to hear it. [Exeunt

11

[ACT ONE

(I.ii) Before receiving the French ambassadors, King Henry wishes to hear from the Archbishop of Canterbury if the Salic law stands in the way of his claim to the French throne. The Archbishop explains that the "Salic" law which stated that no woman can inherit - does not refer to France itself, but to an area of Germany, once possessed by France. In any case, the Salic law has not always been kept in France, as the French now claim. [He explains: I. the law that no woman can inherit in the Salic land refers not to France but to an area of Germany (a district in their time called Meisen). 2. this law was established in the year 805 by the Emperor Charlemagne when he conquered the Saxons there, and not by King Pharamond, as the French claim, since Pharamond died in 426. In fact, says the Archbishop, the French did not possess this Salic land w1til some centuries after Pharamond's death. (The number of years is given as "four hundred and twenty one". It should be 379, i.e. 400 less 21.) 3. the "Salle" law has not always been kept in France: three French kings, King Pepin (741-768), Hugh Capet {987--996) and King Lewis X (13141316) have claimed to inherit on the female side. Do not try to remember this full explanation, but use it where necessary, to help you to understand the long speech by the Archbishop.] The Archbishop reminds King Henry of the glory of his great-grandfather Edward III (who ruled from 1327-1377 and claimed the French throne through his mother Isabella, daughter of Philip IV of France) and of Edward, the Black Prince (eldest son of Edward III and great-uncle of Henry V; he was fifteen years old at the time of the battle of Crecy in 1346, when the French were decisively defeated). King Henry knows that, if he takes away his main army for the invasion of France, then the Scots will attack England from the north; they did this in the time of Edward III. The Archbishop reminds him that England defended herself very well at that time and captured the king of Scotland himself, but Westmoreland {who has the duty of guarding the English border country between England and Scotland) says that if France is to be won, there must also be English forces strong enough to fight against the Scots. Canterbury believes that, just as the bees work obediently, each group having different duties, so the power of England can both fight in continued 011 page 14 Presence chamber, the room in which the king receives officials and guests. 2 presence - "attendance on the king". Canterbury, as an important figure in this scene, is not brought in with the king, but makes his entrance later. 3 liege - "lord". 4 cousin, title used by the king in

addressing his nobles or another sovereign. .. s We would be resolved - "l would like to be satisfied". 6 of . .. task - "about (of) some important matters that buw.y engage (task) .•. ". 7 become - "adorn".

I

12

SCENE 11)

Scene II. London. The Presence chamber.• Enter

KING HENRY, GLOUCESTER, BEDFORD, EXETER,

WARWICK, WESTMORELAND,

and Attendants

KING HENRY

Where is my gracious Lord of Canterbury? EXETER.

Not here in presence.• KING HENRY

Send for him, good uncle. WESTMORELAND

Shall we call in the ambassador, my liege?• KING HENRY

Not yet, my cousin.' We would be resolved,1 Before we hear him, of some things of weight That task• our thoughts, concerning us and France.

Enter the

ARCHBISHOP OP CANTERBURY OP ELY

and the

s BISHOP

CANTERBURY

God and his angels guard your sacred throne, And make you long become 7 it! KING HENRY

Sure, we thank you. My learned lord, we pray you to proceed And justly and religiously unfold Why the law Salic that they have in France Or should, or should not, bar us in our claim. 13

IO

[ACT ONB

France and also defend itself at home. He proposes that the king shall take into France a quarter of their fighting force. Henry resolves to do this and either to win the French throne or to lie in a nameless grave. The French ambassadors are admitted and given permission to speak their message plainly: they tell how the Dauphin, in answer to Henry's claim to the French throne, sends him a barrel of tennis-balls, as more suitable to his youth and wildness. Henry replies that many of the French will have reason to feel sorry that the Dauphin has answered his claim with so scornful a jest; he orders immediate preparations to be made for his invasion of France. as sin with baptism - "as man's heart is washed free from inborn wickedness by his baptism". 14 owe - "have the duty to give". 15 make against ... produce - "prevent (make against) your claim except this law which they bring forward (produce) .•. ". 16 In te"am ... succedant, Latin, translated into English in the next line; (succeed, 'succeed to an inheritance'). 17 unjustly gloze - "wrongly explain". 18 floods - "rivers".

8 fashion ... truth - "change (fashion), twist (wrest) or bend (bow) your true opinion (reading) of the matter, or by clever and detailed argument (nicely) lay a burden of guilt on (charge) your soul which knows the real truth (understanding), by beginning (opening) false (miscreate) claims (titles), whose justice (right), when seen in its proper (native) colours, does not agree with (suits not with) what is true". 9 approbation Of what - "proving true (approbation) those claims which ... ". 10 impawn our person - "pledge my honour". If Henry begins the war unjustly, he will be guilty of the deaths of many. No Christian king might fight, except in a cause that was wholly just. 11 charge yo~ - "order you as your duty .... 12 whose guiltless drops ... conjuration "every drop of blood which is shed from those who fight justly (guiltless) is a cause of sorrow (woe) and grievous complaint to God against the man whose untruth (wrong) makes sharp (gives edge unto) the swords of war which bring to an end so many short human lives (brief mortality). Having been sole,1,11nly ordered to tell the truth ....

13

14

SCENE

n]

And God forbid, my dear and faithful lord, That you should fashion, wrest, or bow your reading, Or nicely charge your understanding soul With opening titles miscreate, whose right Suits not in native colours with the truth; 8 For God doth know how many now in health Shall drop their blood in approbation Of what 9 your reverence shall incite us to. Therefore take heed how you impawn our person, 10 How you awake our sleeping sword of war. We charge you, 11 in the name of God, take heed; For never two such kingdoms did contend Without much fall of blood; whose guiltless drops Are every one a woe, a sore complaint 'Gainst him whose wrong gives edge unto the swords That make such waste in brief mortality. Under this conjuration11 speak, my lord; For we will hear, note and believe in heart That what you speak is in your conscience washed As pure as sin with baptism. 18

15

20

25

30

CANTERBURY

Then hear me, gracious sovereign, and you peers, That owe 14 yourselves, your lives and services To this imperial throne. There is no bar To make against your highness' claim to France But this, which they produce15 from Pharamond, In terram Sa Ii cam mulieres ne succedant, 18 "No woman shall succeed in Salic land:" Which Salic land the French unjustly gloze 17 To be the realm of France, and Pharamond The founder of this law and female bar. Yet their own authors faithfully affirm That the land Salic is in Germany, Between the floods 18 of Sala and of Elbe;

15

35

40

45

[ACT ONE

Where Charles the Great, having subdued the Saxons, There left behind and settled certain French; Who, holding in disdain the German women For some dishonest manners of11 their life, Established then this law; to wit, no female Should be inheritrix in Salic land: Which Salic, as I said, 'twixt10 Elbe and Sala, Is at this day in Germany called Meisen. Then doth it well appear the Salic law Was not devised for the realm of France; Nor did the French possess the Salic land Until four hundred one and twenty years21 After defunction11 of King Pharamond, Idly 28 supposed the founder of this law; Who died within the year of our redemption91 Four hundred twenty-six; and Charles the Great Subdued the Saxons, and did soat the French25 19 For some dishonest mannm of "because of some immodest habits in .. _,,_ 20 'twixt - "between". 21 Until four hundred ... years. Actually 400 less 21 yean. Charlemagne conquered the Salic lands in the year 805 and King Pharamond died in 426, i.e. the French did not possess the Salic land until 379 years after Pharamond's death. 22 defunction - "the death". 23 Idly - "without any good reason". 24 within the year ... redemption - "after the birth of Christ". 25 did seat the French- "caused the French to settle". 26 heir general - "one who inherits whether his descent is through the male or female". 27 make claim and title to - "lay claim to and demand as a right ... ". 28 fi~d . . . shows - "provide .~is claim with some appearance ....

50

55

60

29 Conveyed himself as - "dishonestly made himself out to be". 30 keep quiet - "rest content". 3 I lineal of . • • foresaid - "directly descended from the Lady Ermengare, daug~ter of !;=harles, the beforementioned .... 32 King Lewis his satisfaction - "King Lewis's satisfying of his conscience". 33 Howbeit ... hold up - "although they would like to set up ... ". 34 them in a net ... titles - "themselves apd their claim in a network of legal trickery than to show in full (amply) how their dishonest (crooked) claims (titles) are prevented, claims which were .. ,;" (imbar, 'to bar a claim.)' 3S progenitors - "ancestors".

16

SCENE II]

Beyond the river Sala, in the year Eight hundred five. Besides, their writers say, King Pepin, which deposed Childeric, Did, as heir general, 26 being descended Of Blithild, which was daughter to King Clothair, Make claim and title to 27 the crown of France. Hugh Capet also, who usurped the crown Of Charles the duke of Lorraine, sole heir male Of the true line and stock of Charles the Great, To find his title with some shows 28 of truth, Though, in pure truth, it was corrupt and naught, Conveyed himself as 29 heir to the Lady Lingare, Daughter to Charlemain, who was the son To Lewis the emperor, and Lewis the son Of Charles the Great. Also King Lewis the tenth, Who was sole heir to the usurper Capet, Could not keep quiet 30 in his conscience, Wearing the crown of France, till satisfied That fair Queen Isabel, his grandmother, Was lineal31 of the Lady Ermengare, Daughter to Charles the foresaid duke of Lorraine: By the which marriage the line of Charles the Great Was re-united to the crown of France. So that, as clear as is the summer's sun, King Pepin's title and Hugh Capet's claim, King Lewis his satisfaction, 32 all appear To hold in right and title of the female: So do the kings of France unto this day; Howbeit they would hold up83 this Salic law To bar your highness claiming from the female, And rather choose to hide them in a net Than amply to imbar their crooked titles" Usurped from you and your progenitors. •5 KING HENRY

May I with right and conscience make this claim? 17

70

75

80

85

95

[ACT ONE CANTERBURY

The sin upon my head,3 8 dread sovereign! For in the book of Numbers is it writ: 'When the man dies, let the inheritance Descend unto the daughter.' Gracious lord, Stand for 37 your own! Unwind your bloody flag! Look back into 38 your mighty ancestors! Go, my dread lord, to your great-grandsire's39 tomb, From whom you claim; invoke his warlike spirit, And your great-uncle's, Edward the Black Prince, Who on the French ground played a tragedy, • 0 Making defeat on u the full power of France, Whiles his most mighty father' 2 on a hill Stood smiling to behold his lion's whelp Forage in 48 blood of French nobility. 0 noble English, that could entertain" With half their forces the full pride of France And let another half stand laughing by, All out of work and cold for' 6 action!

36 The sin . .. writ- "If my judgement is wrong, let all the guilt of war be counted against me, awe-inspiring (dread) king" (Numbers, a book of the Bible; writ, written). 37 Sta?,d for - "insist on having what is

100

105

IIO

38 i11to - "to those among".

42 father. Edward III watched this part of the battle but did not help his son, wishing him to have the glory of the victory. 43 Forage in - "prey on". 44 entertain - "receive, occupy", 45 for - "for lack of". 46 puissant arm renew - "powerful ann

39 great-grandsire's "great-grandfather's"; Henry makes his claim as great-grandson of Edward III, whose mother Isabella was the daughter of Philip IV of France. 40 played a tragedy. The battle of Crecy, 1346, spoken of as a 'play' in which the Black Prince was the chief actor - a play which ended sadly for the French. 41 Making defeat 0,1 - "defeating".

47 renowned them - "made them famous". 48 thrice-puissant liege . . . of his youth. Ely thinks that his lord (liege), King Henry, is three times as strong (thrice-puissant) and still in the earliest sprµtgtime (very May-morn) of his yowig life. 49 brother. Used by one king of another. 50 pavilioned - "encamped". 51 spiritually - "church officials",

begin once more".

18

SCENE

11] ELY

Awake remembrance of these valiant dead And with your puissant arm renew 0 their feats ! You are their heir; you sit upon their throne; The blood and courage that renowned them47 Runs in your veins; and my thrice-puissant liege" Is in the very May-morn of his youth, Ripe for exploits and mighty enterprises.

II5

120

EXETER

Your brother" kings and monarchs of the earth Do all expect that you should rouse yourself, As did the former lions of your blood. WESTMORELAND

They know your grace hath cause and means and might; So hath your highness; never king of England Had nobles richer and more loyal subjects, Whose hearts have left their bodies here in England And lie pavilioned60 in the fields of France.

125

CANTERBURY

0, let their bodies follow, my dear liege, With blood and sword and fire to win your right; In aid whereof we of the spiritualty61 Will raise your highness such a mighty sum As never did the clergy at one time Bring in to any of your ancestors. KING HENRY

We must not only arm to invade the French, But lay down our proportions to defend Against the Scot, who will make road upon us With all advantages. 19

130

135

[ACT ONB 52

S3 S4

ss 56

57 58

lay down our proportions •.. pilfering bordertrS - "decide (lay down) what proportion of our forces will be needed (011r proportions) to defend ounefves against the Scots, who will make raids (road) on our country, gladly seizing all opportunities (advantages)." "The Englishmen living in the northern border counties (marches) will serve as a wall strong enough to defend the areas further in (011r inland) from the thieving (pilfering) Scots of the frontier (borderers)". tht coursing snatchers - "those who ride (coursing) into England to seize something quickly". main intendment . . • neighbour - "the intention (intendment) of the whole Scottish nation which has always (still) been a neighbour not steady (giddy) in friendship". unfurnished kingdom - "cowitry left without forces". ample . . . assays - "power (force) in plenty (ample), like a channel of water full to the very edge (brim), causing anger and injury (Galling) to the country from which the main army, like a rich harvest, has been already taken (gleaned), by making fierce attacks (hot assays)"'. Girdling with grievous siege. The besieging armies form a tight and painful (grievous) belt (girdle). That England . • . ill neighbourhood "so that (That) England, having no

20

S9 6o

61 62

63

army to defend herself, has shaken and trembled with fear because of its neighbour's enmity (at the ill neighbourhood)". • feared - "frightened". hear her . .. herself- "only (but) listen to the precedent which England herself has set". chivalry - "body of knights". mourning widow • • • nobles - "left without her nobles like a widow mourning the death of her husband". impounded as a stray - "penned up like a stray animal" (i.e. to be let out on payment of a fine by its owner). While Edward III was fighting in France, David II of Scotland, an ally of the French, led his men into the north of England. He was captured in 1346 and, as Shakespeare tells the story, was sent to France as King Edward's prisoner. This is not historically true; he was not actually sent to France but was kept in prison in England until a large ransom was paid. The other prisoner king of King Edward was the king of France.

64 wrack ... treasuries - "wreckage and treasures (treasuries) whose worth is too great to be measured (sumless)".

65 Westmoreland. It was Westmoreland's duty to guard the northern English border countries against the Scots; he knew only too well that the French and Scots would support each other.

SCENE II]

CANTERBURY

Thoy of those marches, gracious sovereign, Shall be a wall sufficient to defend Our inland from the pilfering borderers.11

140

KING H :NRY

We do not mean the coursing snatchersH only, But fear the main intendment of the Scot, Who hath been still a giddy neighbour54 to us; For you shall read that my great-grandfather Never went with his forces into France But that the Scot on his unfurnished kingdom61 Came pouring, like the tide into a breach, With ample and brim fulness of his force, Galling the gleaned land with hot assays, 51 Girdling with grievous siege57 castles and towns; That England, being empty of defence, Hath shook and trembled at the ill neighbourhood.18

145

150

CANTERBURY

She hath been then more feared 69 than harmed, my liege; For hear her but exampled by herself - 80 When all her chivalry 11 hath been in France And she a mourning widow of her nobles, 81 She hath herself not only well defended But taken and impounded as a stray 88 The King of Scots; whom she did send to France, To fill King Edward's fame with prisoner kings And make her chronicle as rich with praise As is the ooze and bottom of the sea With sunken wrack and sumless treasuries. 64 WESTMORELAND 81

But there's a saying very old and true, "If that you will France win, Then with Scotland first begin" 21

155

I6o

165

[ACT ONE 66 being in prey - "has gone in search of

prey". 67 the weasel Scot. While England is thought of as the eagle, most kingly of the birds of prey, Scotland is a weasel (i.e. a small fierce rat-like animal which sucks the eggs of birds). 68 Playing ... cat. A reference to the old proverb 'While the cat's away the mouse will play'. Playing has 2 meanings. I. 'playing the part of', 2. 'playing and enjoying full freedom'. 69 tame and havoc - "break into (tame) and destroy (havoc)". The invading Scottish force will not only steal the English cattle but will destroy the English farms. 70 crushed t1ecessity - "a decision forced upon us (necessity) which is already disposed of by stronger arguments (crushed)". 71 pretty - "clever". 72 advised head. Exeter speaks as if a country's army is its hand, while its government is its head (advised, 'wise, taking every care'), 73 government . . . music. The task of looking after a country's affairs (government) is like a piece of music; even though the work is divided (put) into different parts, some higher in sound (i.e. more important to the state), some lower (or less important), all keep to one agreed plan (keep in one consent) working in harmony (Cong,eeing) to a successful (fulQ and proper (naturaQ end (close). 74 Therefore doth heaven . . . peopled kingdom - "For this reason ( Therefore) God separates the men of one

22

75 76 77 78 79

So

81 82

country (The state of man) into different (divers) classes, all with their own special duties ((unctions), keeping (Setting) always on the move (in continual motion) their efforts to do better (endeavour); and obedience to the common good (Obedience) is established (fixed) as the fixed target (butt) at which all the different groups are aiming: we know that this is true (for) because the bees do their work in this way (so), creatures which through (by) a sense of law (rule) which comes to them by natural instinct (in nature) give an example of (teach) the whole principle (act) 0£ organised obedience (order) to a nation of men (peopled kingdom)". The Elizabethans believed that it was the absolute duty of all subjects to obey their country's ruler; any kind of rebellion was a mortal sin, and would bring upon England, as it had done in the past, the horrors of civil war. of sorts - "of different ranks". correct - "administer justice". venture - "risk their goods in". Make boot upon - "take booty from". The bees take nectar from the flowers. pillage - "captured material". busied in his majesty - "very active in his office of king". Earlier writers who described the life of the bees did not know that the "king" was a queen. singing ... gold, humming builders making cells inside the hive. civil - "peaceful".

SCENE II]

For once the eagle England being in prey, 96 To her unguarded nest the weasel 87 Scot Comes sneaking and so sucks her princely eggs, Playing the mouse in absence of the cat, 88 To tame and havoc 0 more than she can eat.

170

EXETER

It follows then the cat must stay at home: Yet that is but a crushed necessity, 70 Since we have locks to safeguard necessaries, And pretty 71 traps to catch the petty thieves. While that the armed hand doth fight abroad, The advised head 72 defends itself at home; For government, though high and low and lower, Put into parts, doth keep in one consent, Congreeing in a full and natural close, Like music. 73

175

180

CANTERBURY

Therefore doth heaven divide The state of man in divers functions, Setting endeavour in continual motion; To which is fixed, as an aim or butt, Obedience: for so work the honey-bees, Creatures that by a rule in nature teach The act of order to a peopled kingdom." They have a king and officers of sorts; 76 Where some, like magistrates, correct 78 at home, Others, like merchants, venture 77 trade abroad; Others, like soldiers, armed in their stings, Make boot upon 78 the summer's velvet buds, Which pillage 79 they with merry march bring home To the tent-royal of their emperor; Who, busied in his majesty, 80 surveys The singing masons building roofs of gold, 81 The civil 82 citizens kneading up the honey, 23

185

190

195

200

[ACT ONB 83 muhanic - "of the labouring class". 84 burdens - "loads". 85 5ad-eyed justice . . . 5urly hum "solemn-looking judge (sad-eyed justice), with angry and quiet (surly) hum". 86 txtcutors - "executioners". 87 lazy yawning drone, the non-working bee. 88 I this infer ... as ways - "From the example of the bees, I draw this conclusion, that a number of things, all contributing something of importance (having full reference) to one agreed purpose (consent), may work in ways which seem opposed to each other (contrariously): just as many arrows let fly (loosed) from different (several) directions (ways) come to one target (mark); as a number of roads (ways) ... ". 89 close in the dial's centrt - "come together in the centre of the sundial". 90 efoot- "begun". 91 well borne- "successfully carried out".

92 withal - "with this". 93 Gallia. Old name for France. 94 wo"ied - "tom and shaken by the dog (i.e. by the armies of Scotland)". 95 The name of . .. policy - "its reputation (name) for bravery (hardiness) and statesmanship (policy)". 96 sinews - "main supports" (literally 'strong threads fixing a muscle onto a bone'). 97 France • • • awe - "Since France belongs to me by right, I will make it bow down (bend) in fear (awe) of me ...". 98 in large ..• empery - "with great and far-reaching imperial power (empery)". 99 almost kingly dukedoms. Each of the areas ruled over by a duke is almost rich enough to be a separate kingdom. 100 Tombles5, with no remembrance "with no monument and no memorial".

As many lines close in the dial's centre 89

24

SCENE II]

The poor mechanic 88 porters crowding in Their heavy burdens 84 at his narrow gate, The sad-eyed justice, 85 with his surly hum, Delivering o'er to executors 86 pale The lazy yawning drone. 87 I this infer, That many things, having full reference To one consent, may work contrariously: As many arrows, loosed several ways, Come to one mark; as ways 88 meet in one town; As many fresh streams meet in one salt sea; As many lines close in the dial's centre; 89 So may a thousand actions, once afoot, 90 End in one purpose, and be all well borne 91 Without defeat. Therefore to France, my liege! Divide your happy England into four, Whereof take you one quarter into France, And you withal 92 shall make all Gallia 93 shake. If we, with thrice such powers left at home, Cannot defend our own doors from the dog, Let us be worried 94 and our nation lose The name of hardiness and policy. 95

205

210

21.s

220

KING HENRY

Call in the messengers sent from the Dauphin. [Exeunt some Attendants Now are we well resolved; and by God's help And yours, the noble sinews 98 of our power, 225 France being ours, we '11 bend it to our awe, 97 Or break it all to pieces. Or there we '11 sit, Ruling in large and ample empery 98 O'er France and all her almost kingly dukedoms," Or lay these bones in an unworthy urn, Tombless, with no remembrance 100 over them. 230 Either our history shall with full mouth Speak freely of our acts, or else our grave, 25

[ACT ONB

our history . • . tongueless mo11th "history in speaking of me shall tell of my deeds openly (freely) having much to tell (with full mouth) or else my grave shall tell nothing, like a Turkish servant who has been made dumb (mute)".-(In the Turkish royal household certain servants had their tongues cut out so that they could not give away information). 102 with a waxen epitaph. Even with words so insincere that they seem to be cut in soft wax rather than in long-lasting stone. 103 Freely to render •.. far off - "to deliver (render) in full (freely) what has been put into our charge; or shall we quite briefly (sparingly) give you some ~~neral idea of (show you far off) ... . 104 Unto whose grace •.. fettered - "my anger (our passion) is held down by (subjea . . . Unto) my sense of the kindness (grace) which belongs to a Christian king, just as firmly as the miserable creatures (wretches) held in chains (fettered) •..".

una1rbld plainness - "plain speaking not held back (uncurbed)", i.e. by fear or politeness. (curb, 'a metal band under a horse's mouth which helps to control it'). As a Christian king, Henry would show no anger against the ambassadors, however discourteous the message they had to bring. 106 in few - "in few words". 107 you savo,1r ... advised "there is still too much of the flavour of your youthful wildness in this claim of yours, and asks you to take notice (be advised) that ...". (savour, 'to taste of'). 108 galliard, a lively dance. 109 revel - "win your way by feasting and merrymaking". I IO meeter for your spirit - "more suitable (meeter) for your energy and character (spirit)". II I in lieu of - "in return for".

IOI

IOS

As are our wretches fettered 104 in our prisons 26

SCENE

.

n]

Like Turkish mute, shall have a tongueless mouth, 101 Not worshipped with a waxen epitaph. 101

Enter Ambassadors of France, followed by Attendants carrying a barrel Now are we well prepared to know the pleasure Of our fair cousin Dauphin; for we hear Your greeting is from him, not from the king.

235

FIRST AMBASSADOR

May 't please your majesty to give us leave Freely to render what we have in charge; Or shall we sparingly show you far off103 The Dauphin's meaning and our embassy?

.240

KING HENRY

We are no tyrant, but a Christian king; Unto whose grace our passion is as subject As are our wretches fettered 101 in our prisons: Therefore with frank and with uncurbed plainness 105 Tell us the Dauphin's mind.

245

FIRST AMBASSADOR

Thus then, in few. 106 Your highness, lately sending into France, Did claim some ce,rtain dukedoms, in the right Of your great predecessor, King Edward the Third. In answer of which claim, the prince our master Says that you savour too much of your youth, And bids you be advised107 there's nought in France That can be with a nimble galliard 108 won. You cannot revel 109 into dukedoms there. He therefore sends you, meeter for your spirit, 110 This tun of treasure; and, in lieu 0£1 11 this, 27

250

255

[ACT ONE

Tennis-balls, balls of white leather stuffed with hair. u3 rackets, of netted string. The game of tennis was played in an oblong court, enclosed by walls, with a low net across the centre. In the shorter walls were openings called hazards. Points were scored when a ball was struck into a hazard or when it bounced twice; this second bounce was called a chase. King Henry gives a second meaning to some of these words: in his war against France, the French king's crown will be in hazard, i.e. in great danger; the palaces where the French king holds his a,urts will be attacked; the English will chase the French armies (shall strike, 'that shall strike'). 114 wrangler - "opponent". II j come o'er us with - "blames me for". JI6 poor seat ... barbarous licence. King Henry speaks ironically, meaning the opposite of what he says. He pretends that, before he became king, he never valued this poor throne (seat) of England, but lived away from court (hence), in wild and uncontrolled pleasure (barbarous licence).

from - "away from", keep my state - "live solemnly in royal splendour". II9 my sail ofgreatness. His greatness will appear like the proud sail of a ship. 1.20 rouse me - "wake myself to action". 1.21 For that. So as to win the throne of France. I.2.2 a man for working-days - "a common man good only for working-days". 123 will rise there. Like a rising sun on the French throne. 124 turned . . . to gun-stones. For the Dauphin's tennis-balls the English will give back cannon-balls (gunstones). 125 stand sore charged . . . vengeance "stand- before God's last judgement - heavily (sore) burdened (charged) with guilt for the destruction that will come as revenge - for his mocking message" (waste, 'destruction'; fly, 'flies'. The plural verb may be used because vengeance has been understood as a plural form). II7 II8

u2

When we have matched our rackets 113 to these balls 28

SCENE II]

Desires you let the dukedoms that you claim Hear no more of you. This the Dauphin speaks. KING HENRY

Wlut treasure, uncle? EXETER

(Opening the barreij Tennis-balls, 112 my liege. KING HENRY

We are glad the Dauphin is so pleasant with us. His present and your pains we thank you for. When we have matched our rackets 118 to these balls, We will, in France, by God's grace, play a set Shall strike his father's crown into the hazard. Tell him he hath made a match with such a wranglerm That all the courts of France will be disturbed With chases. And we understand him well, How he comes o'er us 115 with our wilder days, Not measuring what use we made of them. We never valued this poor seat of England, And therefore, living hence, did give ourself To barbarous licence; 118 as 'tis ever common That men are merriest when they are from 117 home. But tell the Dauphin I will keep my state, 118 Be like a king, and show my sail of greatness 119 When I do rouse me 120 in my throne of France. For that 121 I have laid by my majesty And plodded like a man for working-days, 1 n But I will rise there 128 with so full a glory That I will dazzle all the eyes of France, Yea, strike the Dauphin blind to look on us. And tell the pleasant prince this mock of his Hath t~rned his balls to gun-stones;m and his soul Shall stand sore charged for the wasteful vengeance 126 29

260

265

270

275

280

[ACT ONE 1.26 many a thousand . . • mock out of -

133 omit ... furtherance - "lose (omit) no good (happy) opportunity (hour) that may give help in pushing forward (furtherance) ..•". I 34 Save those . . . business - "except (Save) thoughts which belong to God, which come first in importance to help (run before) my state affairs (our business)". 135 our proportions - "that part of our forces and supplies decided upon". 136 thought upon - "remembered and done". 137 more feathers. The English will fly to France with the speed of birds. 138 God before - "with God as our leader". 139 task his thought ... brought - "force himself to think (task his thought) of the best he can possibly do so that this noble (fair) campaign (action) may be begun (on foot be brought)".

"this scornful jest of the Dauphin's (this his mock) will - through England's answering scorn - take away frm (mock ~ut of) many a thousand widows .... 127 ungotten, "unfathered, not begotten". 1.28 lies all within - "depends entirely on". 129 To whom ... venge me - "whom I ask for justice and help; and tell the Dauphin that I am coming in the name of God against him (on) to take revenge ...". Henry will fight, not because he has been angered by the Dauphin's jest, but because his claim is just and he believes that God will help him. 130 to put forth ... cause - "to fight with justice for a reason blessed by God" (right, 'justice'; hallow, 'to make holy'). 131 savour but of - "have the taste (savour) of only (but) ... ". 132 Convey - "go with and protect".

this mock of his Hath turned his balls to gun-stones 124

30

SCENE

n]

That fly with them: for many a thousand widows 285 Shall this his mock mock out ofm their dear husbands; Mock mothers from their sons, mock castles down; And some are yet ungotten127 and unborn That shall have cause to curse the Dauphin's scorn. But this lies all withinm the will of God, ;S)o To whom I do appeal; and in whose name Tell you the Dauphin I am coming on_ To venge me 119 as I may, and to put forth My rightful hand in a well-hallowed cause. 130 So get you hence in peace; and tell the Dauphin 295 His jest will savour but of181 shallow wit, When thousands weep more than did laugh at it. [To attendants] Convey182 them with safe-conduct. [To the ambassadors] Fare you well. [Exeunt Ambassadors EXETER

This was a merry message. KING HENRY

We hope to make the sender blush at it. Therefore, my lords, omit no happy hour That may give furtherance 188 to our expedition; For we have now no thought in us but France, Save those to God, that run before our business. m Therefore let our proponions185 for these wars Be soon collected, and all things thought upon118 That may with reasonable swiftness add More feathers 187 to our wings; for, God before,118 We '11 chide this Dauphin at his father's door. Therefore let every man now task his thought, That this fair action may on foot be brought. 189

[Exeunt. Flourish 31

300

305

3IO

[ACT TWO

Introducing the second act, the Chorus describes how the young Englishmen have put aside their fine silk clothes and are buying armour and horses; the dangers of war are forgotten as the king and his nobles hope to win for themselves crowns and coronets. The French, hearing of their preparations, are afraid, and have plotted with three English traitors, the Earl of Cambridge, Lord Scroop and Sir Thomas Grey, who have agreed, in return for money, to kill the king in Southampton. During this next part of the play, after the king appears, the scene will change to Southampton; later the audience will be carried, in imagination, to France and back again, but the seas will be calm and n a doubt, that the different parts of his body (organs), even though they were lifeless (defunct) and dead before, seem to break out of their sleepy (drowsy) grave, and move freshly (newly), like a snake that has thrown off its old skin (slough), and with new lightness

(husbandry)".

3 dress us fairly .•. end - "prepare ourselves properly for our deaths". 4 make a moral of- "draw a moral lesson from". S Were - "w~uld be". 6 Ukes - "pleases".

(legerity)".

8 Lend mt thy c/oolt. Henry takes Erpingham's cloak on a sudden impulse, as a possible disguise while he talks to his men. 9 Commend me - "give my greetings to". 10 anon Desire them -

soon (anon) .••".

126

"ask them to come

SCENE

1J

Good morrow, brother Bedford. God Almighty! There is some soul of goodness in things evil, Would men observingly distil it out, 1 For our bad neighbour makes us early stirrers, Which is both healthful and good husbandry. 2 Besides, they are our outward consciences, And preachers to us all, admonishing That we should dress us fairly for our end. 8 Thus may we gather honey from the weed, And make a moral of4 the devil himsel£

5

IO

Enter ERPINGHAM Good morrow, old Sir Thomas Erpingham ! A good soft pillow for that good white head W ere6 better than a churlish turf of France.

15

ERPINGHAM

Not so, my liege. This lodging likes 8 me better, Since I may say "Now lie I like a king." KING HENRY

'T is good for men to love their present pains Upon example; so the spirit is eased: And when the mind is quickened, out of doubt, The organs, though defunct and dead before, Break up their drowsy grave and newly move, With casted slough and fresh legerity. 7 Lend me thy cloak, 8 Sir Thomas. Brothers both, Commend me 8 to the princes in our camp; Do my good morrow to them, and anon Desire them10 all to my pavilion. GLOUCESTER

We shall, my liege.

127

20

[ACT FOUR

n bosom - "private thoughts".

base, common, and popular - "of low birth (base), common and one of the ordinary people (popular)". IS gentleman of a company - "gentleman volunteer", i.e. a nobleman working his way up from the ranks. 16 Trail'st thou ... pike. 'To trail a pike' (holding it just below the head and allowing the shaft to move along the ground behind) was the common phrase for 'to be an infantryman'; p~ssant, 'powerful'.

14

God-a-mercy, old heart - "God reward you, old and generous man!" 13 Qui va la? - "Who goes there?" Pistol speaks in French because he thinks that a French soldier may be trying to enter the English camp. He does not recognise the king in his borrowed cloak.

12

I'll knock his leek about his pate Upon Saint Davy's day 23

128

SCENE I] BRPINGHAM

Shall I attend your grace? KING HENRY

No, my good knight; Go with my brothers to my lords of England. I and my bosom11 must debate awhile, And then I would no other company.

30

ERPINGHAM

'Ihe Lord in heaven bless thee, noble Harry I KING HENRY

God-a-mercy, old heart !11 Thou speak' st cheerfully.

[Exeunt all but KING Enter PISTOL PISTOL

Qui va la?13

35 KING HENRY

A friend. PISTOL

Discuss unto me; art thou officer? Or art thou base, common, and popular?11 KING HENRY

I am a gentleman of a company.u PISTOL

Trail'st thou the puissant pike?18 129

[ACT FOUR KING HENRY

Even so. What are you? PISTOL

As good a gentleman as the emperor. 17 KING HENRY

Then you are a better than the king. PISTOL

The king's a bawcock, 18 and a heart of gold, A lad oflife, an imp18 of fame; Of parents good, of fist most valiant. I kiss his dirty shoe, and from heart-string I love the lovely bully.8° What is thy name?

45

KING HENRY

Harry le Roy. 11 PISTOL

Le Roy? A Comish name. Art thou of Comish crew? 11

50

KING HENRY

No, I am a Welshman. PISTOL

Know'st thou Fluellen? tht emperor. Of Germany. 18 bawcock - "good fellow". 19 cm imp - "a child". 20 from htartstring ... bully - "from the bottom of my heart I love the splendid fellow (bully)"; (htartstrings, 'nerves believed to support the heart'.) 21 le Roy. French for "the king". 22 crew - "band, company". 17

23 knock his leek ... day. pate, 'head'; on March 1st (Saint Davy's day) Welshmen wear a leek in their caps; St. David"s day is the national day of Wales and a leek is the national emblem. 24 figo. Word and gesture of contempt. 25 sorts - "agrees".

130

SCENE I] KING HENRY

Yes. PISTOL

Tell him, I '11 knock his leek about his pate Upon Saint Davy's day. 11

55

KING HENRY

Do not you wear your dagger in your cap that day, lest he knock that about yours. PISTOL

Art thou his friend? KING HENRY

And his kinsman too. PISTOL

The figo 21 for thee, then !

60 KING HENRY

I thank you. God be with you! PISTOL

My name is Pistol called. KING HENRY

It sorts 25 well with your fierceness.

[Exit PISTOL Enter

FLUELLEN

and

GOWER

GOWER

Captain Fluellen! R-F

131

from different sides

[ACT FOUR FLUELLEN

So! In the name ofJesu Christ, speak fewer. 28 It is the greatest 65 admiration 27 in the universal world, when the true and ancient prerogatifes 28 and laws of the wars is not kept. If you would take the pains but to examine the wars of Pompev 19 the Great, you shall find, I warrant you, that there is no tiddle taddle or pibble pabble in Pompey's camp I-warrant you, you shall find 70 the ceremonies of the wars, and the cares of it, and the forms of it, and the sobriety ofit, and the modesty2° ofit, to be otherwise. GOWER

Why, the enemy is loud; you hear him all night. FLUELLEN

If the enemy is an ass and a fool and a prating coxcomb,81 is it meet, think you, that we should also, look you, be an ass and a 75 fool and a prating coxcomb? In your own conscience now? GOWER

I will speak lower. FLUELLEN

I pray you and beseech you that you will.

[Exeunt

26 fewer- "less". Actually Fluellea speaks

far more words than Gower. 27 admiration - "wonder". 28 prerogatifes, for 'prerogatives' meaning 'principles'. 29 Pompey .•. Pompey's camp. Pompey was a great Roman general, finally defeated by Julius Caesar. Fluellen supposes that there was no idle, endless talking (tittle-tattle or bibblebabble) in his camp.

30

31 32

33 34

35

132

GOWER

and

FLUELLEN

the sobriety ... modesty - "the orderliness (sobriety) of it and the proper conduct (modesty) ...". prating coxcomb - "chattering (prating) and vain fool (coxcomb)". out of fashion - "strange and oldfashioned". see, i.e. Ii ve to see. estate - "situation". sand . .. look- "sand-bank (sand), who expect (look)",

SCENE 1] .KING HENRY

Though it appear a little out of fashion, 31 There is much care and valour in this Welshman.

80

Enter three soldiers, JOHN BATES, ALEXANDER COU.RT, and MICHAEL WILLIAMS COURT

Brother John Bates, is not that the morning which breaks yonder? BATES

I think it be; but we have no great cause to desire the approach of day. WILLIAMS

We see yonder the beginning of the day, but I think we shall 85 never see33 the end of it. Who goes there? KING HENRY

A friend. WILLIAMS

Under what captain serve you? KING HENRY

Under Sir Thomas Erpingham. WILLIAMS

A good old commander and a most kind gentleman. I pray you, 90 what thinks he of our estate?" KING HENRY

Even as men wrecked upon a sand, that look11 to be washed off the next tide.

133

[ACT FOUR BATES

He hath not told his thought to the king? KING HENRY

No; nor it is not he should. For, though I speak it to you, 95 I think the king is but a man, as I am. The violet smells to him as it doth to me. The element shows87 to him as it doth to me. All his senses have but human conditions. 88 His ceremonies laid by, in his nakedness he appears but a man; and though his affections are higher mounted39 than ours, yet, _when they stoop, they 100 stoop with the like wing. 40 Therefore when he sees reason of41 fears, as we do, his fears, out of doubt, be of the same relish41 as ours are. Yet, in reason, no man should possess him withta any appearance of fear, lest he, by showing it, should dishearten his army. 105 meet38

36 37 38 39

meet - "fitting''. element shows - "sky appears". conditions - "qualities". his affections are higher mounted - "his ambitions (affections) are on a higher level", i.e. they soar (mount) higher. 40 when they stoop . . . wing. A hawk 'stoops' when it descends from the height to which it has soared; so, when the king's ambitions fall (stoop), they fall with the same downward flight (wing) as other men's; i.e. when these ambitions are not achieved, the disappointment is the same for a king as for ordinary men. 41 reason of- "cause for". 42 out of doubt ••. relish - "beyond (out of) a doubt, are of the same taste ... ". 43 possen him with - "cause him to

show". 44 I would . •. quit hat- "I wish he were, and I by his side, whatever luck might follow (at all adventures), if only

4S my conscience of- "what I know in my heart of ...". 46 howsoever . . . Methinks -

"even though (howsoever) you say this to find out (jeeQ other men's opinion, (mi~f ). It seems to me (Methinks)

47 our obedience ... out of us. If they obey

their king as loyal subjects they are not guilty before God, even supposing that the king is fighting for an unjust cause. The men of Shakespeare's time and earlier believed that loyal subjects must always obey their ruler. 48 the latter day - "the last day", i.e. the day of judgement. 49 upon- "in sorrow for". so rawly left - "left young and un-

(so) we were out of this".

134

provided for".

SCENE

1] BATES

He may show what outward courage he will; but I believe, as cold a night as 'tis, he could wish himself in Thames up to the neck; and so I would he were, and I by him, at all adventures, so we were quit here." KING HENRY

By my troth, I will speak my conscienceu of the king. I think no he would not wish himself any where but where he is. BATES

Then I would he were here alone! So should he be sure to be ransomed, and a many poor men's lives saved. KING HENRY

I dare say you love him not so ill, to wish him here alone, howsoever you speak this to feel other men's minds. Methinks48 I u5 could not die anywhere so contented as in the king's company, his cause being just and his quarrel honourable. WILLIAMS

That's more than we know. BATES

Ay, or more than we should seek after; for we know enough, if we know we are the king's subjects. If his cause be wrong, our

120

obedience to the king wipes the crime of it out of us.u WILLIAMS

But if the cause be not good, the king himself hath a heavy reckoning to make, when all those legs and arms and heads, chopped offin a battle, shall join together at the latter day" and cry all "We died at such a place"; some swearing, some crying 125 for a surgeon, some upon° their wives left poor behind them, some upon the debts they owe, some upon their children rawly left.60 I am afeared there are few die well that die in a

135

Sl charitably dispose .•. argument - "settle (dispose of) any of their affairs with love to their fellow-men (charitably), when the work they are en~aged ~ (their argument) is the shedding of blood". s2 die well - "die a Christian death", i.e. having confessed their sins to a priest and received from him a promise of God's forgiveness because they were truly sorry for all their wrong actions. S3 whom to disobey ... subjection - "since to disobey the king would be quite against the proper duty (proportion) of a subject (subjection)". S4 do sinfully miscarry ... imposed upon "die (misca"y), not having repented bis sins (sinfully), while he is on the sea, the guilt (imputation) of the son's sins (of his wickedness) should, by your ruling (rule), be counted against (imposed upon) ... ". • SS in many irreconciled iniquities ... damnation - "with many crimes (iniquities) unrepented and unatoned (itreconcilcti), you may say that the master's business was the real cause (author) of the servant's going to hell (damnation)". 56 to answer ... soldiers - "to be responsible for (answer) the deaths (endings) of his soldiers as individual (particular) men". In Shakespeare's time, and earlier, there was much discussion as to who was responsible for the souls of those men who died in battle. It was generally believed that the individual soldier was responsible for his own personal wrong-doing as a man, and it was therefore his duty to confess his sins to a priest before fighting in battle; as a soldier, his only duty was to obey his leader and fight bravely. But it was the responsibility of the leader of an army to fight only in a just cause, since God would not otherwise give victory. S1 purpose not ... services - "do not intend (purpose) their deaths when they plan to use (purpose) their servic.es".

[ACT FOUR 58 be his cause . . . soldiers - "however free from sin (spotless) his reason for fighting (cause) may be, who can, if the matter goes so far (come to) as to be decided by battle (the arbitrement of swords) put his cause to proof (try it out) with all his soldiers quite free from sin (aU unspotted)". 59 beguiling . . . perj11ry - "deceiving (beguiling) young girls with false promises (broken seals), i.e. of marriage, which they swear to quite untruly (of perjury)••. A seal is fixed to an agreement to make it legally binding. But these seals are broken since the soldiers arc guilty of perjury, i.e. they swear to what is not true. 6o bulwark- "protection". They join the army to escape from justice. 61 gored ... peace. Some soldiers, before the war began, have injured (gored) their own country's peace - spoken of as a gentle woman easily hurt. 62 defeated ... men - "escaped by fraud from (defeated) the hands of the law and run away from (outrun) punish:. ment in their own country (native), even though they can run faster than (outstrip) men ... ". 63 beadle - "officer to whip those who break the law". 64 here men are punished ... safe - "in the wars (here) men are punished in what is, at the present time, their king's dispute (in now 1he king's quarrel) for previously having broken (before-breach ef) the king's laws: where (i.e. in their own country) they were afraid of being sentenced to death,they escaped with their lives (have borne Ufe away); and where (i.e. in the wars abroad) they would hopenottobeamongthosekilled ...". 65 unprovided - "unprepared", i.e. unconfessed. 66 than he was before ... visited - "than he was guilty before of those evil deeds (impieties) for which they now receive punishment (are now visited)". 67 is the king's - "belongs to the king". They owe the king their obedience.

136

SCENE I]

battle; for how can they charitably dispose of anything, when blood is their argument?51 Now, if these men do not die well, 11 it will be a black matter for the king that led them to it; whom to disobey were against all proportion of subjection.61

130

KING HENRY

So, if a son that is by his father sent about merchandise, do sinfully miscarry upon the sea, the imputation of his wickedness, by your rule, should be imposed upon" his father that sent 135 him. Or if a servant, under his master's command transporting a sum of money, be assailed by robbers and die in many irreconciled iniquities, you may call the business of the master the author of the servant's damnation. 55 But this is not so. The king is not bound to answer the particular endings of his 140 soldiers, 58 the father of his son, nor the master of his servant; for they purpose not their death, when they purpose their services. 57 Besides, there is no king, be his cause never so spotless, if it come to the arbitrement of swords, can try it out with all unspotted soldiers. 68 Some peradventure have on them the guilt 145 of premeditated and contrived murder; some, of beguiling virgins with the broken seals ofperjury; 59 some, making the wars their bulwark, 60 that have before gored the gentle bosom of peace 61 with pillage and robbery. Now, if these men have defeated the law and outrwi native punishment, though they 150 can outstrip men, 61 they have no wings to fly from God. War is his beadle, 83 war is his vengeance; so that here men are punished for before-breach of the king's laws in now the king's quarrel: where they feared the death, they have home life away; and where they would be safe, M they perish. Then if they die r 55 unprovided, 85 no more is the king guilty of their damnation than he was before guilty of those impieties for the which they are now visited. 66 Every subject's duty is the king's; 87 but every subject's soul is his own. Therefore should every soldier in the wars do as every sick man in his bed, wash every mote out of 160 bis conscience: and dying so, death is to him advantage; or not 137

[ACT FOUR

dying, the time was blessedly lost wherein such preparation was gained: and in him that escapes, it were not sin to think. that, making God so free an offer, He let him outlive that day 88 to see His greatness and to teach others how they should prepare. 165 WILLIAMS

'T is certain, every man that dies ill, the ill 88 upon his own head, the king is not to answer it. BATES

I do not desire he should answer for me; and yet I determine to fight lustily 70 for him. KING HENRY

I myself heard the king say he would not be ransomed.

170

WILLIAMS

Ay, he said so, to make us fight cheerfully. But when our throats are cut, he may be ransomed, and we ne'er the wiser.

68 not dying . . • that day - "if the soldier does not die (not dying), the time in which he won such a freeing of his soul from sin (wherein such preparation was gainecl) was wasted (lost) for a holy purpose (blessedly) and it would be (were) no sin for the soldier who escapes death (in him that escapes) to believe that, because he offered his repentance to God without expecting any return in this world (making God so free an offer), God allowed him to survive that day of battle (let him outlive that day) ... ". 69 dies iII,,,the ill - "dies in sin, let the sin be ....

lustily - "with energy and goodwill". 71 You pay liim ... displeasure - "You punish him then in fine style! That 's a dangerous shot from a little pop-gun that the anger (displeasure) of a poor private individual ..."; (elder-gun, 'pop-gun made out of a hollow shoot from the elder tree'). 72 go about to - "try to". 73 round- "blunt". 74 embrace it - "accept that gladly". 75 gage - "pledge". 76 bonnet- "cap".

70

138

SCENE I) KING HENRY

Ifl live to see it, I will never trust his word afi:er. WILLIAMS

You pay him then! That 's a perilous shot out of an elder-gun, that a poor and private displeasure 71 can do against a monarch! 175 You may as well go about to 71 turn the sun to ice with fanning in his face with a peacock's feather. You 'll never trust his word after! Come, 't is a foolish saying. KING HENRY

Your reproof is something too round. 78 I should be angry with 180 you, if the ti.me were convenient. WILLIAMS

Let it be a quarrel between us, if you live. KING HENRY

I embrace it. 71 WILLIAMS

How shall I know thee again? KING HENRY

Give me any gagen of thine, and I will wear it in my bonnet. 71 Then, if ever thou darest acknowledge it, I will make it my 185 quarrd. WILLIAMS

Here 's my glove. Give me another of thine. KING HENRY

There.

139

[ACT POUR WILLIAMS

This will I also wear in my cap. Ifever thou come to me and say, after to-morrow, "This is my glove", by this hand, I will take 190 thee a hox 77 on the ear. KING HENRY

If ever I live to see it, I will challenge it. WILLIA.MS

Thou darcst as well be hanged.

77 take •.. box - "give you a blow". 78 take - "find". 79 crowns. If,. says Bates, these quarrelling Englishmen knew how to count (could tell how to reckon), they would know that they have more than enough Frenchmen to fight against. The king continues this counting image, playing on the two meanings of the word crowns, I. 'coins', 2. 'heads'. The French may well wager (lay) twenty crowns (i.e. coins) to one on their victory, since they carry their crowns (i.e. heads) on their shoulders and it might be said that they outnumber the English twenty to one. But although it is treason for an Englishman to clip off pieces from English coins, it is not treason for the English to clip French coins or to cut off French heads. 80 careful - "anxious". 81 Let us ... lay on the king. It seems to the king that the soldiers want to lay on him all responsibility. 82 0 hard condition ..• _greatness. It is a hard requirement (hard condition) for a king, but he is born to this duty; it belongs to his greatness like a twin brother.

83 subject ... wringing. Every fool who is incapable of feeling more than his own stomach-ache (wringing) names the king as responsible for that and everything else, and the king, in this way, is subject to, or under the direction of, the fool's words (breath). 84 neglect - "set aside, pay little attention to".

85 privates - "ordinary individuals". 86 save general ceremony - "except (save) the outward forms of respect (ceremony) which are offered not to the king as a person but to his royal position (general)". 87 thou idol ceremony. King Henry asks if the ceremony which surrounds a king is a false god (idol). 88 comings in - "sums of money received". 89 thy soul of adoration - "the real value (soul) of the worship offered to you (adoration)". 90 degree - "rank".

140

SCENE I] KING HENRY

Well, I will do it, though I take thee 18 in the king's company. WILLIAMS

Keep thy word. Fare thee well.

195

BATES

Be friends, you English fools, be friends. We have French quarrds enow, if you could tell how to reckon. KING HENRY

Indeed, the French may lay twenty French crowns 71 to one, they will beat us; for they bear them on their shoulders. But it is no English treason to cut French crowns, and to-morrow the 200 king himself will be a clipper. [Exeunt Soldiers Upon the king! Let us our lives, our souls, Our debts, our careful 80 wives, Our children and our sins lay on the king !81 We must bear all. 0 hard condition, .205 Twin-born with greatness, 82 subject to the breath Of every fool, whose sense no more can feel .But his own wringing !83 What infinite heart's-ease Must kings neglect 84 that private men enjoy! And what have kings that privates 85 have not too, 210 Save ceremony, save general ceremony? 88 And what art thou, thou idol ceremony?" What kind of god art thou, that suffer'st more Of mortal griefs than do thy worshippers? What are thy rents? What are thy comings in? 88 215 0 ceremony, show me but thy worth! What is thy soul of adoration ?89 Art thou aught else but place, degree 90 and form, Creating awe and fear in other men, 220 Wherein thou art less happy being feared

141

[ACT FOUR

91 0, be sick, .•• jlexurt - "Great ruler who believe yourself very powerful (great greatness), supposing that you are ill (sick) and ask (bid) ceremony to cure you, can you suppose (Thinkst thou) that the burning fire of your fever will be quenched (the fiery fever will go out) by puffs of air blown on to it, as your subjects, in flattering worship (adulation), name all your titles of king and emperor? Will the fever go away (give place) because of their bowing down (flexure)". 92 when thou commands/ ... health of it "when you order the beggar to kneel before you, have power over (command) the health of that knee?" 93 thou proud dream ... repose. Ceremony is proud and splendid but unreal as a dream; the worry which accompanies it, enters cunningly (subtly) into the king's dream and plays tricks upon him to keep him from sleeping (plays/ ... wit/1 a king's repose). 94 find thee - "find you out". 95 balm, consecrated oil with which the king is anointed at his coronation. 96 ball, golden 'orb' carried as a sign of kingship. 97 intertissued robe of- "robe interwoven with". 98 farced titlt . . . king - "stuffed-out (farctd) list of titles preceding (running 'fore) the name of the king". 99 the tide of pomp ... shore. King Henry pictures the king's throne as placed on a high clitf(high shore) beaten upon by a strong tide; i.e. the ceremony which surrounds a king would like to wash over and destroy the king as a person.

100

vacant mind - "mind empty of worry".

crammed with ... hell - "stuffed full (crammed) with bread earned by hard toil (distressful); never sees, but sleeps right through, the terrifying (horritl) night which brings the torments of hell to those lying awake". (The goddess of night was sometimes spoken of as the daughter of the god of the underworld.) 102 like a lackey - "always on the run" (lackey, 'footman who ran by his master's coach'). 103 from the rise . .. h"orse - "sweats under the hot sun from its rising to its setting, and all night sleeps in heavenly peace; on the next day, as soon as dawn breaks, he gets up and helps the sun god to harness the horses to his chariot"; (eye: the sun is often spoken of as the 'day's eye'; Phoebus, god of the sun; Elysium, the heaven of the Greeks and Romans; Hyperion, often spoken of as the sun god, each day driving his chariot across the sky). 104 Winding up - "filling completely". 105 Had the forehand and vantage of "would be better placed (Had the forehana) and would have the advantage over ... ". 106 a member of- "sharing in". 107 in gross brain ... keeps - "in his dull (gross) brain little realises (wots) what long and careful hours the king must stay awake (what watch the king keeps)". 108 the pet1Sant best advantages - "give most benefit to (best advantages) the peasant". 101

142

SCENE I]

Than they in fearing? What drinkst thou oft, instead of homage sweet, But poisoned flattery? 0, be sick, great greatness, And bid thy ceremony give thee cure! Thinkst thou the fiery fever will go out With titles blown from adulation? Will it give place to flexure 91 and low bending? Canst thou, when thou commandst the beggar's knee, Command the health of it? 92 No, thou proud dream, That playst so subtly with a king's repose; 98 I am a king that find thee, 94 and I know 'T is not the balm, 95 the sceptre and the ball, 81 The sword, the mace, the crown imperial, The intertissued robe of97 gold and pearl, The farced title running 'fore the king, 98 The throne he sits on, nor the tide of pomp That beats upon the high shore 99 of this world, No, not all these, thrice-gorgeous ceremony, Not all these, laid in bed majestical, Can sleep so soundly as the wretched slave, Who with a body filled and vacant mind 100 Gets him to rest, crammed with distressful bread; Never sees horrid night, the child of hell; 101 But, like a lackey, 102 from the rise to set, Sweats in the eye of Phoebus and all night Sleeps in Elysium; next day after dawn, Doth rise and help Hyperion to his horse, 101 And follows so the ever-running year, With profitable labour, to his grave. And, but for ceremony, such a wretch, Winding up 104 days with toil and nights with sleep, Had the forehand and vantage of105 a king. The slave, a member of108 the country's peace, Enjoys it; but in gross brain little wots What watch the king keeps107 to maintain the peace, Whose hours the peasant best advantages. 108 143

225

230

235

240

245

250

255

[ACT POUR

_109 jealous of- "worried about". no steel - "make strong as steel", II I Possess - "fill". 112 the sense of reckoning . . . hearts Compare with Bates' words earlier in this scene: 'if you could tell how to reckon' (l.197). Henry wishes his soldiers to lose their power to count, if the great number of the enemy (opposed numbers) is likely to take away their courage. u3 compassing - "obtaining". As Shakespeare shows in his play Richard II, Henry's father, Bolingbroke, deposed King Richard - who had ruled foolishly and unjustly - and took his throne with the consent of people and Parliament. Richard was murdered by Exton, a servant of the new king, Henry IV, although not on his direct orders. It was firmly believed at that time that a king succeeded to his throne by the will of God, and that only God could punish a king. However much a country might suffer because of the king's weakness or misgovernment, no subject could rightfully depose him; if a king was deposed, rebellion and civil war would follow. In his two plays dealing with the reign of King Henry IV, Shakespeare shows how the new king was troubled by the rebellion of some of the powerful nobles who had helped him to take Richard's throne. He was afraid also that God might punish him by making his eldest son, Prince Hal, unfit to succeed him, by reason of his wildness of character. Now, before Agincourt, Henry V prays to God not to remember against him his father's fault.

114 intmld new. Henry V brought Richard's body to London and had it reburied in Westminster Abbey, the sacred resting-place of England's kings. us on it have bestowed . .. blood - "have freely given (bestowtd) to his dead body tears of repentance ·(contrite) more numerous than the drops of blood which came (issued) from it by force (forced) - when Exton and his gaolers stabbed him". 116 in yearly pay - "to whom a yearly pension is paid". To atone for his father's sin, King Henry has given pensions to soo poor persons, whose task it is to pray to God for pardon for the murder of King Richard. 117 chantries. Chapels on which a permanent income has been settled to maintain one or more priests to sing daily mass for ever for the soul of some specified f.erson. 118 is nothing worth - 'can add nothing of value". II9 after all - "last of all and most important",

144

SCENE 1]

Enter

ERPINGHAM

ERPINGHAM

My lord, your nobles, jealous ofm your absence, Seek through your camp to find you. KING HENRY

Good old knight, Collect them all together at my tent. I 'll be before thee. ERPINGHAM

I shall do 't, my lord.

260

[Exit KING HENRY

[Kneels) 0 God of battles, steel110 my soldiers' hearts! Possess111 them not with fear; take from them now The sense of reckoning, if the opposed numbers Pluck their hearts111 from them. Not to-day, 0 Lord, 0, not to-day, think not upon the fault My father made in compassing118 the crown I I Richard's body have interred new;m And on it have bestowed more contrite tears Than from it issued forced drops of blood. 115 Five hundred poor I have in yearly pay, 118 Who twice a day their withered hands hold up Toward heaven, to pardon blood; and I have built Two chantries,117 where the sad and solemn priests Sing still for Richard's soul. More will I do; Though all that I can do is nothing worth, 118 Since that my penitence comes after all, 111 Imploring pardon.

Enter

GLOUCES'IER,

145

calling

275

[ACT FOUR 120

stay - "arc waiting".

(IV.ii) The sun is rising and the French lords are ready. They see the English looking poor and starved and are fully confident of victory. Montez acheval - "Mount on horseback". 2 Varlet! Laquaisl - "Servant 1Groom!" 3 Via! Les eaux ... te"e - "Away, water and earth!" All things were believed to be composed of four elements - earth, air, fire and water in different proportions. Water and earth were the heaviest of these elements and the Dauphin wishes them away, so that his horse may be nothing but fire and air. I

4 Rien puis 7 L' air tt le feu 7 - "Nothing else? What about air and fire?" Orleans pretends not to understand what the Dauphin means by Via. Does he want the air and fire in his horse not to move away, but to stay quite still? 5 Ciel - "Heaven". The heaven above is made of air and fire; there the Dauphin's horse will fly. 6 Jo~ present service neigh - "are crying out in eagerness for immediate (present) work to do (service)".

To give each naked curtle-axe13 a stain

146

SCENE

n] GLOUCESTER

My liege! KING HENRY

My brother Gloucester's voice? [rises] Ay; I know thy errand, I will go with thee. The day, my friends and all things stay120 for me.

280

[Exeunt Scene II. The French camp. Enter the

DAUPHIN, ORLEANS, RAMB URES,

and others

ORLEANS

The sun doth gild our armour. Up, my lords! DAUPHIN

Montez a cheval! My horse! Varlet! Laquais! 2 Ha! 1

ORLEANS

0 brave spirit ! DAUPHIN

Via ! Les eaux et la terre. 3 ORLEANS

s

Rien puis? L'air et le feu ?' DAUPHIN

Ciel,~ cousin Orleans.

Enter

CONSTABLE

Now, my lord constable! CONSTABLE

Hark, how our steeds for present service neigh! 6

147

[ACT FOUR

DAUPHIN

Mount them, and make incision in their hides, That their hot blood may spin in English eyes, And dout them with superfluous courage, 7 ha!

IO

RAMBURES

What, will you have them weep our horses' blood? How shall we, then, behold their natural tears ?8

Enter Messenger

7 make incision ... courage - "make cuts (incision) in their hides so that their hot blood - as it spurts out - may dazzle (spin in) the eyes of the English soldiers, and put out (dout) both the sight of their eyes and the fire of their bravery, with this over-abundant (superfluous) courage of the French horses". 8 will you have . . . tears. Does he want the blood of their horses to seem like tears in the eyes of the English? If so, how will the French see when the English really begin to cry with sorrow - as their friends are killed in battle? 9 embattled- "in position for the battle". 10 Do but behold yon - "Only (but) look at that (yon) . , .". n fair show - "beautiful appearance". u but the shales - "as only the empty shells (shales)". 13 curtle-axe - "short sword".

14 The vapour .•• exceptions - "even the mist and steam (vapour) of our courage will make them not able to stand upright (o'er/um them). It is certain (positive) without any qualification ('gains/ all exceptions)". IS swarm - "move in thick crowds like 1xes··. 16 were enow .•. speculation - "would be (were) enough (enow) to cleanse (purge) this battlefield of such a goodfor-nothing (hi/ding) enemy, even though we ourselves chose to stand (took stand) on this hill side (mountain's basis) near by, to look on and do nothing (for idle speculation)". Compare this with the description of Edward III, watching his son win the battle of Crecy, 1346 (Act I, Sc. 2, 108-10).

sound The tucker sonance - "give out (sound) the. trumpet's (tucker) sound (sonance)". 18 dare the field ... down - "terrify (dare) the English army (field) that the mc:n will lie (couch) down ...".

17

148

SCBNB 11) MESSENGER

The English are embattled, you French peers. 8

CONSTABLE

To horse, you gallant princes, straight to horse I Do but behold yon10 poor and starved band, And your fair show11 shall suck away their souls, Leaving them but the shales 18 and husks of men. There is not work enough for all our hands; Scarce blood enough in all their sickly veins To give each naked curtle-axe 13 a stain, That our French gallants shall to-day draw out, And sheathe for lack of sport. Let us but blow on them, The vapour of our valour will o'erturn them. 'T is positive 'gainst all exceptions, u lords, That our superfluous lackeys and our peasants, Who in Wlnecessary action swarm15 About our squares of battle, were enow To purge this field of such a hilding foe, Though we upon this mountain's basis by Took stand for idle speculation: 18 But that our honours must not. What's to say? A very little little let us do, And all is done. Then let the trumpets sound The tucket sonance 17 and the note to mount; For our approach shall so much dare the field That England shall couch down 18 in fear, and yield.

15

2s

30

3S

Enter GRANDPRE

GRANDPRB

Why do you stay so long, my lords of France? Yon island carrions, desperate of their bones, Ill-favouredly become the morning field. 149

40

[ACT FOUR 19

20

21

Yon island carrions . . • scornfully "Those (Yon) dead men (carrions) from the British island, who have no hope of saving (desperate of) their bodies thin as skeletons (their bones), spoil the beauty of (Ill-favouredly become) the battlefield in the morning light. Their tattered banners (ragged curtains) are unfurled (let loose) but without any splendour (poorly) and our French breeze moves them with very great scorn". Big Mars . . . peeps. "Seeing the English soldiers who appear as poor as beggars (their beggared host), one would think that the great god of war (Big Mars) has spent all he ever had (seems bankrupt) and now in fear and cowardice (faintly) is looking out through the rusty movable faceguard (heave,) of his helmet". like fixed candlesticks ... pale-dead eyes - "like a set of candle-holders fixed in position on a wall, and they seem to have in their hands not weapons of war but holders for torches (torchstaves); and their miserable horses (poor jades) let their heads fall stupidly (Lob down their heads), their skin and hips held slackly (dropping the hides and hips), and with mucus (gum) hanging down (down-roping) from their eyes which are pale as death".

And in their pale . . . motionless. Because of their hunger, even their mouths are pale and without energy (dulI), and the twin-hinged (gimma[) mouthpiece of their harness (bit) is twisted about (foul) with chewed grass - all they have had to eat which they have now not the strength to swallow (still and motionless). 23 their executors ... hour - "those who will dispose of what the horses leave behind them aftet death (their executors), the wicked (knavish) crows, fly above (o'er), waiting very impatiently (a/I impatient) for the time when they can pick their bones". 24 suit itself in ... itself - "find suitable words (suit itself in words) to show (demonstrate) the little life (t~ life) there is in such an army (battle), which seems, even while living (In life), to be so completely dead (so lifeless)". 25 stay - "are waiting" . .26 stay but for my guidon - "am waiting only for my standard (guidon)" • .27 irumpet - "trumpeter". 28 outwear - "are wasting".

22

I stay but for my guidon 26

150

SCENE II]

Their ragged curtains poorly are let loose, And our air shakes them passing scomfully. 19 Big Mars seems bankrupt in their beggared host And faintly through a rusty beaver peeps. 20 The horsemen sit like fixed candlesticks, With torch-staves in their hand; and their poor jades Lob down their heads, dropping the hides and hips, The gum down-roping from their pale-dead eyes, 21 And in their pale dull mouths the gimmal bit Lies foul with chewed grass, still and motionless; 22 And their executors, the knavish crows, Fly o'er them, all impatient for their hour. 23 Description cannot suit itself in words To demonstrate the life of such a battle In life so lifeless as it shows itsel£ u

45

so

ss

CONSTABLE

They have said their prayers, and they stay 25 for death. DAUPHIN

Shall we go send them dinners and fresh suits And give their fasting horses provender, And after fight with them?

CONSTABLE

I stay but for my guidon. 16 To the field! I will the banner from a trumpet17 take, And use it for my haste. Come, come, away! The sun is high, and we outwear 28 the day.

60

{Exeunt 151

[ACT POUR

(IV.iii) King Henry has ridden out to look at the positions taken up by the French and his nobles say farewell to each other as they go to their commands. They know that the French have 60,000 men, five times the English force. The king returns as Westmoreland is wishing that they had with them just ten thousand of those Englishmen on holiday in England on that saint's day. He asks him not to wish one man more; if they are to die, their numbers are big enough and if they are to live, the fewer men the greater will be the share of honour. He imagines how, in future years, every English soldier who survives the battle will give a feast to his neighbours on the eve of St. Crispin's day, showing with pride the scars of his old wounds and telling his sons the story of that nay. The French herald Montjoy comes once more to ask if Henry will offer ransom, but he answers that they must capture him first and then they may sell his bones. He is certain that many of the English soldiers will die in England in peaceful old age; on their graves this day's great deeds will be remembered in brass. Those English soldiers who die bravely in France will kill yet more Frenchmen, for their corrupting bodies will produce a plague. The English have been marching hard through the rainy weather and they do not look clean or smart, but they intend, before the evening, either to wear the white robes of heaven or to take from the French their gay new coats. I 2

is rode ... battle - "has ridden to see how they have arranged their forces". 'T is a fearful odds - "The chances against us (odds) are terrifying (fearful)".

152

3 charge - "position". 4 to mind thee ... fram,d -

"to remind

(mind) you of the need for courage, for you are built (framed) •..".

SCENE

III] Scene III. The Eng fish camp.

Enter GLOUCESTER, BEDFORD, EXETER, ERPINGHAM, with the English army: SALISBURY and WESTMORELAND GLOUCJiSTER

Where is the king? BEDFORD

The king himself is rode to view their battle. 1 WESTMORELAND

Of fighting men they have full three score thousand. EXETER

There's five to one; besides, they all are fresh. SALISBURY

God's arm strike with us! 'Tis a fearful odds.a God be wi' you, princes all; I 'll to my charge.3 If we no more meet till we meet in heaven, Then, joyfully, my noble Lord of Bedford, My dear Lord Gloucester, and my good Lord Exeter, And my kind kinsman, warriors all, adieu! BEDFORD

Farewell, good Salisbury; and good luck go with thee! EXETER

Farewell, kind lord; fight valiantly to-day. And yet I do thee wrong to mind thee of it, For thou art framed' of the firm truth of valour. [Exit SAI.lSBURY

153

s

10

[ACT POUB. BEDFORD

He is as full of valour as of kindness;

IS

Princely in both. Enter

KING HENRY

WESTMORELAND

0 that we now had here But one ten thousand of those men in England That do no work to-day!• KING HENRY

What 's he that wishes so? My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin.

5 That do no worle - "who are on holiday'' - because it is a saint's day. 6 mow . . . lou - "enough (enow) to cause (do) our country serious loss". 7 By Jovt. An act of 16o5 forbade the use of such phrases as "By God" on the English stage. It is likely that 'Jove' (name of the Roman god) was then substituted here. 8 upon - "at". 9 yearns - "grieves". IO dwell not - "have no place". u share from me - "take from me as his share,;_ 12. stomach to - "inclination for". 13 His passport . .. convoy- "A certmcate asking that he may travel safely (passport) shall be made out for him and golden coins as journey-money (for convoy) ...". 14 fears his.fellowship to die - "is afraid to give us his comradeship in dying .. .''. 15 the feast of Crisp/an, October .2sth. Crispinus and his brother Crispiamu (spoken of by Shakespeare as if they were one person) suffered death for their religion in .6.D. 287.

16 He that .•• rouse him - Henry believes that every English soldier (He that) who lives on after (outlives) this St. Crispin's day and comes safely back to England, will stand - proudly making himself as tall as possible (a tip-toe, 'on tip-toe'). whenever St. Crispin's day is mentioned (namtd), and even if he is an old man, half asleep, he will wake up (roll# him)

.

17 yearly on the vigil feast - "every year, on the eve of the saint's day (vigil), give a feast to .. .''. JS But ht '11 remember • • • What feats "before he will stop remembering (But ht 'II remember) with some exaggeration (with advantages) what great deeds (/eats)". 19 in their flowing cups - "as they pour ale into their cups".

154

SCENE III]

If we are marked to die, we are enow To do our country loss; 5 and if to live, The fewer men, the greater share of honour. God's will, I pray thee, wish not one man more. By Jove, 7 I am not covetous for gold, Nor care I who doth feed upon 8 my cost; It yearns' me not if men my garments wear; Such outward things dwell not10 in my desires. But if it be a sin to covet honour, I am the most offending soul alive. No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England. God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour As one man more, methinks, would share from me11 For the best hope I have. 0, do not wish one more! Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host, That he which hath no stomach to 12 this fight, Let him depart. His passport shall be made And crowns for convoy 13 put into his purse. We would not die in that man's company That fears his fellowship to dieu with us. This day is called the feast of Crispian. 10 He that outlives this day, and comes safe home, Will stand a tip-toe when this day is named, And rouse him 16 at the name of Crispian. He that shall live this day, and see old age, Will yearly on the vigil feast 17 his neighbours, And say "To-morrow is Saint Crispian." Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars, And say "These wounds I had on Crispin's day." Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot, But he '11 remember, with advantages What feats 18 he did that day. Then shall our names, Familiar in his mouth as household words, Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter, Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester, Be in their flowing cups 19 freshly remembered.

155

20

25

30

35

45

50

ss

[ACT FOUR

'This story shall the good man teach his son; And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by, From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered: We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Sb.all be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition. 10 And gentlemen in England now a-bed Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap, 21 whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

Re-enter

6o

65

SALISBU"R.Y

SALISBURY

My sovereign lord, bestow yourself21 with speed. The French are bravely in their battles set, 11 And will with all expedience 24 charge on us. KING HENRY

All things are ready, if our minds be so. WESTMORELAND

Perish the man whose mind is backward now! be he ne'n .•. condition - "however mean and poor (vile) be may be, this day shall make noble (gentle) bis rank (condition)". n hold their manhoods cheap - "count (hold) their own courage (1fll1t1hoods) of little worth (cheap)". 22 bestow yourself - "take your place". 23 in lheir ball/es set - "drawn up (set) in war formation (battles)", 24 expedience - "baste". 25 unwished ... one - "wished us to be without five thousand men, which pleases (likes) me better than to have you wish w one extra",

20

26 compound- "come to terms". 27 needs must he englutted - "are bound to be swallowed up". 28 mi11d ... of repentance - "remind your followers of the need for repentance". 29 30

156

retire - "homeward journey". achieve - "capture". They may be killed in trying to capture him, like the man in the old fable who sold the lion's sk.in while the animal was still alive.

SCBNB 111]

KING HBNRY

Thou dost not wish more help from England, coz? WESTMORELAND

God's will, my liege, would you and I alone, Without more help, could fight this royal battle l

75

KING HENRY

Why, now thou hast unwished five thousand men; Which likes me better than to wish us one. 26 You know your places. God be with you all! Tucket. Enter MONTJOY MONTJOY

Once more I come to know of thee, King Harry, If for thy ransom thou wilt now compound, 18 Before thy most assured overthrow. For certainly thou art so near the gulf, Thou needs must be englutted. 27 Besides,.in mercy, The Constable desires thee thou wilt mind Thy followers of repentance; 28 that their souls May make a peaceful and a sweet retire 29 From off these fields, where, wretches, their poor bodies Must lie and fester.

So

85

KING HENRY

Who hath sent thee now? MONTJOY

The Constable of France. KING HENRY

I pray thee, bear my former answer back: Bid them achieve 30 me and then sell my bones.

157

90

[ACT FOUR

31 A many ... day's worle - "A great number (many) of us will, without any doubt (no doubt), die in our own country and be buried there (Find native gravts); and on our graves, I firmly hope (tnut) a memorial (witness) to this day's great victory (worle) shall be engraved for ever in brass". 32 for there tht sun ... plague. When a sacrifice was accepted by the gods, its smoke rose straight into the sky. When the Englishmen sacrifice their lives, the sun, shining on the smoking heaps of dung where their bodies lie, will draw up their renown in smoke and steam (reeking) to heaven, leaving their earthly bodies to bring death to the French countryside (to choke your clime) since the smell will cause (breed) pestilence. 33 Marie mortality - "Notice (Mark) then the abundant (abounding) courage in our Englishmen, who, even when they arc dead, like a bullet's rebounding (,grazing), shoot off (Break out) into a second pathway (course) bringing misfortune (mischief), killing others even when they themselves arc turning back (in 1eu,pst) into dust (of mortality)".

mm . . .

34 but warriors •.. working-day - "only working-day soldien", i.e. not dressed for battle as if it is a holiday. 35 besmirched ... field - "dirtied (besmirched) with marching through the rain and bearing the hardships of camping in open country (painful field)". 36 slovenry - "slovenliness". 37 in the trim - "in fine condition and dress". 38 yet ere night ... out ofservice - "before (ere) ever (yet) night comes they will be wearing cleaner robes in heaven, or else they will pull off (pluck) over their heads the gay new coats of the French soldien and turn them out of their army in disgrace". 39 Which if they have ... yield them little. If Henry loses the battle he will fight until his joints are cut to pieces.

158

SCENE III]

Good God, why should they mock poor fellows thus? The man that once did 'ell the lion's skin While the beast lived, WaMCilled with hunting him. A many of our bodies shall no doubt Find native graves; upon the which, I trust, Shall witness live in brass of this day's work. 81 And those that leave their valiant bones in France, Dying like men, though buried in your dunghills, They shall be famed; for there the sun shall greet them, And draw their honours reeking up to heaven; Leaving their earthly parts to choke your clime, The smell whereof shall breed a plague32 in France. Mark then abounding valour in our English, That being dead, like to the bullet's grazing, Break out into a second course of mischief, Killing in relapse of mortality. 33 Let me speak proudly: tell the Constable We are but warriors for the working-day; 8' Our gayness and our gilt are all besmirched With rainy marching in the painful field. 36 There's not a piece of feather in our host Good argument, I hope, we will not fly And time hath worn us into slovenry. 88 But, by the mass, our hearts are in the trim; 17 And my poor soldiers tell me, yet ere night They '11 be in fresher robes, or they will pluck The gay new coats o'er the French soldiers' heads And tum them out of service. 88 If they do this As, if God please, they shall - my ransom then Will soon be levied. Herald, save thou thy labour; Come thou no more for ransom, gentle hcnld. They shall have none, I swear, but these my joints; Which if they have as I will leave 'em them, Shall yield them little,89 tell the Constable.

159

9S

IOO

105

IIO

IIS

uo

:us

[ACT POUR MONTJOY

1 shall, King Harry. And so fare thee well. Thou never shalt hear herald any more.

[Exit KING HENRY

1 fear thou 'It once more come again for ransom. ao

Enter

YORK

YORK

My lord, most humbly on my knee I beg 'Ihe leading of the vaward.' 1

40 for ransom, ie. to ask if they may pay -41

.4,2

ransom for themselves. The leading of the 1111w111d - "to be allowed to lead the vanguard", i.e. the troops who were to advance

IJO

dispose the day - "give victory in battle".

first.

(IV.iv) Pistol has taken a Frenchman prisoner, and, with the boy as his interpreter, spares his life for a ransom of two hundred crowns. We hear from the boy that Bardolph and Nym have both been hanged for stealing. Excursions - • "attacb", i.e. small groups of acton cross the stage as if rushing against the enemy . .i Jt pense ... qua/it/ - '1 think that you are a nobleman of high rank". 3 Qualtitie ... me. Not understanding French, Pistol answers with a line which he half invents and half re-members, based on an Irish phrase as used in an English song. I

160

4 SeigMur Dieu - "Lord God I" s Perpend- "Consider well". 6 fox - ''sword'\ 7 Egregious - "very gteat". 8 prenez ... moi - "have mercy! have pity on me!"

SC.ENE IV]

KING HENRY

Take it, brave York. Now, soldiers, march away: And how thou pleasest, God, dispose the day!••

[Exeunt

Scene W. The field of battle. Alarum. Excursions. 1 Enter PISTOL, French Soldier, and Boy PISTOL

Yield, cur! FRENCH SOLDIER

Je pense que vous etes gentilhomme de bonne qualite.• PISTOL

Qualtitie calmie custure me!• Art thou a gentleman? What is thy name? Discuss. FRENCH SOLDIER

0 Seigneur Dieu !• PISTOL

0, Signieur Dew should be a gentleman. Perpend5 my words, 0 Signieur Dew, and mark; 0 Signieur Dew, thou diest on point of fox,• Except, 0 signieur, thou do give to me Egregious 7 ransom. FRENCH SOLDIER

0, prenez misericordel Ayez pitie de moi!•

161

IO

[ACT FOUR PISTOL

Moy' shall not serve; I will have forty moys; Or I will fetch thy rim10 out at thy throat In drops of crimson blood. FRENCH SOLDIER

Est-il impossible d' echapper la force de ton bras ?11

15

PISTOL

Brass, cur! Thou damned and luxurious mountain goat, Offer'st me brass? FRENCH SOLDIER

0 pardonnez moi !18 PISTOL

Sayst thou me so? Is that a ton of moys? Come hither, boy. Ask me this slave in French What is his name.

9 Moy. Pistol thinks that this is the name of a coin. It is. of course, quite against military law for Pistol to take ransom money. All such money would belong to the king and the state. IO rim. The diaphragm, i.e. the muscle separating the !wigs from the stomach. II Est-ii ... bras? - "Is it impossible to escape the force of your arm?" 12 p_ardonnez-moi - "forgive me". 13 Ecoutez ... appeli - "Listen. What is your name?" 14 le Fer. French for 'iron'.

20

firk him and ferret him - "beat (/irk) him and worry him like a ferret". 16 Que dit-il ... gorge - "What does he say, sir?" "He commands me to tell you to prepare yourself; for the soldier here intends to cut your throat 15

at once'\

Owy, . . . permafoy. Pistol tries to speak French - "yes, cut your throat, by my faith". 18 je v1n1s ... ecus - "l beg you for the love of God to pardon me. I am a gentleman of good family. Save my life and I will give you two hundred 17

crowns".

162

SCENE IV]

BOY

Ecoutez. Comment etes-vous appele? 13 FRENCH SOLDIER

Monsieur le Fer. H BOY

He says his name is Master Fer.

2S

PISTOL

Master Fer ! I '11 fer him, and firk him, and ferret him. 11 Discuss the same in French unto him. BOY

I do not know the French for fer, and ferret, and £irk. PISTOL

Bid him prepare, for I will cut his throat. FRENCH SOLDIER

Que dit-il, monsieur?

30 BOY

11 me commande de vous dire que vous faites vous pret; car ce soldat ici est dispose tout acette heure de couper votre gorge. a PISTOL

Owy, cuppele gorge, permafoy, 17 Peasant, unless thou give me crowns, brave crowns; Or mangled shalt thou be by this my sword. FRENCH SOLDIER

0 je vous supplie, pour 1'amour de Dieu, me pardonner !Je suis gentilhomme de bonne maison. Gardez ma vie, et je vous donnerai deux cents ecus. 18 R-o

163

3S

[ACT FOUR PISTOL

What are his words? BOY

He prays you to save his life. He is a gentleman of a good house; 40 and for his ransom he will give you two hundred crowns. PISTOL

Tell him my fury shall abate, and I The crowns will take. 19

FRENCH SOLDIER

Petit monsieur, que dit-il?10 BOY

Encore qu'il est contre son jurement de pardonner aucun 45 prisonnier, neanmoins, pour les ecus que vous 1'avez promis, il est content de vous donner la liberte, le franchisement. 11

abate - "grow less". Petit ... dit-il? - "Little master, what does he say?" 21 Encore ... ftanchisement - "Although it is against his oath to spare any prisoner, nevertheless, for the crowns which you have promised him, he agrees to give you your liberty and let you go". 22 Sur mes genoux ..• ,I'Angleterre - "On my knees I give you a thousand thanks; and I count myself happy to have fallen into the hands of a knight who, I think, is the most brave, courageous and very distinguished lord of England". 23 Suivez-vous . . . capitaine - "Follow the great captain". 19

20

24 so full .•. a heart - "a voice so full of courage to come (issue) from a heart so empty ofit". 2s this roaring devil ..• dagger. The Devil often appeared as a character in the old plays of Shakespeare's time. He would roar with pain when beaten with a stage-dagger and when his enemies tried to cut short (pare) his long talons. Pistol, says the boy, makes as much noise as this devil but anybody can cut his claws; (that everyone may part his nails, 'whose nails everyone may pare'). 2.6 d11rst - "dared". 27 laclreys, with the lugg~fe - "servants, with the baggage ...•. 28 have a good prey of us - "take good booty from us".

164

SCENE IV]

FRENCH SOLDIER

Sur mes genoux je vous donne mille remerciements; et je m'estime heureux que je suis tombe entre les mains d'un chevalier, je pense, le plus brave, vaillant, et tres distingue 50 seigneur d' Angleterre. 11 PISTOL

Expound unto me, boy. BOY

He gives you, upon his knees, a thousand thanks; and he esteems himself happy that he hath fallen into the hands of one, as he thinks, the most brave, valorous, and thrice-worthy signieur of SS England. PISTOL

As I suck blood, I will some mercy show. Follow me! BOY

Suivez-vous le grand capitaine.•

[Exeunt PISTOL and French Soldier I did never know so full a voice issue from so empty a heart: 11 6o but the saying is true, "The empty vessel makes the greatest sound." Bardolph and Nym had ten times more valour than this roaring devil i' the old play, that every one may pare his nails with a wooden dagger~16 and they are both hanged; and so would this be if he durst11 steal any thing adventurously. I 65 must stay with the lackeys, with the luggagel 7 of our camp. The French might have a good prey of us, 11 ifhe knew of it; for there is none to guard it but boys. [Exit

165

[ACT FOUJl

Scene V. Another part of the field. Enter CONSTABLE,

ORLEANS, BOURBON, DAUPHIN, RAMBURES

and

CONSTABLE

0 diable!

1

ORLEANS

0 Seigneur, le jour est perdu, tout est perdu !2 DAUPHIN

Mort de ma vie!• All is confounded,' all! Reproach and everlasting shame Sits mocking in our plumes. 0 •mechante fortune !1 Do not run away. [A short a/arum

s

(IV.v) The French lines have broken and the French soldiers are retreating. The nobles are full of shame, and intend to return to the battle to die in the confusion. Orleans reminds them that even now the French far outnumber the English, so that, if a plan of battle could be made, they could defeat their enemy. There is no one however to make such a plan; the French lords wish only to die quickly so as to wipe out their disgrace. I 2

diable - "devil". 0 Seigneur .. , perdu - "O God, the day is lost, all is lost".

3 Mort de ,na vie - "Death of my life I" -4 confounded- "ruined". s Repro«h • • • fortune. Certain of

victory, the French were wearing tine plumes of fcathen on their splendid helmets. Now their sense of disgrace makes these plumes appear ridiculous; shame has fixed itself (sits) among the waving fcathen and mocks their earlier confidence. Fortune has shown herself against them (meclumte). 6 perdurable shame - "disgrace which will last for ever l"

7 base pander- "wretched go-between". 8 gentler - "nobler in birth". 9 Disorder ... heaps - "May our lack of military order (Disorder), which has ruined (spoilecl) us, now befriend (fri~ _us. Let us in crowds (on heaps) . . . , 1.e. so that we cannot be recognised and saved for ransom. IO To smother ... upon - "to crush and choke (smother) the English with our great numben (in our throngs), if any disciplined plan (order) could be made". II I 'II to the throng - "l will go into the crowd".

166

SCENE VJ CONSTABLE

Why, all our ranks are broke. DAUPHIN

0 perdurable shame!• Let 's stab ourselves. Be these the wretches that we played at dice for? ORLEANS

Is this the king we sent to for his ransom? BOURBON

Shame and eternal shame, nothing but shame! Let us die in honour: once more back again; And he that will not follow Bourbon now, Let him go hence, and with his cap in hand, Like a base pander, 7 hold the chamber-door Whilst by a slave, no gentler 8 than my dog, His fairest daughter is contaminated.

IO

IS

CONSTABLE

Disorder, that hath spoiled us, friend us now I Let us on heaps• go offer up our lives. ORLEANS

We are enow yet living in the field To smother up the English in our throngs, If any order might be thought upon. 10

20

BOURBON

The devil take order now ! I 'll to the throng. 11 Let life be short, else shame will be too long.

[Exeunt 167

[ACT POUR

(IV.vi) Henry praises his men but says that victory is not yet complete; he is given news of the deaths of the Duke of York and the Earl of Suffolk. A new alarm is sounded and Henry orders that every English soldier is to kill the French prisoners he has with him; this is necessary if the battle is to begin again.

ret keep ... field - "some French soldien still remain on (ketp) the battle-field". 2 commends him - "sends his greetings". 3 Larding the plain - "pouring forth his blood to make the land more rich". The image is originally from cooking: to lard is 'to baste', i.e. to pour melted fat over meat while it is cookI

ing. ~

Yoke-follow ... wounds - "his comrade in war, sharing the same honour for his wounds". (Yoke-fellow, 'one who shares in the same task, as oxen are yoked together'; -owing, '-possess-

S all haggled over ... insktped- "stabbed (haggletf) in many places (all ... over) came to him where he was lying in a pool of blood (gore)"; (instetp, 'to leave lying in liquid'). 6 bloodily did yawn - "were wide open (did yawn) and bleeding". 7 Tarry - "Wait". 8 ,aught me - "reached out (raught) to me". 9 gripe - "grip". IO Commend . . . sovtrtign - "Tell the king I served him well".

ing .)

in our plumes

168

SCENE VI]

Scene VI. Another part of the field. Alarums. Enter KING HENRY and forces,

EXBTBR,

and others

KING HENRY

Well have we done, thrice valiant countrymen, But all's not done; yet keep the French the field !1 EXETER

The Duke of York commends him1 to your majesty. KING HENRY

Lives he, good uncle? Thrice within this hour I saw him down; thrice up again, and fighting; From helmet to the spur all blood he was.

s

EXETER

In which array, brave soldier, doth he lie, Larding the plain;• and by his bloody side, Yoke-fellow to his honour-owing wounds,' The noble Earl of Suffolk also lies. Suffolk first died: and York, all haggled over, Comes to him, where in gore he lay insteeped,• And takes him by the beard, kisses the gashes That bloodily did yawn' upon his face, And cries aloud "Tarry, 7 dear cousin Suffolk I My soul shall thine keep company to heaven. Tarry, sweet soul, for mine, then fly abreast, As in this glorious and well-foughten field We kept together in our chivalry!" Upon these words I came and cheered him up: He smiled me in the face, raught me 8 his hand, And, with a feeble gripe,• says "Dear my lord, Commend my service to my sovereign." 10 169

IO

IS

20

[ACT POUR II

12

espou~rl ••. love. In gladly accepting his own death, York kissed Suffolk's dead body as a man kisses his bride at his wedding (espouser!, 'married'). He left behind him, as if in his will (testament), the memory of a friendship between two men who had died very bravely (noble-ding love), and he marked this will as genuine (sealer!) with his own blood. (A written will (testament) is sealed with wax.) all my mother- "all the woman's feelings which came to me from my mother".

13 perforce compound ... issue too - "of necessity (perforce) admit that my own eyes are misted with tean; if not, they also will let their tears fall (issue)"; (compounrl with, 'make an agreement with', i.e. agree to wipe away the tears from ...). 14 every soldier .•. prisoners. If the battle was to begin again the English could not spare any of their soldiers to guard the French prisoners.

(IV.vii) Some of the French who ran away from the battle have plundered the English baggage tents and killed the boys in charge of them. Fluellen speaks angrily of this cowardly action and Gower praises the king for his order that the French prisoners should be put to death. Fluellen tries to show in what ways Henry's life is like that of Alexander the Great. Alexander was born at Macedon and Henry at Monmouth; Alexander, when he was out of his mind with rage and drink, killed his best friend; King Henry, in right mind and good judgement, sent away the fat old knight, Sir John Falstaff (who had been his friend when he was a wild young prince). King Henry enters, very angry at what the French have done (in killing the boys and plundering his tents). Montjoy, the French herald, comes to ask permission for the French to go through the battlefield to list their dead and separate the nobles from the paid soldiers and the peasants. He tells King Henry that the English are indeed victorious and Henry, thanking God for his help, names the victory Agincourt after a castle near at hand. Fluellen reminds the king of how the Welsh helped Edward III in another famous victory over the French; at that time, he says, the Welsh soldiers wore leeks as a badge in their caps - as they do still every year on St. David's day, and as King Henry, as a good Welshman, does also. Williams is asked by the king to explain why he is wearing in his cap the glove (given him by the king on the night before the battle); he tells the king of his promise and Fluellen advises the king that Williams must keep this promise, however great a gentleman his opponent might happen to be. The king then sends Williams to fetch Captain Gower to him, gives Fluellen continued on page J 7:1 I

as arrant • • • knavery - "as wicked (arrant) a piece of evil trickery (knavery)". In plundering the baggage tents of the English and killing the boys, the French have broken the rules of war (law of arms).

170

2

tt1os t worthily - "in most proper retaliation".

SCENE vn]

So did he tum and over Suffolk's neck He threw his wounded arm and kissed his lips, And so espoused to death, with blood he sealed A testament of noble-ending love. 11 The pretty and sweet manner of it forced Those waters from me which I would have stopped, But I had not so much of man in me, And all my mother11 came into mine eyes And gave me up to tears.

.25

30

KING HENRY

I blame you not; For, hearing this, I must perforce compound With mistful eyes, or they will issue too. 18

[A/arum But, hark! What new alarum is this same? The French have reinforced their scattered men. Then every soldier kill his prisoners; 14 Give the word through.

3S

[Exeunt Scene VII. Another part of the field. Enter

FLUELLEN

and

GOWER

FLUELLEN

Kill the poys and the luggage ! 'T is expressly against the law of arms. 'Tis as arrant a piece ofknavery, 1 mark you now, as can be offert. In your conscience, now, is it not? GOWER

'Tis certain there 'snot a boy left alive, and the cowardly rascals that ran from the battle ha done this slaughter. Besides, they have burned and carried away all that was in the king's tent, wherefore the king, most worthily, 1 hath caused every soldier to cut his prisoner's throat. 0 't is a gallant king!

171

s

[ACT POUR FLUELLEN

Ay, he was porn at Monmouth, Captain Gower. What call you the town's name where Alexander the Pig was born?

10

GOWER

Alexander the Great. FLUELLEN

Why, I pray you, is not pig great? The pig, or the great, or the mighty, or the huge, or the magnanimous, are all one reckonings, save the phrase is a little variations. 3 GOWER

I think Alexander the Great' was born in Macedon.• His father 15 was called Philip of Macedon, as I take it.

Williams' glove to wear in his hat (pretending that he took it from the French duke, Alen~on) and sends him off also to find Gower; two of the nobles are asked to follow Fluellen closely to prevent any serious harm when Williams strikes Fluellen, as, according to his promise, he must do, on seeing his glove in Fluellen's cap.

3 the magnanimous ... variations - "the great-hearted (magnanimous) all add up to the same thing (are all one reckonings), except that the phrase is changed a little (11 little variations)". 4 Alexander the Great. The greatest soldier of the ancient world; he lived from 356 to 323 B.c. s Macedon. Alexander was born at Pella in the kingdom of Macedonia. 6 is come after it ... all things - "follows its pattern (is come after) quite closely (indifferent well), for there are underlying similarities (figures) in every detail (all things)".

7 cholers - "fits of temper". 8 intoxicates in his prains - "drunk ('intoxicated') and out of his mind". 9 but in the figures •.. of it - "only (but) of the hidden patterns (figures) of similarity between their stories". IO great-belly doublet. Some men wore doublets of an exaggerated fashion with the lower front part stuffed out. Falstaff looked like them but his 'stuffing' was real. (doublet, 'closcfitting coat or tunic'.) n gipes, Fluellen's mispronunciation of 'gibes'.

172

SCENE

vnJ FLUELLEN

I think it is in Macedon where Alexander is porn. I tell you, captain, if you look in the maps of the 'orld, I warrant you sall find, in the comparisons between Macedon and Monmouth, that the situations, look you, is both alike. There is a river in 20 Macedon, and there is also, moreover, a river at Monmouth. It is called Wye at Monmouth; but it is out of my prains what is the name of the other river; but 'tis all one, 'tis alike as my fingers is to my fingers, and there is salmons in both. If you mark Alexander's life well, Harry of Monmouth's life is come 25 after it indifferent well, for there is figures in all things.• Alexander, God knows, and you know, in his rages, and his furies, and his wraths, and his cholers, 7 and his moods, and his displeasures, and his indignations, and also being a little intoxicates in his prains, 8 did, in his ales and his angers, look 30 you, kill his best friend, Cleitus. GOWER

Our king is not like him in that. He never killed any of his friends. FLUELLEN

It is not well done, mark you now, to take the tales out of my mouth, ere it is made and finished. I speak but in the figures and 3s comparisons of it.• As Alexander killed his friend Cleitus, being in his ales and his cups, so also Harry Monmouth, being in his right wits and his good judgements, turned away the fat knight with the great-belly10 doublet: he was full ofjests, and gipes,11 and knaveries, and mocks; I have forgot his name. 40 GOWER

Sir John Falstaff. FLUELLEN

That is he: I '11 tell you there is good men porn at Monmouth.

173

[ACT FOUi. GOWEI.

Here comes his majesty.

Alarum. Enter

KING HENRY and forces; WARWICK, GLOUCESTER, EXETER, and others

KING HENRY

I was not angry since I came to France Until this instant. Take a trumpet, herald; Ride thou unto the horsemen on yon hill: If they will fight with us, bid them come down, Or void the field; 11 they do offend our sight. If they 'll do neither, we will come to them, And make them skirr away, as swift as stones Enforced from the ·old Assyrian slings. 1• Besides, we 'll cut the throats of those we have, And not a man of them that we shall take Shall taste our mercy. Go and tell them so.

45

so

[Exit Herald

Or 11oi4 the.field- "or else take themselves off the battlefield"; (11oid, 'to make empty). 13 ski" . .. slings- "move quickly away, as fast as stones sent with force (Enf orcld) from the slings of Assyrian soldien of ancient times". (Assyrians were famous for their skill with slings.) 14 fined these bones ... r11t1Som - "fixed as the payment (fined) for my ransom only my bones". IS book- "list the names or'. 16 sort - "separate". 17 woe the while - "alas for the time (while) in which this happens I" 12

174

18 do our vulgar drench - "our common

people (11ulgar) make wet through (tlrench) •.. ". 19 Fret fetlock 4etp , . • . twice. The wounded horses, standing in blood (gore) deep enough to cover their feet (fat/ode deep) are anxious and angry (Fret); wild with fright (with wild rage) they quickly strike (yerk) out their spiked (armed) heels against their masters, giving them new wounds sufficient to kill them a second time (Killing them twice)". 20 day be ours ••. peer - "victory (day) is ours or not; for still (yet) a number (many) of your horsemen look down &om the hill (peer) •.•".

SCENE

vn] Enter MONTJOY EXETER

Here comes the herald of the French, my liege.

ss

GLOUCESTER

His eyes are humbler than they used to be. KING HENRY

How now! What means this, herald? Know'st thou not That I have fined these bones of mine for ransom?u Comest thou again for ransom? MONTJOY

No, great king: I come to thee for charitable licence, That we may wander o'er this bloody field To book16 our dead, and then to bury them, To sort18 our nobles from our common men. For many of our princes - woe the while! - 17 Lie drowned and soaked in mercenary blood; So do our vulgar drench18 their peasant limbs In blood of princes; and their wounded steeds Fret fetlock deep in gore, and with wild rage Yerk out their armed heels at their dead masters, Killing them twice. 19 0 give us leave, great king, To view the field in safety and dispose Of their dead bodies I KING HENRY

I tell thee truly, herald, I know not if the day be· ours or no; For yet a many of your horsemen peer• 0 And gallop o'er the field.

175

6o

70

[ACT POUR MONTJOY

The day is yours.

75

KING HENRY

Praised be God, and not our strength, for it ! What is this castle called that stands hard by?11 MONTJOY

They call it Agincourt. KING HENRY

Then call we this the field of Agincourt, Fought on the day of Crispin Crispianus.

So

FLUELLEN

Your grandfather 11 of famous memory, an 't please18 your

hard by - "close by". Your grandfather. It seems that Fluellen says grandfather, meaning great-grandfather, i.e. Edward ID, who won the battle of Crecy in 1346. Henry's grandfather, John of Gaunt, was then only a child. 23 an 't please - "ifit please". 24 Monmouth caps. Caps of a special shape worn by soldiers and sailors, originally made in Monmouth, which, at that time, was part of Wales. 2s takes no scorn - "does not scorn", i.e. feels proud.

21 22

26 Saint Tavy' s day. It is usually believed that Welshmen wear the leek on Saint David's day (Much ut) to commemorate a great victory won by King Arthur on that day in the year 540. Fluellen suggests that they wear it in memory of the defeat of the French by the Welsh forces serving unde~ Edward ID. 27 for a memorable honour - "in honour of a battle that deserves to be remembered (memorable)". 28 For I am Welsh. Henry was born in Monmouth, at that time a part of Wales. 29 as long as .•. majesty too - "as long as it pleases God, and may God bless his majesty as well!"

176

SCENE

vu]

majesty, and your great-uncle Edward, the Plack Prince of Wales, as I have read in the chronicles, fought a most prave pattle here in France. KING HENRY

They did, Fluellen.

85 FLUELLEN

Your majesty says very true. If your majesties is remembered of it, the W dshmen did good service in a garden where leeks did grow, wearing leeks in their Monmouth caps, H which,7our majesty know, to this hour is an honourable badge o the service; and I do believe your majesty takes no scom15 to wear 90 the leek upon Saint Tavy's day. 98 KING HENRY

I wear it for a memorable honour; 17 For I am Welsh, 18 you know, good countryman. FLUELLEN

All the water in Wye cannot wash your majesty's Welsh plood out of your pody, I can tell you that. God pless and preserve it, 95 as long as it pleases his grace, and his majesty too! u KING HENRY

1hanks, good my countryman. FLUELLEN

ByJeshu, I am your majesty's countryman, I care not who know it. I will confess it to all the 'orld. I need not to be ashamed of your majesty, praised be God, so long as your majesty is an honest man. KING HENRY

God keep me so! Our heralds go with him;

177

100

[ACT POUR

Bring me just notice of the numbers dead On both our parts.• 0 [Exeunt Heralds with MONTJOY Call yonder fellow hither.

[Points to WILLIAMS EXETER

Soldier, you must come to the king.

105

KING HENRY

Soldier, why wearest thou th.at glove in thy cap? WILLIAMS

An 't please your majesty, 'tis the gage•1 of one th.at I should fight with.al, if he be alive. KING HENRY

An EngUsbrnan? WILLIAMS

An 't please your majesty, a rascal th.at swaggered with me last no

30 just notict ... our parts - "a true (just) 31 32 33

34

account (notice) of the numben of the dead on both sides (parts)". gage - "pledge". challenge - "claim". ta/et - "strike". sort, ... degree - "rank (sort), far above being able to accept a challenge (quite from the answer) from a man of only a soldier's position (of his tkgree)". It was, of course, a very

serious crime for a soldier to strike an officer.

3S Lucifer and Btlzebub. According to old belief, Satan's name, before he was driven from heaven, was Lucifer; Bclzebub was n~ in rank. 36 If he be perjured ... trod. "If he should break his oath (be perjured') he will have the name (reputation) of as wicked (arrant) a scoundrel (villain) and shameless boaster Uacksauce) as any man whose wicked (black) shoe trod ... " any a man whose wicked (black) shoe trod ... "

37 si"ah, a form of address used to

servants and attendants.

178

SCENE

vn]

night; who, if 'a live and ever dare to challenge81 this glove, I have sworn to take33 him a box o' th' ear: or if I can see my glove in his cap - which he swore, as he was a soldier, he would wear if alive - I will strike it out soundly. KING HENRY

What think you, Captain Fluellen, is it fit this soldier keep his oath?

115

FLUELLEN

He is a craven and a villain else, an 't please your majesty, in my conscience. KING HENRY

It may be his enemy is a gentleman of great sort, quite from the answer of his degree."

120

FLUELLEN

'Though he be as good a gentleman as the devil is, as Lucifer and Belzebub 85 himself, it is necessary, look your grace, that he keep his vow and his oath. Ifhe be perjured, see you now, his reputation is as arrant a villain and a Jacksauce as ever his black shoe trod11 upon God's ground and his earth, in my conscience, la ! KING HENRY

'Then keep thy vow, sirrah,87 when thou meetest the fellow. WILLIAMS

So I will, my liege, as I live. KING HENRY

Who servest thou under?

179

125

[ACT FOUR WILLIAMS

Under Captain Gower, my liege.

130

FLUELLEN

Gower is a good captain, and is good knowledge and literatured in the wars. 81 KING HENRY

Call him hither to me, soldier. WILLIAMS

I will, my liege.

[Exit XING HENRY

Here, Fluellen, wear thou this favour 89 for me and stick it in thy 135 cap. When Alen~on and myself were down' 0 together, I plucked this glove from his helm." If any man challenge this, he is a friend to Alen~on, and an enemy to our person. If thou encounter any such, apprehend him, an thou dost me love.

38 ls good knowledge ... wan - "is o( good knowledge of and is well-read in (literaturetl) military matten". 39 favour, any token, ribbon, etc., wom as a badge; in this case, the glove given by Williams to the king. 40 down, Le. on the ground, struck down. 41 plucked . . . htlm - "matched this glove from his helmet". ~ would fain - "would gladly (fain), would like to". 43 aggritftd- "aggrieved, offended".

# haply purchase him - "perhaps (haply)

get for him in return (purchase) ...". 4S by bargain - "according to the agreement made". 46 mischief- "misfortune". 47 touched with choler ... gunpowder - "if' touched with the fire of another man's angry temper (choler), exploding like gunpowder" ; (tou.h, a fine kind of gunpowder used for setting off' a gun's explosion).

180

SCENE

vu] FLUELLEN

Your grace doos me as great honours as can be desired in the hearts of his subjects. I would fainu see the man, that has but two legs, that shall find himself aggriefed" at this glove. That is all; but I would fain see it once, an please God of his grace that I might see.

140

KING HENRY

Knowest thou Gower?

145 FLUELLEN

He is my dear friend, an please you. KING HENRY

Pray thee, go seek him, and bring him to my tent. FLUELLEN

I will fetch him. (Exit KING HENRY

My Lord of Warwick, and my brother Gloucester, Follow Fluellen closely at the heels. The glove which I have given him for a favour May haply purchase himH a box o' th' ear. It is the soldier's; I by bargain'5 should Wear it myself. Follow, good cousin Warwick. If that soldier strike him, as I judge By his blunt bearing he will keep his word, Some sudden mischief" may arise of it; For I do know Fluellen valiant And, touched with choler, hot as gunpowder," And quickly will return an injury. Follow, and see there be no harm between them. Go you with me, uncle of Exeter.

150

ISS

16o [Exeunt

181

[ACT POUR

(IV.viii) First Williams and then Fluellen ask Gower to come quickly to the king, supposing that he is to be rewarded for his part in the battle. Williams shows Fluellen a second glove to match the one Fluellen is wearing and then at once strikes him. Fluellen attacks him as a friend of the Duke Alen~on, but King Henry, entering at this point, tells Williams that it was the king he promised to strike and to whom he spoke so angrily on the night before the battle. Williams defends himself with dignity and bravery: he meant no hurt to the king, and if the king had been a common soldier, as he appeared to be, there would have been nothing wrong in what Williams said and did. King Henry gives him back his glove after it has been filled with crowns and Fluellen presses upon him a shilling to mend his shoes. An English herald gives the king an account of the French who have been killed or taken prisoner: out of ten thousand Frenchmen slain, only sixteen hundred were common soldiers serving for pay. On the English side only four noble men and twenty-five others have died. Henry wonders at so great a victory and says that all honour for it must be given to God; after the church services they will march on to Calais 'and so return to England. I wa"ant. Williams is ready to say with certainty (warrant) why Gower has been sent for by the king. 2 apace - "quickly". 3 toward you peradventure - "perhaps (peradventure) on its way to (toward) I

you .. ,",

4 'S blood/ ... traitor - "God's blood!

As wicked (arrant) a traitor ... ". - "not keep my oath?" Gower is angry with Williams for striking Fluellen, and calls him •you villain', while Williams tries to explain that he has sworn to strike the wearer of his glove.

s be forsworn

Before KING HENRY'S pavilion

182

SCENE

vm] Scene VIII. Before KING HENRY'S pavilion. Enter

GOWER

and

WILLIAMS

WILLIAMS

I

warrant1

it is to knig~t you, captain.

Enter

FLUELLEN

FLUELLEN

[to GOWER] God's will and his pleasure, captain, I beseech you now, come apace• to the king. There is more good toward you peradventure8 than is in your knowledge to dream 0£ WILLIAMS

Sir, know you this glove? [shows his second glove, which matches

the one in Fluellen's cap] FLUELLEN

Know the glove I I know the glove is a glove. WILLIAMS

I know this (points to

FLUELLEN' s

cap] and thus I challenge it. [Strikes him

FLUELLEN

'S blood I An arrant traitor' as any is in the universal world, or in France, or in England! GOWER

How now, sir! [to

WILLIAMS]

You villain!

WILLIAMS

Do you think I '11 be forsworn ?6 183

s

[ACT POUR PLUBLLEN

Stand away, Captain Gower! I will give treason his payment into plows, I warrant you. WILLIAMS

I am no traitor. FLUELLEN

That 's a lie in thy throat. [To GOWER] I charge you• in his IS majesty's name, apprehend 7 him! He 's a friend of the Duke Alen~on's,

Enter

WARWICK

and

GLOUCESTER

WARWICK

How now, how now! What's the matter?• PLUELLBN

My Lord of Warwick, here is-praised be God for it!- a most contagious• treason come to light, look you, as you shall desire in a summer's day. Here is his majesty.

6 charge you - "order you as your duty". 7 apprehffltl - "arrest". 8 m,itter - "reason for this disturbance?" 9 contagious. Perhaps Fluellen means dangerous as an infectious illness. 10 fellow of it - "one to match it". 11 change - "exchange". 12 uving your majesty's manhood - "if I may speak of such a thing (i.e. of the wickedness and cowardice of Williams) in the presence of (saving) a king of such courage (manhood) .. .''.

20

13 is pet11 me ... avouchmmt - "will (is)

bear (pear) me witness and will declare (avouchmtnt) .. .''. 14 hast given ... tmns - "have spoken to me with most offensive (bitter) words (tmns)". IS make me satisfaction - "make good the injury done to me".

184

SCI!NI!

vm] Enter

KING HENRY

and

EXETER.

KING HENRY

How now I What's the matter? FLUELLEN

My liege, here is a villain and a traitor, that, look your grace, has struck the glove which your majesty is take out of the helmet of Alencon.

2s

WILLIAMS

My liege, this was my glove: here is the fellow of it; 10 and he that I gave it to in change11 promised to wear it in his cap: I promised to strike him, ifhe did. I met this man with my glove in his cap, and I have been as good as my word. FLUELLEN

Your majesty, hear now, saving your majesty's manhood,11 what an arrant, rascally, beggarly, lousy knave it is: I hope your majesty is pear me testimony and witness, and will avouchment, 11 that this is the glove of Alen~on, that your majesty is give me; in your conscience now?

30

KING HENRY

Give me thy glove, soldier; look, here is the fellow of it. 'T was I, indeed, thou promisedst to strike; And thou hast given me most bitter terms. H

3S

FLUELLEN

An please your majesty, let his neck answer for it, if there is any martial law in the world. KING HENRY

How canst thou make me satisfaction?16

185

40

[ACT FOUR WILLIAMS

All offences, my lord, come from the heart. Never came any from mine that might offend your majesty. KING HENRY

It was ourself thou didst abuse. WILLIAMS

Your majesty came not like yourself: you appeared to me but as a common man; witness 18 the night, your garments, your 45 lowliness; and what your highness suffered under that shape, I beseech you take it for your own fault and not mine: for had you been as I took you for, I made no offence; therefore, I beseech your highness, pardon me. KING HENRY

Here, uncle Exeter, fill this glove with crowns, And give it to this fellow. Keep it, fellow; And wear it for an honour in thy cap Till I do challenge it. Give him the crowns: And, captain, you must needs be friends with him.

so

FLUELLEN

By this day and this light, the fellow has mettle17 enough in his 55 belly. Hold, there is twelve pence for you; and I pray you to

16 witntSS . • . lowlineu - "the truth of this is shown if you take into account (witness) the darkness (night), your dress (garments) and humble appearance (lowliness)". I 7 mettle - "spirit, courage".

18 praw/s and prabbles - "brawls and 19 20 21

186

arguments". pashful - "bashful", i.e. shy of taking a gift. good sort - "high rank". bearing banners - "having coats of arms (banners)".

SCENE

vm]

serve Got, and keep you out of prawls, and prabbles, 11 and quarrels, and dissensions, and, I warrant you, it is the better for you. WILLIAMS

I will none of your money.

6o FLUELLEN

It is with a good will; I can tell you, it will serve you to mend your shoes. Come, wherefore should you be so pashful ?19 Your shoes is not so good. 'T is a good silling, I warrant you, or I will change it.

Enter an English Herald KING HENRY

Now, herald, are the dead nwnbered?

65

HERALD

Here is the nwnber of the slaughtered French. KING HENRY

What prisoners of good sortlO are taken, uncle? EXETER

Charles Duke of Orleans, nephew to the king; John Duke of Bourbon, and Lord Bouciqualt: Of other lords and barons, knights and squires, Full fifteen hundred, besides common men. KING HENRY

This note doth tell me of ten thousand French That in the field lie slain: of princes, in this number, And nobles bearing banners, 11 there lie dead

187

70

[ACT FOUR

One hundred twenty-sill.. added to these, Of knights, esquires, and gallant gentlemen, Eight thousand and four hundred; of the which, Five hundred were but yesterday dubbed 22 knights: So that, in these ten thousand they have lost, There are but sixteen hundred mercenaries. The rest are princes, barons, lords, knights, squires, And gentlemen of blood and quality. The names of those their nobles that lie dead: Charles Delabreth, High Constable of France; Jaques of Chatillon, Admiral of France; The Master of the Cross-bows, Lord Rambures; Great Master of France, the brave Sir Guichard Dolphin, John Duke of Alen~on, Anthony Duke of Brabant, The brother to the Duke of Burgundy, And Edward Duke of Bar: oflusty 23 earls, Grandpre and Roussi, Fauconberg and Foix, .Beaumont and Marie, Vaudemont and Lestrale. Here was a royal fellowship of death! Where is the number of our English dead? [Herald shows him another paper Edward the Duke of York, the Earl of Suffolk, Sir Richard Ketley, Davy Garn, esquire:

22

23 24-

25

dubbed - "touched by the king's sw~~d, so giving them the title of lusty- "vigorous". of name- "of well-known name". without stratagem ... play - "without deceiving the enemy by a trick (stratagem) but in open encounter (plain shock) and the just (even) give and take (play) ..•".

7S

80

85

90

9S

26 be it death •.. host - "let it be made known (proclaimed) to all our army (through our host) that it shall be a crime punishable by death ...". 27 "Non nobis" and "Te Deum". Words with which the Latin songs of praise begin: "Not unto us" and "You, 0 God". 28 with charity ... clay, ie. buried with mercy and kindness.

188

SCENE

vm]

None else of name;H and of all other men But five and twenty. 0 God, thy arm was here; And not to us, but to thy arm alone, Ascribe we all! When, without stratagem, But in plain shock and even play15 of battle, Was ever known so great and little loss On one part and on th' other? Take-it, God, For it is none but thine !

100

EXETER

'T is wonderful! KING HENRY

Come, go we in procession to the village: And be it death proclaimed through our host11 To boast of this or take that praise from God Which is his only.

105

FLUELLEN

Is it not lawful, an please your majesty, to tell how many is killed? no XINC HENRY

Yes, captain; but with this acknowledgement, That God fought for us. FLUELLEN

Yes, my conscience, he did us great good. KING HENRY

Do we all holy rites; Let there be sung "Non nobis" and "Te Deum"; 17 The dead with charity enclosed in clay. 18 And then to Calais; and to England then; Where ne'er from France arrived more happy men. (Exeunt

189

[ACT FIVB

Introducing Act V, the Chorus asks permission to tell some of the story to those who have not read it; to those who have read it, he apologises for the way in which the play has to compress the events and use only a small number of actors. After his victory at Agincourt the king is carried away, by the imagination of actors and audience, first to Calais and then across the sea to England, where a crowd of people, standing like a fence at the sea's edge, cry out a welcome louder than the sea. When he arrives at Blackheath, some miles outside London, his nobles suggest that he should enter the city in procession of triumph, having his battered helmet and bent sword carried before him, but this he forbids because, he says, their triumph belongs to God only. The audience is asked to imagine ho~ the mayor and other officials and all the people of London come out to meet the king - just as, at the present time (1599), to use a humbler comparison, they might welcome the Earl of Essex if he returned from Ireland after crushing the rebellion there. King Henry remains in London for a time, awaiting the visit of the Emperor Sigismund who tries to bring about a peace between France and England. Other events until Henry's return to France are now passed over without mention, and it is in France that the next scene is to take place. Vouchsefe ... prompt than - "Allow (Vouchsafe) me, for the benefit of those who have not read the story, to remind (prompt) them about it". .2 to admit • • . presented - "to accept (admit) this apology (excuse) that we show as taking place within the short time of this stage play (Of lime), with only our usual small number of acton (of numbers), and without giving all the happenings in their proper (d~) order (course), events which cannot possibly be shown (presmted) in a theatre truly and life.size (in their huge and proper life)". 3 grant him .•• Pales in the flood~ "agree that he is (grant him) there and, having once seen him at Calais (thm seen), lift him and carry him(Heave him) away aaoss (Athwart) the sea on the wings 9f your imagination (upon your winged thoughts). Then see (Behold) how the shore of England seems to fence in (Pales in) the ocean (flood) I

"

4 wives- "women". s out-voice •.. 'JQre - "are louder than (out-voice) the deep roar of the sea, which like a great officer clearing a path forward by waving his sword (whi.Jller) in front of ...". 6 set on - "start on his way". 7 Blackheath, a district on the south-ea.st of London. 8 to have borne ... Before him - "to have his battered (bruised) helmet and his bent (bended) sword carried (borne) in front of(Btfore) him .. .''. 9 Giving •.. to God. Because he wishes to thank God who alone was responsible for their victory, Henry gives up entirely (Quite from himself) every (full) token (trophy), sign (signal) and splendid show (ostent) of triumph. 10 In the quiclc forge . . . thought. In imagination, that lively (quick) workshop (working-house) where thoughts and ideas are hammered out like hot iron in the forge. II best sort - "their finest clothes".

190

PROLOGUE]

ACT FIVE

Prologue Enter

CHORUS

CHORUS

Vouchsafe to those that have not read the story, That I may prompt them: 1 and of such as have, I humbly pray them to admit the excuse Of time, of numbers and due course of things, Which cannot in their huge and proper life Be here presented. 1 Now we bear the king Toward Calais: grant him there; there seen, Heave him away upon your winged thoughts Athwart the sea. Behold, the English beach Pales in the flood 3 with men, with wives• and boys, Whose shouts and claps out-voice the deep-mouthed sea, Which like a mighty whiffler 'fore~ the king Seems to prepare his way. So let him land, And solemnly see him set on• to London. So swift a pace hath thought that even now You may imagine him upon Blackheath; 7 Where that his lords desire him to have home His bruised hdmet and his bended sword Before him 8 through the city. He forbids it, Being free from vainness and self-glorious pride; Giving full trophy, signal and ostent Quite from himself to God. 8 But now behold, In the quick forge and working-house of thought, 10 How London doth pour out her citizens! The mayor and all his brethren in best sort,11 Like to the senators of the antique Rome, With the plebeians swarming at their heels,

191

s

10

IS

20

25

[ACT FIVE 12 likt to the seriarors ... Caesar in. In the days of ancient (antique) Rome, the governing noblemen (senators) and the common working people (plebeians) went out of the city to meet their great general Julius Caesar as he returned in triumph. 13 As, by a lower . .. sword- "As, to give a less noble (lower) but very affectionnate (loving) comparison (likelihood), supposing that the Earl of Essex, leader of the English armies (general) of our gracious Queen Elizabeth, were returning, as with good fortune he may do,_in the near future (in good time), from Ireland, after defeating the rebellion there ..." (Essex is thought of as carrying the dead body of the child rebellion on the point of his sword.) Essex left London on March 27th, 1599, and returned, not in triumph but unsuccessful and in disgrace in September of the same year.

14 place him ••. between them - "imagine (place) him, during the time wb.en (.ri; yet) the complaint and grief of th.: French make proper (Invites) Henry's remaining (stay) in London to wait for the arrival (coming) of the Emperor to speak for (in behalf of) France and to bring about (order) peace between France and England". (fhe Emperor Sigismund visited England in May 1416 on his peacemaking errand.) IS and omit - "and then leave out (omit)", 16 have played . • . brook abridgement "have represented (played) the interval of time (interim) by reminding (remembering) you that it is over (past). Then agree to accept (brook) this compression (abridgement) .. ,",

(V.i)In France, in the English camp Gower is talking to Fluellen. He is surprised to see that Fluellen is wearing a leek when St. David's day is over. Fluellen tells him the reason for this: on the previous day, which was St. David's day, in a situation when it was not possible to begin a quarrel, Pistol had come to him and mocked him by offering him bread and salt to eat with his leek. Fluellen intends therefore to wear his leek for a second day and to revenge the insult to his national emblem. Pistol himself is then made to eat Fluellen' s leek. Gower rebukes Pistol for his mockery of old tradition and for laughing at a man who cannot speak perfect English. Pistol, left alone on the stage, wonders how he can get his living now that his wife is dead: he will become a pickpocket and, in the chuacter of an old soldier, will steal and beg. 1

scald - "scabby".

2

192

yesterday, presumably St. David's day.

SCENE

r]

Go forth and fetch their conquering Caesar in: 11 As, by a lower but loving likelihood, Were now the general of our gracious empress, P.s in good time he may, from Ireland coming, Bringing rebellion broached on his sword, 18 How many would the peaceful city quit, To wdcome him! Much more, and much more cause, Did they this Harry. Now in London place himAs yet the lamentation of the French Invites the King of England's stay at home; The emperor's coming in behalf of France, To order peace between them1& - and omit11 All the occurrences, whatever chanced, Till Harry's back-return again to France: There must we bring him; and mysdfhave played The interim, by remembering you 't is past. Then brook abridgement, 11 and your eyes advance, After your thoughts, straight back again to France.

30

3S

40

4S [Exit

Scene I. France. The English camp. Enter

FLUELLEN

and

GOWER

GOWER

Nay, that's right; but why Jear you your leek to-day? Saint Davy's day is past. FLUELLEN

There is occasions and causes why and wherefore in all things. I will tell you, asse my friend, Captain Gower: the rascally, scald,1 beggarly, lousy, pragging knave, Pistol, which you and yourself and all the world know to be no petter than a fellow, look you now, of no merits, he is come to me and prings me pread and salt yesterday,• look you, and bid me eat my leek.

193

s

[ACT FIVB

It was in a place where I could not breed no contention8 with him; but I will be so bold as to wear it in my cap till I see him once again, and then I will tell him a little piece of my desires.

Enter

IO

PISTOL

GOWER

Why, here he comes, swelling like a turkey-cock. 4 FLUELLEN

'T is no matter for his swellings nor his turkey-cocks. God pless you, Ancient Pistol! You scurvy,• lousy knave, God pless you!

15

PISTOL

Ha, art thou bedlam? Dost thou thirst, base Trojan,' To have me fold up Parca's fatal web? 7 Hence ! I am qualmish 8 at the smell of leek.

3 brttd no conttntion - "carry on any dispute". It seems that Pi~ growth to 81 the imperfections Which you have cited, you must buy that peace With full accord to all ~ur just demands; Whose tenours and particular effects You have, enscheduled briefly, 32 in your hands. BURGUNDY

The king hath heard them; to the which as yet There is no answer made. KING HENRY

Well then, the peace, Which you before so urged, lies in88 his answer.

7S

FRENCH KING

I have but with a cursorary eye 0' erglanced the articles: pleaseth" your grace To appoint some of your council presently To sit with us once more, with better heed To re-survey them, we will suddenly Pass our accept and peremptory answer. 11 KING HENRY

Brother, we shall. Go, uncle Exeter, And brother Clarence, and you, brother Gloucester,

203

80

[ACT FIVE

Warwick and Huntingdon, go with the king; And take with you free power to ratify, Augment, or alter, as your wisdoms best Shall see advantageable for our dignity, Anything in or out of our demands, And we '11 consign thereto. 38 Will you, fair sister, Go with the princes, or stay here with us?

85

90

QUEEN ISABEL

Our gracious brother, I will go with them: Haply a woman's voice may do ~ome good, When articles too nicely urged be stood on.37 KING HENRY

Yet leave our cousin Katharine here with us. She is our capital demand, comprised Within the fore-rank 88 of our articles.

95

QUEEN ISABEL

She hath good leave. 89 [Exeunt

all

except HENRY, KATHARINE,

36 consign thereto - "sign with the French king in agreement with it". 37 Haply ... stood on - "perhaps (haply) a woman's - gentle - words may help, if items of the treaty (articles), which arc argued for (urged) with too much attention to detail (too nicely), arc insisted on (stood on)". 38 capital demand, .•. fore rank - "chief (capital) demand, contained (comprised) in the most important part (fore-rank) •.. ". 39 good leave - "our willing permission".

and ALICE

40 vouchsefe- "graciously agree". Henry cleverly sks Katharine to help him make his proposal of marriage (plead his love-suit). 41 brokenly - "in incorrect language". 42 Pardonnez-moi- "Pardon me". 43 Que dit-il ... ainsi dit-il - "What does he say? That I am like the angels?" "Yes, truly, if your grace pleases, that is what he says". 44 0 him Dieu - "Oh, good heavens".

204

SCENE

11] KING HENRY

Fair Katharine, and most fair, Will you vouchsafe40 to teach a soldier terms Such as will enter at a lady's ear And plead his love-suit to her gentle heart?

100

KATHARINE

Your majesty shall mock at me; I cannot speak your England. KING HENRY

0 fair Katharine, if you will love me soundly with your French heart, I will be glad to hear you confess it brokenlyu with your English tongue. Do you like me, Kate? 105 KATHARINE

Pardonnez-moi, I cannot tell vat is "like me". 42

KING HENRY

An angel is like you, Kate, and you are like an angel. KATHARINE

Que dit-il? Que je suis semblable ales anges? ALICE

Oui, vraiment, sauf votre grace, ainsi dit-il. 43 KING HENRY

I said so, dear Katharine; and I must not blush to affirm it. KATHARINE

0 hon Dieu !H Les langues des hommes sont pleines de tromperies.

205

110

[ACT FIVE KING HENRY

What says she, fair one? That the tongues of men are full of deceits? ALICE

Oui, dat de tongues of de mans is be full of deceits: da.t is de princess. 46

4S ie princess - "the way the princess thinks". 46 is the better Englishwoman, because she likes plain-speaking. 47 to mince it ... to say - "to speak in a silly, unnatural way in love, only (but) to say plainly (directly) ... ". 48 wear out my suit - "have used up (wear out) my words of wooing (suit)". 49 i' faith io ... bargain - "do so, in true sincerity (i' faith), and so let us shake (clap) hands to make (and) our agreement (bargain)". so Sauf votre honneur - "If your honour allows me to say it .. :•. 51 put me to verses - "ask me to write

verses...

52 undid me - "would bring me to con-

fusion°. S3 measure - "sense of rhythm". S4 strength in 11reasurt ... strength - "skill (strength) in keeping time to the music (measure), even though I have - for things other than dancing - a reasonable amount (111tasure) of physical strength". s5 under the correction ... spoken - "let me say (be it spoken) even though I may be blamed (under comction) for boasting (of bragging)".

I Is

56 buffet for my love ... never off- "stn1ce hard·blows (buffet) to win my lady, or make my horse leap (bound) to get her approval (favours), I could go on and on striking (lay on) like a butcher chopping meat, and sit on horseback liolding as tight as a monkey (like a jt1Ck-an-apes) never falling off". 57 greenly - "awkward and love-sick". 58 cwnning In protestation ... for urging "skill in declaring a thing over and over again (protestation); nothing but (only) blunt (downright) declarations in the name of God, which I never make until compelled (urged) and never break however much I am pressed (for urging)". 59 sun-burning. A fair skin was thought more beautiful than a sunburnt colour. Henry's face, he says, cannot be made worse. 6o let thine eye ... cook - "make me into a fine dish by looking on me with love". 61 while thou Uvest - "ever as long as you live". 62 u11coined, rough and genuine like a piece of gold or silver before it is made into a coin and passed from one to another for what it will buy (i.e. as insincere phrases may be used). 63 perforce must do thee right - "of necessity (perforce) must serve you truly".

206

SCENE 11) KING HENRY

The princess is the better Englishwoman. u I' faith, Kate, my wooing is fit for thy understanding. I am glad thou canst speak no better English; for, if thou couldst, thou wouldst find me such a plain king that thou wouldst think I had sold my farm 120 to buy my crown. I know no ways to mince it in love, but directly to say" "I love you"; then if you urge me farther than to say "Do you in faith?" I wear out my suit. 0 Give me your answer; i' faith, do: and so clap hands and a bargain.0 How say you, lady? 125 KATHARINE

Sauf votre honneur, 60 me understand vell. KING HENRY

Marry, if you would put me to verses61 or to dance for your sake, Kate, why you undid me :62 for the one, I have neither words nor measure,5 3 and for the other, I have no strength in measure, yet a reasonable measure in strength. 54 If I could win a lady at leap-frog, or by vaulting into my saddle with my armour on my back, under the correction of bragging be it spoken/& I should quickly leap into a wife. Or ifl might buffet for my love, or bound my horse for her favours, I could lay on like a butcher and sit like a jack-an-apes, never off. 66 But, before God, Kate, I cannot look greenly 57 nor gasp out my eloquence, nor I have no cunning in protestation; only downright oaths, which I never use till urged, nor never break for urging. 58 If thou canst love a fellow of this temper, Kate, whose face is not worth sun-burning, 69 that never looks in his glass for love ofanything he sees there, let thine eye be thy cook. so I speak to thee plain soldier: if thou canst love me for this, take me; if not, to say to thee that I shall die, is true; but for thy love, by the Lord, no; yet I love thee too. And while thou livest, 81 dear Kate, take a fellow of plain and uncoined 62 constancy; for he perforce must do thee right 63 because he hath not the gift to woo in other

207

130

135

140

145

[ACT PIVB

places: for these fellows of infinite tongue, that can rhyme themselves into ladies' favours, they do always reason themselves out again. What! A speaker is but a prater; 64 a rhyme is but a ballad. 85 A good leg will fall; 81 a straight back will stoop; a black beard will turn white; a curled pate 87 will grow bald; a fair face will wither; a full eye will wax hollow: 88 but a good heart, Kate, is the sun and the moon; or, rather, the sun, and not the moon ; 69 for it shines bright and never changes, but keeps his course truly. If thou would have such a one, take me; and take me, take 70 a soldier; take a soldier, take a king. And what sayest thou then to my love? Speak, my fair, and fairly, 71 I pray thee.

150

155

KATHARINE

Is it possible dat I sould love de enemy of France? KING HENRY

No, it is not possible you should love the enemy of France, 16o Kate; but, in loving me, you should love the friend of France; for I love France so well that I will not part with a village of it; 64 a prater - "an· empty chatterer". 65 a rhyme . .. ballad- "a rhyming poem of love is only a tune and a simple song (ha/lad')''. 66 A good leg will fall - "A well-shaped leg will become thin and lean (will fall)". 67 pate - "head". 68 afull eye ... hollow- "a large eye willgrow (wax) into one which is deeply sunk into the cheek". 69 and not the moon, because the moon is always changing. 70 take me, take - "if you accept me, you accept ... " 71 fairly - "say what I shall enjoy hearing".

72 Je . . . de moi - "I, when . . . in possession of France and when you have possession of me". 73 Saint Denis ... mienne - "May Saint Denis (patron saint of France) help me! then France is yours and you are mine".

74 Sauf . .. parle - "If I may say so, the French which you speak is better than the English which I speak". This is, of course, only flattery. Henry's French is very poor! 7S most truly-falsely ... one - "speaking most truly but with many mistakes (falsely) must of necessity (needs) be agreed (granted) to be very much the same as each other (at one)". 76 dispraise - "speak of as faults". 77 rather - "more so",

208

SCENE II]

I will have it all mine: and, Kate, when France is mine and I am yours, then yours is France and you are mine. KATHARINE

I cannot tell vat is dat. KING HENRY

No, Kate? I will tell thee in French; which I am sure will hang upon my tongue like a new-married wife about her husband's neck, hardly to be shook off. Je quand sur le possession de France, et quand vous avez le possession de moi, 72 - let me see, what then? Saint Denis be my speed! - done votre est France et vous etes mienne. 78 It is as easy for me, Kate, to conquer the kingdom as to speak so much more French. I shall never move thee in French, unless it be to laugh at me.

170

KATHARINE

Sauf votre honneur, le Fran~ois que vous parlez, ii est meilleur que l' Anglois lequel je parle. 7~ 175 KING HENRY

No, faith, is 't not, Kate: but thy speaking of my tongue, and I thine, most truly-falsely, must needs be granted to be much at one. 75 But, Kate, dost thou understand thus much English, canst thou love me? KATHARINE

I cannot tell.

180 KING HENRY

Can any of your neighbours tell, Kate? I '11 ask them. Come, I know thou lovest me: and at night, when you come into your closet, you'll question this gentlewoman about me; and I know, Kate, you will to her dispraise 78 those parts in me that you love with your heart: but, good Kate, mock me mercifully; the rather, 77 gentle princess, because I love thee cruelly. If ever thou 209

185

[ACT FIVE

beest mine, Kate, as I have a saving faith 71 within me tells me thou shalt, I get thee with scambling, 71 and thou must therefore needs prove a good soldier-breeder. Shall not thou and I, between Saint Denis and Saint George, ao compound a boy, half 190 French, half English, that shall go to Constantinople 81 and take the Turk88 by the beard? Shall we not? What sayest thou, my fair flower-de-Ince ?88 KATHARINE

I do not know dat. KING HENRY

No; 'tis hereafter to know, but now to promise. Do but now 195 promise, Kate, you will endeavour for your French part of such a boy; and for my English moiety take the word of a king and a bachelor. How answer you, la plus belle Katharine du monde, mon tres cher et devin deesse?" 78 a saving faith - "a confidence (faith)

that keeps me from despair". 79 get thee with scambling - "win you with rough struggling (scambling)". So Saint George, patron saint of England. 81 Constantinople. Once the centre of the Greek empire, finally captured by the Turks in 1453. (Known since 1923 as Instanbul.) 82 The Turk - "ruler of the Turkish empire". 83 jlower-de-luce, the white lily of the French royal arms. 84 la plus btlle . . . dime - "the most beautiful Katharine in the world, my very dear and divine goddess", 8 S fausse - "false". 86 sage demoisel/e - "virtuous young lady". 87 fie - "shame".

88 untmlpering effect ... visage - "unpersuasive (untemperinl) effect of my face (visage)"; temper, to soften' (wax, etc.). 89 beshr~ - "The blame for this belongs to .... 90 wax - "grow". 9 I layer-up - "preserver''. 92 spoil- "damage". 93 wea:, me - "find me growing in wear 94 avouch - "confess". 9S fellow ... of 300d fellows - "one who can match LJel/ow) the greatest king, you shall find the greatest of good comrades (fellows)". 96 broken music, actually music written in parts for different instruments but Henry uses the phrase to mean 'in broken English and in a musical voice'. 97 break thf mind - "open your thoughts'. 98 de roi mon pere - "the king my father".

210

SCENE

II] KATHARINE

Your majestee 'ave fausse 86 French enough to deceive de most sage demoiselle 88 dat is en France.

200

KING HENRY

Now fie 87 upon my false French! By mine honour, in true English, I love thee, Kate: by which honour I dare not swear thou lovest me; yet my blood begins to flatter me that thou dost, notwithstanding the poor and untempering effect of my 205 visage. 88 Now beshrew 89 my father's ambition! He was thinking of civil wars when he got me: therefore was I created with a stubborn outside, with an aspect of iron, that, when I come to woo ladies, I fright them. But, in faith, Kate, the elder I wax, 90 the better I shall appear. My comfort is, that old age, that ill 210 layer up 91 of beauty, can do no more spoil 92 upon my face. Thou hast me, if thou hast me, at the worst; and thou shalt wear me, 93 if thou wear me, better and better: and therefore tell me, most fair Katharine, will you have me? Put off your maiden blushes; avouch 94 the thoughts of your heart with the 215 looks of an empress; take me by the hand, and say "Harry of England, I am thine"; which word thou shalt no sootier bless mine ear withal, but I will tell thee aloud "England is thine, Ireland is thine, France is thine, and Henry Plantagenet is thine"; who, though I speak it before his face, ifhe be not fellow with 220 the best king, thou shalt find the best king of good fellows. 96 Come, your answer in broken music; 96 for thy voice is music and thy English broken; therefore, queen of all, Katharine, break thy mind 97 to me in broken English-; wilt thou have me? KATHARINE

Dat is as it sall please de roi mon pere. 98 KING HENRY

Nay, it will please him well, Kate; it shall please him, Kate.

211

225

[ACT FIVE KATHARINE

Den it sall also content me. KING HENRY

Upon that I kiss your hand, and I call you my queen. KATHARINE

Laissez, monseigneur, laissez, laissez: ma foi, je ne veux point que vous abaissiez votre grandeur en baisant la main d'une de 230 votre seigneurie indigne serviteur; excusez-moi,je vous supplie, mon tres-puissant seigneur." KING HENRY

Then I will kiss your lips, Kate. KATHARINE

Les dames et demoiselles pour etre baisees devant leur noces, il n'est pas la coutume de France. 100 235 KING HENRY

Madam my interpreter, what says she? 99 Laissez, mon seigneur . . . seigneur "Stop, my lord, stop, stop: indeed I do not wish you to lower your greatness in kissing the hand of an unworthy servant of your highness; pardon me, I beg you, my very royal lord". 100 Les dames ... France - "For ladies and girls to be kissed before their marriages is not the custom of France". 101 pour les - "for the". 102 val is baiser ... Anglish - "what is kiss in English". 103 entendre . . . moi - "understands better than I".

104 Oui, vraimmt- "Yes, that is correct". lOS nice customs curtsq to - "shy and dainty (nice) customs bow down before ... ". 106 confined . . . list - "held tight (confined) in the thin (weak) thread (list) ... ". 107 the liberty ... find-faults - "the freedom (liberty) that goes with (follows) our office of king and princess (our places) silences (stops the mouth of) all who would find fault (find-faults)". 108 upholding the nice fashion - "giving your support to (upholding) the shy and dainty (nice) custom (fashion)".

212

SCENE 11) ALICE

Dat it is not de fashion pour les101 ladies of France, - I cannot tell vat is baiser en Anglish. 10• KING HENRY

To kiss. ALICE

Your majesty entendre bettre que moi. 108

240

KING HENRY

It is not a fashion for the maids in France to kiss before they are married, would she say? ALICE

Oui, vraiment. 10' KING HENRY

0 Kate, nice customs curtsey to105 great kings. Dear Kate, you and I cannot be confined within the weak list10 • of a country's 245 fashion: we are the makers of manners, Kate; and the liberty that follows our places stops the mouth of all find-faults; 107 as I will do yours, for upholding the nice fashion10 • of your country in denying me a kiss: therefore, patiently and yielding. [Kissing her] You have witchcraft in your lips, Kate; there is 250 more eloquence in a sugar touch of them than in the tongues of the French council; and they should sooner persuade Harry of England than a general petition of monarchs. Here comes your father.

Re-enter the

and his QUEEN, and other Lords

FRENCH KING,

BURGUNDY,

BURGUNDY

God save your majesty! My royal cousin, teach you our princess English?

213

255

[ACT PIVB KING HENRY

I would have her learn, my fair cousin, how perfectly I love her; and that is good English. BURGUNDY

Is she not apt? XING HENRY

Our tongue is rough coz, and my condition is not smooth; so 26o that, having neither the voice nor the heart offlattery about me, I cannot so conjure up the spirit of love in her, that he will appear in his true li.keness. 1 b• 109 Our tongut • . • true likmess. The English lanS¥age (tongue) is bluntly honest (rough) and Henry's character and appearance (condition), as he describes it, is not one of polished insincerity (smooth); as a result (so that), since he has neither the speech (voice) of Battery nor any real liking for flattery (the heart of flattery), he cannot so clearly call up by magic (conjure) in Katharine's heart the spirit oflove that this love will show itself to her and to him for what it really is - i.e. he has not yet been able to penuade Katharine to admit that she loves him.

no if conjure up ••. cqnsign to. If Henry

III 112 II 3

II4 IIS 116

117 my fair flower-de-luce

83

214

wishes to call up love by magic in Katharine's heart so that her love is recognised for what it is (in his true like11ess), then her love must appear as Cupid, the god oflove, is pictured, as a naked blind boy. And since Katharine is still (yet) an unmarried girl (maid), covered with modest blushes, can she be blamed if she will not admit (if she deny) that she can see in her heart, underneath the covering of these blushes (in her t1akerl seeing self), the naked and blind boy Cupid? This would be (were) a difficult clause (hard condition) for an unmarried girl (maid) to agree (consign) to. wink - "blink". winking - "with her eyes shut for a second". summered - "cared for", i.e. as cows are grazed in summer pastures. Bartholomew-tide. St. Bartholomew's day, August 24th; when the evenings arc cooler and flies grow sleepy. looking on - "being looked at". This moral ... time - "This way of representing it (moraQ shows me that I must wait for (ties me over to) the right time .. .''. in the latter end, in the later (latter) pan or the end of summer.

SCENE 11] BURGUNDY

Pardon the frankness of my mirth, if I answer you for that. If you would conjure in her, you must make a circle; if conjure up 265 love in her in his true likeness, he must appear naked and blind. Can you blame her then, being a maid yet rosed over with the virgin crimson of modesty, if she deny the appearance ofa naked blind boy in her naked seeing self? It were, my lord, a hard condition for a maid to consign to. 110 270 KING HENRY

Yet they do winkm and yield, as love is blind and enforces. BURGUNDY

They are then excused, my lord, when they see not what they do. KING HENRY

Then, good my lord, teach your cousin to consent winking. 111 BURGUNDY

I will wink on her to consent, my lord, if you will teach her to 275 know my meaning: for maids, well summered113 and warm kept, are like flies at Bartholomew-tide, m blind, though they have their eyes; and then they will endure handling, which before would not abide looking on. us KING HENRY

This moral ties me over to timeue and a hot summer; and so I shall catch the fly, your cousin, in the latter end,i 17 and she must be blind too. BURGUNDY

As love is, my lord, before it loves. 215

280

[ACT FIVE KING HENRY

It is so: and you may, some of you, thank love for my blindness, who cannot see many a fair French city for 118 one fair French 28 5 maid th.at stands in my way. FRENCH KING

Yes, my lord, you see them perspectively, 119 the cities turned into a maid; for they are all girdled with maiden walls th.at war hath never entered. KING HENRY

Shall Kate be my wife? FRENCH KING

So please you. KING HENRY

I am content; so the maiden cities you talk of may wait on her: 120 so the maid th.at stood in the way for my wish111 shall show me the way to my will. • n8 for - "because of"' J19 perspectively - "through a specially cut 'perspective' glass, made to deceive the eye". 120 so the maiden ... on her - "so long as (so) the cities untouched (maiden) by war, which you talk of, may come with her (wait on her) as her dowry". 121 so the maid . .. my wish- "in this way (so) the maid who stood in the way of (for) £?.Y wish ;; to conquer the French cmes - . . . . 122 terms of reasons - "reasonable conditions (terms)". 123 their firm proposed natures - "the way in which they were clearly (firm) put forward (proposed)".

124 subscribld this - "signed his name in

agreement to this". 125 for matter ofgrant - "in a matter con-

cerning the gxanting of lands and titles of ownership". 126 addition - "additional title". 127 Notre tr~s-cher ... Franciae - "Our very dear son Henry, King of England, Heir of France; and thus in Latin, 'Our most noble son Henry, King of England, and Heir of France• 128

129 130

216

u.

so denied . .. pass- "so firmly refused (denied) that your request shall not make me agree to this also". rank - "take its place with". look pale. Perhaps a reference to their white cliffi.

SCENE

n] FRENCH KING

We have consented to all terms of reason. m

2,95

KING HENRY

Is 't so, my lords of England? WESTMORELAND

The king hath granted every article: His daughter first, and then in sequel all, According to their firm proposed natures. 118 EXETER

Only he hath not yet subscribed this :m Where your majesty 300 demands, that the King of France, having any occasion to write for matter of grant, 125 shall name your highness in this form and with this addition, 126 in French, Notre tres-cher fils Henri, Roi d'Angleterre, Heritier de France; and thus in Latin, Praeclarissimus filius noster Henricus, Rex Angliae, et 305 Haeres Franciae. 127 FRENCH KING

Nor this I have not, brother, so denied, But your Lquest shall make me let it pass. 128 KING HENRY

I pray you then, in love and dear alliance, Let that one article rank.121 with the rest; And thereupon give me your daughter. FRENCH KING

Take her, fair son, and from her blood raise up Issue to me; that the contending kingdoms Of France and England, whose very shores look pale180

217

310

IACT 131 this tkar conjunction ... sword 'twixt"this precious (tkar) union (conjunction) may set growing (Plant) in the hearts (bosoms) of those lovely (sweet) countries the friendship of neighboun (neighbourhood) and Christian agteement (aaortl), so that ~~l war ~y never come between

(twixt) ....

132 such a spousal ••. Jell jealousy- "such a marriage that evil mischief-making (ill office) and cruel (fell) jealousy can never ... ".

FIVE

133 Thrust in ... league - "force (Thrust) its way in between the loving union (passion) of these kingdoms, to separate (makt divorce of) their joining together (league) like one body

(incorporate)". 134 take - "receive". I 3s for surtty . . • leagues - "for the true keeping (surety) of our agreements to unite (leagues)". 136 well kept and prosperous be- "be truly kept and followed by all good fortune (prosperous)". 137 Sennet, set of notes on the trumpet.

they are all girdled with maiden walls that war hath never entered

218

SCENE II]

With envy of each other's happiness, May cease their hatred, and this dear conjunction Plant neighbourhood and Christian-like accord In their sweet bosoms, that never war advance His bleeding sword 'twixt 131 England and fair France.

315

ALL

Amen!

320 KING HENRY

Now, welcome, Kate: and bear me witness That here I kiss her as my sovereign queen.

all, (Flourish

QUEEN ISABEL

God, the best maker of all marriages, Combine your hearts in one, your realms in one! As man and wife, being two, are one in love, So be there 'twixt your kingdoms such a spousal, That never may ill office, or fell jealousy, m Which troubles oft the bed of blessed marriage, Thrust in between the passion of these kingdoms, To make divorce of their incorporate league;m That English may as French, French Englishmen, Receive each other. God speak this Amen!

330

ALL

Amen! KING HENRY

Prepare we for our marriage: on which day, My Lord of Burgundy, we '11 take 114 your oath, And all the peers', for surety of our leagues. 186 Then shall I swear to Kate, and you to me! And may our oaths well kept and prosperous be im

[Sennet. 181 Exeunt R-1

219

335

[HENRY V

Shakespeare, through the words of the Chorus, asks the audience to receive kindly his poor play; he has had to bring great men into this small theatre and could not do full justice to their famous deeds. Henry V had only a short reign but he was able to win France for his son who became king while still a baby. Too many powerful nobles tried then to manage the state, so that the French kingdom was lost. Many plays have been shown on this period of history and Shakespeare asks that his play of Henry V may also be accepted and enjoyed. with rough .•. pen - "writing without polish (with rough ... pen) and quite unable to do justice to his subject". 2 bending author - "author stooping (bending) to ask for your mercy". 3 room - "space". 4 Mangling ••.• full course - "Spoiling (MangUng) by showing only separate episodes (starts) the whole progress (fall course) ... ". S Small time. Henry V had only a short life; he died at the age of 3S, after a reign of nine years (1413-142.2). I

220

6 the world's best garden. France. 7 Henry the Sixth ... managing. Henry VI was crowned king while still wearing a baby's swaddling bands, and too many had the duty of managing his affairs. In his reign, France was lost and civil war began. 8 this acceptan~ take - "this play receive (talee) acceptance".

EPILOGUE]

Epilogue Enter

CHORUS

CHORUS

Thus far, with rough and all-unable pen,1 Our bending author 2 hath pursued the story, In little room8 confining mighty men, Mangling by §tarts the full course' of their glory. Small time, 6 but in that small most greatly lived This star of England. Fortune made his sword; By which the world's best garden• he achieved, And of it left his son imperial lord. Henry the Sixth, in infant bands crowned King Of France and England, did this king succeed; Whose state so many had the managing, 7 That they lost France and made his England bleed: Which oft our stage hath shown; and, for their sake, In your fair minds let this acceptance take.•

s

IO

[&it

221

SOME ADVICE FOR EXAMINATION CANDIDATES

Begin your examination by reading through the question paper slowly and thoughtfully. Then decide on which of the questions you are going to answer, making quite sure you have chosen the right number, and that they come from the right sections of the paper. As you begin to plan your answers, make absolutely certain you are answering the questions on the paper; do not write about something else; in each case, do exactly what the question asks you to do. Examiners use a number of types of question on Shakespeare's plays. Here are examples of five different types, with some suggestions as to how each of them should be answered. Your teachers will tell you which types of question are likely to come up in the examination you are taking. For each type, it is important for you to plan your answer carefully before you come to write it out fair. You will not of course have time to write a full draft of your answer and then copy it out; but you should note down the main points you intend to make in your complete answer, to ensure that the essentials are clear in your mind, and that you are consistent when you are asked to give your own view on an aspect of the play.

1. You are given a number of short passages taken from the play and are asked to write answers to questions on one or more of them. The questions generally refer only to the given passage itself and its immediate surroundings, its 'context' in the play. Choose the passage(s) you know best, and make certain you answer every question you are asked about it/them. For example: Alas, your too much love and care of me Are heavy orisons 'gainst this poor wretch! Iflittle faults, proceeding on distemper, Shall not be winked at, how shall we stretch our eye When capital crimes, chewed, swallowed and digested, Appear before us?

222

[SOME ADVICE FOR EXAMINATION CANDIDATES

(i) (ii)

Who speaks these words, and who are they addressed to? Who is 'this poor wretch'? What has happened to him, and why is he mentioned here? (iii) Explain the meaning of the phrase 'capital crimes, chewed, swallowed and digested'. What is the image Shakespeare uses here? (iv) Explain the irony of the passage. SUGGESTED ANSWERS

The passage quoted is at II.ii.52-7) (i) King Henry, to Scroop, Cambridge and Grey. (ii) He is a man who has been sent to prison the day .before for saying something against the king. The king has decided to pardon the man, believing that at the time he was drunk on wine. The nobles who came in with the king say that for him to be merciful in this case makes a precedent which could be dangerous for the future. (iii) The phrase means 'crimes punishable by death, long thought about in advance, decided on without reservation, and fully prepared for'. The image is of serious crime as food which is not just 'tasted' by the criminal, but 'chewed', 'swallowed' and 'digested', i.e. totally taken into the body so that there is no going back. (iv) The king is, we know, perfectly aware that the three nobles he is addressing are traitors to his person and his cause; we heard this from the Chorus at the beginning of the Act. So when the king talks about their 'too much love and care' for him, he is being totally ironic, knowing that their feelings for him are quite the opposite. Again, to mention their demands for the man in prison to be harshly treated as 'orisons', i.e. prayers, makes them sound holy, whereas they are nothing of the kind. Yet again, the 'capital crimes' which the king goes on to mention seem to refer to other people's crimes, or crimes in general, and certainly not to the crimes that have been committed by the nobles he is talking to. Yet it is the criminal treachery of the nobles he is talking to which is uppermost in his mind.

223

SOME ADVICE FOR EXAMINATION CANDIDATES]

2. You are given a longer passage from the play and have to answer questions on it. The passage may be printed in full on the examination paper, or you may be given a copy of the play for use at the examination. If you are given a plain text of the play, you will be asked to find the prescribed passage in it; in this case, make absolutely sure you find the right passage, where it begins and where it ends. Some of the questions which follow this type of longer passage are likely to refer to its setting in the play as a whole, not just to details of the passage itself and its immediate surroundings. For example, the passage set is IV.vii.104-162 (pp.178-181 in New Swan), from 'Call yonder fellow hitter' to 'uncle of Exeter'. (i) Explain exactly why Williams is wearing the glove in his cap. (ii) Before and during the battle, much is made of the possibility of a ransom being paid. What exactly is meant by ransom here? How does it relate to the dispute between the English and the French? (iii) How does the episode of the gloves work out in the end? (iv) What is your view of the king's behaviour in this episode of the gloves? SUGGESTED ANSWERS

(i)

During the night before the battle of Agincourt, Williams quarrelled with a man in a cloak, someone he did not recognise but who was in fact the king himself. Williams, in conversation with this man, cast some doubt on the generally-held belief that the king would never be bought off by the French, but would, if the battle went against him, fight to the death. Williams claimed that, on the contrary, it is private soldiers who are killed, whereas kings save themselves by paying ransom. They agree that, if they survive, their quarrel will be fought out between themselves after the battle. Each gives the other one of his gloves to wear in his cap, so that they can identify one another when the fight between the armies is over. Now, still on the battlefield, the king calls Williams to him because he is wearing the king's glove. But the king is not wearing William's glove.

224

[ SOME ADVICE FOR EXAMINATION CANDIDATES

(ii) In the play, ransom means money paid by someone to buy off his enemy. When the French king is totally confident that his army will win the battle (III.v.62-4), he sends his herald to find out what the English king is prepared to pay in order to avoid having to fight, i.e. to buy off the French. As we would expect, Henry refuses to consider any such thing. But if he had considered it, the normal way of proceeding would be for the French to take him prisoner, and then demand money, a ransom, for his release. If this were to happen, the English army would give up the fight once they found out that their leader had been captured by the enemy. King Henry says that the only ransom the French will get from him is his dead body, 'this frail and worthless trunk' (III. vi.138), 'these my joints' (IV.iii.123). (iii) As soon as Fluellen reaches him, Williams shows him he has the glove which matches the one Fluellen is displaying in his own cap, and hits him. Fluellen, misinformed by the king, immediately jumps to the conclusion that Williams is a friend of the Duke Alencon, the French nobleman whom the king claimed he fought with, and is therefore a traitor to the king's cause. Warwick and Gloucester come in, quickly followed by the king himself and Exeter. Williams and Fluellen each put to the king their case in the dispute, and the king then reveals that it was he who argued with Williams the night before the battle. Williams puts up a spirited defence, saying he could not possibly have recognised the king by his clothing and manner at that time. He is forgiven at once, and for the insult is rewarded with a glove-full of money. Fluellen offers him a shilling, but despite his practical suggestion that Williams can use it to get his shoes mended, it is refused. This is presumably because Williams thinks the insult, in questioning his loyalty, is so serious that a small present cannot compensate for it. (iv) (Here is an opportunity for you to express your own opinion of what the king has done and how he has used his authority. You

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are almost certain to be thinking, at least in part, of the morality of the trick he has played on Williams. You will need to bear in mind that kings, in the Middle Ages and afterwards, were nearly always considered to be God's representatives on earth and therefore not open to any sort of criticism. On the other hand, the whole concept of human rights, as we understand the term today, had scarcely been born when Shakespeare was writing. You may think that Williams is deceived and made fun of because he is just a common soldier and has no rights, or very few, whereas the king's authority is, at least in theory, absolute - he has, as it were, a right not to be questioned about what he does or says. Is the glove-full of money an adequate compensation for the insult Williams has suffered at the hands of the king? Do you find his own explanation ofhis behaviour in front of the king on the night before the battle (IV. viii.44-9) a good one? Once the king reveals (IV. viii.36) that he was the man who took Williams's glove as a pledge, there is no action Williams can take against him in retribution, because the king's authority, when it is made known, is not to be disputed in any circumstances. Even though the offending subject goes away unpunished, since he has committed no crime, there is no way he can accuse the king of misconduct towards him without being at once accused of rebellion. For the same reason, Williams has no choice but to accept the king's gift. But before the episode is over, he is able to take one action which shows he is not fully appeased. What is this action? - The hints set out above are just to suggest lines on which you might think in order to work out a good answer to the question. One longish paragraph, well put together in wellconnected sentences, is all that is needed, but make quite sure in it that you bring out clearly your own view of the matter, and support this view by reference to what is said and done in the whole episode, not only in the given passage but also its begin-' nings in IV. i. and its conclusion in IV. viii.

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We have given scene and line references here so as to help you find the passages referred to easily, but you will not of course be expected to do this at the examination unless you are given a plain text to work from.

3. You are asked to write an essay on certain aspects of a character in the play. You are not required to tell this character's story; you are to write about the character from a particular point of view. For example: Some people have seen in Henry V, as portrayed by Shakespeare, a character torn between the two roles of king and ordinary man. Others see him only as a soldier-king: 'When Henry V put on his crown, he got into uniform and never took it off again'. Write an essay on Shakespeare's portrayal of Henry V, bringing out which of these views of him you think is nearer the truth. Support your view by identifying evidence from the play.

Our own view is that the king in Shakespeare's play is genuinely concerned with a conflict in himself between these two roles. In other words, after his father's death he does not, despite what the Archbishop says about him (1.i.24ff), throw off all his earlier desire to share in the life of the ordinary man and become suddenly and totally regal, 'full of grace and fair regard'. We must distinguish however between his open wildness as a youth, mixing in with Falstaff and like-minded companions, and his later maturity as a sincere and active 'common' man. It is the latter, his shaping as a man in maturity, which is the concern of the play Henry V, and which needs to be considered in any answer to this question. His actions and words in his role as soldier-king are easily identified. For instance, the statesmanship he shows over the matter of his claim to be the rightful king of France as well as England, and his business-like concern over a possible invasion from Scotland (I.ii), argue a good grasp of the processes of government; he is in no way open to flattery, nor is he content to be fobbed off with superficial

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words of encouragement. The care and thoroughness of his discussion in all this is typical of a just king. He is prepared to fight like a tiger in what he sees as a just cause, but despite the warlike spirit in him he does not lose sight of the distress and suffering which war must bring. His care must be for his people, who are committed by God to his protection, and should not be allowed to suffer hardships except when this is absolutely unavoidable. As a good king must do, he thinks deeply about his God-given responsibilities, and realises that he must pursue his kingly tasks in ways which will be full of honour to himself as well as his country. We think especially of his splendid soliloquy (IV.i.202ff) on his duties as a king and on the dangers he must guard against, such as the attractions of show, 'ceremony', and a desire for 'greatness' in other men's eyes. What other evidence is there in the play of him as a thinker as well as a doer or just a fighter against his country's enemies? We can now turn to his characteristics as an ordinary mortal, contrasting them with those of his God-like integrity as a ruler and a warrior. Probably what we recall most vividly about him as a common man, free from at least the trappings of kingship, is his wooing of the French princess (V.ii. 98ft). Here he is most obviously inadequate for the task he has set himself, in that he cannot speak French and has to make his approaches through Alice as interpreter. In this episode he is far from being the master; at one point (110) he even has to tell himself that he must not blush! Similarly, the whole scene of his roaming in disguise through the English camp before Agincourt (IV.i.), getting to know what the common soldier is feeling and thinking, harks back to his looser times as a prince before his father's death. But now, as king, he cannot altogether lay aside his regal manner; witness how he deals with William's mention of a monarch in his response to the king's joke about what he will do after his throat is cut. Here Henry's regal authority is surely disguised only thinly: 'Your reproof is something too round. I should be angry with you, if the time were convenient' (179-80). Even when the matter of the gloves is at last resolved, it

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looks as if the king is not going to acknowledge that Williams's mistake over his identity was fully understandable. A well-structured essay, brmging in six or seven good points such as these, is the kind of answer the examiners will be looking for. Of course you are completely at liberty to support instead the second statement in the question, about Henry being always a soldier-king and never out of his uniform - at least mentally, that is. In this case you will need to show that nothing he says or does is entirely free of behaviour which is that of a monarch, and to give supporting evidence from tli.e play accordingly. If this is your view, you may be led on to explain how everything the king seems to be doing or saying as a common man bears below its surface signs of his kingly power and status. Whichever side you take, it is very important for you to decide on your view, keep to it throughout your answer, and give evidence from the play which clearly supports the view you have chn•P!l.

4. Questions are sometimes based on a major aspect, feature or theme of the play, often by quoting something a critic has written about it and then asking you to comment on this quotation. For example: 'This play has been censured as too much a patriotic pageant with too little dramatic interest'. Explain what is meant by the terms 'patriotic pageant' and 'genuine dramatic interest' as two contrasting views of Henry V. Then discuss the critical point made in the quotation, bringing out your own view and supporting this with evidence from the play. The question must be answered in stages, exactly as indicated: you need first to be clear about the terms used in it; and then go on to write about the play in the light of the contrasting views brought out here. As in Question 4, the examiners will be interested in your own view, and it is this which needs to be brought out, and supported by detailed references to words and actions in the play. A 'pageant' is, in this context, a series of dramatic scenes in which

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actors present historical events. The scenes can be performed either on a fixed stage or on moving floats in a street parade. A 'patriotic' pageant is of course one which is devised so as to display great admiration and love for the country it takes place in. As for 'genuine dramatic interest', the focus here must be on drama, i.e. stage plays in contrast to pageants, and in particular on the things in them which are represented in especially exciting ways. So 'dramatic' has something to do with what stirs our feelings, what is striking and sudden in how it takes place. A stage presentation has to be, at least to a large degree, vivid, absorbing and memorable if it is to rate as proper drama, as distinguished, say, from exact representations of ordinary life, as in film documentaries. Let us see now how Henry V shows up in relation to these descriptions. You will find that the section in the INTRODUCTION called The Structure of the Play (pp. xvi-xviii) gives a useful insight into how the play is put together, and will help you to compare it with, and match it up to, the descriptions we have extracted from the quotation in the question. The patriotic aspect is perhaps the easiest to come to terms with. Nobody surely could deny that the spirit of the play is intensely patriotic. The English cause is everywhere the 'right' one; the French cause is 'wrong', unworthy, decadent etc. Thinking through the play, you should be able to find many events which illustrate this aspect forcibly. You might choose everything said and done after Agincourt about the way the battle went, especially the incredible difference between the casualties suffered on either side: 10,000 French (IV. viii. 72) and under 30 English (line 98). What the king says to discourage Fluellen from boasting about the victory carries patriotism to the ultimate extreme: 'God fought for us' (line 112). There is a lot to be said in support of the view that the play has some of the qualities of a pageant. If you have seen the 1944 film version of this play, produced and directed by Laurence Olivier, who also played the king, you will almost certainly remember most vividly from it the splendour and spectacle of the scenes in which the king displays his power, and most of all the flight of arrows from the

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longbows of the English archers, like a huge flock of birds taking off, which determines the outcome of the battle of Agincourt. Such scenes (discounting the flight of arrows, which is not of course in Shakespeare's play) can hardly be said to have intense 'dramatic' interest, because their outcome is not in doubt: any serious threat to the supremacy of the king is short-lived and doomed to failure. But these scenes can indeed be said to have some of the qualities of a pageant. What scenes would you select to exemplify the pageantry of the play? The scenes which deal with ceremonial are obviously worth consideration as pageants. But we must emphasise once more that you are fully entitled to disagree with the view expressed here, and to support the opposite view, that the 'pageant' element does not dominate Shakespeare's vision in the way we suggest here. It is essential here, whatever view you put forward, to support it with detailed evidence from the play. Whatever view you take, however, would you agree with us that when all is said and done there is some lack of 'genuine dramatic interest' in the play? Is the play structured so as to give sufficient tension to serve the needs of dramatic interest? Here we take a view then largely in support of the one expressed in the quotation. Although the play cannot be imagined as suitable for acting on floats in a procession, it is direct, single-minded and uncomplicated in its appeal, as a pageant needs to be. The set-backs to the steady, onward progress of the king are not seriously considered; the French opposition to him is dealt with more in trivia (the tennis balls, I.ii.; the ransom, III.v., etc.) than in terms of military might. (Do you agree?) Hesitancies over how he should act, how far he should exert his authority, there may be, and these mark stages in his development to maturity. His wooing of Katharine, princess of France, is rough-and-ready partly because he is still immature in such matters. But the successful outcome of this, and indeed of everything else he undertakes, is never seriously questioned; it is disturbed only by small, passing clouds. Another aspect of the play as pageant is Shakespeare's own, insis-

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tently expressed, fear that it cannot do justice to history. The great events of Henry's reign have to be reduced in scale to make them fit into the 'wooden O' of the theatre. In no other play is Shakespeare as insistent on this point as in Henry V; no other play has a 'Chorus' who makes long speeches of apology, explanation and scene-setting. - These notes set out some points to think about in reference to one particular question, and also show a general approach to questions of this sort, an approach grounded in reasoning out precisely what the examiners are asking for, and planning your essay in response.

5. Your examiners may focus one of their questions on a performance of the play in the theatre. For example: Write a detailed account of any one scene from Henry V to show how it should be presented on the stage. You are free to select aspects of such a production which interest you, e.g. the general mood or tone of the scene, the stage set and properties, the actors' attitudes and gestures, their reactions to one another, their styles of speech, but your concern is to be with a stage performance, not just the printed text you have been studying.

All we can do is to suggest and illustrate how you might gather ideas together for an account on the lines asked for here. As you see, the examiners are not asking you to tell the story of the scene you choose to write about, nor to set out the context in which it appears. Your task is to write about it from the point of view of a member of the audience watching the play. We have chosen IIl.v. to illustrate the advice we give. This scene takes place in the French king's palace. The loss of Harfleur is fresh in the minds of the king himself and the nobles assembled there with him. What stage set and properties would you like to see as a background for this? How could it be made to reflect the seriousness of the situation? How should the characters enter? In a procession? Or should the

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king and the Dauphin come in one side so that they are clearly distinguished from the nobles coming in from the other? How should they be dressed? The occasion is clearly not a council of state, nor is it one for rejoicing. The dress then should not be too grand; the king and Dauphin will not be wearing crowns, just rich clothes, perhaps with the royal arms embroidered on them. What is needed to show the relations between the characters as the scene progresses? The styles of speech in the text suggest that the attitude of the Dauphin to the king is, as we would expect, a lot less formal than that of the others, though the Dauphin's easy, excitable manner is to some degree taken on by Bourbon, e.g. in his exclamations at line 10f. and what he says about his vision of how the English are going to mock the French as more like dancers than soldiers (Jines 33ff.) The Constable is much more formal to begin with (he says 'my lord' straight away, to make it clear to us that he is addressing the king with fitting respect). Later, lines 15ff., the Constable rather picks up from the Dauphin and Bourbon the style of exclamations, and adds questions which are there for declaiming instead of answering, all in a spirited attack on the English and an expression of surprise that the cold, damp country of England should bring forth such fiery warriors. These points, and the general emphasis on wine and women, seem to need bringing out. What movement is required? One way of distinguishing between the royalty and the rest could be to get the Dauphin to move about the stage as he is declaiming, whereas at least the Constable could stand still and hold back a little from the nobles. Perhaps the king too should remain still, going as soon as he enters to sit down on a throne-like seat; this arrangement should give the right formality to his rendering of the list of nobles included among his orders for action to be taken against the English (Jines 39ff.). It is worth emphasising that the French king's imperious style is forceful enough to stir his son to wish for service on the battlefield instead of in the safety of the city with his father. How should they leave at the end of the scene? The king's rousing call to action suggests that everyone should exit in haste to take up

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his duties. The time for declaiming in fine words and vivid imagery (the thatched roofs, Alps which 'spit and void' their 'rheum', etc.) has now passed, and this ought to be made obvious. - These are just a very few hints of the sort of requirement you should think about. Because the play is so fast-moving and dense in subject-matter, you will be able to think of many other aspects which might be described in your answer.

Copyright Bernard Lott

© 1986.

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GLOSSARY This glossary explains all the words in the play which are used in Modern English as they were in Shakespeare's day, but which are not among the 3,ooo most-used words in the language. The notes opposite the text explain words or meanings which are not used in Modern English. In these notes it has been necessary to use a very few words which are also outside the 3,ooerword list; these are included in the glossary. Explanations in the glossary are given entirely within the chosen list of words. Only the meaning of the word as used in the play or in the notes is normally given. n. = noun; v. = verb; a.= adjective; p.t. = past tense

A abate, to make less, become less. abide, I cannot a. it, I hate it. abound, to be in plenty. abreast, side by side. abscess, a painful poisoned place in or on the body. abuse, to speak rudely (of or to a person). accent, special weight given by the voice to one part of a word. accomplish, to do, finish successfully. accord, agreement. accrue, to increase. accursed, under a curse. achieve, to gain. acknowledge, to recognise. acquit, to a. oneself well, to behave, work well.

active, full of life and action. adieu, good-bye. administer, to look after; a. justice, carry on the work of a judge. admonish, to warn, advise. adore, to honour greatly; to love very much. adorn, to make beautiful, to ornament. adulation, giving praise in which one does not believe, in order to gain favour. adversary, enemy. affability, friendliness. tiffected, not natural, pretending. '!ffirm. to say solemnly. aid, help. alarm, warning of danger, call to arms.

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ale, drink with a bitter taste made from grain. allegiance, loyalty, duty to one's ruler. alliance, a union between families by marriage; a promise between governments to help each other. almshouse, house used as a home for the old poor. ambassador, an officer of the government sent to another country to act for his own government. amen, a word said at the end of a prayer, meaning "so be it". ancestor(s), those persons from whom one is descended, e.g. great-greatgrandfather. anoint, to put oil on, to make holy by putting oil on. ante-chamber, smaller room through which one enters some larger room. antique, old. appetite, desire (e.g. for food). apprehend, to take hold of, seize; to understand. archbishop, high officer in the Christian church. array, to dress. arrest, to seize. ascribe, to point to a thing as the cause of; to believe; give (p.224). ash, the fine dust left after something has been burned. aspect, appearance, look. ass, a donkey, a fool. assail, to attack. assure, to make certain; to say to a person as a sure fact. asunder, apart. asylum, place where mad people are taken care of. atone, to make repayment for wrongdoing.

attest, to write one's name on a paper to show that what is said in the paper is true and correct; to prove. attire, dress. augment, to increase. avouch, to declare. awe, feeling of respect mixed with fear.

B babble, to speak like a baby. bachelor, an unmarried man. bade, p.t. of bid. badge, mark worn as a sign. baggage, collection of bags, etc., of a traveller. balcony, the upstairs in a theatre. bankrupt, unable to pay one's debts. baptism, putting water on a child at the time of naming it, as a sign that it is received into the Christian church. barbarous, savage; without laws, manners or good customs. barley, a· kind of grain which grows in wet and cold countries. baron, the title of a nobleman. basis, the bottom; that upon which anything is built up. bastard, child whose parents were not married. batter, to hit hard and often. bawdy, b. house, house of immorality. beget, to cause to be born, produce. begrudge, to give unwillingly. beguile, to deceive. beha/f. on b. of, for. behold, to see, watch. beseech, to ask eagerly and anxiously. bestride, to sit over with the legs apart.

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GLOSSARY

bet {v.}, to pay money, which will be paid back, together with more money if a certain event h:tppens, but will be lost if it does not happen. (n.), the making of such an agreement, the money so paid. betrothed, promised in marriage. bewilderment, great difficulty in understanding. bid, to command. bill, the draft of an Act of Parliament put forward for discussion. billow, a big wave. biscuit, a flat dry cake. bishop, high officer in the church. bland, soft in speech. blink, to open and shut the eyes quickly. blithe, happy. blot, a mark, e.g. of ink on paper. blunt, not having a sharp edge; rough and plain in speech. blush, to become red in the face with shame, etc. bog, soft wet ground. boil, a painful poisoned swelling on the body. booty, goods captured in war. bosom, front of human chest, place where one feels, or keeps one's secret thoughts. botch, to do work badly. bounty, generosity; a gift. brag, to express a very good opinion of one's own powers. braggart, a noisy fellow with a good opinion of himself. breach, a break, e.g. in a sea-wall or city wall. breast, to stand up fearlessly against. brethren, brothers, fellow-officers. brief, short.

bristle, a stiffhair; to make (hair, etc.) stand up. broth, thin soup. bruise, a coloured place on the skin caused by a blow or pinch. bud, a young tightly rolled up flower before it opens. bulwark, a wall; a powerful defence. bungle, to do a piece of work badly.

C campaign, movements and battles of an army in war. cannon, large gun. carbuncle, hard painful spot on the skin. carrion, dead or decaying body. cavalier, a soldier on a horse; a follower of the king. cave, large hollow place in a rock or hill-side. celerity, speed. celestial, heavenly, of the sky. chase, to run after, drive away. chattel(s), movable things in a house, chew, to break up food with the teeth. chide, to blame for a fault. chivalry, laws and customs of knights in ancient times. chronicle, account of events set down in order of time. churlish, bad-mannered, ungracious. cipher, the figure o. cite, to bring forward as an example. clause, one part of an agreement. clergy, priests of the Church in England. cloak, long sleeveless coat. closet, a small room for private use. cloy, to cause dislike because of too much sweetness. coat of arms, figures painted on a shield as the sign of a noble person or family.

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coffer, large strong box for keeping things of value. colours, the flag of an army, ship, etc. comment, to explain or speak about a subject. communication, passing on of news, ideas, etc. co111po1111d, to make by mixing together. compress, to press tightly together. comrade, friend, fellow-worker. con.fined, shut in. conjure, to call up a spirit. consecrate, to make holy. consent, to agree. (n.), agreement. consist, to c. in, to be made up of. conspire, to make a secret plan to do an unlawful act. constant, remaining unchanged. constraint, use of force to make a person do a certain act. contact, a touching, touch. contagious (of a disease), able to be passed on by the touch. contaminate, to make dirty. contempt, the feeling caused by something low, worthless and wholy bad. contend, to struggle. contrast, to put side by side so as to show the difference. contrite, sorry for wrongdoing. contrive, to cause an event to happen by a clever plan. controversy, disagreement; quarrelling. convey, to carry, take from one place to another. convoy, a number of soldiers going as a guard with supply-carts. coronation, the crowning of a king. coronet, small crown. corporal (a.), bodily. (n.), a rank in the army (r. common soldier, 2. lance-corporal; 3. corporal.)

corrupt, evil; to bribe (= to give a person money to make him do wrong); to make evil or decayed. countenance, appearance of the face. counterfeit, bad money made for a dishonest purpose; any bad thing made like a good one for a dishonest purpose. courteous, very polite. covet, to desire greatly something which belongs to another. craft, cleverness in deceiving. cram, to press into a small space, to fill very full. craven, without courage. crimson, deep red colour. cripple, one whose body is not perfect, e.g. with a useless leg. crooked, not straight. crouch, to bend down as a dog docs before jumping. cue, a word or sign given to make an actor remember the words which are to come next, as in a play. cull, to pick out; to choose the good and leave the bad. cur, a worthless dog. curtsey, a bending of the knees made by women as a sign of respect.

D dagger, pointed knife used as a weapon. dalliance, playing in a loving way. damn, to curse; to send to everlasting punishment. dame!, a harmful grass which in some countries grows as a weed among com. dauphin, the eldest son of the King of France.

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dazzle, to make a person unable to see by throwing a strong light in the eyes; to cause wonder by some act of great power. deface, to destroy the surface of, e.g. a picture by writing across it. defect, a fault, defile, to destroy the purity of, to dishonour. defunct, lifeless. demon, a devil. demonstrate, to show. denounce, to speak against. depose, to put down from some high office, e.g. from being king. deputy, one who is given power to act for another. derive, d.from, have its origin in. desolate, to make like a desert. devise, to plan. devout, given to prayer and holy thoughts. dial, an instrument with a flat surface and an upright for showing the time by means of a shadow thrown by the sun. dice, small six-sided pieces of bone or wood with from one to six spots on each side, used for games of chance. diet, food and drink. digest, to change food into a state in which it can be taken into the blood. dignity, rank and honour; sense of one's own worth. discourse, speech; to speak. discretion, carefulness and good judgement. discuss, to talk about, reason together. disdain, feeling of disrespect. disentangle, to untie and straighten out a string which is knotted up. dishearten, to cause to lose hope.

dispatch, to send off quickly. dissension, quarrelling. disteff, the stick from which the wool is pulled in spinning. distil, to get the liquid from a material by heating it, so that the liquid comes off in gaseous form; the gas is then cooled and becomes pure liquid. divers, many different. divert to tum from the regular course. divest, to take off the clothes or coverings. divinity, a god; study of the nature of God. divorce, the act of separating a man and wife by court of law. downright, saying one's meaning plainly and with force. dowry, money, land, etc., which a woman brings when she is married. dramatist, writer of a play. dramatis personae (Latin), "the people of the drama", list of characters in the play. drench, to make thoroughly wet. dro11e, the male of the honey bee; a non-worker. drowsy, sleepy. dub, to name. duel, fight arranged between two people because of a quarrel. dung, waste matter passed from the bodies of animals.

E earl, title of an English nobleman, 3rd below Prince. earnest, money given to make an agreement. earthquake, a shaking of the earth which often destroys buildings.

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edition, one printing of a book, paper, etc. effrontery, daring rudeness, without sense of shame. effusion, the pouring out. eke, to e. out, to make a small supply seem greater by obtaining small amounts to add to it. eloquent, able to make good speeches. emblem, an object which is a sign of something, e.g. a crown is the e. of the king. emperor, ruler of an Empire. emphasise, to give special force to. endeavour, to try. energy, force, strength, power. enrage, to make very angry. enterprise, carrying out of a daring plan. entrails inside parts of an animal. entreat, to pray, beg. epic, a long poem telling the story of great deeds. epilogue, short speech given at the end of a play. episode, account of one separate set of events in a play or story. epitaph, that which is written on a stone above a grave. espouse, to marry. establish, to make firm. estimate, to form an opinion about the size, value, etc. eve, on the e. of. on the night before. exchequer, that part of the government which deals with public money. execute, to carry out orders, carry out a plan; to put to death by order of the law. exeunt, Latin word for "(they) go out". exhale, to breathe out.

exit, Latin word for "he (or she) goes out". expedition, journey of a body of soldiers to make war in some place. expel, to drive out. expert, skilful, practised. explode, to burst with a loud noise, e.g. gunpowder explodes. exploit, great deed. expound, to explain clearly. ext1act, to draw out. F fable, a story with a moral. fallow (of land), prepared for seed and left for a year. famine, state of having no food. famish, to feel great hunger; to cause to feel--. fan, to drive air onto. fantastic, strange; unreal and impossible. feat, an act worthy of notice becawe of special difficulty, courage, force, etc. fell, fierce, cruel, terrible. ferment, to change the liquid of fruits or grain into wine or beer. ferret, cat-like creature wed to hunt rabbits by going into their holes and driving them out. fertile, fruitful. fester (of a wound, etc.), to become poisoned, to decay. fetlock, part of a horse's leg just above the foot. fetter, chain for the feet, used to tie up prisoners. fickle, changeable; having no quality of faithfulness. fiend, evil spirit; very cruel person. filch, to steal. filthy, dirty.

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GLOSSARY

final, last. flea, a very small jumping insect which bites animals in order to get blood. fleet, group of ships under one commander. .flexible, able to be bent. .flourish, burst of music. fog, thick cloud-like condition of the air which makes it impossible to see clearly. foil, a thin sword without any point, used for practice. forefoot, front foot. forge, the fire in the shop of a man who works with iron. fortify, to make a place strong against the attack of an enemy. founder, one who sets up or starts. frank, freely saying one's real thoughts. freckle, a light brown spot on the skin. fret, to feel anxious. frivolous, too interested in light and amusing things. frost, state of freezing. fumble,J. with, to touch unskilfully. fumitory, the name of a quicklyspreading weed. function, special work or duty. fu"ow, a long line cut in the earth by a plough. G gait, manner of walking. gall, a bitter liquid which mixes with food after it leaves the stomach; a feeling of bitterness or hatred; painful place on the skin of an animal caused by rubbing. gallant, brave. gamester, one who plays cards or other games for money.

gape, to look with the mouth open. garb, clothes, dress. garter, band worn round the leg. gash, a deep cut in the body. gasp, to take a short quick breath. genuine, real, true. gibe, to laugh at, intending to hurt the feelings . giddy, not steady or serious in character. gild, to cover thinly with gold or gold paint. gilt, covering of gold or of gold paint. ginger, hot-tasting root of a plant; a red-brown colour. girdle, band worn round the waist. glossary, list of difficult words with notes explaining them. glove, covering for the hand. gore, blood; to wound. gorgeous, very fine and beautiful. gracious, kind, gentle. graft, to cut off a small part of a plant and tie it onto another plant so that it lives and grows there. great-, e.g. great-grandfather, father's father's father, or mother's--. greyhound, large fast-running dog. grievous, very serious. groom, servant in charge of horses. gulf. a deep hole in the earth. gut, the pipe-like part of the body which leads from the stomach and takes away the waste matter.

H hallow, to make holy. hammer (of a gun), L-shaped part which is made to come down with force in order to fire the gun. hardy, bold, strong, difficult to kill.

241

GLOSSARY

hatch, to cause young ones to come out of eggs; hatching a plan, producing a plan in secret. heave, to lift or move something heavy. helmet, iron covering to protect the head when fighting. hemlock, a poisonous plant. hemp, plant used for making rope and heavy cloth. hempen, made of hemp. herald, officer who declares important news to the public. heroic, very brave. hilt, handle of a sword. homage, the act (in old days) of declaring oneself to be the loyal servant of one's lord or king. honey, sweet liquid made by bees. horn, hard bone-like material that covers the feet of some animals. horse-leech, see leech. host, army; a man who receives guests, an inn-keeper. hound, large hunting dog. househdd, h. words, something known and talked of by everybody. huge, very large. humility, humble state of mind. husk, dry outer covering of a grain. hypocrite, one who pretends to have goodness and strength of character which he does not possess. I

icicle, a long hanging piece of ice caused by the freezing of water which is dropping slowly, e.g. from a roof. idiot, person having no power of mind. idol, an object of worship made in the

form of a man or animal; a thing greatly admired. illegitimate, unlawful; (of a child) one whose parents were not married. impediment, hindrance. imperial, having to do with the ruler of an empire. impious, lacking respect for God and God's laws. implore, to pray for with tears. impose, to lay as a load upon a person. impress, to mark by pressing, to press on the mind. incarnate, in human shape. incessant, continuing without stopping. incision, cut. incite, to urge on. inconstant, always changing. incorporate, to take into one's own group or body. indigent, very poor. indignation, feeling of anger, usually with just cause. inevitable, which must happen. infamy, dishonour. infect, to pass on disease to another. infer, to reach an idea by reasoning. in.finite, not able to be measured. inherit, to receive money, a title, etc., as the descendant of a person at his death. inheritance, anything so received. inheritrix, woman who inherits. iniquity, evil deed. inspire, to cause an increase of fine feelings or great thoughts in the mind. intellect, power of the mind by which we think and know, intelligence, collecting of news. inter, to put in the grave. intercept, to stop messages passing from one place to another.

242

GLOSSARY

interpreter, one who puts into the language of the hearer things spoken in a foreign language. intoxicate, to cause loss of control or great excitement, e.g. by the use of wine. invade, to go into another's cowitry as an act of war. invisible, which cannot be seen. invoke, to call upon solemnly. irony, the use of words which are opposite to one's meaning, usually with an amusing purpose. issue, result; children; to send out.

J jeer at, to laugh rudely at. jest, to do or say what will produce laughter. jot, smallest part.

K kindred, those belonging to the same family. kinsma11, member of one's family, related by blood. kite, bird which catches and eats other birds. knave, a tricky dishonest fellow. knead, to press and mix together (as flour and water are mixed to make bread). knight, soldier of noble rank; a man of rank allowed to set "Sir" before his name. L

lament, to show great grie£ lamentable, very sad.

la11k, thin and tall. largess, money scattered by a king or lord to his people. league, an agreement between persons or nations to help each other. leap-frog, a game in which children jump over each other's backs. leash, a string for holding a dog. leashed, 1. i11, held in a string. leech, a small water creature which fixes itself on to the skin and drinks blood. leek, a strong-smelling vegetable which is cooked for food. leper, one suffering from leprosy (= a disease which eats away the skin and other parts of the body). leviathan, a very large sea creature. levy, to collect money from the people; to raise an army. liberal, generous in giving. licence, too great freedom, lack of control; permission. licentious, immoral and badly behaved. lief, I 'd as 1., I would like as much to-lieutenant, officer of low rank in the army. likewise, in the same way; also. limp, to walk as if with a wowided leg. liquor, liquid; strong drink. liver, organ of the body which takes poisons out of the blood and stores up sugar. white-livered, not brave. louse, a small insect which lives on the body or in the hair. lunatic, a madman. lurk, to lie in wait, lie hidden. lust desire, evil desire. lustre, brightness. lute, musical instrument.

243

GLOSSARY

M

N

mace, a stick with a metal head, formerly used as a weapon, now carried as a sign of office. magistrate, a judge, an officer of the government. maintain, to pay the costs of. malady, illness. mangle, to cut and make useless. mare, a female horse. martial, having to do with war. mastiff, a large dog. mayor, chief officer of a town or city. meditare, to think deeply. melody, a set of notes, one after another, which make a pleasing piece of music. memorable, easily remembered, worth remembering. mercenary, working only for money; a hired soldier. merchandise, goods bought and sold. mettle, courage, spirit, worth. miracle, wonderful event not according to the laws of nature. mire, wet ground, mud. miser, one who saves and loves money. misled, p.t. of mislead, to lead into error. moiety, hal£ monster, an unnatural animal; a very bad person. mote, very small bit, e.g. of dust. mould, a hollow form into which liquid is poured. mount, to get on to, e.g. a horse. mow, to cut grass. murmur, low sound. muster, gathering together of soldiers. mutability, change.

nedar, sweet liquid found in plants. negotiate, to try to reach an agreement (with). neigh, cry of a horse. nettle, plant which, when touched, causes pain and redness of the skin. niggardly, ungenerous, careful of money. nimble, quick of movement. nostril, one of the two openings in the nose. notwithstanding, in spite of. nutmeg, hard brown seed of a Malayan tree used as a spice.

0

oath, to take an o., to promise in the name of God (one's honour, etc.) that one will speak the truth. oblivion, the state of being forgotten. oblong, a shape like a square but with two sides longer than the ends. obscure, to hide, make dark. occurrence, happening. odds, the o. are 2 to I on = there are two chances (probabilities) to one in favour of; the o. are heavy against them = their opponents are very much stronger. onset, attack. oppress, to rule in a hard and cruel way. ordnance, guns. ordure, waste matter of animal bodies, dirt. outcome, result. outlive, to live longer than. ooze, thick liquid, e.g. at the bottom of the sea.

244

GLOSSARY

p pace, a step ; speed. pageant, fine show. parley, a talk with an enemy so as to make peace. pasture, grass-land for cattle. patron, a helper and protector. pave, to cover (a floor, the ground, etc.) with stone. pavilion, a big tent. peacock, a bird with a big, brightly coloured tail. peasaut, man oflow rank wbo works on the land. pedigree, line of persons (e.g. father, grandfather, etc.) from whom one is descended. peer, one of equal rank; a nobleman. pen, enclosed place for cattle. penitent, sorry for wrongdoing pennon, a long, narrow, three-cornered flag. peril, great danger. perjury, saying in the name of God things which are not trr !. pestilence, a dangerous disease which spreads widely. petition, a letter signed by many making some demand of the government. petty, unimportant. pickle, to put food in salt water to keep it for eating. pickpocket, one who secretly steals things from people's pockets. pier, a road built out into the sea from which one enters a ship. piety, goodness in doing one's duty towards God and the church. pike, a long spear. pilfer, to steal small things. pillage, to take away things from a house or town seized in war.

pimple, small poisoned spot on the skin. pine, to waste away with grief. pistol, a short gun fired with one hand. pith, the soft centre of a stick, central part, full force. plebeian, man of the common people. pliable, easily bent. pied, to walk or work steadily on. pluck, to pull, gather. plume, feather. plunder, to steal openly or by force. pomp, solemn ceremonial show. porter, doorkeeper, man who carries goods. positive, sure. precedent, something done before which serves as an example for the future. precept, instruction. predecessor, one who came before, e.g. as king. preface, a note written at the beginning of a book. prelate, high officer in the church. premeditate, to think over a thing before doing it. preserve, to keep from harm or decay. prevail, to gain power. prologue, speech made before a part or an act of a play begins. prostitute, one who carries out the sexual act for money. provender, food for cattle. proverb, short wise saying. province, part of a country. prune, to cut off parts of a tree to make it grow better. pry, to look closely. pun, play on words, e.g. Those who make puns should be punished. punctuate, to put the stops(, ; : . , etc.) into writing.

245

GLOSSARY

puppy, a young dog. purchase, to buy. purge, to make pure and clean; to clear waste matter out of the body. purse, bag for money.

Q quondam, Latin word meaning "at one time but not now". quote, to repeat the words of. quick, living. quill, the central stem of a feather; a feather used as a pen.

R racket (now usually spelt rarquet), instrument used for hitting the ball in tennis. rail, r. against, to speak angrily to or about a person. raise, r. a siege, to drive away the besieging army. rake, instrument with teeth fixed to a cross-bar, used for drawing together leaves, dry grass, etc. range. to wander. rank, growing roughly and in plenty. ransom, money paid to set a prisoner free. rapier, long thin sword. rascal, a bad man. rashness, foolish daring. ratify, to settle, fix (e.g. a written agreement). raw, cold and wet realm, kingdom. recite, to say from memory. reckon, to coW1t, calculate. reckoning, account. redemption, saving from the punishment of evil-doing (as Christians

believe they are saved through the death of Christ). reek, to give off smoke or steam. reform, to change and make better. reinforce; to bring up new forces to help. relish, a taste. rely on, to depend on, trust. render, to give. repent, to feel sorry for (having done wrong, been foolish, etc.). reproach, to blame sadly or angrily. reprove, to speak to a person blaming him. requite, to pay back good with good or evil with evil. retaliate, to do evil to others as they have done to you. retort, to give as a quick and angry answer. revel, ro feast merrily. reverence, a feeling of great respect; your r., title by which a high official of the church is addressed. revive, to bring back to life. rhythm, regular beat of poetry, music or dancing. ridiculous, silly, laughable. rite, a fixed form of prayer and song as in a church. rivet, a thing like a nail with an end that is not very hard; to r., to put a rivet through two pieces of metal and beat the soft end flat to hold them together. rogue, dishonest fellow. rote, by r., from memory, without real knowledge or nnderstanding. ruminate, to think.

s saddle, a leather seat fixed on a horse for riding.

246

GLOSSARY

safe-conduct, privilege of protection from arrest. safeguard, to protect. salmon, a large fish with red meat. salute, to greet. sandal, light shoe. savage, wild, fierce. savour, to taste. scab, a hard mass of dried blood formed on a cut or spot. scaffold, raised floor of wood. scale, to climb. scar, mark left on the skin by an old wound. sceptre, ornamental bar of gold held in the hand by a king. scion, descendant. SCOUT. to clean. scrap, small piece. scythe, a long curved blade set at an angle to a long bent handle, used for cutting grass. section, part cut off. seduce, to lead a person into wrongdoing. sembla~ce, outside appearance. sentry, a soldier on guard. sequel, in s., following. series, a number of things coming one after another. servitude, the condition of being a slave. set, a certain number of games. sewage, waste matter of a house or city. shaft, long handle. sht1llow, not deep; not able to think deeply. sheath, case or covering, e.g. one to hold a blade. sheathe, to put in a sheath. shed, to let or cause to fall, e.g. tears, leaves. shrewd, having a keen mind.

shrill (of sound), high and loud. shovel, a broad blade fixed in the end of a handle used for moving coal, etc. shun, to keep away from. siege, to lay s. to a town, to keep an army round a town and attack it in order to take it. sieve, round frame with a wire net at the bottom used for separating small things from large. sift, to pass through a sieve (see above). signify, to show by a sign. sinew(s), strong threads fixing a muscle onto a bone. slang, words commonly used in speech but not always considered suitable or correct. slaughter, the act of killing. sling, a piece of cloth or leather used for throwing a stone. slovenly, very dirty and untidy in appearance. smirch, to make dirty. smother, to keep air from. sneak, to move quietly and secretly. soak, to become wet through; to make very wet. soar, to fly up in the air. sole, only. sonnet, poem of 14- lines arranged in a. special way. sovereign, chief ruler. sow, a female pig. spit, a large pin or bar on which meat is cooked before the fire; to fix as on a spit. spouse, husband or wife. spurs, instruments worn on the back of the foot, used for pricking a horse to make it go fast. stab, to wound with a pointed weapon. stag, a male deer.

247

GLOSSARY

sfllkes, money risked. standard, a flag. steed, a horse. steep, to leave in liquid for a long time. stratagem, a trick to deceive. stray, as. animal, one lost or homeless, wandering about. structure, the way in which a thing is built up. stubborn, fixed in purpose or opinion. subtle, clever. suffocate, to cause difficulty in breathing; to kill by so doing. sum, amount of money. superfluous, more than is necessary. superstition, unreasonable belief in supernatural (more than natural) powers, such as magic and luck. suppress, to put down, prevent from being known. surge, the driving waves of the sea. surrender, to yield, say that one is beaten. survey, to look at carefully. swaddling bands, bandages in which a new-born infant was wrapped. swagger, to behave in a proud selfsatisfied way. swerve, to curve aside from the straight path. swift, rapid. swill, to wash (a Boor, etc.) with a large amount of water. syllables, separate sound-groups into which a word can be divided.

T tackle, the ropes, etc., used on a ship. tainted, having a bad smell or taste, beginning to decay. tardy, late, slow. target, an object to be aimed at with a gun. etc.

task, a piece of work which must be done. tavern, a drinking place, an inn. tawny, light brown. tedious, long and tiring. tempest, storm. temporal, not belonging to the church. tennis, a game played by two or four players hitting a ball. testament, a paper showing what is to be done with goods, land and other possessions after the owner is dead. thatch, a roof made of dry grass or leaves. ihaw (of ice and snow), to melt. theme, subject of thought, speech or writing. thrice, three times. thrive, to be successful, grow strong and fat. thunderbolt, mass of metal said to fall from the sky during a storm. tike, a dog of no particular kind or value. to wit, namely, that is to say. toast, to cook by holding in front of a fire. toll, to sound a bell, e.g. as a sign that someone has died. tradition, the passing on of history or customs from father to son. tragedy, a solemn play with a sad ending. t attor, one who does hann to his own king or country, by helping an enemy. treacherous, disloyal. treachery, a disloyal act. treason, disloyalty; helping persons to attack the king; hight., attempt to do hann to the king. treaty, an agreement between nations, e.g. to end a war.

248

GLOSSARY

trespass, to do wrong; to go unlawfully into another's land. trophy, sign of victory. tub, wooden container for liquids. tun, barrel. tunnel, a long-arched hole under the ground. turf, earth thickly covered with short grass. turkey, large bird used for food. tyrant, cruel and unjust ruler.

u uncurbed, uncontrolled. upbraid, to scold. uphold, to support. urn, container used for the ashes of a dead person. usurp, to seize by force and without right. utility, usefulness. utmost, furthest, greatest. utter, to say. uttennost, furthest, greatest. V valiant, brave. valour, bravery. vanity, empty and worthless act. vapour, steam, mist. vassal, one who in ancient times held land, and promised (in return for the use of land) to serve his master as a soldier. vat, a large barrel. vault, to jump. venereal, v. disease, illness passed on by sexual contact. vengeance, the doing of wrong to another as a punishment for wrong done to oneself. venom, poison.

victual(s), food. vigil, the day before, or evening before a holy day. vile, of very bad character. villain, a wrong-doer. vine, the tree which bears grapes, i.e. the fruit of which wine is made. vineyard, a place in which vines are grown. violate, to treat a holy thing with disrespect. viper, a poisonous snake. visage, face. vital, oflife. vivid, full of life. vomit, to throw up food from the stomach. vouchsafe, to give as an act of kindness.

w wafer, flour, sugar, etc., cooked in the form of a very thin cake. wage, to w. war, to carry on a war. wallow, to roll about in liquid or dirt - as a pig does. warming-pan, long-handled covered pan to contain hot coals, formerly in common use for warming beds. warrior, soldier, an experienced fighting man. wary, careful, looking out for danger. watchword, a word spoken to a guard in time of war to prove that one is not an enemy. wax, to grow. whelp, the young of a lion. whirlpool, water turning round very quickly. Whitsun, a Christian feast (7th Sunday after Easter). wholesome, good for the health. whoop, a loud cry.

249

GLOSSARY

whore, a prostitute; a woman who is impure in body. wind-pipe, tube by which air is carried to the lungs. wit, the power of saying clever and amusing things; to w., namely, that is to say. womb, part of a woman's body in which the unborn child lives and grows. woo, to try to gain the love of.

word, to be as good as one's w., to carry out one's promise, threat, etc.

y yawn, to open the mouth wide as when tired. yeoman, farmer. yoke, a cross piece put on the necks of cattle when pulling a cart.

250

NEW

SWAN

SHAKESPEARE

NEW SWAN SHAKE SP E ARE is a series designed to help readers understand and enjoy Shakespeare's plays. It assumes no previous knowledge of the plays, nor of their historical or cultural background. Above all, the series presents each play for its own sake, as drama for the theatre.

The key features of

NE W

sw AN

SHAKESPEARE

are

• an introduction to the play which genuinely introduces it, covering plot, structure, the main characters, and language difficulties • straightforward support material, written in carefully controlled language to ensure that it can be easily understood • useful scene summaries • easy-to-understand notes, positioned opposite the text, providing clear interpretations and paraphrases • illustrations which assist in explaining contemporary references • specimen examination questions and draft answers, ideal for students preparing for public examinations

ISBN 0-582-52723-6

►-►

Longman:::

9 780582 527232