The Second part of King Henry
the Sixth
By
William Shakespeare
CONTENTS:
SCENE
IV. GLOUCESTER's garden.
SCENE
II. London. YORK'S garden.
SCENE
I. The Abbey at Bury St. Edmund's.
SCENE
II. Bury St. Edmund's. A room of state.
SCENE
III. Another part of Blackheath.
SCENE
VI. London. Cannon Street.
SCENE
VII. London. Smithfield.
SCENE
I. Fields between Dartford and Blackheath.
SCENE
III. Fields near St. Alban's.
Flourish of
trumpets: then hautboys. Enter KING HENRY VI,
As by your high imperial majesty
I had in charge at
my depart for
As procurator to your excellence,
To marry Princess Margaret for your grace,
So, in the famous
ancient city,
In presence of the Kings of France and Sicil,
The Dukes of
Seven earls, twelve barons and twenty reverend bishops,
I have perform'd my task and was espoused:
And humbly now upon my bended knee,
In sight of
Deliver up my title in the queen
To your most gracious hands, that are the substance
Of that great shadow I did represent;
The happiest gift that ever marquess gave,
The fairest queen that ever king received.
KING HENRY VI
I can express no kinder sign of love
Than this kind kiss. O Lord, that lends me life,
Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness!
For thou hast given me in this beauteous face
A world of earthly blessings to my soul,
If sympathy of love unite our thoughts.
QUEEN MARGARET
Great King of England and my gracious lord,
The mutual conference that my mind hath had,
By day, by night, waking and in my dreams,
In courtly company or at my beads,
With you, mine alder-liefest sovereign,
Makes me the bolder to salute my king
With ruder terms, such as my wit affords
And over-joy of heart doth minister.
KING HENRY VI
Her sight did ravish; but her grace in speech,
Her words y-clad with wisdom's majesty,
Makes me from wondering fall to weeping joys;
Such is the fulness of my heart's content.
Lords, with one cheerful voice welcome my love.
ALL
[Kneeling] Long
live Queen
happiness!
QUEEN MARGARET
We thank you all.
Flourish
My lord protector, so it please your grace,
Here are the articles of contracted peace
Between our sovereign and the French king Charles,
For eighteen months concluded by consent.
[Reads] 'Imprimis, it is agreed between the French
king Charles, and William de la Pole, Marquess of
the said Henry shall espouse the Lady Margaret,
daughter unto Reignier King of Naples, Sicilia and
thirtieth of May next ensuing. Item, that the duchy
of
and delivered to the king her father'--
Lets the paper fall
KING HENRY VI
Uncle, how now!
Pardon me, gracious lord;
Some sudden qualm hath struck me at the heart
And dimm'd mine eyes, that I can read no further.
KING HENRY VI
Uncle of
CARDINAL
[Reads] 'Item, It is further agreed between them,
that
the duchies of
released and delivered over to the king her father,
and she sent over of the King of England's own
proper cost and charges, without having any dowry.'
KING HENRY VI
They please us well. Lord marquess, kneel down:
We here create
thee the first duke of
And gird thee with
the sword. Cousin of
We here discharge your grace from being regent
I' the parts of
Be full expired.
Thanks, uncle
We thank you all for the great favour done,
In entertainment to my princely queen.
Come, let us in, and with all speed provide
To see her coronation be perform'd.
Exeunt KING HENRY
VI, QUEEN MARGARET, and
Brave peers of
To you Duke Humphrey must unload his grief,
Your grief, the common grief of all the land.
What! did my brother Henry spend his youth,
His valour, coin and people, in the wars?
Did he so often lodge in open field,
In winter's cold and summer's parching heat,
To
conquer
And did my brother Bedford toil his wits,
To keep by policy what Henry got?
Have you yourselves,
Brave
Received deep
scars in
Or hath mine uncle Beaufort and myself,
With all the learned council of the realm,
Studied so long, sat in the council-house
Early and late, debating to and fro
How France and Frenchmen might be kept in awe,
And had his highness in his infancy
Crowned in
And shall these labours and these honours die?
Shall Henry's conquest,
Your deeds of war and all our counsel die?
O
peers of
Fatal this marriage, cancelling your fame,
Blotting your names from books of memory,
Razing the characters of your renown,
Defacing monuments
of conquer'd
Undoing all, as all had never been!
CARDINAL
Nephew, what means this passionate discourse,
This peroration with such circumstance?
For
Ay, uncle, we will keep it, if we can;
But now it is impossible we should:
Hath given the
duchy of
Unto the poor King Reignier, whose large style
Agrees not with the leanness of his purse.
Now, by the death of Him that died for all,
These counties
were the keys of
But wherefore weeps Warwick, my valiant son?
For grief that they are past recovery:
For, were there hope to conquer them again,
My sword should shed hot blood, mine eyes no tears.
Those provinces these arms of mine did conquer:
And are the cities, that I got with wounds,
Delivered up again with peaceful words?
Mort Dieu!
For
That dims the honour of this warlike isle!
Before I would have yielded to this league.
I never read but
Large sums of gold and dowries with their wives:
And our King Henry gives away his own,
To match with her that brings no vantages.
A proper jest, and never heard before,
That
For costs and charges in transporting her!
She should have
stayed in
in
CARDINAL
My Lord of Gloucester, now ye grow too hot:
It was the pleasure of my lord the King.
My Lord of Winchester, I know your mind;
'Tis not my speeches that you do mislike,
But 'tis my presence that doth trouble ye.
Rancour will out: proud prelate, in thy face
I see thy fury: if I longer stay,
We shall begin our ancient bickerings.
Lordings, farewell; and say, when I am gone,
I prophesied
Exit
CARDINAL
So, there goes our protector in a rage.
'Tis known to you he is mine enemy,
Nay, more, an enemy unto you all,
And no great friend, I fear me, to the king.
Consider, lords, he is the next of blood,
And heir apparent to the English crown:
Had Henry got an empire by his marriage,
And all the wealthy kingdoms of the west,
There's reason he should be displeased at it.
Look to it, lords! let not his smoothing words
Bewitch your hearts; be wise and circumspect.
What though the common people favour him,
Calling him 'Humphrey, the good Duke of
Clapping their hands, and crying with loud voice,
'Jesu maintain your royal excellence!'
With 'God preserve the good Duke Humphrey!'
I fear me, lords, for all this flattering gloss,
He will be found a dangerous protector.
BUCKINGHAM
Why should he, then, protect our sovereign,
He being of age to govern of himself?
Cousin of
And all together, with the Duke of Suffolk,
We'll quickly hoise Duke Humphrey from his seat.
CARDINAL
This weighty business will not brook delay:
I'll to the Duke of Suffolk presently.
Exit
Cousin of Buckingham, though Humphrey's pride
And greatness of his place be grief to us,
Yet let us watch the haughty cardinal:
His insolence is more intolerable
Than all the princes in the land beside:
If
BUCKINGHAM
Or thou or I,
Despite Duke Humphrey or the cardinal.
Exeunt BUCKINGHAM
and