Henry VI, Part II

A History

William Shakespeare

• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Year: 2014
• Topic: Literature
• eBook ISBN:
  9781443443340
• Subtopic: Shakespeare Drama
• Index: Literature

Spanning approximately fifty years beginning with the coronation of the king upon the death of Henry V and concluding with the fall of the House of Lancaster, William Shakespeare's Henry VI trilogy reveals the king's struggles under the pressures of prolonged wars with his foreign territories in France and Ireland, and the civil war that threatens his reign.

Strife within the English court escalates into the War of the Roses in Henry VI, Part II. As the king proves unable to resolve the differences between his noblemen, the Earl of Suffolk hopes to influence the king through the king's recent marriage to Margaret of Anjou. As the earl and the Duke of Gloucester become embattled in ever-more dangerous plots, the king now faces open rebellion as Richard, Duke of York, makes a claim for his throne.

Known as "The Bard of Avon," William Shakespeare is arguably the greatest English-language writer known. Enormously popular during his life, Shakespeare's works continue to resonate more than three centuries after his death, as has his influence on theatre and literature. Shakespeare's innovative use of character, language, and experimentation with romance as tragedy served as a foundation for later playwrights and dramatists, and some of his most famous lines of dialogue have become part of everyday speech.

HarperPerennialClassics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.

ACT THREE

SCENE I. The Abbey at Bury St. Edmunds.

Sound a sennet. Enter the KING, the QUEEN, CARDINAL, SUFFOLK, YORK BUCKINGHAM, SALISBURY, and WARWICK to the Parliament.

KING I muse my Lord of Gloucester is not come.

’Tis not his wont to be the hindmost man,

Whate’er occasion keeps him from us now.

QUEEN Can you not see, or will ye not observe

[5]

The strangeness of his alter’d countenance?

With what a majesty he bears himself;

How insolent of late he is become,

How proud, how peremptory, and unlike himself?

We know the time since he was mild and affable,

[10]

And if we did but glance a far-off look

Immediately he was upon his knee,

That all the court admir’d him for submission.

But meet him now and be it in the mom,

When every one will give the time of day,

[15]

He knits his brow and shows an angry eye

And passeth by with stiff unbowed knee,

Disdaining duty that to us belongs.

Small curs are not regarded when they grin,

But great men tremble when the lion roars,

[20]

And Humphrey is no little man in England.

First note that he is near you in descent,

And should you fall he is the next will mount;

Me seemeth, then, it is no policy –

Respecting what a rancorous mind he bears,

[25]

And his advantage following your decease –

That he should come about your royal person

Or be admitted to your Highness’ Council.

By flattery hath he won the commons’ hearts;

And when he please to make commotion,

[30]

’Tis to be fear’d they all will follow him.

Now ’tis the spring, and weeds are shallow-rooted;

Suffer them now, and they’ll o’ergrow the garden

And choke the herbs for want of husbandry.

The reverent care I bear unto my lord

[35]

Made me collect these dangers in the Duke.

If it be fond, call it a woman’s fear;

Which fear if better reasons can supplant,

I will subscribe, and say I wrong’d the Duke.

My Lord of Suffolk, Buckingham, and York,

[40]

Reprove my allegation if you can,

Or else conclude my words effectual.

SUFFOLK Well hath your Highness seen into this duke;

And had I first been put to speak my mind,

I think I should have told your Grace’s tale.

[45]

The Duchess, by his subornation.

Upon my life, began her devilish practices;

Or if he were not privy to those faults,

Yet by reputing of his high descent –

As next the King he was successive heir –

[50]

And such high vaunts of his nobility,

Did instigate the bedlam brainsick Duchess

By wicked means to frame our sovereign’s fall.

Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep,

And in his simple show he harbours treason.

[55]

The fox barks not when he would steal the lamb.

No, no, my sovereign, Gloucester is a man

Unsounded yet, and full of deep deceit.

CARDINAL Did he not, contrary to form of law,

Devise strange deaths for small offences done?

[60]

YORK And did he not, in his protectorship,

Levy great sums of money through the realm

For soldiers’ pay in France, and never sent it?

By means whereof the towns each day revolted.

BUCKINGHAM Tut, these are pretty faults to faults unknown

[65]

Which time will bring to light in smooth Duke Humphrey.

KING My lords, at once: the care you have of us,

To mow down thorns that would annoy our foot,

Is worthy praise; but shall I speak my conscience?

Our kinsman Gloucester is as innocent

[70]

From meaning treason to our royal person

As is the sucking lamb or harmless dove:

The Duke is virtuous, mild, and too well given

To dream on evil or to work my downfall.

QUEEN Ah, what’s more dangerous than this fond affiance?

[75]

Seems he a dove? His feathers are but borrow’d.

For he’s disposed as the hateful raven.

Is he a lamb? His skin is surely lent him,

For he’s inclin’d as is the ravenous wolf.

Who cannot steal a shape that means deceit?

[80]

Take heed, my lord; the welfare of us all

Hangs on the cutting short that fraudful man.

Enter SOMERSET.

SOMERSET All health unto my gracious sovereign!

KING Welcome, Lord Somerset. What news from France?

SOMERSET That all your interest in those territories

[85]

Is utterly bereft you; all is lost.

KING Cold news, Lord Somerset; but God’s will be done!

YORK [Aside] Cold news for me; for I had hope of France

As firmly as I hope for fertile England.

Thus are my blossoms blasted in the bud,

[90]

And caterpillars eat my leaves away;

But I will remedy this gear ere long,

Or sell my title for a glorious grave.

Enter GLOUCESTER.

GLOUCESTER All happiness unto my lord the King!

Pardon, my liege, that I have stay’d so long.

SUFFOLK Nay, Gloucester, know that thou art

[95]

come too soon,

Unless thou wert more loyal than thou art.

I do arrest thee of high treason here.

GLOUCESTER Well, Suffolk, thou shalt not see me blush

Nor change my countenance for this arrest:

[100]

A heart unspotted is not easily daunted.

The purest spring is not so free from mud

As I am clear from treason to my sovereign.

Who can accuse me? Wherein am I guilty?

YORK ’Tis thought...

Table of contents

• Contents
• Henry VI, Part II
• Dramatis Personae
• Act One
• Act Two
• Act Three
• Act Four
• Act Five
• About the Author
• About the Series
• Copyright
• About the Publisher