EDWARD (to York)
See, noble father, where they both do come—
The only props unto the house of York!
SALISBURY
Now, by my sword, well hast thou fought today;
By th’ mass, so did we all. I thank you, Richard.
God knows how long it is I have to live,
And it hath pleased him that three times today
You have defended me from imminent death.
Well, lords, we have not got that which we have—
’Tis not enough our foes are this time fled,
Being opposites of such repairing nature.
YORK
I know our safety is to follow them,
For, as I hear, the King is fled to London,
To call a present court of Parliament.
Let us pursue him ere the writs go forth.
What says Lord Warwick, shall we after them?
WARWICK
After them? Nay, before them if we can!
Now by my hand, lords, ’twas a glorious day!
Saint Albans battle won by famous York
Shall be eternized in all age to come.
Sound drums and trumpets, and to London all,
And more such days as these to us befall!
⌈Flourish.⌉ Exeunt
ADDITIONAL PASSAGES
A. We adopt the 1594 Quarto version of the Queen’s initial speech, 1.1.24—9; the Folio version, which follows, is probably the author’s original draft.
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 overjoy of heart doth minister.
B. For 1.4.39―40.2 the Quarto substitutes the following; it may report a revision made in rehearsal to cover the Spirit’s descent.
The Spirit sinks down again
BOLINGBROKE
Then down, I say, unto the damned pool
Where Pluto in his fiery wagon sits
Riding, amidst the singed and parched smokes,
The road of Ditis by the River Styx.
There howl and burn for ever in those flames.
Rise, Jordan, rise, and stay thy charming spells—
Zounds, we are betrayed!
C. The entire debate on Duke Humphrey’s death in 3. 1
is handled differently by the Quarto from the Folio. We
retain the Folio version of the debate, but the Quarto
version may represent authorial revision. The following
Q lines, roughly corresponding to 3.1.310―30.1, are of
particular interest because they supply Buckingham with
speeches for this latter part of the scene.
[YORK]
Let me have some bands of chosen soldiers,
And York shall try his fortune ‘gainst those kerns.
QUEEN MARGARET
York, thou shalt. My lord of Buckingham,
Let it be your charge to muster up such soldiers
As shall suffice him in these needful wars.
BUCKINGHAM
Madam, I will, and levy such a band
As soon shall overcome those Irish rebels.
But, York, where shall those soldiers stay for thee?
YORK
At Bristol I will expect them ten days hence.
BUCKINCHAM
Then thither shall they come, and so farewell.
Exit
YORK
Adieu, my lord of Buckingham.
QUEEN MARGARET
Suffolk, remember what you have to do—
And you, Lord Cardinat—concerning Duke Humphrey.
‘Twere good that you did see to it in time.
Come, let us go, that it may be performed.
Exeunt all but York
D. We adopt the Quarto version of the confrontation between Clifford and York at 5.3.20—30; the Folio version, an edited text of which follows, is probably the author’s original draft.
CLIFFORD
What seest thou in me, York? Why dost thou pause?
YORK
With thy brave bearing should I be in love,
But that thou art so fast mine enemy.
CLIFFORD
Nor should thy prowess want praise and esteem,
But that ’tis shown ignobly and in treason.
YORK
So let it help me now against thy sword,
As I in justice and true right express it.
CLIFFORD
My soul and body on the action, both.
YORK
A dreadful lay. Address thee instantly.
CLIFFORD
La fin couronne les oeuvres.
Alarms. They fight. York kills Clifford
YORK
Thus war hath given thee peace, for thou art still.
Peace with his soul, heaven, if it be thy will. Exit
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK
(3 HENRY VI)
THE play printed in the 1623 Folio as The Third Part of Henry the Sixth, with the Death of the Duke of York was described on the title-page of its first, unauthoritative publication in 1595 as The True Tragedy of Richard, Duke of York, and the Death of Good King Henry the Sixth, with the whole Contention between the two houses Lancaster and York. It is clearly a continuation of The First Part of the Contention, taking up the story where that play had ended, with the aspirations of Richard, Duke of York to the English throne, and was probably composed immediately afterwards.
The final scenes of The First Part of the Contention briefly introduce two of York’s sons, Edward (the eldest) and Richard (already described as a ‘foul, indigested lump, | As crooked in . . . manners as [in] shape’). They, along with their brothers Edmund, Earl of Rutland, and George (later Duke of Clarence), figure more prominently in Richard Duke of York. The first scenes show York apparently fulfilling his ambition, as Henry VI weakly cedes his rights to the throne after his death; but Queen Margaret leads an army against York, and, when he is captured, personally taunts him with news of the murder of his youngest son, stabs York to death, and commands that his head be ‘set on York gates’. (This powerful scene includes the line ‘O tiger’s heart wrapped in a woman’s hide’, paraphrased by Robert Greene before September 1592, which establishes the upward limit of the play’s date.)
Though Richard of York dies early in the action, the remainder of the play centres on his sons’ efforts (aided by Warwick’s politic schemings) to avenge his death and to establish the dominance of Yorkists over Lancastrians. The balance of power shifts frequently, and the brothers’ alliance crumbles, but finally Queen Margaret, with her French allies, is defeated and captured, and Richard of York’s surviving sons avenge their father’s death by killing her son, Edward, before her eyes. Richard of Gloucester starts to clear his way to the throne by murdering ‘Good King Henry’ in the Tower, and the play ends with the new King Edward IV exulting in his ‘country’s peace and brothers’ loves’ while Richard makes clear to the audience that Edward’s self-confidence is ill-founded.
Though the play is loud and strife-ridden with war, power politics, and personal ambition, a concern with humane values emerges in the subtle and touching continuing portrayal of the quietist Henry VI, a saintly fool who meditates on the superiority of humble contentment to regal misery in an emblematic scene (2.5) that epitomizes the tragedy of civil strife.
Richard Duke of York, like The First Part of the Contention, draws extensively on English chronicle history. Historically, the period of the action covers about sixteen years (1455 to 1471), but events are telescoped and rearranged; for instance, the opening scenes move rapidly from the Battle of St Albans (1445) to York’s death (1460); the future Richard III wa
s only three years old, and living abroad, at the time of this opening battle in which he takes an active part; and Richard’s murder of Henry owes more to legend than to fact.
THE PERSONS OF THE PLAY
Of the King’s Party
KING HENRY VI
QUEEN MARGARET
PRINCE EDWARD, their son
Duke of S0MERSET
Duke of EXETER
Earl of NORTHUMBERLAND
Earl of WESTMORLAND
Lord CLIFFORD
Lord Stafford
SOMERVILLE
Henry, young Earl of Richmond
A SOLDIER who has killed his father
A HUNTSMAN who guards King Edward
The Divided House of Neville
Earl of WARWICK, first of York’s party, later of Lancaster’s
Marquis of MONTAGUE, his brother, of York’s party
Earl of OXFORD, their brother-in-law, of Lancaster’s party
Lord HASTINGS, their brother-in-law, of York’s party
Of the Duke of York’s Party
Richard Plantagenet, Duke of YORK
EDWARD, Earl of March, his son, later Duke of York and
KING EDWARD IV
LADY GRAY, a widow, later Edward’s wife and queen
Earl RIVERS, her brother
GEORGE, Edward’s brother, later Duke OF CLARENCE
RICHARD, Edward’s brother, later Duke OF GLOUCESTER
Earl of RUTLAND, Edward’s brother
Rutland’s TUTOR, a chaplain
SIR JOHN Mortimer, York’s uncle
Sir Hugh Mortimer, his brother
Duke of NORFOLK
Sir William Stanley
Earl of Pembroke
Sir John MONTGOMERY
A NOBLEMAN
Two GAMEKEEPERS
Three WATCHMEN, who guard King Edward’s tent
LIEUTENANT of the Tower
The French
KING LOUIS
LADY BONA, his sister-in-law
Lord Bourbon, the French High Admiral
Others
A SOLDIER who has killed his son
Mayor of Coventry
MAYOR of York
Aldermen of York
Soldiers, messengers, and attendants
The True Tragedy of Richard Duke of York and the Good King Henry the Sixth
1.1 A chair of state. Alarum. Enter Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, his two sons Edward, Earl of March, and Crookback Richard, the Duke of Norfolk, the Marquis of Montague, and the Earl of Warwick, ⌈with drummers⌉ and soldiers. ⌈They all wear white roses in their hats⌉
WARWICK
I wonder how the King escaped our hands?
YORK
While we pursued the horsemen of the north,
He slyly stole away and left his men;
Whereat the great lord of Northumberland,
Whose warlike ears could never brook retreat,
Cheered up the drooping army; and himself,
Lord Clifford, and Lord Stafford, all abreast,
Charged our main battle’s front, and, breaking in,
Were by the swords of common soldiers slain.
EDWARD
Lord Stafford’s father, Duke of Buckingham,
Is either slain or wounded dangerous.
I cleft his beaver with a downright blow.
That this is true, father, behold his blood.
He shows a bloody sword
MONTAGUE ⌈to York⌉
And, brother, here’s the Earl of Wiltshire’s blood,
He shows a bloody sword
Whom I encountered as the battles joined.
RICHARD (to Somerset’s head, which he shows) Speak thou for me, and tell them what I did.
YORK
Richard hath best deserved of all my sons.
(To the head) But is your grace dead, my lord of
Somerset?
NORFOLK
Such hap have all the line of John of Gaunt.
RICHARD
Thus do I hope to shake King Henry’s head.
⌈He holds aloft the head, then throws it down⌉
WARWICK
And so do I, victorious prince of York.
Before I see thee seated in that throne
Which now the house of Lancaster usurps,
I vow by heaven these eyes shall never close.
This is the palace of the fearful King,
And this (pointing to the chair of state), the regal
seat—possess it, York,
For this is thine, and not King Henry’s heirs’.
YORK
Assist me then, sweet Warwick, and I will,
For hither we have broken in by force.
NORFOLK
We’ll all assist you—he that flies shall die.
YORK
Thanks, gentle Norfolk. Stay by me, my lords
And soidiers—stay, and lodge by me this night.
They go up upon the state
WARWICK
And when the King comes, offer him no violence
Unless he seek to thrust you out perforce.
⌈The soldiers withdraw⌉
YORK
The Queen this day here holds her Parliament,
But little thinks we shall be of her council;
By words or blows here let us win our right.
RICHARD
Armed as we are, let’s stay within this house.
WARWICK
‘The Bloody Parliament’ shall this be called,
Unless Plantagenet, Duke of York, be king,
And bashful Henry deposed, whose cowardice
Hath made us bywords to our enemies.
YORK
Then leave me not, my lords. Be resolute—
I mean to take possession of my right.
WARWICK
Neither the King nor he that loves him best—
The proudest he that holds up Lancaster—
Dares stir a wing if Warwick shake his bells.
I’ll plant Plantagenet, root him up who dares.
Resolve thee, Richard—claim the English crown.
⌈York sits in the chair.⌉
Flourish. Enter King Henry, Lord Clifford, the Earls
of Northumberland and Westmorland, the Duke of
Exeter, and the rest. ⌈They all wear red roses in
their hats⌉
KING HENRY
My lords, look where the sturdy rebel sits—
Even in the chair of state! Belike he means,
Backed by the power of Warwick, that false peer,
To aspire unto the crown and reign as king.
Earl of Northumberland, he slew thy father—
And thine, Lord Clifford—and you both have vowed
On him, his sons, his favourites, and his friends.
NORTHUMBERLAND
If I be not, heavens be revenged on me.
CLIFFORD
The hope thereof makes Clifford mourn in steel.
WESTMORLAND
What, shall we suffer this? Let’s pluck him down.
My heart for anger burns—I cannot brook it.
KING HENRY
Be patient, gentle Earl of Westmorland.
CLIFFORD
Patience is for poltroons, such as he (indicating York).
He durst not sit there had your father lived.
My gracious lord, here in the Parliament
Let us assail the family of York.
NORTHUMBERLAND
Well hast thou spoken, cousin, be it so.
KING HENRY
Ah, know you not the city favours them,
And they have troops of soldiers at their beck?
EXETER
But when the Duke is slain, they’ll quickly fly.
KING HENRY
Far be the thought of this from Henry’s heart,
To make a shambles of the Parliament House.
Cousin of Exeter, frowns, words, and threats
Shall be the war that Henry means to use.
(To York) Thou factious Duke of York, descend my
throne
And kneel for grace and mercy at my feet.
I am thy sovereign.
YORK I am thine.
EXETER
For shame, come down—he made thee Duke of York.
YORK
It was mine inheritance, as the earldom was.
EXETER
Thy father was a traitor to the crown.
WARWICK
Exeter, thou art a traitor to the crown
In following this usurping Henry.
CLIFFORD
Whom should he follow but his natural king?
WARWICK
True, Clifford, and that’s Richard Duke of York.
KING HENRY (to York)
And shall I stand and thou sit in my throne?
YORK
It must and shall be so—content thyself.
WARWICK (to King Henry)
Be Duke of Lancaster, let him be king.
WESTMORLAND
He is both king and Duke of Lancaster—
And that, the Lord of Westmorland shall maintain.
WARWICK
And Warwick shall disprove it. You forget
That we are those which chased you from the field,
And slew your fathers, and, with colours spread,
Marched through the city to the palace gates.
NORTHUMBERLAND
Yes, Warwick, I remember it to my grief,
And, by his soul, thou and thy house shall rue it.
WESTMORLAND (to York)
Plantagenet, of thee, and these thy sons,
Thy kinsmen, and thy friends, I’ll have more lives
Than drops of blood were in my father’s veins.
CLIFFORD (to Warwick)
Urge it no more, lest that, instead of words,
I send thee, Warwick, such a messenger
As shall revenge his death before I stir.
WARWICK ⌈to York⌉
Poor Clifford, how I scorn his worthless threats.
YORK ⌈to King Henry⌉
Will you we show our title to the crown?
If not, our swords shall plead it in the field.
KING HENRY
What title hast thou, traitor, to the crown?
Thy father was, as thou art, Duke of York;