War. No longer Earl of March, but Duke of York:
The next degree is England's royal throne;
For King of England shalt thou be proclaim'd
In every borough as we pass along;
And he that throws not up his cap for joy
Shall for the fault make forfeit of his head.
King Edward, valiant Richard, Montague,
Stay we no longer, dreaming of renown,
But sound the trumpets, and about our task.
Rich. Then, Clifford, were thy heart as hard as steel,
As thou hast shown it flinty by thy deeds,

I come to pierce it, or to give thee mine.

195

200

Edw. Then strike up, drums! God and Saint George for us!

Enter a Messenger.

War. How now! what news?

Mess. The Duke of Norfolk sends you word by me,

The Queen is coming with a puissant host;

the fault

casts not

205

201-204.

192-200. No longer . . . throne; For . . . throws not .. renown, But.. task] 160-168. No longer . . . king: And. the offence renowne, But forward to effect these resolutions Q. Then. for us] omitted Q. 205-209. Enter counsel. War. Why Mes. The... puissant power councell. War. Why

Mess. The
Enter.
Lordes. Lets march away. Exeunt Omnes Q.

193, 196. throne . . . throws] Capell reads "king casts" here from Q. 196. throws not up his cap for joy] From Grafton's Continuation of Hardyng, 512 (1543): "One Nashfeelde, and other belongyng to the protectoure, with some prentices and laddes . began... to crye Kyng Richarde, Kyng Rychard,' and there threwe up their cappes in token of ioye."

is

199. Stay we] See Introduction to Part I. on this form; and note at "Embrace we "in that play, II. i. 13. "Stay we no longer prating here' a line in Peele's Jack Straw (Hazlitt's Dodsley, v. 383). The following line in Q contains "resolutions." Shakespeare never uses this plural. It is noticeable how scene-endings often fail in these plays, or have a different ring. Signs of Peele appear here.

200. about our task] I have no good parallel in Shakespeare for this expression, without a verb, and with an obIject after the almost verbal "about." "Set" or "go" is omitted. "Ile about

War. How . news? warriors, let's away] 169-172.

...

it straight occurs in Soliman and
Perseda, IV. ii. 82. And elsewhere in
the same play. Compare Marlowe's
Tamburlaine, Part II. 1. iii. (Dyce,
56, b): "Come, let's about it."
201-203. heart
below, III. i. 38.

66

pierce it] See

201. as hard as steel] Compare Peele's Old Wives Tale (453, a): Dig, brother dig, for she is hard as steel." And in Marlowe's Tamburlaine, Part II. 1. iii. (46, b): "As black as jet and hard as iron or steel."

202. flinty] See above, I. iv. 142. Used earlier in Latimer, New Eng. Dict., and for the word see Part I. II. i. 27.

Often in Shakespeare both literally and as a metaphor.

204. God and Saint George] See 1 Henry VI. iv. ii. 55; and below in this play, Iv. ii. 29. So Hall (p. 250 rept.): "in the name of God and Saint George. I will fight..."

And craves your company for speedy counsel. War. Why then it sorts; brave warriors, let's away.

SCENE II.-Before York.

away [Exeunt.

Flourish. Enter King HENRY, Queen MARGARET, the PRINCE OF WALES, CLIFFORD, and NORTHUMBERLAND, with drum and trumpets.

Q. Mar. Welcome, my lord, to this brave town of York.
Yonder's the head of that arch-enemy

That sought to be encompass'd with your crown:
Doth not the object cheer your heart, my lord?

K. Hen. Ay, as the rocks cheer them that fear their wreck: 5
To see this sight, it irks my very soul.

Withhold revenge, dear God! 'tis not my fault,
Nor wittingly have I infringed my vow.

Clif. My gracious liege, this too much lenity

Enter.

.] Enter the King, the Queene, Clifford, Northum. . . . and Yong Prince, with Drumm and Trumpettes F 1; Enter the King and Queene, Prince Edward, and the Northerne Earles, with drum and Souldiers Q.

...

...

I-4. Welcome . arch-enemy encompass'd. cheer your heart, my lord?] 1-4. Welcome. ambitious enemie impaled • please your eie my lord? Q. 5-8. Ay, as .. cheer wreck: To see soul. Withhold. vow] 5-7.

Euen as their den

wracke. Withhold vow Q. .. forest bear ... her young

historically correct, see Hall (253): "The erles of Marche and Warwycke, hauing perfite knowledge that the kyng and quene with their adherentes were departed from Saint Albons, determined first to ryde to London as the chefe Key, and common spectacle to the whole Realme, thinking there to assure them selfs of the East and West parte of the kingdome [Norfolk and Wales], as King Henry and his faction nesteled and strengthened him and his alies in the North regions and boreal plage meaning to haue buckelar against a sword, and a southerne byl to counteruayle Northern bassard" ["bastard," Grafton]. From this point, history goes wholly astray in the dramatic sequence. Mr. Boswell Stone eases the position by "We may suppose."

a

a

207. puissant host] "By reason whereof he [King Edward the iiij] assembled together a puissant army' (Hall, p. 252). And on p. 251.

9-20. My gracious liege. . her face. Who 'scapes

in

And harmful pity must be laid aside.
To whom do lions cast their gentle looks?
Not to the beast that would usurp their den.
Whose hand is that the forest bear doth lick?
Not his that spoils her young before her face.
Who 'scapes the lurking serpent's mortal sting?
Not he that sets his foot upon her back.

The smallest worm will turn being trodden on,
And doves will peck in safeguard of their brood.
Ambitious York did level at thy crown;
Thou smiling while he knit his angry brows:
He, but a duke, would have his son a king,
And raise his issue like a loving sire;

safeguard... brows] 8-19. My gratious lord . . . his den

his young

...

ΙΟ

15

20

sauage Beare his face. Whose scapes. in rescue... browes Q. unloving with those...

21-32. He, but a duke yield consent.

more highly." An earlier use than any quoted.

13. forest bear] untamed; more than usually savage and wild bear. Compare "mountain lioness," Titus Andronicus, IV. ii. 138. And see below, V. vii. 10-12: "two brave bears That made the forest tremble." Marlowe speaks of "The forest deer" in Edward II. (212, b).

15. Who . lurking serpent's

mortal sting] Compare Lucrece, 362-
364:-

"Who sees the lurking serpent steps
aside;
But she

Lies at the mercy of his mortal
sting."
Spenser has "an Adder lurking in
the weeds" (Faerie Queene, II. v.
34).

17. The smallest worm will turn being trodden on]" Tread a worme on the tayle and it must turne agayn " (Heywood (ed. Sharman), p. 111, 1546). It is in A. Munday's English Romayne Life, 1590 (Harl. Miscell. ii. 200). The whole passage might have been suggested by this one in Hall (270), spoken by Warwick: "what worme is touched, and will not once turne againe? what beast is striken that will not rore sound? What innocent child is hurte that will not crye? If the poore and unreasonable beasts: If the sely babes," etc.

18. doves will peck] See above, 1. iv.

41.

Compare for the sentiment the swan and her downy cygnets, v. iii. 56 in Part I.

18. in safeguard of] Compare Richard III. v. iii. 259: "in safeguard of your wives." And see Measure for Measure, v. i. 424 (in this edition, note). Golding has "by like in you Sir snudge, Consistes the savegard of us all" (iii. 821, 822).

19. level at thy crown] Compare "level at my life," 2 Henry VI. . i. 160. It is said there of "dogged York" (not in the First Contention).

20. knit his angry brows] "knit his brows occurs again in 2 Henry VI. 1. ii. 3 and III. i. 15; and see below, III. ii. 82; and Lucrece, "knit brow," 709. One of the many expressions in these plays showing continuity and identity of authorship between them and known work of Shakespeare's. In Q. Note always too the identity of all these important and thoroughly Shakespearian speeches with those in Q. And the utter futility of distinguishing writers. New English Dictionary gives the expression from Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1386, and Caxton, Sonnes of Aymon, 1489, with Shakespeare next. But Shakespeare read the following: "The protectoure ... came in agayn

with a sowre angry countenaunce, knittynge the browes, frownynge, and frettyng, and gnawynge on his lyppes (Grafton's Continuation of Hardyng, p. 493, 1543).

Thou, being a king, bless'd with a goodly son,
Didst yield consent to disinherit him,
Which argued thee a most unloving father.
Unreasonable creatures feed their young;
And though man's face be fearful to their eyes,
Yet, in protection of their tender ones,
Who hath not seen them, even with those wings
Which sometime they have used with fearful flight,
Make war with him that climb'd unto their nest,
Offering their own lives in their young's defence?
For shame, my liege, make them your precedent!
Were it not pity that this goodly boy
Should lose his birthright by his father's fault,
And long hereafter say unto his child,
"What my great-grandfather and grandsire got
My careless father fondly gave away"?

25

30

35

Ah, what a shame were this! Look on the boy;

And let his manly face, which promiseth

40

Successful fortune, steel thy melting heart

To hold thine own and leave thine own with him.

K. Hen. Full well hath Clifford play'd the orator,
Inferring arguments of mighty force.

consent

But, Clifford, tell me, didst thou never hear
That things ill got had ever bad success?

45

giue

used with fearful . climb'd . . . defence ?] 20-31. He but a Duke . . vnnaturall. with those same wings Which they haue sometime defence? Q. 33-42. For shame, my liege

vsde in fearefull . climes precedent birthright by

...

tune, steel. heart To hold .

president. birth right through

Steele thoughtes to keepe.

hear That things ill .

forwith him] 32-41. For shame, my Lord .

awaie? Looke . fortune to vs all, with him Q. But, 43-48. Full well. always was. .. hell] 42-47. Full well .

But tell me, didst thou neuer yet heare tell, That things euill ... euer was

hell? Q.

33. precedent]" president" in Ff and Q, the common spelling of the time. 41. steel thy... heart] This expression is in Henry V. Iv. i. 306, and Venus and Adonis, 375, 376. And "steel thy fearful thoughts occurs in 2 Henry VI. III. i. 331. See also Sonnet 112, and Richard II. v. ii. 34. Note the improved metre from Quarto in 39-42, by insertion of "Ah what a shame were this." But it is more likely these are dropped words of a printer from a bad manuscript.

43. play'd the orator] See note 1 Henry VI. iv. i. 175; and above in

44. Inferring] alleging, adducing. See below, III. i. 49, Inferreth arguments." Elsewhere several times in Richard III. only. An uncommon use outside Shakespeare. Greene often uses "infer "_"infer comparison" is in Mamillia twice (draw comparisons).

46. things ill got .] An old saw. Compare Spenser's Mother Hubberds Tale (Globe ed. 523, b): “Ill might it prosper that ill gotten was." Heywood has (1546): "Soone gotten, soone spent, ill gotten, ill spent" (Sharman's

And happy always was it for that son
Whose father for his hoarding went to hell?
I'll leave my son my virtuous deeds behind;
And would my father had left me no more!
For all the rest is held at such a rate

50

As brings a thousand-fold more care to keep
Than in possession any jot of pleasure.

Ah, cousin York, would thy best friends did know
How it doth grieve me that thy head is here!

Q. Mar. My lord, cheer up your spirits: our foes are nigh,
And this soft courage makes your followers faint.
You promis'd knighthood to our forward son:
Unsheathe your sword, and dub him presently.
Edward, kneel down.

K. Hen. Edward Plantagenet, arise a knight;

And learn this lesson, draw thy sword in right.
Prince. My gracious father, by your kingly leave,
I'll draw it as apparent to the crown,
And in that quarrel use it to the death.
Clif. Why, that is spoken like a toward prince.

55

60

65

49-53. I'll leave . . . thousand-fold more . Than pleasure] 48-52. I leaue. askes a thousand times more . . Then maie the present profit counteruaile Q. 54, 55. Ah, is here!] 53, 54. Ah... stands there Q. 56-60. My lord kneel down] 55-58. My lord, this harmefull pittie makes your followers faint. You promisde knighthood to your princelie sonne, Vnsheath your sword and straight doe dub him knight. Kneele downe Edward Q. 61-66. Edward . . . lesson, draw... Clif. Why prince] 59-64. Edward lesson boy, draw . . . Northum. Why ... prince Q.

ed. p. 131). And in Grafton's Con-
tinuation of Hardyng, 518:
"the
thynge euell gotten is neuer well
kepte." Halliwell gives Latin parallels
from Erasmus and Juvenal.

is

47, 48. happy was that son Whose father to hell] An old adage, but "for his hoarding Shakespeare's insertion, and the application is his own. The original is in Latimer's Seven Sermons (Arber, p. 97), 1549: "Happy is the chylde whose father goeth to the Deuyll." It is also in T. Lupton's All for Money (Halliwell rept. p. 156), 1578. It is in Harington's Epigrams, Ray's Proverbs, etc. Halliwell and Staunton have wrongly made this an evidence of Greene's work. Greene never came where this work grew. Greene has a very silly comment on it in The Royall Exchange (Grosart, vii. 235), quoted by Halliwell. Tom Brown (Works, ed.

...

1708, iii. 74) refers to a song of the proverb, about a fop newly come to his

estate.

57. soft courage] replaces "harmful pity "of Quarto; a better phrase, but it has been used above at line 10.

57. faint] See above, 1. i. 129. 59. dub him presently] This occurred after Mortimer's Cross and the second battle of Saint Albans which followed close, and is thus told in sequence from Hall, quoted at II. i. III: "When quene Margaret had thus well sped, first she caused the kyng to dubbe prince Edward his sonne, knyght, with xxx. other persons, which in the morning fought on the queene's side, against his parte " (p. 252).

66. toward] willing, courageous. See Soliman and Perseda (Boas' Kyd), 1. iv. 35, 36: "Tis wondrous that so yong a toward warriour Should bide the shock of such approved knights." And