The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [Vol. 5 of 9]

Chapter 219: fcf SCENE VI. The same. A street.

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About This Book

The volume presents a connected sequence of historical dramas that dramatize the disintegration of centralized power and the violent struggle among rival claimants for the crown. Through scenes of political intrigue, popular unrest, pitched battles, and calculated betrayals, it shows how shifting alliances and personal ambition accelerate dynastic collapse and reshape leadership. The plays interweave public spectacle with intimate moments of downfall and remorse, exploring themes of legitimacy, governance, and the human cost of civil war. Scholarly apparatus accompanies the texts, offering prefatory and editorial commentary, variant readings, and notes on publication history.

fcf SCENE VI. The same. A street.

Enter a Scrivener, with a paper in his hand.

♦ Scriv. This is the indictment of the good Lord Hastings;

Which in a set hand fairly is engross’d,

♦ That it may be this day read o’er in Paul’s.

And mark how well the sequel hangs together:

5 Eleven hours I spent to write it over,

♦ For yesternight by Catesby was it brought me;

♦ The precedent was full as long a-doing:

♦ And yet within these five hours lived Lord Hastings,

Untainted, unexamined, free, at liberty.

10 Here’s a good world the while! Why who’s so gross,

♦ That seeth not this palpable device?

♦ Yet who’s so blind, but says he sees it not?

♦ Bad is the world; and all will come to nought,

♦ When such bad dealing must be seen in thought. [Exit.