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

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

Chapter 32: ACT V.
By William Shakespeare
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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.

ACT V.

aea SCENE I. London. The palace.

Sennet. Enter KING, GLOUCESTER, and EXETER.
♦ King. Have you perused the letters from the pope,
♦ The emperor and the Earl of Armagnac?
Glou. I have, my lord: and their intent is this:
They humbly sue unto your excellence
5 To have a godly peace concluded of
Between the realms of England and of France.
♦ King. How doth your grace affect their motion?
Glou. Well, my good lord; and as the only means
♦ To stop effusion of our Christian blood
10 And stablish quietness on every side.
King. Ay, marry, uncle; for I always thought
It was both impious and unnatural
That such immanity and bloody strife
Should reign among professors of one faith.
15 Glou. Beside, my lord, the sooner to effect
♦ And surer bind this knot of amity,
♦ The Earl of Armagnac, near knit to Charles,
A man of great authority in France,
Proffers his only daughter to your grace
20 In marriage, with a large and sumptuous dowry.
♦ King. Marriage, uncle! alas, my years are young!
And fitter is my study and my books
Than wanton dalliance with a paramour.
Yet call the ambassadors; and, as you please,
25 So let them have their answers every one:
I shall be well content with any choice
♦ Tends to God’s glory and my country’s weal.
Enter WINCHESTER in Cardinal’s habit, a Legate and two Ambassadors.
Exe. What! is my Lord of Winchester install’d,
And call’d unto a cardinal’s degree?
30 Then I perceive that will be verified
Henry the Fifth did sometime prophesy,
‘If once he come to be a cardinal,
He’ll make his cap co-equal with the crown.’
King. My lords ambassadors, your several suits
35 Have been consider’d and debated on.
Your purpose is both good and reasonable;
And therefore are we certainly resolved
To draw conditions of a friendly peace;
♦ Which by my Lord of Winchester we mean
40 Shall be transported presently to France.
Glou. And for the proffer of my lord your master,
I have inform’d his highness so at large
As liking of the lady’s virtuous gifts,
Her beauty and the value of her dower,
45 He doth intend she shall be England’s queen.
♦ King. In argument and proof of which contract,
Bear her this jewel, pledge of my affection.
And so, my lord protector, see them guarded
♦ And safely brought to Dover; where inshipp’d
50 Commit them to the fortune of the sea. [Exeunt all but Winchester and Legate.
Win. Stay, my lord legate: you shall first receive
The sum of money which I promised
♦ Should be deliver’d to his holiness
♦ For clothing me in these grave ornaments.
55 Leg. I will attend upon your lordship’s leisure.
♦ Win. [Aside] Now Winchester will not submit, I trow,
Or be inferior to the proudest peer.
Humphrey of Gloucester, thou shalt well perceive
♦ That, neither in birth or for authority,
60 The bishop will be overborne by thee:
I’ll either make thee stoop and bend thy knee,
♦ Or sack this country with a mutiny. [Exeunt.