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

Chapter 67: bdc SCENE III. Another part of Blackheath.

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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.

bdc SCENE III. Another part of Blackheath.

Alarums to the fight, wherein both the STAFFORDS are slain. Enter CADE and the rest.

♦ Cade. Where’s Dick, the butcher of Ashford?

Dick. Here, sir.

Cade. They fell before thee like sheep and oxen, and thou behavedst thyself as if thou hadst been in thine own 5 slaughter-house: therefore thus will I reward thee, the Lent ♦ shall be as long again as it is; and thou shalt have a license ♦ to kill for a hundred lacking one.

Dick. I desire no more.

Cade. And, to speak truth, thou deservest no less. This 10 monument of the victory will I bear; [putting on Sir Humphrey’s brigandine] and the bodies shall be dragged at my ♦ horse heels till I do come to London, where we will have the mayor’s sword borne before us.

♦ Dick. If we mean to thrive and do good, break open 15 the gaols and let out the prisoners.

Cade. Fear not that, I warrant thee. Come, let’s march towards London. [Exeunt.