SHAKESPEARE: King Henry VI

The First Part of King Henry VI

Duke of Gloucester. England ne’er had a king until his time. Virtue he had, deserving to command: His brandish’d sword did blind men with his beams; His arms spread wider than a dragon’s wings; His sparkling eyes, replete with wrathful fire, More dazzled and drove back his enemies. Than midday sun fierce bend against their faces. What should I say? His deeds exceed all speech; He ne’er lift up his hand but conquered.

The First Part of King Henry VI,  Act 1, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 1  

Messenger. You are disputing of your generals; One would have lingering wars with little cost; Another would fly swift, but wanteth wings; A third think, without expense at all, By guileful fair words peace may be obtain’d.

Awake, awake, English nobility!
The First Part of King Henry VI,  Act 1 Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 2  

3^rd Messenger. More than three hours the fight continued; Where valiant Talbot above human thought Enacted wonders with his sword and lance; Hundreds he sent to hell, and none durst stand him; Here, there, and everywhere, enraged he flew; The French exclaimed’, the devil was in his arms; All the whole army stood agazed on him; His soldiers spying his undaunted spirit, “A Talbot! a Talbot!" cried out amain and rush’d into the bowels of the battle. Here had the conquest fully been seal’d up, If Sir Johns Fastolfe had not play’d the coward;

The First Part of King Henry VI,  Act 1, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 3

Charles. Who ever saw the like? What men have I! Dogs! Cowards! Dastards! I would ne’er have fled, But that they left me ’midst my enemies.
Reignier. Salsibury is a desperate homicide; He fighteth as one weary of his life. The other lords, like lions wanting food, Do rush upon us as their hungry prey.
The First Part of King Henry VI,  Act 1, Scene 2, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 3

Bastard of Orleans. Be not dismay’d, for succor is at hand: A holy maid hither with me I bring, Which by a vision sent to her from heaven Ordained is to raise this tedious siege And drive the English forth the bounds of France. The spirit of deep prophecy she hath, Exceeding the nine Sibyls of old Rome: What’s past ad what’s to come she can descry. Speak, shall I call her in? Believe my words, For they are certain and unfallible.
The First Part of King Henry VI, Act 1, Scene 2,  Great Books Vol. 26, p. 4

Joan La Pucelle, commonly called, Joan of Arc. God’s mother deigned to appear to me And ain a vision full of majesty Will’d me to leave my base vocation And free my country from calamity; Her aid she promised and assured success; In complete glory she reveal’d herself; And whereas I was black and swart before, With those clear rays which she infused on me That beauty am I bless’d with which you see. Ask me what question thou canst possible, And I will answer unpremeditated; My courage try to combat, if thou darest, And thou shalt find that I exceed my sex. Resolve on this, thou shalt be fortunate, If thou receive me for thy warlike mate.
The First Part of King Henry VI,  Act 1, Scene 2, Great Books Vol. 26, p.4  

Joan La Pucelle, commonly called, Joan of Arc. Come, come, ‘tis only I that must disgrace thee.
Lord Talbot. Heavens, can you suffer hell so to prevail? My breast I’ll burst with straining of my courage And from my shoulders crack my arms asunder, But I will chastise this high-minded strumpet.
The First Part of King Henry VI,  Act 1, Scene 5, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 8 

Bishop of Winchester. He shall submit, or I will never yield.
The First Part of King Henry VI,  Act 3, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 15 

Captain. Cowardly knight! Ill fortune follow thee!
The First Part of King Henry VI,  Act 3, Scene 2, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 17

 

John Talbot. The world will say he is not Talbot’s blood That basely fled when noble Talbot stood.
Lord Talbot. Fly, to revenge my death, if I be slain.
John Talbot. He that flies so will ne’er return again.
Lord Talbot. If we both stay, we both are sure to die.
John Talbot. Then let me stay; and, father do you fly; You loss is great so your regard should be; My worth unknown no loss is known in me. Upon my death the French can little boast; In yourse they will, in your all hopes are lost.
The First Part of King Henry VI,  Act 4, Scene 5, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 23

Lord Talbot. Young Talbot’s valour makes me smile at thee; When perceived me shrink and on my knee, His bloody sword he brandish’d over me, And like a hungry lion, did commence Rough deeds of rage and stern impatience; But when my angry guardant stood alone, Tendering my ruin and assail’d of none, Dissy-eyed fury and great rage of heart Suddenly made him from my side to start Into the clustering battle of the French. And in that sea of blood my boy did drench His over-mounting spirit, and there died, My Icarus, my blossom, in his pride.
The First Part of King Henry VI,  Act 4, Scene 7, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 25

Lord Talbot. Come, come and lay him in his father’s arms; My spirit can no longer bear these harms. Soldiers, adieu! I have what I would have,  Now my old arms are young John Talbot’s grave.

The First Part of King Henry VI,  Act 4, Scene 7, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 25

Duke of Exeter. Beside, his wealth doth warrant a liberal dower, Where Reignier sooner will receive than give.
Suffolk. A dower, my lords! Disgrace not so your king, That he should be so abject, base and poor, To choose for wealth and not for perfect love. Henry is able to enrich his queen And not to seek a queen to make him rich: So worthless peasants bargain for their wives, As market-men for oxen, sheep, or horse.

The First Part of King Henry VI,  Act 5, Scene 5, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 31

The Second Part of King Henry VI

Duke of Gloucester. Pardon me, gracious lord; Some sudden qualm hath struck me at the heart And dimm’d mine eyes that I can read no further.

The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 1, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 34

Borlingbroke, a conjurer. Patience, good lady; wizards know their times: deep night, dark night, the silent of the night, The time of night when Troy was set on fire; The time when screech-owls cry and band-dogs howl And spirits walk and ghost break up their graves, That time best fits the work we have in hand. Madam, sit you and fear not: whom we raise, We will make fast within a hallow’d verge.

The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 1, Scene 4, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 40

Duke of Gloucester. Well, sir, we must have you find your legs. Sirrah, beadle whip him til he leap over that same stool.
The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 2, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 43

Duchess of Gloucester. Welcome is banishment. Welcome is death.
Duke of Gloucester. Eleanor, the law, thou see’st, hath judge thee; I cannot justify whom the law condemns.
The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 2, Scene 3, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 44

Duke of Gloucester. Well, Suffolk, thou shalt not see me blush Nor change my countenance for this arrest; A heart unspotted is not easily daunted. The purest spring is not so free from mud As I am clear from treason to my sovereign: Who can accuse me? Wherein am I guilty?
The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 3, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 48

Duke of York. I rather would have lost my life betimes Than bring a burthen of dishonour home By staying there so long till all were lost.
The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 3, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 50

Duke of York. You put sharp weapons in a madman’s hands. Whiles I in Ireland nourish a mighty band, I will stir up in England some black storm Shall bowl ten thousand souls to heaven or hell; And this fell tempest shall not ease to range Until the golden circuit on my head, Like to the glorious sun’s transparent beams, Do clam the fury of this mad-bred flaw.
The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 3, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 50

King Henry. If my suspect be false, forgive me, God, For judgement only doth belong to thee.
The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 3, Scene 2, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 52

Captain. The gaudy blabbing and remorseful day Is crept into the bosom of the sea;
The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 4, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 56

Captain. Thy lips that kiss’d the queen shall sweep the ground; And thou that smiled at good Duke Humphrey’s death Against the senseless winds shalt grin in vain, Who in contempt shall hiss at thee again: And wedded be thou to the hags of heal, For Daring to affy a mighty lord.

The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 4, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 57

Suffolk. Drones suck not eagles’ blood but rob bee-hives.

The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 4, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 57

Suffolk. Come, soldiers, show what cruelty ye can, that this my death may never be forgot! Great men oft die by vile bezonians: A Roman sworder and banditto slave Murder’d sweet Tully; Brutus’ bastard hand Stabb’d Julius Caesar; savage ilanders Pompey the Great; and Suffolk dies by pirates.

The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 4, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 57

Smith. [Aside] Nay, John, it will be stinking law; for his breath stinks with eating toasted cheese.
The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 4, Scene 7, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 61

Jack Cade. Be it known unto thee by these presence, even the presence of Lord Mortimer, that I am the besom that must sweep the court clean of such filth as thou art. Thou hast most traitorously corrupted the youth of the realm in erecting a grammar school: and whereas, before our forefathers had no other books but the score and the tally, thou hast caused printing to be used and contrary to the King, his crown and dignity, thou has built a paper-mill.

The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 4, Scene 7, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 61

Earl of Salisbury. It is great sin to swear unto a sin, But greater sin to keep a sinful oath. Who can be bound by any solemn vow To do a murderous deed, to rob a man, To force a spotless virgin’s chastity, To reave the orphan of his patrimony, To wring the widow form her custom’d right, And have no other reason for this wrong But that he was bound by a solemn oath?
The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 5, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 67

The Third Part of King Henry VI

Richard. ’Tis love I bear thy glories makes me speak. But in this troublous time what’s to be done?
 The Third Part of King Henry VI,  Act 2, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 78

Clifford. I would you Highness would depart the field: The Queen hath best success when you are absent.
The Third Part of King Henry VI,  Act 2, Scene 2, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 79

Warwick. Then ‘twas my turn to fly, and now ‘tis thine.
The Third Part of King Henry VI,  Act 2, Scene 2, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 80

Edward. A thousand men have broke their fast to-day,
The Third Part of King Henry VI,  Act 2, Scene 2, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 80

Son. This man, whom hand to hand I slew in fight, May be possessed with some store of crowns; And I, that haply take them from him now, May yet ere night yield both my life and them To some man else, as this dead man doth me. Who’s this? Oh God it is my father’s face, Whom in conflict I unawares have kill’d.
The Third Part of King Henry VI,  Act 2, Scene 5, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 82

Father. Thou that so stoutly hast resisted me, Give me thy gold, if thou hast any gold; For I have bought it with an hundred blows. But let me see; is this our foreman’s face? Ah, no, no no, it is mine only son!
The Third Part of King Henry VI,  Act 2, Scene 5, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 82

King Henry. Ah, simple men, you know not what you swear! Look, as I blow this feather from my face, And as the air blows it to me again, Obeying with my wind when I do blow, And yielding to another when it blows, Commanded always by the greater gust; Such is the lightness of you common men.
The Third Part of King Henry VI,  Act 3, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 85

Duke of Gloucester. Why, I can smile, and murder whiles I smile, And cry “Content” to that which grieves my heart, And wet my cheeks with artificial tears, And frame my face to all occasions. I’ll drown more sailors than the mermaid shall;
The Third Part of King Henry VI,  Act 3, Scene 2, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 88

Queen Margaret. For though usurpers sway the rule awhile, Yet heavens are just, and time suppresseth wrongs.
 The Third Part of King Henry VI,  Act 3, Scene 3, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 89

King Edward. He’s sudden, if a thing comes in his head.
The Third Part of King Henry VI,  Act 5, Scene 5, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 103

VOCABULARY

Affy,
To confide (one's self to, or in); to trust. 2. To betroth or espouse; to affiance. 3. To bind in faith.

The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 4, Scene 2, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 57

Burthen ,
an archaic word for burden

The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 3, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 50

Cavil,
object for no good reason: to make objections about something on small and unimportant points

carping criticism: a trivial and unreasonable objection

The Third Part of King Henry VI,  Act 3, Scene 2, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 87

Contumeliously,
Rudeness or contempt arising from arrogance; insolence, insolently abusive and humiliating,

The First Part of King Henry VI,  Act 1, Scene 3, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 6 

Gleeks,
A jest or scoff; a trick or deception. Where's the Bastard's braves, and Charles his gleeks ? - Shak. 2. An enticing look or glance.
The First Part of King Henry VI,  Act 3, Scene 2, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 18 

Inkhorn,

A small container made of horn or a similar material, formerly used to hold ink for writing.
The First Part of King Henry VI,  Act 3, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 15 

Quondam,
former: of an earlier time
The Third Part of King Henry VI,  Act 3, Scene 3, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 89

Reave,
To take something forcibly: to plunder something or carry something off by force. To deprive somebody: to rob somebody or deprive somebody of something.

The Second Part of King Henry VI,  Act 5, Scene 1, Great Books Vol. 26, p. 67