My daughter shall be Henry’s, if he please.
SUFFOLK
That is her ransom. I deliver her,
And those two counties I will undertake
Your grace shall well and quietly enjoy.
RENÉ
And I again in Henry’s royal name,
As deputy unto that gracious king,
Give thee her hand for sign of plighted faith.
SUFFOLK
René of France, I give thee kingly thanks,
Because this is in traffic of a king.
(Aside) And yet methinks I could be well content
To be mine own attorney in this case.
(To René) I’ll over then to England with this news,
And make this marriage to be solemnized.
So farewell, René; set this diamond safe
In golden palaces, as it becomes.
RENÉ
I do embrace thee as I would embrace
The Christian prince King Henry, were he here.
MARGARET (to Suffolk)
Farewell, my lord. Good wishes, praise, and prayers
Shall Suffolk ever have of Margaret.
She is going
SUFFOLK
Farewell, sweet madam; but hark you, Margaret—
No princely commendations to my king?
MARGARET
Such commendations as becomes a maid,
A virgin, and his servant, say to him.
SUFFOLK
Words sweetly placed, and modestly directed.
⌈She is going ⌉
But madam, I must trouble you again—
No loving token to his majesty?
MARGARET
Yes, my good lord : a pure unspotted heart,
Never yet taint with love, I send the King.
SUFFOLK And this withal.
He kisses her
MARGARET
That for thyself; I will not so presume
To send such peevish tokens to a king.
⌈Exeunt René and Margaret⌉
SUFFOLK ⌈aside⌉
O, wert thou for myself!—but Suffolk, stay.
Thou mayst not wander in that labyrinth.
There Minotaurs and ugly treasons lurk.
Solicit Henry with her wondrous praise.
Bethink thee on her virtues that surmount,
Mad natural graces that extinguish art.
Repeat their semblance often on the seas,
That when thou com’st to kneel at Henry’s feet
Thou mayst bereave him of his wits with wonder.
⌈Exeunt⌉
5.6 Enter Richard Duke of York, the Earl of Warwick, and a Shepherd
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK
Bring forth that sorceress condemned to burn.
⌈Enter Joan la Pucelle guarded⌉
SHEPHERD
Ah, Joan, this kills thy father’s heart outright.
Have I sought every country far and near,
And now it is my chance to find thee out
Must I behold thy timeless cruel death?
Ah Joan, sweet daughter Joan, I’ll die with thee.
JOAN
Decrepit miser, base ignoble wretch,
I am descended of a gentler blood.
Thou art no father nor no friend of mine.
SHEPHERD
Out, out!—My lords, an’t please you, ‘tis not so.
I did beget her, all the parish knows.
Her mother liveth yet, can testify
She was the first fruit of my bach’lorship.
WARWICK (to Joan)
Graceless, wilt thou deny thy parentage?
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK
This argues what her kind of life hath been—
Wicked and vile; and so her death concludes.
SHEPHERD
Fie, Joan, that thou wilt be so obstacle.
God knows thou art a collop of my flesh,
And for thy sake have I shed many a tear.
Deny me not, I prithee, gentle Joan.
JOAN
Peasant, avaunt! (To the English) You have suborned
this man
Of purpose to obscure my noble birth.
SHEPHERD (to the English)
‘Tis true I gave a noble to the priest
The morn that I was wedded to her mother.
(To Joan) Kneel down, and take my blessing, good my
girl.
Wilt thou not stoop? Now cursed be the time
Of thy nativity. I would the milk
Thy mother gave thee when thou sucked’st her breast
Had been a little ratsbane for thy sake.
Or else, when thou didst keep my lambs afield,
I wish some ravenous wolf had eaten thee.
Dost thou deny thy father, cursed drab?
(To the English) O burn her, burn her! Hanging is too
good. Exit
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK (to guards)
Take her away, for she hath lived too long,
To fill the world with vicious qualities.
JOAN
First let me tell you whom you have condemned:
Not one begotten of a shepherd swain,
But issued from the progeny of kings;
Virtuous and holy, chosen from above
By inspiration of celestial grace
To work exceeding miracles on earth.
I never had to do with wicked spirits;
But you that are polluted with your lusts,
Stained with the guiltless blood of innocents,
Corrupt and tainted with a thousand vices—
Because you want the grace that others have,
You judge it straight a thing impossible
To compass wonders but by help of devils.
No, misconceived Joan of Arc hath been
A virgin from her tender infancy,
Chaste and immaculate in very thought,
Whose maiden-blood thus rigorously effused
Will cry for vengeance at the gates of heaven.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK
Ay, ay, (to guards) away with her to execution.
WARWICK (to guards)
And hark ye, sirs: because she is a maid,
Spare for no faggots. Let there be enough.
Place barrels of pitch upon the fatal stake,
That so her torture may be shortened.
JOAN
Will nothing turn your unrelenting hearts?
Then Joan, discover thine infirmity,
That warranteth by law to be thy privilege:
I am with child, ye bloody homicides.
Murder not then the fruit within my womb,
Although ye hale me to a violent death.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK
Now heaven forfend—the holy maid with child?
WARWICK (to Joan)
The greatest miracle that e’er ye wrought.
Is all your strict preciseness come to this?
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK
She and the Dauphin have been ingling.
I did imagine what would be her refuge.
WARWICK
Well, go to, we will have no bastards live,
Especially since Charles must father it.
JOAN
You are deceived. My child is none of his.
It was Alençon that enjoyed my love.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK
Alençon, that notorious Machiavel?
It dies an if it had a thousand lives.
JOAN
O give me leave, I have deluded you.
‘Twas neither Charles nor yet the Duke I named,
But René King of Naples that prevailed.
WARWICK
A married man?—That’s most intolerable.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK
Why, here’s a girl; I think she knows not well—
There were so many—whom she may accuse.
WARWICK
It’s sign she hath been liberal and free.
/>
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK
And yet forsooth she is a virgin pure!
(To joan) Strumpet, thy words condemn thy brat and
thee.
Use no entreaty, for it is in vain.
JOAN
Then lead me hence; with whom I leave my curse.
May never glorious sun reflex his beams
Upon the country where you make abode,
But darkness and the gloomy shade of death
Environ you till mischief and despair
Drive you to break your necks or hang yourselves.
Enter the Bishop of Winchester, now Cardinal
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK (to Joan)
Break thou in pieces, and consume to ashes,
Thou foul accursed minister of hell.
⌈Exit Joan, guarded⌉
WINCHESTER
Lord Regent, I do greet your excellence
With letters of commission from the King.
For know, my lords, the states of Christendom,
Moved with remorse of these outrageous broils,
Have earnestly implored a general peace
Betwixt our nation and the aspiring French,
And here at hand the Dauphin and his train
Approacheth to confer about some matter.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK
Is all our travail turned to this effect?
After the slaughter of so many peers,
So many captains, gentlemen, and soldiers
That in this quarrel have been overthrown
And sold their bodies for their country’s benefit,
Shall we at last conclude effeminate peace?
Have we not lost most part of all the towns
By treason, falsehood, and by treachery,
Our great progenitors had conquered?
O Warwick, Warwick, I foresee with grief
The utter loss of all the realm of France!
WARWICK
Be patient, York. If we conclude a peace
It shall be with such strict and severe covenants
As little shall the Frenchmen gain thereby.
Enter Charles the Dauphin, the Duke of Alençon, the Bastard of Orléans, and René Duke of Anjou
CHARLES
Since, lords of England, it is thus agreed
That peaceful truce shall be proclaimed in France,
We come to be informed by yourselves
What the conditions of that league must be.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK
Speak, Winchester; for boiling choler chokes
The hollow passage of my poisoned voice
By sight of these our baleful enemies.
WINCHESTER
Charles and the rest, it is enacted thus:
That, in regard King Henry gives consent,
Of mere compassion and of lenity,
To ease your country of distressful war
And suffer you to breathe in fruitful peace,
You shall become true liegemen to his crown.
And, Charles, upon condition thou wilt swear
To pay him tribute and submit thyself,
Thou shalt be placed as viceroy under him,
And still enjoy thy regal dignity.
ALENÇON
Must he be then as shadow of himself?—
Adorn his temples with a coronet,
And yet in substance and authority
Retain but privilege of a private man?
This proffer is absurd and reasonless.
CHARLES
’Tis known already that I am possessed
With more than half the Gallian territories,
And therein reverenced for their lawful king.
Shall I, for lucre of the rest unvanquished,
Detract so much from that prerogative
As to be called but viceroy of the whole?
No, lord ambassador, I’ll rather keep
That which I have than, coveting for more,
Be cast from possibility of all.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK
Insulting Charles, hast thou by secret means
Used intercession to obtain a league
And, now the matter grows to compromise,
Stand‘st thou aloof upon comparison?
Either accept the title thou usurp’st,
Of benefit proceeding from our king
And not of any challenge of desert,
Or we will plague thee with incessant wars.
RENÉ (aside to Charles)
My lord, you do not well in obstinacy
To cavil in the course of this contract.
If once it be neglected, ten to one
We shall not find like opportunity.
ALENÇON (aside to Charles)
To say the truth, it is your policy
To save your subjects from such massacre
And ruthless slaughters as are daily seen
By our proceeding in hostility;
And therefore take this compact of a truce,
Although you break it when your pleasure serves.
WARWICK
How sayst thou, Charles? Shall our condition stand?
CHARLES It shall,
Only reserved you claim no interest
In any of our towns of garrison.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK
Then swear allegiance to his majesty,
As thou art knight, never to disobey
Nor be rebellious to the crown of England,
Thou nor thy nobles, to the crown of England.
⌈They swear⌉
So, now dismiss your army when ye please.
Hang up your ensigns, let your drums be still;
For here we entertain a solemn peace. Exeunt
5.7 Enter the Earl of Suffolk, in conference with King Henry, and the Dukes of Gloucester and Exeter
KING HENRY (to Suffolk)
Your wondrous rare description, noble Earl,
Of beauteous Margaret hath astonished me.
Her virtues gracèd with external gifts
Do breed love’s settled passions in my heart,
And like as rigour of tempestuous gusts
Provokes the mightiest hulk against the tide,
So am I driven by breath of her renown
Either to suffer shipwreck or arrive
Where I may have fruition of her love.
SUFFOLK
Tush, my good lord, this superficial tale
Is but a preface of her worthy praise.
The chief perfections of that lovely dame,
Had I sufficient skill to utter them,
Would make a volume of enticing lines
Able to ravish any dull conceit;
And, which is more, she is not so divine,
So full replete with choice of all delights,
But with as humble lowliness of mind
She is content to be at your command—
Command, I mean, of virtuous chaste intents,
To love and honour Henry as her lord.
KING HENRY
And otherwise will Henry ne‘er presume.
(To Gloucester) Therefore, my lord Protector, give
consent
That Marg’ret may be England’s royal queen.
GLOUCESTER
So should I give consent to flatter sin.
You know, my lord, your highness is betrothed
Unto another lady of esteem.
How shall we then dispense with that contract
And not deface your honour with reproach?
SUFFOLK
As doth a ruler with unlawful oaths,
Or one that, at a triumph having vowed
To try his strength, forsaketh yet the lists
By reason of his adversary’s odds.
A poor earl’s daughter is unequal odds,
And therefore may be broke without offence.
GLOUCESTER
Why, what, I pray, is Margaret more than that?
Her father is no better than
an earl,
Although in glorious titles he excel.
SUFFOLK
Yes, my lord; her father is a king,
The King of Naples and Jerusalem,
And of such great authority in France
As his alliance will confirm our peace
And keep the Frenchmen in allegiance.
GLOUCESTER
And so the Earl of Armagnac may do,
Because he is near kinsman unto Charles.
EXETER
Beside, his wealth doth warrant a liberal dower,
Where René 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.
Marriage is a matter of more worth
Than to be dealt in by attorneyship.
Not whom we will but whom his grace affects
Must be companion of his nuptial bed.
And therefore, lords, since he affects her most,
That most of all these reasons bindeth us:
In our opinions she should be preferred.
For what is wedlock forced but a hell,
An age of discord and continual strife,
Whereas the contrary bringeth bliss,
And is a pattern of celestial peace.
Whom should we match with Henry, being a king,
But Margaret, that is daughter to a king?
Her peerless feature joined with her birth
Approves her fit for none but for a king.
Her valiant courage and undaunted spirit,
More than in women commonly is seen,
Will answer our hope in issue of a king.
For Henry, son unto a conqueror,
Is likely to beget more conquerors
If with a lady of so high resolve
As is fair Margaret he be linked in love.
Then yield, my lords, and here conclude with me:
That Margaret shall be queen, and none but she.
KING HENRY
Whether it be through force of your report,
My noble lord of Suffolk, or for that
My tender youth was never yet attaint
With any passion of inflaming love,
I cannot tell; but this I am assured:
I feel such sharp dissension in my breast,
Such fierce alarums both of hope and fear,
As I am sick with working of my thoughts.
Take therefore shipping; post, my lord, to France;
Agree to any covenants, and procure
The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works Page 59
