Richard II (Folger Shakespeare Library)

by William Shakespeare

  Snakes, in my heart-blood warmed, that sting my heart!

  Three Judas127es, each one thrice worse than Judas!

  Would they make peace? Terrible hell make war

  Upon their spotted129 souls for this offence!

  SCROOP Sweet love, I see, changing his property130,

  Turns to the sourest and most deadly hate.

  Again uncurse their souls; their peace is made

  With heads, and not with hands133: those whom you curse

  Have felt the worst of death's destroying hand

  And lie full low, graved135 in the hollow ground.

  AUMERLE Is Bushy, Green and the Earl of Wiltshire dead?

  SCROOP Yea, all of them at Bristol lost their heads.

  AUMERLE Where is the duke my father with his power?

  KING RICHARD No matter where; of comfort no man speak.

  Let's talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs,

  Make dust our paper and with rainy eyes

  Write sorrow on the bosom of the earth.

  Let's choose executors and talk of wills.

  And yet not so; for what can we bequeath

  Save our deposed bodies to the ground?

  Our lands, our lives and all are Bullingbrook's,

  And nothing can we call our own but death

  And that small model148 of the barren earth

  Which serves as paste and cover149 to our bones.

  For heaven's sake let us sit upon the ground

  And tell sad151 stories of the death of kings:

  How some have been deposed, some slain in war,

  Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed,

  Some poisoned by their wives, some sleeping killed,

  All murdered. For within the hollow crown

  That rounds156 the mortal temples of a king

  Keeps Death his court and there the antic157 sits,

  Scoffing his state158 and grinning at his pomp,

  Allowing him a breath, a little scene,

  To monarchize160, be feared and kill with looks,

  Infusing him with self161 and vain conceit,

  As if this flesh which walls about our life,

  Were brass impregnable. And humoured thus163,

  Comes at the last and with a little pin

  Bores through his castle walls, and farewell king!

  Cover your heads and mock not flesh and blood

  With solemn reverence. Throw away respect,

  Tradition, form and ceremonious duty,

  For you have but mistook me all this while:

  I live with bread like you, feel want,

  Taste grief, need friends. Subjected171 thus,

  How can you say to me, I am a king?

  CARLISLE My lord, wise men ne'er wail their present woes,

  But presently174 prevent the ways to wail.

  To fear the foe, since fear oppresseth strength,

  Gives in your weakness strength unto your foe,

  And so your follies fight against yourself177.

  Fear and be slain. No worse can come to fight178.

  And fight and die is death destroying death179,

  Where fearing dying pays death servile breath.

  AUMERLE My father hath a power. Enquire of him

  And learn to make a body of a limb182.

  KING RICHARD Thou chid'st183 me well. Proud Bullingbrook, I come

  To change184 blows with thee for our day of doom:

  This ague185 fit of fear is over-blown,

  An easy task it is to win our own.

  Say, Scroop, where lies our uncle with his power?

  Speak sweetly, man, although thy looks be sour.

  SCROOP Men judge by the complexion of the sky

  The state and inclination of the day;

  So may you by my dull and heavy191 eye,

  My tongue hath but a heavier tale to say.

  I play the torturer, by small193 and small

  To lengthen out the worst that must be spoken.

  Your uncle York is joined with Bullingbrook,

  And all your northern castles yielded up,

  And all your southern gentlemen in arms

  Upon his faction.

  KING RICHARD Thou hast said enough.

  Beshrew200 thee, cousin, which didst lead me forth

  To Aumerle

  Of that sweet way I was in to despair!

  What say you now? What comfort have we now?

  By heaven, I'll hate him everlastingly

  That bids me be of comfort any more.

  Go to Flint Castle205: there I'll pine away.

  A king, woe's slave, shall kingly woe obey.

  That power207 I have, discharge, and let 'em go

  To ear208 the land that hath some hope to grow,

  For I have none. Let no man speak again

  To alter this, for counsel is but vain.

  AUMERLE My liege, one word.

  KING RICHARD He does me double wrong

  That wounds me with the flatteries of his tongue.

  Discharge my followers. Let them hence away,

  From Richard's night to Bullingbrook's fair day.

  Exeunt

  Act 3 Scene 3

  running scene 11

  Location: outside Flint Castle

  Enter, with Drum and Colours, Bullingbrook, York, Northumberland [and] Attendants

  BULLINGBROOK So that1 by this intelligence we learn

  The Welshmen are dispersed, and Salisbury

  Is gone to meet the king, who lately landed

  With some few private friends upon this coast.

  NORTHUMBERLAND The news is very fair and good, my lord.

  Richard not far from hence hath hid his head.

  YORK It would beseem7 the Lord Northumberland

  To say 'King Richard'. Alack the heavy day

  When such a sacred king should hide his head.

  NORTHUMBERLAND Your grace mistakes. Only to be brief

  Left I his title out.

  YORK The time hath been,

  Would you have been so brief with him, he would

  Have been so brief with you to14 shorten you,

  For taking so the head15, your whole head's length.

  BULLINGBROOK Mistake16 not, uncle, further than you should.

  YORK Take17 not, good cousin, further than you should,

  Lest you mistake18 the heavens are o'er your head.

  BULLINGBROOK I know it, uncle, and oppose not myself

  Against their will. But who comes here?

  Enter Percy

  Welcome, Harry. What, will not this castle yield?

  PERCY The castle royally is manned, my lord,

  Against thy entrance.

  BULLINGBROOK Royally? Why, it contains no king?

  PERCY Yes, my good lord,

  It doth contain a king: King Richard lies26

  Within the limits of yond lime and stone,

  And with him the Lord Aumerle, Lord Salisbury,

  Sir Stephen Scroop, besides a clergyman

  Of holy reverence, who30, I cannot learn.

  NORTHUMBERLAND O, belike31 it is the Bishop of Carlisle.

  BULLINGBROOK Noble lord,

  Go to the rude33 ribs of that ancient castle.

  Through brazen34 trumpet send the breath of parle

  Into his35 ruined ears, and thus deliver:

  Henry Bullingbrook

  Upon his knees doth kiss King Richard's hand

  And sends allegiance and true faith of heart

  To his most royal person, hither come

  Even at his feet to lay my arms and power

  Provided that my banishment repealed

  And lands restored again41 be freely granted.

  If not, I'll use th'advantage of my power43

  And lay44 the summer's dust with showers of blood

  Rained from the wounds of slaughtered Englishmen;

  The which, how far off from the mind of Bullingbrook

  It is, such47
crimson tempest should bedrench

  The fresh green lap of fair King Richard's land,

  My stooping duty tenderly49 shall show.

  Go signify as much, while here we march

  Upon the grassy carpet of this plain.

  Let's march without the noise of threat'ning drum,

  That from this castle's tattered53 battlements

  Our fair appointments54 may be well perused.

  Methinks King Richard and myself should meet

  With no less terror than the elements

  Of fire and water57, when their thund'ring smoke

  At meeting tears the cloudy cheeks of heaven.

  Be he the fire, I'll be the yielding water;

  The rage be his, while on the earth I rain60

  My waters on the earth, and not on him.

  March on, and mark62 King Richard how he looks.

  Parley without, and answer within. Then a flourish. Enter on the walls, Richard, Carlisle, Aumerle, Scroop [and] Salisbury

  See, see, King Richard doth himself appear,

  As doth the blushing64 discontented sun

  From out the fiery portal of the east,

  When he perceives the envious66 clouds are bent

  To dim his glory and to stain67 the tract

  Of his bright passage to the occident68.

  YORK Yet looks he like a king. Behold, his eye,

  As bright as is the eagle's, lightens forth70

  Controlling majesty. Alack, alack, for woe,

  That any harm should stain so fair a show!

  KING RICHARD We are amazed73; and thus long have we stood

  To Northumberland

  To watch74 the fearful bending of thy knee

  Because we thought ourself thy lawful king.

  And if we be, how dare thy joints forget

  To pay their awful77 duty to our presence?

  If we be not, show us the hand78 of God

  That hath dismissed us from our stewardship,

  For well we know, no hand of blood and bone

  Can grip the sacred handle of our sceptre,

  Unless he do profane82, steal, or usurp.

  And though you think that all, as you have done,

  Have torn84 their souls by turning them from us,

  And we are barren and bereft of friends,

  Yet know, my master, God omnipotent,

  Is must'ring in his clouds on our behalf

  Armies of pestilence, and they shall strike88

  Your children yet unborn and unbegot89,

  That90 lift your vassal hands against my head

  And threat the glory of my precious crown.

  Tell Bullingbrook -- for yond methinks he is --

  That every stride he makes upon my land

  Is dangerous treason. He is come to ope94

  The purple testament95 of bleeding war;

  But ere the crown he looks for live in peace,

  Ten thousand bloody crowns97 of mothers' sons

  Shall ill become the flower of England's face,

  Change the complexion of her maid-pale99 peace

  To scarlet indignation and bedew

  Her pastor's101 grass with faithful English blood.

  NORTHUMBERLAND The king of heaven forbid our lord the king

  Should so with civil103 and uncivil arms

  Be rushed upon! Thy thrice-noble cousin,

  Harry Bullingbrook, doth humbly kiss thy hand.

  And by the honourable tomb he swears,

  That stands upon your royal grandsire's bones,

  And by the royalties of both your bloods --

  Currents that spring from one most gracious head109 --

  And by the buried hand of warlike Gaunt,

  And by the worth and honour of himself,

  Comprising all that may be sworn or said,

  His coming hither hath no further scope113

  Than for his lineal royalties114 and to beg

  Enfranchisement115 immediate on his knees,

  Which on thy royal party116 granted once,

  His glittering arms he will commend117 to rust,

  His barbed118 steeds to stables, and his heart

  To faithful service of your majesty.

  This swears he, as he is120 a prince, is just:

  And, as I am a gentleman, I credit121 him.

  KING RICHARD Northumberland, say thus the king returns122.

  His noble cousin is right welcome hither,

  And all the number of his fair demands

  Shall be accomplished125 without contradiction.

  With all the gracious126 utterance thou hast,

  Speak to his gentle hearing kind commends127.--

  We do debase ourself, cousin, do we not,

  To Aumerle

  To look so poorly129 and to speak so fair?

  Shall we call back Northumberland, and send

  Defiance to the traitor, and so die?

  AUMERLE No, good my lord, let's fight with gentle words

  Till time lend friends and friends their helpful swords.

  KING RICHARD O God, O God, that e'er134 this tongue of mine,

  That laid the sentence of dread banishment

  On yond136 proud man, should take it off again

  With words of sooth137! O, that I were as great

  As is my grief, or lesser than my name!

  Or that I could forget what I have been,

  Or not remember what I must be now!

  Swell'st thou, proud heart? I'll give thee scope141 to beat,

  Since foes have scope to beat142 both thee and me.

  AUMERLE Northumberland comes back from Bullingbrook.

  KING RICHARD What must the king do now? Must he submit?

  The king shall do it. Must he be deposed?

  The king shall be contented146. Must he lose

  The name of king? O'God's name, let it go.

  I'll give my jewels for a set of beads148,

  My gorgeous palace for a hermitage,

  My gay apparel for an almsman150's gown,

  My figured151 goblets for a dish of wood,

  My sceptre for a palmer152's walking staff,

  My subjects for a pair of carved saints,

  And my large kingdom for a little grave,

  A little little grave, an obscure grave.

  Or I'll be buried in the king's highway,

  Some way of common trade157, where subjects' feet

  May hourly trample on their sovereign's head,

  For on my heart they tread now whilst I live,

  And buried once160, why not upon my head?--

  Aumerle, thou weep'st, my tender-hearted cousin!

  We'll make foul weather with despised162 tears,

  Our sighs and they shall lodge163 the summer corn,

  And make a dearth164 in this revolting land.

  Or shall we play the wantons165 with our woes,

  And make166 some pretty match with shedding tears?

  As thus, to drop them still167 upon one place,

  Till they have fretted us168 a pair of graves

  Within the earth, and, therein laid -- there lies

  Two kinsmen digged their graves with weeping eyes.

  Would not this ill171 do well?-- Well, well, I see

  I talk but idly, and you mock at me.--

  Most mighty prince, my lord Northumberland,

  What says King Bullingbrook? Will his majesty

  Give Richard leave to live till Richard die?

  You make a leg176, and Bullingbrook says 'Ay'.

  NORTHUMBERLAND My lord, in the base court177 he doth attend

  To speak with you. May it please you to come down?

  KING RICHARD Down, down I come, like glist'ring179 Phaethon,

  Wanting the manage180 of unruly jades.

  In the base court? Base court where kings grow base,

  To come at traitors' calls and do them grace182.

  In the base court, come down: down court, down king,
<
br />   For night-owls shriek184 where mounting larks should sing.

  [Exeunt from above]

  BULLINGBROOK What says his majesty?

  NORTHUMBERLAND Sorrow and grief of heart

  Makes him speak fondly187, like a frantic man

  Yet he is come.

  [Enter King Richard and his Attendants below]

  BULLINGBROOK Stand all apart189,

  And show fair duty to his majesty.

  My gracious lord--

  Kneels

  KING RICHARD Fair cousin, you debase192 your princely knee

  To make the base earth proud with kissing it.

  Me rather had194 my heart might feel your love

  Than my unpleased eye see your courtesy195.

  Up196, cousin, up! Your heart is up, I know,

  Thus high at least, although your knee be low.

  BULLINGBROOK My gracious lord, I come but for mine own.

  KING RICHARD Your own is yours, and I am yours, and all.

  BULLINGBROOK So far be mine, my most redoubted200 lord,

  As my true service shall deserve your love.

  KING RICHARD Well you deserved. They well deserve to have,

  That know the strong'st and surest way to get.--

  Bullingbrook rises

  To York

  Uncle, give me your hand: nay, dry your eyes.

  Tears show their love, but want their remedies205.--

  Cousin, I am too young to be your father,

  To Bullingbrook

  Though you are old enough to be my heir.

  What you will have, I'll give, and willing208 too,

  For do we must what force will have us do.

  Set on towards London, cousin, is it so?

  BULLINGBROOK Yea, my good lord.

  KING RICHARD Then I must not say no.

  Flourish. Exeunt

  Act 3 Scene 4

  running scene 12

  Location: the Duke of York's garden

  Enter the Queen and two Ladies

  QUEEN What sport shall we devise here in this garden,

  To drive away the heavy2 thought of care?

  LADY Madam, we'll play at bowls.

  QUEEN 'Twill make me think the world is full of rubs4,

  And that my fortune runs against the bias5.

  LADY Madam, we'll dance.

  QUEEN My legs can keep no measure7 in delight

  When my poor heart no measure8 keeps in grief:

  Therefore, no dancing, girl, some other sport.

  LADY Madam, we'll tell tales.

  QUEEN Of sorrow or of joy?

  LADY Of either, madam.

  QUEEN Of neither, girl.

  For if of joy, being altogether wanting14,

  It doth remember15 me the more of sorrow.

  Or if of grief, being altogether had16,

  It adds more sorrow to my want17 of joy.

  For what I have I need not to repeat,

  And what I want it boots not19 to complain.

  LADY Madam, I'll sing.

  QUEEN 'Tis well that thou hast cause21,

  But thou shouldst please me better, wouldst thou weep.

  LADY I could weep, madam, would it do you good.

  QUEEN And I could sing, would weeping do me good,

  And never borrow any tear of thee.

  Enter a Gardener and two Servants

  But stay, here come the gardeners.

  Let's step into the shadow of these trees.

  My28 wretchedness unto a row of pins,

  They'll talk of state29, for everyone doth so