FIRST PART OF KING HENRY THE SIXTH. PRELIMINARY REMARKS. THE historical transactions in this play take in the compass of above thirty years. In the three parts of King Henry VI. there is no very precise attention to the date and disposition of facts; they are shuffled backwards and forwards out of time. For instance, the Lord Talbot is killed at the end of the fourth act of this play, who in reality did not fall till the 13th of July, 1453: and the Second Part of King Henry VI. opens with the marriage of the king, which was solemnized eight years before Talbot's death, in the year 1445. Again, in the second part, dame Eleanor Cobham is in troduced to insult Queen Margaret: though her penance and banishment for sorcery happened three years before that princess came over to England. There are ⚫ other transgressions against history, as far as the order of time is concerned. Mr. Malone has written a dissertation to prove that the First Part of King Henry VI. was not written by Shakspeare: and that the Second and Third Parts were only altered by him from the old play, entitled 'The Contention of the Two famous Houses of Yorke and Lancaster, printed in two parts, in quarto, in 1594 and 1595. The substance of his argument, as far as regards this play, is as follows : 1. The diction, versification, and allusions in it, are all different from the diction, versification, and allusions of Shakspeare, and corresponding with those of Greene, Peele, Lodge, Marlowe, and others who preceded him: there are more allusions to mythology, to classical authors, and to ancient and modern history, than are found in any one piece of Shakspeare's written on an English story: they are such as do not naturally rise out of the subject, but seem to be inserted merely to show the writer's learning. These allusions, and many particular expressions, seem more likely to have been used by the authors already named than by Shakspeare. He points out many of the allusions, and instances the words proditor and immanity, which are not to be found in any of the poet's undisputed works. -The versification he thinks clearly of a different colour from that of Shakspeare's genuine dramas; while at the same time it resembles that of many of the plays produced before his time. The sense concludes or pauses almost uniformly at the end of every line; and the verse has scarcely ever a redundant syllable. He produces numerous instances from the works of Lodge, Peele, Greene, and others, of similar versification. A passage in a pamphlet written by Thomas Nashe, an intimate friend of Greene, Peele, Marlowe, &c. shows that the First Part of King Henry VI. had been on the stage before 1592; and his favourable mention of the piece may induce a belief that it was written by a friend of his. How would it have joyed brave Talbot, the terror of the French, to thinke that, after he had lyen two hundred yeare in his tombe, he should triumph again on the stage; and have his bones new embalmed with the teares of ten thousand spectators at least (at several times,) who in the tragedian that represents his person behold him fresh bleeding.'-Pierce Penniless, his Supplication to the Devil, 1592. That this passage related to the old play of King Henry VI. or, as it is now called, the First Part of King Henry VI. can hardly be doubted. Talbot appears in the First Part, and not in the Second or Third Part, and is expressly spoken of in the play, as well as in Hall's Chronicle, as 'the terror of the French. Holinshed, who was Shakspeare's guide, omits the passage in Hall, in which Talbot is thus described; and this is an additional proof that this play was not the production of our great poet. There are other internal proofs of this :- When I was young (as yet I am not old,) But Shakspeare knew that Henry VI. could not possibly remember any thing of his father : No sooner was I crept out of my cradle, King Henry VI. Part II. Act iv. Sc. 9 When I was crown'd I was but nine months old. King Henry VI. Part III. Act i. Sc. 1 The first of these passages is among the additions made by Shakspeare to the old play, according to Mr. Malone's hypothesis. The other passage does occur in the True Tragedie of Richard Duke Duke of York; and therefore it is natural to conclude that neither Shakspeare nor the author of that piece could have written the First Part of King Henry VI. 2. In Act ii. Sc. 5. of this play, it is said that the earl of Cambridge raised an army against his sovereign. But Shakspeare, in his play of King Henry V. has represented the matter truly as it was: the earl being in that piece, Act ii., condemned at Southampton for conspiring to assassinate Henry. 3. The author of this play knew the true pronunciation of the word Hecate, as it is used by the Roman writers : 'I speak not to that railing Hecate." But Shakspeare, in Macbeth, always uses Hecate as a dissyllable. The second speech in this play ascertains the author to have been very familiar with Hall's Chronicle: What should I say? his deeds exceed all speech." This phrase is introduced upon almost every occasion by Hall when he means to be eloquent. Holinshed, not Hall, was Shakspeare's historian. Here then is an additional minute proof that this play was not Shakspeare's. This is the sum of Malone's argument, which Steevens has but feebly combated in notes appended to it; and I am disposed to think more out of a spirit of opposition than from any other cause. Malone conjectured that this piece which we now call the First Part of King Henry VI. was, when first performed, called The Play of King Henry VI.; and he afterwards found his conjecture confirmed by an entry in the accounts of Henslowe, the proprietor of the Rose Theatre on the Bank Side. It must have been very popular, having been played no less than thirteen times in one season: the first entry of its performance by the Lord Strange's company, at the Rose, is dated March 3, 1591. It is worthy of remark that Shakspeare does not appear at any time to have had the smallest connexion with that theatre, or the companies playing there; which affords additional argument in favour of Malone's position, that the play could not be his. By whom it was written (says Malone,) it is now, I fear, difficult to ascertain. It was not entered on the Stationers' books, nor printed till the year 1623; when it was reiterated with Shakspeare's undisputed plays by the editors of the first folio, and improperly entitled the Third* Part of King Henry VI. In one sense it might be called so; for two plays on the subject of that reign had been printed before. But considering the history of that king, and the period of time which the piece comprehends, it ought to have been called, what in fact it is, The First Part of King Henry VI. At this distance of time it is impossible to ascertain on what principle it was that Heminge and Condell admitted it into their volume; but I suspect that they gave it a place as a necessary introduction to the two other parts; and because Shakspeare had made some slight alterations, and written a few lines in it.f Mr. Malone's arguments have made many converts to his opinion; and perhaps Mr. Morgann, in his elegant Essay on the Dramatic Character of Falstaff, † led the way, when he pronounced it That-drum-andtrumpet thing, written doubtless, or rather exhibited long before Shakespeare was born, though afterwards repaired and furbished up by him with here and there a little sentiment and diction." * This applies only to the title in the Register of the Stationers Company: in the first folio it was called the First Part of King Henry VI. † Malone's Life of Shakspeare, p 310, ed 1821. First published in 1777 FIRST PART OF KING HENRY THE SIXΤΗ. PERSONS REPRESENTED. HUNG be the heavens with black, yield day to Glo. England ne'er had a king, until his time. Exe. We mourn in black; Why mourn we not in blood? Henry is dead, and never shall revive; 1 Richard Beauchamp, earl of Warwick, who is a character in King Henry V. The earl of Warwick, who appears in a subsequent part of this drama, is Richard Nevill, son to the earl of Salisbury, who came to the title in right of his wife, Anne, sister of Henry Beauchamp, duke of Warwick. Richard, the father of this Henry, was appointed governor to the king on the demise of Thomas Beaufort, duke of Exeter, and died in 1439. There is no reason to think the author meant to confound the two characters. 2 Alluding to the ancient practice of hanging the stage with black when a tragedy was to be acted. Mayor of London. WOODVILLE, Lieutenant of DUKE of BURGUNDY. DUKE of ALENCON. married to King Henry. COUNTESS of AUVERGNE. JOAN LA PUCELLE, commonly called Joan of Arc. Fiends appearing to La Pucelle, Lords, Warders of the Tower, Heralds, Officers, Soldiers, Messengers, and several Attendants both on the English and French. SCENE-partly in England, and partly in France. Like captives bound to a triumphant car. Win. He was a king bless'd of the King of kings. Glo. The church! where is it? Had not church. us'd? Mess. No treachery; but want of men and money. Exe. Were our tears wanting to this funeral, Enter another Messenger. Retiring from the siege of Orleans, strength, Durst not presume to look once in the face. 3 Mess. O no, he lives; but is took prisoner, And Lord Scales with him, and Lord Hungerford Most of the rest slaughter'd, or took, likewise. Bed. His ransom there is none but I shall pay: I'll hale the Dauphin headlong from his throne, His crown shall be the ransom of my friend; Four of their lords I'll change for one of ours.Farewell, my masters; to my task will I; Bonfires in France forthwith I am to make, 2 Mess. Lords, view these letters, full of bad To keep our great Saint George's feast withal: mischance, France is revolted from the English quite; Except some petty towns of no import: The Dauphin Charles is crowned king in Rheims; The bastard of Orleans with him is join'd; The duke of Alencon flieth to his side. Ten thousand soldiers with me I will take, Whose bloody deeds shall make all Europe quake. 3 Mess. So you had need; for Orleans is be sieg'd; The English army is grown weak and faint: And hardly keeps his men from mutiny, Exe. The Dauphin is crowned king! all fly to Since they, so few, watch such a multitude. him! The circumstance I'll tell you more at large. 1 Pope conjectured that this blank had been supplied by the name of Francis Drake, which, though a glaring anachronism, might have been a popular, though not judicious, mode of attracting plaudits in the theatre. Part of the arms of Drake was two blazing stars. 2 Capel proposed to complete this defective verse by the insertion of Rouen among the places lost, as Gloster Infers that it had been mentioned with the rest. Ere. Remember, lords, your oaths to Henry 5 For an account of this Sir John Fastolfe, vide Biographia Britannica, by Kippis, vol. v.; in which is his life, written by Mr. Gough. 6 The old copy reads send, the present reading was proposed by Mason, who observes that the king was not at this time in the power of the cardinal, but under the care of the duke of Exeter. The second article of accusation brought against the bishop by the duke of Gloucester is that he purposed and disposed him to set hand on the king's person, and to have removed him from Elas him list. Holinshed vol. iii. p. 591 3 i. e. England's flowing tides. 4 1. e. their miseries which have only a short inter- tham to Windsor, to the intent to put him in governance mission. SCENE II. France. Before Orleans. Enter CHARLES, with his Forces; ALENCON, REIGNIER, and others. Char. Mars his true moving, even as in the heavens, So in the earth, to this day is not known: Alen. They want their porridge, and their fat bullbeeves: Either they must be dieted like mules, Speak, shall I call her in? Believe my words, Char. Go, call her in: [Ezit Bastard.] But, first to try her skill, Reignier, stand thou as Dauphin in my place: Question her proudly, let thy looks be stern:By this mean shall we sound what skill she hath. [Retires. Enter LA PUCELLE, Bastard of Orleans, and others. Reig. Fair maid, is't thou wilt do these wondrous feats? Puc. Reignier, is't thou that thinkest to beguile me? Where is the Dauphin?--come, come from behind; Reig. Let's raise the siege; Why live we idly Stand back, you lords, and give us leave a while. here? Talbot is taken, whom we wont to fear: Char. Sound, sound alarum; we will rush on them. When he sees me go back one foot, or fly. [Exeunt. Alarums: Excursions: afterwards a Retreat. Re-enter CHARLES, ALENCON, REIGNIER, and others. Char. Who ever saw the like? what men have I? Reig. She takes upon her bravely at first dash. And, in a vision full of majesty, Dogs! cowards! dastards! I would ne'er have fled, And, whereas I was black and swart before, But that they left me 'midst my enemies. Reig. Salisbury is a desperate homicide; He fighteth as one weary of his life. Alen. Froissard, a countryman of ours, records, England all Olivers and Rowlands bred, It sendeth forth to skirmish. One to ten! They had such courage and audacity? Char. Let's leave this town; for they brain'd slaves, And hunger will enforce them to be more eager: Enter the Bastard of Orleans. Bast. Where's the prince Dauphin, I have news for him. Char. Bastards of Orleans, thrice welcome to us. Bast. Methinks, your looks are sad, your cheers appall'd: Hath the late overthrow wrought this offence? Which, by a vision sent to her from heaven, What's past, and what's to come, she can descry. 1 You are as ignorant in the true movings of my muse as the astronomers are in the true movings of Mars, which to this day they could never attain to. Gabriel Harvey's Hunt is up, by Nash, 1596, Preface. 2 i. e. the prey for which they are hungry. 3 These were two of the most famous in the list of Charlemagne's twelve peers; and their exploits are the theme of the old romances. From the equally doughty and unheard of exploits of these champions, arose the saying of Giving a Rowland for an Oliver, for giving a erson as good as he brings. With those clear rays which she infus'd on me, Resolve on this: Thou shalt be fortunate, If thou receive me for thy warlike mate. Char. Thou hast astonish'd me with thy high terms; Only this proof I'll of thy valour make,- Puc. I am prepar'd: here is my keen-edged sword, yard, Out of a great deal of old iron I chose forth. Puc. Christ's mother helps me, else I were too weak. Char. Whoe'er helps thee, 'tis thou that must help me : Impatiently I burn with thy desire; My heart and hands thou hast at once subdu'd. Excellent Pucelle, if thy name be so, Let me thy servant, and not sovereign, be; 'Tis the French Dauphin sueth thus to thee. Puc. I must not yield to any rites of love, For my profession's sacred from above: When I have chased all thy foes from hence, Then will I think upon a recompense. 4 By gimmals, gimbols, gimmers, or gimowes, any kind of device or machinery producing motion was meant. Baret has 'the gimew or hinge of a door. 5 Bastard was not in former times a title of reproach. 6 Cheer in this instance means heart or courage, as in the expression 'be of good cheer.' 7 Warburton says that, 'there were no nine sybils of Rome, it is a mistake for the nine Sibylline Oracles brought to one of the Tarquins. But the poet followed the popular books of his day, which say that the ten sybils were women that had the spirit of prophecy (enu merating them) and that they prophesied of Christ' 8 i. e. be convinced of it. Char. Mean tire, look gracious on thy prostrate | Servants rush at the Tower Gates. Enter, to the thrall. Gates, WOODVILLE, the Lieutenant. Wood. [Within.] What noise is this? what traitors have we here? These women are shrewd tempters with their tongues. Reag. My lord, where are you? what devise you on? Shall we give over Oreans, or no? Puc. Why, no, 1 sav, distrustful recreants! Fight till the last gasp, I will be your guard. Glo. Lieutenant, is it you, whose voice I hear? Open the gates; here's Gloster, that would enter. Wood. [Within.] Have patience, noble duke : I may not open; The cardinal of Winchester forbids: From him I have express commandment, That thou, nor none of thine, shall be let in. Glo. Faint-hearted Woodville, prizest him fore me? Arrogant Winchester? that haughty prelate, Char. What sne says, I'll confirm; we'll fight it Open the gates, or I'll shut thee out shortly. out. Puc. Assign'd am I to be the English scourge. This night the siege assuredly I'll raise: Expect Saint Martin's summer, halcyon days, Since I have entered into these wars. Glory is like a circle in the water, Which never ceaseth to enlarge itself, Till, by broad spreading, it disperse to nought.2 With Henry's death, the English circle ends; Dispersed are the glories it included. Now am I like that proud insulting ship, Which Cæsar and his fortune bare at once. Char. Was Mahomet inspired with a dove? Thou with an eagle art inspired then. Helen, the mother of great Constantine, Nor yet Saint Philip's daughters, were like thee. Bright star of Venus, fall'n down on the earth, How may I reverently worship thee enough? Alen. Leave off delays, and let us raise the siege. Reig. Woman, do what thou canst to save our honours; Drive them from Or eans, and be immortaliz'd. about it! Char. Presently well try: -Come let's away No prophet will I trust, if she prove false. [Exeunt. SCENE III. London. Hill before the Tower. Enter, at the Gates, the Duke of GLOSTER, with his Serving-men in blue Coats. Glo. I am come to survey the Tower this day; Since Henry's death, I fear there is conveyance. Where be these warders, that they wait not here? Open the gates; Gloster it is that calls. 1 Ward. [Within.] Who is there that knocks so imperiously? 1 Seru. Open the gates unto the lord protector; Or we'll burst them open, if that you come not quickly. Enter WINCHESTER, attended by a Train of Servants in tawny Coats." Win. How now, ambitious Humphry? what means this? Glo. Piel'd priest, dost thou command me to be shut out? Glo. Stand back, thou manifest conspirator; Win. Nay, stand thou back, I will not budge a foot; This be Damascus, be thou cursed Cain, Glo. I will not slay thee, but I'll drive thee back : face? Glo. What? am I dar'd, and bearded to my Draw, men, for all this privileged place; Blue-coats to tawny-coats. Priest, beware your beard; [GLOSTER and his men attack the Bishop. I mean to tug it, and to cuff you soundly: 1 Serv. It is the noble duke of Gloster. 2 Ward. [Within.] Whoe'er he be, you may not be let in. villains ? 1 Serv. Answer you so the lord protector, 1 Ward. [Within.] The Lord protect him! so we answer him: We do no otherwise than we are will'd. Glo. Who willed you? or whose will stands, but mine? 1 i. e. expect prosperity after misfortune, like fair weather at Martlemas, after winter has begun. 2 This is a favourite image with poets. 3 Mahomet had a dove which he used to feed with wheat out of his ear; which dove when it was hungry, ighted on Mahomet's shoulder, and thrust its bill in to find its breakfast, Mahomet persuading the rude and simple Arabians that it was the Holy Ghost. Raleigh's Hist. of the World, part i. c. vi. 4 Meaning the four daughters of Philip mentioned in Acts, xxi. 9. 5 Conveyance anciently signified any kind of furtive knavery, or privy stealing. 10 The public stews in Southwark were under the jurisdiction of the bishop of Winchester. Upton had seen the office book of the court leet, in which was entered the fees paid by, and the customs and regulations of these brothels. 11 To canvas was 'to toss in a sieve; a punishment (says Cotgrave) inflicted on such as commit gross ab 12 A Winchester goose was a particular stage of the disease contracted in the stews, hence Gloucester bestows the epithet on the bishop in derision and scorn. 13 In King Henry VIII. the earl of Surrey, with a similar allusion to Cardinal Wolsey's habit, calls him scarlet sin." 6 To break up was the same as to break open. 7 It appears that the attendants upon ecclesiastical courts, and a bishop's servants, were then, as now, disAnguished by clothing of a sombre colour. 8 L. e. bald, alluding to his shaven crown. surdities.' 14 It appears from Pennant's London that this mayor was John Coventry, an opulent mercer, from whom the present earl of Coventry is descended. |