William Shakespeare’s
Henry V
Abridged by Daniel Hill
Characters
Henry the Fifth
Duke of Gloster, the King's brother
Duke of Bedford, the King's brother
Duke of Exeter, the King's uncle
Earl of Salisbury
Earl of Westmoreland
Archbishop of Canterbury
Sir Thomas Erpingham, an Officer in the English army
Gower, an Officer in the English army
Fluellen, a Welsh Officer in the English army
John Bates, a Soldier
Alexander Court, a Soldier
Michael Williams, a Soldier
Pistol, a braggart
Bardolph
Boy
An English Herald.
French King;
The Dauphin, his son;
Duke of Burgundy, French Lord
Duke of Orleans, French Lord
Duke of Bourbon, French Lord
Constable of France, French Lord
Governor of Harfleur
Montjoy, the French herald
Ambassador to England
Lords, Officers, Soldiers, Messengers, Attendants, Citizens
2
PROLOGUE
Chorus:
O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention,
A kingdom for a stage, princes to act
And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!
But pardon, and gentles all,
The flat unraised spirits that have dared
On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth
So great an object: can this cockpit hold
The vasty fields of France? or may we cram
Within this wooden O the very casques
That did affright the air at Agincourt?
Let us, on your imaginary forces work.
Suppose within the girdle of these walls
Are now confined two mighty monarchies,
Whose high upreared and abutting fronts
The perilous narrow ocean parts asunder:
Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts;
Into a thousand parts divide on man,
Think when we talk of horses, that you see them
Printing their proud hoofs i' the receiving earth;
For 'tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings,
Turning the accomplishment of many years
Into an hour-glass: now your humble patience pray,
Gently to hear, kindly to judge, our play.
SCENE 1
LONDON, THE KING’S PALACE. ENTER KING HENRY, GLOSTER,
BEDFORD, EXETER, SALISBURY, WESTMORELAND AND
ATTENDANTS.
Henry:
Where is my gracious Lord of Canterbury?
Exeter:
Not here in presence.
Henry:
Send for him, good uncle.
Westmoreland:
Shall you call the French ambassadors, my liege?
Henry:
When we have heard the Archbishop of Canterbury.
ENTER THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.
Archbishop:
God and his angels guard your sacred throne,
And make you long become it!
3
Henry:
Sure, we thank you. My learned lord,
We pray you to explain why the Salique Law
That they have in France, should, or should not,
Bar us in our claim to the throne of France.
Archbishop:
My liege, there is no bar against your highness' claim,
Except this saying "No woman shall succeed in
Salique land", which land the French unjustly claim
To be the realm of France. Yet their own authors
Faithfully affirm that it is in Germany.
Therefore this law was not devised for France,
And the French king’s thimselves do hold the crown
In right and title of the female.
Henry:
May I with right and conscience make this claim?
Archbishop:
The sin upon my head, dread sovereign!
May blood and sword and fire win your right!
We of the church shall raise a mighty sum,
Such as the clergy never did before.
Exeter:
Your majesty hath cause and means and might;
Never king of England had nobles richer
And more loyal subjects.
Henry:
We thank you all; call in the Dauphin's messengers.
EXIT ATTENDANT.
Henry:
Now we are well resolved; and, by God's help,
And yours, the noble sinews of our power,
France being ours, we'll bend it to our awe.
ENTER THE AMBASSADOR OF FRANCE, WITH ATTENDANTS
CARRYING A VESSEL OF TENNIS BALLS
Henry:
Tell us the Dauphin's mind, for we hear
Your greeting is from him, not from the king.
Ambassador:
Your highness, lately sending into France,
Did claim the right to some certain dukedoms.
The Dauphin says, you savour too much of your youth:
You cannot revel into dukedoms there.
He therefore sends you, meeter for your youth,
This tun of treasure, and desires to hear no more.
Henry:
What treasure, uncle?
Exeter:
Tennis balls, my liege.
ALL LOOK AT THE KING.
4
Henry:
(Coldly) We are glad the Dauphin is so pleasant with us;
(With increasing anger) Go, tell the pleasant prince, this mock of his
Hath turned these balls to gunstones;
And some are yet ungotten and unborn
That shall have cause to curse the Dauphin's scorn.
So, get you hence, and tell the Dauphin
His jest will savour yet of shallow wit,
When thousands weep, more than did laugh at it!
EXEUNT AMBASSADOR AND ATTENDANTS.
Exeter:
This was a merry message.
Henry:
God before,
We'll chide this Dauphin at his father's door.
Therefore let every man now task his thought
That this fair action may on foot be brought.
EXEUNT
SCENE 2
ENTER CHORUS.
Chorus:
The king is set from London; and the scene
Is now transported, gentles, to Southampton;
Where three corrupted men,
One, Richard Earl of Cambridge, and the second,
Henry Lord Scroop of Masham, and the third,
Sir Thomas Grey, knight, of Northumberland,
Have, for the gilt of France,--O guilt indeed!
Confirm'd conspiracy with fearful France;
And by their hands this grace of kings must die
EXEUNT
SCENE 3
ENTER EXETER, BEDFORD AND WESTMORELAND.
Bedford:
’Fore God, his grace is bold, to trust these traitors.
Exeter:
They shall be apprehended by and by.
Bedford:
The king hath note of all that they intend,
By interception which they dream not of.
TRUMPETS SOUND. ENTER KING HENRY, SCROOP, CAMBRIDGE
AND GREY.
5
Henry:
Now sits the wind fair, and we will aboard.
My Lords; Think you not that the powers we bear with us
Will do the execution and the act
For which we have assembled them?
Scroop:
No doubt, my liege, if each man do his best.
Henry:
I doubt not that.
Cambridge:
Never was monarch better fear'd and loved
Than is your majesty.
Grey:
True: those that were your father's enemies
Do serve you with hearts of duty and of zeal.
Henry:
Alas, your too much love and care of me
Are heavy orisons ‘gainst this poor wretch.
And now to our French causes:
Who are the late commissioners?
Cambridge:
I one, my lord:
Your highness bade me ask for it to-day.
Scroop:
So did you me, my liege.
Grey:
And I, my royal sovereign.
Henry:
Then, there is yours; (he gives each of them a piece of paper)
Read them; and know, I know your worthiness.
My Lord of Westmoreland, and uncle Exeter,
We will aboard to night. Why, how now, gentlemen!
What see you in those papers? What read you there
That hath so cowarded and chased your blood
Out of appearance?
Cambridge:
I do confess my fault;
And do submit me to your highness' mercy.
Grey:
To which we all appeal.
Henry:
You must not dare, for shame, to talk of mercy;
For your own reasons turn into your bosoms,
As dogs upon their masters, worrying you.
See you, my princes, and my noble peers,
These English monsters hath, for a few light crowns,
Conspired, to kill us here in Hampton.
What shall I say to thee, Lord Scroop? thou cruel,
Inhuman creature!
Thou that didst bear the key of all my counsels,
That knew'st the very bottom of my soul.
I will weep for thee;
For this revolt of thine, methinks, is like
6
Another fall of man. Their faults are open:
Arrest them to the answer of the law;
And God acquit them of their practises!
Exeter:
I arrest thee of high treason.
Scroop:
I repent my fault more than my death;
Which I beseech your highness to forgive.
Cambridge:
God be thanked for prevention;
Which I in sufferance heartily will rejoice,
Beseeching God and you to pardon me.
Grey:
My fault, but not my body, pardon, sovereign.
Henry:
God quit you in his mercy! Hear your sentence.
You have conspired against our royal person,
You would have sold your king to slaughter,
His princes and his peers to servitude,
His subjects to oppression and contempt
And his whole kingdom into desolation.
Get you therefore hence,
Poor miserable wretches, to your death:
Bear them hence.
EXEUNT CAMBRIDGE, SCROOP AND GREY.
Henry:
Now, lords, cheerly to sea, for France.
EXEUNT
SCENE 4
LONDON, THE BOAR’S HEAD TAVERN. ENTER THE BOY PISTOL.
Boy:
Bardolph is here, sir.
ENTER BARDOLPH.
Pistol:
Well met, bully Bardolph! Shall you and I to France together?
Bardolph:
When you pay me the eight shillings, Pistol, that I won of you at betting.
Pistol:
(Scornful) Base is the slave that pays!
Bardolph:
(Drawing) If you do not pay me, Pistol, I will scour you with my rapier.
Pistol:
O braggart vile, and damned furious wight! (Drawing.)
Boy:
Masters, masters! You must to France together: why the devil should
you cut one another's throats?
Pistol:
The youth speaks true, sweet Bardolph; prithee, put up.
Bardolph:
(Suspicious) I shall have my eight shillings?
7
Pistol:
A noble shalt thou have, and present pay,
And liquor likewise will I give to thee,
And friendship shall combine with brotherhood.
THEY SHEATHE THEIR SWORDS.
Bardolph:
Shall we shog? The king will be gone from Southampton.
Pistol:
Let us to France; like horse-leeches, my boys;
The very blood to suck! Come, let's away!
EXEUNT
SCENE 5
THE FRENCH COURT. ENTER THE FRENCH KING, THE DAUPHIN,
THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY, THE CONSTABLE AND OTHER LORDS.
French King:
Thus comes the English with full power upon us;
Therefore, Prince Dauphin, with all swift dispatch,
Repair and strengthen all our towns of war,
For England doth his fierce approaches make,
And fear may teach us, out of late examples
Left by the fatal English on our land.
Dauphin:
England, my liege, is now so idly king'd
With such a vain, giddy, shallow youth,
That fear attends her not.
Constable:
Dauphin, you are much mistaken in this king;
Question your Grace the late ambassadors:
With what great state he heard their embassy.
Dauphin:
Well, 'tis not so, my lord high-constable,
Though in cases of defence 'tis best to weigh
The enemy more mighty than he seems.
French King:
Princes, look you strongly arm to meet them:
Witness our too-much memorable shame
When Crecy battle fatally was struck,
By the hand of the Black Prince of Wales.
This is a stem of that victorious stock,
And let us fear his native mightiness.
ENTER A MESSENGER.
Messenger:
Ambassadors from Harry king of England, my liege.
French King:
We'll give them present audience. Go, and bring them.
8
EXIT MESSENGER.
Dauphin:
My lord, when that the English seem to threaten,
Show them of what a monarchy you are the head.
ENTER EXETER.
French King:
From our brother England?
Exeter:
From him, and he doth will your majesty
To o'erlook this paper. (Giving a paper.) And when you find him
Derived from his most famous ancestor,
Edward the Third, he bids you then resign
Your crown and kingdom.
French King:
Or else what follows?
Exeter:
Bloody constraint, for he comes in fierce tempest,
That, if requiring fail, he will compel.
He bids you deliver up the crown; if not,
He turns the widows' tears, the orphans' cries,
The dead men's blood, the maidens' groans,
Upon your head. This is my message,
Unless the Dauphin be in presence here.
Dauphin:
I stand for him: what to him from England?
Exeter:
Scorn and defiance; slight regard, contempt;
And if your father grant not his demands,
He'll call you to a fiery answer to requite
The bitter mock you sent his majesty.
Dauphin:
I desire nothing but odds with England;
As matching to his youth and vanity,
I did present him with the tennis balls.
Exeter:
Be you assured, you'll find a difference
From that light promise of his greener days.
French King:
Tomorrow shall you know our mind at full.
Exeter:
Dispatch us with all speed, lest that the king
Come here himself to question our delay;
For he is footed in this land already.
EXEUNT
SCENE 6
BEFORE HARFLEUR. A LOUD EXPLOSION. ENTER THE KING,
EXETER, BEDFORD, GLOSTER AND SOLDIERS.
9
Henry:
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead!
Now imitate the action of the tiger:
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood;
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide;
Hold hard the breath, and bend up every spirit
To his full height! On, on, you noble English!
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit; and, upon this charge,
Cry "God for Harry, England and Saint George!"
THEY RUSH OFF CHEERING. BRADOLPH, PISTOL AND THE BOY
RUN ON.
Bardolph:
On, on, on, on, on! To the breach, to the breach!
Pistol:
(Restraining him) Pray thee, corporal, stay: the knocks are too hot.
(Strutting around.) Knocks come and go: God's vassals drop and die,
And sword and shield, in bloody field,
Doth win immortal fame.
THEY SIT. BARDOLPH PRODUCES A FLASK AND THEY PASS IT
ROUND.
Boy:
Would I were in an alehouse in London! I would give all my fame for a
pot of ale and safety.
Pistol:
And I: If wishes would prevail with me,
My purpose would not fail with me,—
ENTER FLUELLEN. THE BOY HIDES.
Fluellen:
God's blood! Up to the breaches, you rascals! Will you not up to the
breaches?
DRIVING PISTOL AND BARDOLPH FORWARD, BEATING THEM
Pistol:
Be merciful, great duke, to men of mould!
Abate thy rage, abate thy manly rage!
EXEUNT PISTOL, BARDOLPH AND FLUELLEN.
Boy:
I am boy to these two swashers, but they could not be man to me, for
their antics do not amount to a man. They will steal anything, and
would have me do the same, which makes much against my manhood.
I must leave them and find some better service.
A TRUMPET SOUNDS A PARLEY.
Boy:
The town sounds a parley: perchance the fighting's done.
10
EXIT BOY.
ENTER THE GOVERNOR OF HARFLEUR AND CITIZENS ON THE
WALLS. ENTER KING HENRY WITH HIS SOLDIERS BELOW.
Henry:
How yet resolves the governor of the town?
If I begin the battery once again,
I will not leave the half-achieved Harfleur
Till in her ashes she lies buried,
And the flesh'd soldier, rough and hard of heart,
In liberty of bloody hand shall range.
Therefore, take pity of your town and people.
What say you? Will you yield, and this avoid?
Governor:
Our expectation hath this day an end:
The Dauphin's powers are not yet ready
To raise so great a siege. Therefore, dread king,
Enter our gates; dispose of us and ours,
For we no longer are defensible.
Henry:
Come, my lord Exeter, enter Harfleur
And fortify it strongly 'gainst the French.
For us, dear uncle, the winter coming on
And sickness growing, we will retire to Calais.
EXEUNT
SCENE 7
THE FRENCH KING’S PALACE. ENTER THE KING OF FRANCE,
THE DAUPHIN, BOURBON, THE CONSTABLE AND OTHERS.
THEIR MOOD IS ANGRY FRUSTRATION.
French King:
'Tis certain he hath pass'd the River Somme.
Constable:
And if he be not fought withal, my lord,
Let us not live in France: let us quit all.
Bourbon:
Normans, but bastard Normans, Norman bastards!
If they march unfought, I'll sell my dukedom
To buy a dirty, slobbery farm in England!
Constable:
God of battles! Where have they this courage?
Is not their climate foggy, raw and dull?
Can their sodden-water ale, their barley-broth,
Inflame their cold blood to such valiant heat?
Dauphin:
Our madams mock at us, and plainly say
Our only talent is to run away.
11
French King:
(Changing the mood) Up, princes, and greet England with defiance!
And with the spirit of your honour edged,
More sharper than your swords, hie to the field!
Face Harry England, that sweeps through our land
With pennons painted in the blood of Harfleur,
And use your power to bring him captive to Rouen!
Constable:
Sorry I am his numbers are so few,
His soldiers sick, and famish'd in their march.
For I am sure, when he shall see our army,
He'll drop his heart and offer us his ransom.
French King:
Lord Constable, haste Montjoy, the herald
And let him say to England, that we send
To know what willing ransom he will give.
Now forth, lord Constable, and princes all,
And quickly bring us word of England's fall!
EXEUNT
SCENE 8
THE ENGLISH CAMP IN PICARDY. ENTER GOWER AND
FLUELLEN.
Gower:
How now, Captain Fluellen! Come you from the bridge?
Fluellen:
I assure you, there is very excellent service committed at the bridge; the
Duke of Exeter keeps it most valiantly. There is a soldier there of no
estimation in the world, but he did gallant service. His name is Pistol.
Gower:
I know him not.
Fluellen:
Here is the man.
ENTER PISTOL.
Pistol:
Captain, I thee beseech to do me favours:
The Duke of Exeter doth love thee well.
Fluellen:
Ay, I praise God.
Pistol:
My gallant comrade Bardolph a pax hath stolen,
And Exeter hath giv'n the doom of death: hang'd must a' be:
A damned death!
Therefore go speak: the duke will hear thy voice,
And let not Bardolph's vital thread be cut.
Speak, captain, for his life, and I will requite thee.
Fluellen:
(Ominous) I do partly understand your meaning and, look you, were he
my brother I would desire the duke to put him to execution, for discipline
ought to be used.
12
Pistol:
Die and be damned! and figo for thy friendship!
EXIT PISTOL.
Gower:
Why, this is an arrant counterfeit rascal. He is a rogue who now and
then goes to the wars, to grace himself, at his return unto London,
under the form of a soldier.
Fluellen:
I do perceive he is not the man I took him for.
DRUMMING OFF.
Fluellen:
But hark you, the king is coming.
ENTER KING HENRY, GLOSTER AND HIS POOR SOLDIERS.
Henry:
How now, Fluellen! camest thou from the bridge?
Fluellen:
Ay, so please your majesty; the Duke of Exeter is master of the bridge.
TRUMPET. ENTER MONTJOY.
Henry:
Well, herald, what shall I know of thee?
Montjoy:
My master's mind. Thus says my king: Say thou to Harry of England
'Though we seemed dead, we did but sleep. Now we speak upon our
cue, and our voice is imperial. Bid England consider of his ransom.
And tell him, for conclusion, that he hath betrayed his followers, whose
condemnation is pronounced.'
Henry:
What is thy name?
Montjoy:
Montjoy.
Henry:
Tell thy king I do not seek him now;
My people are with sickness much enfeebled;
But if we be hinder'd, we shall your tawny ground
With your red blood discolour. So tell him.
Montjoy:
I shall deliver so. Thanks to your highness.
MONTJOY EXIT.
Gloster:
I hope they will not come upon us now.
Henry:
We are in God's hands, brother, not in theirs.
March to the bridge; it now draws toward night;
Beyond the river we'll encamp ourselves;
And on to-morrow bid them march away.
EXEUNT
13
SCENE 9
THE FRENCH CAMP NEAR AGINCOURT. RNTER THE CONSTABLE,
THE DAUPHIN, BOURBON AND ORLEANS.
Dauphin:
What a long night this is! I will not change my horse with any: he
bounds from the earth like Pegasus! When I bestride him, I soar, I am a
hawk, he trots the air! O, will it never be day? I will trot tomorrow a
mile, and my way shall be paved with English faces! 'Tis midnight: I'll
go arm myself.
DAUPHIN EXIT.
Bourbon:
The Dauphin longs to eat the English.
Constable:
(Ironic) I think he will eat all he kills.
Orleans:
I know him to be valiant.
Constable:
I was told that by one who knows him better than you: he told me so
himself.
Orleans:
What a wretched fellow is this king of England and his fat-brain'd
followers!
Constable:
If they had any apprehension, they would run away.
Bourbon:
The island of England breeds very valiant creatures: their mastiffs are of
unmatchable courage.
Constable:
And the men are like the mastiffs: give them great meals of beef and
they will fight like devils.
Orleans:
Ay, but these English are out of beef.
Constable:
That we shall find out tomorrow. Now is it time to arm; come, shall we
about it?
Orleans:
It is now two o'clock: but, let me see: by ten
We shall each have a hundred Englishmen!
EXEUNT
SCENE 10
THE ENGLISH CAMP AT AGINCOURT, EVENING. ENTER KING
HENRY, BEDFORD AND GLOSTER.
Henry:
Gloster, 'tis true we are in great danger;
The greater therefore should our courage be.
ENTER ERPINGHAM
14
Henry:
Good morrow, old Sir Thomas Erpingham:
A good soft pillow for that good white head
Were better than a churlish turf of France.
Lend me thy cloak, Sir Thomas. Brothers both,
Desire the princes all to my pavilion;
I would debate alone awhile.
EXEUNT BEDFORD, GLOSTER AND ERPINGHAM
ENTER PISTOL.
Pistol:
Qui va là?
Henry:
I am a gentleman.
Pistol:
What is thy name?
Henry:
Harry le Roy.
Pistol:
Le Roy! Art thou of Cornish crew?
Henry:
No, I am a Welshman.
Pistol:
Ha! Tell Fluellen, I'll knock his leek about his pate upon Saint Davy's
day.
Henry:
Do you not wear your dagger in your cap that day, lest he knock that
about yours.
Pistol:
A figo for thee!
Henry:
(Smiling) Thank you: God be with you!
EXIT PISTOL.
ENTER THREE SOLDIERS: JOHN BATES, ALEXANDER COURT
AND MICHAEL WILLIAMS.
Court:
Brother John Bates, is not that the morning that breaks yonder?
Bates:
Ay: we see yonder the beginning of the day, but I think we shall never
see the end of it. Who goes there?
Henry:
A friend.
Williams:
Under what captain serve you?
Henry:
Sir Thomas Erpingham.
Williams:
What thinks he of our state?
15
Henry:
Even as men wreck'd upon a sand, that look to be wash'd off at the next
tide.
Bates:
He hath not told his thoughts to the king?
Henry:
No, nor should he. No man should show him an appearance of fear,
lest he should dishearten the army.
Bates:
He may show what outward courage he will, but I believe, as cold a
night as 'tis, he could wish himself in Thames up to the neck.
Henry:
I think he would not wish himself anywhere but where he is.
Bates:
Then I would he were here alone, so should he be sure to be ransom'd,
and many poor men's lives saved.
Henry:
Methinks I could not die anywhere better than the king's company, his
cause being just.
Williams:
But if the cause be not good, the king hath a heavy reckoning to make,
when all those legs and arms and heads chopp'd off in battle shall join
together at the latter day. If these men do not die well, it will be a black
matter for the king that led them to it.
Henry:
The king is not bound to answer the particular endings of his soldiers.
And I heard him say he would not be ransom'd.
Williams:
Ay, he said so to make us fight cheerfully, but when our throats are cut,
he may be ransom'd, and we ne'er the wiser.
Henry:
If I live to see it, I'll never trust his word after.
Williams:
(Scornful) You’ll never trust his word after! 'tis a foolish saying.
Henry:
I should be angry with you, if the time were convenient.
Williams:
Let it be a quarrel between us, if you live.
Henry:
I embrace it.
Williams:
How shall I know thee again?
Henry:
Give me any gage of thine, and I will wear it in my bonnet: if thou darest
acknowledge it, I will make it my quarrel.
Williams:
Here's my glove: give me one of thine.
THEY EXCHANGE GLOVES.
Williams:
If thou comest to me after tomorrow and say 'This is my glove', I'll take
thee a box on the ear. Fare thee well.
16
EXEUNT SOLDIERS.
Henry:
Upon the king! let us our lives, our debts,
Our wives, our children, our sins, lay on the king!
We must bear all. What infinite heart's ease
Must kings neglect that private men enjoy.
And what have kings, that privates have not too,
Save ceremony: the sword and crown imperial.
No king can sleep so soundly as the slave
Who all night sleeps in Elysium,
Doth rise, and help the sun upon his way,
And follows so the ever-running year,
With profitable labour, to his grave.
ENTER ERPINGHAM.
Erpingham:
My lord, your nobles, fearful of your absence,
Seek through your camp to find you.
Henry:
Good old knight, collect them together at my tent.
EXIT ERPINGHAM.
Henry:
O God of battles! Steel my soldiers' hearts;
Possess them not with fear, take from them now
The sense of reckoning.
Gloster:
(Off) My liege!
Henry:
The day, my friends, and all things stay for me.
EXIT HENRY.
SCENE 11
THE FRENCH CAMP. FANFARE. ENTER, IN ARMOUR, THE
DAUPHIN, ORLEANS, CONSTABLE, BOURBON AND OTHERS ALL
EXCITED BY THE PROSPECT OF BATTLE.
Orleans:
The sun doth gild our armour: up, my lords!
ENTER CONSTABLE.
Constable:
To horse, you gallant princes, straight to horse!
Do but behold that poor, starved English band:
There is not work enough for all our hands.
What's to say? A very little let us do,
And all is done. Let all our trumpets sound,
For our approach shall so much fright the field
That England shall crouch down in fear, and yield.
17
Dauphin:
Come, come, ye lords of France, away!
The sun is high, and we outwear the day!
TRUMPETS. EXEUNT.
SCENE 12
THE ENGLISH CAMP. ENTER GLOSTER, BEDFORD, EXETER,
SALISBURY, WESTMORELAND, ERPINGHAM, SOLDIERS
Gloster:
Where is the king?
Bedford:
Rode forth to view the armies.
Westmoreland:
Of fighting-men they have full three-score thousand.
Exeter:
That's five to one; besides, they are all fresh.
Salisbury:
'Tis a fearful odds. I'll to my charge;
If we no more meet till we meet in heaven,
Then joyfully, warriors all, adieu!
Bedford:
Farewell, good Salisbury, and good luck go with thee!
Exeter:
Farewell, kind lord, fight valiantly today.
EXEUNT SALISBURY.
ENTER KING HENRY.
Westmoreland:
O, that we now had here but one ten thousand
Of those men in England that do no work today!
Henry:
No, my fair cousin: if we are mark'd to die,
We are enough to do our country loss;
And if to live, the fewer men, the greater honour.
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian:
He that shall live this day and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours;
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say, 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'
And we on that day shall be remember'd:
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he today that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother.
ENTER SALISBURY IN HASTE.
Salisbury:
My sovereign lord, bestow yourself with speed:
The French are bravely in their battle set!
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Henry:
You know your places: God be with you all!
TRUMPET. ENTER MONTJOY.
Montjoy:
Once more I come to know of thee, King Harry,
If for thy ransom thou wilt now compound.
The Constable desires that thy followers
May retire in peace from off these fields
From where their bodies must lie and fester.
Henry:
Tell the Constable we are but warriors
For the working-day, and time has worn us
Into slovenry, but, by the mass, our hearts
Are in the trim! Come no more for ransom:
They shall have none; go, tell the Constable.
Montjoy:
I shall, King Harry. And so, fare thee well:
Thou never shalt hear herald any more.
EXIT MONTJOY.
Henry:
Now, soldiers, march away, and as thou pleasest,
God, dispose the day!
EXEUNT
SCENE 13
THE FIELD OF BATTLE. ENTER PISTOL, A FRENCH SOLDIER AND
BOY.
Pistol:
(Threatening him) Yield, cur! Art thou a gentleman?
Soldier:
(Trembling) O Seigneur Dieu!
Pistol:
Signieur Dew, thou diest on point of sword,
Except, O signieur, thou do give me ransom.
Soldier:
O, le force de ton bras!
Pistol:
Brass, cur? offer'st thou me brass?
Boy, bid this slave prepare, for I will cut his throat.
Soldier:
Que dit-il, petit monsieur?
Boy:
Il est disposé de couper votre gorge.
Pistol:
Oui: cuppele gorge, peasant, unless thou give me brave crowns.
Soldier:
Je vous donnerai deux cents écus.
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Boy:
He says he'll give you two hundred crowns.
Pistol:
Tell him my fury shall abate,
And I the crowns will take.
Boy:
Pour vos écus, il vous donnera la liberté.
Soldier:
(Kneeling) Vous êtes le chevalier le plus brave et vaillant d'Angleterre!
Boy:
You are the most brave and valorous signieur of England.
Pistol:
I will some mercy show: follow me, cur.
EXEUNT PISTOL AND FRENCH SOLDIER.
Boy:
I must stay with the luggage of our camp: the French might have a good
prey of us, if he knew of it, for there is none to guard it but us boys.
EXEUNT
SCENE 14
ANOTHER PART OF THE FIELD. ENTER DAUPHIN, CONSTABLE,
ORLEANS AND BOURBON IN DISARRAY.
Constable:
O, God! The day is lost! All is lost!
Dauphin:
All is confounded! all! Reproach and everlasting shame
Sit mocking in our plumes! Do not run away!
A SHORT TRUMPET CALL.
Constable:
Why, all our ranks are broke.
Dauphin:
Shame! Be these the wretches that we play'd at dice for?
Orleans:
Is this the king we sent to for his ransom?
Bourbon:
Let's die in honour: once more back again!
Orleans:
We are enough, yet living in the field,
To smother up the English in our throngs,
If any order might be thought upon.
Bourbon:
The devil take order now! I'll to the throng:
Let life be short; else shame will be too long.
EXEUNT
SCENE 15
ANOTHER PART OF THE FIELD. ENTER FLUELLEN AND GOWER.
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Fluellen:
Kill the boys and the luggage! 'tis as arrant a piece of knavery, look
you, as can be offer'd.
Gower:
'Tis certain there's not a boy left alive, and the cowardly rascals that ran
from the battle ha' done this slaughter. Here comes his majesty.
TRUMPETS. ENTER KING HENRY, SALISBURY, GLOSTER,
EXETER AND SOLDIERS, INCLUDING MICHAEL WILLIAMS WHO IS
WEARING THE KINGS GLOVE IN HIS CAP.
Henry:
I was not angry since I came to France.
Herald, ride to the horsemen on yond hill:
If they will fight with us, bid them come down,
Or void the field: they do offend our sight.
Exeter:
Here comes the herald of the French, my lord.
Gloster:
His eyes are humbler than they used to be.
ENTER MONTJOY
Henry:
Comest thou again for ransom, herald?
Montjoy:
No, great king: I come to thee for licence
That we may wander o'er this bloody field
To look our dead, and then to bury them.
Henry:
I tell thee truly, herald, I know not
If the day be ours or no, for yet a many
Of your horsemen peer and gallop o'er the field.
Montjoy:
The day is yours.
Henry:
Praised be God, and not our strength for it!
What is this castle call'd that stands hard by?
Montjoy:
They call it Agincourt.
Henry:
Then call we this the field of Agincourt,
Fought on the day of Crispin Crispianus.
Go with him and bring me the numbers of the dead.
EXEUNT SOME WITH MONTJOY.
Henry:
Soldier, why wear'st thou that glove in thy cap?
Williams:
An't please your majesty, 'tis the gage of one that I should fight with.
Henry:
An Englishman?
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Williams:
A rascal that swagger'd with me last night, who I have sworn to take a
box o' the ear, or if I see my glove in his cap, which he swore to wear, I
will strike it out.
Henry:
Who servest thou under?
Williams:
Captain Gower, my liege.
Henry:
Call him hither to me, soldier.
EXIT WILLIAMS.
Henry:
Fluellen, stick this favour in thy cap. When the Duke Alençon and
myself were down, I pluck'd this glove from his helm: if any man
challenge this, he is a friend of his. Pray fetch Gower to my tent.
EXIT FLUELLEN
Henry:
(To Warwick and Gloster) Follow Fluellen closely at the heels:
The glove may purchase him a box o' the ear:
It is the soldier's. If the soldier strike him,
See there be no harm between them.
EXEUNT
SCENE 16
BEFORE KING HENRY’S PAVILION. ENTER GOWER AND
WILLIAMS.
Williams:
I warrant it is to knight you, captain.
ENTER FLUELLEN, WITH WILLIAM’S GLOVE IN HIS CAP.
Fluellen:
I beseech you, captain, come to the king.
Williams:
(Indicating the glove in his own cap) Sir, know you this glove?
Fluellen:
Know the glove? I know the glove is a glove.
Williams:
(Indicating the other glove) I know this, and I challenge it.
WILLIAMS STRIKES GOWER.
Gower:
How now, sir! You villain!
Fluellen:
Apprehend him: he's a friend of the Duke Alençon's!
ENTER SALISBURY AND GLOSTER.
Salisbury:
How now, how now! what's the matter?
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Fluellen:
Here is a most contagious treason come to light!
ENTER KING HENRY AND EXETER.
Henry:
How now! What’s the matter?
Fluellen:
My liege, here is a villain and a traitor, look you, that has struck the
glove which you took from Duke Alençon.
Williams:
My liege, this was my glove; here is the fellow of it, and I promised to
strike him if he wore it in his cap. I met this man with my glove in his
cap and was as good as my word.
Henry:
Give me thy glove, soldier: look, here's its fellow.
'Twas I, indeed, thou promis'd to strike.
(Serious) How canst thou give me satisfaction?
It was ourself thou didst abuse.
Williams:
Your majesty appeared but as a common man: I beseech you to take it
for your own fault, for had you been as I took you for, I made no
offence. I beseech your highness, pardon me.
Henry:
(Thinking, then smiling) Here, uncle Exeter, fill this glove with crowns,
And give it to this fellow. Keep it, fellow;
And wear it for an honour in thy cap.
ENTER AND ENGLISH HERALD.
Herald:
Here is the number of the slaughter'd French, my liege.
HERALD OFFERS A PAPER.
Henry:
This doth tell me of ten thousand French
That in the field lie slain: of princes,
Nobles and gentlemen over eight thousand.
Here was a royal fellowship of death!
Where is the number of our English dead?
HERALD PRESENTS ANOTHER PAPER.
Edward, the Duke of York, the Earl of Suffolk,
Sir Richard Ketly, Davy Gam, esquire,
Of all other men, but five and twenty.
Exeter:
'Tis wonderful!
Henry:
Let there be sung Non nobis and Te Deum.
We'll then to Calais, and to England then;
Where ne'er from France arrived more happy men.
THE END
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