King John & Henry VIII (47 page)
Read King John & Henry VIII Online
Authors: William Shakespeare
and fight for bitten apples, that no audience but the
tribulation
of
Tower Hill
, or the
limbs
of
Limehouse
58
, their
dear brothers, are able to endure. I have some of ’em in
limbo
59
patrum
, and there they are
like
60
to dance these three days,
besides the
running banquet
of two
beadles
61
that is to come.
Enter Lord Chamberlain
CHAMBERLAIN
Mercy o’me: what a multitude are here!
They grow still, too: from all parts they are coming,
As if we kept a fair here! Where are these porters,
To the Porter and his Man
These lazy knaves?— You’ve
made a fine hand
65
, fellows:
There’s a
trim
66
rabble let in: are all these
Your faithful
friends
o’th’suburbs
67
? We shall have
Great store of room
68
, no doubt, left for the ladies,
When they pass back from the christening!
PORTER
An’t
70
please your honour,
We are but men, and what so many may do,
Not being torn a-pieces, we have done:
An army cannot
rule
73
’em.
CHAMBERLAIN
As I live,
If the king blame me for’t, I’ll
lay ye all
75
By th’heels, and
suddenly
76
, and on your heads
Clap
round
77
fines for neglect: you’re lazy knaves,
And here ye lie
baiting of bombards
78
, when
Trumpet
Ye should do
service
79
. Hark, the trumpets sound:
They’re come already from the christening:
Go
break among
the
press
81
, and find a way out
To let the
troop
pass
fairly
82
, or I’ll find
A
Marshalsea
shall
hold ye play
83
these two months.
PORTER
Make way there for the princess.
MAN
You great fellow,
Stand
close up
86
, or I’ll make your head ache.
PORTER
You i’th’
camlet
, get up
o’th’rail
87
:
Exeunt
running scene 15
Enter Trumpets sounding: then two Aldermen, Lord Mayor,
Garter
, Cranmer, Duke of Norfolk with his
Marshal’s staff
, Duke of Suffolk, two Noblemen bearing great
standing bowls
for the christening gifts: then four Noblemen bearing a canopy, under which the Duchess of Norfolk, godmother, bearing the child richly
habited
in a mantle, etc., train borne by a Lady: then follows the Marchioness Dorset, the other godmother, and Ladies. The troop pass once about the stage, and Garter speaks
GARTER
Heaven, from thy endless goodness, send prosperous
life, long, and ever happy, to the high and mighty Princess of
England, Elizabeth.
Flourish. Enter King
[
Henry
]
and Guard
He kneels
CRANMER
And to your royal grace, and the good queen,
My noble
partners
5
and myself thus pray
All comfort, joy, in this most gracious lady,
Heaven ever
laid
7
up to make parents happy,
May hourly fall upon ye.
KING HENRY VIII
Thank you, good lord archbishop:
What is her name?
CRANMER
Elizabeth.
KING HENRY VIII
Stand up, lord.
He kisses the child
With this kiss take my blessing: God protect thee,
Into whose hand I give thy life.
CRANMER
Amen.
KING HENRY VIII
My noble
gossips
, you’ve been too
prodigal
16
:
I thank ye heartily: so shall this lady,
When she has so much English.
CRANMER
Let me speak, sir,
For heaven now bids me: and the words I utter
Let none think flattery, for they’ll find ’em truth.
This royal infant —
heaven still move about her
22
—
Though in her cradle, yet now promises
Upon this land a thousand thousand blessings,
Which time shall bring to ripeness: she shall be —
But few now living can behold that goodness —
A
pattern
27
to all princes living with her,
And all that shall succeed:
Saba
28
was never
More covetous of wisdom and fair virtue
Than this pure soul shall be. All princely graces
That
mould up
such a mighty
piece
31
as this is,
With all the virtues that attend the good,
Shall
still
33
be doubled on her. Truth shall nurse her,
Holy and heavenly thoughts still counsel her:
She shall be loved and feared. Her
own
35
shall bless her:
Her foes shake like a field of
beaten
36
corn,
And hang their heads with sorrow: good grows with her.
In her days, every man shall eat in safety
Under his own vine what he plants, and sing
The merry songs of peace to all his neighbours.
God
41
shall be truly known, and those about her
From her shall
read
42
the perfect ways of honour,
And by those claim their
greatness
, not by
blood
43
.
Nor shall this peace
sleep
44
with her: but as when
The bird of wonder dies, the
maiden phoenix
45
,
Her ashes new create another heir,
As great in
admiration
47
as herself.
So shall she leave her blessedness to
one
48
,
When heaven shall call her from this
cloud of darkness
49
,
Who from the sacred ashes of her honour
Shall star-like rise, as great in fame as she was,
And so stand
fixed
. Peace, plenty, love, truth,
terror
52
,
That were the servants to this chosen infant,
Shall then be his, and like a vine grow to him:
Wherever the bright sun of heaven shall shine,
His honour and the greatness of his name
Shall be, and make new nations. He shall flourish,
And like a mountain cedar, reach his branches
To all the plains about him: our children’s children
Shall see this, and bless heaven.
KING HENRY VIII
Thou speakest wonders.
CRANMER
She shall be to the happiness of England
An agèd princess: many days shall see her,
And yet no day without a
deed
64
to crown it.
Would
65
I had known no more: but she must die,
She must, the saints must have her: yet a virgin,
A most unspotted lily shall she pass
To th’ground, and all the world shall mourn her.
KING HENRY VIII
O lord archbishop,
Thou hast made me now a man. Never before
This happy child did I
get
71
anything.
This oracle of comfort has so pleased me,
That when I am in heaven I shall desire
To see what this child does, and praise my maker.
I thank ye all. To you, my good Lord Mayor,
And your good brethren, I am much
beholding
76
:
I have received much honour by your presence,
And ye shall find me thankful. Lead the way, lords:
Ye must all see the queen, and she must thank ye:
She will be
sick
80
else. This day, no man think
H’as
business at his house, for all shall
stay
81
:
This little one shall make it
holiday
82
.
Exeunt
[
Enter Epilogue
]
’Tis ten to one this play can never please
All that are here: some come to take their ease,
And sleep an act or two: but those, we fear,
We’ve frighted with our trumpets: so ’tis clear,
They’ll say ’tis
nought
. Others to hear the
city
5
Abused extremely, and to cry ‘That’s witty!’
Which we have not done neither:
that
7
, I fear
All the expected good we’re like to hear.
For this play at this time, is only in
The merciful
construction
10
of good women,
For
such a one
11
we showed ’em. If they smile,
And say ’twill do, I know within a while
All the best men are ours, for ’tis
ill hap
13
If they
hold
14
when their ladies bid ’em clap.
[
Exit
]
F = First Folio text of 1623, the only authority for the play
F2 = a correction introduced in the Second Folio text of 1632
F3 = a correction introduced in the Third Folio text of 1663–64
F4 = a correction introduced in the Fourth Folio text of 1685
Ed = a correction introduced by a later editor
SD = stage direction
SH = speech heading (i.e. speaker’s name)
List of parts
= Ed
THE … EIGHTH
Various contemporary references suggest the play was performed as “All Is True”
1.1.9 Andres
= Ed. F = Andren. Ed = Ardres
10 Guînes
= Ed. F = Guynes
Ardres
= Ed. F = Arde
28 cherubins
= F. Ed = cherubim/cherubims
madams
= F. Ed = mesdames
48–51 All … function
F
assigns these lines to Buckingham who states he wasn’t present. This edition follows editorial tradition in reassigning them to Norfolk
54 as you guess
this edition follows
F4’
s assignation of these words to Buckingham, whereas
F
places them at the beginning of Norfolk’s reply
72 a
= Ed. F = O
142 venom-mouthed
= Ed. F = venom’d-mouth’d
196 wrenching
= F. Ed = rinsing
213 He privily
= F2. F = Priuily.
255 Montague
spelled Mountacute in
F
257 Perk
= Ed. F =
Pecke. Emendation is based on Holinshed and Hall’s accounts
chancellor
= Ed. F = Councellour.
The emendation is made in accordance with Holinshed’s account
261 Nicholas
= Ed. F =
Michaell
.
The emendation is made in accordance with Holinshed’s account
267 lord
= Ed. F = Lords
1.2.75 baseness
= F. Ed = business
154 His
= Ed. F = This
165, 166 Hopkins
= Ed. F =
Henton
.
Henton was the name of Hopkins’ monastery
176 feared
= Ed. F = feare
184 confession’s
= Ed. F = Commissions
190 gain
= F4.
Not in
F;
other suggestions are
win
and
purchase
203 him
= Ed. F = this
216 Bulmer
= Ed. F =
Blumer
1.3.0 SD
Sands
spelled Sandys in
F
13 see
= F. Ed = saw
14 Or
= Ed. F = A
17 SD
Enter … Lovell
= Ed.
Two lines down in
F
39
oui
= Ed. F = wee. F2 = weare
72 he’s
= Ed. F = Ha’s. Ed = ’has
1.4.6 first
= F. Ed = feast
2.1.26 Perk
= Ed. F =
Pecke
67 SD
William
= Ed. F =
Walter. Emendation in accordance with Holinshed
102 make
= F. Ed = mark
2.2.SH CHAMBERLAIN
= Ed.
Not in
F
97 one have-at-him
= Ed. F = one; haue at him
2.3.74 you
= Ed. F = you, to you.
Omitted by editors because thought to be a compositorial error, copied prematurely from the following line
102 fie, fie, fie
= F. Ed = fie, fie
2.4.137 SH GRIFFITH
= Ed. F =
Gent. Ush
.
3.1.3 SH WOMAN
= Ed. F
reads “SONG” instead of using a speech heading, but the song must be sung by one of the Queen’s women
25 SD
Campeius
= F4. F =
Campian
55 should
= Ed. F = shoul
65 your
= F2. F = our
130 he’s
= Ed. F = ha’s
135 a curse
= F. Ed = accursed
3.2.215 filed
= Ed. F = fill’d
402 legative
= F. Ed = legatine, legantine
406 Castles
= F. Ed = chattels
4.1.24 SH SECOND GENTLEMAN
= F4. F = I,
i.e. First Gentleman
38 Kimbolton
= F3. F = Kymmalton
66 And … ones
some editors ascribe this line to the First Gentleman, allocating his line to the Second Gentleman
67 SH FIRST GENTLEMAN
= Ed. F = 2 SD
and … Trumpets moved from its original position at the end of “The Order of the Coronation”
121 Stokesley
= F4. F =
Stokely
142 SH FIRST … GENTLEMEN
= Ed. F =
Both
4.2.8 think
= F2. F = thanke
22 convent
= Ed. F = Couent
108 cold
= F. Ed = colour
114 to
= Ed. F = too.
Some editors retain
F
arguing it means “too blameworthy”
5.1.2 SH PAGE
= Ed. F =
Boy
45 time
= F4. F = Lime
138 halidom
spelled
Holydame
in
F
145 good
= F. Ed = ground
163 precipice
= F2. F = Precepit
164 woo
= Ed. F = woe
184 SH LOVELL
= Ed. F =
Gent
.
5.2.10 piece
= F2. F = Peere
16 sound
= F. Ed = found
21 ’Mong … lackeys
some editors direct the pursuivants, pages, footboys and grooms referred to in the text to enter with Cranmer at the beginning of this scene. However, it seems perfectly possible that these figures could also be imagined, hence the need for them to be “pointed out” by Cranmer and Butts
123 faulty
= F2. F = faultly
139, 143 SH CHANCELLOR
= Ed. F =
Cham
190 base
= F. Ed = bare
198 his
= F. F4 = this
243 heart
= F2. F = hearts
5.3.2 Paris
= F4. F = Parish
5.4.42 ways
= F4. F = way
76 your
= Ed. F = you