[The] French fly [leaving Joan la Pucelle in York’s power]
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Damsel of France, I think I have you fast30:
Unchain your spirits now with spelling31 charms
And try if they can gain your liberty.
A goodly prize, fit for the devil’s grace33!
See how the ugly witch doth bend her brows34,
As if with Circe35 she would change my shape!
PUCELLE Changed to a worser shape thou canst not be.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK O, Charles the Dauphin is a proper37 man:
No shape but his can please your dainty38 eye.
PUCELLE A plaguing mischief39 light on Charles and thee,
And may ye both be suddenly surprised
By bloody hands, in41 sleeping on your beds!
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Fell banning hag42, enchantress, hold thy tongue.
PUCELLE I prithee, give me leave to curse awhile.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Curse, miscreant44, when thou com’st to the stake.
Exeunt
Alarum. Enter Suffolk with Margaret in his hand
SUFFOLK Be what thou wilt, thou art my prisoner.
Gazes on her
O fairest beauty, do not fear nor fly:
For I will touch thee but with reverent hands:
I kiss these fingers for48 eternal peace,
And lay them gently on thy tender side49.
Who art thou? Say, that I may honour thee.
MARGARET Margaret my name, and daughter to a king,
The King of Naples, whosoe’er thou art.
SUFFOLK An earl I am, and Suffolk am I called.
Be not offended, nature’s miracle,
Thou art allotted55 to be ta’en by me:
So doth the swan her downy cygnets save56,
Keeping them prisoner underneath her wings:
Yet if this servile usage58 once offend,
Go, and be free again, as Suffolk’s friend.
She is going
Aside
O stay!— I have no power to let her pass;
My hand would free her, but my heart says no.
As plays the sun upon the glassy62 streams,
Twinkling another counterfeited63 beam,
So seems this gorgeous beauty to mine eyes.
Fain would I woo her, yet I dare not speak:
I’ll call for pen and ink, and write my mind:
Fie, de la Pole, disable67 not thyself!
Hast not a tongue? Is she not here?
Wilt thou be daunted at a woman’s sight69?
Ay, beauty’s princely majesty is such
Confounds the tongue and makes the senses rough71.
MARGARET Say, Earl of Suffolk — if thy name be so —
What ransom must I pay before I pass?
For I perceive I am thy prisoner.
Aside
SUFFOLK How canst thou tell she will deny thy suit,
Before thou make a trial of her love?
MARGARET Why speak’st thou not? What ransom must I pay?
Aside
SUFFOLK She’s beautiful, and therefore to be wooed:
She is a woman, therefore to be won.
MARGARET Wilt thou accept of ransom, yea or no?
Aside
SUFFOLK Fond81 man, remember that thou hast a wife:
Then how can Margaret be thy paramour?
Aside
MARGARET I were best to leave him, for he will not hear.
Aside
SUFFOLK There all is marred: there lies a cooling card84.
Aside
MARGARET He talks at random: sure, the man is mad.
Aside
SUFFOLK And yet a dispensation86 may be had.
MARGARET And yet I would that you would answer me.
Aside
SUFFOLK I’ll win this Lady Margaret. For whom?
Why, for my king: tush, that’s a wooden thing89.
Aside
MARGARET He talks of wood: it is some carpenter.
Aside
SUFFOLK Yet so my fancy91 may be satisfied,
And peace establishèd between these realms.
But there remains a scruple93 in that too:
For though her father be the King of Naples,
Duke of Anjou and Maine, yet is he poor,
And our nobility will scorn the match.
MARGARET Hear ye, captain? Are you not at leisure?
Aside
SUFFOLK It shall be so, disdain they ne’er so much98.
Henry is youthful and will quickly yield.—
To Margaret
Madam, I have a secret to reveal.
Aside
MARGARET What though I be enthralled101, he seems a knight,
And will not any way dishonour me.
SUFFOLK Lady, vouchsafe to listen what I say.
Aside
MARGARET Perhaps I shall be rescued by the French,
And then I need not crave his courtesy.
SUFFOLK Sweet madam, give me a hearing in a cause.
Aside
MARGARET Tush, women have been captivate107 ere now.
SUFFOLK Lady, wherefore talk you so?
MARGARET I cry you mercy, ’tis but. quid109 for quo.
SUFFOLK Say, gentle princess, would you not suppose
Your bondage happy111 to be made a queen?
MARGARET To be a queen in bondage is more vile112
Than is a slave in base servility113,
For princes should be free.
SUFFOLK And so shall you,
If happy England’s royal king be free.
MARGARET Why, what concerns his freedom unto me?
SUFFOLK I’ll undertake to make thee Henry’s queen,
To put a golden sceptre in thy hand
And set a precious crown upon thy head,
If thou wilt condescend to be my—
MARGARET What?
SUFFOLK His love.
MARGARET I am unworthy to be Henry’s wife.
SUFFOLK No, gentle madam, I unworthy am
To woo so fair a dame to be his wife,
And have no portion in the choice127 myself.
How say you, madam, are ye so content?
MARGARET An if129 my father please, I am content.
SUFFOLK Then call our captains and our colours130 forth,
And, madam, at your father’s castle walls
We’ll crave a parley132, to confer with him.
[Enter Captains, Colours and Trumpeters] Sound [a parley]. Enter Reignier on the walls
See, Reignier, see, thy daughter prisoner.
REIGNIER To whom?
SUFFOLK To me.
REIGNIER Suffolk, what remedy136?
I am a soldier, and unapt to weep,
Or to exclaim on138 fortune’s fickleness.
SUFFOLK Yes, there is remedy enough, my lord:
Consent, and for thy honour give consent,
Thy daughter shall be wedded to my king,
Whom142 I with pain have wooed and won thereto:
And this her easy-held143 imprisonment
Hath gained thy daughter princely liberty.
REIGNIER Speaks Suffolk as he thinks?
SUFFOLK Fair Margaret knows
That Suffolk doth not flatter, face147, or feign.
REIGNIER Upon thy princely warrant148, I descend
To give thee answer of thy just149 demand.
[Exit from the walls]
SUFFOLK And here I will expect150 thy coming.
Trumpets sound. Enter Reignier [below]
REIGNIER Welcome, brave earl, into our territories:
Command in Anjou what your honour pleases.
SUFFOLK Thanks, Reignier, happy for153 so sweet a child,
Fit to be made companion with a king:
What answer makes your grace unto my suit?
REIGNIER Since thou dost deign to woo her little worth156
To be the princely bride of such a lord,
Upon condition I may quietly158
Enjoy mine own, the country Maine and Anjou,
Free from oppression or the stroke of war,
My daughter shall be Henry’s, if he please.
SUFFOLK That is her ransom: I deliver her,
And those two counties163 I will undertake
Your grace shall well and quietly enjoy.
REIGNIER And I again165 in Henry’s royal name,
As deputy166 unto that gracious king,
Give thee her hand for sign of plighted167 faith.
SUFFOLK Reignier of France, I give thee kingly thanks,
Because this is in traffic169 of a king.—
Aside
And yet, methinks, I could be well content
To be mine own attorney171 in this case.—
To Reignier
I’ll over then to England with this news,
And make this marriage to be solemnized173:
So farewell, Reignier: set this diamond safe
In golden palaces, as it becomes175.
REIGNIER I do embrace thee, as I would embrace
The Christian prince King Henry, were he here.
MARGARET 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 commendations181 to my king?
MARGARET Such commendations as becomes a maid,
A virgin and his servant, say to him.
SUFFOLK Words sweetly placed184 and modestly directed.
But madam, I must trouble you again;
No loving token to his majesty?
MARGARET Yes, my good lord, a pure unspotted heart,
Never yet taint188 with love, I send the king.
SUFFOLK And this withal189.
Kisses her
MARGARET That for thyself: I will not so presume
To send such peevish191 tokens to a king.
[Exeunt Reignier and Margaret]
SUFFOLK O, wert thou for myself! But, Suffolk, stay192:
Thou mayst not wander in that labyrinth:
There Minotaurs194 and ugly treasons lurk.
Solicit Henry with her wondrous praise195.
Bethink thee on her virtues that surmount196,
Mad natural graces that extinguish art197,
Repeat their semblance198 often on the seas,
That when thou com’st to kneel at Henry’s feet,
Thou mayst bereave200 him of his wits with wonder.
Exit
running scene 20
Enter York, Warwick, [a] Shepherd [and Joan la] Pucelle [guarded]
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Bring forth that sorceress condemned to burn.
SHEPHERD Ah, Joan, this kills thy father’s heart outright.
Have I sought every country3 far and near,
And now it is my chance4 to find thee out,
Must I behold thy timeless5 cruel death?
Ah, Joan, sweet daughter Joan, I’ll die with thee.
PUCELLE Decrepit miser7, base ignoble wretch,
I am descended of a gentler8 blood.
Thou art no father, nor no friend9 of mine.
SHEPHERD Out, out!— My lords, an’t10 please you, ’tis not so:
I did beget11 her, all the parish knows:
Her mother liveth yet, can testify
She was the first fruit of my bach’lorship13.
WARWICK Graceless, wilt thou deny thy parentage?
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK This argues15 what her kind of life hath been:
Wicked and vile, and so her death concludes16.
SHEPHERD Fie, Joan, that thou wilt be so obstacle17:
God knows thou art a collop18 of my flesh,
And for thy sake have I shed many a tear:
Deny me not, I prithee, gentle Joan.
To the English
PUCELLE Peasant, avaunt!—You have suborned21 this man,
Of22 purpose to obscure my noble birth.
SHEPHERD ’Tis true, I gave a noble23 to the priest
The morn that I was wedded to her mother.
Kneel down and take my blessing, good my girl.
Wilt thou not stoop? Now cursèd be the time
Of thy nativity27: I would the milk
Thy mother gave thee when thou sucked’st her breast,
Had been a little ratsbane29 for thy sake.
Or else, when thou didst keep my lambs afield30,
I wish some ravenous wolf had eaten thee.
Dost thou deny thy father, cursèd drab32?—
O burn her, burn her: hanging is too good.
Exit
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Take her away; for she hath lived too long,
To fill the world with vicious qualities.
PUCELLE First let me tell you whom you have condemned:
Not one begotten of a shepherd swain37,
But issued from the progeny38 of kings:
Virtuous and holy, chosen from above,
By inspiration of celestial grace,
To work exceeding41 miracles on earth.
I never had to do42 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 want46 the grace that others have,
You judge it straight47 a thing impossible
To compass48 wonders but by help of devils.
No misconceivèd49, Joan of Arc hath been
A virgin from her tender50 infancy,
Chaste and immaculate in very thought,
Whose maiden blood thus rigorously effused52
Will cry for vengeance at the gates of heaven.
To Guards
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Ay, ay.— Away with her to execution.
WARWICK And hark ye, sirs: because she is a maid,
Spare for no faggots56: let there be enough:
Place barrels of pitch57 upon the fatal stake,
That so her torture may be shortenèd.
PUCELLE Will nothing turn your unrelenting hearts?
Then, Joan, discover thine infirmity60,
That warranteth by law to be thy privilege61.
I am with child, ye bloody homicides:
Murder not then the fruit within my womb,
Although ye hale64 me to a violent death.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Now heaven forfend65, the holy maid with child?
WARWICK The greatest miracle that e’er ye wrought.
Is all your strict preciseness67 come to this?
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK She and the dauphin have been juggling68.
I did imagine what would be her refuge69.
WARWICK Well, go to: we’ll have no bastards live,
Especially since Charles must father it.
PUCELLE You are deceived: my child is none of his:
It was Alençon that enjoyed my love.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Alençon, that notorious machiavel74?
It dies, an if75 it had a thousand lives.
PUCELLE O give me leave, I have deluded you:
’Twas neither Charles nor yet the duke I named,
But Reignier, King of Naples, that prevailed78.
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 free82.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK And yet, forsooth, she is a virgin pure.—
Strumpet, thy words condemn thy brat and thee.
Use no entreaty, for it is in vain.
PUCELLE Then lead me hence, with whom I leave my curse:
May never glorious sun reflex87 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!
Exit [guarded]
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Break thou in pieces and consume92 to ashes,
Thou foul accursèd minister93 of hell!
Enter [Bishop of Winchester, now] Cardinal [attended]
WINCHESTER Lord Regent, I do greet your excellence
With letters of commission95 from the king.
For know, my lords, the states of Christendom,
Moved with remorse of these outrageous broils97,
Have earnestly implored a general peace
Betwixt our nation and the aspiring99 French,
And here at hand the dauphin and his train
Approacheth to confer about some matter.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Is all our travail102 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 conquerèd?
O Warwick, Warwick, I foresee with grief
The utter loss of all the realm of France.
WARWICK Be patient, York: if we conclude113 a peace,
It shall be with such strict and severe covenants114
As little shall the Frenchmen gain thereby.
Enter Charles, Alençon, Bastard [of Orléans] and Reignier
CHARLES Since, lords of England, it is thus agreed
That peaceful truce shall be proclaimed in France,
We come to be informèd 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 baleful122 enemies.
WINCHESTER Charles and the rest, it is enacted123 thus:
That, in regard124 King Henry gives consent,
Of mere compassion and of lenity125,
To ease your country of distressful126 war,
And suffer127 you to breathe in fruitful peace,
You shall become true liegemen128 to his crown.
And, Charles, upon condition thou wilt swear
To pay him tribute130, 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 coronet134,
And yet in substance and authority
Retain but136 privilege of a private man?
This proffer137 is absurd and reasonless.
CHARLES ’Tis known already that I am possessed
With more than half the Gallian139 territories,
And therein reverenced for140 their lawful king.
Shall I, for lucre of the rest141 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 cast146 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 compromise149,
Stand’st thou aloof upon comparison150?
Either accept the title thou usurp’st,
Of benefit152 proceeding from our king
And not of any challenge of desert153,
Or we will plague thee with incessant wars.
Aside to Charles
REIGNIER My lord, you do not well in obstinacy
To cavil156 in the course of this contract:
If once it be neglected157, ten to one
We shall not find like opportunity.
Aside to Charles
ALENÇON 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 compact163 of a truce,
Although you break it when your pleasure serves.
WARWICK How say’st thou, Charles? Shall our condition165 stand?
CHARLES It shall:
Only reserved167 you claim no interest
In any of our towns of garrison168.
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.
So, now dismiss your army when ye please:
Hang up your ensigns174, let your drums be still,
For here we entertain175 a solemn peace.
Exeunt
running scene 21
Enter Suffolk in conference with King [Henry VI], Gloucester and Exeter
KING HENRY VI Your wondrous rare description, noble earl,
Of beauteous Margaret hath astonished me:
Her virtues gracèd with external gifts
Do breed love’s settled4 passions in my heart,
And like as rigour5 of tempestuous gusts
Provokes the mightiest hulk6 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 praise11:
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 conceit15:
And, which is more, she is not so divine,
So full17 replete with choice of all delights,
But with as humble lowliness18 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 VI And otherwise will Henry ne’er presume:
Therefore, my Lord Protector, give consent
That Margaret may be England’s royal queen.
GLOUCESTER So should I give consent to flatter25 sin.
You know, my lord, your highness is betrothed
Unto another lady of esteem27:
How shall we then dispense with that contract28,
And not deface your honour with reproach29?
SUFFOLK As doth a ruler with unlawful oaths,
Or one that, at a triumph31 having vowed
To try his strength, forsaketh yet the lists32
By reason of his adversary’s odds.
A poor earl’s daughter is unequal odds,
And therefore may be broke35 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 confirm42 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 warrant46 a liberal dower,
Where47 Reignier 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 attorneyship56:
Not whom we will, but whom his grace affects57,
Must be companion of his nuptial bed.
And therefore, lords, since he affects her most,
Most of all these reasons bindeth us,
In our opinions she should be preferred61.
For what is wedlock forcèd but a hell,
An age of discord and continual strife?
Whereas the contrary bringeth bliss,
And is a pattern65 of celestial peace.
Whom should we match with Henry, being a king,
But Margaret, that is daughter to a king?
Her peerless feature68, joinèd with her birth,
Approves69 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 king72.
For Henry, son unto a conqueror,
Is likely to beget more conquerors,
If with a lady of so high resolve75,
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 VI Whether it be through force of your report,
My noble lord of Suffolk, or for that80
My tender youth was never yet attaint81
With any passion of inflaming love,
I cannot tell: but this I am assured,
I feel such sharp dissension84 in my breast,
Such fierce alarums both of hope and fear,
As I am sick with working of my thoughts.
Take therefore shipping: post87, my lord, to France:
Agree to any covenants, and procure88
That Lady Margaret do vouchsafe to come
To cross the seas to England, and be crowned
King Henry’s faithful and anointed91 queen.
For your expenses and sufficient charge92,
Among the people gather up a tenth93.
Be gone, I say, for, till you do return,
I rest perplexèd with a thousand cares.
And you, good uncle, banish all offence96:
If you do censure me by what you were97,
Not what you are, I know it will excuse
This sudden execution of my will.
And so conduct me where from company100
I may revolve and ruminate my grief101.
Exit
GLOUCESTER Ay, grief, I fear me, both at first and last.
Exit [with Exeter]
SUFFOLK Thus Suffolk hath prevailed, and thus he goes
As did the youthful Paris once to Greece104,
With hope to find the like event105 in love,
But prosper better than the Trojan did:
Margaret shall now be queen, and rule the king:
But I will rule both her, the king, and realm.
Exit
TEXTUAL NOTES
F = First Folio text of 1623, the only authority for the play
F2 = a correction introduced in the Second Folio text of 1632
Ed = a correction introduced by a later editor
SD = stage direction SH = speech heading (i.e. speaker’s name)
List of parts = Ed
1.1.60 Champaigne = F. Ed = Compiègne Rouen = Ed. Not in F, but implicit in the text 92 dauphin = Ed. F = Dolphin 94 Reignier = Ed. F = Reynold 131 Falstaff = F. Ed = Fastolf 176 steal = Ed. F = send
1.2.21 fly = F. Ed = flee 30 bred = Ed. F = breed 47 SH CHARLES = Ed. F = Dolph. 65 SH PUCELLE = Ed. F = Puzel 99 five = Ed. F = fine
1.3.6 SH FIRST SERVINGMAN = Ed. F = Glost. I. Man. 19 The Cardinal = F. Ed = My lord 29 umpire = F2. F = Vmpheir 30 Peeled spelled Piel’d in F 42 scarlet = F. Ed = purple 49 cardinal’s hat = F. Ed = bishop’s mitre 56 scarlet = F. Ed = cloakèd 56 SD [Bishop of Winchester’s] = Ed. F = Cardinalls 73 SH OFFICER = Ed. Not in F 79 Cardinal = F.
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