SCENE II. London. The palace. The Life and Death of Richard the Third  Shakespeare homepage  |  Richard III  | Act 4, Scene 2 

 Previous scene  |  Next scene  SCENE II. London. The palace. 

 Sennet. Enter KING RICHARD III, in pomp, crowned; BUCKINGHAM, CATESBY, a page, and others  KING RICHARD III  Stand all apart Cousin of Buckingham! 

 BUCKINGHAM  My gracious sovereign? 

 KING RICHARD III  Give me thy hand. 



 Here he ascendeth his throne  Thus high, by thy advice 

 And thy assistance, is King Richard seated; 

 But shall we wear these honours for a day? 

 Or shall they last, and we rejoice in them? 

 BUCKINGHAM  Still live they and for ever may they last! 

 KING RICHARD III  O Buckingham, now do I play the touch, 

 To try if thou be current gold indeed 

 Young Edward lives: think now what I would say. 

 BUCKINGHAM  Say on, my loving lord. 

 KING RICHARD III  Why, Buckingham, I say, I would be king, 

 BUCKINGHAM  Why, so you are, my thrice renowned liege. 

 KING RICHARD III  Ha! am I king? 'tis so: but Edward lives. 

 BUCKINGHAM  True, noble prince. 

 KING RICHARD III  O bitter consequence, 

 That Edward still should live! 'True, noble prince!' 

 Cousin, thou wert not wont to be so dull: 

 Shall I be plain? I wish the bastards dead; 

 And I would have it suddenly perform'd. 

 What sayest thou? speak suddenly; be brief. 

 BUCKINGHAM  Your grace may do your pleasure. 

 KING RICHARD III  Tut, tut, thou art all ice, thy kindness freezeth: 

 Say, have I thy consent that they shall die? 

 BUCKINGHAM  Give me some breath, some little pause, my lord 

 Before I positively herein: 

 I will resolve your grace immediately. 



 Exit  CATESBY  [Aside to a stander by] 

 The king is angry: see, he bites the lip. 

 KING RICHARD III  I will converse with iron-witted fools 

 And unrespective boys: none are for me 

 That look into me with considerate eyes: 

 High-reaching Buckingham grows circumspect. 

 Boy! 

 Page  My lord? 

 KING RICHARD III  Know'st thou not any whom corrupting gold 

 Would tempt unto a close exploit of death? 

 Page  My lord, I know a discontented gentleman, 

 Whose humble means match not his haughty mind: 

 Gold were as good as twenty orators, 

 And will, no doubt, tempt him to any thing. 

 KING RICHARD III  What is his name? 

 Page  His name, my lord, is Tyrrel. 

 KING RICHARD III  I partly know the man: go, call him hither. 



 Exit Page  The deep-revolving witty Buckingham 

 No more shall be the neighbour to my counsel: 

 Hath he so long held out with me untired, 

 And stops he now for breath? 



 Enter STANLEY  How now! what news with you? 

 STANLEY  My lord, I hear the Marquis Dorset's fled 

 To Richmond, in those parts beyond the sea 

 Where he abides. 



 Stands apart  KING RICHARD III  Catesby! 

 CATESBY  My lord? 

 KING RICHARD III  Rumour it abroad 

 That Anne, my wife, is sick and like to die: 

 I will take order for her keeping close. 

 Inquire me out some mean-born gentleman, 

 Whom I will marry straight to Clarence' daughter: 

 The boy is foolish, and I fear not him. 

 Look, how thou dream'st! I say again, give out 

 That Anne my wife is sick and like to die: 

 About it; for it stands me much upon, 

 To stop all hopes whose growth may damage me. 



 Exit CATESBY  I must be married to my brother's daughter, 

 Or else my kingdom stands on brittle glass. 

 Murder her brothers, and then marry her! 

 Uncertain way of gain! But I am in 

 So far in blood that sin will pluck on sin: 

 Tear-falling pity dwells not in this eye. 



 Re-enter Page, with TYRREL  Is thy name Tyrrel? 

 TYRREL  James Tyrrel, and your most obedient subject. 

 KING RICHARD III  Art thou, indeed? 

 TYRREL  Prove me, my gracious sovereign. 

 KING RICHARD III  Darest thou resolve to kill a friend of mine? 

 TYRREL  Ay, my lord; 

 But I had rather kill two enemies. 

 KING RICHARD III  Why, there thou hast it: two deep enemies, 

 Foes to my rest and my sweet sleep's disturbers 

 Are they that I would have thee deal upon: 

 Tyrrel, I mean those bastards in the Tower. 

 TYRREL  Let me have open means to come to them, 

 And soon I'll rid you from the fear of them. 

 KING RICHARD III  Thou sing'st sweet music. Hark, come hither, Tyrrel 

 Go, by this token: rise, and lend thine ear: 



 Whispers  There is no more but so: say it is done, 

 And I will love thee, and prefer thee too. 

 TYRREL  'Tis done, my gracious lord. 

 KING RICHARD III  Shall we hear from thee, Tyrrel, ere we sleep? 

 TYRREL  Ye shall, my Lord. 



 Exit 

 Re-enter BUCKINGHAM  BUCKINGHAM  My Lord, I have consider'd in my mind 

 The late demand that you did sound me in. 

 KING RICHARD III  Well, let that pass. Dorset is fled to Richmond. 

 BUCKINGHAM  I hear that news, my lord. 

 KING RICHARD III  Stanley, he is your wife's son well, look to it. 

 BUCKINGHAM  My lord, I claim your gift, my due by promise, 

 For which your honour and your faith is pawn'd; 

 The earldom of Hereford and the moveables 

 The which you promised I should possess. 

 KING RICHARD III  Stanley, look to your wife; if she convey 

 Letters to Richmond, you shall answer it. 

 BUCKINGHAM  What says your highness to my just demand? 

 KING RICHARD III  As I remember, Henry the Sixth 

 Did prophesy that Richmond should be king, 

 When Richmond was a little peevish boy. 

 A king, perhaps, perhaps,-- 

 BUCKINGHAM  My lord! 

 KING RICHARD III  How chance the prophet could not at that time 

 Have told me, I being by, that I should kill him? 

 BUCKINGHAM  My lord, your promise for the earldom,-- 

 KING RICHARD III  Richmond! When last I was at Exeter, 

 The mayor in courtesy show'd me the castle, 

 And call'd it Rougemont: at which name I started, 

 Because a bard of Ireland told me once 

 I should not live long after I saw Richmond. 

 BUCKINGHAM  My Lord! 

 KING RICHARD III  Ay, what's o'clock? 

 BUCKINGHAM  I am thus bold to put your grace in mind 

 Of what you promised me. 

 KING RICHARD III  Well, but what's o'clock? 

 BUCKINGHAM  Upon the stroke of ten. 

 KING RICHARD III  Well, let it strike. 

 BUCKINGHAM  Why let it strike? 

 KING RICHARD III  Because that, like a Jack, thou keep'st the stroke 

 Betwixt thy begging and my meditation. 

 I am not in the giving vein to-day. 

 BUCKINGHAM  Why, then resolve me whether you will or no. 

 KING RICHARD III  Tut, tut, 

 Thou troublest me; am not in the vein. 



 Exeunt all but BUCKINGHAM  BUCKINGHAM  Is it even so? rewards he my true service 

 With such deep contempt made I him king for this? 

 O, let me think on Hastings, and be gone 

 To Brecknock, while my fearful head is on! 



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