SCENE I. London. The Parliament-house. The Third part of King Henry the Sixth  Shakespeare homepage  |  Henry VI, part 3  | Act 1, Scene 1 

 Next scene  SCENE I. London. The Parliament-house. 

 Alarum. Enter YORK, EDWARD, RICHARD, NORFOLK, MONTAGUE, WARWICK, and Soldiers  WARWICK  I wonder how the king escaped our hands. 

 YORK  While we pursued the horsemen of the north, 

 He slily stole away and left his men: 

 Whereat the great Lord of Northumberland, 

 Whose warlike ears could never brook retreat, 

 Cheer'd up the drooping army; and himself, 

 Lord Clifford and Lord Stafford, all abreast, 

 Charged our main battle's front, and breaking in 

 Were by the swords of common soldiers slain. 

 EDWARD  Lord Stafford's father, Duke of Buckingham, 

 Is either slain or wounded dangerously; 

 I cleft his beaver with a downright blow: 

 That this is true, father, behold his blood. 

 MONTAGUE  And, brother, here's the Earl of Wiltshire's blood, 

 Whom I encounter'd as the battles join'd. 

 RICHARD  Speak thou for me and tell them what I did. 



 Throwing down SOMERSET's head  YORK  Richard hath best deserved of all my sons. 

 But is your grace dead, my Lord of Somerset? 

 NORFOLK  Such hope have all the line of John of Gaunt! 

 RICHARD  Thus do I hope to shake King Henry's head. 

 WARWICK  And so do I. Victorious Prince of York, 

 Before I see thee seated in that throne 

 Which now the house of Lancaster usurps, 

 I vow by heaven these eyes shall never close. 

 This is the palace of the fearful king, 

 And this the regal seat: possess it, York; 

 For this is thine and not King Henry's heirs' 

 YORK  Assist me, then, sweet Warwick, and I will; 

 For hither we have broken in by force. 

 NORFOLK  We'll all assist you; he that flies shall die. 

 YORK  Thanks, gentle Norfolk: stay by me, my lords; 

 And, soldiers, stay and lodge by me this night. 



 They go up  WARWICK  And when the king comes, offer no violence, 

 Unless he seek to thrust you out perforce. 

 YORK  The queen this day here holds her parliament, 

 But little thinks we shall be of her council: 

 By words or blows here let us win our right. 

 RICHARD  Arm'd as we are, let's stay within this house. 

 WARWICK  The bloody parliament shall this be call'd, 

 Unless Plantagenet, Duke of York, be king, 

 And bashful Henry deposed, whose cowardice 

 Hath made us by-words to our enemies. 

 YORK  Then leave me not, my lords; be resolute; 

 I mean to take possession of my right. 

 WARWICK  Neither the king, nor he that loves him best, 

 The proudest he that holds up Lancaster, 

 Dares stir a wing, if Warwick shake his bells. 

 I'll plant Plantagenet, root him up who dares: 

 Resolve thee, Richard; claim the English crown. 



 Flourish. Enter KING HENRY VI, CLIFFORD, NORTHUMBERLAND, WESTMORELAND, EXETER, and the rest  KING HENRY VI  My lords, look where the sturdy rebel sits, 

 Even in the chair of state: belike he means, 

 Back'd by the power of Warwick, that false peer, 

 To aspire unto the crown and reign as king. 

 Earl of Northumberland, he slew thy father. 

 And thine, Lord Clifford; and you both have vow'd revenge 

 On him, his sons, his favourites and his friends. 

 NORTHUMBERLAND  If I be not, heavens be revenged on me! 

 CLIFFORD  The hope thereof makes Clifford mourn in steel. 

 WESTMORELAND  What, shall we suffer this? let's pluck him down: 

 My heart for anger burns; I cannot brook it. 

 KING HENRY VI  Be patient, gentle Earl of Westmoreland. 

 CLIFFORD  Patience is for poltroons, such as he: 

 He durst not sit there, had your father lived. 

 My gracious lord, here in the parliament 

 Let us assail the family of York. 

 NORTHUMBERLAND  Well hast thou spoken, cousin: be it so. 

 KING HENRY VI  Ah, know you not the city favours them, 

 And they have troops of soldiers at their beck? 

 EXETER  But when the duke is slain, they'll quickly fly. 

 KING HENRY VI  Far be the thought of this from Henry's heart, 

 To make a shambles of the parliament-house! 

 Cousin of Exeter, frowns, words and threats 

 Shall be the war that Henry means to use. 

 Thou factious Duke of York, descend my throne, 

 and kneel for grace and mercy at my feet; 

 I am thy sovereign. 

 YORK  I am thine. 

 EXETER  For shame, come down: he made thee Duke of York. 

 YORK  'Twas my inheritance, as the earldom was. 

 EXETER  Thy father was a traitor to the crown. 

 WARWICK  Exeter, thou art a traitor to the crown 

 In following this usurping Henry. 

 CLIFFORD  Whom should he follow but his natural king? 

 WARWICK  True, Clifford; and that's Richard Duke of York. 

 KING HENRY VI  And shall I stand, and thou sit in my throne? 

 YORK  It must and shall be so: content thyself. 

 WARWICK  Be Duke of Lancaster; let him be king. 

 WESTMORELAND  He is both king and Duke of Lancaster; 

 And that the Lord of Westmoreland shall maintain. 

 WARWICK  And Warwick shall disprove it. You forget 

 That we are those which chased you from the field 

 And slew your fathers, and with colours spread 

 March'd through the city to the palace gates. 

 NORTHUMBERLAND  Yes, Warwick, I remember it to my grief; 

 And, by his soul, thou and thy house shall rue it. 

 WESTMORELAND  Plantagenet, of thee and these thy sons, 

 Thy kinsman and thy friends, I'll have more lives 

 Than drops of blood were in my father's veins. 

 CLIFFORD  Urge it no more; lest that, instead of words, 

 I send thee, Warwick, such a messenger 

 As shall revenge his death before I stir. 

 WARWICK  Poor Clifford! how I scorn his worthless threats! 

 YORK  Will you we show our title to the crown? 

 If not, our swords shall plead it in the field. 

 KING HENRY VI  What title hast thou, traitor, to the crown? 

 Thy father was, as thou art, Duke of York; 

 Thy grandfather, Roger Mortimer, Earl of March: 

 I am the son of Henry the Fifth, 

 Who made the Dauphin and the French to stoop 

 And seized upon their towns and provinces. 

 WARWICK  Talk not of France, sith thou hast lost it all. 

 KING HENRY VI  The lord protector lost it, and not I: 

 When I was crown'd I was but nine months old. 

 RICHARD  You are old enough now, and yet, methinks, you lose. 

 Father, tear the crown from the usurper's head. 

 EDWARD  Sweet father, do so; set it on your head. 

 MONTAGUE  Good brother, as thou lovest and honourest arms, 

 Let's fight it out and not stand cavilling thus. 

 RICHARD  Sound drums and trumpets, and the king will fly. 

 YORK  Sons, peace! 

 KING HENRY VI  Peace, thou! and give King Henry leave to speak. 

 WARWICK  Plantagenet shall speak first: hear him, lords; 

 And be you silent and attentive too, 

 For he that interrupts him shall not live. 

 KING HENRY VI  Think'st thou that I will leave my kingly throne, 

 Wherein my grandsire and my father sat? 

 No: first shall war unpeople this my realm; 

 Ay, and their colours, often borne in France, 

 And now in England to our heart's great sorrow, 

 Shall be my winding-sheet. Why faint you, lords? 

 My title's good, and better far than his. 

 WARWICK  Prove it, Henry, and thou shalt be king. 

 KING HENRY VI  Henry the Fourth by conquest got the crown. 

 YORK  'Twas by rebellion against his king. 

 KING HENRY VI  [Aside]  I know not what to say; my title's weak.-- 

 Tell me, may not a king adopt an heir? 

 YORK  What then? 

 KING HENRY VI  An if he may, then am I lawful king; 

 For Richard, in the view of many lords, 

 Resign'd the crown to Henry the Fourth, 

 Whose heir my father was, and I am his. 

 YORK  He rose against him, being his sovereign, 

 And made him to resign his crown perforce. 

 WARWICK  Suppose, my lords, he did it unconstrain'd, 

 Think you 'twere prejudicial to his crown? 

 EXETER  No; for he could not so resign his crown 

 But that the next heir should succeed and reign. 

 KING HENRY VI  Art thou against us, Duke of Exeter? 

 EXETER  His is the right, and therefore pardon me. 

 YORK  Why whisper you, my lords, and answer not? 

 EXETER  My conscience tells me he is lawful king. 

 KING HENRY VI  [Aside]  All will revolt from me, and turn to him. 

 NORTHUMBERLAND  Plantagenet, for all the claim thou lay'st, 

 Think not that Henry shall be so deposed. 

 WARWICK  Deposed he shall be, in despite of all. 

 NORTHUMBERLAND  Thou art deceived: 'tis not thy southern power, 

 Of Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, nor of Kent, 

 Which makes thee thus presumptuous and proud, 

 Can set the duke up in despite of me. 

 CLIFFORD  King Henry, be thy title right or wrong, 

 Lord Clifford vows to fight in thy defence: 

 May that ground gape and swallow me alive, 

 Where I shall kneel to him that slew my father! 

 KING HENRY VI  O Clifford, how thy words revive my heart! 

 YORK  Henry of Lancaster, resign thy crown. 

 What mutter you, or what conspire you, lords? 

 WARWICK  Do right unto this princely Duke of York, 

 Or I will fill the house with armed men, 

 And over the chair of state, where now he sits, 

 Write up his title with usurping blood. 



 He stamps with his foot and the soldiers show themselves  KING HENRY VI  My Lord of Warwick, hear me but one word: 

 Let me for this my life-time reign as king. 

 YORK  Confirm the crown to me and to mine heirs, 

 And thou shalt reign in quiet while thou livest. 

 KING HENRY VI  I am content: Richard Plantagenet, 

 Enjoy the kingdom after my decease. 

 CLIFFORD  What wrong is this unto the prince your son! 

 WARWICK  What good is this to England and himself! 

 WESTMORELAND  Base, fearful and despairing Henry! 

 CLIFFORD  How hast thou injured both thyself and us! 

 WESTMORELAND  I cannot stay to hear these articles. 

 NORTHUMBERLAND  Nor I. 

 CLIFFORD  Come, cousin, let us tell the queen these news. 

 WESTMORELAND  Farewell, faint-hearted and degenerate king, 

 In whose cold blood no spark of honour bides. 

 NORTHUMBERLAND  Be thou a prey unto the house of York, 

 And die in bands for this unmanly deed! 

 CLIFFORD  In dreadful war mayst thou be overcome, 

 Or live in peace abandon'd and despised! 



 Exeunt NORTHUMBERLAND, CLIFFORD, and WESTMORELAND  WARWICK  Turn this way, Henry, and regard them not. 

 EXETER  They seek revenge and therefore will not yield. 

 KING HENRY VI  Ah, Exeter! 

 WARWICK  Why should you sigh, my lord? 

 KING HENRY VI  Not for myself, Lord Warwick, but my son, 

 Whom I unnaturally shall disinherit. 

 But be it as it may: I here entail 

 The crown to thee and to thine heirs for ever; 

 Conditionally, that here thou take an oath 

 To cease this civil war, and, whilst I live, 

 To honour me as thy king and sovereign, 

 And neither by treason nor hostility 

 To seek to put me down and reign thyself. 

 YORK  This oath I willingly take and will perform. 

 WARWICK  Long live King Henry! Plantagenet embrace him. 

 KING HENRY VI  And long live thou and these thy forward sons! 

 YORK  Now York and Lancaster are reconciled. 

 EXETER  Accursed be he that seeks to make them foes! 



 Sennet. Here they come down  YORK  Farewell, my gracious lord; I'll to my castle. 

 WARWICK  And I'll keep London with my soldiers. 

 NORFOLK  And I to Norfolk with my followers. 

 MONTAGUE  And I unto the sea from whence I came. 



 Exeunt YORK, EDWARD, EDMUND, GEORGE, RICHARD,  WARWICK, NORFOLK, MONTAGUE, their Soldiers, and Attendants  KING HENRY VI  And I, with grief and sorrow, to the court. 



 Enter QUEEN MARGARET and PRINCE EDWARD  EXETER  Here comes the queen, whose looks bewray her anger: 

 I'll steal away. 

 KING HENRY VI  Exeter, so will I. 

 QUEEN MARGARET  Nay, go not from me; I will follow thee. 

 KING HENRY VI  Be patient, gentle queen, and I will stay. 

 QUEEN MARGARET  Who can be patient in such extremes? 

 Ah, wretched man! would I had died a maid 

 And never seen thee, never borne thee son, 

 Seeing thou hast proved so unnatural a father 

 Hath he deserved to lose his birthright thus? 

 Hadst thou but loved him half so well as I, 

 Or felt that pain which I did for him once, 

 Or nourish'd him as I did with my blood, 

 Thou wouldst have left thy dearest heart-blood there, 

 Rather than have that savage duke thine heir 

 And disinherited thine only son. 

 PRINCE EDWARD  Father, you cannot disinherit me: 

 If you be king, why should not I succeed? 

 KING HENRY VI  Pardon me, Margaret; pardon me, sweet son: 

 The Earl of Warwick and the duke enforced me. 

 QUEEN MARGARET  Enforced thee! art thou king, and wilt be forced? 

 I shame to hear thee speak. Ah, timorous wretch! 

 Thou hast undone thyself, thy son and me; 

 And given unto the house of York such head 

 As thou shalt reign but by their sufferance. 

 To entail him and his heirs unto the crown, 

 What is it, but to make thy sepulchre 

 And creep into it far before thy time? 

 Warwick is chancellor and the lord of Calais; 

 Stern Falconbridge commands the narrow seas; 

 The duke is made protector of the realm; 

 And yet shalt thou be safe? such safety finds 

 The trembling lamb environed with wolves. 

 Had I been there, which am a silly woman, 

 The soldiers should have toss'd me on their pikes 

 Before I would have granted to that act. 

 But thou preferr'st thy life before thine honour: 

 And seeing thou dost, I here divorce myself 

 Both from thy table, Henry, and thy bed, 

 Until that act of parliament be repeal'd 

 Whereby my son is disinherited. 

 The northern lords that have forsworn thy colours 

 Will follow mine, if once they see them spread; 

 And spread they shall be, to thy foul disgrace 

 And utter ruin of the house of York. 

 Thus do I leave thee. Come, son, let's away; 

 Our army is ready; come, we'll after them. 

 KING HENRY VI  Stay, gentle Margaret, and hear me speak. 

 QUEEN MARGARET  Thou hast spoke too much already: get thee gone. 

 KING HENRY VI  Gentle son Edward, thou wilt stay with me? 

 QUEEN MARGARET  Ay, to be murder'd by his enemies. 

 PRINCE EDWARD  When I return with victory from the field 

 I'll see your grace: till then I'll follow her. 

 QUEEN MARGARET  Come, son, away; we may not linger thus. 



 Exeunt QUEEN MARGARET and PRINCE EDWARD  KING HENRY VI  Poor queen! how love to me and to her son 

 Hath made her break out into terms of rage! 

 Revenged may she be on that hateful duke, 

 Whose haughty spirit, winged with desire, 

 Will cost my crown, and like an empty eagle 

 Tire on the flesh of me and of my son! 

 The loss of those three lords torments my heart: 

 I'll write unto them and entreat them fair. 

 Come, cousin you shall be the messenger. 

 EXETER  And I, I hope, shall reconcile them all. 



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