SCENE I. London. The palace. The Life and Death of Richard the Third  Shakespeare homepage  |  Richard III  | Act 2, Scene 1 

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

 Flourish. Enter KING EDWARD IV sick, QUEEN  ELIZABETH, DORSET, RIVERS, HASTINGS, BUCKINGHAM, GREY, and others  KING EDWARD IV  Why, so: now have I done a good day's work: 

 You peers, continue this united league: 

 I every day expect an embassage 

 From my Redeemer to redeem me hence; 

 And now in peace my soul shall part to heaven, 

 Since I have set my friends at peace on earth. 

 Rivers and Hastings, take each other's hand; 

 Dissemble not your hatred, swear your love. 

 RIVERS  By heaven, my heart is purged from grudging hate: 

 And with my hand I seal my true heart's love. 

 HASTINGS  So thrive I, as I truly swear the like! 

 KING EDWARD IV  Take heed you dally not before your king; 

 Lest he that is the supreme King of kings 

 Confound your hidden falsehood, and award 

 Either of you to be the other's end. 

 HASTINGS  So prosper I, as I swear perfect love! 

 RIVERS  And I, as I love Hastings with my heart! 

 KING EDWARD IV  Madam, yourself are not exempt in this, 

 Nor your son Dorset, Buckingham, nor you; 

 You have been factious one against the other, 

 Wife, love Lord Hastings, let him kiss your hand; 

 And what you do, do it unfeignedly. 

 QUEEN ELIZABETH  Here, Hastings; I will never more remember 

 Our former hatred, so thrive I and mine! 

 KING EDWARD IV  Dorset, embrace him; Hastings, love lord marquess. 

 DORSET  This interchange of love, I here protest, 

 Upon my part shall be unviolable. 

 HASTINGS  And so swear I, my lord 



 They embrace  KING EDWARD IV  Now, princely Buckingham, seal thou this league 

 With thy embracements to my wife's allies, 

 And make me happy in your unity. 

 BUCKINGHAM  Whenever Buckingham doth turn his hate 

 On you or yours, 



 To the Queen  but with all duteous love 

 Doth cherish you and yours, God punish me 

 With hate in those where I expect most love! 

 When I have most need to employ a friend, 

 And most assured that he is a friend 

 Deep, hollow, treacherous, and full of guile, 

 Be he unto me! this do I beg of God, 

 When I am cold in zeal to yours. 

 KING EDWARD IV  A pleasing cordial, princely Buckingham, 

 is this thy vow unto my sickly heart. 

 There wanteth now our brother Gloucester here, 

 To make the perfect period of this peace. 

 BUCKINGHAM  And, in good time, here comes the noble duke. 



 Enter GLOUCESTER  GLOUCESTER  Good morrow to my sovereign king and queen: 

 And, princely peers, a happy time of day! 

 KING EDWARD IV  Happy, indeed, as we have spent the day. 

 Brother, we done deeds of charity; 

 Made peace enmity, fair love of hate, 

 Between these swelling wrong-incensed peers. 

 GLOUCESTER  A blessed labour, my most sovereign liege: 

 Amongst this princely heap, if any here, 

 By false intelligence, or wrong surmise, 

 Hold me a foe; 

 If I unwittingly, or in my rage, 

 Have aught committed that is hardly borne 

 By any in this presence, I desire 

 To reconcile me to his friendly peace: 

 'Tis death to me to be at enmity; 

 I hate it, and desire all good men's love. 

 First, madam, I entreat true peace of you, 

 Which I will purchase with my duteous service; 

 Of you, my noble cousin Buckingham, 

 If ever any grudge were lodged between us; 

 Of you, Lord Rivers, and, Lord Grey, of you; 

 That without desert have frown'd on me; 

 Dukes, earls, lords, gentlemen; indeed, of all. 

 I do not know that Englishman alive 

 With whom my soul is any jot at odds 

 More than the infant that is born to-night 

 I thank my God for my humility. 

 QUEEN ELIZABETH  A holy day shall this be kept hereafter: 

 I would to God all strifes were well compounded. 

 My sovereign liege, I do beseech your majesty 

 To take our brother Clarence to your grace. 

 GLOUCESTER  Why, madam, have I offer'd love for this 

 To be so bouted in this royal presence? 

 Who knows not that the noble duke is dead? 



 They all start  You do him injury to scorn his corse. 

 RIVERS  Who knows not he is dead! who knows he is? 

 QUEEN ELIZABETH  All seeing heaven, what a world is this! 

 BUCKINGHAM  Look I so pale, Lord Dorset, as the rest? 

 DORSET  Ay, my good lord; and no one in this presence 

 But his red colour hath forsook his cheeks. 

 KING EDWARD IV  Is Clarence dead? the order was reversed. 

 GLOUCESTER  But he, poor soul, by your first order died, 

 And that a winged Mercury did bear: 

 Some tardy cripple bore the countermand, 

 That came too lag to see him buried. 

 God grant that some, less noble and less loyal, 

 Nearer in bloody thoughts, but not in blood, 

 Deserve not worse than wretched Clarence did, 

 And yet go current from suspicion! 



 Enter DERBY  DERBY  A boon, my sovereign, for my service done! 

 KING EDWARD IV  I pray thee, peace: my soul is full of sorrow. 

 DERBY  I will not rise, unless your highness grant. 

 KING EDWARD IV  Then speak at once what is it thou demand'st. 

 DERBY  The forfeit, sovereign, of my servant's life; 

 Who slew to-day a righteous gentleman 

 Lately attendant on the Duke of Norfolk. 

 KING EDWARD IV  Have a tongue to doom my brother's death, 

 And shall the same give pardon to a slave? 

 My brother slew no man; his fault was thought, 

 And yet his punishment was cruel death. 

 Who sued to me for him? who, in my rage, 

 Kneel'd at my feet, and bade me be advised 

 Who spake of brotherhood? who spake of love? 

 Who told me how the poor soul did forsake 

 The mighty Warwick, and did fight for me? 

 Who told me, in the field by Tewksbury 

 When Oxford had me down, he rescued me, 

 And said, 'Dear brother, live, and be a king'? 

 Who told me, when we both lay in the field 

 Frozen almost to death, how he did lap me 

 Even in his own garments, and gave himself, 

 All thin and naked, to the numb cold night? 

 All this from my remembrance brutish wrath 

 Sinfully pluck'd, and not a man of you 

 Had so much grace to put it in my mind. 

 But when your carters or your waiting-vassals 

 Have done a drunken slaughter, and defaced 

 The precious image of our dear Redeemer, 

 You straight are on your knees for pardon, pardon; 

 And I unjustly too, must grant it you 

 But for my brother not a man would speak, 

 Nor I, ungracious, speak unto myself 

 For him, poor soul. The proudest of you all 

 Have been beholding to him in his life; 

 Yet none of you would once plead for his life. 

 O God, I fear thy justice will take hold 

 On me, and you, and mine, and yours for this! 

 Come, Hastings, help me to my closet. 

 Oh, poor Clarence! 



 Exeunt some with KING EDWARD IV and QUEEN MARGARET  GLOUCESTER  This is the fruit of rashness! Mark'd you not 

 How that the guilty kindred of the queen 

 Look'd pale when they did hear of Clarence' death? 

 O, they did urge it still unto the king! 

 God will revenge it. But come, let us in, 

 To comfort Edward with our company. 

 BUCKINGHAM  We wait upon your grace. 



 Exeunt  Shakespeare homepage  |  Richard III  | Act 2, Scene 1 

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