King Henry VI, Part 3 | Page 5

William Shakespeare
resign his crown
But that the
next heir should succeed and reign.
KING HENRY.
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.
[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 depos'd.
WARWICK.
Depos'd he shall be, in despite of all.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
Thou art deceiv'd; 't is 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.
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, and the soldiers show themselves.]
KING HENRY.
My Lord of Warwick, hear but one word:
Let me
for this my lifetime reign as king.
YORK.
Confirm the crown to me, and to mine heirs,
And thou

shalt reign in quiet while thou liv'st.
KING HENRY.
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 injur'd 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 despis'd!
[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.
Ah, Exeter!
WARWICK.
Why should you sigh, my lord?

KING HENRY.
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.
[Coming from the throne.]
WARWICK.
Long live King Henry!--Plantagenet, embrace him.
KING HENRY.
And long live thou, and these thy forward sons!
YORK.
Now York and Lancaster are reconcil'd.
EXETER.
Accurs'd be he that seeks to make them foes!
[Sennet. The Lords come forward.]
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 and his Sons, Warwick, Norfolk, Montague,
Soldiers,
and Attendants.]
KING HENRY.
And I, with grief and sorrow, to the court.
[Enter QUEEN MARGARET and the PRINCE OF WALES.]
EXETER.
Here comes the queen, whose looks bewray her anger.


I'll steal away.
KING HENRY.
Exeter, so will I.
[Going.]
QUEEN MARGARET.
Nay, go not from me; I will follow thee.
KING HENRY.
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 prov'd so unnatural a father!
Hath
he deserv'd to lose his birthright thus?
Hadst thou but lov'd 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 made that savage duke thine heir

And disinherited thine only son.
PRINCE.
Father, you cannot disinherit me.
If you be king, why
should not I succeed?
KING HENRY.
Pardon me, Margaret;--pardon me, sweet son;
The
Earl of Warwick and the duke enforc'd me.
QUEEN MARGARET.
Enforc'd thee! art thou king, and wilt be

forc'd?
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 prefer'st thy life
before thine honour;
And seeing
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