Famous Victories of Henry V FV: M Author Anonymous Textual Editor Mathew Martin Conversion and Remediation LEMDO Team Queen’s Men Editions QME

The Queen’s Men Editions anthology is led by Helen Ostovich, General Editor; Peter Cockett, General Editor (Performance); Andrew Griffin, General Editor (Text; until 2026); and Janelle Jenstad, General Editor (Text; 2026–)

 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada McMaster University Poculi Ludique Societas University of Waterloo University of Toronto Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies University of Victoria Friends of the ISE

Released with Queen’s Men Editions 2.0

 University of Victoria on the Linked Early Modern Drama Online Platform

Intellectual copyright in this edition is held by the editor, Mathew Martin. The XML files of the semi-diplomatic transcription and the modern texts are licensed for reuse under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license, which means that they are freely downloadable without permission under the following conditions: (1) credit must be given to the editor, QME, and LEMDO in any subsequent use of the files and/or data; (2) derivatives (e.g., adapted scripts for performance) must be shared under the same CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license; and (3) commercial uses are not permitted without the knowledge and consent of QME, the editor, and LEMDO.

Production photographs and videos on this site may not be downloaded. They appear freely on this site with the permission of the actors and the ACTRA union. They may be used within the context of university courses, within the classroom, and for reference within research contexts, including conferences, when credit is given to the producing company and to the actors. Commercial use of videos and photographs is forbidden.

Queen’s Men Editions

This modern text was prepared by Mathew Martin. First published in the QME 1.0 anthology on the ISE platform. Converted to TEI-XML and remediated by the LEMDO Team for republication in the QME 2.0 anthology on the LEMDO platform

The Famous Victories of Henry the fifth: Containing the Honourable Battell of Agin-court: As it was plaide by the Queenes Maiesties Players. London: Thomas Creed, 1598. STC 13072. ESTC S106379. The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth: Containing the Honourable Battell of Agin-Court. As it was Acted by the Kinges Maiesties Servants. London: Barnard Alsop, 1617. STC 13073. ESTC S4698. DEEP 253. The Famous Victories of Henry V. Six Old Plays On Which Shakspeare Founded His <title level="m">Measure for Measure. Comedy of Errors. Taming the Shrew. K Henry IV and K. Henry V. King Lear. 2 vols. London: J. Nichols, T. Evans and H. Payne, 1779. ESTC T4012. Hazlitt, William Carew, ed. The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth, Conteining the Honorable Battell of Agincourt. Vol. 5. Shakespeare’s Library: A Collection of the Plays Romances Novels Poems and Histories Employed by Shakespeare in the Composition of His Works. London: Reeves and Turner, 1875. Adams, Joseph Quincy. Chief Pre-Shakespearean Dramas: A Selection of Plays Illustrating the History of the English Drama from its Origin Down to Shakespeare. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1924. Pitcher, Seymour M. The Case for Shakespeare’s Authorship of The Famous Victories, with the Complete Text of the Anonymous Play.. New York: SUNY Press, 1961. WSB aav291. Bullough, Geoffrey, ed. The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth. Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare. Vol. 4. Routledge and Kegan Paul; rpt. Columbia University Press, 1962. 299–343. Corbin, Peter and Douglas Sedge, eds. The Oldcastle Controversy: <title level="m">Sir John Oldcastle, Part I and The Famous Victories of Henry V. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1991. WSB ad162. Edited by Mathew Martin.

Prince Henry, Henry IV’s son and later Henry V Prince Henry Henry V Ned, Prince Henry’s companion Ned Tom, Prince Henry’s companion Tom Jockey (Sir John Oldcastle), Prince Henry’s companion Jockey Two Receivers, Henry IV’s tax and rent collectors 1 Receiver 2 Receiver John Cobbler, a cobbler and member of the parish watch John Robin Pewterer, a pewterer and member of the parish watch Robin Lawrence Costermonger, a fruit-seller and member of the parish watch Lawrence Derrick, a carrier and later John Cobbler’s apprentice Derrick Cutbert Cutter, a thief Cutbert Cutter Vintner’s Boy Boy Earl of Oxford, one of Henry IV’s lords Oxford Henry IV, king of England Henry IV Mayor of London Lord Mayor Earl of Exeter, one of Henry IV’s lords Exeter Lord Chief Justice of England Lord Chief Justice Clerk of the Office Clerk Jailor Jailor Porter Porter Archbishop of Canterbury Canterbury Duke of York, Henry V’s uncle York Archbishop of Bruges, the French ambassador Bruges English Captain Captain John Cobbler’s Wife Wife Charles VI, king of France Charles VI Lord High Constable of France Constable Prince Dauphin, Charles VI’s son Dauphin Messenger Messenger French Herald Herald French Soldiers 1 French Soldier 2 French Soldier 3 French Soldier French Drummer Drummer All English Soldier English Soldier Frenchman English Secretary Secretary Lady Katherine, Charles VI’s daughter Katherine Duke of Burgundy, Charles VI’s most powerful noble Burgundy Other English Lords Sheriff of London French Captain Attendants Lady Katherine’s Ladies French Secretary

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 Document Types All documents in LEMDO are either born-digital documents or primary documents. Within those two general categories, LEMDO offers additional ways to categorize a file. Primary Source Primary source documents. Use this top-level category only for supplementary texts, usually in combination with the editorial treatment letmixed. Primary Source Text Edited primary source texts. Modernized texts and semi-diplomatic texts must have this value. Not to be used for supplementary texts. Types of Literary Work Types of Literary Work Play Dramatic text, semi-diplomatic or modernized. Editorial Treatments Distinct approaches to textual editing used by LEMDO editors Modernized Texts that have been modernized according to a set of editorial principles. Document History Various sources from which born-digital texts have made their way into the LEMDO collection. Original Source: IML This TEI file was created based on one or more files from the Internet Shakespeare Editions anthology, originally encoded in ISE Markup Language (a custom markup language somewhat resembling SGML). Responsibilities Responsibilities Author MARC Code List for Relators definition: A person, family, or organization responsible for creating a work that is primarily textual in content, regardless of media type (e.g., printed text, spoken word, electronic text, tactile text) or genre (e.g., poems, novels, screenplays, blogs). Use also for persons, etc., creating a new work by paraphrasing, rewriting, or adapting works by another creator such that the modification has substantially changed the nature and content of the original or changed the medium of expression. LEMDO uses the term author in two contexts: (1) to indicate the author of a primary work or document (such as Hamlet), and (2) to indicate the author of a secondary text (such as the Critical Introduction to <title level="m">Hamlet, by David Bevington). Markup Editor MARC Code List for Relators definition: A person or organization performing the coding of SGML, HTML, or XML markup of metadata, text, etc. LEMDO uses this term for someone who encodes a file, remediates a converted text, or reviews the XML markup of a file. Textual Editor This term is for use in project-level or edition-level credits if an anthology’s organizational structure includes this role. The term textual editor appears in the file-level metadata for documents produced before 2017. From 2017 on, this term is reserved for project-level credits. Do not use at the file level; if a textual editor performs a specific function with respect to a file, use the precise resp value for their work. font-style: italic; Fixed issues with anchors. Published file. Resolved comments. Finished adding content to listPerson from emdFV_Characters Updated metadata Removed front element and docTitle that said the same thing as in the titleStmt. Changed document type to ldtPrimaryText Regularized metadata. Licensed and published file. Worked on the TEI header. Added anchors and modified using XSLT. Specified quotations and removed Video headings. Updated Character List; removed compound characters and updated name elements and information from emdFV_M_Characters.xml. Added document xml:id to the ids throughout the file using XSLT. Removed supplied elements that do not have attributes, using XSLT. Added status IML-TEI. Added front with titlePart using XSLT. Created TEI from IML file. Peer review arranged by QME Editorial Board Don Allison Don Allison

Don Allison was an actor with Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men Project. He played King Henry and Voice of the Brazen Head in Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (2006) and King Henry and Charles VI in Famous Victories (2006).

 Phillip Borg Phillip Borg

Phillip Borg was an actor with Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men Project. He played Thomas, Lambert, Constable, and Spirit in Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (2006) and Lord Mayor, Porter, Captain, Third French Soldier, English Soldier, and French Secretary in Famous Victories (2006).

 Scott Clarkson Scott Clarkson

Scott Clarkson was an actor with Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men Project. He played Edward Lacy in Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (2006) and First Receiver, Cutbert Cutter, Canterbury, Herald, and Frenchman in Famous Victories (2006).

 Peter Cockett Peter Cockett

Peter Cockett is an associate professor in the iArts (Integrated Arts) program at McMaster University. He is the co-editor, with Melinda Gough, of Engendering the Stage in the Age of Shakespeare and Beyond (University of Toronto Press, 2025) which publishes the findings of their 2018 Performance as Research (PaR) workshop at the Stratford Festival Lab. He is the general editor (performance), and technical co-ordinating editor of Queen’s Men Editions. His PaR directing credits include King Leir, The Famous Victories of Henry V, and Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (2006), Clyomon and Clamydes (2010), and Three Ladies of London (2015) for the Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men project (SQM). The process behind the 2006 productions is documented in depth on the project website Performing the Queen’s Men. For the PLS, the University of Toronto’s Medieval and Renaissance Players, he has directed the Digby Mary Magdalene (2003) and the double bill of George Peele’s The Old Wives Tale and the Chester Antichrist (2004). He also directed An Experiment in Elizabethan Comedy (2005) for the SQM project and Inside Out: The Persistence of Allegory (2008) in collaboration with Alan Dessen. Peter is a professional actor and director with numerous stage and screen credits. He can be contacted at cockett@mcmaster.ca.

 Julian DeZotti Julian DeZotti

Julian DeZotti was an actor with Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men Project. He played Margaret in Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (2006) and Lawrence Costermonger, Clerk, First French Soldier, and Katherine of France in Famous Victories (2006).

 Tracey El Hajj Tracey El Hajj

Junior Programmer 2019–2020. Research Associate 2020–2021. Tracey received her PhD from the Department of English at the University of Victoria in the field of Science and Technology Studies. Her research focuses on the algorhythmics of networked communications. She was a 2019–2020 President’s Fellow in Research-Enriched Teaching at UVic, where she taught an advanced course on Artificial Intelligence and Everyday Life. Tracey was also a member of the Map of Early Modern London team, between 2018 and 2021. Between 2020 and 2021, she was a fellow in residence at the Praxis Studio for Comparative Media Studies, where she investigated the relationships between artificial intelligence, creativity, health, and justice. As of July 2021, Tracey has moved into the alt-ac world for a term position, while also teaching in the English Department at the University of Victoria.

 Mahayla Galliford Mahayla Galliford

Project Manager, 2025-present; Assistant Project Manager, 2024-2025; Research Assistant, 2021-present. Mahayla Galliford (she/her) graduated from the University of Victoria with a BA (honours with distinction) in 2024, and an MA English in 2026. Mahayla’s undergraduate research explored early modern stage directions and civic water pageantry. Her SSHRC-funded MA thesis project focuses on transcribing, editing, and encoding early modern girls’ manuscripts, specifically Lady Rachel Fane’s May Masque in collaboration with LEMDO.

 Derek Genova Derek Genova

Derek Genova was an actor with Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men Project. He played Eleanor, 1 Scholar, Hostess, and Post in Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (2006) and Tom, Boy, Dauphin, Second French Soldier in Famous Victories (2006).

 Jason Gray Jason Gray

Jason Gray was an actor with Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men Project. He played Friar Bacon in Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (2006) and John Cobbler, Bruges, and Captain in Famous Victories (2006).

 Andrew Griffin Andrew Griffin

Andrew Griffin is an associate professor in the department of English and an affiliate professor in the department of Theater and Dance at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is general editor (text) of Queen’s Men Editions. He studies early modern drama and early modern historiography while serving as the lead editor at the EMC Imprint. He has co-edited with Helen Ostovich and Holger Schott Syme Locating the Queen’s Men (2009) and has co-edited The Making of a Broadside Ballad (2016) with Patricia Fumerton and Carl Stahmer. His monograph, Untimely Deaths in Renaissance Drama: Biography, History, Catastrophe, was published with the University of Toronto Press in 2019. He is editor of the anonymous The Chronicle History of King Leir (Queen’s Men Editions, 2011). He can be contacted at griffin@english.ucsb.edu.

 Peter Higginson Peter Higginson

Peter Higginson was an actor with Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men Project. He played Mason, King of Castile, and Friend in Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (2006) and Robin Pewterer and York in Famous Victories (2006).

 Martin Holmes Martin Holmes

Martin Holmes has worked as a developer in the UVic’s Humanities Computing and Media Centre for over two decades, and has been involved with dozens of Digital Humanities projects. He has served on the TEI Technical Council and as Managing Editor of the Journal of the TEI. He took over from Joey Takeda as lead developer on LEMDO in 2020. He is a collaborator on the SSHRC Partnership Grant led by Janelle Jenstad.

 Paul Hopkins Paul Hopkins

Paul Hopkins was an actor with Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men Project. He played Prince Edward and Other Clowns in Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (2006) and Prince Henry in Famous Victories (2006).

 Navarra Houldin Navarra Houldin

Training and Documentation Lead 2025–present. LEMDO project manager 2022–2025. Textual remediator 2021–present. Navarra Houldin (they/them) completed their BA with a major in history and minor in Spanish at the University of Victoria in 2022. Their primary research was on gender and sexuality in early modern Europe and Latin America. They are continuing their education through an MA program in Gender and Social Justice Studies at the University of Alberta where they will specialize in Digital Humanities.

 Janelle Jenstad Janelle Jenstad

Janelle Jenstad is a Professor of English at the University of Victoria, Director of The Map of Early Modern London, and Director of Linked Early Modern Drama Online. With Jennifer Roberts-Smith and Mark Beatrice Kaethler, she co-edited Shakespeare’s Language in Digital Media: Old Words, New Tools (Routledge). She has edited John Stow’s A Survey of London (1598 text) for MoEML and is currently editing The Merchant of Venice (with Stephen Wittek) and Heywood’s 2 If You Know Not Me You Know Nobody for DRE. Her articles have appeared in Digital Humanities Quarterly, Elizabethan Theatre, Early Modern Literary Studies, Shakespeare Bulletin, Renaissance and Reformation, and The Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. She contributed chapters to Approaches to Teaching Othello (MLA); Teaching Early Modern Literature from the Archives (MLA); Institutional Culture in Early Modern England (Brill); Shakespeare, Language, and the Stage (Arden); Performing Maternity in Early Modern England (Ashgate); New Directions in the Geohumanities (Routledge); Early Modern Studies and the Digital Turn (Iter); Placing Names: Enriching and Integrating Gazetteers (Indiana); Making Things and Drawing Boundaries (Minnesota); Rethinking Shakespeare Source Study: Audiences, Authors, and Digital Technologies (Routledge); and Civic Performance: Pageantry and Entertainments in Early Modern London (Routledge). For more details, see janellejenstad.com.

 Matthew Krist Matthew Krist

Matthew Krist was an actor with Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men Project. He played Rafe Simnell, Richard, Friar Bungay, and Devil in Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (2006) and Ned, Cobbler’s Wife, and Drummer in Famous Victories (2006).

 David Kynaston David Kynaston

David Kynaston was an actor with Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men Project. He played Jaques Vandermast, Burden, and Serlsby in Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (2006) and Jockey, Lord Chief Justice, Constable, Burgundy in Famous Victories (2006).

 Kate LeBere Kate LeBere KL

Project Manager, 2020–2021. Assistant Project Manager, 2019–2020. Textual Remediator and Encoder, 2019–2021. Kate LeBere completed her BA (Hons.) in History and English at the University of Victoria in 2020. During her degree she published papers in The Corvette (2018), The Albatross (2019), and PLVS VLTRA (2020) and presented at the English Undergraduate Conference (2019), Qualicum History Conference (2020), and the Digital Humanities Summer Institute’s Project Management in the Humanities Conference (2021). While her primary research focus was sixteenth and seventeenth century England, she completed her honours thesis on Soviet ballet during the Russian Cultural Revolution. She is currently a student at the University of British Columbia’s iSchool, working on her masters in library and information science.

 Daniel Levinson Daniel Levinson

Daniel Levinson was a fight director with Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men Project. He worked on Famous Victories (2006).

 Karen Sawyer Marsalek Karen Marsalek

Karen Sawyer Marsalek (Famous Victories of Henry V, early modern text) is an associate professor of English at St. Olaf College. She has edited, directed and performed in several early English plays. Her publications include essays on true resurrections in medieval drama and The Winter’s Tale, false resurrections in the Chester Antichrist and 1 Henry IV, and theatrical properties of skulls and severed heads. Her current research is on remains and revenants in the King’s Men’s repertory. She can be contacted at marsalek@stolaf.edu.

 Mathew Martin Mathew Martin

Dr. Mathew R. Martin is Full Professor at Brock University, Canada. He is the author of Between Theatre and Philosophy (2001), Tragedy and Trauma in the Plays of Christopher Marlowe (2015) and Psychoanalysis and Literary Theory (2023), and co-editor, with his colleague James Allard, of Staging Pain, 1500–1800: Violence and Trauma in British Theatre (2009). For Broadview Press he has edited Christopher Marlowe’s Edward the Second (2010), Jew of Malta (2012), Doctor Faustus: The B-Text (2013) and Tamburlaine the Great Part One and Part Two (2014), and Robert Greene’s Selimus (2022). For Revels Editions he has edited George Peele’s David and Bathsheba (2018) and Marlowe’s The Massacre at Paris (2021). For Queen’s Men Editions he has edited The Famous Victories of Henry V (2016). He has published two articles of textual criticism on the printed texts of Marlowe’s plays: Inferior Readings: The Transmigration of Material in <title level="m">Tamburlaine the Great (Early Theatre 17.2 [December 2014]), and (on the political inflections of the shifts in punctuation in the early editions of the play) Accidents Happen: Roger Barnes’s 1612 Edition of Marlowe’s <title level="m">Edward the Second (Early Theatre 16.1 [June 2013]). His latest editing projects are a double-play Revels edition of Robert Greene’s Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay and John of Bordeaux and a Digital Renaissance Editions edition of Dido, Queen of Carthage.

 Scott Matthews Scott Matthews Scott Maynard Scott Maynard

Scott Maynard was an actor and musical director with Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men Project. He played Clement and Emperor of Germany in Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (2006) and Exeter in Famous Victories (2006).

 Alon Nashman Alon Nashman

Alon Nashman was an actor and musical director with Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men Project. He played Keeper and Miles in Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (2006) and Derrick in Famous Victories (2006).

 Helen Ostovich Helen Ostovich

Helen Ostovich, professor emerita of English at McMaster University, is the founder and general editor of Queen’s Men Editions. She is a general editor of The Revels Plays (Manchester University Press); Series Editor of Studies in Performance and Early Modern Drama (Ashgate, now Routledge), and series co-editor of Late Tudor and Stuart Drama (MIP); play-editor of several works by Ben Jonson, in Four Comedies: Ben Jonson (1997); Every Man Out of his Humour (Revels 2001); and The Magnetic Lady (Cambridge 2012). She has also edited the Norton Shakespeare 3 The Merry Wives of Windsor Q1602 and F1623 (2015); The Late Lancashire Witches and A Jovial Crew for Richard Brome Online, revised for a 4-volume set from OUP 2021; The Ball, for the Oxford Complete Works of James Shirley (2021); The Merry Wives of Windsor for Internet Shakespeare Editions, and The Dutch Courtesan (with Erin Julian) for the Complete Works of John Marston, OUP 2022. She has published many articles and book chapters on Jonson, Shakespeare, and others, and several book collections, most recently Magical Transformations of the Early Modern English Stage with Lisa Hopkins (2014), and the equivalent to book website, Performance as Research in Early English Theatre Studies: The Three Ladies of London in Context containing scripts, glossary, almost fifty conference papers edited and updated to essays; video; link to Queen’s Mens Ediitons and YouTube: http://threeladiesoflondon.mcmaster.ca/contexts/index.htm, 2015. Recently, she was guest editor of Strangers and Aliens in London ca 1605, Special Issue on Marston, Early Theatre 23.1 (June 2020). She can be contacted at ostovich@mcmaster.ca.

 Linda Phillips Linda Phillips

Linda Phillips was a costume designer with Shakespeare and the Queen’s Men Project. She worked on Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (2006).

 Joey Takeda Joey Takeda

Joey Takeda is LEMDO’s Consulting Programmer and Designer, a role he assumed in 2020 after three years as the Lead Developer on LEMDO.

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The Oldcastle Controversy: <title level="m">Sir John Oldcastle, Part I and The Famous Victories of Henry V. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1991. WSB ad162. Hazlitt, William Carew, ed. The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth, Conteining the Honorable Battell of Agincourt. Vol. 5. Shakespeare’s Library: A Collection of the Plays Romances Novels Poems and Histories Employed by Shakespeare in the Composition of His Works. London: Reeves and Turner, 1875. The Famous Victories of Henry V. Six Old Plays On Which Shakspeare Founded His <title level="m">Measure for Measure. Comedy of Errors. Taming the Shrew. K Henry IV and K. Henry V. King Lear. 2 vols. London: J. Nichols, T. Evans and H. Payne, 1779. ESTC T4012. LEMDO Team The LEMDO Team is based at the University of Victoria and normally comprises the project director, the lead developer, project manager, junior developers(s), remediators, encoders, and remediating editors. University of Victoria https://www.uvic.ca/ QME Editorial Board

The QME Editorial Board consists of Helen Ostovich, General Editor; Peter Cockett, General Editor (Performance); Andrew Griffin, General Editor (Text); and Janelle Jenstad General Editor (Text).

 Queen’s Men Editions QME

The Queen’s Men Editions anthology is led by Helen Ostovich, General Editor; Peter Cockett, General Editor (Performance); Andrew Griffin, General Editor (Text; until 2026); and Janelle Jenstad, General Editor (Text; 2026–)

 Ned and Tom Both. Prince Henry Henr. 5.As Henry is not yet king and undergoes considerable character transformation when he does become king, the quarto’s Henry 5 has been emended to Prince Henry in speech prefixes until he is crowned. Zounds Sounds Sir John Oldcastle Zounds Sownes Ay I Ay I if the I the got’st gots gotst They place their booty at his feet. They hide the booty. 1 Receiver One.Further instances silently emended. But look, here But here Aside to 2 Receiver 2 Receiver Other.Further instances silently emended. Replying aside Aside to 2 Receiver Zounds Sowns To Prince Henry than then To Jockey To the Receivers we robbed in we in were of them were there of them 1 Receiver and 2 Receiver Both recei. The Receivers kneel. Prince Henry Q1 attributes the following three lines to Ned. Also reassign to Henry. zounds sownes Exeunt Receivers. Exit Perseuant. Ned, Tom, and Jockey All hostess hostes Hostesse host’s hostess hostes Hostesse host’s Ned, Tom, and Jockey All. all together altogither An and all ail Exeunt Prince Henry, Ned, Tom, and Jockey. John Iohn Cob. Robin Lawrence John Q1 omits speech prefix. Assign the lines to Lawrence. Assign the lines to Lawrence. if I go it I go an and meet met Ay I John and Lawrence lie down and sleep. Whoa! whoa there! whoa there! Who, who there, who there? Who! who, there! who, there! John and Lawrence Ambo. Whoa there! whoa there! whoa there! Who there, who there, who there? Who, there! who, there! who, there! John Cobler. Whoa there, whoa there! Who there, who there? Who there! who there! John seizes Derrick. Why Q1 precedes this line with the speech prefix Robin. Zounds sownes Zounds Sownes To John An and Derrick points to Robin bade bad Derrick draws his sword. Well, you you bade bad John Cobler. Derrick sheathes his sword. an and Aside To Lawrence and Robin you. you? you, Cutbert Cutter Not in Q1. Cutbert Cutter is named at 4.12 but in his speech prefixes and the stage directions always called simply Theef or Theefe. I have emended to Cutbert Cutter throughout. Gadshill Gads Hill ye you Cutbert draws his sword. an and John, Robin, and Lawrence seize Cutbert. Zounds Sownes Ay I John Cob. John Cob. Robert RobinRobin is a diminutive form of Robert (cf. The Lancashire Witches D2r). John calls the boy Robert in line 55; this edition has adopted this later naming for the boy to avoid confusion with Robin Pewterer. Robin John Cobler. Robert Robin mayor MaiorThe context clearly indicates that Maior is Mayor not Major. Q1 retains this spelling of mayor throughout, and in this edition subsequent occurences have been silently modernized. at the last at last John Cobler. John Cobler. John Cob. To Derrick Ay I Exeunt. An’t And Henry IV K.Hen.4.After line 7 the play drops King or K. from its speech prefixes for Henry IV. This speech prefix and the ones at line 5 and 7 have been standardized accordingly. Mayor Maior L. Mayor haled halied halled haled Bullough’s gloss hauledBullough’s gloss Henry IV King Hen.4. than then than the~ Henry IV K.Hen.4. them the~ with Sheriff ay I have they haue they they haue To Exeter and Oxford Exeter L.Exe. Oxford L.Oxf. Exeunt Exit omnes with several Officers Lord Chief Justice Iudge.All further instances of Iudge and its abbreviations have silently been emended to Lord Chief Justice. Ay I Zounds Sownes an and an and an and twentieth 20 fourteenth fourteen raze rase race Henry To Cutbert Cutter To Lord Chief Justice Not in Q1[1]. Ay I An And Derrick Judge An’t And what mean you once againe, what meane you with my man? with him. An’t And the law must pass on him according to justice; then he must be executed. according to Law and iustice he must be hangd. An’t And man? man. An’t And answered! answered? Ned draws his sword. Exeunt Ned and Tom Exeunt the TheefeBecause the lord chief justice orders the convicted thief returned to prison, Cutbert must remain on stage until this decision is given. an and You? Who You, who You! who You! who You! Who Ay I Exit Exeunt ’ssizes Sises Exeunt Lord Chief Justice, Clerk of the Office, John Cobbler, Derrick, and Cutbert Cutter with Jailor have John and Derrick remain on stage, thus eliminating the scene break. Zounds Sownds John sits in the lord chief justice’s chair John Cobler takes his place in the Judge’s seat. John Cobbler takes the Judge’s seat. John Cobbler takes the Justice’s seat an and Derrick gives John a box on the ear Zounds Sownes Zounds Sownds workaday Worenday glosses as workaday, ordinary. gloss as weekday, ordinary. do, then then do brewis brewes glosses as browis, meat broth. brews Though we be so poor But Dericke, though we be so poore, Yet willfire, Withstale, Whichmire. also relineate. An’t and Jockey Not in Q1. Jockey Ioh.Old. Jockey Ioh.Old. withal. withall: withall, and then a bout about Jockey Ioh. They knock at a gate. Enter Porter Ned draws his sword. Exit Porter. write wrire Henry IV than then Enter Enters An And an and Ay I Oxford He An And An And The Prince crosses the stage to Henry IV with a dagger in his hand. Enters the Prince with a dagger in his hand.Prince Henry has not left the stage. He withdraws or stands aside at line 30, which is where Oxford presumably goeth to fetch him. on in on a Ay I Aside To Henry IV to say say companions company companions desired desire desir’d word? word: Enter Prince Henry Prince Henry kneels. Prince Henry rises. Shouts to offstage think I’ll thinke ile thinke it ile Hearest a Hearesta hearest thou [Adams’s gloss] Hearest a’ Do, Derrick Do D. DOD an and if it Hearest a Hearesta Hearest thou Hearest a’ an and hearest a hearesta hearest thou Hearest a’ Ay I Music plays body indeed bodie indeed bodie An And Exit Oxford an and than then Prince Henry gives Henry IV the crown and kneels before him. needs need but and than then than then Exeter, Oxford, and Prince Henry draw the curtains. Music plays. Justice stustice Iustice Justice iustice Iustice an and To Cutbert Cutter Zounds Sownds than Then Canterbury Archb. likely enough he likely inough he likely he An And And And an And An And my lord ambassador is come out of France. My Lord Embassador is come out of France. Not in Q2. An And Bruges Burges into vnto Bruges Burges Bruges Burges Bruges Archb. Sixth seuenth Bruges Archb. An And He delivereth a tun of tennis balls. Q1 prints this stage direction before as well as after line 35. An And Bruges Archb. An And Bruges Archb. than Then pleasant pleansant ay I Bruges Archb. manual Emanuel manual Emanuel of Bruges To Exeter if it Enter Enters Lord Chief Justice Iustice. Lord Chief Justice Iustice. Lord Chief Justice Iust. Lord Chief Justice Iust. Ay I Lord Chief Justice Iust. An And Exeunt omnes. Exeunt there’s there is to for to John Iohn Wife an and Enter Enters with a pot lid for a shield Zounds Sownds To Wife Hear heare Here Here he shakes her Q1 prints this stage direction in black letter type as part of Derrick’s speech. An And an and do. do? Enter Enters Zounds Sownes Ay I dost know’s doest knowes doest, knowest, know us [gloss] doest know us dost know us Ay I They embrace tearfully Zounds Sownes To Wife To John Zounds Sownes Charles VI of France Charles VI King.Throughout this scene Charles VI is called King in the speech prefixes, all further instances of which have been silently emended. An And Ay I Bruges Burges Bruges Archb. Bruges Burge Bruges Archb. An And Bruges Archb. Enter Enters An And Bows Boas and all the and the than then an and Enter Enters Exit a Lord An And laws lawe vanguard euantgard avant-guard Enter Enters An And than then than Then an and A drum strikes do thou doe you trunk, eh trunkea trunks He throws dice He throws dice He throws dice Enter Enters our on Why, whoever Why who euer Who euer than then slaunching flaunching Barbarians Brabantians launching lanching Hainuyers Henues carbuncles Carbuckles radish Reddish Captain 2 Soldier Enter Enters An And threescore thousand threescore thousand [horsemen] forty threescore fortie fourteen fortie forteenThis and Adams’s previous emendment straighten out the numbers to comply roughly with Henry’s following assessment of the odds against the English as ten to one. vanguard auantgard An And Henry V Hen. making of bonfires making bonfires here heres here Enter Enters send sends than Then than Then resolution ransom Henry V gives the Herald coins Drummer Drummes Exeunt omnes does not break scene here. The Battle The Battell do not break the scene here. Montjoy Mount Ioy Mountjoy Enter Enters An And majesty’s Maiesties Maiestie Enter Enters An And An And An And An And Exit Herald Q1 places this exit immediately after line 18. Enter Enters Enter Ay I Enter Enters for For For all Exit Soldier trumpet sound Trumpet sounds Trumpets sound Drum and trumpet sound Drum and Trumpet sounds move this stage direction to the beginning of the next scene. Exit John and Robin Enter Enters vigliacco villeaco Frenchman French. Frenchman French. Ay, marry I marrie Ay, but I but Frenchman French. Exit Derrick Enter Enters Secretary, Charles VI Charles. To Secretary Charles VI Charles. Charles VI French King. Charles VI French King. Charles VI French King. Henry V Hen. Charles VI Charles. Ay I Charles VI Charles. Ay I Charles VI Charles. Exit King of France Q1, 2 place this stage direction immediately after Charles’ we will meet you again tomorrow. move this stage direction to follow after Henry’s With a good will, my good brother of France. begin’st begins beginst Ay, but I love herwill have her. I but Iher, | Nay Ihaue her. lineate as verse. Ay I Enter Enters fair Lady Katherine faire Ladie, Katheren fayre Lady Katheren Katherine Kathren. For the rest of the play, Katherine’s speech prefixes are Kate or Kat, both of which I am treating as abbreviations rather than nicknames (much as I treat Hen as an abbreviation of, not a nickname for, Henry) and have therefore silently expanded. An And debated related abated tongue can tongue you your Grace than then Exit Katherine of France and her Ladies Exit. Kat. Zounds Sownes Enter Enters Enter Enters Ay I is tis Ay I Ay I Ay I zounds sownds an and Ay I Ay I Ay I Zounds Sownds Exeunt Derrick and John Enter Enters Katherine, Secretary, Charles VI Fr.King. Ay I ha’ a have a’ than Then Charles VI Fr.King. Charles VI Fr.King. Charles VI Fr.King. Charles VI Fr.King. liege man league-man Charles VI Fr.King. if Il Charles VI French King. Aside Kate Rate Charles VI French king. Scene 1
Famous Victories launches us dynamically into the action without preamble but that was not clear to the company when first approaching this scene. The text, like most early modern texts, lacks clear stage directions and the dialogue appeared flat and repetitive. The SQM company had to work hard to find the implied stage action; our key staging interpretations are annotated in notes on specific moments in the scene. The scene introduces the audience to the play’s protagonist, Prince Harry, immediately after he has robbed his king’s receivers (tax-collectors). Unlike Shakespeare’s Hal, the prince of this play does not indicate that he is engaged in a political masquerade. As director, I wanted to ensure that our performances of the Queen’s Men plays were not distorted by our knowledge of the use Shakespeare made of the same stories. From the outset of the play the prince is an unapologetic bad boy, playfully and enthusiastically reveling in his misbehavior. Our nationalistic interpretation of the play depended on the audience identifying with the prince as their hero. Paul Hopkins’ charismatic performance was a powerful factor in their reception of the play. The prince’s lines are full of rhetorical questions, such as Now sirs, how like you this? Was this not bravely done? (). In performance, the character’s demand for affirmation of his deeds worked on the audience as well as the other characters on the stage. As the original Queen’s Men were formed in part to promote English nationalism, our interpretation of the prince was designed to make this prodigal son an engaging and sympathetic English hero. In this scene, Hopkins worked with the younger actors to generate a manly camaraderie that came to define the spirit of the SQM performance as a whole. To that end, the poor victims of his crime, his father’s Receivers, were played for comedy rather than sympathy. As with all of our performance choices, other options were possible. Video Sc. 1 Video Sc. 2 Video Sc. 3 Video Sc. 4 Video Sc. 5 Video Sc. 6 Video Sc. 7 Video Sc. 8 Video Sc. 9 Video Sc. 10 Video Sc. 11 Video Sc. 12 Video Sc. 13 Video Sc. 14 Video Sc. 15 Video Sc. 16 Video Sc. 17 Video Sc. 18 Video Sc. 19 Video Sc. 20 Video Sc. 21 Enter
The company chose to stagger the entrances to make sense of the prince’s first line Come away (). Why would he say Come away if his friends are already on stage? We began the show with the ominous beating of a drum to build suspense and then the prince dashed on as if arriving directly from the scene of the crime. After finding a safe spot and looking around to check all was clear, he called on his companions. Prince Henry As Henry is not yet king and undergoes considerable character transformation when he does become king, the quarto’s Henry 5 has been emended to Prince Henry in speech prefixes until he is crowned. five hundred pound Early modern collective nouns did not always make a difference between singular and plural, as in pound and pounds. But tell me
Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) took on an attitude of mock contrition when asking this question. He made it clear that if anything he was proud of his villainy and not questioning his actions. rob The robbing of the receivers (tax and rent collectors) was a well-known element of numerous 16th-century English accounts of Prince Henry’s youth. Stow relates that Prince Henry wold waite in disguised araye for his owne receyuers, and distresse them of theyre money: and sometimes at suche enterprices both he and his company wer surely beaten: and when his receiuers made to him their complaints, how they were robbed in their coming vnto him, he wold giue them discharge of so much mony as they had lost, and besides that, they should not depart from him without great rewards for their trouble and vexation, especially they should be rewarded that best hadde resisted hym and his company, and of whom he had receyued the greatest and most strokes (Stow 583). Shakespeare dramatizes the robbing of the receivers and other travellers in Henry IV, Part 1 2.2, turning it into an opportunity for Prince Harry to demonstrate Falstaff’s cowardice. trick Witty bit of tomfoolery, not a criminal act. Sir John Oldcastle Historically, although he was Prince Henry’s companion before Henry became king, Sir John Oldcastle (1378–1417) was executed in 1417 after having been found guilty of heresy in 1413 and having been implicated in various revolts against Henry between 1413 and 1417 (Dockray 53, 105–110). Sir John became Lord Cobham in 1408 when he married Joan Cobham, heiress of the third Lord Cobham. Oldcastle’s heretical beliefs derived from those of the proto-Protestant fourteenth-century Oxford scholar John Wycliffe, and sixteenth-century Protestant reformers like John Foxe considered Oldcastle to be a martyr (Corbin and Sedge 2). Famous Victories, however, indicates the existence of another view of Oldcastle by its drawing together of the traditions of riot and misrule associated with Oldcastle and Prince Henry, as does Shakespeare in the construction of his character Falstaff, who was, evidence suggests, initially called Oldcastle in Henry IV, Part 1. Scholars have speculated that Shakespeare was forced to change the name because of complaints from the Cobham family (Corbin and Sedge 1–10).
The text makes no references to Jockey’s size or age. We therefore resisted the temptation to make him appear a proto-Falstaff, costuming him as a sharply dressed young companion to the prince in a black satin suit and rakish cream hat. Zounds God’s wounds! (oath). This exclamation also alerts the audience to Jockey’s entrance as a comic double-take. Enter Jockey
The logic of the text suggested to the company that Jockey should enter after away (), since the prince’s next sentence suggests he can now see Jockey. Play texts from the period, however, often mark an entrance after a character’s arrival has already been announced. The original actors would have been comfortable with the convention that they could see characters approaching from back stage, but this seems unnatural to modern actors and we often create business to make the entrance obey the logic of naturalism. In this instance, David Kynaston (Jockey) took the word away as his cue to make noise off-stage. The Prince, Ned and Tom drew their swords, as if fearing they had been followed, and then reacted with relief when they saw it was their friend at . The suggestion that the moment could be an opportunity for a comic double-take is a viable alternative. See note at . See also Here come the receivers (). passeth Is current; is noteworthy. Deptford Town four miles east of London (Sugden 150). hue and cry Outcry calling for the pursuit of a felon (OED hue and cry, n. 1.a). Any man hearing the hue and cry was legally obliged to join the pursuit, which a contemporary source describes thus: The maner of their hue and cry is that if a robberie be done, a horne is blowne, and an out crie made: after which, if the partie flie away, and not yeeld himselfe to the Kings Bayliffe, he may be lawfully slaine, and hanged vp vpon the next gallows (Cowell). carrier Someone who carries things, bearer (of goods). Carriers conveyed letters and goods and escorted travellers between London and provincial towns. They constituted an informal but important communications and transportation network that connected the capital and the provinces in the early modern period. Carriers were legally liable for the goods entrusted to them (Stewart 437, 457), so by robbing the poor carrier (Derrick), Prince Henry’s man (Cutbert Cutter) has inflicted a serious financial as well as physical blow upon the carrier. booties Targets for plunder, to be shared by the thieves. skills Makes a difference, matters. Ay, I may
Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) played these three sentences as distinct actable moments, or beats, as we call them. Initially he was disgusted that his servant had robbed a poor carrier (); then he boastfully announced that he would save him from the law anyway. To help motivate the final sentence, Hopkins asked the other actors to react to this announcement with surprise, so he could then respond defiantly with: Ay, I may. belammed Beat, thrashed.
Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) rubbed his shoulder at this point to indicate just where the pain was located. This action helped set up the gag later in the scene (see ). bravely Splendidly, finely, excellently. They place
Because in rehearsal the company found that placing the bags on the stage and looking at them was anticlimactic, they developed a piece of business to punctuate the moment. As the prince said his next line, Now, by heaven, here’s a brave show! (), they all drew their swords and at the end of the line thrust them over the bags with a cry of Ha! It worked well to enhance the sense of manly camaraderie that the actors generated in this scene. I will … tonight Contrast this to Prince Hal’s resolution in Henry IV, Part 1 that the money shall be paid back again, with advantage (1H4 2.4.453). two Receivers
These characters could be figures that arouse sympathy. They are charged with collecting and protecting the king’s money, have been robbed, and now fear hanging. I directed the SQM company to play them as figures of fun. Playing these two characters as comical characters diluted the impact of the prince’s threats to them. They were still sympathetic figures and their fear had the potential to raise questions about the Prince’s behavior, but the pity arousing from their reactions was tempered by laughter. The effect was to create a scene of boyish ribaldry that invited the audience to share in the fun of the wayward prince’s antics even while they might be sympathizing with his victims. The scene still opens up issues about the rule of law and the abuse of power but as is typical of Queen’s Men dramaturgy it does so playfully. villains Low-born vulgar rustics (an insult based on social class); not a charge of evil-doing. Speak … him
In this series of lines the Receivers each try to avoid speaking to the prince. The play-editor has added editorial asides to indicate where the lines should be addressed. In rehearsal, the actors also developed physical business as each Receiver tried to push the other to the front to deal with the apparently angry prince. Forsooth Truly. cut … heads
Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) played up the mock anger to enhance the fun for the audience, who know he is the one who stole the money. We emphasized the importance of direct address in the SQM productions encouraging actors to deliver their lines to the audience whenever possible. Hopkins used this technique to maximum advantage in this role creating an open and playful relationship with the audience and exploiting opportunities to enjoy a dramatic irony. Robbed?
Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) yelled this word at the Receivers with an exaggerated sense of outrage which made the Receivers jump and the audience laugh because they knew him to be the robber. The Receivers huddled together, comically quaking in their boots. Marry Emphatic expression of surprise or indignation. Variant of Mary, mother of Christ (OED marry, int. 1). hobby Small light-footed horse bred in Ireland. nag Small riding-horse, bred for a comfortable walking pace, usually for ladies. Gog’s God’s. Blood God’s blood! (oath). belammed him
As the Receivers repeated his exact words from earlier in the scene, the prince rubbed his shoulder again slightly to enhance the effect of the dramatic irony. See note at . away your money
Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) drew his sword at this point and leveled it at the Receivers who promptly dropped to their knees. In his next line he instructs them to stand up (), and so it made sense that they should kneel. As is typical of early modern work, there is no stage direction in the original text. The exact moment where they should kneel is a matter of interpretation. If they kneel following their next line (), where they beg for mercy, as suggested in this edition, the movement would also make sense. Was not … done
An example of the rhetorical questions mentioned in the performance headnote. Not all audience members either early modern or contemporary would necessarily empathize with this young and nationalistic braggart, but Hopkins’ charisma gave us a sense of how an actor might exploit the text in order to maximize his character’s appeal to the audience. His response to textual clues such as these contributed significantly to the development of the SQM company style. Now, whither
Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) added a pause before saying this line. The text does not so indicate, but then early modern texts never indicate pauses. Actors today have learned to make sense of the journey from the end of one line to the beginning of the next. They need a sense of logic that justifies their character’s actions and lines. In this instance, Hopkins was intrigued by the fact that no sooner had one escapade ended than the prince was looking for the next. He felt there was something restless about this character and the pause he added served to bring focus to that quality. Curiously, he had discovered the same quality in the King of Gallia, the character he played in King Leir. Was this simply his personal inclination as an actor? Or does it reveal that the Queen’s Men’s casting allowed their actors to play to their strengths, performing similar characters in their different plays? Feversham A town in Kent on a creek of the East Swale, 47 m. East of London and 8 m. West of Canterbury (Sugden 190). old tavern Public house, or pub, serving food and alcohol and often with some rooms for travellers. Bullough identifies the tavern as the Boar’s Head, noting that in Henry IV, Part 2, Bardolph calls it the old place in Eastcheap (2H4 6.19). Stow, however, writes that the Garland in Little East Cheape, sometime a brewhouse, with a garden on the back side, adjoining to the garden of Sir John Philpot, was the chief house in this East Cheape (Stow 189). Eastcheap London market (or cheap) street, containing mainly butchers’ stalls. Eastcheap ran East from the junction of Cannon Street and Gracechurch Street to Great Tower Street. The famous Boar’s Head Tavern was at the West end (Sugden 165). Stow writes, this Eastcheape is now a flesh market of butchers there dwelling on both sides of the street (Stow 194). pretty wench In Henry IV, Part 1 Falstaff calls the tavern’s hostess a most sweet wench (1H4 1.2.34). in their tongues
Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) also played the young Prince Edward in Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay. In that play the prince dresses up as a court jester and plays the fool. Performing the plays in repertoire, the SQM actors’ interpretations of one role often began to colour their performances in other roles (see also note at ). Paul Hopkins adopted the same silly voice for this sexual innuendo that he used to play the fool in Friar Bacon. In performance I always felt that the connection between the wayward prince and folly would have been seen as appropriate by an early modern audience for whom folly was a frequently used synonym for sin (see Performance Intro). Sebastian Brant’s Ship of Fools, for example, was full of sinners not court entertainers, simpletons, or madmen. We … fellows
Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) gathered his friends together and stretched his arms across their shoulders, which communicated the break in social hierarchy implied by the line. This masculine and egalitarian camaraderie was infectious and came increasingly to define the SQM company performance style. The atmosphere generated by Hopkins and the cast created the feeling that the Prince was a man of the people, even if the effect was illusory since he shows scant concern for the poor receivers. An If. we would … kings Bullough points to Falstaff’s dreams of what he and his companions will do when thou Prince Hal art a king in Henry IV, Part 1 (1H4 1.2.13–14). Scene 2
The Queen’s Men apparently found their contemporary volunteer police force, the town watch, to be an excellent source of fun. They are featured in King Leir (Sc27) and appear again here. The recurring joke, featured in many early modern plays, is that the constables entrusted to watch the cities at night, the Watch, are incompetent or negligent. The watchmen in King Leir decide they will go to the pub rather than watch, and the watchmen in this scene are full of fear and prefer to sleep rather than protect the citizens of London. The characters in this scene are indisputably clowns and the scene continues the knockabout humor of the play’s opening. It also introduces us to the character of Derrick, the poor carrier mentioned in the first scene, a role we can be relatively confident was played by the Queen’s Men’s star actor, the great clown Richard Tarlton (Cockett). Although this scene is clearly intended to be comic, there are few verbal gags, and led by Alon Nashman (Derrick) our principal clown, the actors developed physical business to bring out the comedy of the situation. Since the Queen’s Men were renowned for their comedy we might infer that the Queen’s Men’s humor was equally reliant on physical comedy. The humor of the scene was not readily apparent on the page and it took a significant amount of work from the company to unearth the latent humor of the clown parts. Nashman paid close attention to the details of the text but was given creative licence to apply his clown training and develop physical comedy even where it was not specifically indicated. The production notes in this scene document our struggles deciphering a clowning text that lacks specific stage directions, pointing out the textual evidence for specific gags, and indicating where the actors’ creativity alone was responsible for the humor. Enter John
To establish the premise of the humor—that the guardians of safety in the city are cowards (see note at Scene 2 above)—our actors crept fearfully onto the stage assembling one by one in a tight knit group. Costermonger Fruit vendor. All is well
This line was declared once all the watchmen were gathered. We thought John Cobbler was announcing that the town was safe for the benefit of his sleeping neighbours but also to warn off any wrongdoers that might be close by. Building on the idea that the watchmen are all cowards (see note at Scene 2), John wants to avoid conflict at all costs. Immediately following this line Alon Nashman (Derrick) created a gag by having Robin belch in Lawrence’s face. Lawrence reacted to his bad breath and this stink motivated his suggestion that Robin should go to Pudding Lane end (), that is, go elsewhere. Nashman cleverly integrated this business with the text even though it was not built on textual evidence. Robin In production the director assigned to Lawrence Costermonger. In Q all the lines are assigned to Robin, which is clearly incorrect as Robin refers to himself in the third person at and is given another speech immediately following the conclusion of this one. Rather than reassigning the lines to Lawrence, the play-editor supposed that Q’s compositor had made the common error of missing a speech prefix. He consequently reassigned to John. Given that Robin addresses him at , logically John would be the one to reply in 107, and his hearty but condescending my neighbor, Robin Pewterer is not at all odd. John might even give Robin a slap on the shoulder when addressing him and then give him a bit of a push off down the lane.
The designation of speech headings here is confusing in the original text as Robin is assigned two consecutive lines. It struck me as odd that John should respond to Robin’s question but refer to his colleague in the third person and use the collective we to refer to himself and Lawrence, as suggested in this edition. The SQM company resolved the issue differently by giving both lines to Lawrence Costermonger. We also motivated Lawrence’s suggestion to send Robin to Pudding’s Lane End by making Robin an unappealing partner in the watch: Peter Higginson (Robin) belched prior to Lawrence’s line and Julian DeZotti (Lawrence) nearly swooned at the strength of his bad breath. It worked well in performance but I think this is an instance in which the intentions of the text are obscure and the crux cannot be resolved definitively. As director, I made a theatrical decision, whereas the play editor made the editorial decision; both have sound logic, neither is definitive. Pudding Lane Lane in Billingsgate Ward. Pudding Lane ran South from the West end of Eastcheap to Lower Thames Street (Sugden 422). According to Stow, the lane acquired its name because the butchers of Eastcheap have their scalding house for hogs there, where they make their puddings blood puddings, i.e. sausages made with pork blood and fat, adding that the other filth of beasts, are voided down that way from their dung boats on the Thames (Stow 189). Billingsgate Ward One of the twenty-six wards or administrative units into which the City of London was divided (Stow 109). Billingsgate, The principal of the old water-gates of London, on the North side of the Thames, East of London Bridge (Sugden 60),was famous for its fish market, and the coarse, abusive language of its fishwives had by the middle of the 17th century at the latest given rise to the generic term Billingsgate-Rhetorick (Culpeper). toward Promising, forward. let to talk Refrain from talking. taking Stealing, thieving. begin to sleep
Using this line as inspiration, Alon Nashman (Derrick) created a sleeping gag by having Lawrence lean against his halberd, fall asleep and start snoring, as he exhaled he slid further down the pole of his weapon. This business prompted John to notice his neighbor needed a nap. Even though there is no stage direction, there is textual justification for this gag since logically John should see Lawrence begin to sleep before pointing it out. In performance, John Cobbler’s line: Methinks you begin to sleep () became funny because Lawrence was clearly fast asleep at this point. Enter Derrick roving
Peter Thomson argues that comic entrances were a central part of Tarlton’s clowning (Thomson) and Derrick’s sudden entrance and equally sudden exit here certainly seem designed for comic effect. Alon Nashman (Derrick) took full license to enjoy this moment dashing around the sleeping watchmen sharing his horror at being robbed with the audience before skipping off the other side. no horses
John’s line is presumably a reference to the fact that Derrick is saying Whoa! In the SQM production this did not read very clearly because the sound of Alon Nashman’s delivery resembled a cry of fear and panic rather than an instruction to a horse. clown Peasant, rural individual; comic actor. silk apparel English law forbade anyone below the rank of knight or with less than 20 pounds annual income or 200 pounds worth of goods to wear silk (Bailey 28). Such laws were frequently ignored, however.
The implication here, if taken literally, is that Derrick, the poor carrier, is dressed in silk, a material that sumptuary laws dictated could only be worn by the upper classes. In the context of the original performance, dressing Tarlton, who was a clown actor and played clown (rustic) characters in silk apparel, would have been an interesting juxtaposition. In our production, however, we felt that it would have made it difficult for the audience to process the character’s social status. Instead Alon Nashman patted his hempen jerkin as if the line were an ironic reference. It never really worked but I still cannot think of an adequate solution to this costuming problem for a modern production. Kent County in South East England, bordering Greater London to the North West, notorious for highway robberies (Sugden 292). To John From it is clear that this line is addressed to John, who has just seized Derrick. Derrick is questioning John’s authority by asking him if he is Master Constable and refusing to accept the authority of Robin, who was the one who commanded John to seize him at .
In rehearsal, and working from the quarto text that lacks this stage direction, it was unclear where this line should be directed. Alon Nashman (Derrick) wanted to know who Derrick would not take the law from and why. The original text is inconclusive in this regard. Since John had seized Derrick at , Nashman felt that Derrick was not happy about taking the law from John. He therefore addressed this line to Lawrence not to John, telling the person he thought was the master constable that he refused to take the law from John’s hands. Since he was literally in John’s hands at this point, the actors’ choice made sense. The suggestion that he is objecting to the character making the command also makes sense. Master Constable Head constable. Unpaid local constables were elected annually by their parishes and were under the control of a High Constable, who reported to the justices of the peace at quarters sessions (Sharpe 33–34). According to Stow, Billingsgate Ward had eleven constables (Stow 189). bade Appointed, proclaimed. Past participle of bid, to announce, proclaim, command, enjoin (OED bid, v.1 3.10). Pronounced like bad (which is how it is spelled in Q1), creating humorous punning possibilities that Derrick exploits when he calls John one of the Master Constable’s beastly officers (). draws his sword
Another stage direction not present in the original. This edition’s editorial choice here matches the SQM performance solution and both were prompted by John’s later request that Derrick put it up (), i.e. put away his weapon. Alon Nashman (Derrick) was given a wooden dagger for use as a weapon for his clown characters in all three plays. The Elizabethan clown character was the theatrical descendent of the stage Vice, a character we know carried a wooden dagger. Shakespeare’s Feste famously refers to it as a dagger of lath (TN 4.2.104). the law … hands If his refers to the Master Constable, then Derrick follows up his refusal to take the law at Robin’s hands by insisting that he will take the law from no one other than the highest authority, i.e. the Master Constable (see ). If his refers to Robin, then Derrick conceivably is threatening to take the law into his own hands against Robin, which would be consonant with Derrick drawing his sword and John’s imprecation in the following line that Derrick not take the law of us. We failed to decipher this line in the SQM production and Nashman kept the reference for his vague in his delivery. In retrospect it would have developed the logic of our choice if he had directed his attentions to John who physically subdued him (see ). He would then have been threatening to take the law into his own hands against John. This section of text is open to other dramaturgical interpretations. him Robin, implying that Derrick considers Robin’s attempt to seize him illegal. proper Attractive, fair, handsome (OED proper, adj. 3.7.b).
The principal clown character in King Leir also refers to his good looks (Sc12 Sp12) in this manner. Tarlton was famously unattractive and these ironic references are one of the key pieces of textual evidence that suggest these roles were played by the great clown (Cockett). Alon Nashman who played the line of roles associated with Tarlton pulled a face here that allowed him to stress the irony of this line. Aside In the following line, Derrick refers to John or Robin in the third person, suggesting that the line is an aside addressed more or less directly to the audience. Among the many choices for stage directions, an editor has to choose one stage direction, because the line makes no sense if the reader thinks it is addressed to the constables. The character may mutter to himself, he may speak directly to the audience, he may speak to one other person who may not listen or comprehend.
Alon Nashman (Derrick) engaged the audience directly from the moment of his first entrance. Clowning demands that the actor develop a direct and interactive relationship with the audience. The editorial choice to mark this line in the text as an aside makes sense but in our productions the difference between an aside and other speech was only a matter of degree, especially for the clowns. For this line Nashman was able to make the shift of target for his lines clear and the audience could understand that his words were spoken for their benefit alone and that the other characters could not hear him. Throughout the productions our principal clown’s asides felt like an organic development of the close relationship with the audience he had already established, rather than a sudden shift in address conventionally understood by the term aside. Cutbert Cutter Cutbert Cutter is named at Sc24 Sp54 but in his speech prefixes and the stage directions always called simply Theef or Theefe. I have emended to Cutbert Cutter throughout. good fellow Boon companion, merry lad, drinking companion (Cotgrave). The reference is probably to Derrick, who has been spotted by Cutbert Cutter as a fellow thief. The others may accept that he means boon companion but Derrick does not, and hence the Gadshill reference, as the next note indicates. The thief’s comment has a clear context for Derrick’s subsequent name-calling. An alternative reading might be that the thief addresses John or one of the other officials onstage, but Derrick’s reaction to hearing the words and the voice is what makes the scene work. Gadshill Derrick nicknames Cutbert Cutter after the notorious place for holdups, a hill on the Rochester highway, 20 miles SE of London (Corbin and Sedge). Corbin and Sedge note that the analogous character in Henry IV, Part 1 is known only by this nickname. As Prince Harry and his companions plan their robbery, Ned Poins tells them that tomorrow morning by four o’clock early, at Gads Hill, there are pilgrims going to Canterbury with rich offerings, and traders riding to London with fat purses. I have visors for you all; you have horses for yourselves. Gadshill lies tonight in Rochester (1H4 1.2.97–100). bots Any kind of worme. Also a disease in a horse (Florio). liege people Vassals, feudal retainers, loyal subjects. filching Stealing, snatching, pilfering (Florio). him Derrick. Vintner’s Keeper of an inn serving wine. Goodman Title of respect applied to respectable householders and others under the rank of gentleman (OED goodman, n. 4.a). Robert Robin is a diminutive form of Robert (cf. Heywood and Brome D2r). John calls the boy Robert (); this edition has adopted this later naming for the boy to avoid confusion with Robin Pewterer. Counter A prison for debtors connected with the City court in London (Sugden 133) and under the control of the London sheriffs (Howard 75). There were two main Counters in Elizabethan London: the Poultry Counter and the Wood Street Counter (Sugden 133). Howard states that The Counters were open all night, and anyone caught by the watch for any crimes or disturbances would be brought to them and held there until morning (Howard 76). this night … ago In Stow the incident takes place Upon the euen of Saint Iohn Baptist (Stow 573), 23 June 1410. Stow narrates that the kings sonne being in Eastcheap at supper, after midnight, betwixt two and three of the clocke, a great debate hapned betweene his men and men of the Courte, lasting an houre, til the Maior and Sherifes with other Citizens ceased the same: for the which afterward the sayde Maior, Sherifes, and Aldermen, were sent for to appeare before the kyng, to answeare (Stow 573). noise Group, band, consort. pots Drinking mugs or cups. fray Brawl, riot, breach of the peace. From Anglo-Norman legal term affray, breach of the peace (OED fray, n.1 3.a). mayor Sir Richard Marlow, ironmonger (Stow 572). The context clearly indicates that Q1’s Maior is Mayor not Major. Q1 retains this spelling of mayor throughout, and in this edition subsequent occurences have been silently modernized. sheriff Along with a mayor, London was governed by two sheriffs elected annually (Stow 442–444). The two sheriffs elected on 28 September 1409 were John Lawe and William Chicheley (Stow 572). The play may be referring to either one of them here or may be referring to no specific historical individual, compressing the two sheriffs into one for the sake of dramatic economy. sessions day Days on which prisoners were formally indicted. There were between ten and twelve indictment sessions annually at Newgate (Archer 218). country Local (Thomas). Alternatively, country may refer to the point of origin of the offender: The Counter was used for London offenders, Newgate for those brought in from the country (Sugden 364). Newgate London’s main criminal prison in the medieval and early modern periods. Founded in the thirteenth century and rebuilt in the fifteenth century, Newgate was used principally to house felons, many of whom were facing the death penalty (Bassett 233–235). Scene 3
In the SQM production, we emphasized the sincerity of the king’s concern for his wayward son, which we felt worked in counterpoint to the knockabout farce of the previous two scenes. The scenes between the king and prince operate according to the conventions of morality drama in which a central sinner (the prince) is brought back to the path of righteousness by a virtuous character (the king). Although the SQM productions led us to the conclusion that all characters in the Queen’s Men plays were designed to be performed with a naivety we associate with clowning, we made the aging king the emotive centre of the performance, childlike almost in his emotions but deeply sincere. In rehearsal we experimented with playing up the extremity of his emotions for comedy’s sake. We also tried to play the mayor for laughs, who arrives to repeat the story of the prince’s misdemeanors we have just heard in the previous scene word for word. Ultimately, however, we decided that this undermined the dramaturgy of this sequence of scenes, which worked best when made to contrast the frivolous capers of the young prince. Working to this end, Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) and Don Allison (King Henry IV) were able to turn this sequence of scenes between father and son into the moral heart of the play. This first scene in the sequence served to set the tone for what follows and raised anticipation for the two storylines to collide as they first do in and then again in . The stage directions throughout these scenes provided one of the most fascinating puzzles in the play as the text invites us to imagine that the stage represents multiple locations at the same time. The annotations in this scene track the beginnings of our exploration of this staging puzzle. Earl of Exeter The first duke of Exeter, John Holland (1352–1400), Henry IV’s brother-in-law and Prince Henry’s uncle (Hall, Henry IV Fol. 10v; Hall, Henry V Fol. 7v), was executed in 1400. Thomas Beaufort became the second duke of Exeter in 1416, much to the disappointment of the first duke’s son John, the earl of Huntington (ODNB). Lord of Oxford Richard de Vere (1385–1417), eleventh earl of Oxford (ODNB). Henry IV The play drops King or K from its speech prefixes for Henry IV. This speech prefix and others have been standardized accordingly. subject Anyone under a particular sovereign’s rule. unequal Prejudiced, biased. or whether … them
The mayor here repeats the Boy’s report of the fray () from the previous scene word for word. The repetition of Robert’s lines in the mouth of the mayor encouraged us to give the mayor some of the naive quality the clowning gave to the Boy and the town watch. Philip Borg thus experimented with clowning the mayor, emphasizing his fear of the king’s wrath and struggling to maintain his dignity. In the end, we decided he should play it straight and support Don’s work to establish the gravity of the situation in contrast to the comedy of the previous scenes. liked them not Displeased or annoyed them. fray See note to fray, . brother Fellow official. See notes to mayor and sheriff at . try Test. whether … tell Whether you had sent them to test our impartiality in office or whether they were acting on their own. ward Custody, imprisonment, prison. wanteth Lacks. our answer Stow records that the mayor and sheriffs aunswered, they had not offended the Kyng nor his sonnes, but according to law stanched the debates: then the King seeing it woulde be none otherwyse, forgaue altogither, and they departed (Stow 573). Exit Mayor
The king instructs them to Stand aside (), which conventionally implies they should move to the edge of the stage, but the stage direction in the quarto text that indicates an exit here worked well in practice. The Mayor and Sheriff exited to be followed by the king when he says I will go myself (). As in the later court scenes, the text invites the audience to imagine other chambers just off stage (). Ah, Harry … days The king’s lament is a variation on the biblical King David’s, learning of the death of his badly behaved son: O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! (2 Samuel 18:33). The verse was a popular drinking round-song in the Elizabethan period and thus an important popular echo in this play. Bullough points to Henry IV’s lament in Henry IV, Part 1 that Prince Harry is the hot vengeance and the rod of heaven / To punish my mistreadings (1H4 3.2.10–11).
The broken syntax in the lines implies high emotion and was initially read as ironic melodrama by our modern actors. Ultimately, we decided the king’s suffering needed to serve as the moral counterpoint to the pleasure earlier taken in the prince’s vice. precise Scrupulous, strict, officious. Scene 4
This was a gem of a scene in performance. The simple and sometimes repetitive prose and Derrick’s comic interjections belie the complexity with which it explores issues of law and royal authority. The scene invites the audience to enjoy the prince striking the judge and then delight in the reversal of fortunes as the judge sends the prince to prison. The two clowns Derrick and John are equally delighted with this scene and replay it for our amusement. The initial inclination of our 21st-century company was to decide whether each scene was serious or comic, but Queen’s Men plays are not designed that way. Rather than aiming to create a consistent tone unity or a separation between the serious and comic elements of this play, we found that pushing both to extremes was more effective. In this scene, the clown Alon Nashman was given free rein to develop comic physical business, Paul Hopkins as the Prince enjoyed similar licence, but David Kynaston (Justice) was challenged to maintain the dignity of his office while all clowned around him. The collision between bawdy comedy and the Justice’s dignity raised serious questions about the rule of law. Kynaston’s character is the victim of the Prince’s power but ultimately asserts the power his father holds over all. The scene invites the audience to initially laugh at him but then with him as he turns the tables on the arrogant son of the king. Kynaston’s Justice was both a priggish representative of judicial authority and a brave nobleman resisting the tyranny of the prince’s actions. Lord Chief Justice William Gascoigne (Stow 573), the lawyer who was famous for his idealistic view of law as superior even to kings. Clerk … Office Officer in charge of court records; clerk of Assizes or Sessions. bar The barrier or wooden rail marking off the immediate precinct of the judge’s seat, at which prisoners are stationed for arraignment, trial, or sentence (OED bar, n.1 3.22.a).
The Lord Chief Justice refers specifically to a bar which implies that something on stage might represent a bar and this question led us to debate the creation of a physical set piece for this scene. Such a set piece, a portable railing or barrier at which a prisoner is placed in trial/courtroom scenes, was a common property in Elizabethan theatre (Dessen and Thomson 20). I felt that having such a set piece on stage would create an opportunity for more physical humor and make sense of Derrick’s next line: Hear you, my lord, I pray you bring the bar to the prisoner (). I imagined that on this line the clown might pick up the bar and move it over to where Cuthbert Cutter was standing. We decided in the end that the gag did not justify the expense involved in building a set piece for this scene. There were no other trial scenes in the SQM repertoire of Queen’s Men plays. To make sense of the line without the set piece, Alon Nashman (Derrick) made a striking motion with his hand to indicate he hoped the judge would hit the prisoner with an iron bar. bring the bar Derrick’s comic inversion of the Lord Chief Justice’s previous line plays on several senses of bar. Derrick may be expressing his desire that the Lord Chief Justice punish Cutbert immediately and harshly (by beating him with a bar or rod or by bringing him swiftly to the crossbar of the gallows). Alternatively, Derrick may be mocking Cutbert’s impending imprisonment by insinuating that if he wishes in the future to get a drink, the bar, i.e. the pub, will have to be brought to him. See OED bar, n.1 2.b and 28.a. At this moment Alon Nashman (Derrick) made a striking motion with his fist to make sense of this otherwise obscure line. See previous note (see note at ). an have … writing If you already have it in writing? Why then … him
The company decided to bring comedy to this moment by giving the Clerk a stutter. There was no textual justification for this but since we knew that the Queen’s Men were blessed with many comic specialists (McMillin and MacLean 128), I encouraged the company to develop any opportunities for comic business as long as they did not create unwanted irony that mocked the serious moments in the story. fourteenth … sovereign Henry IV began his reign on 30 September 1399; he died in the fourteenth year of his reign, on 20 March 1413. belie Slander, speak falsehoods about, misrepresent. pack Bag or sack for transporting goods. Skins wherein clothes were packed in carriage; A pack, a burden, a loade, a weight: also a charge giuen to one, or that one taketh on him; a thing to pack marchandise in: paper or other stuffe, wherein occupiers wrap their seuerall wares (Thomas). Carriers were legally liable for the goods they were transporting (Stewart 457), so even though it is comical it is perhaps also understandable that Derrick here should express as much concern for the damage done to his pack as for the damage done to his body. raze Root, cutting. bouncing Bess
Evidence suggests that Tarlton was a great improviser (Wiles 12–18) and part of the SQM experiment was to discover the effect of unleashing a clown’s imagination on the playtext. Alon Nashman (Derrick), our company’s principal clown, was therefore given free rein to create comic business. Nashman turned these lines into a little physical and vocal ode to his character’s lost love, Bess. Well, what sayest
The Lord Chief Justice does not respond to Derrick’s line but continues with the task of trying the thief. In order to exploit both the comic and serious intent of the scene, David Kynaston (Lord Chief Justice) sustained an attitude of dignified disdain while Alon Nashman (Derrick) engaged in his extended business about bouncing Bess’s jolly buttocks (). whether Whichever of the two. young Prince
Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) continued in the rowdy, boyish vein of his opening scene, entering the courtroom with an arrogant swagger, fully expecting that his royal status would make him immune to the law. His boyish attitude added to the spirit of the scene: he embraced the fact that a courtroom is a public setting, opening up his performance to the audience and imagining them to be present in the courtroom and once again sharing in his fun. His jokes, directed at Derrick and the Lord Chief Justice, were intended to amuse the audience on stage and off. bound Laid under charge, arrested. villain?
At this point Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) bent over to look at Cuthbert’s manacles and made a loud farting noise as he did so. The text gives no justification for this action but its childish excess served to exaggerate our sense of the young prince’s folly just prior to the first moment where his behavior will be corrected. man Follower, employee, feudal servant. man … hands A man of valor, skill, or practical ability (OED hand, n. P1.g.a), with obvious ironic reference to Cutbert’s thievery. button-breech One that is pin-buttockt; or hath but small or slender buttocks (Cotgrave). Of my word I swear, I’m telling you. quality Attribute, characteristic, habit. Hear you, sir Modern editors of the play have considered to be a mistaken repetition of Adams, Pitcher, and Corbin and Sedge excise them. In production, however, the repetition is the basis of comedy, accentuated by the increase in comic outrage registered by Derrick’s shift from earnest at the end of the first iteration to jest at the end of the second. Strangely enough this was the one line we cut from the production. Although repetition can be comic, we could see no way to make this line work. It is simply too odd for Derrick to repeat the entire line, word for word, especially since the other characters still take no notice of him. Our intention was to perform the text as it has survived without editing but in this one instance we could not make it work. belike Possibly, perhaps, it seems (Baret). falls out Happens, proves to be (OED to fall out, v. 5.a). must needs Am obliged to. Tell me
Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) at this point effected a shift in tone as the Lord Chief Justice’s resistance to his will provoked the prince’s aggression. The scene shifted from ribald comedy into serious drama. The SQM company became very adept at effecting such shifts in tone. box … ear A blow to the side of the head. According to Hall, for the imprisonmente of one of his wanton mates and vnthriftie plaisaiers he Prince Henry strake the chiefe Justice with his fiste on the face. For which offence he was not onely committed to streyght prison, but also of his father put out of the preuy counsaill and banished the courte (Hall, Henry V Fol. 1r). An earlier account of the incident can be found in Thomas Elyot’s The Governour (Book II, Chapter VI), in which the Prince does not strike the Lord Chief Justice. An anecdote from Tarlton’s Jests (1638) reveals the comic potential of the stage action: At the Bull at Bishophs-gate, was a play of Henry the fift, wherein the judge was to take a box on the eare; & because he was absent that should take the blowe, Tarlton himselfe, ever forward to please, tooke upon him to play the same judge, beside his owne part of the clowne: and Knel then playing Henry the fift, hit Tarlton a sounde boxe indeed, which made the people laugh the more, because it was he (Bullough 289–290).
The anecdote cited above raises questions about the casting of the play. If Tarlton played the judge, who played Derrick in the same scene? The story implies that the company had the ability to improvise when called upon. Tarlton was famed for his improvisations so this is no surprise. It would also have been an easy role for him to step into since he presumably had been on stage as Derrick many times watching the exchange between the prince and the Lord Chief Justice. The phrase laugh the more (suggesting that boxing the Justice’s ear was considered amusing anyway) supports our choice to make the scene both serious and funny. Like many in the Queen’s Men repertoire, this scene challenges lingering twenty-first century assumptions about the division between comedy and tragedy. Exeunt … Tom Because the lord chief justice orders the convicted thief returned to prison, Cutbert must remain on stage until this decision is given. Well … hands The Lord Chief Justice’s restraint shows up the prince’s immaturity and thoughtlessness. In Henry IV, Part 2 Falstaff taunts the Lord Chief Justice about his mild reception of Prince Hal’s physical assault: For the box of th’ear that the Prince gave you, he gave it like a rude prince, and you took it like a sensible lord (2H4 3.163–165). Your grace … father
Having chosen to keep the Lord Chief Justice separate from the clowning earlier in the scene, Kynaston (Justice) found it easier to deliver this speech with a noble courage and sincere conviction. lively Living. prerogatives Legal rights or privileges. By hitting the Lord Chief Justice, Prince Henry presumed upon his privileges as the king’s son. By committing Prince Henry to prison, the Lord Chief Justice teaches him that his prerogatives do not overrule the law of his father the king, whose still lively person the Lord Chief Justice represents. Although Shakespeare does not dramatize the incident, in Henry IV, Part 2 the Lord Chief Justice presents a similar argument when confronted by the newly crowned Henry V in 5.2: Your highness pleasèd to forget my place, / The majesty and power of law and justice, / The image of the King whom I presented (2H4 15.76–78), he tells Henry, and for that reason, as an offender to your father, / I gave bold way to my authority / And did commit you (2H4 15.80–82). Fleet A prison on the East side of the Fleet Ditch, London, a little North of the junction of Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street (Sudgen 194). Debtors and those held for contempt of court (Kinney 51) were committed to the Fleet. ’ssizes Assizes, days on which court held sessions or hearings. From Law-French, meaning a sitting (OED assize, n. 1.1). England was divided into six assize circuits, which two judges rode twice a year. The judges were authorized to investigate and judge all offences in their circuit and to try the suspected felons in the county prisons (Sharpe 23). Exeunt The quarto provides no exit stage direction for any of these characters. Obviously all characters other than John and Derrick must exit at this point, as the immediately following action features John and Derrick clowning by themselves. The textual editor has chosen to preserve the entry stage direction at rather than emend it to a possibility indicating that John and Derrick remain on stage after the others have left. The logic of this stage direction is to get everyone officially out of the courtroom we have imagined on-stage, and allow the clowns to re-enter and re-play the box on the ear. We need not assume that the place is still the courtroom. Clowns, in any case, have special privileges: see, eg, Derrick’s roving () in which he enters, exits, and enters again. See also Simplicity in The Three Ladies of London: he re-enters immediately after he exits to run away from Fraud, who wants to punch him. The scene doesn’t change: Let Fraud run at him, and let Simplicity run in and / come out again straight (). This freedom from convention is clown work. Of course, John and Derrick must exit at some point so that they can re-enter, either here at the end of the scene (which permits them to see all the action that they parody in the next scene, including their own exits and re-entrances) or earlier on, which would conform to the common Elizabethan dramatic practice of not having characters re-enter the stage to begin a new scene immediately after they have exited the previous scene. If the new scene returns to the space of the previous scene, what generates the comedy of John and Derrick’s immediate re-entrance could be their knowing violation of this common practice. They have sneaked back into a space they are not supposed to be in, the empty courtroom represented by the stage, or simply the stage itself.
The textual solution proposed here—to have everyone exit and then for John and Derrick to re-enter—justifies the quarto’s direction for their entrance but it remains unusual. Generally in Elizabethan drama, when characters enter the stage after clearing it is assumed that they may be arriving in a new location and time may have shifted forward. Characters sometimes leave scenes for no apparent reason in order that they may re-appear in the scenes immediately following in a new location, such as in John of Gaunt’s exit in Shakespeare’s Richard II (R2 1.1). Later plays designed for the private theatres changed the convention because they began to insert musical interludes and/or trim candles between the acts of plays to create divisions (Gurr). In the SQM productions we worked with the intention to make the stage directions recorded in the text work in performance wherever we could and our choice for this moment broke with that intention. We therefore experimented with ways for John and Derrick to leave and re-enter, but felt that nothing tangible was gained by this approach and could not get round the fact that, even if momentarily, the stage was left entirely empty. This to my knowledge never happens prior to the advent of the indoor private theatres. The example from Three Ladies and Derrick’s roving mentioned in the textual note are similar but in these instances other characters remain present on the stage. Ultimately we decided the characters should not exit at this point but remain on stage so that they could carry their amazement at the boxing of the Justice’s ear directly into the next scene. While I agree that clowns have special licence in terms of dramaturgy, having Derrick and John exit leaving an empty, silent stage and then re-enter still strikes me as the more unlikely option even though that is what the surviving text suggests. Scene 5
The SQM production did not treat this as a discrete scene (see note at ), instead Derrick and John remained on stage after everyone else exited and stepped forward to begin this section of action. What follows is a classic example of Tarlton drawing on the festive tradition of the Lord of Misrule in his clowning (Wiles 21–22). His character Derrick here inverts the social hierarchy by making his cobbler friend play the Lord Chief Justice, and assigning himself the role of the prince. The comic dramaturgy of the scene follows the familiar trickster-dupe motif. Derrick is the trickster who has devised a way for him to give his friend a box on the ear. John is the dupe who gets his ear boxed. In performance, Alon Nashman (Derrick) found ways to bring the audience in on the joke, while presenting convincing arguments to his simple friend. Jason Gray (Cobbler) had what I think is the harder task of being duped. He had to not see what was coming when everyone else could see it coming. His performance of simplicity and enthusiasm for the role play was as important to the success of the scene as Nashman’s trickery. Although the comedy broadened at this point, in the SQM production the scene was not in as stark contrast to the previous scene as has often been supposed. The SQM company found that the plays combined the serious and the comic and learned to shift quickly between modes and to allow both to sit comfortably side by side. Enter … John
In the SQM production John and Derrick remained on stage. See textual and production note at for a discussion of our differing interpretations of this textual crux. masters
Since only John is on stage with Derrick, the plural masters must be directed at the audience. Derrick is about to put on a show for the audience in which he tricks John into receiving a box on the ear. The SQM actors were all encouraged to speak to the audience whenever possible, but the clown characters used direct address more frequently, especially the leading clown characters, like Derrick, who we believe were played by Tarlton. choler Anger. shillings Twelve pence made a shilling; twenty shillings made a pound. Slack states that the minimum necessary income for an average poor family between 1590 and 1630 was two shillings a week or five pounds four shillings annually (Slack 81). The basic price of admission to a play in an open-air playhouse like the Theatre, the Curtain, or the Rose was one penny (Gurr 122). Thou shalt … chair, The play-acting offers an extempory clowning that echoes or comments on the significant event, and reveals the character of the players as well. In Henry IV, Part 1, Falstaff and Prince Hal take turns playing the role of Prince Harry’s father in chiding the prince. No, no
Alon Nashman (Derrick) made it clear to the audience at this point that he intended to hit John as hard as possible. The two actors developed this into a piece of comic business as Derrick gave one message to John and another to the audience. The scene is set up as a classic piece of trickster-dupe slapstick. In Jason Gray’s hands, John’s simplicity made him an easy mark for Alon Nashman’s Derrick. No, marry
The actors in the SQM company were working from parts. Alon Nashman (Derrick) and Jason Gray (John) discovered here that the parts miscued the dialogue because Derrick says the same line twice and John’s cue on his part was my man. In rehearsal, Gray repeatedly came in too early and the two developed this interruption into comic business as Derrick kept repeating the line and miscuing John on purpose. Palfrey and Stern have established that repeated cues were a common feature of the parts system and were used to create a variety of theatrical effects (Palfrey 157–305). The effect of the cueing here actually trapped the actors in one moment of action, repeating the same lines over and over. The actors tried to work this as a metatheatrical joke in which Alon Nashman/Derrick kept cueing Jason Gray/John’s previous line but I don’t believe it made sense in performance. The actors’ parts used in the SQM productions are accessible on the Performing the Queen’s Men website. John Much of the humor in the exchange between Derrick and John is generated by the way in which the two clowns slip in and out of their assumed names and roles. The confusion of play-acting and reality indicated in this and the following line by the two clowns’ reversion to their real names, for example, is followed by a very different sort of confusion of the two when Derrick hits John.
In the SQM production, we tried to establish that the trickster Derrick was deliberately addressing John out of character in order to confuse him. The comic business led up to the climax of the slap and Derrick’s comment: what a clown wert thou to let me hit thee a box on the ear (). mass By the mass (oath). course Drub, trounce, thrash (OED course, v. 4). straight Immediately. keep Supply with bed and board. brewis Beef and vegetable broth (OED brewis, n. 1). trifle Something small or of little value, but in this context possibly also a dessert made of sponge cake, custard, fruit, and whipped cream (OED trifle, 3; 6.b), although the OED’s first recorded use of the word to mean a type of dessert is from 1598. woodcock Game-bird, about the size of a small chicken, considered food for gentry, like pheasant or grouse. capon’s Castrated rooster’s. A capon has more meat than a chicken, and its leg is larger, though not so large as a turkey’s. rooting Snuffling in the earth, like a pig; having sexual intercourse. ringed I.e., castrated. Pigs’ snouts are ringed to prevent them from rooting. crab Crab apple. stale Old and strong (OED stale, adj.1 1). quail Overpower, daunt, make faint (OED quail, v.2). Scene 6
My interpretation the Prince’s storyline as a re-imagining of morality drama provided a great challenge for Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) in this scene where he had to suddenly transform from royal bad boy to penitent prince. Unlike Shakespeare’s Hal, the Queen’s Men’s prince is fully committed to a life of vice before this scene. The SQM performance of this scene therefore enacted a conversion, a spiritual epiphany in which the prince is born new (). Hopkins played the prince as playfully sinful and I wonder, in retrospect, if he might have been played more darkly. Would the original audience have been more likely to disapprove of the Prince’s sinful behavior? The stage directions in the scene also provide great interpretive challenges for the director and editor. This scene is an excellent example of the fluid economy of space both real and imaginary that characterized the Elizabethan stage. In the SQM productions we tried to create staging that satisfied the majority of the stage directions in the text. The evidence of the stage directions however is confusing and inconclusive. The textual editor arrived at different solutions from those of the SQM company. Come away
The prince begins this scene with the same words with which he begins the play. We decided that he should remain fully committed to his vicious lifestyle in this scene until the moment of his conversion. Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) therefore entered the scene with the same swagger with which he began the play. Our interpretation of the Prince’s journey as a morality tale, demanded he remains committed to his sinful ways until the moment of conversion. jar Vibrate, grate, make or emit a harsh grating sound (OED jar, v.1 1.1.a). when I … things In 1.2 of Henry IV, Part 1, Shakespeare echoes this phrase five times. When thou art a king, as God save thy grace—majesty I should say, for grace thou wilt have none— when thou art king let not us that are squires of the night’s body be called thieves of the day’s beauty (1H4 1.2.13–21), Falstaff jokingly implores Prince Hal. Shall there be gallows standing in England when thou art king (1H4 1.2.46–47), he then asks, urging him, Do not thou when thou art king hang a thief (1H4 1.2.48–49). Prince Hal replies by threatening to make Falstaff a hangman (1H4 1.2.53). Later in the scene Falstaff declares, I’ll be a traitor then, when thou art king (1H4 1.2.115). would be all kings
The prince relished his villainy in the SQM production and his opposition to the authority of his father. Paul Hopkins’ (Prince Henry) enthusiasm was infectious, making the merry world () he proposes attractive. Although later in the scene he deeply repents this behavior, I insisted there should be no sign of his coming remorse at this point. We wanted the moment of his conversion to be sudden, like Saul’s light at Damascus. The play draws on a Christian understanding of human nature. thou shalt … justice Prince Henry’s promise to Ned gives specificity to his previous meditation on the carnivalesque world he imagines his reign inaugurating. See note at . fence Fencing. Many of the Queen’s Men actors were also Master Fencers, and an audience would expect at least one lengthy fencing scene in every play. Even their great clown Richard Tarlton was a Master of Fence (Thomson), their leading man Edward Knell was killed in swordfight (Eccles 82–83), and the company was famously involved in an affray at the Red Lion in Norwich where members of the company leapt off the stage, swords in hand, to pursue an innyard thief through the town (Roberts-Smith 110–111).
Since contemporary audiences could confidently anticipate scenes of exciting stage combat, the SQM company hired a fight director to develop elaborate battle scenes for each play. fellow … courageously The status of a thief-hierarchy is commented on in Jonson’s The Alchemist, and earlier in the several prose works on thieves’ cant, e.g. Thomas Harman’s A Caveat for Common Cursetors, or Greene’s cony-catching pamphlets, where the urban thief is the hero and others his laughable dupes. Prince Henry’s valorization of the highwayman over other, less noble types of criminal anticipates such later literary figures as Ainsworth’s Dick Turpin and Macheath in John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera (1728). Prince Henry’s characterization of the highwayman recalls the popular figure of Robin Hood, but its combination of the criminal and chivalric may also be satirical. buckler Small round shield with a handle at the back (OED buckler, n.2 1). doubt Suspect. Yet will … head I will go to court immediately because as soon as my father dies I will put the crown on my head. Bullough compares Prince Henry’s attitude here to Prince Harry’s attitude in Henry IV, Part 2: Prince Hal concedes that although it is not meet that I should be sad now my father is sick (2H4 6.31–32), I could be sad; and sad indeed too (2H4 6.33–34). the breath … head
Looking back at the performance now, I wonder if we might have pushed the prince’s villainy further. The prince’s words border on the patricidal and could have been played with much darker intent. Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) continued the playful quality of the prince established in the earlier scenes, representing him as a wayward youth bragging to his friends. Did this make his villainy too pleasant, too appealing? Is the text actually asking for a more unpleasant performance of wickedness at this point? Our version played it both ways, making the prince attractive in his vicious life and following his repentance. Cloak … needles
The SQM cloak of needles costume. According to Stow, when Prince Henry learns that his father suspected that he would presume to vsurpe the crown, he being aliue, he disguised himself in a gown of blew satten, made full of small Oylet holes, and at euery Oylet the needle wherwith it was made hanging still by a threede of silke. And about his arme he ware a dogges coller set ful of SS of golde, and the Tirets of the same also of fine gold. Thus apparelled, with a great companye of Lordes and other noble men of his Court, he came to the king his father (Stow 576). Tracing the gown’s symbolism back to a medieval Oxford tradition of handing out needles and thread to students at Christmas so that they could mend their gowns (Romotsky 157), Romotsky observes that sixteenth-century historical accounts of Prince Henry’s gown (changed into a cloak in Famous Victories) consider it to be a sign of his sincere contrition for his unruliness and his desire for reconciliation with his father (Romotsky 157). In contrast, in Famous Victories the cloak symbolizes callous ambition (Romotsky 158) and aggression: ’tis a sign that I stand upon thorns ’til the crown be on my head (), according to Prince Henry, to which Jockey adds Or that every needle might be a prick to their hearts that repine at your doings (). Later in the scene Prince Henry’s sudden repentance before his father is dramatically represented when he throws off this ruffianly cloak () and asks for his father’s pardon. See Romotsky’s article on the history of the cloak of needles. I stand … head A playful and slightly blasphemous allusion to Christ’s crown of thorns. Christ’s crown is his suffering; Prince Henry suffers until he is crowned. repine Complain. gear Business, matter. had as lief Would rather. prating Chattering. gate This editorial stage direction is necessitated by Prince Henry’s indication of motion at and the Porter (or gate-keeper)’s question at . In an early modern London amphitheatre playhouse like the Theatre or the Curtain, a gate could have been represented by either of the two doors in the stage’s tiring-house faĉade or by the central discovery space. It need not have been a movable stage property. The Queen’s Men’s plays, however, were performed in a variety of London and provincial venues, from inn yards to town halls, and exactly how the company represented the gate in this scene would depend on the concrete conditions of the particular performance venue and on the effect the actors were trying to achieve, as the director’s performance note on the gate in the SQM production of the play fully illustrates. The location of this gate may be at the abbott’s house of Westminster Abbey, where the king was historically supposed to be attending a convocation of parliament; or it may have been assumed that the king was at his own residence in the Palace of Westminster.
MM’s stage direction effectively marks the development of the stage action for the reader. In production, however, we had to confront the different challenges of our medium and the specific conditions of our performance space. Where did this gate come from? How did it get on stage? Should there be an actual gate on stage? In dealing with staging problems, the SQM company looked for the most efficient solution that satisfied the majority of the stage directions in the quarto text. The text does not indicate that an actual gate is brought on stage, but the Porter’s line: What a rapping keep you at the king’s court gate? suggests that somehow there is a gate on stage and someone is rapping on it. Adding to the confusion, the quarto text does not mark an entrance for the Porter. Because we were looking for simple efficient solutions, we decided that we could not bring on a gate as might be inferred from MM’s added stage direction. Bringing on a structure to represent the gate either at this point or earlier in the scene would have interrupted the flow of the action unnecessarily. In keeping with the conventions of Elizabethan theatre, we decided to rely instead on the audience’s imagination. Ned simply went over to the tiring house and knocked on the frame. Once the Porter refers to the specifics of the portal implied by the rapping, the new location is firmly established in the minds of the audience. In rehearsal the Porter (Philip Borg), rather than entering the stage, poked his head through the curtains, which nicely referenced the small windows porters used in large castle gates and enabled a very sudden entrance. This had the added advantage that the Porter did not enter the stage—a possible explanation for the lack of a stage direction for his entrance. Though … court! Prince Henry is telling Ned that because they are at the court of his father, the king, they both must restrain the violence they could elsewhere exercise freely. him Porter. tables Writing tablet. stand aside
MM does not indicate if the prince moves at this point but the obvious interpretation is that he should step to the side of the stage before the king enters. No exit is marked for the prince and he is still on stage (). However, the text does indicate an entrance for him () where the original stage direction reads: The prince enters with a dagger in his hand. In the SQM production, the prince and his companions exited after saying stand aside which was consistent with our interpretation of the same phrase in (). This solution allowed the king to enter and bemoan his sinful son without having the son standing beside him on the stage pretending not to hear. Since simultaneous staging was an accepted part of Elizabethan stagecraft, it could have been staged without the prince’s exit as MM’s editing implies; but the fact a later entrance is marked for the prince suggested to us he should exit and return. Enter the King
In the SQM production, the king entered in a sick chair. It was not strictly necessary for this scene but satisfied a further puzzle with the stage directions that occurs in . he The Lord Chief Justice. him Prince Henry. wherefore Why. ill rule Rowdy or unruly behavior, such as drinking, gambling, and whoring, that would convert the king’s castle into a house of ill repute (Hollyband). Oxford goeth
The original stage direction reads only: He goeth. We can pretty safely construe the pronoun is referring to Oxford but we have no indication of where he goeth. In the SQM production, Oxford crossed to the upstage left curtain used for entrances in our staging, where he met the prince and his companions arriving at the king’s chambers. The logic of the imagined space was confusing at this point since they were arriving at a space from which they had merely stood aside earlier, and through a different entrance. must needs Must. I can … countenance I cannot show my father the proper respect. Prince Henry clearly feels his followers give him dignity and presence as a royal heir, having to face his father’s disapproval. But his desperation to have them with him suggests he is afraid to see his father alone. The complex situation allows the actor to create a strong emotional impact on the audience. The Prince’s comment is likely ironic given the rowdiness of his companions.
In the SQM production, Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) played the line as if the Prince at this point had no desire to show respect for his father, nor did he fear his father. The line was delivered as an obvious ploy to get his pals into the throne room to witness his intended misbehavior. Exeunt Knights Oxford had blocked the Prince’s entrance to the stage, and the audience could only see his companions peering in through the curtains. Having commanded three noise of musicians (), Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) briefly stepped off stage and joined in a brief stanza of a song with his friends. This brief exit allowed us to satisfy the next stage direction: The Prince crosses the stage to Henry IV with a dagger in his hand (). The Prince … hand Prince Henry has not left the stage. He withdraws or stands aside, which is where Oxford presumably goeth to fetch him. Come, my … name! That is, if you are going to flout or kill me, then do it now. The king clearly desires the situation to end definitively: is he recognizing his son’s contempt for him, or his own readiness to die at his son’s hands, if he cannot win him over? This is an important theatrical opportunity to impress the audience with complex emotional response. The analogous scene in Henry IV, Part 1 is 3.2, although, as Bullough remarks, the treatment is very different (Bullough). Prince Hal is less concerned with renewing his soul than with refurbishing his reputation. He does not confront his father with a dagger in his hand, and, rather than claiming to be reborn at the end of the confrontation, he promises his father that I shall hereafter, my thrice-gracious lord, / Be more myself. (2H4 3.292–93). Only after his coronation in Henry IV, Part 2, however, does he banish Falstaff and declare that I have turned away my former self (2H4 18.53).
The stage directions twice indicate that the king should cry in this scene at and , and this textual evidence became the touchstone for our interpretation of the action. Don Allison (King Henry IV) had to convince us all and his son of the suffering brought on him by the prince’s reprobate behavior. In our interpretation, the king’s grief was the cause of the prince’s conversion. The prince is won over not by sophisticated argument but by force of emotion and by his own empathy for his suffering father. The contrast with Shakespeare’s equivalent scene is fascinating. In Shakespeare’s scene, King Henry IV presents lengthy arguments about the harm Hal’s actions have brought to the crown and to him as his father. Furthermore, in Shakespeare’s play Hal, of course, is not a reprobate, he is only pretending to be so. The dramaturgy of the same moment here in Famous Victories is more closely akin to the morality play tradition which often featured the climactic conversion of a central character that had fallen into sin. reprobate Sinful, unredeemed, damned. youth Henry IV may be alluding here to the allegorical character of Youth found in earlier morality plays. In Tudor morality plays such as The Interlude of Youth (c. 1515), an allegorical character (such as Youth) is seduced into evil ways by bad company, comprising allegorical characters such as Riot, Pride, and Lechery, and often including the character of the Vice (Happé). Shakespeare may be picking up on this allusion to dramatic tradition when in Henry IV, Part 1 Prince Hal calls Falstaff that reverent Vice, that grey iniquity, that father Ruffian, that Vanity-in-Years (1H4 2.4.372–373). In Youth, Youth ultimately rejects Riot and Pride and embraces Charity and Humility.
The SQM interpretation of the play and this scene was grounded on such an understanding of the influence of morality drama. manifestly Openly. My conscience … die
The suddenness of the prince’s conversion was alien to Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry). Modern actors are accustomed to characters who change more gradually, in line with complex psychological motivations. Here the sight of his father’s suffering strikes the prince with remorse and launches him immediately into penitence. The idea felt ridiculous to the actors at first and the temptation was to parody this moment. By committing to a depth of emotional conviction and the suddenness of the change of heart, the actors produced a scene that, although sentimental, was also touching and made their characters’ sudden reconciliation convincing even for our modern and largely secular audience. whereas you … life Although you think that I will try to murder you. In Henry IV, Part 2, after Prince Harry has returned to his father’s chamber with the crown, Henry IV tells his son that thou hid’st a thousand daggers in thy thoughts (1H4 13.236). pretended Intended, premeditated. I most … hand According to Stow, Prince Henry declares to his father how muche rather oughte I to suffer death to bring your grace from the feare that ye haue of me that am your naturall sonne, and your liegeman (Stow 577); then, giving his father his dagger, I beseeche you in the honour of God, for the easing of youre harte, heretofore your knees to slea me with this dagger (Stow 577). abolish Abandon. mischief Evil, destruction, wickedness (Cooper). I will … life Becoming a hermit was a conventional indication of true penitence, and here the statement acts particularly as a type of Christian protestant conversion frequent in the Queen’s Men’s plays. Other dramatists also used such scenes. At the end of Shakespeare’s As You Like It, for example, the evil Duke Frederick is suddenly converted, abandons his usurped crown, and becomes a hermit (AYL 5.4.143–145). born new again The phrase echoes John 3:7, in which Jesus tells Nicodemus that Ye must be borne againe, and indicates the culmination of a process of spiritual transformation that begins when Prince Henry declares, My conscience accuseth me (). Hall asserts that upon coronation Prince Henry determined with himself to put on the shape of a new man (Hall, Henry V Fol. 1r). Come … lords The king demonstrates his forgiveness of his son by asking for his help, a confidence in or desire for his son’s affection, instead of only relying on his attendant lords. The stage business here can have a strong visual and emotional impact.
In the SQM performance these sections were indeed greatly enhanced by the stage business developed by the company. In the interactions between the king and his son, they were far more eloquent than the words of the text. Scene 7
Although the prince has been reformed, Derrick remains committed to a life of revelry and misdemeanor. In this scene, he plays a joke on his host John Cobbler pretending to be insulted by the quality of the dinner served by the cobbler’s wife. The joke picks up on the end of their last scene when John warned Derrick that he is poor and glad of a dish of roots (). Once again Derrick is the trickster clown and John, the dupe. Derrick charges onto the stage calling John’s wife a whore, and the hapless John follows behind trying to quiet him for the sake of his public reputation and find the cause of Derrick’s anger. Making this joke work for a contemporary audience was difficult on two levels. First of all due to the obscurity of the reference to roots, or root vegetables whose edible part is below ground (carrots, beets, radishes, parsnips, turnips, and other tubers), which were lower class fare for the table. It was unclear to many in our modern audience that the rustic clown Derrick is assuming airs and graces by suggesting it is insulting to his dignity to be offered a dish of roots. This class-based comedy is also enhanced in the original social context by the common vein of humor arising from cuckoldry, activated by the public insults Derrick directs at John’s wife. running
Cobbler is running to stop Derrick calling his wife a whore in the streets. John Cobbler’s fear of being thought a cuckold would have been immediately understandable to an Elizabethan audience but the impact of the humor was less immediate for our audience. Hearest a? Do you hear? use that Behave like that. a narrant Comic mispronunciation of an arrant; arrant: shameless, notorious, complete. what … done
Jason Gray (John Cobbler) played this line as if he feared she has been unfaithful and that he is a cuckold. Without the original cultural reference point spelled out clearly, it was hard for the SQM company to fully tap into the potential of this humor. prove it
It struck the SQM actors as odd that Derrick should offer to prove it before he had indicated the offense. We decided that Derrick is still enamoured of his experience in the court (). Alon Nashman (Derrick) adopted a tone of the law court as he presented his evidence while simultaneously clowning the presentation of evidence. He tucked one leg under his other knee and bent that knee, creating the comic impression he was sitting at table. The little mock trial comically reflected the exploration of law and justice earlier in the play. It is a good example of the creativity the company clowns brought to the staging of the play. barrel butter Old salt butter (Bullough); butter salted and stored in a barrel for longer life.
The full scope of this joke depends on the audience knowing that a dish of roots () and barrel butter () are lowly fare for the table and that the rustic trickster Derrick is deliberately assuming airs and graces by expecting a more elaborate meat-based dinner. These reference points were largely lost on our audience. The joke still worked to a degree because Derrick’s anger was clearly out of proportion with its cause, and Gray’s naive distress was the comical reaction. knave A vile fellow of no estimation, a villaine. a rakehell (Thomas). drab A harlot, a common strumpet (Thomas). Having called John’s wife knave, Derrick completes his comic reversal of gender roles by calling John drab, implying that John is a hen-pecked husband bullied by his wife.
In the performance recorded on video, Alon Nashman (Derrick) reversed the terms by mistake. The joke would have been hard for the audience to understand anyway since it depends on the gender associations of obsolete insults. is all well?
Alon Nashman (Derrick) pretended confusion and relief at this point, as if he was glad discover he had not been insulted after all. He laughed with John and embraced him before promising to go home and break all the glass windows (). This creative choice effected another comic turnaround as the hapless dupe, John, was pulled back from happiness into a new fear. Derrick and John form the classic clowning partnership of the trickster and the dupe. glass windows Given that glass windows were rare in ordinary homes until the late 16th century (Louw 9), Derrick’s threat may be empty bombast. Windows made up of panes of flattened animal horn were used as early as the 14th century.
Another obscure reference that undermined the humor in this scene for our modern audience. Suggesting the Cobbler’s house had glass windows might have been equivalent to Derrick’s expectation that he could enjoy a woodcock, a chicken, or a capon’s leg there (). Scene 8
The prince’s second visit to his father’s chambers repeats the emotional journey of the first and reaffirms his penitence and reformation. It also features a series of confusing implicit and explicit stage directions that presented a puzzle to be solved for our performance. An extended exploration of the decision-making behind the staging of this scene can be found on the Performing the Queen’s Men website. boots Profits. physic Medicine. remember … testament Making one’s last will and testament was an act of death-bed piety. See the morality play Everyman, in which the penitent character Everyman makes his last will and testament before receiving the last sacraments. unfeigned Sincere. Draw the curtains
Which curtains is the king referring to? One might imagine within the fictional world of the play that they would be curtains around his bed (a feature of all beds of the period). Does this mean there is a bed on stage? If so how and when did it get onstage? Bringing a bed on stage at this point, or at the start of the scene would be clumsy and disrupt the speed and flow of the performance. In instances like this, the SQM company looked for the most efficient use of the resources readily at their disposal. In this instance, we used the curtains of the tiring house which the actors closed carefully as they exited the stage. An extended exploration of the decision-making behind the staging of this scene can be found on the Performing the Queen’s Men website. Music plays
No stage direction calls for music in the surviving text, but the SQM production took its cue from the king’s previous line () and played music at this point. The same piece of music was used to underscore the king’s death and Harry’s subsequent coronation, for which we developed a short stage spectacle. I will go
Since the king is already on stage at this moment it appears that the prince is entering the king’s chamber when he walks on stage. This line, however, suggests he has not yet arrived in the king’s chamber. The success of this staging relies on the audience’s ability to imagine that different parts of the stage can represent two different locations at once. This dramaturgical strategy is known as simultaneous staging, used regularly in the Queen’s Men plays and plays of their contemporaries. Hopkins chose to pause in the entrance to the stage which made the unfamiliar Elizabethan staging convention easier for him and the modern audience to process. whereas Where. dying That is, dead. wherein When. begotten Conceived, engendered, procreated. suffice Satisfy. Exit … crown Corbin and Sedge note that Prince Hal exits the analogous scene in Henry IV, Part 2 wearing the crown (2H4 18.173–176).
The SQM production also followed the logic of the internal stage directions () and had the prince exit with his father’s crown. Since there is no reference to this in the prince’s speech, the action was played out without words accompanied by the music that was already playing. Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) took the crown with great reverence both for his father, who he presumed dead, and for the office he was taking upon himself. easily Softly. for waking For fear of waking (Corbin and Sedge). remove my chair
This internal stage direction indicates that the king is sleeping in a chair not a bed. Neither the quarto nor this edition of the text indicates when this chair was brought on stage or that indeed the king should be sitting on a chair. It was this reference that led the SQM company to create a sick chair for the king that unlike a regular chair could be removed a little back with the king still in it because it had wheels. The historical evidence to support this choice and an extended exploration of the decision-making behind the staging of this scene can be found on the Performing the Queen’s Men website. scrape Amass, get possession of, collect, or bring together with difficulty (OED scrape, v. 5.a). scrawl Scramble; scribble, write badly (OED scrawl, n.1 1.a). Enter Lord … crown The appearance of the prince with the crown is an important visual leading up to the reconciliation of father and son, king and heir. Shakespeare expands upon the ensuing dialogue between Prince Henry and Henry IV in Henry IV, Part 2 (2H4 13.222). Why, how … mouth?
The SQM actors initially frowned upon the repetition of the action from their previous scene and wondered if there were some irony at play that we were missing. I asked them to commit sincerely to the moment that I felt worked to reaffirm the prince’s reformation. In retrospect, there is an irony at play here since the audience knows the prince believed his father dead. I am not convinced that the king’s anger should have been any less sincere but perhaps I am wrong. The irony gives the scene a playful quality and the prince’s penitence is potentially less intense, reading more as a familial misunderstanding between father and son in contrast to the drastic spiritual transformation of Scene 6. Most sovereign … father In Hall Prince Henry answers his father, sir to myne and all menes iudgementes you semed deade in this worlde, wherefore I as your next and aparant heyre toke that as mine owne and not as yours (Hall, Henry IV Fol. 32v). unmindful Unaware. how hardly … it Henry IV usurped the English crown from his cousin Richard II in 1399 and throughout his reign faced attack and rebellion from the Scots, the Welsh, and the northern English nobles by whose support he initially gained the crown. Howsoever … not Prince Henry’s assertion is historically inaccurate. He may be feigning ignorance here to avoid acknowledging the shaky legitimacy of his status as heir to the English crown. Having been a hostage in Richard II’s camp during his father’s rebellion (Seward 8–9), Prince Henry would have been well aware of the dubious means by which his father came by the English crown. He would also have been aware that in 1398, before embarking for Ireland to put down a rebellion, the childless Richard II recognized not his father but the earl of March, another cousin, as the heir presumptive (Seward 9). Historically, the earl of March’s son, Edmund Mortimer, was the focus of a number of rebellions during the reigns of Henry IV and Henry V, including the rebellion of the northern nobles that led to the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403 (Seward 19) and the Southampton Plot, whose conspirators intended to assassinate Henry V on the eve of his invasion of France in 1415 and place Mortimer on the throne (Seward 47–49). Shakespeare dramatizes the Battle of Shrewsbury in Henry IV, Part 1, where it is the culminating moment in Hal’s efforts to redeem himself in his father’s eyes, and the Southampton Plot in Henry V, where its detection and defeat become the signs of God’s providential approval of Henry V’s status as king. After sending the conspirators off to execution, Henry exclaims, God so graciously hath brought to light / This dangerous treason lurking in our way (H5 2.3.180–181).
The SQM company were focused on the text of the play which seems relatively uninterested in the history of its royal family. To us, the play was interested in establishing Henry V as hero for the English nation. Furthermore, this speech served to finally convince the father of the loyalty of his son. Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) delivered it directly to Don Allison (King Henry IV) beginning with his body slightly stooped as if in supplication to his father but pulling himself up to his full height for the end of the sentence. The effect was of a private vow with very public consequences. As the play continued, Hopkins would turn more of such declamations of intent out to the audience, who became his public, his England. I will … it In Hall, Prince Henry declares, I will haue the garland and trust too kepe it with the swerde against all mine enemies as you haue done (Hall, Henry IV Fol. 32v). See Prince Harry’s analogous declaration in Henry IV, Part 2 (2H4 13.349–352). bullion Solid gold or silver. His former … less We may read Exeter and Oxford’s statement as something other than either blatant hypocrisy or sharp irony if we consider that the two might be alluding to events not dramatized by the play, such as Prince Henry’s performance at Shrewsbury and in his father’s military campaigns against the Welsh, and that they have consistently supported Prince Henry, even when he was in disgrace with his father for his riotous behavior.
Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) suspected the sincerity of these words due to his character’s behavior up to this point in the play. The historical record may tell one tale but the story of the play makes the nobles’ observations surprising. Hopkins glanced briefly at them with one eyebrow raised before his father continued with his next speech. This action often got a laugh in performance. The King dieth Henry IV died 20 March 1413 (Dockray 93).
McMillin and MacLean suggest that the Queen’s Men were famous for their stage spectacle as well as their expertise in comedy. The stage directions give us only a hint at such stagecraft. Following the stage direction here to the letter would have resulted in a significant anticlimax that left the king on stage alone. The SQM company therefore created a dumb show which enacted Prince Henry’s reaction to his father’s death and his subsequent coronation. No textual evidence supports the specific action we created. Confronted with the challenge to make dramaturgical sense of the stage direction, The King dieth, we followed our theatrical instincts. The death of the king ends one stage of the action and begins the next, and we felt that this transition and shift of rhythm should be marked theatrically. Other solutions are possible, but any production would have to deal with this issue in some concrete manner. The sick chair made the removal of the dead king’s body relatively easy which is another argument in its favor. Scene 9
The reformed prince newly crowned as king demonstrates in this scene his commitment to a life of virtue and martial endeavor against the kingdom of France. The scene is structured around three comic reversals: for his old companions, for the proud archbishop of Bruges, and for the fearful Lord Chief Justice. In the first two, the proud are met with a fall and in the last the righteous man is rewarded. The SQM company worked to enhance the audience’s delight in these reversals of fortune, increasing their anticipation of the turnaround by committing to the bragging of the proud and the fear of the Lord Chief Justice. We felt this scene was key in establishing Henry V as the model of the English hero king. Paul Hopkins (Prince Henry) also managed to incorporate some of the playfulness of his wayward prince into his dealings with the Lord Chief Justice, an element of his character that became more apparent in later scenes and made the king both noble and entertaining. I feel Hopkins’ charismatic performance of Henry captured the way this story of the reformed monarch appealed to the English people. Ah God
Scott Clarkson (Cutter) entered with great braggadocio. The scene relies on the dramatic irony at play. The audience knows the prince is reformed, but his friends are unaware of the same. The more they relished their rewards, the more we anticipated their downfall. ranging Roaming, roving up and down, wandering (Florio). Cf. Derrick’s entrance at . Gog’s wounds … dead! In Henry IV, Part 2, Henry IV’s death is first announced by Warwick to the Lord Chief Justice in Scene 15; Prince Hal makes his first appearance as Henry V (2H4 15.43) to Warwick, the Lord Chief Justice, and his brothers in the same scene before he later confronts and rejects his erstwhile companions, including Falstaff, in Scene 18. I shall be
Here Matt Krist (Ned) stepped forward and stretched out his arms displaying his excitement and pride about his upcoming promotion. As with Cutbert Cutter (see note at ), the more the knights relished their rewards to come, the more we anticipated their downfall. stinks Conditions in medieval and early modern English prisons were generally bad, but Newgate, the prison from which Cutbert Cutter has just been released, was notorious for its poor conditions, especially its smell. Bassett states that a fetid and corrupt atmosphere hung about the prison (Bassett 244) and records the testimony of a 16th-century inmate who was nearly killed by the prison’s nauseating odor (Bassett 244). Prisoners in Newgate, as in all other prisons of the time, were required to pay for their own food, bed-clothes, and lodgings, often at the extortionate prices set by the jailer. Prisons had three wards: knights’ ward (1 groat a night with bed, private room, another groat for sheets); the twopenny ward (twopence a day, reduced to one penny if shared bed); the pit or hell with shelves for beds, no mattress, blanket, chamberpots, or food beyond charity. Prisoners had to pay for their upkeep or rely on friends/ relatives. Poor prisoners either starved or relied on charity (often mouldy leftovers from taverns) for their maintenance (Bassett 245). scabbed Lousy (infected with lice), covered with scabs (OED scabbed, adj. 1). angels An angel was a gold coin issued in England between 1465 and c1642, bearing the figure of the archangel Michael killing a dragon (OED angel, n. 3.10). First minted by Edward IV, when it was worth 6s. 8d., by the middle of the sixteenth century it was worth 10s. when … crowned Henry V was crowned 9 April 1413 (Dockray 95). changed his countenance Altered his demeanor, reversed his usual behavior; transformed himself. The use of this idiomatic expression suggests a suspicion of hypocrisy, or merely outward change. Only Jockey feels the king inspires spiritual change in himself. This is another theatrical opportunity: Jockey is the only follower who feels changed and uplifted when Henry is crowned. Ned and Tom are untouched, as shown in the harsh reprimands to those two later in the scene, but nothing is said directly to Jockey, although he seems to be included. The question is: when does the prince include Jockey? Why does the prince fail to distinguish between Jockey and the other two? See and note.
In the SQM production we did not distinguish between the reactions of the different knights, although MM has identified such a difference. The text suggested to me that the Queen’s Men were not as interested in the relationship between Jockey and Henry V as we are today under the influence of Falstaff, the charater Shakespeare created in place of Jockey. In this scene Henry V does not address any lines specifically to Jockey, and I am not inclined to read significance into the omission. Their discussion of the coronation, however, contains important information for the actor playing the new king. Paul Hopkins did an excellent job changing his countenance () and his seat (). He adopted a more upright stance and a new stillness accompanied by a determined yet calm facial expression. Only when dealing with the Lord Chief Justice did he allow elements of his portrayal of the young prince to re-emerge. embassage Diplomatic mission, embassy. into France In August 1414 Henry V sent an embassy to Charles VI to demand the French crown, French territories previously possessed by English monarchs (including Normandy and Aquitaine), and Charles’s daughter Katherine as wife (Dockray 136). French king Charles VI. Charles was a child-king like Richard II, and was overruled by four uncles in the same way until he was 21. Charles selected better advisors to improve the French economy, leading his people to call him Charles the Beloved, but soon enough he became Charles the Mad. He became murderously insane, and the country ended up in the same kind of civil war as the War of the Roses in England, the civil war that followed the death of Henry V, whom Charles made his heir in the Treaty of Troyes in 1420. Charles died in 1422. Archbishop of Canterbury Henry Chicheley (Hall, Henry V Fol. 3v). Chicheley had been active in several political arenas during his lifetime: civic (lawyer, mayor), academic (Oxford degree), and priestly duties until he retired at age 80. Clearly he was a good political head to have behind the king.
The SQM production of Famous Victories was staged with only 13 actors, which made the doubling plot for the play a little tight. McMillin and MacLean argue convincingly that the play was designed for 14 actors and our experience suggests they were right but that the play with some adjustment could be performed with fewer. (McMillin and MacLean 97–120). In our production, the actor playing the Archbishop doubled the role of Cutbert Cutter, who appears earlier in this scene. We therefore delayed his entrance until he is referred to by the king at . For a full discussion of doubling in the SQM productions visit the Performing the Queen’s Men website. dumps Sour or depressed manners. I prithee I pray thee, I beg you, please. mend thy manners Reform your behavior (as I have reformed mine). Henry demonstrates his own reformation of character by urging a similar reformation upon his erstwhile companions and casting off their company until they do indeed convert to protestant piety. The cue for protestantism is the word reform. Compare Henry V’s rejection of Ned here and Tom () at to Henry V’s rejection of Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 2 (2H4 18.42–66). terms Choice of language. dissembling Hypocritical, deceiving. Ah, Tom … forever, Henry is cutting himself off from his playboy past to achieve his next goal of becoming the pious self-righteous king. Hall relates that Henry V banished and separated from hym all his old flatterers and familiar compaignions, (not vnrewarded nor yet vnpreferred) inhibityng them vpon a greate payn not once to approche ether to his speche or presence, nor yet to lodge or soiourne within ten miles of hys courte or mansion (Hall, Henry V Fol. 1r). Stow narrates that after his coronation Prince Henry called vnto hym all those young Lords and Gentlemen that were the folowers of his yong actes, to euerye one of whome he gaue rich and bounteous giftes, and then commanded that as many as would change their maners as he intended to doe, should abide with him in his Courte, and to all that woulde perseuer in theyr former light conuersation, he gaue expresse commaundemente vpon paine of their heades, neuer after that day to come in his presence (Stow 584). Your right … France In Henry V Shakespeare expands Canterbury’s sentence-length justification of Henry V’s claim to the French throne into an extended disquisition upon the invalidity of the Salic Law (H5 1.2.33–95), which barred the inheritance of the French crown through descent from female lines of royalty, in Henry’s case through Isabella, daughter of Philip IV of France, wife of Edward II, and mother of Edward III.
Following our SQM company practice of directly addressing the audience wherever possible, Scott Clarkson (Canterbury) and Paul Hopkins (Henry V) effected a slight shift in attention, turning their speeches out to the audience as if their debate took place in public before the English court. In this instance, the audience was cast as English courtiers. Isabel Daughter of Philip IV of France, wife of Edward II, and mother of Edward III. King … Third Edward III (r. 1327–1377) was Isabella’s son; Edward II (r. 1307–1327) was her husband. Charles … king Charles IV (r. 1322–28). usurped Frenchman Charles VI, who according to Canterbury has usurped the French crown from its rightful owner, Henry V. Canterbury, of course, fails to mention that Henry V is himself the son of a usurping Englishman, Henry IV. Scotland … France In Hall, the archbishop of Canterbury discourses upon the old league and amitie betwene the realmes of Fraunce and Scotland (Hall, Henry V Fol. 7r) in an effort to persuade Henry to invade Scotland before France. Dockray states that The security of the Anglo-Scottish border, always a matter of great concern to medieval English kings, became even more crucial when England and France were at war since the long-standing and frequently renewed alliance between Scotland and France was all too liable in such circumstances to trigger Scottish invasion of northern England (Dockray 228–229). pensions A paiment: a yearely fee (Cooper); a stipend, a pay (Florio). The duke of Exeter in Hall mentions French pencions as the sustenainers of the Scottishe Nobilitee (Hall, Henry V Fol. 7v). I thank you
Paul Hopkins (Henry V) maintained his dignified demeanor through his discussion of his right to the French throne. The choice was supported by the character’s now regular diction, which stands in contrast to his disorderly language earlier in the play. Paul Hopkins, with the support of the other actors, also made this a public court scene, casting the audience as the courtiers listening to the debate between the king and his advisors. In performance, we often used this strategy for such scenes and encouraged direct address to the audience whenever possible. In Famous Victories the charismatic Hopkins developed a very close and playful relationship with the audience, charming them and ensuring they indentified and empathized with his character as the model English hero-king. he … old saying. In Hall, the archbishop of Canterbury concludes his address to Henry with the old auncient prouerbe vsed by our forfathers, whiche saieth, he that will Fraunce wynne, must with Scotland first beginne (Hall, Henry V Fol. 7v). The duke of Exeter immediately counters with he that wyll Scotland wynne, let hym with Fraunce first begin (Hall, Henry V Fol. 7v), which Ely in Shakespeare’s Henry V repeats: But there’s a saying very old and true: / If that you will France win, / Then with Scotland first begin (H5 1.2.166–168). Tilley cites Hall, Famous Victories, and Henry V in his entry (Tilley F663). lord ambassador The duke of York. Commit Admit or conduct (OED commit, v. 8). Duke of York Edward of Langley, grandson of Edward III and Henry IV’s cousin (Keen 552). lord … Bruges William Bouratier (Hall, Henry V Fol. 10r), archbishop of Bruges. Monsieur le Cole Gaultier Cole, Charles VI’s secretary (Hall, Henry V Fol. 10r). the embassage The French rejected the claims of Henry’s first embassy to France in August 1414. Henry resumed negotiations with the French in March 1415, and a French embassy conveyed another dismissive reply to Henry at Southampton in June 1415 (Dockray 137). Archbishop of Bruges The duke of Burgundy’s court was in Bruges; the archbishop’s role as ambassador reflects the importance of the duke of Burgundy in the ongoing negotiations between Henry V and Charles VI.
The archbishop is the first French character to appear in the play. The text of the French soldiers scene suggests that the actors would have mimicked French accents, but that is not the case here. I decided on the protocol that the nobility of France would speak with only mild rather than ridiculous French accents. The French nobility could equally be performed without French accents, but the accents played into the nationalistic perspective we were responding to in the text. I asked Jason Gray (Bruges) to give his character a supercilious pride at the start to enhance the audience’s delight when the king frightens him. The fall of the proud Frenchman is a repeated motif seen again with the three visits of the French Herald and climaxing with the proud Dauphin kissing Henry’s sword. To help the audience distinguish the different sides of the upcoming battle, costume designer Linda Phillips adopted the national colours: red for England and blue for France. with good audience That is, knowing that we will pay attention. Charles the Sixth King of France from 1380 to 1422. not minding … demands, Not having in mind, or wishing for further slaughter, (but willing) to give in to your pitiless requirements. In Hall the archbishop claims that Charles VI’s offer is motivated by pitie, as a louer of peace, to the extent that innocent bloud should not be dispersed abrode (Hall, Henry V Fol. 10v). Hall describes Charles VI’s offer as a great some of money with diuerse base and pore coutries with the Lady Katherine in mariage (Hall, Henry V Fol. 10v). not … kingdom Not adversely affecting the French national treasury. puff me up Make me feel important and privileged. perchance Perhaps, maybe. The word suggests an offhand dismissal of marriage to the French princess, although in fact the marriage was politically vital. Prince Dauphin Heir presumptive, or crown prince. Louis, Charles VI’s third son, was dauphin from 1401 until his death in December 1415 (after Agincourt). After Louis, Charles’s fourth son John became dauphin until his death in 1417, whereupon Charles’s fifth son Charles, later Charles VII, became dauphin. Charles is the dauphin of Scene 21. tun A large cask or barrel (OED tun, n.1 1.a). tennis balls The tennis balls, and the insult they imply, become visible to Prince Henry and the audience only after York has opened the barrel. According to Hall, some writers saye that the Dolphyn thynking kyng Henry to be geuen still to suche plaies and lyght folyes as he exercised and vsed before the tyme that he was exalted to the croune sent to hym a tunne of tennis balles to playe with, as who saied that he could better skill of tennis then of warre, and was more expert in lyght games then martiall policie (Hall, Henry V Fol. 9v). carpet Bruges explains that the dauphin intends the carpet to mean that Henry V is more fitter for a carpet than a camp (Bruges 41); i.e. is better suited to the carpeted, indoor spaces of the court than the outdoor spaces of the military camp. Cotgrave defines a carpet knight as An effeminate fondling one that spends his whole time in the intertaining, or courting, of women (Cotgrave). close Secret, confidential. That is, the messenger is not responsible for the content of the message, only for delivering it. law of arms Chivalric code of conduct in the use of weapons as well as gentlemanly behavior. My lord … camp. The dauphin is insulting Henry by implying that, while Henry may be accomplished at such courtly activities as sports and dancing (on ballroom carpets), he is unfit for martial activities (the field of war and the military camp). The Constable in Hall tells his troops before Agincourt that Henry V is a yong striplyng (more mete for a tenice playe then a warlike campe) (Hall, Henry V Fol. 16r). Although in Henry V the dauphin’s present includes only the tennis balls, the message of Shakespeare’s French ambassador is roughly the same: the Prince our master / Says that you savour too much of your youth, / And bids you be advised there’s naught in France / That can be with a nimble galliard won: / You cannot revel into dukedoms there (H5 1.2.249–253). pleasant Humorous, witty, jocular. Shakespeare’s Henry V responds almost identically: We are glad the Dauphin is so pleasant with us (H5 1.2.259). But tell … iron Tennis balls were made of leather stuffed with wool or hair. Cannonballs were solid, non-explosive projectiles made from stone, iron, lead, or brass. Shakespeare takes this metaphor over in Henry V: When we have matched our rackets to these balls, / We will in France, by God’s grace, play a set / Shall strike his father’s crown into the hazard (H5 1.2.261–263), Henry V tells the French ambassador, later adding that this mock of his / Hath turned his balls to gunstones (H5 1.2.281–282). rue Regret, be sorry for. broad seal manual The Great Seal of England (OED seal, n.2) The monarch authorized state documents by impressing the seal on wax and stamping with his royal hand (theoretically); the wax stamp was attached to the document by a ribbon. In Hall, the archbishop asks for Henry’s safe-conduct under his seale and signe manuell (Hall, Henry V Fol. 10v). the hand … one Echoing Henry IV’s words to the Scottish herald in Hall, the worde of a prince ought to bee kepte and his wryting and seale ought to bee inuiolate (Hall, Henry IV Fol. 17r), and, more immediately, Henry V’s reply to the archbishop: I would not speak that sentence the whiche I would not wryte and subscribe, nor subscrybe that lyne to the which I would refuse to put my seale (Hall, Henry V Fol. 10v). I … England
Henry V repeats the phrase that he reportedly used earlier (). They could potentially be read as signs of arrogance but for our understanding of the play’s function promoting patriotism, the important factor was that he was identifying himself as England’s king standing bravely against the French and inviting the admiration of the English men and women in the audience. Paul Hopkins’ charismatic performance of the role worked to sweep the audience along with him, rather than asking them to question the validity or morality of his actions. These choices were made on the understanding that the Queen’s Men’s plays served in part as nationalistic propaganda for their patron. Exeter Although Henry could be addressing either Oxford or Exeter, Exeter was Lord High Admiral from 1413 to 1426 and therefore in charge of organizing Henry’s navy. Southampton Port city on England’s south coast, in the county of Hampshire and 75 miles from London. Therefore come
On this line Paul Hopkins (Henry V) set off at pace to the exit only to stop suddenly on recalling his business with the Lord Chief Justice. This was the first sign that the impetuous spirit of the prince we enjoyed in the early scenes (eg. see note at ) was still present in the reformed king. In his treatment of the Lord Chief Justice in this scene, Hopkins allowed the playful prince to re-emerge. Impetuousness was a characteristic of all the leading men assigned to Hopkins in the SQM repertory productions. The cross-pollination between roles was a striking feature of these performances. chafing Arguing. Call in … England Bullough notes that this incident occurs before the Coronation in Henry IV, Part 2 (Bullough) and that Shakespeare’s Henry V merely confirms the Lord Chief Justice in his office (Bullough). Why, how now
Paul Hopkins’ Henry V played up the joke for the audience. With an implicit wink to the audience, he initially presented a severe demeanor that implied he was going to take vengeance on the Lord Chief Justice. Oh, my lord
On this line, Paul Hopkins (Henry V) placed his finger playfully on his lips and his physicality shifted back to that of the youthful prince. By signaling that he was teasing the Lord Chief Justice in this way, he at once invited the audience to enjoy the Lord Chief Justice’s discomfort and increased their anticipation of the reversal of fortunes to come. for revengement Giving the trajectory of the scene a little twist, Paul Hopkins (Henry V) delivered this climactic line in a matter of fact tone and immediately began to leave the stage. The moment was playful but also businesslike. In this way I felt Hopkins cleverly combined the old prince and the new king. let us … readiness Henry V declared war on France on 6 July 1415 (Dockray 137) and embarked from Southampton for Normandy on 11 August 1415 (Dockray 115). Scene 10
Scene 10 is an excellent example of the SQM company clowns mining the details of the text to create comic action. The scene flies by on the page and the humor is latent rather than apparent, implying physical comedy rather than displaying obvious verbal wit. The actors, led by master clown Alon Nashman (Derrick), built on the evidence in the text and took licence to expand on its implicit and explicit stage directions. The simple stage direction: She beateth him () implies the original company would have created a slapstick fight at this moment. The SQM company, lead by Alon Nashman, used their imaginations and training in order to exploit this opportunity for comedy while still remaining true to the story being told. The result depicted a poor man leaving his wife to go to war, a scene both touching and extremely funny, creating a working class counterpoint to the historical narrative driven by Henry V. From this point on, it becomes clearer how Derrick is clerverly designed to be the comic foil for the English king. The premise of the humor in the scene is that John is terrified of going to war and that his dominating wife might make a better soldier than he would. A lot of the comedy arises from this inversion of early modern gender expectations. The hen-pecking wife is a popular image of misrule and comic pleasure in the play’s original context and Matthew Krist’s broad characterization of the Cobbler’s Wife played fully into the patriarchal stereotype. The impact of all-male companies on the reception of gender in performance is much disputed (Howard). I felt that the SQM company’s all-male cast worked at times to affirm patriarchal attitudes and at others to reveal them as social constructions. In this instance, the effect was conservative as the comedy swept the audience along with the idea that it is funny for a woman to be dominant, but you may watch the video and judge for yourselves. The production notes for this scene will document the specific choices that were made in the creation of the physical comedy and how they relate to the evidence of the text. Enter … Wife Bullough suggests that this scene inspired the recruiting scene in Henry IV, Part 2 (2H4 3.2), featuring Justice Shallow and Justice Silence.
The SQM company physicalized the struggle between the characters immediately by having the Captain drag John by one hand while his wife clung to his other arm. The idea arose from John’s words let me go (), which imply he is being held by the captain. too bad The idea that John will make a terrible soldier is central to the humour of the scene. John is acknowledging as much here and Derrick has fun with the idea at . Oh, wife
At this point Jason Gray (John) accepted that he must go to war and shifted the tone of the scene. He became wistful as he complained about his wife’s past mistreatment and expressed his sorrow that he must now leave. He used these short lines to build up to the tears demanded by the text (He weepeth ), and his childish manner was both ridiculous and endearing. Enter Derrick
Following Thomson’s suggestion that Tarlton specialized in comic entrances and exits (Thomson), we had Alon Nashman (Derrick) march brazenly into the scene of the Cobblers’ grief equipped for war with a steel funnel as a helmet, a huge wooden spoon as a weapon, and the potlid as a shield (). The inspiration for the costume came from Thomas Preston’s Cambyses in which the Vice Ambdexter enters the second scene of the play armed with kitchen and garden utensils (Preston). basillus manus Besa las manos. Kiss hands; goodbye! (Spanish) (Bullough), with the probable bad joke kiss my arse (Besa m’ anus). codpiece A (padded) pouch attached to the front of a man's close-fitting hose or breeches to cover the genitals, commonly worn in the 15th and 16th century often conspicuous and ornamented (OED codpiece, n. 1.a). That is, it is an early modern jock-strap, protecting and enhancing at the same time.
We failed to make sense of this line. Kiss hands for an old codpiece? Whom is he inviting to kiss hands, and why? In the end, Alon Nashman (Derrick) simply used this cryptic line to give a verbal flourish to his arrival on stage. Zounds, how now
Alon Nashman (Derrick) added a double take on this line. Having arrived ready to leave with the Captain for the wars, he suddenly noticed his friend John and his wife crying in each other’s arms. I’ll tell you
Matthew Krist’s Cobbler’s Wife slowly peeled herself off her husband at this point and rounded on Derrick with a clear intent of violence, playing into the stereotype of the hen-pecking wife, and raising expectations of the fight to come. cloghead Blockhead, from clog (OED clog, n. C2); A block or heavy piece of wood, or the like, attached to the neck of a man or beast, to impede motion or prevent escape (OED clog, n. 2.a). pate Head. She beateth him
This stage direction is an open invitation to the company clowns to create physical comedy. As is clear in the video, the SQM clowns under the leadership of Alon Nashman (Derrick) created an extended slapstick beating for Derrick at the hands of the Wife that served to justify Derrick’s suggestion that the Captain should press her for a soldier (). The specific details of the fight have no further textual justification but we may safely imagine the original Queen’s Men would also have enjoyed exploiting the comic potential of this moment. worry To kill or injure by biting and shaking (OED worry, v. 3.a). try Test. Press Impress, legally compel to enlist for military service. dost know’s Do you know us. Come
Alon Nashman found business within these two simple lines by changing the addressee for the second sentence. The first Come () is clearly directed to the Captain, but Alon Nashman (Derrick) then moved himself upstage to address his second Come to John and his wife who were still embracing upstage center. He patted John on the backside with the pot lid and then began a comical march around the apron of the stage, expecting his friend to follow. embrace tearfully
The textual editor’s added stage direction indicates the need for stage action that justifies Derrick’s next line: Fie, what a kissing and crying is here! (). The SQM company developed this moment into an extended sequence of stage action. Our musical director Scott Maynard sang the song Will He Not Come Again? off stage, and the Cobbler and his wife performed a tearful but comic farewell scene, finishing with a passionate if blubbery embrace before Derrick delivered his line. While we were clearly taking a degree of creative liberty here, Derrick’s exclamation does suggest the kissing and crying should be excessive. crying Also wailing, roaring, sobbing (Florio). come away
Derrick has just said let’s away and the Captain immediately says that he cannot stay no longer. To make sense of the repetition of Derrick’s line the SQM company created more comic stage action. Here Derrick again began a silly march off-stage. This time John half-heartedly followed him, but at the last minute turned to grasp at his wife’s hand. The action motivated the Captain’s final line. He grabbed John’s hand an pulled him out of his wife’s grasp as he said come away. Exeunt omnes
The SQM company left the Cobbler’s Wife on stage for a moment. She caught a kiss blown to her by John as he was dragged off-stage and created a brief piece of comic business in which she let the kiss kiss different parts of her body. The company started up a new song here, The King commands and I must to the war, that begins plaintively and then turns into a hearty drinking song. The music effectively punctuated the development of the play’s action, shifting from this tearfully comic domestic farewell into the more martial action that follows. On the page the action of the play flies by without clearly signalling changes of direction with obvious shifts in syntax and tone. The SQM company became adept identifying such moments and shifting the tone as needed. Scene 11
This scene is relatively straightforward but also quite clever. There are two kinds of Frenchmen in the scene: ones who fear Henry and ones who arrogantly mock him. The Dauphin and the Constable are in the latter party. The French king is in the former and is joined by the returning archbishop of Bruges and the fearful messenger from Harfleur. To keep the production true to the nationalistic agenda of the Queen’s Men, the SQM performance played up this division since both attitudes enhance our impression of Henry V if in different ways. The French King’s fear of the English king makes Henry V appear all the more mighty, and the Dauphin’s arrogant pride makes us all imagine the fall we know is coming. The scene thus helps to whip the audience up into a patriotic anticipation of English victory. The production annotations in this scene document the specific acting choices made in order to achieve this effect in performance. Enter the King The analogous scene in Henry V is 2.4, which also opens with Charles VI expressing concerns about Henry’s invasion that the Dauphin attempts to dismiss. Bullough notes that in Henry V Exeter rather than the archbishop presents Henry’s demands and that the siege of Harfleur, reported in this scene by a messenger, is staged in 3.1 and 3.3 of Henry V. Prince Dauphin
The Dauphin is the model of French arrogance and I felt should be a figure of fun in our overtly nationalistic performance of the play. I decided to cast Derek Genova, one of our company boys, in this role. Derek’s slight build worked in juxtaposition with the character’s faith in French might and in his own prowess in battle. Lord High … France Charles Lord Delabreth (Hall, Henry V Fol. 19v). Charles VI Throughout this scene Charles VI is called King in the speech prefixes, all further instances of which have been silently emended. Charles VI
Don Allison gave the king of France a majesty that made him a worthy opponent to the English Henry. His concern to protect his realm from a potential English invasion bordered on fear and worked to grant respect to the play’s national hero in keeping with the nationalistic agenda of the original Queen’s Men. Kidcocks Chef de Caux, or Chef-en-Caux, port of modern La Havre, located at the mouth of the Seine on the river’s right bank. Hall calls the site of Henry V’s landing Caux, comonly called Kyd Caux (where the ryuer of Seine runneth into the sea) (Hall, Henry V Fol. 12v). I have retained Q’s spelling because no adequate modernization, such as Quay de Caux, currently exists. Kyd Caux and Kedecaux appear in Stow but, although they might look more authentically French, they are not modernizations. What does exist in Le Havre is Pointe de Caux, one of the many names (St Denis, Chef de Caux; Sainte-Adresse) since the port town was incorporated into the greater city of Le Havre. Normandy French dukedom in northern France. William the Conqueror was duke of Normandy, whence he launched his invasion of England in 1066, and subsequent medieval English monarchs claimed possession of the dukedom, although in 1204 King John lost it to Philip II (Dockray 125). Harfleur City in Normandy at the mouth of the river Seine and the main French base for hostile operations in the Channel (Dockray 140). Henry V besieged Harfleur 19 August-23 September (Dockray 140). Stow calls Harfleur the key of the see of all Normandy (Stow 589). I pray you
Derek Genova (Dauphin) delivered these lines with an ingratiating cockiness, examining his finger nails, and anticipating his message will have been received with fear. Bruges’s response () created another in a series of reversals for proud Frenchmen that worked to develop the nationalistic agenda of the play. very ill part
Jason Gray (Bruges) responded to the Dauphin’s question with utter sincerity, communicating his fear and respect for the English king and in the process undermining the pride and arrogance of the French prince. haughty Proud. Normans … Danes Soldiers from Normandy, the duchy of Brabant (in the Low Countries), Picardy, and Denmark, northern European regions on the coasts of the English Channel and the North Sea, which separated England from continental Europe. In Hall, the Constable presents a similar list of Britons, Pickardes, Brabanders, and Almaines (Hall, Henry V Fol. 15v). Master … Bows Hall lists the Lorde Rambures as Master of the Crossebowes (Hall, Henry V Fol. xv, recto). Here Charles VI could be appointing Monsieur le Cole Master of the Bows, or the two could be separate individuals who, along with Signor Devens and the others, are to be appointed to their positions by the lord high constable. Signor Devens Unidentified. Bullough suggests Nevers, from Holinshed. I … thus Historically, Louis was not at Agincourt. Hall writes that The Dolphyn sore desired to bee at that battaile, but he was prohibited by the king hys father (Hall, Henry V Fol. 14v). Bullough notes that although at the end of 3.5 Charles VI tells the Dauphin that you shall remain with us (H5 3.5.66), in Henry V the Dauphin is present at Agincourt. This is true only of the Folio version of the play, however, which substitutes the Dauphin for Bourbon in 3.7 and 4.2 and adds the Dauphin to 4.5. Scene 12
The company felt this was a relatively nondescript scene but used it to begin to build the anticipation of the battle to come. It features the arrival of a French Herald who appears twice more in the play. On his final appearance he kneels to the English king, and in performance we tried to emphasize the herald’s pride here to increase the extent of his later reversal of fortune, who like the Dauphin and Bruges, is another proud Frenchman brought to heel by the English hero king. Paul Hopkins (Henry V) started to mix the stately gravity he assumed on his coronation with some of the playfulness of his performance as the young prince. Hopkins’ Henry V stood at the charismatic center of our nationalistic interpretation of the play. good luck Hall describes Henry’s successful siege of Harfleur as good lucke and fortunate successe in the beginnyng of his pretended conquest (Hall, Henry V Fol. 13v). host Army. appoint Set in order, plan (Cooper). victuals Food, provisions. If … money Hall writes that in this greate necessitee the pore folkes wer not spoyled nor any thyng without paiment was of them extorted (Hall, Henry V Fol. 14v). In Henry V Henry V commands Fluellen that there be nothing compelled from the villages, nothing taken but paid for (H5 3.6.89–90). Arguably, Famous Victories’s Henry V is a realist, acknowledging that recourse to violent conduct (robbery) might be necessary even while attempting to engage in the first place in fair conduct towards civilians (paying for food). Henry’s willingness to condone his soldiers’ robbery, however, links his behavior as military leader to his behavior early in the play as leader of a gang of thieves. dint Force. boon Gift, favour. vanguard Forward position. herald of arms An officer having the special duty of making royal or state proclamations, and of bearing ceremonial messages between princes or sovereign powers (OED herald, n. 1.a). Herald In Henry V, the herald is named Montjoye, following Hall (Hall, Henry V Fol. 14v). But, I pray
As his thought turned to his rival Dauphin, Paul Hopkins (Henry V) put his finger to his lips in a gesture reminiscent of his playful performance of the young prince prior to his coronation. In performance, his attitude worked to bring the audience into the joke made at the expense of the Dauphin. He then drew his dagger and played with it casually. Hopkins went on to use this prop skilfully to enliven his exchange with the Herald. See note at . played at tennis
As he spoke these words Paul Hopkins (Henry V) swung his dagger as if it was a tennis racquet. The gesture skilfully supported the king’s argument that he would return the Dauphin’s tennis balls but in other manner (). At this point Paul Hopkins shifted his attitude back towards kingly authority and resumed a martial demeanor as he delivered his threat to his rival through the Herald. inured Toughened. I care not
At the beginning of the scene Henry V sent a lord to his captains to assess the number of the French soldiers. Here he decides to dispense with formality and go and visit his captains himself. For Paul Hopkins (Henry V), this was another sign of the character’s continuing youthful impetuousness (first witnessed at ). This was a characteristic shared by the other youthful leading men Paul Hopkins played in the SQM repertory productions. Scene 13
The SQM actors were given free rein in this scene to make the French soldiers as ridiculous as they pleased. They all adopted risible French accents, as the text implies they should, and developed comic business around the soldiers’ game of dice and their love of clothes and radishes. This scene is another great example of how the dramaturgy of Queen’s Men plays is performative rather than textual. Our commitment to making these French soldiers ridiculous was part of our overall strategy to respect McMillin and MacLean’s understanding of the Queen’s Men as a tool of nationalistic propaganda. For this scene, the actors drew heavily on the clown skills they had developed over the course of the rehearsal process. We imagined that the stereotypical representation of the proud and ridiculous French soldiers would have worked to incite their patriotism and make them anticipate the French fall all the more eagerly. In our 21st century Canadian production, the audience’s laughter had a sense of irony coloured by the awareness of the nationalistic agenda of the play and, I presume, a desire to distance themselves from it. As the company performed the play to multiple audiences the ironic quality of their reactions gradually resulted in a more ironic tone in the performance—the actors betrayed an awareness that they were playing stereotypes. Fortunately, we were able to record this one scene of the play in front of a live audience, so their fascinating responses can be studied on video. The production annotations for this scene document the specific creative choices the actors made in response to the text. Me will … dice I will throw my fortune at dice. Hall records that before Agincourt French souldiors plaied the Englishemen at dice (Hall, Henry V Fol. 17v).
It took some effort on the part of the company to decipher the exact nature of this game of dice. We decided that the Frenchmen would name a target for their game—the king, the earl of Willoughby—and then throw dice imagining they would win the enemy if they hit a certain number. The key to making it work in performance was to build business around the throwing of the dice and the characters’ extreme reactions to the result. Drummer A regiment’s drummer was used not only on parade but also during battle as an important means of communication and a form of encouragement. In his military manual Stratioticos (1590), Leonard Digges writes that The duetie of a good Dromme doth not so much consiste in knowledge of all variety of Marches foreine, videlicet, Almaine, French, Italian, Spanishe, &c. as to be able readily to sounde our owne, swift or slow as he shalbe directed by the Dromme Maior of the Regiment. And also to know how to sounde a Retreit, or a Stand, with such other varieties as in seruice are necessarie. For it falleth many times out (in great encounters) that the voice of the chief commanding officers cannot be heard, and then must all directions be giuen by the Dromme or Trompet among both footemen and horsemen (Digges 85–86).
It seemed odd that the Drummer comes on after the start of the scene even though he is mentioned in the first line. Keeping to our policy of honoring stage directions as much as possible, we had Matthew Krist as the Drummer bang his drum on the cue given by the stage direction at the end of the last scene: A drum strikes (). The drumming helped build the excited atmosphere of this scene in which the French soldiers eagerly anticipate victory. 1 Soldier’s repeated lines Come away, Jack Drummer ( and ) were used to call the Drummer onto the stage. He entered still banging his drum but then finished with a flourish and placed the drum on the ground while he threw the dice. hay broth over Have brought over. Awee Ah, oui (French) = Oh, yes. all too little I.e., even though it was able to contain five children, my house is too small for all the English clothing I expect I will take as booty in this war. Fife A small shrill-toned instrument of the flute kind, used chiefly to accompany the drum in military music (OED fife, n. 1.a). He throws dice
This stage direction, not present in the quarto, can be inferred from the fact that the Drummer says he will throw the dice and then reacts to his bad luck. In the SQM production the Drummer got his mates stamping and clapping in anticipation of his throw and then all shared in his expression of disappointment. This action was repeated when 1 Soldier throws at the king himself () and is another example proud of Frenchmen being disappointed in the play. earl of Northumberland At the time of Agincourt, there was no earl of Northumberland. The first earl of Northumberland, Henry Percy, was executed as a traitor in 1408; his son, Henry Hotspur Percy, died on the battlefield in 1403 at Shrewsbury. Only in 1416 was Hotspur’s son, Henry, restored to his grandfather’s title (Keen 353).
Is it a coincidence that the one piece of good luck enjoyed by these Frenchmen is against an Englishman who was not actually present? 3 Soldier (Philip Borg) was the most ridiculous of all the French soldiers and acted out his image of the snorting and farting English horse before throwing his dice (). lord of Willoughby Robert, sixth Baron Willoughby (1385–1425), was one of the Lancastrian peers who tried Cambridge and Scrope in the Southampton plot (detailed in H5 2.2) and accompanied Henry to Harfleur and Agincourt (ODNB). by’r Lady By our Lady Mary (oath). at … himself
The French soldiers’ bad luck when throwing against the king is indicative of the result of the battle to come. 1 Soldier (Julian DeZotti) made it clear that throwing against the king himself was significant and the soldiers became more intent when watching the dice roll this time. Part of the pleasure of the play for the original audience must surely have been in the anticipation of English victory over the French and these soldiers’ arrogance and foolish anticipation of their own victory serves to whet the appetite for the reversal of fortunes they will soon face in the actual battle. Enter a Captain
The Captain is clearly not happy to find his soldiers so far from the camp (), so upon his entrance, the SQM French soldiers guiltily assembled into a line, shuffling their feet and trying to avoide the Captain’s eyes. Exeunt Drummer
To match his unusual point of entrance into the scene (), the Drummer is given a strange exit line. He has just agreed to tell the Captain what they were doing and then he leaves without a word. It may be that the actor in the original production was needed to double as another character in the next scene. To make sense of this sudden exit in our production we developed a piece of comic business. The four soldiers had all stood to attention in a line on the entrance of the Captain. As the Drummer said Awee! Awee! he and one of his compatriots took a step backwards and as soon as he had finished his line, they dashed off stage as if to escape the attentions of the Captain. new disguised chair Newly decorated cart or chariot. Hall records that the French noble men deuised a chariot howe they might triumphantly conueigh kyng Henry beyng captiue to the cytie of Paris (Hall, Henry V Fol. 17v).
The fact that historians recorded these details suggests the English especially enjoyed France’s overconfidence and subsequent humiliation. The Queen’s Men’s play uses the movement from pride to humiliation as a repeated pattern in their play. The SQM production emphasized the French pride in order to raise anticipation in the audience for the reversals to come. Jason Gray’s Captain was an excellent example of puffed up French pride as he goes on to delight in the glory of the French army and patronize the English army with an insincere pity for their plight. Why, whoever … France The Captain’s speech echoes the Constable’s speech to the French army in Hall: who saw euer so florisshyng an armie within any christian region, or suche a multitude of valiant persones in one compaignie. Is not here the flower of the Frenche nacion on barded horsses with sharpe speares and dedly weapons? Are not here the bold Britons with fiery handgones and sharpe swerdes? See you not present the practiced Pickardes with strong and weightie Crossebowes? Beside these, we haue the fierce Brabanders and strong Almaines wyth long pykes and cutting slaughmesses (Hall, Henry V Fol. 15v). In Henry V, the Constable (H5 4.2.15–37) and Grandpré (H54.2.38–55) similarly praise the French forces and express contempt for the English.
In the rehearsal we determined that the key factor for the performance was the Captain’s pride in the French army, which worked to set up the anticipated fall of the French at Agincourt. The elaborate language of the Captain’s description was a great opportunity for Jason Gray as the Captain to enhance the comic quality of his French accent. peers High-ranking hereditary nobility. slaunching Slicing? OED and LEME contain no entry for the word. Hall describes Germans with cutting slaughmesses (Hall, Henry V Fol. xv, verso) or knives. Urban Dictionary suggests a Gaelic transfer from sláinte, so that slaunching means forcibly inserting something into something (or someone) else as a violent down the hatch cheer. Slaunching may be a misread of the following line’s launching. curtle-axes Cutlasses. bard Covered with bards, protective plates of armor set with spikes (Adams). launching Piercing, wounding (OED launch, v. 1.a). Hainuyers Men from the province of Hainaut, now in modern Belgium. Thanks to Garrett Epp (University of Alberta) for supplying this information. glaives Lances, halberds. carbuncles A kinde of carbuncle stone of a fierie rednes (Thomas). Adams observes that carbuncles could be part of the heraldic design on a shield but speculates that the reference here is to the pointed spike in the center of the shield. the other side
Jason Gray (Captain) effected a shift of tone on this line. His disdain for the poor English scabs was directed at the audience members who in the original performance would have been English.
Why, take … him? In Hall, the Constable declares, kepe an Englishman one moneth from hys warme bed, fat befe and stale drynke, and let him that season tast colde and suffre hunger, you then shall se his courage bated, hys bodye waxe leane and bare, and euer desirous to returne into hys own countrey (Hall, Henry V Fol. xv, verso-Fol. xvi, recto). radish root Radishes were thought to provoke thinness and increase sexual virility and fertility (Fitzpatrick 19, 26).
As he mentioned the radish, Jason Gray (Captain) raised an imaginary radish before him as if holding up a holy object. The two remaining soldiers were transfixed by it. The Captain left the stage with the imaginary radish still held up before him like a holy grail and the soldiers followed him, until 2 Soldier ducked back on stage to deliver his final line and collect the drum that had been left on stage. Scene 14
The action of this scene follows a previous pattern (). Henry V gives orders to his nobles and then receives a visit from the proud French Herald. As with the previous scene, the SQM company used the scene to ensure allegiance to the English king by emphasizing the Herald’s pride and the English king’s courage courage in the face of adversity as he returns the French nobles’ insulting request for ransom with mockery and threats of his own. Paul Hopkins (Henry V) also cast the audience as the English army as he rallied his troops for battle. threescore Sixty. fourteen Adams’s previous emendment of the number of French footmen from Q’s sixty thousand to forty thousand and, here, the total number of the English forces from Q’s forty thousand to fourteen thousand straighten out the numbers to comply roughly with Henry’s following assessment of the odds against the English as ten to one. ten to one Although he gives much smaller numbers, Hall states that the French army wer estemed to be in numbre sixe times as many or more then was the whole compaigny of the Englishmen (Hall, Henry V Fol. xv, verso). In Henry V Exeter gives the odds as five to one (H5 4.3.4), which sets the stage for Henry V’s famous St. Crispian Day speech, in which Henry addresses We few, we happy few, we band of brothers (H5 4.3.60). As Bullough notes, Shakespeare substitutes rhetoric for the orders of battle in Famous Victories.
Paul Hopkins (Henry V) thought it was funny that his character’s caclulation was inaccurate. The odds stated are closer to 7 to 1. I asked him to play it as if it were accurate but as the audience responded with increasing irony to our nationalistic interpretation of the play, Hopkins allowed a hint of playfulness to enter his character’s manipulation of the statistics. loving countrymen
Paul Hopkins (Henry V) turned these lines out to the audience casting them as his loving countrymen and part of the army assembled to defend his right. Although our modern Canadian audience found the patriotism amusing rather than inspiring, they were happy for Hopkins to take them along for the ride. His charisma and charm drove the play and moments like these allowed him to build a close bond with the audience. earl of Derby The earldom of Derby belonged to Henry V (ODNB), and therefore historically there would have been no separate earl of Derby. earl of Kent Edmund Holland was the seventh earl of Kent between 1403 and his death in 1408; the earldom lapsed until William Neville was created earl of Kent in 1461 (ODNB). earl of Nottingham John Mowbray (1392–1432), whose status as the earl of Nottingham was confirmed in 1413. John’s older brother Thomas had been executed in 1405 for treason (ODNB). earl of Huntington John Holland (1396–1447), son of the first duke of Exeter (ODNB). duke of Bedford John, Henry IV’s third son (Hall, Henry IV Fol. xxx). He later acted as regent after Henry V’s death, during the minority of Henry VI. duke of Clarence Thomas, Henry IV’s second son (Hall, Henry IV Fol. xxx). When Henry V returned to England after the Treaty of Troyes, Thomas was placed in charge of military operations, fought at Rouen, and died in the Battle of Baugé on 21 March 1421. duke of Gloucester Humphrey, Henry IV’s fourth son (Hall, Henry IV Fol. xxx), was lord protector of England while his brother, the regent (the duke of Bedford) continued the war with France. every archer … stake Henry’s battle plans are similar to those recounted in Hall, which also concludes with details of Henry’s plan to provide his archers with stakes (Hall, Henry V Fol. 16r-v). discomfit Defeat. battles Battalions (OED battle, n. 2.8.a). ordained Ordered. the French … banquets Hall recounts that the Frenchemen made greate fires aboute their banners and all that night made greate chere and were very mery. The Englishmen that night sounded their trompettes and diuerse instruments Musicall with greate melody, and yet they were bothe hungery, wery, sore traueiled and muche vexed with colde deseases: Howbeit they made peace with God in confessyng their synnes, requiring hym of help and receiuing the holy sacramente, euery man encouraging and determinyng clerely rather to die then either to yelde or flie (Hall, Henry V Fol. 15). Contemporary historian Seward, however, asserts that the king ordered them his soldiers to keep silent during the night, under pain of forfeiture of horse and armour for a gentleman, and of the right ear for a yeoman and anyone of inferior rank (Seward 75). The Chorus to act 4 of Henry V emphasizes the contrast between the two camps: while The confident and over-lusty French / Do the low-rated English play at dice (H5 3.7.18–19), the poor condemnèd English, / Like sacrifices, by their watchful fires / Sit patiently (H5 3.7.22–24) and contemplate the morning’s danger (H5 3.7.25) with gesture sad (H5 3.7.25). Amidst this bleak situation, Shakespeare’s Henry V visits his common soldiers to cheer them up by giving them A little touch of Harry in the night (H5 4.1.47). Even though the choruses were not included in the quarto editions of Henry V, the play dramatizes the depressed state of the English camp in 4.1 and the optimistic state of the French camp in 4.2. Enter Herald
Scott Clarkson (Herald) swaggered onto the stage establishing the Frenchman’s pride and confidence in victory. agree better cheap Strike a better bargain. Why, then
Paul Hopkins (Henry V) repeated the pattern of the exchange with the Herald (). He adopted the playful manner of the young prince from earlier in the play and then gradually shifted to his more kingly and martial attitude as he turned his playful reference to tennis balls () into a solemn resolution () to do battle. Rather shall … body. In Hall, Henry tells the herald that hys dead carion should rather be their pray, then hys liuyng body should pay any raunsome (Hall, Henry V Fol xvii, verso). Earlier, Henry tells his troops that England for my person shal neuer paye raunsome (Hall, Henry V Fol. 17r). In Henry V Henry V tells Montjoy to tell thy master here I am. / My ransom is this frail and worthless trunk (H5 3.6.128–129). Bullough also points to 4.3 (H5 4.3.123), where Henry V makes a similar protest. gives … coins Paul Hopkins (Henry V) tossed a bag of coins disdainfully at the Herald, who caught them, and left the stage, humbled. Prime Six o’clock in the morning, the first morning hour of prayer in the Church’s daily liturgical schedule. In the anonymous The Battle of Agincourt (c. 1530), Henry asks his lords, syrs what tyme of the day (Battle of Agincourt B1v), to which they reply, nye pryme (Battle of Agincourt B1v). It is good tyme (Battle of Agincourt B1v), Henry then declares, For sayntes that lye in theyr shryne / To god for vs they be prayenge / All the relygyouse of Englande in this tyme / Ora pro nobis for vs they synge (Battle of Agincourt B1v). for … us In Hall, Henry concludes his oration to his troops by telling them that at thys very tyme all the realme of Englande prayeth for our lucke and prosperous success (Hall, Henry V Fol. 17r). with one voice
Paul Hopkins (Henry V) turned once more to the audience at this point as if they were his assembled army and called for a cry of Saint George! (). At our more lively performances, where beer was also served, the cast’s cries of Saint George! were met with echoes from the audience. cry In Henry V, at the siege of Harfleur, Henry V tells his soldiers to God for Harry! England and Saint George! (H5 3.1.34). Saint George Patron saint of England. Scene 15
The text does not clearly indicate whether the battle was staged or not. The words The Battle might have been added by the print compositors for the sake of future readers. It does seem unlikely, however, that the Queen’s Men would have missed this opportunity for spectacle. Even the clown Tarlton was an avid swordsman, reaching the rank of Master of Fence (Thomson). The SQM company working with fight director Daniel Levinson developed a battle sequence that displayed our English king’s valor in fighting three French soldiers single-handedly and armed at one point only with a small shield. We also depicted the death of the Duke of York and re-introduced Derrick, who reappears soon after (having been absent from the play for several scenes). When performing in a bar setting, Paul Hopkins (Henry V) developed a piece of business where he paused in battle to take a drink of beer from what appeared to be an audience member’s glass. (It had in fact been planted by the actor.) Audiences loved this moment, enhancing what I felt was the egalitarian relationship between actors and audience in the SQM productions. Saint Denis Patron saint of France. Montjoy Name of the French herald in Hall and Shakespeare’s Henry V (but not used in Famous Victories). See note at . The Order of Mountjoy was a twelfth-century Spanish crusading order that took its name from a hill near Jerusalem which, according to mediaeval descriptions of the Holy Land, was called Mountjoy because from there pilgrims gained their first sight of the city of Jerusalem (Forey 253). Scene 16
The French Herald returns humiliated in this scene and the English king gloats at his discomfort. Paul Hopkins (Henry V) pulled back a little, turning what could have been deep insults into a more playful teasing of the unfortunate Frenchman. I believe his instincts were telling him that our audience in 2006 would not tolerate such xenophobic insensitivity. He was probably right, but I wonder if a more patriotic and nationalistic audience, in Elizabethan times or our own, might have been willing and able to enjoy the complete humiliation of the French king and his army. above ten … banners. Hall states that there wer slain on the Frenche parte aboue ten thousande persones, wherof wer princes and nobles bearyng banners Cxxvi. and all the remnant sauying xvi C. wer knightes, esquiers and gentelmen (Hall, Henry V Fol. 20r). Stow gives roughly the same numbers: aboue tenne thousand of all estates, whereof scarcely fifteene hundred were Souldiers or labourers, the rest were of cote armour (Stow 596). In Henry V there are ten thousand French / That in the field lie slain. Of princes in this number / And nobles bearing banners, there lie dead / One hundred twenty-six (H5 4.8.70–73). all the … prisoners In Henry V the key figures of the French nobility, including the High Constable, die on the field (H5 4.8). none but … York Hall lists Edward duke of Yorke, therle of Suffolk, sir Richard Kikeley, and Dauy gamme esquire (Hall, Henry V Fol. 20r). Shakespeare also lists the Earl of Suffolk, / Sir Richard Keightley, Davy Gam Esquire (H5 4.8.94) along with the duke of York. not above … soldiers Hall remarks, not aboue xxv. if you will geue credite to suche as write miracles: but other writers whom I soner beleue affirme that there was slayne aboue v. or vi. C, persons (Hall, Henry V Fol. 20r). Stow states that of all estates on the English partie, were not found dead aboue vi. C in the field (Stow 596). Shakespeare preferred miracles: But five-and-twenty (H5 4.8.96) common soldiers die in the battle in Henry V. the honorable … us In Hall, Henry declares that the victorye hathe not been obteined by vs nor our power, but onely bi the sufferaunce of GOD (Hall, Henry V Fol.19r). great disgrace … England In neither Scene 12 nor Scene 14 does the Herald kneel when he approaches Henry, his standing upright being an assertion of the equality of the French sovereign whom he represents with the English sovereign he confronts. His kneeling here signifies the great disgrace of the French defeat, an act of submission echoed in the play’s final scene when the duke of Burgundy and the dauphin kiss Henry’s sword. you I.e., the French. will make … won Referring to the overconfident French’s demands for ransom before the battle. what castle … camp? Henry asks the same question in Hall, desiryng you the French heralds too know the name of thee castle nere adioning. When they had answered that it was called Agyncourt, he said that this conflict should be called the battaill of Agyncourt (Hall, Henry V Fol. 19r). Battle of Agincourt Agincourt is between Harfleur and Calais, whither Henry V’s depleted army was marching after successfully besieging Harfleur (Dockray 144–145). The Battle of Agincourt was fought 25 October 1415, St. Crispin’s Day (Dockray 148). parley Speak, negotiate. doubt Fear. courtesy Noble or chivalric conduct. Scene 17
I love the way the London Watch reappear on the battlefield at this point. They were likely not featured earlier in France because the actors were busy doubling as comic Frenchmen. We gave Derrick a brief appearance in the battle but it was not really necessary. The audience were happy to pick up with these characters at this point and enjoyed the more homely spin they put on the great historical battle. The clowns begin by reporting on the king’s actions in the same way they did at the start () and in a way that is also reminiscent of Derrick and John’s comic re-performance of the boxing of the Justice’s ear (). One of the clown figure’s key functions in the play was to effect such shifts in perspective. In this case, the roving English soldier arrives to tie the clowns into the on-going action of the battle, and in contrast to the martial king, their immediate instinct is to find a way to avoid battle, to which purpose they practice their broken French (). It is a simple gag but one which works to further valorize the play’s hero-king. brave Fine (Cotgrave). roaming Ranging, roving up and down, wandering (Florio). Cf. Derrick’s entrance () and the knights’ entrance (). Englishmen
Jason Gray (John) and Peter Higginson (Robin) delivered the line with extreme pride. The idea was prompted by the fact that the text indicates they speak the line in unison and proved very funny in performance. The pride, like so much of the clowning in the play, was at once ridiculous and endearing. Our modern audience laughed at the overt patriotism with a sense of irony but the clowns remained fully committed to their Englishness, that is, of course, until the battle turned and they decided to pretend to be Frenchmen. Their confident self-identification at ths point made the reversal of attitude all the funnier. king’s tents … afire Hall relates that 600 French horsemen, hearyng that the Englyshe tentes and pauilions were farre from the army wythout any great nombre of kepers or persons mete and conuenient, for defence entred into the kynges campe beyng voide of men and fortified with varlettes and lackeys, and ther spoyled hales, robbed tentes, brake vp chestes and caried awaie casketes and slewe suche seruantes as they could find, in response to which Henry commands that euery man vpon paine of death should incontinently sley his prisoner (Hall, Henry V Fol. 18r-v). In Henry V the French also Kill the poys and the luggage (H5 4.7.1), in retaliation for which, according to Gower, the King most worthily hath caused every soldier to cut his prisoner’s throat (H5 4.7.7). At the conclusion of the previous scene, however, Henry commands that every soldier kill his prisoners (H5 4.6.37) merely upon hearing that the French have reinforced their scattered men (H5 4.6.36). shift Change (thieves’ cant), manage, make do, or improvise in light of the circumstances. See John Baret, An Alveary or Triple Dictionary, in English, Latin, and French (Baret): to seeke a Shifte to cloke periurie, To seeke shiftes to scape, I will make shift for that well inough, or I will easily auoyde it, a Pollicy or witty shift in warres. In light of John and Derrick’s subsequent activities, John Florio’s definition of carpire may be relevant: to snatch, to filch, to prowle, to pilfer, to shift for, to get by hooke or crooke, to clime or grapple for (Florio). Commodevales, Monsieur Adams suggests comment-allez-vous, which means how are you?
Ultimately deciphering the word is not important. For the joke to work it just needs to sound like really bad French. Jason Gray (John) delivered the line with no recognizable French inflection to emphasize the point. To enhance the comedy, Peter Higginson (Robin) played the following line as if Robin was deeply impressed with John Cobbler’s command of the French language. Scene 18
This amusing little scene mirrors the pattern of the king’s interactions with the Herald and the Dauphin as Derrick brings about his own reversal of fortunes for an initially proud Frenchman. It is uncharacteristically full of explicit stage directions that clearly define the comic business intended for the scene. The action is all classic clown material, full of tricks, double-takes, and sudden emotional reversals. This scene is an indicator of the kind of clowning work expected from the Queen’s Men company and gives much justification for the more interpretive and creative work the SQM company did with sections of the plays in which the directions were less explicit. Enter Derrick
This relatively expansive stage direction was an open invitation for the company clown to create comic business. Our Frenchman stalked the roaming Derrick around the stage, trying to capture the oblivious English clown three times before finding success. Mounser Monsieur, i.e., sir, mister. vigliacco A raskal, a villain, a base, vile, abiect, skuruie fellow, a scoundrel (Florio). Here the Frenchman
For once the directions for stage comedy are quite explicit and the SQM company merely had to follow the instructions. Alon Nashman as Derrick exaggerated both his terror at being caught and then his delight in his triumphant trick. Sudden emotional reversals like this moment are a prominent characteristic of the clowning style adopted by the SQM company. comparteve Compatez-vous, i.e. have compassion! (Bullough). lammst Beat, thrashed. ell A measure of length varying in different countries (OED ell, n.1 1.a). Adams glosses: To measure with a short ell was a proverbial phrase meaning to deal unfairly. Derrick refers to the Frenchman’s sword as a short ell measuring rod. Corbin and Sedge suggest that Derrick is humorously mocking the size of the Frenchman’s sword, with obvious sexual innuendo.
In the SQM production the short ell was made to refer to Derrick’s own member. At , he was initially caught by the Frenchman when he turned and found the Frenchman’s sword between his legs. At this point he pulled at his crotch, remembering what the Frenchman of had done to him. Here while
Another generous stage direction that clearly calls for a classic double-take following the Frenchman’s exit. The detail in the stage directions in this scene is further evidence that the Queen’s Men were skilled company of clowns and supports the emphasis put on clowning in the SQM process. Mass By the mass (oath). Once his opponent disappeared, Alon Nashman (Derrick) immediately dropped the performance of martial triumphalism and reverted to the clown’s conventional cowardice. The emotions of clowns are sincere and deep, but also quick and transitive. Here Nashman shifted from a performance of vengefulness to fear. spilt Destroyed. Scene 19
The scene begins with abrupt negotiations between Henry V and the French King but take an amusing turn with the discovery that our hero-king is in love. The featured video was recorded quite early on in the process and gives only hints of the scene that was performed as part of the Queen’s Men conference. In this performance, Paul Hopkins (Henry V) is gentle and solicitous but feeding off audience response, he learned to be more brash and direct, revelling in his status as the mighty king of England (). Julian DeZotti’s Katherine also grew over the course of the performances as following the inclination of the audience he built on the textual evidence that Katherine, for all her stated diplomatic intents, found the English king utterly irresistible. Our modern audience laughed ironically at the representation of the English king’s sexual bravura but one can imagine it might have been enjoyed in different kind by Elizabethan audiences. Similarly, in the SQM production Katherine became a stereotypically sexy French maiden, an interpretation that undermined the fact that she is engaged in political negotiation on behalf of her father. A more flattering interpretation of the character is clearly possible, but any actor playing the role would still have to deal with her aside: I may think myself the happiest in the world, that is beloved of the mighty king of England (). The joke in the SQM production was that while she was trying to represent her father’s interests she struggled to suppress the desire she was feeling for the English king. This struggle led to the climactic and highly comic moment where she articulated this desire to the audience. deny Conclusively prove to be false. I am … land. Bullough asserts that The siege is probably that of Rouen (1418–1419), which was part of Henry V’s second campaign in France. Famous Victories elides Henry’s second campaign and moves directly from his victory at Agincourt to dramatize the negotiating process culminating in the Treaty of Troyes. Historically, Henry V returned to England soon after Agincourt, on 15 November 1415 (Dockray 159). He invaded France again 1 August 1417 (Dockray 170) and began the siege of Rouen 30 July 1418 (Dockray 175). Rouen surrendered 19 January 1419 (Dockray 178). The ensuing negotiations led to the ratification of the Treaty of Troyes on 21 May 1420, whose terms were that Henry be regent of France during Charles VI’s lifetime, that Katherine be given to Henry in marriage, and that their heirs be recognized as the legitimate French monarchs (Dockray 188–189). Henry and Katherine’s son, Henry VI, was crowned king of France in Paris on 16 December 1431 (Dockray 208). My secretary
Paul Hopkins (Henry V) opened this line up to the audience, which had the effect of making his demands and the King of France’s submission to those demands a public spectacle. In our nationalistic interpretation of the play, the audience was invited to relish the English victory and the sight of the oppressed French nobility. No more … right
In the later performances as Paul Hopkins grew into the role of Henry V, he asserted his right with much more force than he does in the recording of this early performance. Hopkins Henry V became very peremptory, as Charles VI puts it (). The dominating performance of the English king better served the SQM interpretation of the play, although our modern audience found the nationalistic spirit of the performance funny rather than inspiring. it skills … saddle It does not matter that he is displaced from or lacking in power (OED saddle, n.1 P3.a). Proverbial (Tilley S18). peremptory Commanding, unyielding, admitting of no debate. hot Fierce, vehement, hasty (Thomas). resolution Decision, answer, formal declaration (OED resolution, n.1 15.a). we will … tomorrow Bullough notes that in Henry V, Shakespeare omits the details of the terms, but includes the deferment (Bullough). Charles VI is much less recalcitrant in Henry V than in Famous Victories, pleading as his reason for deferment only that I have but with a cursitory eye / O’er-glanced the articles (H5 5.2.78–79) and promising to Pass our accept and peremptory answer (H5 5.2.82) once he has had the opportunity to re-survey them (H5 5.2.81). Charles’s seemingly negligent approach to the negotiations in Henry V may be a bargaining ploy or may reflect the weakness of the historical Charles VI, whose intermittent insanity caused him to be dominated by other powerful figures at court, specifically the duke of Burgundy and Queen Isabella, who in Henry V takes over from Charles in the negotiations at this point. In contrast, in Famous Victories Charles’s daughter Katherine continues the negotiations. supply Assault. with his daughter Famous Victories here recalls the chronicles, which suggest that the French attempted to use Henry’s infatuation with Katherine as a political tool. Hall notes that during the negotiations the French part brought with them the lady Katherin, only to thentent that the king of England seying and beholdyng so faire a lady and so minion a damosel, should so be inflamed and rapte in loue, that he to obtayne so beautifull an espouse, shoulde the soner agre to a gentle peace, and louing composicion (Hall, Henry V Fol. 34r). face Impudence. crave Desire, ask for, demand (Thomas; Hollyband). will have her
Henry V’s open commitment to turn his desire into possession is a product of the Queen’s Men’s patriarchal society. Initially, as seen in the available video, Paul Hopkins (Henry V) played down these lines, feeling that they might shift the modern audience’s sympathies away from his character. The key to our interpretation was that the English king should be a hero on the audience’s eyes. I encouraged him to commit to them wholeheartedly. Embracing such patriarchal sentiments was part of what gave the SQM production its masculine quality. The audiences at the later performances responded ironically to such sexist attitudes and this in turn encouraged a hint of irony to creep into the actors’ performances. Hopkins was being a bad boy, but with a twinkle in his eye that allowed the modern audience to come along with him for the ride. Lady Katherine Daughter of Charles VI and Queen Isabella. In Henry V Catherine is onstage during the preceding negotiations and remains onstage with Henry V at Henry’s request after the other characters have exited (H5 5.2.95). The Famous Victories Katherine is not the angry victim that Shakespeare portrays.
We performed Famous Victories with only 13 actors rather than the ideal 14 and therefore did not have any actors to spare to provide ladies-in-waiting for Katherine. Julian DeZotti (Katherine) entered modestly with his eyes cast down towards his hands, not daring to look at the English king until Katherine’s first line. In the later performances it was clear from the outset the French princess was trying to suppress her desire for the English king. This promoted the idea that the English king’s sexual charisma was as powerful as his military valor and played still further into the SQM’s nationalistic interpretation of the play. DeZotti gave us a flirty French princess who could not resist the power of the English hero king. This was very much a man’s interpretation of the role and formed part of the locker room atmosphere of this play. Our twenty-first century audience found this amusing although their laughter was tinged with irony, as ultimately were the performances of the actors. Katherine For the rest of the play, Katherine’s speech prefixes are Kate or Kat, both of which I am treating as abbreviations rather than nicknames (much as I treat Hen as an abbreviation of, not a nickname for, Henry) and have therefore silently expanded. An … majesty Bullough notes that Shakespeare’s Katharine cannot speak English (Bullough). More precisely, in Henry V Catherine speaks a broken English that is played upon extensively for (bawdy) comic effect during which Catherine is given English lessons (H5 3.4 and 5.2). Famous Victories confines the comedy of broken language to scenes involving the comic characters, such as Scene 13 and Scene 18. Consequently, linguistic barriers do not prevent Famous Victories’s Katherine from engaging erotically and politically with Henry V on equal footing. Certainly the Queen’s Men’s patron Elizabeth I might appreciate the political acuteness in a young future queen of England. my father … require By suggesting that Henry’s demands are debatable, Katherine implies that Henry and her father are still on equal negotiating terms despite the French defeat. debate To contende with wordes, to chide, to wrangle, to brawle (Thomas). Also relevant is the second sense OED gives for the verb: abate, reduce (OED debate, v.2 a). tell me … terms Henry’s ineffectual demand that Katherine speak in plain terms suggests that he knows that he is linguistically outmatched by Katherine, as the subsequent dialogue between the two arguably indicates. In Henry V Henry V declares to Catherine that he is a plain king (H5 5.2.120–121) and speaks to thee plain soldier (H5 5.2.140), which, in contrast to Henry’s demand that Katherine speak plainly in Famous Victories, may be a clever rhetorical strategy to disguise the peremptoriness of his demands and Catherine’s relative powerlessness in the wooing situation. Or perhaps Catherine’s strategy of finding various ways of saying No is annoying the king. I would … demands In her verbal repartee with Henry, Katherine here demonstrates her skill as a negotiator and her awareness of her status as erotic bargaining tool. In contrast, in Henry V, Catherine is not sent to Henry V to continue her father’s negotiations and makes no political demands of Henry (H5 5.2). king of England
The king’s repeated reference to himself in the third person provided an opportunity for Paul Hopkins (Henry V) to make his wooing of the French princess a matter for national pride. In the later performances, he hit these lines with more conviction, but also with a sense that he as an actor was aware such nationalism would be funny today. These moments would likely also have been funny in the original performance but without the hint of irony Hopkins produced. How should … father? In Henry V Catherine asks, Is it possible dat I sould love de ennemi of France? (H5 5.2.155), later declaring that she will accept Henry’s proposalDat is as it shall please de roi mon père (H5 5.2.216), thus acquiescing to her role as a spoil of war. In contrast, here and in the subsequent dialogue, Famous Victories’s Katherine uses her father’s consent much more deliberately for political ends (to pressure Henry to debate his demands) while explicitly stating her own desire to accept Henry’s proposal (). But seeing … will In Henry V Catherine similarly demurs: Dat is as it shall please de roi mon père (H5 5.2.216), she tells Henry. Whereas While (OED whereas, conj. 3).
Julian DeZotti (Katherine) was able to use this line to portray Katherine’s attempt to serve her father’s interest battling with her desire for the English king. The first clause articulated her resistance but Julian DeZotti made her growing desire clear in the second clause. it is
Although an aside is not indicated in the text here, unlike for Katherine’s next line (), the King’s use of the impersonal pronoun suggested to me that the line should be delivered directly to the audience. Paul Hopkins (Henry V) relished this moment in the later performances, sharing his desire for the French princess directly with the men in the audience. The play as a whole generated a playful, locker room camaraderie, tinged with a sense of self-aware irony. The complicity he established here helped set up Katherine’s confession of her desire. I may … England. Although in her dialogue with Henry she subordinates it to her political purposes, Katherine here actively voices her own desire, in contrast to Henry V’s Catherine, who shows no desire for Henry. See her later expression of her willingness to accept Henry’s proposal ().
The SQM interpretation was perfectly in keeping with the textual editor’s. The princess’s aside reveals her deeper motivation in the scene. Julian DeZotti (Katherine) addressed the audience in a shy, girlish, confessional tone, as if revealing her feelings to a close friend. The audience found her overwhelming passion for the English king funny in an ironic way and Julian DeZotti learned to play into the irony of their laughter. It is almost impossible for an actor, male or female, to commit sincerely to such a sentiment today. The original actors and audience might have found a different kind of truth in the idea that French princesses might find English kings sexually irresistible. at host Figurative to be on familiar terms or at home with (OED host, n.3 b). Henry has just conquered, or made himself at home in, France. His choice of this phrase, then, is (perhaps unwittingly) ironic and might be construed as a veiled threat. persuaded … it Henry is possibly alluding here to the concession he makes to Charles VI in Scene 21 that he be declared Heir and Regent of France, not King, while Charles VI is still alive. That is, Henry has conceded to the princess’s powerful demands. rouse Shake, stir (OED rouse, n.1 2). Scene 20
We have seen the English king debate his spoils of victory and here the English clowns have their turn. Where the king quarrels over kingdoms and princesses, the clowns carry off shoes and apparel from the field of battle. These characters’ working class perspective on the war once again enriches the play’s depiction of the historical narrative. This was the most confusing of their scenes. To my mind, it is designed as a kind of variety show, a double act in which the clowns presented a series of gags. Alon Nashman (Derrick), however, was determined to give the scene more narrative cohesion. He came up with the idea that John Cobbler’s pack full of apparel () was more valuable than his girdle full of shoes (). Working with Jason Gray (John Cobbler), Alon Nashman developed physical business in which he took John’s pack and left him to collect the shoes. The idea had textual justification since John’s final line indicates that at the end of the scene he is left with the shoes and boots () Their creative work was ingenious but was hard for the audience to follow. It was also driven by the twenty-first century concept that drama should depict action proceeding ina causal manner, in which one character is doing something to another. The scene in its original performance context could easily have worked simply as a series of jokes, a comic double act. girdle Belt. full of shoes
Alon Nashman (Derrick) entered trying to stuff one more shoe into his belt which he had rigged so that the other shoes began to fall out one by one. The little comic lazzo ended with all the shoes lying on the stage prior to John’s entrance. scaped Escaped. I was within
Since John Cobbler is the dupe rather than the trickster clown, Jason Gray played this line with sincerity, genuinely believing that being half a mile from a person who was killed was a high-risk situation. five times slain!
As the less bright of the two clowns, Jason Gray initially showed his amazement that his friend had been killed five times, but then it slowly dawned on him that this multiplicity might not be possible. This little section is a classic trickster and dupe clown dialogue. I will tell
Alon Nashman acted out the stories as he told them, involving Jason Gray (Cobbler) in a series of comic lazzi that enlivened the story and brought out the humor. In ironic contrast to the king’s heroics on the battelfield, Derrick’s exploits all depict ways to avoid the battle and keep himself safe. stand aside Not to enter active battle. Frenchmen
Alon Nashman (Derrick) took a look in John’s pack at this point and was impressed by the quality and value of the apparel he found there. This action began the comic business the company clowns created in which Derrick takes John’s pack and leaves him with the shoes. reparel Apparel. John’s malapropism is an instance of the linguistic play that was a standard part of the comic routines of the Queen’s Men, a troupe with many experienced clowns. shoes
Having assessed the greater value of the apparel in John’s pack, Alon Nashman (Derrick) used this word to try and make his collection of Frenchman’s shoes seem attractive to his friend. take off … shoes Derrick, not John Cobbler, thinks of this money-making scheme, perhaps a basis for double-takes between the two.
This line is strange because Derrick is stating the blatantly obvious. There is nothing clever or surprising about his means of obtaining the shoes. Alon Nashman played it as if he was revealing a mysterious secret to John who was momentarily bemused but not long enough for Derrick to get his hands on the pack, as was his intention. Zounds, if I
As with his previous story, Alon Nashman (Derrick) acted out his plan to join up with the Duke of York’s funeral party, involving Jason Gray (Cobbler) in his comic business. While his dupe Cobbler is lost in eating imaginary cake and drinking imaginary ale, Alon Nashman (Derrick) slid over and picked up his friend’s pack of apparel. Sirrah Boy (familiar form of address). clerk Cleric, priest. sexton An officer of a parish church whose responsibilities have traditionally included bell-ringing and grave-digging (OED sexton, n. 1.a). stint A period of time spent on a particular job; a turn (at doing something) (OED stint, n.1 7.a); a course, a perfect sentence falling in ful compasse and measure: that terme of time wherein any thing is finished, an ende (Florio). we be soldiers
Jason Gray’s John Cobbler was completely bemused by Derrick’s later plan of action but Alon Nashman (Derrick) sang this final line and carried John away with his enthusiasm. Only after Derrick had exited did John notice that his pack was gone and he was left to collect the shoes scattered about the stage. my shoes … boots John claims to have stolen some reparel for his wife, while Derrick claims to have stolen shoes from dead soldiers. Here, however, John claims to be carrying boots and shoes, so either his reparel included these items or he and Derrick swapped stolen goods at some point in the scene. Derrick may want John to carry the shoes and boots in case they are caught: John Cobbler would immediately seem to be the guilty party (and hanged). The clothing in Derrick’s pack may seem less an offence punishable by death, if it is even recognized as stolen.
As noted above, our master clown Alon Nashman picked up on this discrepancy and used it to tie the series of jokes in the scene into a short narrative in which his clever clown Derrick dupes the more simple-minded John Cobbler. Scene 21
The final scene stages once more the French submission and English victory. It features the central spectacle of the French noblemen, including the Dauphin, swearing oaths of loyalty to the English king, and Katherine accepting Henry V’s proposal. The text does not provide evidence of much resistance from the French party but in performance the SQM company tried to heighten the significance of the nobles’ submission, and make Katherine’s acceptance provide a joyful and comic climax to the story. duke of Burgundy Philip, son of John the Fearless and duke of Burgundy after John’s assassination on 10 September 1419. Heir … France In Hall, Henry is named and proclaimed heire and Regent of Fraunce (Hall, Henry V Fol. 37r); the articles of the Treaty of Troyes stipulate that Clarles VI call Henry Nostre tres chier filz Henry Roy Dengleterre heretere de France, and in Latin in this maner. Preclarissimus filius noster Henricus Rex Anglia et haeres Francia (Hall, Henry V Fol. 60v). See also Stow 610. In Henry V, Henry is pronounced Notre très cher fils Henri, Roi d’Angleterre, Héritier de France (H5 5.2.294–295), Our very dear son Henry, King of England and Heir of France. take your … sword By compelling the duke of Burgundy and the Dauphin to swear their oaths upon his sword, an obvious phallic symbol, Henry makes their expressions of subordination acts of humiliation.
In the SQM production we tried to present these acts of humiliation as spectacles designed for the enjoyment of the audience. As the Dauphin kissed Henry’s sword, Paul Hopkins (Henry V) smirked and glanced out to the audience inviting them to share in his enjoyment of the Dauphin’s submission to his power. thereunto … oath In September 1435 at Arras Philip renounced his oath of fealty to Henry V and acknowledged Charles VII as his king (Keen 389–390). Come, Prince … too Historically, the Dauphin Charles was not at the Treaty of Troyes, rejected it (Dockray 198), continued to resist English forces from the south of France (Dockray 240), and, with the help of Joan of Arc’s army, was crowned Charles VII on 17 July, 1429 (Keen 387).
Staging the Dauphin’s humiliation was obviously appealing to the Queen’s Men. Once again the fact that he has no lines is curious. At this point we had the Dauphin begin as if to object only to be stopped by his father, who gestured to indicate he should submit to the English king’s command. king of England
In the final performances, Paul Hopkins (Henry V) delivered this line with the conviction that he was speaking to a room full of men and women who were all convinced that the king of England was utterly desirable and made the best possible partner in marriage. Our modern audience found this very amusing. Despite my insistence on the sincerity of the king’s self-confidence, these moments often veered to irony in performance. How should … enemy? In Henry V Catherine asks, Is it possible dat I sould love de ennemi of France? (H5 5.2.155).
Julian DeZotti (Katherine) played this final note of resistance from the princess as entirely coy. It was clear that she had already fallen for the mighty English king. What, wench
The King’s inappropriate use of wench to refer to the princess is a sign of his brash self-confidence and brings the king down to the level of a common soldier, a man of the people. Responding to moments like this in the text resulted in the egalitarian feel of this play in performance. king of England
By the time of the final performances of this play, the actors seemed to deliver these words in quotation marks, as if sharing a familiar ironic joke with the audience. I had … willing Katherine’s expression of desire here is consistent with her earlier aside () and suggests Famous Victories’s attempt to add a romantic element to the primarily political marriage between Henry and Katherine. Arguably, the absence of any explicit expression of desire on Catherine’s part in Henry V indicates Shakespeare’s refusal to romanticize the relationship. first … month 2 June 1420 (Dockray 188). Hall (Hall, Henry V Fol. 37r) and Stow (Stow 609) say 3 June. Bullough notes that Shakespeare delays the oaths of fealty till then, in keeping with Hall (Hall, Henry V Fol. 37).
This struck the company as a very mundane line on which to end such an epic play. The trumpets that follow fortunately served to give the performance a note on which to end the action, as did the song and jig at the end of the performance.
Scene 1 Video Sc. 1 Enter the young Prince Henry, Ned, and Tom. Prince Henry

Come away, Ned and Tom!

 Ned and Tom

Here, my lord.

 Prince Henry

Come away, my lads. Tell me, sirs, how much gold have you got?

 Ned

Faith, my lord, I have got five hundred pound.

 Prince Henry

But tell me, Tom, how much hast thou got?

 Tom

Faith, my lord, some four hundred pound.

 Prince Henry

Four hundred pounds? Bravely spoken, lads! But tell me, sirs, think you not that it was a villainous part of me to rob my father’s receivers?

 Ned

Why no, my lord. It was but a trick of youth.

 Prince Henry

Faith, Ned, thou sayest true. But tell me, sirs, whereabouts are we?

 Tom

My lord, we are now about a mile off London.

 Prince Henry

But, sirs, I marvel that Sir John Oldcastle comes not away. Zounds, see where he comes! Enter Jockey Sir John Oldcastle. How now, Jockey, what news with thee?

 Jockey

Faith, my lord, such news as passeth, for the town of Deptford is risen with hue and cry after your man which parted from us the last night and has set upon and hath robbed a poor carrier.

 Prince Henry

Zounds, the villain that was wont to spy out our booties?

 Jockey

Ay, my lord, even the very same.

 Prince Henry

Now, base-minded rascal, to rob a poor carrier! Well, it skills not. I’ll save the base villain’s life. Ay, I may. But tell me, Jockey, whereabouts be the receivers?

 Jockey

Faith, my lord, they are hard by, but the best is, we are a-horseback and they be afoot, so we may escape them.

 Prince Henry

Well, if the villains come, let me alone with them. But tell me, Jockey, how much got’st thou from the knaves? For I am sure I got something, for one of the villains so belammed me about the shoulders as I shall feel it this month.

 Jockey

Faith, my lord, I have got a hundred pound.

 Prince Henry

A hundred pound! Now, bravely spoken, Jockey. But come, sirs, lay all your money before me. They place their booty at his feet. Now, by heaven, here is a brave show! But, as I am true gentleman, I will have the half of this spent tonight. But, sirs, take up your bags. Here come the receivers. Let me alone.

 They hide the booty. Enter two Receivers. 1 Receiver

Alas, good fellow, what shall we do? I dare never go home to the court, for I shall be hanged. But look, here is the young prince. What shall we do?

 Prince Henry

How now, you villains, what are you?

 1 Receiver

Aside to 2 Receiver Speak you to him.

 2 Receiver

Replying aside No, I pray, speak you to him.

 Prince Henry

Why, how now you rascals, why speak you not?

 1 Receiver

Forsooth we be—Aside to 2 Receiver pray speak you to him.

 Prince Henry

Zounds, villains, speak, or I’ll cut off your heads.

 2 Receiver

To Prince Henry Forsooth, he can tell the tale better than I.

 1 Receiver

Forsooth, we be your father’s receivers.

 Prince Henry

Are you my father’s receivers? Then I hope ye have brought me some money.

 1 Receiver

Money? Alas, sir, we be robbed.

 Prince Henry

Robbed? How many were there of them?

 1 Receiver

Marry, sir, there were four of them, and one of them had Sir John Oldcastle’s bay hobby and your black nag.

 Prince Henry

Gog’s wounds! To Jockey How like you this, Jockey? To the Receivers Blood, you villains! My father robbed of his money abroad, and we robbed in our stables. But tell me, how many were of them?

 1 Receiver

If it please you, there were four of them, and there was one about the bigness of you, but I am sure I so belammed him about the shoulders that he will feel it this month.

 Prince Henry

Gog’s wounds, you lammed them fairly—so that they have carried away your money! To Ned, Tom, and Jockey But come, sirs, what shall we do with the villains?

 Receivers

I beseech your grace, be good to us.

 The Receivers kneel. Ned

I pray you, my lord, forgive them this once.

 Prince Henry

Well, stand up and get you gone. And look that you speak not a word of it, for if there be, zounds, I’ll hang you and all your kin.

 Exeunt Receivers. Prince Henry

Now, sirs, how like you this? Was not this bravely done? For now the villains dare not speak a word of it, I have so feared them with words. Now, whither shall we go?

 Ned, Tom, and Jockey

Why, my lord, you know our old hostess at Feversham?

 Prince Henry

Our hostess at Feversham? Blood, what shall we do there? We have a thousand pound about us, and we shall go to a petty alehouse? No, no. You know the old tavern in Eastcheap? There is good wine. Besides, there is a pretty wench that can talk well, for I delight as much in their tongues as any part about them.

 Ned, Tom, and Jockey

We are ready to wait upon your grace.

 Prince Henry

Gog’s wounds! Wait? We will go all together. We are all fellows, I tell you, sirs. An the king my father were dead, we would be all kings. Therefore, come away.

 Ned

Gog’s wounds, bravely spoken, Harry!

 Exeunt Prince Henry, Ned, Tom, and Jockey.
Scene 2 Video Sc. 2 Enter John Cobbler, Robin Pewterer, Lawrence Costermonger. John

All is well here, all is well, masters.

 Robin

How say you, neighbor John Cobbler?

John

I think it best that my neighbor, Robin Pewterer, went to Pudding Lane end, and we will watch here at Billingsgate Ward. How say you, neighbor Robin, how like you this?

 Robin

Marry, well, neighbors. I care not much if I go to Pudding Lane’s end. But, neighbors, an you hear any ado about me, make haste. And if I hear any ado about you, I will come to you.

 Exit Robin. Lawrence

Neighbor, what news hear you of the young prince?

 John

Marry, neighbor, I hear say he is a toward young prince, for if he meet any by the highway, he will not let to talk with him. I dare not call him thief, but sure he is one of these taking fellows.

 Lawrence

Indeed, neighbor, I hear say he is as lively a young prince as ever was.

 John

Ay, and I hear say, if he use it long, his father will cut him off from the crown. But, neighbor, say nothing of that.

 Lawrence

No, no, neighbor, I warrant you.

 John

Neighbor, methinks you begin to sleep. If you will, we will sit down, for I think it is about midnight.

 Lawrence

Marry, content, neighbor, let us sleep.

 John and Lawrence lie down and sleep. Enter Derrick roving. Derrick

Whoa! whoa there! whoa there!

 Exit Derrick. Enter Robin. Robin

O neighbors, what mean you to sleep, and such ado in the streets?

 John and Lawrence

How now, neighbor, what’s the matter?

 Enter Derrick again. Derrick

Whoa there! whoa there! whoa there!

 John

Why, what ail’st thou? Here is no horses.

 Derrick

Oh, alas, man, I am robbed! Whoa there, whoa there!

 Robin

Hold him, neighbor Cobbler.

 John seizes Derrick. John

Why, I see thou art a plain clown.

 Derrick

Am I a clown? Zounds, masters, do clowns go in silk apparel? I am sure all we gentlemen clowns in Kent scant go so well. Zounds, you know clowns very well. To John Hear you, are you Master Constable? An you be, speak, for I will not take it at his Derrick points to Robin hands.

 John

Faith, I am not Master Constable, but I am one of his bade officers, for he is not here.

 Derrick

Is not Master Constable here? Well, it is no matter. I’ll have the law at his hands.

 Derrick draws his sword. John

Nay, I pray you, do not take the law of us.

 Derrick

Well, you are one of his beastly officers.

 John

I am one of his bade officers.

 Derrick

Why, then, I charge thee look to him.

 John

Nay, but hear ye, sir. You seem to be an honest fellow, and we are poor men, and now ’tis night, and we would be loth to have anything ado. Therefore, I pray thee, put it up.

 Derrick sheathes his sword. Derrick

First, thou sayest true, I am an honest fellow—and a proper, handsome fellow too—and you seem to be poor men. Therefore I care not greatly; nay, I am quickly pacified. But, an you chance to spy the thief, I pray you lay hold on him.

 Robin

Yes, that we will, I warrant you.

 Derrick

Aside ’Tis a wonderful thing to see how glad the knave is, now I have forgiven him.

 John

To Lawrence and Robin Neighbors, do ye look about you. How now, who’s there?

 Enter the Thief Cutbert Cutter. Cutbert Cutter

Here is a good fellow. I pray you, which is the way to the old tavern in Eastcheap?

 Derrick

Whoop hollo! Now, Gadshill, knowest thou me?

 Cutbert Cutter

I know thee for an ass.

 Derrick

And I know thee for a taking fellow, upon Gad’s Hill in Kent. A bots light upon ye!

 Cutbert Cutter

The whoreson villain would be knocked!

 Cutbert draws his sword. Derrick

Masters—villain!—an ye be men, stand to him and take his weapon from him. Let him not pass you.

 John

My friend, what make you abroad now? It is too late to walk now.

 Cutbert Cutter

It is not too late for true men to walk.

 Lawrence

We know thee not to be a true man.

 John, Robin, and Lawrence seize Cutbert. Cutbert Cutter

Why, what do you mean to do with me? Zounds, I am one of the king’s liege people.

 Derrick

Hear you, sir, are you one of the king’s liege people?

 Cutbert Cutter

Ay, marry, am I, sir. What say you to it?

 Derrick

Marry, sir, I say you are one of the king’s filching people.

 John

Come, come, let’s have him away.

 Cutbert Cutter

Why, what have I done?

 Robin

Thou hast robbed a poor fellow and taken away his goods from him.

 Cutbert Cutter

I never saw him before.

 Derrick

Masters, who comes here?

 Enter the Vintner’s Boy. Boy

How now, Goodman Cobbler?

 John

How now, Robert, what makes thou abroad at this time of night?

 Boy

Marry, I have been at the Counter. I can tell such news as never you have heard the like.

 John

What is that, Robert? What is the matter?

 Boy

Why, this night about two hours ago, there came the young prince and three or four more of his companions and called for wine good store, and then they sent for a noise of musicians and were very merry for the space of an hour. Then, whether their music liked them not or whether they had drunk too much wine or no, I cannot tell, but our pots flew against the walls, and then they drew their swords and went into the street and fought, and some took one part and some took another, but for the space of half an hour there was such a bloody fray as passeth, and none could part them until such time as the mayor and sheriff were sent for, and then at the last with much ado they took them, and so the young prince was carried to the Counter. And then about one hour after, there came a messenger from the court in all haste from the king for my lord mayor and the sheriff, but for what cause I know not.

 John

Here is news indeed, Robert.

 Lawrence

Marry, neighbor, this news is strange indeed. I think it best, neighbor, to rid our hands of this fellow first.

 Cutbert Cutter

What mean you to do with me?

 John

We mean to carry you to the prison, and there to remain ’til the sessions day.

 Cutbert Cutter

Then, I pray you, let me go to the prison where my master is.

 John

Nay, thou must go to the country prison, to Newgate. Therefore, come away.

 Cutbert Cutter

To Derrick I prithee be good to me, honest fellow.

 Derrick

Ay, marry will I, I’ll be very charitable to thee, for I will never leave thee ’til I see thee on the gallows.

 Exeunt.
Scene 3 Video Sc. 3 Enter Henry the Fourth with the Earl of Exeter and the Lord of Oxford. Oxford

An’t please your majesty, here is my lord mayor and the sheriff of London to speak with your majesty.

 Henry IV

Admit them to our presence. Enter the Mayor and the Sheriff. Now, my good lord mayor of London, the cause of my sending for you at this time is to tell you of a matter which I have learned of my council. Herein I understand that you have committed my son to prison without our leave and licence. What, although he be a rude youth and likely to give occasion, yet you might have considered that he is a prince, and my son, and not to be haled to prison by every subject.

 Lord Mayor

May it please your majesty to give us leave to tell our tale?

 Henry IV

Or else, God forbid, otherwise you might think me an unequal judge, having more affection to my son than to any rightful judgment.

 Lord Mayor

Then I do not doubt but we shall rather deserve commendations at your majesty’s hands than any anger.

 Henry IV

Go to, say on.

 Lord Mayor

Then, if it please your majesty, this night betwixt two and three of the clock in the morning, my lord the young prince with a very disordered company came to the old tavern in Eastcheap, and whether it was that their music liked them not or whether they were overcome with wine, I know not, but they drew their swords, and into the street they went, and some took my lord the young prince’s part and some took the other, but betwixt them there was such a bloody fray for the space of half an hour that neither watchmen nor any other could stay them ’til my brother the sheriff of London and I were sent for, and at the last with much ado we stayed them, but it was long first, which was a great disquieting to all your loving subjects thereabouts. And then, my good lord, we knew not whether your grace had sent them to try us, whether we would do justice, or whether it were of their own voluntary will or not, we cannot tell. And therefore in such a case we knew not what to do, but for our own safeguard we sent him to ward, where he wanteth nothing that is fit for his grace and your majesty’s son. And thus most humbly beseeching your majesty to think of our answer.

 Henry IV

Stand aside until we have further deliberated on your answer.

 Exit Mayor with Sheriff. Henry IV

Ah, Harry, Harry, now thrice-accursed Harry, that hath gotten a son which with grief will end his father’s days. O my son, a prince thou art, ay, a prince indeed—and to deserve imprisonment! And well have they done, and like faithful subjects. To Exeter and Oxford Discharge them and let them go.

 Exeter

I beseech your grace, be good to my lord the young prince.

 Henry IV

Nay, nay, ’tis no matter. Let him alone.

 Oxford

Perchance the mayor and the sheriff have been too precise in this matter.

 Henry IV

No, they have done like faithful subjects. I will go myself to discharge them and let them go.

 Exeunt.
Scene 4 Video Sc. 4 Enter Lord Chief Justice, Clerk of the Office, Jailor with several Officers, John Cobbler, Derrick, and the Thief Cutbert Cutter. Lord Chief Justice

Jailor, bring the prisoner to the bar.

 Derrick

Hear you, my lord, I pray you bring the bar to the prisoner.

 Lord Chief Justice

Hold thy hand up at the bar.

 Cutbert Cutter

Here it is, my lord.

 Lord Chief Justice

Clerk of the Office, read his indictment.

 Clerk

What is thy name?

 Cutbert Cutter

My name was known before I came here and shall be when I am gone, I warrant you.

 Lord Chief Justice

Ay, I think so, but we will know it better before thou go.

 Derrick

Zounds, an you do but send to the next jail, we are sure to know his name, for this is not the first prison he hath been in, I’ll warrant you.

 Clerk

What is thy name?

 Cutbert Cutter

What need you to ask, an have it in writing?

 Clerk

Is not thy name Cutbert Cutter?

 Cutbert Cutter

What the devil need you ask, an know it so well?

 Clerk

Why then, Cutbert Cutter, I indict thee by the name of Cutbert Cutter for robbing a poor carrier the twentieth day of May last past, in the fourteenth year of the reign of our sovereign lord King Henry the Fourth, for setting upon a poor carrier upon Gad’s Hill in Kent, and having beaten and wounded the said carrier, and taken his goods from him.

 Derrick

Oh, masters, stay there. Nay, let’s never belie the man, for he hath not beaten and wounded me also, but he hath beaten and wounded my pack and hath taken the great raze of ginger that bouncing Bess with the jolly buttocks should have had. That grieves me most.

 Lord Chief Justice

Well, what sayest thou? Art thou guilty or not guilty?

 Cutbert Cutter

Not guilty, my lord.

 Lord Chief Justice

By whom wilt thou be tried?

 Cutbert Cutter

By my lord the young prince or by myself, whether you will.

 Enter the young Prince Henry, with Ned and Tom. Prince Henry

Come away, my lads. To Cutbert Cutter Gog’s wounds, ye villain, what make you here? I must go about my business myself, and you must stand loitering here?

 Cutbert Cutter

Why, my lord, they have bound me and will not let me go.

 Prince Henry

Have they bound thee, villain? To Lord Chief Justice Why, how now, my lord?

 Lord Chief Justice

I am glad to see your grace in good health.

 Prince Henry

Why, my lord, this is my man. ’Tis marvel you knew him not long before this. I tell you, he is a man of his hands.

 Cutbert Cutter

Ay, Gog’s wounds, that I am. Try me who dare!

 Lord Chief Justice

Your grace shall find small credit by acknowledging him to be your man.

 Prince Henry

Why, my lord, what hath he done?

 Lord Chief Justice

An it please your majesty, he hath robbed a poor carrier.

 Derrick

Hear you, sir. Marry, it was one Derrick, Goodman Hobling’s man of Kent.

 Prince Henry

What, was’t you, button-breech?—Of my word, my lord, he did it but in jest.

 Derrick

Hear you, sir. Is it your man’s quality to rob folks in jest? In faith, he shall be hanged in earnest.

 Prince Henry

Well, my lord, what do you mean to do with my man?

 Lord Chief Justice

An’t please your grace, the law must pass on him according to justice; then he must be executed.

 Derrick

Hear you, sir, I pray you. Is it your man’s quality to rob folks in jest? In faith, he shall be hanged in jest.

 Prince Henry

Well, my lord, what mean you to do with my man?

 Lord Chief Justice

An’t please your grace, the law must pass on him according to justice; then he must be executed.

 Prince Henry

Why, then, belike you mean to hang my man?

 Lord Chief Justice

I am sorry that it falls out so.

 Prince Henry

Why, my lord, I pray ye, who am I?

 Lord Chief Justice

An’t please your grace, you are my lord the young prince, our king that shall be after the decease of our sovereign lord, King Henry the Fourth, whom God grant long to reign.

 Prince Henry

You say true, my lord. And you will hang my man?

 Lord Chief Justice

An’t like your grace, I must needs do justice.

 Prince Henry

Tell me, my lord, shall I have my man?

 Lord Chief Justice

I cannot, my lord.

 Prince Henry

But will you not let him go?

 Lord Chief Justice

I am sorry that his case is so ill.

 Prince Henry

Tush, case me no casings. Shall I have my man?

 Lord Chief Justice

I cannot, nor I may not, my lord.

 Prince Henry

Nay, and I shall not, say, and then I am answered!

 Lord Chief Justice

No.

 Prince Henry

No? Then I will have him.

 He giveth him a box on the ear. Ned

Gog’s wounds, my lord, shall I cut off his head?

 Ned draws his sword. Prince Henry

No, I charge you, draw not your swords, but get you hence—provide a noise of musicians. Away, begone!

 Exeunt Ned and Tom. Lord Chief Justice

Well, my lord, I am content to take it at your hands.

 Prince Henry

Nay, an you be not, you shall have more.

 Lord Chief Justice

Why, I pray you, my lord, who am I?

 Prince Henry

You? Who knows not you? Why, man, you are Lord Chief Justice of England.

 Lord Chief Justice

Your grace hath said truth. Therefore in striking me in this place you greatly abuse me, and not me only but also your father, whose lively person here in this place I do represent. And therefore, to teach you what prerogatives mean, I commit you to the Fleet until we have spoken with your father.

 Prince Henry

Why, then, belike you mean to send me to the Fleet?

 Lord Chief Justice

Ay indeed, and therefore carry him away.

 Exit Prince Henry with the Officers. Lord Chief Justice

Jailor, carry the prisoner to Newgate again until the next ’ssizes.

 Jailor

At your commandment, my lord, it shall be done.

 Exeunt Lord Chief Justice, Clerk of the Office, John Cobbler, Derrick, and Cutbert Cutter with Jailor
Scene 5 Video Sc. 5 Enter Derrick and John Cobbler. Derrick

Zounds, masters, here’s ado, when princes must go to prison! Why, John, didst ever see the like?

 John

Oh, Derrick, trust me, I never saw the like.

 Derrick

Why, John, thou mayest see what princes be in choler. A judge a box on the ear! I’ll tell thee, John, O John, I would not have done it for twenty shillings.

 John

No, nor I. There had been no way but one with us: we should have been hanged.

 Derrick

Faith, John, I’ll tell thee what. Thou shalt be my lord chief justice, and thou shalt sit in the chair, and I’ll be the young prince and hit thee a box on the ear, and then thou shalt say, to teach you what prerogatives mean, I commit you to the Fleet.

 John

Come on, I’ll be your judge. But thou shalt not hit me hard?

 Derrick

No, no.

 John sits in the lord chief justice’s chair. John

What hath he done?

 Derrick

Marry, he hath robbed Derrick.

 John

Why, then, I cannot let him go.

 Derrick

I must needs have my man.

 John

You shall not have him.

 Derrick

Shall I not have my man? Say No an you dare! How say you, shall I not have my man?

 John

No, marry, shall you not.

 Derrick

Shall I not, John?

 John

No, Derrick.

 Derrick

Why, then, take you that ’til more come. Derrick gives John a box on the ear Zounds, shall I not have him?

 John

Well, I am content to take this at your hand, but, I pray you, who am I?

 Derrick

Who art thou? Zounds, dost not know thyself?

 John

No.

 Derrick

Now away, simple fellow! Why man, thou art John the Cobbler.

 John

No, I am my Lord Chief Justice of England.

 Derrick

Oh, John, mass, thou say’st true, thou art indeed.

 John

Why, then, to teach you what prerogatives mean I commit you to the Fleet.

 Derrick

Well, I will go, but, i’faith, you grey-beard knave, I’ll course you. Exit and straight enters again. O John, come, come out of thy chair! Why, what a clown wert thou to let me hit thee a box on the ear, and now thou seest they will not take me to the Fleet! I think that thou art one of these workaday clowns.

 John

But I marvel what will become of thee.

 Derrick

Faith, I’ll be no more a carrier.

 John

What wilt thou do, then?

 Derrick

I’ll dwell with thee and be a cobbler.

 John

With me? Alas, I am not able to keep thee. Why, thou wilt eat me out of doors.

 Derrick

O John, no John, I am none of these great slouching fellows that devour these great pieces of beef and brewis. Alas, a trifle serves me. A woodcock, a chicken, or a capon’s leg, or any such little thing serves me.

 John

A capon! Why, man, I cannot get a capon once a year, except it be at Christmas at some other man’s house, for we cobblers be glad of a dish of roots.

 Derrick

Roots? Why, are you so good at rooting? Nay, cobbler, we’ll have you ringed.

 John

But, Derrick,

Though we be so poor, Yet will we have in store A crab in the fire, With nut-brown ale, That is full stale, Which will a man quail, And lay in the mire! Derrick

A bots on you! An’t be but for your ale, I’ll dwell with you. Come, let’s away as fast as we can.

 Exeunt.
Scene 6 Video Sc. 6 Enter the young Prince Henry with Ned and Tom. Prince Henry

Come away, sirs. Gog’s wounds, Ned, didst thou not see what a box on the ear I took my Lord Chief Justice?

 Tom

By Gog’s blood, it did me good to see it. It made his teeth jar in his head.

 Enter Sir John Oldcastle Jockey. Prince Henry

How now, Sir John Oldcastle. What news with you?

 Jockey

I am glad to see your grace at liberty. I was come, I, to visit you in prison.

 Prince Henry

To visit me! Didst thou not know that I am a prince’s son? Why, ’tis enough for me to look into a prison, though I come not in myself. But here’s such ado nowadays, here’s prisoning, here’s hanging, whipping, and the devil and all! But I tell you, sirs, when I am king we will have no such things. But, my lads, if the old king my father were dead, we would be all kings.

 Jockey

He is a good old man. God take him to His mercy the sooner.

 Prince Henry

But, Ned, so soon as I am king, the first thing I will do shall be to put my Lord Chief Justice out of office, and thou shalt be my lord chief justice of England.

 Ned

Shall I be lord chief justice? By Gog’s wounds, I’ll be the bravest lord chief justice that ever was in England!

 Prince Henry

Then, Ned, I’ll turn all these prisons into fence schools, and I will endow thee with them, with lands to maintain them withal. Then I will have a bout with my Lord Chief Justice! Thou shalt hang none but pick-purses and horse-stealers, and such base-minded villains. But that fellow that will stand by the highway side courageously with his sword and buckler and take a purse, that fellow give him commendations; besides that, send him to me and I will give him an annual pension out of my exchequer to maintain him all the days of his life.

 Jockey

Nobly spoken, Harry! We shall never have a merry world ’til the old king be dead.

 Ned

But whither are ye going now?

 Prince Henry

To the court, for I hear say my father lies very sick.

 Tom

But I doubt he will not die.

 Prince Henry

Yet will I go thither, for the breath shall be no sooner out of his mouth but I will clap the crown on my head.

 Jockey

Will you go to the court with that cloak, so full of needles?

 Prince Henry

Cloak, eyelet-holes, needles, and all was of mine own devising, and therefore I will wear it.

 Tom

I pray you, my lord, what may be the meaning thereof?

 Prince Henry

Why, man, ’tis a sign that I stand upon thorns ’til the crown be on my head.

 Jockey

Or that every needle might be a prick to their hearts that repine at your doings.

 Prince Henry

Thou say’st true, Jockey. But there’s some will say, the young prince will be a well-toward young man, and all this gear, that I had as lief they would break my head with a pot as to say any such thing. But we stand prating here too long. I must needs speak with my father; therefore come away.

 They knock at a gate. Enter Porter. Porter

What a rapping keep you at the king’s court gate?

 Prince Henry

Here’s one that must speak with the king.

 Porter

The king is very sick, and none must speak with him.

 Prince Henry

No, you rascal? Do you not know me?

 Porter

You are my lord the young prince.

 Prince Henry

Then go and tell my father that I must and will speak with him.

 Ned

Shall I cut off his head?

 Ned draws his sword. Prince Henry

No, no. Though I would help you in other places, yet I have nothing to do here. What, you are in my father’s court!

 Exit Porter. Ned

I will write him in my tables, for so soon as I am made lord chief justice, I will put him out of his office.

 The trumpet sounds. Prince Henry

Gog’s wounds, sirs, the king comes. Let’s all stand aside.

 Enter the King Henry IV with the Lord of Exeter. Henry IV

And is it true, my lord, that my son is already sent to the Fleet? Now truly that man is more fitter to rule the realm than I, for by no means could I rule my son, and he by one word hath caused him to be ruled. O my son, my son, no sooner out of one prison but into another! I had thought, once, while I had lived to have seen this noble realm of England flourish by thee, my son, but now I see it goes to ruin and decay.

 He weepeth. Enter the Lord of Oxford. Oxford

An please your grace, here is my lord your son, that cometh to speak with you. He sayeth he must and will speak with you.

 Henry IV

Who, my son Harry?

 Oxford

Ay, an please your majesty.

 Henry IV

I know wherefore he cometh, but look that none come with him.

 Oxford

A very disordered company, and such as make very ill rule in your majesty’s house.

 Henry IV

Well, let him come, but look that none come with him.

 Oxfordgoeth across the stage to address Prince Henry. Oxford

An please your grace, my lord the king sends for you.

 Prince Henry

Come away, sirs. Let’s go all together.

 Oxford

An please your grace, none must go with you.

 Prince Henry

Why, I must needs have them with me. Otherwise I can do my father no countenance. Therefore, come away.

 Oxford

The king your father commands there should none come.

 Prince Henry

Well, sirs, then be gone, and provide me three noise of musicians.

 Exeunt Knights Ned, Tom, and Jockey. The Prince crosses the stage to Henry IV with a dagger in his hand. Henry IV

Come, my son, come on in God’s name! I know wherefore thy coming is. O my son, my son, what cause hath ever been, that thou shouldst forsake me and follow this vile and reprobate company which abuseth youth so manifestly? O my son, thou knowest that these thy doings will end thy father’s days. He weeps. Ay, so, so, my son, thou fearest not to approach the presence of thy sick father in that disguised sort. I tell thee, my son, that there is never a needle in thy cloak but it is a prick to my heart, and never an eyelet-hole but it is a hole to my soul, and wherefore thou bringest that dagger in thy hand I know not but by conjecture.

 He weeps. Prince Henry

Aside My conscience accuseth me. To Henry IV Most sovereign lord and well-beloved father, to answer first to the last point. That is, whereas you conjecture that this hand and this dagger shall be armed against your life, no, know, my beloved father, far be the thoughts of your son—son, said I? An unworthy son for so good a father—but far be the thoughts of any such pretended mischief, and I most humbly render it to your majesty’s hand. Prince Henry gives Henry IV the dagger. And live, my lord and sovereign, forever and with your dagger arm show like vengeance upon the body of that your son, I was about to say and dare not, ah woe is me!—therefore, that your wild slave. ’Tis not the crown that I come for, sweet father, because I am unworthy, and those vile and reprobate companions I abandon and utterly abolish their company forever. Pardon, sweet father, pardon: the least thing and most desired. And this ruffianly cloak I here tear from my back and sacrifice it to the devil, which is master of all mischief. Pardon me, sweet father, pardon me. Good my lord of Exeter, speak for me. Pardon me, pardon, good father. Not a word? Ah, he will not speak one word. Ah, Harry, now thrice unhappy Harry! But what shall I do? I will go take me into some solitary place and there lament my sinful life, and when I have done I will lay me down and die.

 Exit Prince Henry. Henry IV

Call him again. Call my son again.

 Enter Prince Henry. Prince Henry

And doth my father call me again? Now, Harry, happy be the time that thy father calleth thee again.

 Prince Henry kneels. Henry IV

Stand up, my son, and do not think thy father but at the request of thee, my son, I will pardon thee. And God bless thee and make thee his servant.

 Prince Henry rises. Prince Henry

Thanks, good my lord, and no doubt but this day, even this day, I am born new again.

 Henry IV

Come, my son and lords, take me by the hands.

 Exeunt omnes.
Scene 7 Video Sc.7 Enter Derrick. Derrick

Shouts to offstage Thou art a stinking whore, and a whoreson stinking whore! Dost think I’ll take it at thy hands?

 Enter John Cobbler running. John

Derrick, Derrick, Derrick! Hearest a? Do, Derrick, never while thou livest use that! Why, what will my neighbors say an thou go away so?

 Derrick

She’s a narrant whore, and I’ll have the law on you, John.

 John

Why, what hath she done?

 Derrick

Marry, mark thou, John. I will prove it, that I will!

 John

What wilt thou prove?

 Derrick

That she called me in to dinner—John, mark the tale well, John—and, when I was set, she brought me a dish of roots and a piece of barrel butter therein. And she is a very knave, and thou a drab if thou take her part.

 John

Hearest a, Derrick, is this the matter? Nay, an it be no worse, we will go home again, and all shall be amended.

 Derrick

O John, hearest a, John, is all well?

 John

Ay, all is well.

 Derrick

Then I’ll go home before and break all the glass windows.
Scene 8; Video Sc. 8 Enter the King with his Lords Exeter and Oxford. Henry IV

Come, my lords, I see it boots me not to take any physic, for all the physicians in the world cannot cure me, no not one. But good my lords, remember my last will and testament concerning my son, for truly, my lords, I do not think but he will prove as valiant and victorious a king as ever reigned in England.

 Exeter, and Oxford

Let heaven and earth be witness between us, if we accomplish not thy will to the uttermost.

 Henry IV

I give you most unfeigned thanks, good my lords. Draw the curtains and depart my chamber awhile and cause some music to rock me asleep.

 Exeunt Lords Exeter and Oxford. Music plays, and he sleepeth. Enter the Prince. Prince Henry

Ah Harry, thrice-unhappy, that hath neglect so long from visiting of thy sick father. I will go. Nay, but why do I not go to the chamber of my sick father to comfort the melancholy soul of his body? His soul, said I? Here is his body indeed, but his soul is whereas it needs no body. Now thrice-accursed Harry, that hath offended thy father so much, and could not I crave pardon for all! O my dying father, cursed be the day wherein I was born, and accursed be the hour wherein I was begotten! But what shall I do? If weeping tears which come too late may suffice the negligence neglected to some, I will weep day and night until the fountain be dry with weeping.

 Exit Prince Henry, with Henry IV’s crown. Enter Lords of Exeter and Oxford. Exeter

Come easily, my lord, for waking of the king.

 Henry IV

Now, my lords.

 Oxford

How doth your grace feel yourself?

 Henry IV

Somewhat better after my sleep. But, good my lords, take off my crown, remove my chair a little back, and set me right.

 Exeter, and Oxford

An please your grace, the crown is taken away.

 Henry IV

The crown taken away! Good my lord of Oxford, go see who hath done this deed. Exit Oxford No doubt ’tis some vile traitor that hath done it to deprive my son. They that would do it now would seek to scrape and scrawl for it after my death.

 Enter Lord of Oxford with the Prince holding the crown. Oxford

Here, an please your grace, is my lord the young prince with the crown.

 Henry IV

Why, how now, my son? I had thought the last time I had you in schooling I had given you a lesson for all, and do you now begin again? Why tell me, my son, dost thou think the time so long that thou wouldst have it before the breath be out of my mouth?

 Prince Henry

Most sovereign lord and well-beloved father, I came into your chamber to comfort the melancholy soul of your body, and finding you at that time past all recovery and dead, to my thinking, God is my witness, and what should I do but with weeping tears lament the death of you, my father? And after that, seeing the crown, I took it. And tell me, my father, who might better take it than I after your death? But, seeing you live, I most humbly render it into your majesty’s hands, and the happiest man alive that my father live. And live, my lord and father, forever.

 Prince Henry gives Henry IV the crown and kneels before him. Henry IV

Stand up, my son. Thine answer hath sounded well in mine ears, for I must needs confess that I was in a very sound sleep and altogether unmindful of thy coming. But come near, my son, and let me put thee in possession whilst I live, that none deprive thee of it after my death.

 Prince Henry

Well may I take it at your majesty’s hands, but it shall never touch my head so long as my father lives.

 He Prince Henry taketh the crown. Henry IV

God give thee joy, my son. God bless thee and make thee His servant and send thee a prosperous reign, for God knows, my son, how hardly I came by it and how hardly I have maintained it.

 Prince Henry

Howsoever you came by it, I know not, but now I have it from you, and from you I will keep it. And he that seeks to take the crown from my head, let him look that his armor be thicker than mine, or I will pierce him to the heart, were it harder than brass or bullion.

 Henry IV

Nobly spoken, and like a king. Now trust me, my lords, I fear not but my son will be as warlike and victorious a prince as ever reigned in England.

 Exeter, and Oxford

His former life shows no less.

 Henry IV

Well, my lords, I know not whether it be for sleep or drawing near of drowsy summer of death, but I am very much given to sleep. Therefore, good my lords and my son, draw the curtains, depart my chamber, and cause some music to rock me asleep.

 Exeter, Oxford, and Prince Henry draw the curtains. Music plays. Exeunt omnes Exeter, Oxford, and Prince Henry. The King dieth.
Scene 9 Video Sc. 9 Enter the Thief Cutbert Cutter. Cutbert Cutter

Ah God, I am now much like to a bird which hath escaped out of the cage, for so soon as my Lord Chief Justice heard that the old king was dead, he was glad to let me go, for fear of my lord the young prince. But here comes some of his companions. I will see an I can get anything of them, for old acquaintance.

 Enter Knights Tom, Jockey, and Ned ranging. Tom

Gog’s wounds, the king is dead!

 Jockey

Dead! Then Gog’s blood, we shall be all kings!

 Ned

Gog’s wounds, I shall be lord chief justice of England.

 Tom

To Cutbert Cutter Why, how are you broken out of prison?

 Ned

Gog’s wounds, how the villain stinks!

 Jockey

Why, what will become of thee now? Fie upon him, how the rascal stinks.

 Cutbert Cutter

Marry, I will go and serve my master again.

 Tom

Gog’s blood, dost think that he will have any such scabbed knave as thou art? What, man, he is a king now.

 Ned

Hold thee, here’s a couple of angels for thee, and get thee gone, for the king will not be long before he come this way. And hereafter I will tell the king of thee.

 Exit Thief Cutbert Cutter. Jockey

Oh, how it did me good to see the king when he was crowned! Methought his seat was like the figure of heaven and his person like unto a god.

 Ned

But who would have thought that the king would have changed his countenance so?

 Jockey

Did you not see with what grace he sent his embassage into France to tell the French king that Harry of England hath sent for the crown and Harry of England will have it?

 Tom

But ’twas but a little to make the people believe that he was sorry for his father’s death.

 The trumpet sounds. Ned

Gog’s wounds, the king comes. Let’s all stand aside.

 Enter the King Henry V with the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Lord of Oxford. Jockey

How do you, my lord?

 Ned

How now, Harry? Tut, my lord, put away these dumps. You are a king, and all the realm is yours. What, man, do you not remember the old sayings? You know I must be lord chief justice of England. Trust me, my lord, methinks you are very much changed, and ’tis but with a little sorrowing to make folks believe the death of your father grieves you, and ’tis nothing so.

 Henry V

I prithee, Ned, mend thy manners and be more modester in thy terms, for my unfeigned grief is not to be ruled by thy flattering and dissembling talk. Thou say’st I am changed. So I am indeed, and so must thou be, and that quickly, or else I must cause thee to be changed.

 Jockey

Gog’s wounds! How like you this? Zounds, ’tis not so sweet as music.

 Tom

I trust we have not offended your grace no way.

 Henry V

Ah, Tom, your former life grieves me and makes me to abandon and abolish your company forever, and therefore not upon pain of death to approach my presence by ten miles’ space. Then, if I hear well of you, it may be I will do somewhat for you; otherwise, look for no more favor at my hands than at any other man’s. And therefore be gone. We have other matters to talk on. Exeunt Knights Tom, Ned, and Jockey. Now, my good lord archbishop of Canterbury, what say you to our embassage into France?

 Canterbury

Your right to the French crown of France came by your great-grandmother Isabel, wife to King Edward the Third and sister to Charles the French king. Now, if the French king deny it, as likely enough he will, then must you take your sword in hand and conquer the right. Let the usurped Frenchman know, although your predecessors have let it pass, you will not, for your countrymen are willing with purse and men to aid you. Then, my good lord, as it hath been always known that Scotland hath been in league with France by a sort of pensions which yearly come from thence, I think it therefore best to conquer Scotland, and then I think that you may go more easily into France. And this is all that I can say, my good lord.

 Henry V

I thank you, my good lord archbishop of Canterbury. What say you, my good lord of Oxford?

 Oxford

An please your majesty, I agree to my lord archbishop, saving in this: he that will Scotland win must first with France begin, according to the old saying. Therefore, my good lord, I think it best first to invade France, for in conquering Scotland you conquer but one; an conquer France and conquer both.

 Enter Lord of Exeter. Exeter

An please your majesty, my lord ambassador is come out of France.

 Henry V

Now trust me, my lord, he was the last man that we talked of. I am glad that he is come to resolve us of our answer. Commit him to our presence.

 Enter Duke of York. York

God save the life of my sovereign lord the king.

 Henry V

Now, my good lord the duke of York, what news from our brother the French king?

 York

An please your majesty, I delivered him my embassage, whereof I took some deliberation. But for the answer, he hath sent my lord ambassador of Bruges, the duke of Burgundy, Monsieur le Cole, with two hundred and fifty horsemen, to bring the embassage.

 Henry V

Commit my lord archbishop of Bruges into our presence. Enter Archbishop of Bruges. Now, my lord archbishop of Bruges, we do learn by our lord ambassador that you have our message to do from our brother the French king. Here, my good lord, according to our accustomed order, we give you free liberty and licence to speak with good audience.

 Bruges

God save the mighty king of England. My lord and master, the most Christian king, Charles the Sixth, the great and mighty king of France, as a most noble and Christian king, not minding to shed innocent blood, is rather content to yield somewhat to your unreasonable demands, that if fifty thousand crowns a year with his daughter, the said Lady Katherine, in marriage, and some crowns which he may well spare, not hurting of his kingdom, he is content to yield so far to your unreasonable desire.

 Henry V

Why, then, belike your lord and master thinks to puff me up with fifty thousand crowns a year. No, tell thy lord and master that all the crowns in France shall not serve me, except the crown and kingdom itself—and perchance hereafter I will have his daughter.

 Bruges

An it please your majesty, my lord Prince Dauphin greets you well with this present.

 He delivereth a tun of tennis balls. Henry V

What, a gilded tun? I pray you, my lord of York, look what is in it.

 York

An please your grace, here is a carpet and a tun of tennis balls.

 Henry V

A tun of tennis balls? I pray you, good my lord archbishop, what might the meaning thereof be?

 Bruges

An it please you, my lord, a messenger, you know, ought to keep close his message, and specially an ambassador.

 Henry V

But I know that you may declare your message to a king. The law of arms allows no less.

 Bruges

My lord, hearing of your wildness before your father’s death, sent you this, my good lord, meaning that you are more fitter for a tennis court than a field and more fitter for a carpet than the camp.

 Henry V

My lord Prince Dauphin is very pleasant with me. But tell him that instead of balls of leather we will toss him balls of brass and iron, yea, such balls as never were tossed in France. The proudest tennis court shall rue it; ay, and thou, prince of Bruges, shall rue it. Therefore get thee hence and tell him thy message quickly, lest I be there before thee. Away, priest, be gone.

 Bruges

I beseech your grace to deliver me your safe conduct under your broad seal manual.

 Henry V

Priest of Bruges, know that the hand and seal of a king, and his word is all one, and instead of my hand and seal I will bring him my hand and sword. And tell thy lord and master that I, Harry of England, said it and I, Harry of England, will perform it. My lord of York, deliver him our safe conduct under our broad seal manual. Exeunt Archbishop of Bruges, and the Duke of York. Now, my lords, to arms, to arms, for I vow by heaven and earth that the proudest Frenchman in all France shall rue the time that ever these tennis balls were sent into England. To Exeter My lord, I will that there be provided a great navy of ships with all speed at Southampton, for there I mean to ship my men, for I would be there before him, if it were possible. Therefore come—but stay, I had almost forgot the chiefest thing of all, with chafing with this French ambassador. Call in my Lord Chief Justice of England.

 Enter Lord Chief Justice of England. Exeter

Here is the king, my lord.

 Lord Chief Justice

God preserve your majesty.

 Henry V

Why, how now, my lord, what is the matter?

 Lord Chief Justice

I would it were unknown to your majesty.

 Henry V

Why, what ails you?

 Lord Chief Justice

Your majesty knoweth my grief well.

 Henry V

Oh, my lord, you remember you sent me to the Fleet, did you not?

 Lord Chief Justice

I trust your grace have forgotten that.

 Henry V

Ay, truly my lord, and for revengement I have chosen you to be my protector over my realm until it shall please God to give me speedy return out of France.

 Lord Chief Justice

An if it please your majesty, I am far unworthy of so high a dignity.

 Henry V

Tut, my lord, you are not unworthy, because I think you worthy. For you that would not spare me, I think, will not spare another. It must needs be so, and, therefore, come, let us be gone and get our men in a readiness.

 Exeunt omnes.
Scene 10; Video Sc. 10 Enter a Captain, John Cobbler, and his Wife. Captain

Come, come, there’s no remedy. Thou must needs serve the king.

 John

Good Master Captain, let me go. I am not able to go so far.

 Wife

I pray you, good Master Captain, be good to my husband.

 Captain

Why, I am sure he is not too good to serve the king?

 John

Alas, no, but a great deal too bad. Therefore I pray you let me go.

 Captain

No, no, thou shalt go.

 John

Oh, sir, I have a great many shoes at home to cobble.

 Wife

I pray you let him go home again.

 Captain

Tush, I care not. Thou shalt go.

 John

Oh, wife, an you had been a loving wife to me, this had not been, for I have said many times that I would go away, and now I must go against my will.

 He weepeth. Enter Derrick with a pot lid for a shield. Derrick

How now! Ho, basillus manus, for an old codpiece! Master Captain, shall we away? Zounds, how now, John, what, a-crying? What make you and my dame there? To Wife I marvel whose head you will throw the stools at now we are gone.

 Wife

I’ll tell you! Come, ye cloghead, what do you with my pot lid? Hear you, will you have it rapped about your pate?

 She beateth him with her pot lid. Derrick

Oh, good dame!Here he shakes her. An I had my dagger here, I would worry you all to pieces, that I would.

 Wife

Would you so? I’ll try that.

 She beateth him. Derrick

Master Captain, will ye suffer her? Go to, dame! I will go back as far as I can, but, an you come again, I’ll clap the law on your back, that’s flat. I’ll tell you, Master Captain, what you shall do. Press her for a soldier. I warrant you, she will do as much good as her husband and I too. Enter the Thief Cutbert Cutter. Zounds, who comes yonder?

 Captain

How now, good fellow. Dost thou want a master?

 Cutbert Cutter

Ay, truly sir.

 Captain

Hold thee, then. I press thee for a soldier to serve the king in France.

 Derrick

How now, Gads! What, dost know’s, thinkest?

 Cutbert Cutter

Ay, I knew thee long ago.

 Derrick

Hear you, Master Captain?

 Captain

What say’st thou?

 Derrick

I pray you let me go home again.

 Captain

Why, what wouldst thou do at home?

 Derrick

Marry, I have brought two shirts with me, and I would carry one of them home again, for I am sure he’ll steal it from me, he is such a filching fellow.

 Captain

I warrant thee he will not steal it from thee. Come, let’s away.

 Derrick

Come, Master Captain, let’s away. Come, follow me.

 John

Come, wife, let’s part lovingly.

 Wife

Farewell, good husband.

 They embrace tearfully. Derrick

Fie, what a kissing and crying is here! To Wife Zounds, do ye think he will never come again? To John Why, John, come away! Dost think that we are so base-minded to die among Frenchmen? Zounds, we know not whether they will lay us in their church or no. Come, Master Captain, let’s away.

 Captain

I cannot stay no longer, therefore come away.

 Exeunt omnes.
Scene 11 Video Sc. 11 Enter the King Charles VI of France, Prince Dauphin, and Lord High Constable of France. Charles VI

Now, my lord high constable, what say you to our embassage into England?

 Constable

An it please your majesty, I can say nothing until my lords ambassadors be come home, but yet methinks your grace hath done well to get your men in so good a readiness for fear of the worst.

 Charles VI

Ay, my lord, we have some in a readiness, but if the king of England make against us we must have thrice so many more.

 Dauphin

Tut, my lord, although the king of England be young and wild-headed, yet never think he will be so unwise to make battle against the mighty king of France.

 Charles VI

Oh, my son, although the king of England be young and wild-headed, yet never think but he is ruled by his wise counselors.

 Enter Archbishop of Bruges. Bruges

God save the life of my sovereign lord the king.

 Charles VI

Now, my good lord archbishop of Bruges, what news from our brother the English king?

 Bruges

An please your majesty, he is so far from your expectation that nothing will serve him but the crown and kingdom itself. Besides, he bade me haste quickly, lest he be there before me, and, so far as I hear, he hath kept promise, for they say he is already landed at Kidcocks in Normandy, upon the river of Seine, and laid his siege to the garrison town of Harfleur.

 Charles VI

You have made great haste in the meantime, have you not?

 Dauphin

I pray you, my lord, how did the king of England take my presents?

 Bruges

Truly, my lord, in very ill part. For these your balls of leather, he will toss you balls of brass and iron. Trust me, my lord, I was very afraid of him. He is such a haughty and high-minded prince, he is as fierce as a lion.

 Constable

Tush, we will make him as tame as a lamb, I warrant you.

 Enter a Messenger. Messenger

God save the mighty king of France.

 Charles VI

Now, messenger, what news?

 Messenger

An it please your majesty, I come from your poor distressed town of Harfleur, which is so beset on every side, if your majesty do not send present aid the town will be yielded to the English king.

 Charles VI

Come, my lords, come, shall we stand still ’til our country be spoiled under our noses? My lords, let the Normans, Brabants, Pickardies, and Danes be sent for with all speed. And you, my lord high constable, I make general over all my whole army, Monsieur le Cole, Master of the Bows, Signor Devens, and all the rest, at your appointment.

 Dauphin

I trust your majesty will bestow some part of the battle on me. I hope not to present any otherwise than well.

 Charles VI

I tell thee, my son, although I should get the victory, an thou lose thy life, I should think myself quite conquered and the Englishmen to have the victory.

 Dauphin

Why, my lord and father, I would have the petty king of England to know that I dare encounter him in any ground of the world.

 Charles VI

I know well, my son, but at this time I will have it thus. Therefore come away.

 Exeunt omnes.
Scene 12 Video Sc. 12 Enter Henry the Fifth, with his Lords. Henry V

Come, my lords of England, no doubt this good luck of winning this town is a sign of an honorable victory to come. But, good my lord, go and speak to the captains with all speed to number the host of the Frenchmen, and by that means we may the better know how to appoint the battle.

 Exit a Lord. York

An it please your majesty, there are many of your men sick and diseased, and many of them die for want of victuals.

 Henry V

And why did you not tell me of it before? If we cannot have it for money, we will have it by dint of sword. The laws of arms allow no less.

 Oxford

I beseech your grace to grant me a boon.

 Henry V

What is that, my good lord?

 Oxford

That your grace would give me the vanguard in the battle.

 Henry V

Trust me, my lord of Oxford, I cannot, for I have already given it to my uncle the duke of York. Yet I thank you for your good will. A trumpet sounds. How now, what is that?

 York

I think it be some herald of arms.

 Enter a Herald. Herald

King of England, my lord high constable and others of the noblemen of France sends me to defy thee as open enemy to God, our country, and us, and hereupon they presently bid thee battle.

 Henry V

Herald, tell them that I defy them as open enemies to God, my country, and me, and as wrongful usurpers of my right. And whereas thou say’st they presently bid me battle, tell them that I think they know how to please me. But, I pray thee, what place hath my lord Prince Dauphin here in battle?

 Herald

An it please your grace, my lord and king his father will not let him come into the field.

 Henry V

Why, then, he doth me great injury. I thought that he and I should have played at tennis together. Therefore I have brought tennis balls for him, but other manner of ones than he sent me. And, herald, tell my lord Prince Dauphin that I have inured my hands with other kind of weapons than tennis balls ere this time o’ day and that he shall find it ere it be long. And so adieu, my friend, and tell my lord that I am ready when he will. Exit Herald. Come, my lords, I care not an I go to our captains, and I’ll see the number of the French army myself. Strike up the drum.

 A drum strikes. Exeunt omnes.
Scene 13 Video Sc. 13 Enter French Soldiers. 1 French Soldier

Come away, Jack Drummer, come away all, and me will tell you what me will do. Me will tro one chance on the dice, who shall have the king of England and his lords.

 2 French Soldier

Come away, Jack Drummer, and tro your chance, and lay down your drum.

 Enter Drummer. Drummer

Oh, the brave apparel that the Englishmans hay broth over! I will tell you what me ha’ done, me ha’ provided a hundreth trunks, and all to put the fine ’parel of the Englishmans in.

 1 French Soldier

What do thou mean by trunk, eh?

 2 French Soldier

A shest, man, a hundred shests.

 1 French Soldier

Awee, awee, awee. Me will tell you what, me ha’ put five shildren out of my house, and all too little to put the fine apparel of the Englishmans in.

 Drummer

Oh, the brave, the brave apparel that we shall have anon. But come, and you shall see what me will tro at the king’s Drummer and Fife. He throws dice. Ha, me ha’ no good luck! Tro you.

 3 French Soldier

Faith, me will tro at the earl of Northumberland and my lord of Willoughby, with his great horse, snorting, farting - oh, brave horse!

 He throws dice. 1 French Soldier

Ha, by’r Lady you ha’ reasonable good luck. Now I will tro at the king himself. He throws dice. Ha, me have no good luck.

 Enter a Captain. Captain

How now, what make you here, so far from the camp?

 2 French Soldier

Shall me tell our captain what we have done here?

 Drummer

Awee, awee.

 Exeunt Drummer, and one Soldier. 2 French Soldier

I will tell you what we have done. We have been troing our shance on the dice, but none can win the king.

 Captain

I think so. Why, he is left behind for me, and I have set three or four chair-makers a-work to make a new disguised chair to set that womanly king of England in, that all the people may laugh and scoff at him.

 2 French Soldier

O brave captain!

 Captain

I am glad, and yet with a kind of pity, to see the poor king. Why, whoever saw a more flourishing army in France in one day than here is? Are not here all the peers of France? Are not here the Normans with their fiery handguns and slaunching curtle-axes? Are not here the Barbarians with their bard horses and launching spears? Are not here Pickards with their cross-bows and piercing darts? The Hainuyers with their cutting glaives and sharp carbuncles? Are not here the lance-knights of Burgundy? And on the other side, a sight of poor English scabs? Why, take an Englishman out of his warm bed and his stale drink but one month and, alas, what will become of him? But give the Frenchman a radish root and he will live with it all the days of his life.

 Exit Captain. 2 French Soldier

Oh, the brave apparel that we shall have of the Englishmans!

 Exit 2 Soldier.
Scene 14 Video Sc. 14 Enter the King of England and his Lords. Henry V

Come, my lords and fellows of arms, what company is there of the Frenchmen?

 Oxford

An it please your majesty, our captains have numbered them, and, so near as they can judge, they are about threescore thousand horsemen and forty thousand footmen.

 Henry V

They threescore thousand, and we but two thousand. They forty thousand footmen, and we twelve thousand. They are a hundred thousand, and we fourteen thousand: ten to one. My lords and loving countrymen, though we be few and they many, fear not. Your quarrel is good, and God will defend you. Pluck up your hearts, for this day we shall either have a valiant victory or an honorable death. Now, my lords, I will that my uncle the duke of York have the vanguard in the battle. The earl of Derby, the earl of Oxford, the earl of Kent, the earl of Nottingham, the earl of Huntington, I will have beside the army, that they may come fresh upon them. And I myself with the duke of Bedford, the duke of Clarence, and the duke of Gloucester will be in the midst of the battle. Furthermore, I will that my lord of Willoughby and the earl of Northumberland with their troops of horsemen be continually running like wings on both sides of the army, my lord of Northumberland on the left wing. Then I will that every archer provide him a stake of a tree and sharp it at both ends and, at the first encounter of the horsemen, to pitch their stakes down into the ground before them, that they may gore themselves upon them, and then to recoil back and shoot wholly altogether and so discomfit them.

 Oxford

An it please your majesty, I will take that in charge, if your grace be therewith content.

 Henry V

With all my heart, my good lord of Oxford, and go and provide quickly.

 Oxford

I thank your highness.

 Exit Oxford. Henry V

Well, my lords, our battles are ordained, and the French making of bonfires and at their banquets. But let them look, for I mean to set upon them. The trumpet sounds. Soft, here comes some other French message.

 Enter Herald. Herald

King of England, my lord high constable and other of my lords, considering the poor estate of thee and thy poor countrymen, send me to know what thou wilt give for thy ransom. Perhaps thou mayst agree better cheap now than when thou art conquered.

 Henry V

Why, then belike your high constable sends to know what I will give for my ransom? Now, trust me, herald, not so much as a tun of tennis balls. No, not so much as one poor tennis ball. Rather shall my body lie dead in the field to feed crows than ever England shall pay one penny ransom for my body.

 Herald

A kingly resolution.

 Henry V

No, herald, ’tis a kingly resolution and the resolution of a king. Here, take this for thy pains. Henry V gives the Herald coins. Exit Herald. But stay, my lords. What time is it?

 All

Prime, my lord.

 Henry V

Then is it good time, no doubt, for all England prayeth for us. What, my lords, methinks you look cheerfully upon me? Why, then, with one voice and like true English hearts, with me throw up your caps and for England cry Saint George!—and God and Saint George help us!

 Strike Drummer. Exeunt omnes.
Scene 15 Video Sc. 15 The Frenchmen cry within, Saint Denis, Saint Denis, Montjoy, Saint Denis! The Battle.
Scene 16 Video Sc. 16 Enter King of England, and his Lords. Henry V

Come, my lords, come. By this time our swords are almost drunk with French blood. But, my lords, which of you can tell me how many of our army be slain in the battle?

 Oxford

An it please your majesty, there are of the French army slain above ten thousand twenty-six hundred, whereof are princes and nobles bearing banners. Besides, all the nobility of France are taken prisoners. Of your majesty’s army are slain none but the good duke of York and not above five or six and twenty common soldiers.

 Henry V

For the good duke of York my uncle I am heartily sorry and greatly lament his misfortune, yet the honorable victory which the Lord hath given us doth make me much rejoice. But stay, here comes another French message.

 Sound trumpet. Enter a Herald and kneeleth. Herald

God save the life of the most mighty conqueror, the honorable king of England.

 Henry V

Now, herald, methinks the world is changed with you now. What, I am sure it is a great disgrace for a herald to kneel to the king of England. What is thy message?

 Herald

My lord and master, the conquered king of France, sends thee long health with hearty greeting.

 Henry V

Herald, his greetings are welcome, but I thank God for my health. Well, herald, say on.

 Herald

He hath sent me to desire your majesty to give him leave to go into the field to view his poor countrymen, that they may all be honorably buried.

 Henry V

Why, herald, doth thy lord and master send to me to bury the dead? Let him bury them, in God’s name. But I pray thee, herald, where is my lord high constable and those that would have had my ransom?

 Herald

An it please your majesty, he was slain in the battle.

 Henry V

Why, you may see, you will make yourselves sure before the victory be won. But, herald, what castle is this so near adjoining to our camp?

 Herald

An it please your majesty, ’tis called the Castle of Agincourt.

 Henry V

Well then, my lords of England, for the more honor of our Englishmen, I will that this be forever called the Battle of Agincourt.

 Herald

An it please your majesty, I have a further message to deliver to your majesty.

 Henry V

What is that, herald? Say on.

 Herald

An it please your majesty, my lord and master craves to parley with your majesty.

 Henry V

With a good will, so some of my nobles view the place, for fear of treachery and treason.

 Herald

Your grace needs not to doubt that.

 Henry V

Well, tell him then, I will come. Exit Herald. Now, my lords, I will go into the field myself to view my countrymen and to have them honorably buried, for the French king shall never surpass me in courtesy while I am Harry king of England. Come on, my lords.

 Exeunt omnes.
Scene 17 Video Sc. 17 Enter John Cobbler, and Robin Pewterer. Robin

Now, John Cobbler, didst thou see how the king did behave himself?

 John

But, Robin, didst thou see what a policy the king had? To see how the Frenchmen were killed with the stakes of the trees!

 Robin

Ay, John, there was a brave policy.

 Enter an English Soldier, roaming. English Soldier

What are you, my masters?

 John and Robin

Why, we be Englishmen.

 English Soldier

Are you Englishmen? Then change your language, for the king’s tents are set afire, and all they that speak English will be killed.

 Exit Soldier. John

What shall we do, Robin? Faith, I’ll shift, for I can speak broken French.

 Robin

Faith, so can I. Let’s hear how thou canst speak.

 John

Commodevales, Monsieur.

Robin

That’s well. Come, let’s be gone.

 Drum and trumpet sound. Exit John and Robin.
Scene 18 Video Sc. 18 Enter Derrick roaming. After him a Frenchman, and takes him Derrick prisoner. Derrick

O good Mounser.

 Frenchman

Come, come, you vigliacco.

 Derrick

Oh, I will, sir, I will.

 Frenchman

Come quickly, you peasant.

 Derrick

I will, sir. What shall I give you?

 Frenchman

Marry, thou shalt give me one, two, tre, four hundred crowns.

 Derrick

Nay, sir, I will give you more. I will give you as many crowns as will lie on your sword.

 Frenchman

Wilt thou give me as many crowns as will lie on my sword?

 Derrick

Ay, marry will I. Ay, but you must lay down your sword, or else they will not lie on your sword.

 Here the Frenchman lays down his sword, and the clown Derrick takes it up and hurls him down. Derrick

Thou villain, darest thou look up?

 Frenchman

O good Monsieur, comparteve. Monsieur, pardon me.

 Derrick

O you villain, now you lie at my mercy, dost thou remember since thou lammst me in thy short ell? O villain, now I will strike off thy head.

 Here while he Derrick turns his back the Frenchman runs his ways. Derrick

What, is he gone? Mass, I am glad of it, for if he had stayed I was afraid he would have stirred again, and then I should have been spilt. But I will away to kill more Frenchmen.

 Exit Derrick.
Scene 19 Video Sc. 19 Enter King of France, King of England, Secretary, and attendants. Henry V

Now, my good brother of France, my coming into this land was not to shed blood but for the right of my country, which, if you can deny, I am content peaceably to leave my siege and to depart out of your land.

 Charles VI

What is it you demand, my loving brother of England?

 Henry V

My secretary hath it written. To Secretary Read it.

 Secretary

Item, that immediately Henry of England be crowned king of France.

 Charles VI

A very hard sentence, my good brother of England.

 Henry V

No more but right, my good brother of France.

 Charles VI

Well, read on.

 Secretary

Item, that after the death of the said Henry, the crown remain to him and his heirs forever.

 Charles VI

Why, then, you do not only mean to dispossess me but also my son.

 Henry V

Why, my good brother of France, you have had it long enough, and, as for Prince Dauphin, it skills not though he sit beside the saddle. Thus I have set it down, and thus it shall be.

 Charles VI

You are very peremptory, my good brother of England.

 Henry V

And you as perverse, my good brother of France.

 Charles VI

Why, then, belike all that I have here is yours.

 Henry V

Ay, even as far as the kingdom of France reaches.

 Charles VI

Ay, for by this hot beginning we shall scarce bring it to a calm ending.

 Henry V

It is as you please. Here is my resolution.

 Charles VI

Well, my brother of England, if you will give me a copy we will meet you again tomorrow.

 Henry V

With a good will, my good brother of France. Secretary, deliver him a copy. Exit King of France, and all their attendants. My lords of England, go before, and I will follow you.

 Exeunt Lords. Speaks to himself. Henry V

Ah Harry, thrice-unhappy Harry! Hast thou now conquered the French king and begin’st a fresh supply with his daughter? But with what face canst thou seek to gain her love, which hath sought to win her father’s crown? Her father’s crown, said I? No, it is mine own. Ay, but I love her and must crave her. Nay, I love her and will have her. Enter Lady Katherine and her Ladies. But here she comes. How now, fair Lady Katherine of France, what news?

 Katherine

An it please your majesty, my father sent me to know if you will debate any of these unreasonable demands which you require.

 Henry V

Now trust me, Kate, I commend thy father’s wit greatly in this, for none in the world could sooner have made me debate it if it were possible. But tell me, sweet Kate, canst thou tell how to love?

 Katherine

I cannot hate, my good lord, therefore far unfit were it for me to love.

 Henry V

Tush, Kate. But tell me in plain terms, canst thou love the king of England? I cannot do as these countries do that spend half their time in wooing. Tush, wench, I am none such. But wilt thou go over to England?

 Katherine

I would to God that I had your majesty as fast in love as you have my father in wars. I would not vouchsafe so much as one look until you had debated all these unreasonable demands.

 Henry V

Tush, Kate, I know thou wouldst not use me so hardly. But tell me, canst thou love the king of England?

 Katherine

How should I love him that hath dealt so hardly with my father?

 Henry V

But I’ll deal as easily with thee as thy heart can imagine or tongue can require. How say’st thou? What will it be?

 Katherine

If I were of my own direction, I could give you answer. But seeing I stand at my father’s direction, I must first know his will.

 Henry V

But shall I have thy good will in the mean season?

 Katherine

Whereas I can put your grace in no assurance, I would be loath to put you in any despair.

 Henry V

Now before God, it is a sweet wench.

 She goes aside, and speaks as followeth. Katherine

I may think myself the happiest in the world, that is beloved of the mighty king of England.

 Henry V

Well, Kate, are you at host with me? Sweet Kate, tell thy father from me that none in the world could sooner have persuaded me to it than thou, and so tell thy father from me.

 Katherine

God keep your majesty in good health.

 Exit Katherine of France and her Ladies. Henry V

Farewell, sweet Kate! In faith, it is a sweet wench, but, if I knew I could not have her father’s good will, I would so rouse the towers over his ears that I would make him be glad to bring her me upon his hands and knees.

 Exit King.
Scene 20 Video Sc. 20 Enter Derrick, with his girdle full of shoes. Derrick

How now? Zounds, it did me good to see how I did triumph over the Frenchmen.

 Enter John Cobbler roving, with a pack full of apparel. John

Whoop, Derick! How dost thou?

 Derrick

What, John! Comedevales! Alive yet?

 John

I promise thee, Derrick, I scaped hardly, for I was within half a mile when one was killed.

 Derrick

Were you so?

 John

Ay, trust me, I had like been slain.

 Derrick

But once killed, why, it is nothing! I was four or five times slain.

 John

Four or five times slain! Why, how couldst thou have been alive now?

 Derrick

Oh, John, never say so, for I was called the bloody soldier amongst them all.

 John

Why, what didst thou?

 Derrick

Why, I will tell thee, John. Every day when I went into the field I would take a straw and thrust it into my nose and make my nose bleed, and then I would go into the field, and when the captain saw me he would say, Peace, a bloody soldier, and bid me stand aside, whereof I was glad. But mark the chance, John. I went and stood behind a tree—but mark then, John. I thought I had been safe, but on a sudden there steps to me a lusty tall Frenchman. Now he drew, and I drew. Now I lay here, and he lay there. Now I set this leg before, and turned this backward, and skipped quite over a hedge, and he saw me no more there that day. And was not this well done, John?

 John

Mass, Derick, thou hast a witty head.

 Derrick

Ay, John, thou mayst see, if thou hadst taken my counsel—but what hast thou there? I think thou hast been robbing the Frenchmen.

 John

Ay, faith, Derrick, I have gotten some reparel to carry home to my wife.

 Derrick

And I have got some shoes, for I’ll tell thee what I did. When they were dead, I would go take off all their shoes.

 John

Ay, but Derrick, how shall we get home?

 Derrick

Nay, zounds, an they take thee they will hang thee. O John, never do so. If it be thy fortune to be hanged, be hanged in thy own language whatsoever thou dost.

 John

Why, Derrick, the wars is done. We may go home now.

 Derrick

Ay, but you may not go before you ask the king leave. But I know a way to go home and ask the king no leave.

 John

How is that, Derrick?

 Derrick

Why, John, thou knowest the duke of York’s funeral must be carried into England, dost thou not?

 John

Ay, that I do.

 Derrick

Why, then, thou knowest we’ll go with it.

 John

Ay, but Derrick, how shall we do for to meet them?

 Derrick

Zounds, if I make not shift to meet them, hang me. Sirrah, thou know’st that in every town there will be ringing and there will be cakes and drink. Now, I will go to the clerk and sexton and keep a-talking, and say, Oh, this fellow rings well, and thou shalt go and take a piece of cake. Then I’ll ring, and thou shalt say, Oh, this fellow keeps a good stint, and then I will go drink to thee all the way. But I marvel what my dame will say when we come home, because we have not a French word to cast at a dog by the way.

 John

Why, what shall we do, Derrick?

 Derrick

Why, John, I’ll go before and call my dame whore, and thou shalt come after and set fire on the house. We may do it, John, for I’ll prove it, because we be soldiers.

 The trumpets sound. John

Derrick, help me to carry my shoes and boots.

 Exeunt Derrick and John.
Scene 21 Video Sc. 21 Enter King of England, Lords of Oxford and Exeter, then the King of France, Prince Dauphin, and the duke of Burgundy, Katherine, Secretary, and attendants. Henry V

Now, my good brother of France, I hope by this time you have deliberated of your answer?

 Charles VI

Ay, my well-beloved brother of England, we have viewed it over with our learned counsel but cannot find that you should be crowned king of France.

 Henry V

What, not king of France? Then nothing. I must be king. But, my loving brother of France, I can hardly forget the late injuries offered me when I came last to parley. The Frenchmen had better ha’ raked the bowels out of their fathers’ carcasses than to have fired my tents, and, if I knew thy son Prince Dauphin for one, I would so rouse him as he was never so roused.

 Charles VI

I dare swear for my son’s innocency in this matter. But, if this please you, that immediately you be proclaimed and crowned Heir and Regent of France, not king, because I myself was once crowned king.

 Henry V

Heir and Regent of France. That is well, but that is not all that I must have.

 Charles VI

The rest my secretary hath in writing.

 Secretary

Item, that Henry king of England be crowned Heir and Regent of France during the life of King Charles and, after his death, the crown, with all rights, to remain to King Henry of England and to his heirs forever.

 Henry V

Well, my good brother of France, there is one thing I must needs desire.

 Charles VI

What is that, my good brother of England?

 Henry V

That all your nobles must be sworn to be true to me.

 Charles VI

Whereas they have not stuck with greater matters, I know they will not stick with such a trifle. Begin you, my lord duke of Burgundy.

 Henry V

Come, my lord of Burgundy, take your oath upon my sword.

 Burgundy

I, Philip duke of Burgundy, swear to Henry king of England to be true to him and to become his liege man, and that if I, Philip, hear of any foreign power coming to invade the said Henry or his heirs, then I the said Philip to send him word and aid him with all the power I can make. And thereunto I take my oath.

 He kisseth the sword. Henry V

Come, Prince Dauphin, you must swear too.

 He the Prince Dauphin kisseth the sword. Henry V

Well, my brother of France, there is one thing more I must needs require of you.

 Charles VI

Wherein is it that we may satisfy your majesty?

 Henry V

A trifle, my good brother of France. I mean to make your daughter queen of England, if she be willing and you therewith content. How say’st thou, Kate? Canst thou love the king of England?

 Katherine

How should I love thee, which is my father’s enemy?

 Henry V

Tut, stand not upon these points. ’Tis you must make us friends. I know, Kate, thou art not a little proud that I love thee. What, wench, the king of England?

 Charles VI

Daughter, let nothing stand betwixt the king of England and thee. Agree to it.

 Katherine

Aside I had best whilst he is willing, lest when I would, he will not. I rest at your majesty’s command.

 Henry V

Welcome, sweet Kate. But, my brother of France, what say you to it?

 Charles VI

With all my heart I like it. But when shall be your wedding day?

 Henry V

The first Sunday of the next month, God willing.

 Sound trumpets. Exeunt omnes.