King John & Henry VIII (7 page)

    
Look here upon thy brother
Geoffrey’s
⁹⁹
face:

    These eyes, these brows, were moulded out of his;

    This little
abstract
¹⁰¹
doth contain that large

    Which died in Geoffrey, and the hand of time

    Shall draw this
brief
¹⁰³
into as huge a volume:

    That Geoffrey was thy elder brother born,

    And this his son: England was Geoffrey’s right,

    And this is Geoffrey’s in the name of God:

    How comes it then that thou art called a king,

    When living blood doth in these temples beat

    Which
owe
¹⁰⁹
the crown that thou o’ermasterest?

KING JOHN
    From whom hast thou this great
commission
¹¹⁰
, France,

    To draw my answer from thy
articles
¹¹¹
?

KING PHILIP
    From that
supernal judge
¹¹²
that stirs good thoughts

    In any breast of strong authority,

    To look into the blots and stains of right:

    That judge hath made me guardian to this boy,

    Under whose warrant I
impeach
¹¹⁶
thy wrong,

    And by whose help I mean to chastise it.

KING JOHN
    
Alack
¹¹⁸
, thou dost usurp authority.

KING PHILIP
    
Excuse it is to beat usurping down
¹¹⁹
.

QUEEN ELINOR
    Who is it thou dost call usurper, France?

CONSTANCE
    Let me make answer: thy usurping son.

QUEEN ELINOR
    
Out
¹²²
, insolent! Thy bastard shall be king,

    That thou mayst be a queen, and
check
¹²³
the world.

CONSTANCE
    My bed was ever to thy son as true

    As thine was to thy husband, and this boy

    
Liker in feature
¹²⁶
to his father Geoffrey

    Than thou and John,
in manners
¹²⁷
being as like

    As rain to water, or devil to his
dam
¹²⁸
.

    
My boy a bastard? By my soul I think

    
His father never was so true begot
¹³⁰
:

    It cannot be,
an if
¹³¹
thou wert his mother.

QUEEN ELINOR
    There’s a good mother, boy, that
blots
¹³²
thy father.

CONSTANCE
    There’s a good
grandam
, boy, that would
blot
¹³³
thee.

AUSTRIA
    Peace!

BASTARD
    Hear the
crier
¹³⁵
.

AUSTRIA
    What the devil art thou?

BASTARD
    One that will
play the devil
¹³⁷
, sir, with you,

    
An a
may
catch
your
hide
¹³⁸
and you alone:

    You are the
hare of whom the proverb goes
¹³⁹
,

    Whose valour plucks dead lions by the beard.

    I’ll
smoke
your skin-coat
an
¹⁴¹
I catch you right:

    Sirrah,
look to’t
¹⁴²
: i’faith I will, i’faith.

BLANCHE
    O, well did he
become
¹⁴³
that lion’s robe

    That did disrobe the lion of that robe.

BASTARD
    It lies as
sightly
¹⁴⁵
on the back of him

    As great
Alcides’
¹⁴⁶
shoes upon an ass:

    But, ass, I’ll take that burden from your back,

    Or
lay on that
¹⁴⁸
shall make your shoulders crack.

AUSTRIA
    What
cracker
is this same that
deafs
¹⁴⁹
our ears

    With this abundance of superfluous breath?

KING PHILIP
    Lewis, determine what we shall do
straight
¹⁵¹
.

LEWIS
    Women and fools, break off your conference.

    King John, this is the
very sum
¹⁵³
of all:

    England and Ireland, Anjou, Touraine, Maine,

    In right of Arthur do I claim of thee:

    Wilt thou resign them and lay down thy arms?

KING JOHN
    My life as soon: I do defy thee, France.

    Arthur of
Bretagne
¹⁵⁸
, yield thee to my hand,

    And out of my dear love I’ll give thee more

    Than e’er the coward hand of France can win.

    Submit thee, boy.

QUEEN ELINOR
    Come to thy grandam, child.

CONSTANCE
    Do, child, go to
it
¹⁶³
grandam, child:

    Give grandam kingdom, and it grandam will

    Give it a plum, a cherry, and a
fig
¹⁶⁵
:

    There’s a good grandam.

ARTHUR
    Good my mother, peace.

    I would that I were low laid in my grave:

    I am not worth this
coil
¹⁶⁹
that’s made for me.

QUEEN ELINOR
    His mother
shames
¹⁷⁰
him so, poor boy, he weeps.

CONSTANCE
    Now shame upon you, whe’er she does or no:

    His grandam’s wrongs, and not his mother’s shames,

    Draws those heaven-moving
pearls
¹⁷³
from his poor eyes,

    Which heaven shall take
in nature of a fee
¹⁷⁴
:

    Ay, with these crystal
beads
¹⁷⁵
heaven shall be bribed

    To do him justice and revenge on you.

QUEEN ELINOR
    Thou
monstrous
¹⁷⁷
slanderer of heaven and earth!

CONSTANCE
    Thou monstrous injurer of heaven and earth,

    Call not me slanderer: thou and thine usurp

    The
dominations
,
royalties
¹⁸⁰
, and rights

    Of this oppressed boy: this is thy
eldest son’s son
¹⁸¹
,

    
Infortunate
¹⁸²
in nothing but in thee:

    Thy sins are
visited
¹⁸³
in this poor child:

    The
canon of the law
¹⁸⁴
is laid on him,

    Being
but
¹⁸⁵
the second generation

    
Removèd
¹⁸⁶
from thy sin-conceiving womb.

KING JOHN
    
Bedlam
¹⁸⁷
, have done.

CONSTANCE
    I have but this to say:

    That he is not only plaguèd for her sin,

    But God hath made
her sin
¹⁹⁰
and her the plague

    On this
removèd issue
, plagued
for
¹⁹¹
her,

    And with her plague her sin:
his injury
¹⁹²

    Her injury the
beadle
¹⁹³
to her sin,

    All punished in the person of this child,

    And all
for
¹⁹⁵
her: a plague upon her!

QUEEN ELINOR
    Thou
unadvisèd
¹⁹⁶
scold, I can produce

    A will that bars the
title
¹⁹⁷
of thy son.

CONSTANCE
    Ay, who doubts that? A will: a wicked will,

    A woman’s
will
, a
cankered
¹⁹⁹
grandam’s will!

KING PHILIP
    Peace, lady: pause, or be more
temperate
²⁰⁰
:

    It ill
beseems
this
presence
to
cry aim
²⁰¹

    To these
ill-tunèd
repetitions
²⁰²
.

    Some
trumpet
²⁰³
summon hither to the walls

    These men of Angiers: let us hear them speak

    Whose title they
admit
²⁰⁵
, Arthur’s or John’s.

CITIZEN
    Who is it that hath
warned
²⁰⁶
us to the walls?

KING PHILIP
    ’Tis
France, for England
²⁰⁷
.

KING JOHN
    England for itself:

    You men of Angiers, and my loving subjects—

KING PHILIP
    You loving men of Angiers, Arthur’s subjects,

    Our trumpet called you to this
gentle
parle
²¹¹
—

KING JOHN
    For our advantage; therefore hear us first:

    These flags of France that are
advancèd
²¹³
here

    Before the eye and
prospect
²¹⁴
of your town,

    
Have hither marched to your
endamagement
²¹⁵
.

    The cannons have their
bowels
²¹⁶
full of wrath,

    And ready mounted are they to spit forth

    Their iron indignation gainst your walls:

    All preparation for a bloody siege

    And merciless proceeding by these French

    Confronts your city’s eyes, your winking gates:

    And but for our approach, those sleeping
stones
²²²
,

    That as a
waist
²²³
doth girdle you about,

    By the compulsion of their
ordinance
²²⁴

    By this time from their fixèd beds of
lime
²²⁵

    Had been
dishabited
²²⁶
, and wide havoc made

    For
bloody power
²²⁷
to rush upon your peace.

    But on the sight of us your lawful king,

    Who painfully with
much expedient
²²⁹
march

    Have brought a
countercheck
²³⁰
before your gates,

    To save unscratched your city’s threatened cheeks,

    Behold, the French,
amazed
,
vouchsafe
²³²
a parle:

    And now instead of
bullets
²³³
wrapped in fire

    To make a shaking fever in your walls,

    They shoot but calm words,
folded up in smoke
²³⁵
,

    To make a
faithless error
²³⁶
in your ears,

    Which trust
accordingly
²³⁷
, kind citizens,

    And let us in. Your king, whose
laboured
²³⁸
spirits,

    
Forwearied
²³⁹
in this action of swift speed,

    Craves
harbourage
²⁴⁰
within your city walls.

KING PHILIP
    When I have
said
²⁴¹
, make answer to us both.

    
Lo
²⁴²
, in this right hand, whose protection

    Is most divinely vowed upon the
right
²⁴³

    
Of him it holds, stands young Plantagenet,

    Son to the elder brother of this man,

    And king o’er him and all that he
enjoys
²⁴⁶
:

    
For
this
downtrodden equity
, we
tread
²⁴⁷

    In warlike march these
greens
²⁴⁸
before your town,

    Being no further enemy to you

    Than the
constraint
²⁵⁰
of hospitable zeal

    In the relief of this oppressèd child

    Religiously provokes. Be pleasèd then

    To pay that duty which you truly owe

    To him that
owes
²⁵⁴
it, namely this young prince:

    And then our arms, like to a muzzled bear,

    
Save
in
aspect
, hath all
offence
sealed up
²⁵⁶
:

    Our cannons’ malice vainly shall be
spent
²⁵⁷

    Against th’invulnerable clouds of heaven,

    And with a blessèd and
unvexed
retire
²⁵⁹
,

    With
unhacked
²⁶⁰
swords and helmets all unbruised,

    We will bear home that
lusty
²⁶¹
blood again

    Which here we came to spout against your town,

    And leave your children, wives, and you in peace.

    But if you
fondly
pass
²⁶⁴
our proffered offer,

    ’Tis not the
roundure
²⁶⁵
of your old-faced walls

    Can hide you from our
messengers of war
²⁶⁶
,

    
Though
all these English and their
discipline
²⁶⁷

    Were harboured in their
rude
²⁶⁸
circumference:

    Then tell us, shall your city call us lord,

    
In that behalf which
²⁷⁰
we have challenged it?

    Or shall we give the signal to our rage,

    And stalk in blood to our possession?