King John & Henry VIII (9 page)

KING JOHN
    Speak on with
favour
: we are
bent
⁴³⁰
to hear.

CITIZEN
    That daughter there of Spain, the lady Blanche,

    Is niece to England: look upon the
years
⁴³²

    Of Lewis the dauphin and that lovely maid.

    If
lusty
⁴³⁴
love should go in quest of beauty,

    Where should he find it fairer than in Blanche?

    If zealous love should go in search of virtue,

    Where should he find it purer than in Blanche?

    If love ambitious sought a match of
birth
⁴³⁸
,

    Whose veins
bound
⁴³⁹
richer blood than Lady Blanche?

    Such as she is, in beauty, virtue, birth,

    Is the young dauphin every way
complete
⁴⁴¹
:

    
If not
complete of
⁴⁴²
, say he is not she:

    And she again
wants
⁴⁴³
nothing, to name want,

    
If want it be not that she is not he
⁴⁴⁴
:

    He is the half part of a blessèd man,

    Left to be
finishèd
⁴⁴⁶
by such as she:

    And she a fair
divided
⁴⁴⁷
excellence,

    Whose fullness of perfection lies in him.

    O, two such silver currents when they join

    Do glorify the banks that bound them in:

    And two such shores to two such streams made one,

    Two such controlling
bounds
⁴⁵²
shall you be, kings,

    To these two
princes
⁴⁵³
, if you marry them:

    This union shall do more than
battery
⁴⁵⁴
can

    To our
fast-closèd
gates: for at this
match
⁴⁵⁵
,

    With swifter
spleen
than
powder
⁴⁵⁶
can enforce,

    The
mouth of passage
shall we fling wide
ope
⁴⁵⁷
,

    And give you entrance: but without this match,

    The sea enragèd is not half so deaf,

    Lions more confident, mountains and rocks

    More free from motion, no, not Death himself

    In
mortal
fury half so
peremptory
⁴⁶²
,

    As we to keep this city.

BASTARD
    Here’s a
stay
⁴⁶⁴

    That shakes the rotten carcass of old Death

    Out of his rags. Here’s a large mouth, indeed,

    That spits forth death and mountains, rocks and seas,

    Talks as familiarly of roaring lions

    As maids of thirteen do of puppy-dogs.

    What cannoneer begot this
lusty blood
⁴⁷⁰
?

    He speaks
plain cannon
: fire, and smoke, and
bounce
⁴⁷¹
:

    
He gives the
bastinado
⁴⁷²
with his tongue:

    Our ears are cudgelled: not a word of his

    But
buffets
⁴⁷⁴
better than a fist of France:

    
Zounds
! I was never so
bethumped
⁴⁷⁵
with words

    
Since I first called my brother’s father dad
⁴⁷⁶
.

QUEEN ELINOR
    Son,
list
to this
conjunction
⁴⁷⁷
, make this match,

    Give with our niece a dowry large enough:

    For, by this knot, thou shalt so surely tie

    Thy now
unsured
⁴⁸⁰
assurance to the crown

    That
yon
green
boy
shall have no
sun
⁴⁸¹
to ripe

    The bloom that promiseth a mighty fruit.

    I see a yielding in the looks of France:

    
Mark
⁴⁸⁴
how they whisper: urge them while their souls

    Are
capable of
⁴⁸⁵
this ambition,

    Lest
zeal
⁴⁸⁶
, now melted by the windy breath

    Of
soft petitions
, pity and
remorse
⁴⁸⁷
,

    Cool and congeal again to what it was.

CITIZEN
    Why answer not the double majesties

    This friendly
treaty
⁴⁹⁰
of our threatened town?

KING PHILIP
    Speak England first, that hath been
forward
⁴⁹¹
first

    To speak unto this city: what say you?

KING JOHN
    If that the dauphin there, thy princely son,

    Can
in this book of beauty read ‘I love’
⁴⁹⁴
,

    Her dowry shall weigh equal with a queen:

    For
Anjou
⁴⁹⁶
and fair Touraine, Maine, Poitiers,

    And all that we upon this side
the
⁴⁹⁷
sea —

    Except this city now by us besieged —

    Find
liable
⁴⁹⁹
to our crown and dignity,

    Shall gild her bridal bed and make her rich

    
In titles, honours, and
promotions
⁵⁰¹
,

    As she in beauty, education, blood,

    
Holds hand with
⁵⁰³
any princess of the world.

KING PHILIP
    What say’st thou, boy? Look in the lady’s face.

LEWIS
    I do, my lord, and in her eye I find

    A wonder, or a wondrous miracle,

    The
shadow
⁵⁰⁷
of myself formed in her eye:

    Which, being but the shadow of your
son
⁵⁰⁸
,

    Becomes a sun and
makes your son a shadow
⁵⁰⁹
:

    I do protest I never loved myself

    Till now
infixèd
⁵¹¹
I beheld myself

    Drawn in the flattering
table
⁵¹²
of her eye.

BASTARD
    
Drawn
⁵¹³
in the flattering table of her eye,

    Hanged in the frowning wrinkle of her brow,

    And
quartered
in her heart, he doth
espy
⁵¹⁵

    Himself love’s traitor: this is pity now,

    That hanged and drawn and quartered there should be

    In such a
love
⁵¹⁸
so vile a lout as he.

BLANCHE
    My uncle’s
will
⁵¹⁹
in this respect is mine:

    If he see
aught
⁵²⁰
in you that makes him like,

    
That anything
⁵²¹
he sees which moves his liking,

    I can with ease
translate
⁵²²
it to my will:

    Or if you will, to speak more
properly
⁵²³
,

    I will
enforce
⁵²⁴
it eas’ly to my love.

    Further I will not flatter you, my lord,

    
That
all I see in you is
worthy
⁵²⁶
love,

    Than this: that nothing do I see in you,

    
Though
churlish
⁵²⁸
thoughts themselves should be your judge,

    That I can find should
merit
⁵²⁹
any hate.

KING JOHN
    What say these young ones? What say you, my niece?

BLANCHE
    That she is bound in honour
still
⁵³¹
to do

    What you in wisdom still
vouchsafe
⁵³²
to say.

KING JOHN
    Speak then, Prince Dauphin, can you love this lady?

LEWIS
    Nay, ask me if I can refrain from love,

    For I do love her most
unfeignedly
⁵³⁵
.

KING JOHN
    Then do I give Volquessen, Touraine, Maine,

    Poitiers and Anjou, these five provinces,

    With her to thee, and this addition more:

    
Full
thirty thousand
marks
⁵³⁹
of English coin.

    Philip of France, if thou be pleased
withal
⁵⁴⁰
,

    Command thy son and daughter to join hands.

KING PHILIP
    It
likes
us well, young princes:
close
⁵⁴²
your hands.

AUSTRIA
    And your lips too, for I am
well assured
⁵⁴³

    That I did so when I was first
assured
⁵⁴⁴
.

KING PHILIP
    Now, citizens of Angiers, ope your gates,

    Let in that amity which you have made,

    For at Saint Mary’s chapel
presently
⁵⁴⁷

    The rites of marriage shall be solemnized.

    Is not the lady Constance in this troop?

    I know she is not, for this match
made up
⁵⁵⁰

    Her presence would have interrupted much.

    Where is she and her son? Tell me,
who
⁵⁵²
knows.

LEWIS
    She is sad and
passionate
⁵⁵³
at your highness’ tent.

KING PHILIP
    And by my faith this league that we have made

    Will give her sadness very little cure.—

    Brother of England, how may we content

    
This widow lady? In her right we came,

    Which we, God knows, have turned another way,

    To our own vantage.

KING JOHN
    We will heal up all,

    For we’ll create young Arthur Duke of Bretagne

    And Earl of Richmond, and this rich fair town

    We make him lord of. Call the lady Constance:

    Some speedy messenger bid her
repair
⁵⁶⁴

    To our
solemnity
⁵⁶⁵
: I trust we shall,

    If not fill up the
measure
⁵⁶⁶
of her will,

    Yet in some
measure
⁵⁶⁷
satisfy her so

    That we shall stop her
exclamation
⁵⁶⁸
.

    Go we as well as haste will
suffer
⁵⁶⁹
us

    To this unlooked-for, unpreparèd
pomp
⁵⁷⁰
.

BASTARD
    Mad world, mad kings, mad
composition
⁵⁷¹
!

    John, to stop Arthur’s
title in the whole
⁵⁷²
,

    Hath willingly
departed
⁵⁷³
with a part,

    And France, whose armour conscience buckled on,

    Whom zeal and charity brought to the field

    As God’s own soldier,
rounded
⁵⁷⁶
in the ear

    
With
⁵⁷⁷
that same purpose-changer, that sly devil,

    That
broker
that still
breaks
the
pate
of
faith
⁵⁷⁸
,

    That daily break-vow, he that
wins
⁵⁷⁹
of all,

    Of kings, of beggars, old men, young men, maids,

    
Who
having no external
thing
⁵⁸¹
to lose

    But the word
‘maid’
⁵⁸²
, cheats the poor maid of that:

    That
smooth-faced
gentleman,
tickling
commodity
⁵⁸³
,

    
Commodity, the
bias
⁵⁸⁴
of the world,

    The world who of itself is
peisèd
⁵⁸⁵
well,

    Made to run
even
⁵⁸⁶
upon even ground,

    Till this advantage, this
vile-drawing
⁵⁸⁷
bias,

    This
sway
⁵⁸⁸
of motion, this commodity,

    Makes it
take head from
all
indifferency
⁵⁸⁹
,

    From all direction, purpose, course, intent:

    And this same bias, this commodity,

    This
bawd
, this broker, this
all-changing
⁵⁹²
word,

    
Clapped on
the
outward eye
⁵⁹³
of fickle France,

    Hath drawn him from his own
determined
aid
⁵⁹⁴
,

    From a
resolved
⁵⁹⁵
and honourable war,

    To a most
base
⁵⁹⁶
and vile-concluded peace.

    And why
rail I on
⁵⁹⁷
this commodity?

    
But for
⁵⁹⁸
because he hath not wooed me yet:

    Not that I have the power to
clutch
⁵⁹⁹
my hand,

    When his fair
angels
would
salute
⁶⁰⁰
my palm;

    But
for
my hand, as
unattempted
⁶⁰¹
yet,

    Like a poor beggar, raileth on the rich.

    Well, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail,

    And say there is no sin but to be rich:

    And being rich, my virtue then shall be

    To say there is no vice but beggary:

    Since kings break faith
upon
⁶⁰⁷
commodity,

    Gain be my lord, for I will worship thee.