The Second Part of Henry the Fourth (Illustrated) E-Book

William Shakespeare

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

The play picks up where Henry IV, Part One left off. Its focus is on Prince Hal's journey toward kingship, and his ultimate rejection of Falstaff. However, unlike Part One, Hal's and Falstaff's stories are almost entirely separate, as the two characters meet only twice and very briefly. Much of the play focuses on Henry IV's age and his closeness to death. Falstaff is still drinking and engaging in petty criminality in the London underworld. Falstaff appears, followed by a new character, a young page whom Prince Hal has assigned him as a joke. Falstaff enquires what the doctor has said about the analysis of his urine, and the page cryptically informs him that the urine is healthier than the patient. Falstaff delivers one of his most characteristic lines: "I am not only witty in myself, but the cause that wit is in other men." Falstaff promises to outfit the page in "vile apparel" (ragged clothing). He then complains of his insolvency, blaming it on "consumption of the purse." They go off, Falstaff vowing to find a wife "in the stews"

Leseprobe

William Shakespeare

The Second Part of Henry the Fourth (Illustrated)

BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

Actus Primus. Scoena Prima.

INDVCTION.

Enter Rumour.

Open your Eares: For which of you will stop

The vent of Hearing, when loud Rumor speakes?

I, from the Orient, to the drooping West

(Making the winde my Post-horse) still vnfold

The Acts commenced on this Ball of Earth.

Vpon my Tongue, continuall Slanders ride,

The which, in euery Language, I pronounce,

Stuffing the Eares of them with false Reports:

I speake of Peace, while couert Enmitie

(Vnder the smile of Safety) wounds the World:

And who but Rumour, who but onely I

Make fearfull Musters, and prepar'd Defence,

Whil'st the bigge yeare, swolne with some other griefes,

Is thought with childe, by the sterne Tyrant, Warre,

And no such matter? Rumour, is a Pipe

Blowne by Surmises, Ielousies, Coniectures;

And of so easie, and so plaine a stop,

That the blunt Monster, with vncounted heads,

The still discordant, wauering Multitude,

Can play vpon it. But what neede I thus

My well-knowne Body to Anathomize

Among my houshold? Why is Rumour heere?

I run before King Harries victory,

Who in a bloodie field by Shrewsburie

Hath beaten downe yong Hotspurre, and his Troopes,

Quenching the flame of bold Rebellion,

Euen with the Rebels blood. But what meane I

To speake so true at first? My Office is

To noyse abroad, that Harry Monmouth fell

Vnder the Wrath of Noble Hotspurres Sword:

And that the King, before the Dowglas Rage

Stoop'd his Annointed head, as low as death.

This haue I rumour'd through the peasant-Townes,

Betweene the Royall Field of Shrewsburie,

And this Worme-eaten-Hole of ragged Stone,

Where Hotspurres Father, old Northumberland,

Lyes crafty sicke. The Postes come tyring on,

And not a man of them brings other newes

Then they haue learn'd of Me. From Rumours Tongues,

They bring smooth-Comforts-false, worse then True-wrongs.

Enter.

Scena Secunda.

Enter Lord Bardolfe, and the Porter.

L.Bar. Who keepes the Gate heere hoa?

Where is the Earle?

Por. What shall I say you are?

Bar. Tell thou the Earle

That the Lord Bardolfe doth attend him heere

Por. His Lordship is walk'd forth into the Orchard,

Please it your Honor, knocke but at the Gate,

And he himselfe will answer.

Enter Northumberland.

L.Bar. Heere comes the Earle

Nor. What newes Lord Bardolfe? Eu'ry minute now

Should be the Father of some Stratagem;

The Times are wilde: Contention (like a Horse

Full of high Feeding) madly hath broke loose,

And beares downe all before him

L.Bar. Noble Earle,

I bring you certaine newes from Shrewsbury

Nor. Good, and heauen will

L.Bar. As good as heart can wish:

The King is almost wounded to the death:

And in the Fortune of my Lord your Sonne,

Prince Harrie slaine out-right: and both the Blunts

Kill'd by the hand of Dowglas. Yong Prince Iohn,

And Westmerland, and Stafford, fled the Field.

And Harrie Monmouth's Brawne (the Hulke Sir Iohn)

Is prisoner to your Sonne. O, such a Day,

(So fought, so follow'd, and so fairely wonne)

Came not, till now, to dignifie the Times

Since Cæsars Fortunes

Nor. How is this deriu'd?

Saw you the Field? Came you from Shrewsbury?

L.Bar. I spake with one (my L[ord].) that came fro[m] thence,

A Gentleman well bred, and of good name,

That freely render'd me these newes for true

Nor. Heere comes my Seruant Trauers, whom I sent

On Tuesday last, to listen after Newes.

Enter Trauers.

L.Bar. My Lord, I ouer-rod him on the way,

And he is furnish'd with no certainties,

More then he (haply) may retaile from me

Nor. Now Trauers, what good tidings comes fro[m] you?

Tra. My Lord, Sir Iohn Vmfreuill turn'd me backe

With ioyfull tydings; and (being better hors'd)

Out-rod me. After him, came spurring head

A Gentleman (almost fore-spent with speed)

That stopp'd by me, to breath his bloodied horse.

He ask'd the way to Chester: And of him

I did demand what Newes from Shrewsbury:

He told me, that Rebellion had ill lucke,

And that yong Harry Percies Spurre was cold.

With that he gaue his able Horse the head,

And bending forwards strooke his able heeles

Against the panting sides of his poore Iade

Vp to the Rowell head, and starting so,

He seem'd in running, to deuoure the way,

Staying no longer question

North. Ha? Againe:

Said he yong Harrie Percyes Spurre was cold?

(Of Hot-Spurre, cold-Spurre?) that Rebellion,

Had met ill lucke?

L.Bar. My Lord: Ile tell you what,

If my yong Lord your Sonne, haue not the day,

Vpon mine Honor, for a silken point

Ile giue my Barony. Neuer talke of it

Nor. Why should the Gentleman that rode by Trauers

Giue then such instances of Losse?

L.Bar. Who, he?

He was some hielding Fellow, that had stolne

The Horse he rode-on: and vpon my life

Speake at aduenture. Looke, here comes more Newes.

Enter Morton.

Nor. Yea, this mans brow, like to a Title-leafe,

Fore-tels the Nature of a Tragicke Volume:

So lookes the Strond, when the Imperious Flood

Hath left a witnest Vsurpation.

Say Morton, did'st thou come from Shrewsbury?

Mor. I ran from Shrewsbury (my Noble Lord)

Where hatefull death put on his vgliest Maske

To fright our party

North. How doth my Sonne, and Brother?

Thou trembl'st; and the whitenesse in thy Cheeke

Is apter then thy Tongue, to tell thy Errand.

Euen such a man, so faint, so spiritlesse,

So dull, so dead in looke, so woe-be-gone,

Drew Priams Curtaine, in the dead of night,

And would haue told him, Halfe his Troy was burn'd.

But Priam found the Fire, ere he his Tongue:

And I, my Percies death, ere thou report'st it.

This, thou would'st say: Your Sonne did thus, and thus:

Your Brother, thus. So fought the Noble Dowglas,

Stopping my greedy eare, with their bold deeds.

But in the end (to stop mine Eare indeed)

Thou hast a Sigh, to blow away this Praise,

Ending with Brother, Sonne, and all are dead

Mor. Dowglas is liuing, and your Brother, yet:

But for my Lord, your Sonne

North. Why, he is dead.

See what a ready tongue Suspition hath:

He that but feares the thing, he would not know,

Hath by Instinct, knowledge from others Eyes,

That what he feard, is chanc'd. Yet speake (Morton)

Tell thou thy Earle, his Diuination Lies,

And I will take it, as a sweet Disgrace,

And make thee rich, for doing me such wrong

Mor. You are too great, to be (by me) gainsaid:

Your Spirit is too true, your Feares too certaine

North. Yet for all this, say not that Percies dead.

I see a strange Confession in thine Eye:

Thou shak'st thy head, and hold'st it Feare, or Sinne,

To speake a truth. If he be slaine, say so:

The Tongue offends not, that reports his death:

And he doth sinne that doth belye the dead:

Not he, which sayes the dead is not aliue:

Yet the first bringer of vnwelcome Newes

Hath but a loosing Office: and his Tongue,

Sounds euer after as a sullen Bell

Remembred, knolling a departing Friend

L.Bar. I cannot thinke (my Lord) your son is dead

Mor. I am sorry, I should force you to beleeue

That, which I would to heauen, I had not seene.

But these mine eyes, saw him in bloody state,

Rend'ring faint quittance (wearied, and out-breath'd)

To Henrie Monmouth, whose swift wrath beate downe

The neuer-daunted Percie to the earth,

From whence (with life) he neuer more sprung vp.

In few; his death (whose spirit lent a fire,

Euen to the dullest Peazant in his Campe)

Being bruited once, tooke fire and heate away

From the best temper'd Courage in his Troopes.

For from his Mettle, was his Party steel'd;

Which once, in him abated, all the rest

Turn'd on themselues, like dull and heauy Lead:

And as the Thing, that's heauy in it selfe,

Vpon enforcement, flyes with greatest speede,

So did our Men, heauy in Hotspurres losse,

Lend to this weight, such lightnesse with their Feare,

That Arrowes fled not swifter toward their ayme,

Then did our Soldiers (ayming at their safety)

Fly from the field. Then was that Noble Worcester

Too soone ta'ne prisoner: and that furious Scot,

(The bloody Dowglas) whose well-labouring sword

Had three times slaine th' appearance of the King,

Gan vaile his stomacke, and did grace the shame

Of those that turn'd their backes: and in his flight,

Stumbling in Feare, was tooke. The summe of all,

Is, that the King hath wonne: and hath sent out

A speedy power, to encounter you my Lord,

Vnder the Conduct of yong Lancaster

And Westmerland. This is the Newes at full

North. For this, I shall haue time enough to mourne.

In Poyson, there is Physicke: and this newes

(Hauing beene well) that would haue made me sicke,

Being sicke, haue in some measure, made me well.

And as the Wretch, whose Feauer-weakned ioynts,

Like strengthlesse Hindges, buckle vnder life,

Impatient of his Fit, breakes like a fire

Out of his keepers armes: Euen so, my Limbes

(Weak'ned with greefe) being now inrag'd with greefe,

Are thrice themselues. Hence therefore thou nice crutch,

A scalie Gauntlet now, with ioynts of Steele

Must gloue this hand. And hence thou sickly Quoife,

Thou art a guard too wanton for the head,

Which Princes, flesh'd with Conquest, ayme to hit.

Now binde my Browes with Iron and approach

The ragged'st houre, that Time and Spight dare bring

To frowne vpon th' enrag'd Northumberland.

Let Heauen kisse Earth: now let not Natures hand

Keepe the wilde Flood confin'd: Let Order dye,

And let the world no longer be a stage

To feede Contention in a ling'ring Act:

But let one spirit of the First-borne Caine

Reigne in all bosomes, that each heart being set

On bloody Courses, the rude Scene may end,

And darknesse be the burier of the dead

L.Bar. Sweet Earle, diuorce not wisedom from your Honor

Mor. The liues of all your louing Complices

Leane-on your health, the which if you giue-o're

To stormy Passion, must perforce decay.

You cast th' euent of Warre (my Noble Lord)

And summ'd the accompt of Chance, before you said

Let vs make head: It was your presurmize,

That in the dole of blowes, your Son might drop.

You knew he walk'd o're perils, on an edge

More likely to fall in, then to get o're:

You were aduis'd his flesh was capeable

Of Wounds, and Scarres; and that his forward Spirit

Would lift him, where most trade of danger rang'd,

Yet did you say go forth: and none of this

(Though strongly apprehended) could restraine

The stiffe-borne Action: What hath then befalne?

Or what hath this bold enterprize bring forth,

More then that Being, which was like to be?

L.Bar. We all that are engaged to this losse,

Knew that we ventur'd on such dangerous Seas,

That if we wrought out life, was ten to one:

And yet we ventur'd for the gaine propos'd,

Choak'd the respect of likely perill fear'd,

And since we are o're-set, venture againe.

Come, we will all put forth; Body, and Goods,

Mor. 'Tis more then time: And (my most Noble Lord)

I heare for certaine, and do speake the truth:

The gentle Arch-bishop of Yorke is vp

With well appointed Powres: he is a man

Who with a double Surety bindes his Followers.

My Lord (your Sonne) had onely but the Corpes,

But shadowes, and the shewes of men to fight.

For that same word (Rebellion) did diuide

The action of their bodies, from their soules,

And they did fight with queasinesse, constrain'd

As men drinke Potions; that their Weapons only

Seem'd on our side: but for their Spirits and Soules,

This word (Rebellion) it had froze them vp,

As Fish are in a Pond. But now the Bishop

Turnes Insurrection to Religion,

Suppos'd sincere, and holy in his Thoughts:

He's follow'd both with Body, and with Minde:

And doth enlarge his Rising, with the blood

Of faire King Richard, scrap'd from Pomfret stones,

Deriues from heauen, his Quarrell, and his Cause:

Tels them, he doth bestride a bleeding Land,

Gasping for life, vnder great Bullingbrooke,

And more, and lesse, do flocke to follow him

North. I knew of this before. But to speake truth,

This present greefe had wip'd it from my minde.

Go in with me, and councell euery man

The aptest way for safety, and reuenge:

Get Posts, and Letters, and make Friends with speed,

Neuer so few, nor neuer yet more need.

Exeunt.

Scena Tertia.

Enter Falstaffe, and Page.

Fal. Sirra, you giant, what saies the Doct[or]. to my water?

Pag. He said sir, the water it selfe was a good healthy

water: but for the party that ow'd it, he might haue more

diseases then he knew for

Fal. Men of all sorts take a pride to gird at mee: the

braine of this foolish compounded Clay-man, is not able

to inuent any thing that tends to laughter, more then I

inuent, or is inuented on me. I am not onely witty in my

selfe, but the cause that wit is in other men. I doe heere

walke before thee, like a Sow, that hath o'rewhelm'd all

her Litter, but one. If the Prince put thee into my Seruice

for any other reason, then to set mee off, why then I

haue no iudgement. Thou horson Mandrake, thou art

fitter to be worne in my cap, then to wait at my heeles. I

was neuer mann'd with an Agot till now: but I will sette

you neyther in Gold, nor Siluer, but in vilde apparell, and

send you backe againe to your Master, for a Iewell. The

Iuuenall (the Prince your Master) whose Chin is not yet

fledg'd, I will sooner haue a beard grow in the Palme of

my hand, then he shall get one on his cheeke: yet he will

not sticke to say, his Face is a Face-Royall. Heauen may

finish it when he will, it is not a haire amisse yet: he may

keepe it still at a Face-Royall, for a Barber shall neuer

earne six pence out of it; and yet he will be crowing, as if

he had writ man euer since his Father was a Batchellour.

He may keepe his owne Grace, but he is almost out of

mine, I can assure him. What said M[aster]. Dombledon, about

the Satten for my short Cloake, and Slops?

Pag. He said sir, you should procure him better Assurance,

then Bardolfe: he wold not take his Bond & yours,

he lik'd not the Security

Fal. Let him bee damn'd like the Glutton, may his

Tongue be hotter, a horson Achitophel; a

Rascally-yea-forsooth-knaue,

to beare a Gentleman in hand, and then

stand vpon Security? The horson smooth-pates doe now

weare nothing but high shoes, and bunches of Keyes at

their girdles: and if a man is through with them in honest

Taking-vp, then they must stand vpon Securitie: I

had as liefe they would put Rats-bane in my mouth, as

offer to stoppe it with Security. I look'd hee should haue

sent me two and twenty yards of Satten (as I am true

Knight) and he sends me Security. Well, he may sleep in

Security, for he hath the horne of Abundance: and the

lightnesse of his Wife shines through it, and yet cannot

he see, though he haue his owne Lanthorne to light him.

Where's Bardolfe?

Pag. He's gone into Smithfield to buy your worship

a horse

Fal. I bought him in Paules, and hee'l buy mee a horse

in Smithfield. If I could get mee a wife in the Stewes, I

were Mann'd, Hors'd, and Wiu'd.

Enter Chiefe Iustice, and Seruant.

Pag. Sir, heere comes the Nobleman that committed

the Prince for striking him, about Bardolfe

Fal. Wait close, I will not see him

Ch.Iust. What's he that goes there?

Ser. Falstaffe, and't please your Lordship

Iust. He that was in question for the Robbery?

Ser. He my Lord, but he hath since done good seruice

at Shrewsbury: and (as I heare) is now going with some

Charge, to the Lord Iohn of Lancaster

Iust. What to Yorke? Call him backe againe

Ser. Sir Iohn Falstaffe

Fal. Boy, tell him, I am deafe

Pag. You must speake lowder, my Master is deafe

Iust. I am sure he is, to the hearing of any thing good.

Go plucke him by the Elbow, I must speake with him

Ser. Sir Iohn

Fal. What? a yong knaue and beg? Is there not wars? Is

there not imployment? Doth not the K[ing]. lack subiects? Do

not the Rebels want Soldiers? Though it be a shame to be

on any side but one, it is worse shame to begge, then to

be on the worst side, were it worse then the name of Rebellion

can tell how to make it

Ser. You mistake me Sir

Fal. Why sir? Did I say you were an honest man? Setting

my Knight-hood, and my Souldiership aside, I had

lyed in my throat, if I had said so

Ser. I pray you (Sir) then set your Knighthood and

your Souldier-ship aside, and giue mee leaue to tell you,

you lye in your throat, if you say I am any other then an

honest man

Fal. I giue thee leaue to tell me so? I lay a-side that

which growes to me? If thou get'st any leaue of me, hang

me: if thou tak'st leaue, thou wer't better be hang'd: you

Hunt-counter, hence: Auant

Ser. Sir, my Lord would speake with you

Iust. Sir Iohn Falstaffe, a word with you

Fal. My good Lord: giue your Lordship good time of

the day. I am glad to see your Lordship abroad: I heard

say your Lordship was sicke. I hope your Lordship goes

abroad by aduise. Your Lordship (though not clean past

your youth) hath yet some smack of age in you: some rellish

of the saltnesse of Time, and I most humbly beseech

your Lordship, to haue a reuerend care of your health

Iust. Sir Iohn, I sent you before your Expedition, to

Shrewsburie

Fal. If it please your Lordship, I heare his Maiestie is

return'd with some discomfort from Wales