Dramatis Personae
KING HENRY VI: The deposed and restored King of England (Lancastrian).
QUEEN MARGARET: Henry's ambitious Queen.
EDWARD, DUKE OF YORK: (Later King Edward IV) The Yorkist claimant.
RICHARD, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER: (Later King Richard III) Edward's younger brother.
GEORGE, DUKE OF CLARENCE: Edward's other brother.
THE EARL OF WARWICK: The "Kingmaker" (switched allegiance to Henry).
SIR JOHN MORTIMER: A loyal Lancastrian.
SOLDIERS, MESSENGERS, &c.
ACT I
SCENE I. A palace in London. KING HENRY VI is on the throne, with QUEEN MARGARET and WARWICK.
KING HENRY VI
Our crown is set upon our head once more,
Thanks to the worthy Warwick, England's star,
Whose mighty hand did turn the wheel of fate
And brought us back unto our rightful place.
QUEEN MARGARET
The Yorkist dogs are fled, their banners torn,
Edward, the proud usurper, hides in France,
Or Burgundy, a beggar for a crown.
England is safe, our son shall be the heir.
WARWICK
My liege, the peace is fragile. Richard of Gloucester,
That misshapen brother to King Edward, lurks
Within the shadows, a viper waiting to strike.
We must secure the Tower and all the ports.
KING HENRY VI
We have known naught but war for thirty years.
Our heart desires a quiet life of prayer,
Not the hard business of a bloody state.
But as God wills, we shall defend the crown.
Enter a MESSENGER.
MESSENGER
My liege, ill tidings! Edward of York is back!
He landed with a force in northern lands,
And marches south, proclaiming himself King!
His brothers, Gloucester and Clarence, join his cause.
QUEEN MARGARET
The viper stirs! To arms, my lord! To arms!
WARWICK
I shall assemble all our loyal men,
And meet this Edward on the battlefield.
We shall not let him steal the crown again!
Exeunt all but KING HENRY
KING HENRY VI
O God, that I were a simple shepherd's boy,
To feed my flock as I did sometime in the field,
So sweet a life, to be a King of woe!
The crown is heavy, heavier is the soul
That wears the weight of England's civil strife.
Exit.
SCENE II. A street in York.
Enter EDWARD OF YORK, RICHARD OF GLOUCESTER, and GEORGE OF CLARENCE, with soldiers.
EDWARD
York, welcome England's true and rightful king!
The people cheer our cause, they hate the Lancastrians.
My brother Richard, George, our cause is just!
RICHARD
The crown is yours by right, my noble Edward.
Henry is a weak and foolish king,
A plaything in the hands of Margaret and Warwick.
My sword is sharp, my heart is full of zeal,
To place the crown upon your worthy head.
(Aside)
And once you wear it, Edward, it is but one step
Away from my own brow. A throne built on blood
Is easily washed in more.
CLARENCE
We are with you, brother.
EDWARD
Then south we march to meet the Kingmaker!
This land shall bleed until the White Rose blooms!
Exeunt
ACT II
SCENE I. A battlefield near Barnet.
Alarms. Enter the Lancastrian forces under the EARL OF WARWICK and SIR JOHN MORTIMER.
WARWICK
The day is cold, the enemy is near,
The Yorkist banner waves with proud defiance.
This field shall be the grave of Edward's hopes,
Or mine own tomb. I have made a king once,
I can unmake another.
MORTIMER
My lord, their forces are as great as ours,
But our cause is just. We fight for England's true King!
Alarms. Enter the Yorkist forces under EDWARD, RICHARD, and CLARENCE.
EDWARD
Warwick, thou Kingmaker, turncoat and rogue!
Thou dost betray the cause thou once didst serve!
Thy honour is as stained as Henry's right to rule!
WARWICK
Usurper, thou dost prate of honour, thou
Whose very claim is built on treachery!
The crown belongs to Henry, and to him alone!
Draw, sirs, draw! And let the steel decide!
(The battle begins. They fight fiercely. Warwick's forces begin to be pushed back.)
RICHARD
The day is ours! The Lancastrians flee!
Warwick is cut down!
(Warwick falls, mortally wounded.)
MORTIMER
O noble Warwick, England's guiding light!
He is cut down.
WARWICK
Ay, I am fall'n. My glory is consumed.
The King that I have made, a silly man,
Shall soon be broken like a potter's vessel.
Thus dies the Kingmaker, by his own hand undone.
He dies.
EDWARD
The field is ours! The road to London's clear!
The crown is mine once more!
Exeunt, triumphant.
SCENE II. A street in London.
Enter KING HENRY VI, alone and in despair.
KING HENRY VI
The news is bad. My noble Warwick's dead.
The Yorkists march on London. I am lost.
They seek my life, they seek my throne, my peace.
I shall hide me in the tower, and there await
The bitter end, the final, tragic close.
A king no more, but a poor prisoner.
Exit Henry, seeking refuge.
ACT III
SCENE I. The Tower of London.
Enter RICHARD OF GLOUCESTER, alone, a soliloquy.
RICHARD
So Edward is the King. The crown is his.
But I, the third son, am the true inheritor
Of cunning, malice, and a black, black heart.
Edward is vain, and Clarence is a fool.
I have no shape to win a lady's love,
I am a lump of foul deformity.
Ergo, I mean to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasures of these days.
Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous,
To set my brother Clarence and the King
In deadly hate the one against the other.
Henry is in my keeping in the Tower.
His life is but a candle in the wind,
Which I shall soon blow out. Then Edward reigns,
And after Edward, Clarence, then the crown
Is Richard's to command. The path is clear.
The throne is built on blood, and blood shall reign.
Exit.
SCENE II. The Tower cell. KING HENRY VI is praying.*
Enter RICHARD OF GLOUCESTER.
KING HENRY VI
Good day, my lord. I know you seek my life.
My soul is ready for the peace of heaven.
RICHARD
The time is come, thou weak and foolish king.
Thou dost usurp the throne that is not thine.
KING HENRY VI
My father and my father's father were Kings.
My right is true. Thy brother is the villain.
RICHARD
And I, a villain, come to end thy days!
Thy son is dead, killed at Tewkesbury field.
The Lancastrian line ends here, with my good sword!
(Richard stabs the King repeatedly.)
KING HENRY VI
O, God forgive my sins, and forgive thee!
He dies.
RICHARD
So much for prayer, so much for saintly kings.
The deed is done. Now to my brother Edward,
To tell the news the King is dead, of a natural cause, of course.
One step is done. The others shall soon follow.
Richard shall be King!
Exit.
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