KING

  You’ve said all this already. You’ve announced it in marketplaces, given sermons on it in churches. You’ve tried to make rebellion look pleasant in the eyes of all the fickle turncoats and poor malcontents, who laugh and clap eagerly at the news that a revolution is coming. But rebellion always trades in these kinds of thin excuses, and never lacks angry beggars, desperate for mayhem and chaos.

  PRINCE HENRY

  Both our armies are full of men who will make the ultimate sacrifice in this battle, once it starts. Tell your nephew that the Prince of Wales joins the whole world in praising Henry Percy. Except for his current endeavor, I don’t think there’s a man alive who is braver, more heroic, more daring, or more bold.

  As for me, I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve shirked my responsibilities. I hear that he agrees with me on that point. And yet—and I say this in front of my father—in order to avoid casualties on both sides, I want to challenge him in hand-to-hand combat. And I’m content to admit that, based on his good name and reputation, he’s the favorite to win.

  KING

  Prince of Wales, I’d support that idea, except that there are countless reasons why I shouldn’t. No, Worcester, no. I love my subjects, even those who have mistakenly followed your nephew’s lead. If they accept our pardon, then he, you, and they will all be my friends again, and I’ll be theirs. Tell your nephew this, and bring back his answer.

  But if he doesn’t surrender, he will be rebuked and harshly punished. So, be gone. I don’t want to hear anymore from you now. I offer a fair deal; I advise you to accept it.

  WORCESTER and VERNON exit.

  PRINCE HENRY

  He won’t accept. I’ll bet my life on it. Douglas and Hotspur are convinced that they could take on the whole world together.

  KING

  Then everyone get to their battalions. As soon as they respond, we’ll attack. May God be with us. Our cause is just!

  Everyone exits except PRINCE HENRY and FALSTAFF.

  FALSTAFF

  Hal, if you see me fall in battle, stand over me, like this. It would be an act of friendship.

  PRINCE HENRY

  Only a giant could do you that friendship. Say your prayers, and farewell.

  FALSTAFF

  I wish it were bedtime, Hal, and everything were okay.

  PRINCE HENRY

  But you owe God a death.

  PRINCE HENRY exits.

  FALSTAFF

  It’s not due yet. I’d hate to pay him before the due date. Why should I be so eager to pay him before he even asks for it? Well, it doesn’t matter: honor spurs me on. Yeah, but what if honor spurs me off once I’m on, and picks me out to die? What happens then? Can honor set a broken leg? No. Or an arm? No. Can it make a wound stop hurting? No. Honor can’t perform surgery, then? No. What is honor? A word. What is in that word, “honor?” What is that “honor?” Air. Quite a bargain! Who has it? A guy who died last Wednesday. Does he feel it? No. Does he hear it? No. It can’t be detected, then? Right—not by the dead, anyway. But won’t it live with the living? No. Why? Slander won’t allow it. That’s why I don’t want any part of it. Honor is nothing more than a gravestone, and that concludes my catechism.

  He exits.

  ACT 5, SCENE 2

  Original Text

  Enter WORCESTER and Sir Richard VERNON

  WORCESTER

  O no, my nephew must not know, Sir Richard,

  The liberal and kind offer of the King.

  VERNON

  ’Twere best he did.

  WORCESTER

  Then are we all undone.

  It is not possible, it cannot be

  5

  The King should keep his word in loving us.

  He will suspect us still and find a time

  To punish this offense in other faults.

  Suspicion all our lives shall be stuck full of eyes,

  For treason is but trusted like the fox,

  10

  Who, never so tame, so cherished and locked up,

  Will have a wild trick of his ancestors.

  Look how we can, or sad or merrily,

  Interpretation will misquote our looks,

  And we shall feed like oxen at a stall,

  15

  The better cherished still the nearer death.

  My nephew’s trespass may be well forgot;

  It hath the excuse of youth and heat of blood,

  And an adopted name of privilege—

  A hairbrained Hotspur governed by a spleen:

  20

  All his offenses live upon my head

  And on his father’s. We did train him on,

  And, his corruption being ta’en from us,

  We as the spring of all shall pay for all.

  Therefore, good cousin, let not Harry know

  25

  In any case the offer of the King.

  VERNON

  Deliver what you will; I’ll say ’tis so.

  Enter HOTSPUR and DOUGLAS

  Here comes your cousin.

  HOTSPUR

  My uncle is returned.

  Deliver up my Lord of Westmoreland.—

  Uncle, what news?

  WORCESTER

  30

  The King will bid you battle presently.

  DOUGLAS

  Defy him by the Lord of Westmoreland.

  HOTSPUR

  Lord Douglas, go you and tell him so.

  DOUGLAS

  Marry, and shall, and very willingly.

  Exit DOUGLAS

  WORCESTER

  There is no seeming mercy in the King.

  HOTSPUR

  35

  Did you beg any? God forbid!

  WORCESTER

  I told him gently of our grievances,

  Of his oath-breaking, which he mended thus

  By now forswearing that he is forsworn.

  He calls us “rebels,” “traitors,” and will scourge

  40

  With haughty arms this hateful name in us.

  Enter DOUGLAS

  DOUGLAS

  Arm, gentlemen, to arms. For I have thrown

  A brave defiance in King Henry’s teeth,

  And Westmoreland, that was engaged, did bear it,

  Which cannot choose but bring him quickly on.

  WORCESTER

  45

  The Prince of Wales stepped forth before the King,

  And, nephew, challenged you to single fight.

  HOTSPUR

  O, would the quarrel lay upon our heads,

  And that no man might draw short breath today

  But I and Harry Monmouth! Tell me, tell me,

  50

  How showed his tasking? Seemed it in contempt?

  VERNON

  No, by my soul. I never in my life

  Did hear a challenge urged more modestly,

  Unless a brother should a brother dare

  To gentle exercise and proof of arms.

  55

  He gave you all the duties of a man,

  Trimmed up your praises with a princely tongue,

  Spoke your deservings like a chronicle,

  Making you ever better than his praise

  By still dispraising praise valued in you,

  60

  And, which became him like a prince indeed,

  He made a blushing cital of himself,

  And chid his truant youth with such a grace

  As if he mastered there a double spirit

  Of teaching and of learning instantly.

  65

  There did he pause: but let me tell the world:

  If he outlive the envy of this day,

  England did never owe so sweet a hope,

  So much misconstrued in his wantonness.

  HOTSPUR

  Cousin, I think thou art enamorèd

  70

  On his follies. Never did I hear

  Of any Prince so wild a liberty.

  But be he as he will, yet once ere night

  I will embrace him with a soldier’s arm,

  That he shall shrink under my courtesy.—

  75

  Arm, arm with speed, and, fellows, soldiers, friends,

  Better consider what you have to do

  Than I that have not well the gift of tongue

  Can lift your blood up with persuasion.

  Enter a MESSENGER

  MESSENGER

  My lord, here are letters for you.

  HOTSPUR

  80

  I cannot read them now.—

  O gentlemen, the time of life is short;

  To spend that shortness basely were too long

  If life did ride upon a dial’s point,

  Still ending at the arrival of an hour.

  85

  An if we live, we live to tread on kings;

  If die, brave death, when princes die with us.

  Now, for our consciences, the arms are fair

  When the intent of bearing them is just.

  Enter another MESSENGER

  SECOND MESSENGER

  My lord, prepare. The King comes on apace.

  HOTSPUR

  90

  I thank him that he cuts me from my tale,

  For I profess not talking. Only this:

  Let each man do his best. And here draw I a sword,

  Whose temper I intend to stain

  With the best blood that I can meet withal

  95

  In the adventure of this perilous day.

  Now, Esperance! Percy! And set on.

  Sound all the lofty instruments of war,

  And by that music let us all embrace,

  For, heaven to earth, some of us never shall

  100

  A second time do such a courtesy.

  Here they embrace. The trumpets sound.

  Exeunt

  ACT 5, SCENE 2

  Modern Text

  WORCESTER and Sir Richard VERNON enter.

  WORCESTER

  Oh no, Sir Richard, my nephew cannot be told about the generous and kind offer the King made.

  VERNON

  But he should be told.

  WORCESTER

  It will be the end of all of us! There is absolutely no way that the King will keep his word and trust us again. He will always be wary of us. He’ll find other reasons to punish us for this rebellion. For the rest of our lives he and his loyalists will look on us with suspicion. Treason is like a fox: you can tame it, care for it, and put it in a cage, but it will always have the wild instincts it inherited from its ancestors. No matter how we look—sad or happy—people will interpret our looks in the worst possible light. We’ll be like oxen in a stall: the better they’re fed, the closer they are to being slaughtered.

  My nephew’s disloyalty might be forgiven: his young age and hot temper will excuse it. Plus, his nickname gives him permission: Hotspur the Harebrain, always flaring up. All his offenses will be blamed on me and his father. After all, we encouraged him, and since we taught him to be angry at the King, we’ll pay for it. So cousin, don’t by any means let Harry know what the King offered.

  VERNON

  Tell him what you want, and I’ll back you up.

  HOTSPUR and DOUGLAS enter.

  Here comes your nephew.

  HOTSPUR

  My uncle’s back. Free Westmoreland, his hostage. Uncle, what’s happening?

  WORCESTER

  The King will beckon you to battle shortly.

  DOUGLAS

  Have Westmoreland deliver your message of defiance.

  HOTSPUR

  Douglas, go tell him to do that.

  DOUGLAS

  Indeed, I will, and gladly.

  DOUGLAS exits.

  WORCESTER

  The King doesn’t appear willing to forgive us.

  HOTSPUR

  Did you ask him to? God forbid!

  WORCESTER

  I politely told him what our issues were. I accused him of breaking his promise to us, and here’s how he answered: he lied about the fact that he lied. He called us rebels, traitors, and said he’d punish us with his mighty army.

  DOUGLAS enters.

  DOUGLAS

  Get your weapons, gentlemen, get your weapons! I sent King Henry a brave and defiant message, and Westmoreland, who was our hostage, will deliver it. This will surely bring the battle on immediately.

  WORCESTER

  The Prince of Wales stepped forward, nephew, and challenged you to a one-on-one fight.

  HOTSPUR

  Oh, I wish the whole battle were between us, and that the only people who would lose their breath today would be me and Harry Monmouth! Tell me, tell me, what was the tone of his challenge? Did he show contempt for me?

  VERNON

  No, I swear; I never heard a challenge issued more gracefully. It was like a brother asking a brother to a little friendly competition. He paid you all due respect, and he summed up your good qualities in the most princely language. He spoke of how deserving you are, as though he were your biographer. He claimed you were even above praise, for simple praise could never measure up to your true merits. And he gave a modest account of himself, as well, which made him seem like a true prince indeed. He berated himself for having behaved wildly, but he said this so gracefully that he sounded like a teacher giving a lesson and a student learning one at the same time. There he stopped, but let me say this: if he survives this battle, then England never had a sweeter hope, nor one so misunderstood in his recklessness.

  HOTSPUR

  I think you’ve been charmed by his foolishness. I’ve never heard of a Prince who was so wild and loose. But however he wants to seem, before night falls I will embrace him with these soldier’s arms, and he will tremble at my affection.

  Get ready, get ready quickly! And friends, partners, soldiers, take a moment to think for yourselves about what you have to do. I’m not a good enough speaker to motivate you.

  A MESSENGER enters.

  MESSENGER

  My lord, I have some letters for you.

  HOTSPUR

  I can’t read them now. Oh, gentlemen, life is short. But if you spend that brief time shamefully, you are wasting your time: even if life lasted only an hour, it would still be too long. If we live, it will be in triumph over kings. If we die, it will be a glorious death, since princes will die with us. As for our consciences, our battle is fair: it’s right to bear arms when the cause is just.

  Another MESSENGER enters.

  SECOND MESSENGER

  My lord, get ready. The King has launched his attack.

  HOTSPUR

  I thank him for cutting off my speech, since I have no talent for speaking. Only one more thing: each man should do his best, and with that I will draw my sword. On this dangerous day, I intend to stain it with the best blood I can find. “Hope is my comfort!” Percy! Let’s go! Sound all the imposing instruments of battle, and let’s embrace one another to the tune of that music. For, by heaven, some of us will never be able to do that again.

  They embrace. The trumpets sound.

  They exit.

  ACT 5, SCENE 3

  Original Text

  The KING enters with his power and they cross the stage. Alarum to the battle.

  Then enter DOUGLAS and Sir Walter BLUNT, disguised as the KING

  BLUNT

  What is thy name that in the battle thus

  Thou crossest me? What honor dost thou seek

  Upon my head?

  DOUGLAS

  Know then, my name is Douglas,

  5

  And I do haunt thee in the battle thus

  Because some tell me that thou art a king.

  BLUNT

  They tell thee true.

  DOUGLAS

  The Lord of Stafford dear today hath bought

  Thy likeness, for instead of thee, King Harry,

  10

  This sword hath ended him. So shall it thee,

  Unless thou yield thee as my prisoner.

  BLUNT

  I was not born a yielder, thou proud Scot,

  And thou shalt find a king that will revenge

  Lord Stafford’s death.

  They fight. DOUGLAS kills BLUNT. Enter HOTSPUR

  HOTSPUR

  15

  O Douglas, hadst thou fought at Holmedon thus,

  I never had triumphed upon a Scot.

  DOUGLAS

  All’s done, all’s won; here breathless lies the King.

  HOTSPUR

  Where?

  DOUGLAS

  Here.

  HOTSPUR

  20

  This, Douglas? No, I know this face full well.

  A gallant knight he was; his name was Blunt,

  Semblably furnished like the King himself.

  DOUGLAS

  (to BLUNT) A fool go with thy soul whither it goes!

  A borrowed title hast thou bought too dear.

  25

  Why didst thou tell me that thou wert a king?

  HOTSPUR

  The King hath many marching in his coats.

  DOUGLAS

  Now, by my sword, I will kill all his coats.

  I’ll murder all his wardrobe, piece by piece,

  Until I meet the King.

  HOTSPUR

  Up and away!

  30

  Our soldiers stand full fairly for the day.

  Exeunt

  Alarum. Enter FALSTAFF alone.

  FALSTAFF

  Though I could ’scape shot-free at London, I fear the shot here. Here’s no scoring but upon the pate.—Soft, who are you? Sir Walter Blunt. There’s honor for you. Here’s no vanity. I am as hot as molten lead, and as heavy too. God

  35

  keep lead out of me; I need no more weight than mine own bowels. I have led my ragamuffins where they are peppered. There’s not three of my hundred and fifty left alive, and they are for the town’s end, to beg during life. But who comes here?

  Enter PRINCE HENRY

  PRINCE HENRY

  40

  What, stand’st thou idle here? Lend me thy sword.

  Many a nobleman lies stark and stiff

  Under the hoofs of vaunting enemies,

  Whose deaths are yet unrevenged. I prithee,

  Lend me thy sword.

  FALSTAFF

  45

  O Hal, I prithee, give me leave to breathe awhile. Turk Gregory never did such deeds in arms as I have done this day. I have paid Percy; I have made him sure.