LANCASTER

  20

  Good morrow, cousin Warwick, good morrow.

  GLOUCESTER AND CLARENCE

  Good morrow, cousin.

  LANCASTER

  We meet like men that had forgot to speak.

  WARWICK

  We do remember, but our argument

  Is all too heavy to admit much talk.

  LANCASTER

  25

  Well, peace be with him that hath made us heavy.

  CHIEF JUSTICE

  Peace be with us, lest we be heavier.

  GLOUCESTER

  O, good my lord, you have lost a friend indeed,

  And I dare swear you borrow not that face

  Of seeming sorrow; it is sure your own.

  LANCASTER

  30

  Though no man be assured what grace to find,

  You stand in coldest expectation.

  I am the sorrier; would ’twere otherwise.

  CLARENCE

  Well, you must now speak Sir John Falstaff fair,

  Which swims against your stream of quality.

  CHIEF JUSTICE

  35

  Sweet princes, what I did I did in honor,

  Led by th’ impartial conduct of my soul;

  And never shall you see that I will beg

  A ragged and forestalled remission.

  If truth and upright innocency fail me,

  40

  I’ll to the King my master that is dead

  And tell him who hath sent me after him.

  WARWICK

  Here comes the Prince.

  Enter PRINCE HENRY (now King Henry V), attended

  CHIEF JUSTICE

  Good morrow, and God save your Majesty.

  PRINCE HENRY

  This new and gorgeous garment majesty

  45

  Sits not so easy on me as you think.—

  Brothers, you mix your sadness with some fear.

  This is the English, not the Turkish court;

  Not Amurath an Amurath succeeds,

  But Harry Harry. Yet be sad, good brothers,

  50

  For, by my faith, it very well becomes you.

  Sorrow so royally in you appears

  That I will deeply put the fashion on

  And wear it in my heart. Why then, be sad.

  But entertain no more of it, good brothers,

  55

  Than a joint burden laid upon us all.

  For me, by heaven, I bid you be assured,

  I’ll be your father and your brother too.

  Let me but bear your love, I ’ll bear your cares.

  Yet weep that Harry’s dead, and so will I,

  60

  But Harry lives that shall convert those tears

  By number into hours of happiness.

  PRINCES

  We hope no otherwise from your Majesty.

  PRINCE HENRY

  You all look strangely on me. (to the CHIEF JUSTICE) And you most.

  You are, I think, assured I love you not.

  CHIEF JUSTICE

  65

  I am assured, if I be measured rightly,

  Your Majesty hath no just cause to hate me.

  PRINCE HENRY

  No?

  How might a prince of my great hopes forget

  So great indignities you laid upon me?

  70

  What, rate, rebuke, and roughly send to prison

  Th’ immediate heir of England? Was this easy?

  May this be washed in Lethe and forgotten?

  CHIEF JUSTICE

  I then did use the person of your father;

  The image of his power lay then in me.

  75

  And in th’ administration of his law,

  Whiles I was busy for the commonwealth,

  Your Highness pleasèd to forget my place,

  The majesty and power of law and justice,

  The image of the King whom I presented,

  80

  And struck me in my very seat of judgment,

  Whereon, as an offender to your father,

  I gave bold way to my authority

  And did commit you. If the deed were ill,

  Be you contented, wearing now the garland,

  85

  To have a son set your decrees at nought?

  To pluck down justice from your awful bench?

  To trip the course of law and blunt the sword

  That guards the peace and safety of your person?

  Nay more, to spurn at your most royal image

  90

  And mock your workings in a second body?

  Question your royal thoughts, make the case yours;

  Be now the father and propose a son,

  Hear your own dignity so much profaned,

  See your most dreadful laws so loosely slighted,

  95

  Behold yourself so by a son disdained,

  And then imagine me taking your part

  And in your power soft silencing your son.

  After this cold considerance, sentence me,

  And, as you are a king, speak in your state

  100

  What I have done that misbecame my place,

  My person, or my liege’s sovereignty.

  PRINCE HENRY

  You are right, justice, and you weigh this well.

  Therefore still bear the balance and the sword.

  And I do wish your honors may increase

  105

  Till you do live to see a son of mine

  Offend you and obey you as I did.

  So shall I live to speak my father’s words:

  “Happy am I that have a man so bold

  That dares do justice on my proper son;

  110

  And not less happy, having such a son

  That would deliver up his greatness so

  Into the hands of justice.” You did commit me,

  For which I do commit into your hand

  Th’ unstainèd sword that you have used to bear,

  115

  With this remembrance: that you use the same

  With the like bold, just, and impartial spirit

  As you have done ’gainst me. There is my hand.

  You shall be as a father to my youth,

  My voice shall sound as you do prompt mine ear,

  120

  And I will stoop and humble my intents

  To your well-practiced wise directions.—

  And, princes all, believe me, I beseech you:

  My father is gone wild into his grave,

  For in his tomb lie my affections,

  125

  And with his spirit sadly I survive

  To mock the expectation of the world,

  To frustrate prophecies, and to raze out

  Rotten opinion, who hath writ me down

  After my seeming. The tide of blood in me

  130

  Hath proudly flowed in vanity till now.

  Now doth it turn and ebb back to the sea,

  Where it shall mingle with the state of floods

  And flow henceforth in formal majesty.

  Now call we our high court of parliament,

  135

  And let us choose such limbs of noble counsel

  That the great body of our state may go

  In equal rank with the best governed nation;

  That war, or peace, or both at once, may be

  As things acquainted and familiar to us,

  140

  In which you, father, shall have foremost hand.

  Our coronation done, we will accite,

  As I before remembered, all our state.

  And, God consigning to my good intents,

  No prince nor peer shall have just cause to say

  145

  God shorten Harry’s happy life one day.

  Exeunt

  ACT 5, SCENE 2

  Modern Text

  WARWICK and the Lord CHIEF JUSTICE enter.

  WARWICK

  What’s happening, my Lord Chief Justice? Where are you going?

  CHIEF JUSTICE

  How’s the King doing?

  WARWICK

  Very well. All his worries are ended now.

  CHIEF JUSTICE

  Not dead, I hope.

  WARWICK

  He’s gone down nature’s path; for our purposes, he is no longer living.

  CHIEF JUSTICE

  I wish his majesty had brought me with him. The work I did for him while he was alive makes me very vulnerable, now that he’s dead.

  WARWICK

  Indeed, I think the young King has no love for you.

  CHIEF JUSTICE

  I know he doesn’t. I’m preparing myself to deal with whatever happens, which can’t be any worse than what I’ve imagined.

  LANCASTER, CLARENCE, GLOUCESTER, and others enter.

  WARWICK

  Here come the heavy-hearted children of dead Harry. If only the living Harry had the character of the worst of these three young men. Then a lot of noblemen would remain secure, instead of having to step aside to make room for lowlifes.

  CHIEF JUSTICE

  Oh God! I’m afraid everything will be turned upside-down.

  LANCASTER

  Good morning, cousin Warwick, good morning.

  GLOUCESTER AND CLARENCE

  Good morning, cousin.

  LANCASTER

  We’re all like men who don’t remember how to speak.

  WARWICK

  We remember how, but what we have to say is so sad that we cannot speak.

  LANCASTER

  Well, peace be with the man who has made us sad.

  CHIEF JUSTICE

  Peace be with us, or else we’ll be even sadder!

  GLOUCESTER

  Oh, my good lord, you’ve lost a friend, indeed. I’m sure you’re not borrowing that sorrowful face; it’s certainly your own.

  LANCASTER

  Even though no man can know what blessings will come his way, he must expect the worst. I am sorry; I wish it were otherwise.

  CLARENCE

  Well, now you are only allowed to speak well of Sir John Falstaff, which goes against the nature of a man of your quality.

  CHIEF JUSTICE

  Sweet princes, what I did, I did honorably, impartially, and with a clear conscience. You won’t see me begging vilely for a pardon, which is sure to be withdrawn as soon as it is given. If truth and honest innocence don’t help me, then I’ll join my dead King and tell him who sent me.

  WARWICK

  Here comes the Prince.

  PRINCE HENRY (now King Henry V) enters, with attendants.

  CHIEF JUSTICE

  Good morning, and God save your majesty!

  PRINCE HENRY

  This new and gorgeous robe of majesty doesn’t fit me as comfortably as you think. Brothers, your sadness is mixed with fear. This is the English court, not the Turkish one. I’m not Amurath, who had his brothers killed when he inherited his father King Amurath’s crown; I’m a Harry, following another Harry. But be sad, brothers, because truly, it suits you. You look so regal in your sorrow that I will solemnly put it on as well, and wear it in my heart. Be sad, but don’t let it be anything more than a burden we all share jointly. I want you to rest assured that as far as I’m concerned, I’ll be both your father and your brother now. Just trust me with your love, and you can trust me to care for you. Keep weeping for Harry, who is dead; I will, as well. But one Harry still lives, and he will convert those tears one by one into hours of happiness.

  PRINCES

  We hope that’s exactly what you’ll do.

  PRINCE HENRY

  You’re all looking at me strangely. (to the CHIEF JUSTICE) You, most of all. I think you’re certain that I don’t love you.

  CHIEF JUSTICE

  I’m certain that, if my actions are fairly considered, your majesty will find no just reason to hate me.

  PRINCE HENRY

  No? How can a great prince like me forget the terrible wrongs you did me? What were you thinking, to scold, punish, and violently imprison the heir to the English throne? Was this nothing? Should this be dipped in the river of forgetfulness and simply ignored?

  CHIEF JUSTICE

  I acted with the authority of your father, whose power was vested in me. And when it came to the law—which I was busy enforcing, for the good of the country—you chose to ignore my rank, and the majesty and power of law and justice which I bore as a representative of the King. You struck me in the head, the very location of my judgment. With that action, you committed a crime against your father’s own laws. So I did what my power demanded, and imprisoned you. If that was wrong, then—now that you wear the crown—I hope you’ll someday be satisfied with a son who mocks your laws, who scorns the judges who rule in your authority, who disrupts the course of law, and blunts the swords that guard your personal peace and safety.

  No, even worse than that: a son who disrespects your deputies, and the officers you appoint in your name. Question yourself, and imagine being in your father’s position. Be a father, and imagine a son. Listen to your own dignity being profaned. Watch as your most solemn laws are laughed at so lightly. Behold yourself being so disdained by a son. And then imagine that I take your side, and that in your name I gently silence your son. Soberly consider this, and then pronounce my sentence. As king, tell me what I have done that was so unseemly for my station, myself, or my king’s authority.

  PRINCE HENRY

  You’re right, Chief Justice, and you have considered this well. Therefore, keep your position as judge and enforcer. I hope that your honors increase, and that you live to see a son of mine offend and then obey you, as I have. I will live to speak my father’s words: “I am a happy man, to have a man brave enough to punish my own son; and I’m no less happy to have a son that would surrender his greatness, and put himself in the hands of the law.”

  You imprisoned me, and for that I charge you to continue in my service, with this reminder: you must always be as courageous, just, and impartial as you were with me. Shake my hand. You’ll be like a father to me, and I will say whatever it is you whisper in my ear. I will bow to you, and keep myself humble in the face of your wisdom and experience. And princes, believe me, please: my father lies wild in his grave, for he took my recklessness with him when he died. His sober spirit survives in me, and I will flout the world’s expectations. I will prove their prophecies false, and flush out the rotten opinions of those who judged me based on what I once seemed to be.

  My behavior, the tide of my blood, used to flow proudly and vainly. But now, it ebbs and turns back toward the sea, where it will mingle with the ocean’s majesty and flow back through my body with formal dignity. Now I will assemble my parliament, and choose such noble officers and advisors that our great country will be able to march alongside the best governed nations. We’ll become acquainted and familiar with the states of war, peace, or both at once; in this, Chief Justice, my new father, you will be my closest advisor.

  Once my coronation has been completed, I will, as I said before, summon all the nobility. And if God endorses my good intentions, no prince or lord will have reason to say that he wishes God would shorten my happy life by even a single day.

  They exit.

  ACT 5, SCENE 3

  Original Text

  Enter FALSTAFF, SHALLOW, SILENCE, DAVY, BARDOLPH, and the PAGE

  SHALLOW

  Nay, you shall see my orchard, where, in an arbor, we will eat a last year’s pippin of my own graffing, with a dish of caraways, and so forth.—Come, cousin Silence.—And then to bed.

  FALSTAFF

  5

  Fore God, you have here a goodly dwelling and a rich.

  SHALLOW

  Barren, barren, barren, beggars all, beggars all, Sir John. Marry, good air.—Spread, Davy, spread, Davy. Well said, Davy.

  FALSTAFF

  This Davy serves you for good uses. He is your servingman

  10

  and your husband.

  SHALLOW

  A good varlet, a good varlet, a very good varlet, Sir John. By the Mass, I have drunk too much sack at supper. A good varlet. Now sit down, now sit down.—Come, cousin.

  SILENCE

  Ah, sirrah, quoth he, we shall

  15

  Do nothing but eat and make good cheer,

  (sings) And praise God for the merry year,

  When flesh is cheap and females dear,

  And lusty lads roam here and there

  So merrily,

  20

  And ever among so merrily.

  FALSTAFF

  There’s a merry heart!—Good Master Silence, I’ll give you a health for that anon.

  SHALLOW

  Give Master Bardolph some wine, Davy.

  DAVY

  Sweet sir, sit. I’ll be with you anon. Most sweet sir, sit.

  25

  Master page, good master page, sit. Proface. What you want in meat, we’ll have in drink, but you must bear. The heart’s all.

  Exit DAVY

  SHALLOW

  Be merry, Master Bardolph. —And, my little soldier there, be merry.

  SILENCE

  30

  (sings) Be merry, be merry, my wife has all,

  For women are shrews, both short and tall.

  ’Tis merry in hall when beards wag all,

  And welcome merry Shrovetide.

  Be merry, be merry.

  FALSTAFF

  35

  I did not think Master Silence had been a man of this mettle.

  SILENCE

  Who, I? I have been merry twice and once ere now.

  Enter DAVY

  DAVY

  (to BARDOLPH) There’s a dish of leather-coats for you.

  SHALLOW

  Davy!

  DAVY

  Your Worship, I’ll be with you straight.—

  40

  (to BARDOLPH) A cup of wine, sir?

  SILENCE

  (sings) A cup of wine that’s brisk and fine,

  And drink unto thee, leman mine,

  And a merry heart lives long-a.

  FALSTAFF

  Well said, Master Silence.

  SILENCE

  45

  And we shall be merry; now comes in the sweet o’ th’ night.

  FALSTAFF

  Health and long life to you, Master Silence.

  SILENCE

  (sings) Fill the cup, and let it come,

  I’ll pledge you a mile to th’ bottom.

  SHALLOW

  Honest Bardolph, welcome. If thou wantest anything and wilt not call, beshrew thy heart.—