330 garland crown, with an implication of victorious deserving. Cf. 5.2.83.

  successively by right of succession

  331 stand’st more sure have a greater claim to legitimacy in the public eye

  332 griefs are green grievances are still fresh. For grief, cf. 4.1.264.

  333 *my QF’s ‘thy’ is probably an error originating as far back as Shakespeare’s holograph and caused by anticipation of thy later in the line. That my was intended is confirmed by 335–7, where the King discusses how his friends advanced him; for him to refer to those friends only as the Prince’s would make little sense. Weis makes a case for preserving ‘thy’ as the King’s insistence that his son not take these alliances for granted, but constantly reinforce them. This reading would make sense only if make were heavily emphasized.

  324] Q; F lines Peace. / Feares, / 325 answered] F, Q (answerd) 328 mood] Q, F1–2 (Moode); Mode F3–4 333 my friends] Rann (Tyrwhitt); thy friends QF; the foes Keightley; my foes Dyce2; thy foes (W. Walker) 334 ta’en] Q (tane); tak’n F

  335 fell working ruthless scheming. The King attributes his political rise to the machinations of his friends, taking none of the blame himself. Cf. 322–3.

  336 lodge harbour. Cf. R3 2.1.66: ‘If ever any grudge were lodged between us’.

  338–41 a purpose … state Henry’s machiavellian rationale for undertaking a crusade, admitted here for the first time, was suggested by Daniel, CW, 3.127. Cf. 3.1.108n. on the Holy Land.

  340–1 look … state ‘scrutinize my kingship too closely’, with an implicit threat of rebellion

  342–3 Be … quarrels That Harry takes his father’s cynical advice is evident from Prince John’s report at 5.5.104–7.

  342 course course of action, strategy

  giddy restless. Cf. 110n.

  343 action … out military action undertaken in foreign lands (hence = abroad)

  344 waste expunge

  345 would I ‘speak’ is understood.

  wasted weakened; picks up on waste at 344

  347–52 Though the scene continues briefly, these three rhyming couplets formally signal the end of the royal exchange. The Prince’s lines are closely modelled on those spoken by his counterpart in Famous Victories, 8.58–61. For a similar use of three rhyming couplets to mark the end of an action, after which the scene continues, see 4.1.346–51 and 4.2n.

  349 *On F’s additional half-line, see 307n.

  won it, wore it ‘Win it and wear it’ was proverbial (Dent, W 408).

  351 pain effort

  341] Q; F lines State. / ( my Harrie) / 347 God] Q; heauen F 349 You] Q; My gracious Liege: / You F

  357 bare, withered trunk For an analogous image of a tree trunk from whose bare branches birds have flown as a metaphor for the ageing human body, see Sonnet 73, in which the poet is figured as leafless winter ‘boughs’ likened to ‘Bare ruined choirs where late the sweet birds sang’ (3–4).

  Upon thy sight on seeing you

  358 makes a period comes to an end

  360–8 Holinshed (3.541) is the source for these lines. The King comments on the irony of his having believed that the prophecy meant that he would die on a crusade rather than at home, in bed. Though there is no historical record of the prophecy he claims, it has parallels in the cases of other famous men. Edward I, for example, who expected to die in the ‘burgh’ of Jerusalem, met his end at Burgh-on-the-Sands near Carlisle in 1307 (Barbour, The Bruce, IV.207–10, EETS 1870, Extra ser. xi.84); in 2H6, Suffolk reports that ‘A cunning man did calculate my birth / And told me that by water I should die’ (4.1.34–5), a prophecy punningly fulfilled as he dies by ‘Walter’ (31); and in R3, Richard ‘started’ at hearing Richmond’s name, ‘Because a bard of Ireland told me once / I should not live long after I saw Richmond’ (4.2.103–5).

  361 swoon See 111 SDn.

  352.1] Q (enter Lancaster); Enter Lord Iohn of Lancaster, and Warwicke. F; Enter Prince John, Warwick, Lords, and Others. Capell 353–4] Q; F lines looke, / Lancaster: / Happinesse, / Father. / 359.1] Enter Warwick, and others. Cam; come forward War. / (Collier); not in QF 361 swoon] Q (swound), F (swoon’d)

  362 Jerusalem Located in Westminster Abbey and not, as here, in the palace, the Jerusalem chamber was the Abbot’s private drawing-room and so named for the mention of Jerusalem in inscriptions around the fireplace.

  365 not … but only

  366 vainly foolishly

  5.1 The location is Shallow’s farm.

  0.1–2 SD F’s block entry, like that in the first Gloucestershire scene (3.2.0), differs from Q and, in bringing on Davy and Silence, is probably in error. Davy is twice called by Shallow (2, 6) and presumably should not enter until ‘Here, sir’ (7), while Silence does not figure in the scene at all.

  1 By … pie by God and the church ordinal: a silly oath which immediately signals a shift in the play from the de casibus tragedy of the King’s death to a scene of comedy. The term cock, a perversion of the word God (as in ‘cock’s body’; see OED sb. 8), was already slang for penis (Williams, Dictionary, 1.258–9), and was so used in H5 (2.1.53–4); pie (OED sb. 3) was idiomatic for the book of rites used by the Roman Catholic Church for the ordination of priests and bishops, but also, appropriately, denotes a dish of food, Shallow’s obsession in this scene.

  2 What ‘Come here!’ or ‘I need you now!’ What was commonly used to introduce an exclamation. Cf. Why (6).

  4–6 I … excused Shallow’s speech is characterized by repetitions such as these, common among old people and often comic in their accumulation. F typically reduces them.

  363] Q; F lines heauen: / end. / God] Q; heauen F 368 SD] F; not in Q 5.1] Actus Quintus. Scoena Prima. F; not in Q 0.1–2] Capell subst.; Enter Shallow, / Falstaffe, and Bardolfe Q (opp. 4.3.367–8); Enter Shallow, Silence, Falstaffe, Bardolfe, Page, and Dauie. F 1 sir,] Q; not in F

  6.1 Davy’s attempt to draw Shallow’s attention to those precepts 12) and especially to a bill for shoeing and plough-irons – ‘Here is now the smith’s note’ (17) – suggests that he has them in his hand when he enters, or at least gestures to them elsewhere, as on a table.

  9–10 William Cook William the cook. For other characters named after their occupations, cf. Doll Tearsheet, Robin Ostler (1H4 2.1.10) and Jeremy Butler (Jonson, Alchemist, 5.1.27).

  12 precepts writs, warrants (OED sb. 4)

  13–14 Here begins a string of questions by which Davy insists that the management of the farm and matters of law take priority over preparation of the meal which preoccupies Shallow. While not totally ignoring Shallow’s injunctions, Davy is clearly used to keeping his master focused in this way.

  13 hade land Q’s hade land, as Cowl points out (Ard1), was the term used for ‘high-lying land’ or ‘land on a hill-side’ to which Drayton refers in Poly-Olbion, 13, when he distinguishes ‘higher Hades’ from ‘lower Leas’. F’s ‘head-land’ normalizes Q’s spelling to signify the strip of land at the end of furrows on which the plough makes its turns, and therefore tillable only after the main crop has been planted. If F’s reading is correct, one may assume Q’s hade to be a countrified form of ‘head’: see Wright, Dictionary, hade sb. (Ard2).

  15 red wheat a variety deeper in colour than ordinary wheat and called ‘red Lammas’ in Gloucestershire, where it was sown in late summer (Lammas Day falling on 1 August) or early autumn (Madden, 373, citing Marshall’s Rural Economy of Cotswold [1796]).

  17 note bill

  18 plough-irons ploughshares; blades used for cutting furrows in the soil

  6 Why, Davy!] Q; separate line F 6.1 Enter DAVY] Theobald; not in QF with papers in hand] this edn 8 Davy, let me see, Davy,] Q; not in F 9 Yea, marry,] Q (yea mary); not in F 10 Cook] QF (Cooke) 13 hade land] Q; head-land F 17–18] prose Q; F lines Sir. / Shooing, / Plough-Irons. /

  19 cast calculated, added up

  21 link rope or chain, possibly to attach the bucket to a yoke. Cf. 3.2.265.

  23 *sack … Fair Hinckley, a market town 30 miles northeast of Stratford-upon-Avon, was noted for its cattle fairs held on Whit Monday and in late August. Q’s spelling ‘Hunkly’ may have resulted from the compositor’s misreading of minims. The word sack may refer to a bag containing grain or some other product of the farm, but possibly it refers to canary wine, the implication being that the cook has drunk the sack he claims to have lost at the fair. See 1.2.198n. on new … sack.

  24 ’A … it ‘He shall be charged for it.’

  25 short-legged hens presumably meatier than long-legged hens

  joint leg or shoulder (OED sb. 8)

  26 kickshaws fancy dishes, dainties; from the French quelques choses

  27 man of war (1) soldier, meaning Falstaff; and perhaps, with a sly glance at his bulk, (2) warship

  28–9 A … purse proverbial: ‘Better is a friend in court than [A friend in court is worth] a penny in purse’ (Dent, F687). Shallow reveals an ulterior motive for entertaining Falstaff which in part undercuts his country largesse.

  29 Use treat

  30 arrant knaves one of Shallow’s favourite phrases. Cf. 39 and 2.1.38n. on arrant.

  31 backbite slander, traduce, speak ill of others. Shallow is concerned lest any lack of hospitality be reported to Falstaff.

  32 back-bitten bitten on the back by lice. Davy cleverly plays on Shallow’s word and makes light of his concern.

  33 marvellous used adverbially to mean ‘extremely’

  foul linen dirty shirts or underwear. Cf. 2.2.19–27.

  19 paid] Q (payed), F (payde) 21 Now,] Q; not in F 23 lost] Q; lost the other day, F Hinckley] F; Hunkly Q 24 ’A] Q; He F it. Some] it: some Q; it: / Some F 26 tiny] Q (tinie), F (tine) 28 Yea, Davy,] Q; Yes Dauy: F (separate line) 32 back-bitten] Q; bitten F 33 marvellous] Q (maruailes), F (maruellous)

  34 Well conceited wittily said. Cf. conceit, 2.4.244.

  About The verb ‘go’ is understood.

  36 countenance find in favour of (OED v. 5a). Cf. 43, 49.

  36–7 William … a’th’ hill Shakespeare takes pains to root his two litigants in Gloucestershire. Visor (or Vizard) was a common name in the region, and a family by that name was recorded living in Woodmancote (locally pronounced ‘Woncot’), near Dursley, in 1612, while a family named Perkis (or Purchase) lived not far away, on Stinchcombe Hill, known locally as simply ‘The Hill’ (Huntley, 22, and Madden, 85–9, 372–4). The hamlet of Wincot, four miles south of Stratford-upon-Avon and mentioned in TS Ind.2.20, has also been offered as the original of Woncote. Rarely so specific in his regional references, Shakespeare may have used a Gloucestershire name for one of Falstaff’s recruits as well (Oxf1): see 3.2.137n.

  38 is On singular verbs with plural subjects, see 1.1.33n.

  39 arrant knave See 30n.

  42 but … should that … should not

  42–3 have some countenance ‘have the court rule in his favour’. Cf. 36, 49.

  43–4 An … not Davy is either explaining why Visor cannot get a fair hearing in court, or referring to himself, who, as a man of probity, can speak on behalf of his knavish friend.

  46 quarter division of the legal calendar (OED sb. 8a). Cf. 78–80n.

  bear out defend, support (OED bear v.1 3a)

  48 honest In contrast to its use at 43 and 47, in which Visor is seen to typify a dishonest man, honest seems here to refer to personal loyalty rather than moral integrity.

  36 I … sir,] Q; separate line F 37 Woncote] Q, F (Woncot) a’th’] Q; of the F 38 is] Q; are F 42 God] Q; heauen F 45 this] Q; these F 46 An] Q (and); and if F 47 have little] Q; haue but a very litle F 49 you] Q; your Worship F

  50 he … wrong If taken as assurance that he will decide the case in favour of Visor, Shallow’s line provides proof of petty corruption in the magistracy, in contrast to the ethical integrity of the Lord Chief Justice. A more benign interpretation is that Shallow promises only to treat Visor fairly.

  50–1 Look about look sharp; get moving

  52–3 off … Bardolph Shallow’s urging Falstaff to remove his boots signals his determination to have him stay to dinner. Indeed, the line may invite comic stage business in which Shallow helps Falstaff off with his boots. Furthermore, ‘Give me your hand’ could be Shallow’s request that Bardolph help him to remove Falstaff’s boots, in which case Bardolph’s taking the line as a greeting (54) and shaking Shallow’s hand would play as a humorous misunderstanding.

  56 tall valiant, as at 3.2.61. If the greeting is addressed to the Page, as seems likely, it is also a joke about his small stature. Cf. you giant at 1.2.1.

  60 quantities little pieces

  make equal

  61 hermits’ staves The suggestion that Shallow is as long and thin as a hermit’s staff recalls Falstaff’s earlier comparison of him to a Vice’s dagger, an eel-skin and an hautboy case (3.2.318, 324, 325). Here, Falstaff contrasts Shallow’s emaciation with his own amplitude.

  62–3 semblable coherence strong similarity

  63, 66 spirits dispositions, modes of behaviour

  50–3] prose Q; F lines too, / Dauy. / Boots. / Bardolfe. / 50 Go … he] Q (Go to I say, he); Go too, / I say he F 51 SD] Capell; not in QF 52 Come, come, come;] Q; Come, F 55 with my] Q; with all my F 56 SD] Rowe (after fellow); not in QF 58, 59 SDs] Capell; not in QF 64 observing] Q; obseruing of F

  65 conversing consorting (OED converse v. 2)

  66–7 are … society ‘have become so similar through constant interaction with one another’

  68–9 flock … geese proverbial: ‘Birds of a feather will flock (fly) together’ (Dent, B393)

  68 in consent in agreement, as one

  69 suit to favour to ask of

  70 with … near (1) ‘by emphasizing in how much confidence their master holds them’; or (2) ‘by implying that I myself am a close friend of his’. Falstaff’s goal of buttering up the servants makes the first meaning more likely.

  71 curry with flatter. The metaphor comes from grooming (currying) a horse (Ard1).

  74 carriage behaviour, demeanour (OED 14a), roughly synonymous with bearing (73). Falstaff is contrasting wisdom and ignorance.

  caught learned by example

  take catch

  75–6 therefore … company See Proverbs, 13.20: ‘He that goeth in the companie of wise men, shalbe wise: but who so is a companion of fooles, shalbe afflicted’; and cf. ‘Draw to such company as you would be like’ (Dent, C565.1). Falstaff does not seem aware of how fitly this proverb will apply to the Prince and his friendship; cf. 5.5.46–50.

  76–7 matter … Shallow play on words: matter denotes substance; ‘shallow’, of little substance.

  78–80 the wearing … intervallums i.e. for a whole year, without a break. Falstaff mocks both the rapid changes in fashions of clothing (six times per year) and the snail’s pace at which lawsuits (actions) are settled. Two such actions may occupy an entire legal year, which was divided into four terms – Michaelmas, Hilary, Easter and Trinity. The long recesses between court sessions were called intervallums, Latin for intervals. As Wilson suggests (Cam1), Falstaff’s satirical barbs may have appealed particularly to the fashionable students at the Inns of Court, London’s law schools, for whom Shakespeare’s company frequently performed.

  74 diseases one] Q; diseases, one F

  81 sad brow straight face

  81–2 a fellow … shoulders probably a reference to the Prince, who is not old enough to have suffered the pangs of age and is still willing to indulge Falstaff’s foolishness. These lines reveal both Falstaff’s abiding affection for the Prince and his assumption of privilege at a time when Harry is poised to deny him everything.

  83–4 like … up as wrinkled as a wet cloak not properly hung to dry

  5.2 The scene occurs in a place where members of the royal family and the nobility meet, perhaps the palace at Westminster.

  0.1–2 *Q’s massed entry may reveal Shakespeare’s early intention to have all the mourners gather at once. It is contradicted by the entry of the King’s three sons at QF 13, possible evidence that only as he wrote did Shakespeare decide to begin the scene with the Lord Chief Justice in private conversation with Warwick. The inclusion of Westmorland in Q’s SD suggests that he was initially to have been among the mourners; his exclusion from Act 5 entirely is odd, though he may have taken part in the coronation procession (5.4) as one of the King’s train.

  3 Exceeding well The sentiment was commonplace. Cf. ‘He is well since he is in Heaven’ (Dent, H347) and ‘she is well and nothing can be ill’ (RJ 5.1.17).

  79 ’a] Q; he F without] Q; with F 82 ache] Q (ach), F 85 SD] Theobald; not in QF 87 SD] Exeunt F; not in Q 5.2] Scena Secunda. F; not in Q 0.1–2] Oxf1 subst.; Enter the Earle of Warwicke, and the Lord Chiefe Iustice. F; Enter Warwike, duke Humphrey, L. chiefe Iustice, Thomas Clarence, Prince Iohn, Westmerland. Q 1 whither] Q; whether F 3] Q; F lines Cares / ended. /

  5 to our purposes ‘in terms of his influence on us’

  6 would wish

  7–8 The Justice refers to his arrest and imprisonment of Harry for boxing him on the ear, the consequences of which now give him pause. Though the legend is not dramatized in this play, Shakespeare’s audience would have been familiar with it, and it was reported in Famous Victories, when the Chief Justice, ‘for fear of my lord the young Prince’ on his accession, releases the thief for whose imprisonment the Prince had boxed his ear (9.1–5). Here, the Justice shows no such fear, but great dignity. Cf. 67–71 and 1.2.56–7n.

  7 truly loyally

  11 condition temper, character. The Justice fortifies himself stoically against a hostile political climate. The condition of the time is one of the play’s preoccupations: cf. 3.1.78 and 4.1.101.

  13 fantasy imagination

  14 heavy issue sorrowful children. For heavy, cf. 1.1.121n.

  15 temper disposition

  16 worst i.e. least worthy

  13.1–2] Q; Enter Iohn of Lancaster, Gloucester, and Clarence. F 16 he] Q; him F

  17 hold their places maintain their rightful positions

  18 ‘who must submit (lower their sails in surrender) to vulgar ruffians’

  20, 21 cousin See 1.2.226n.