KING Henry the Fifth.

Duke of Gloucester,
Duke of Bedford,
Duke of Clarence,

Duke of York,

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Brothers to the King.

Duke of Exeter, Uncles to the King.

Earl of Salisbury.

Earl of Weftmorland.
Earl of Warwick.
Archbishop of Canterbury.
Bishop of Ely.

Earl of Cambridge,
Lord Scroop,

Sir Thomas Grey,

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Confpirators against the King.

Sir Thomas Erpingham, Gower, Fluellen, Mackmorris, Jamy, Officers in King Henry's Army. Nym, Bardolph, Pitol, Boy, formerly Servants to Falftaff, now Soldiers in the King's Army.

Bates, Court, Williams, Soldiers.

Charles, King of France.

The Dauphin.

Duke of Burgundy.

Constable, Orleans, Rambures, Bourbon, Grandpree,

French Lords.

Governor of Harfleur.

Mountjoy, a Herald.

Ambafadors to the King of England.

Ifabel, Queen of France.

Catharine, Daughter to the King of France.

Alice, a Lady attending on the Princess Catharine.
Quickly, Pitol's Wife, an Hoftefs.

CHORUS.

Lords, Meffengers, French and English Soldiers, with

other Attendants.

The Scene, at the beginning of the Play, lies in England; but afterwards, wholly in France.

Of this play the editions are,

I. 1600, Tho. Crede for Tho. Milleyton, 4to.

II. 1608, for J. P. 4to.

III. 1623, &c. Folio.

I have the fecond quarto and folio. This folio edition is much enlarged,

Ό

For a mufe of fire, that would afcend
The brightest heaven of invention!
A kingdom for a stage, (2) Princes to act,
And Monarchs to behold the fwelling Scene!
Then should the warlike Harry, like himself,
Affume the port of Mars; and, at his heels,
Leafht in, like hounds, fhould famine, fword and fire
Crouch for employment. But pardon, gentles all,
The flat unraifed Spirit, that hath dar'd,
On this unworthy Scaffold, to bring forth
So great an object. Can this Cock-pit hold
The vafty field of France? or may we cram,
(3) Within this wooden O, (4) the very cafkes
That did affright the air, at Agincourt?
O, pardon; fince a crooked figure may
Atteft in little place a million;

And let us, cyphers to this great accompt,
(5) On your imaginary forces work.
Suppofe, within the girdle of thefe walls
Are now confin'd tro mighty monarchies ;

(1) O for a Mufe of fire, &c.] This goes upon the notion of the Peripatetic Syftem, which imagines feveral Heavens one above another; the laft and the higheft of which was one of fire. WARBURTON.

It alludes likewife to the afpiring nature of fire, which, by its levity, at the separation of the chaos, took the highest seat of all the elements.

(2)

-Princes to act,
And monarchs to behold-]

Shakespeare does not seem to fet distance enough between the performers and fpectators.

(3) Within this wooden 0,] Nothing fhews more evidently the power of custom over language, than that the frequent use of calling a circle an O could fo much hide the meanness of the metaphor from Shakespeare, that he has ufed it many times where he makes his moft eager attempts at dignity of stile.

(4) The very cafkes-] The helmets.

(5) Imaginary forces-] Imaginary for imaginative, or your powers of fancy. Active and paffive words are by this author frequently confounded.

(6) Whofe high up-reared and abutting fronts,
The perillous narrow ocean parts afunder.
Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts,
Into a thousand parts divide one man,
(7) And make imaginary puissance.

Think, when we talk of horses, that you fee them
Printing their proud hoofs i' th' receiving earth.
(8) For 'tis your thoughts that now muft deck our Kings,
Carry them here and there, jumping o'er times,
Turning the accomplishment of many years
Into an hour-glafs; for the which supply,
Admit me Chorus to this hiftory;

Who, prologue-like, your humble patience pray,
Gently to hear, kindly to judge, our Play.

(6) Whofe high up-reared, and abutting fronts, THE PERILLOUS narrow ocean parts afunder.] Without doubt the author wrote,

Whofe high-up-reared, and abutting fronts

PERILLOUS, THE narrow ocean parts afunder.]

For his purpofe is to fhew, that the highest danger arifes from the fhock of their meeting; and that it is but a little thing which keeps them afunder. This fenfe my emendation gives us, as the common reading gives us a contrary; for those whom a perillous ocean parts afunder, are in no danger of meeting.

WARBURTON.

(7) And make imaginary puiffance.] This paffage fhews that Shakespeare was fully fenfible of the abfurdity of fhewing battles on the theatre, which indeed is never done but tragedy becomes farce. Nothing can be reprefented to the eye but by something like it, and within a wooden O nothing very like a battle can be exhibited.

(8) For 'tis your thoughts that now muft deck our Kings, Carry them here and there,]

We should read king for kings. The prologue relates only to this fingle play. The mistake was made by referring them to kings which belongs to thoughts. The fenfe is, your thoughts must give the king his proper greatness, carry therefore your thoughts here and there.

The