KING

SCENE 1.-WESTMINSTER ABBEY. Dead March. The corpse of King HENRY the Fifth is discovered, lying in state, attended on by the Dukes of BEDFORD, GLOSTER, and EXETER; the Earl of WARWICK, the Bishop of WINCHESTER, Heralds, &c.

Bed. Hung be the heavens with black,2 yield day to night!

1. The first known printed copy of this play is the one in the 1623 Folio. There is a record in Henslowe's Diary, of "Henery the vj." having been first acted on the 3rd of March, 1591-2; and Nash (in his "Pierce Pennilesse," 1592) alludes to a play on this subject as follows:-"How would it have ioyed brave Talbot (the terror of the French) to thinke that after he had lyne two hundred yeare in his tombe, he should triumph againe on the stage, and have his bones new embalmed with the teares of ten thousand spectators at least (at severall times), who, in the trajedian that represents his person, imagine they behold him fresh bleeding." There have been various controversies on the point as to whether this play was one of Shakespeare's original compositions, or whether it was merely a re-modelling by him of some old drama not now known to exist. The arguments brought forward in support of the theory that it was entirely his production, chiefly centre in the circumstance that there is evident connection and consequent plan to be traced throughout the three chronicle plays of the First, Second, and Third Parts of "Henry VI.," which make them appear to be the carefullyconsidered work of one and the same hand; but with such a remodeller as Shakespeare, this would be surely borne in mind and made to subsist. In adopting an interesting subject like the one in question for an historical play or plays-portraying the loss of dominion abroad, and growth of civil discontents at home-the poet would infallibly show how event led on to event, and cause to effect, and misdeed to catastrophe, linking each portion into a consistent whole. But this might be done by such means as Shakespeare knew how to use, even in merely retouching and re-moulding a play for representation. That the main portion was his composition we cannot believe; because, even allowing for the immaturity of his pen at the period when they were probably written, the style of diction, the versification, the imagery, do not bear resemblance to those of his youthful plays "Two Gentlemen of Verona," "Comedy of Errors," and 'Love's Labour's Lost." There is a stiltedness in the lines, a pompous mouthingness in the speeches, a stiffness in the construction, pervading the major part of this play, that appear to us inconsistent with Shakespeare's manner, even in his earlies. writing. Our belief is, that, when a young man just come up

Comets, importing change of times and states,
Brandish your crystal tresses in the sky,
And with them scourge the bad revolting stars,
That have consented unto Henry's death!
King Henry the Fifth, too famous to live long!
England ne er lost a king of so much worth.*

Glo. England ne'er had a king until his time. Virtue he had, deserving to command:

to town to seek his fortune, joining the actors and preparing to become sharer with them in the Blackfriars Theatre, he turned his hand to arranging plays for representation, and that the three plays on the subject of Henry VI. were among those he thus arranged. There are two years in Shakespeare's life-1587 and 1588, when he was a young man of twenty-three and twentyfour-of which there exists no record as regards his proceedings: they were the first years of his London existence, and we have always thought it probable that it was during these two years that he was busy upon these (and perhaps others, now lost) arranged dramas, besides producing a few original plays,-as, for instance, "Richard III.," "Midsummer Night's Dream, and "Romeo and Juliet ;" that afterwards, finding the chronicle plays already brought forward succeed, he wrote the two plays on the subject of Henry IV., and the play of Henry V., so as to complete that historical series; and that he alludes to that success in the line of the Chorus-Epilogue to Henry V.," where the speaker says, "Which oft our stage hath shown." The very words in which this line is couched, to our minds, confirm the point that these three plays of " Henry VI.' were not original productions of Shakespeare, but still his to a certain extent, his by re-touching, re-arranging, and adaptation. They were possibly MS. plays that he thought likely to prove popular, if revised; and therefore gave them such improvement as he thought needful for the use of the new theatrical company of which he was about to become a member, in the triple capacity of author, actor, and shareholder.

2. Hung be the heavens with black. The upper portion of the stage decoration, in Shakespeare's time, was technically called "the heavens." It represented the sky, but when the subject of the performance was of a tragic character, the upper and side portions of the stage were hung with black. It is probable, therefore, that Bedford's words include figurative reference to this custom.

3. Crystal. An epithet sometimes applied to comets by writers in Shakespeare's time

4. England ne'er lost a king of so much worth. Coleridge, himself a poet, and a poet possessed of an exquisitely musical ear, remarks upon this very first speech, "Read aloud any two

His brandish'd sword did blind men with his beains;

His arms spread wider than a dragon's wings;
His sparkling eyes, replete with wrathful fire,
More dazzled and drove back his enemies
Than mid-day sun fierce bent against their faces.
What should I say? his deeds exceed all speech:
He ne'er lift up his hand, but conquerè 1.
Exe.

:

We mourn in black why mourn we not in blood?

Henry is dead, and never shall revive :
Upon a wooden coffin we attend;
And death's dishonourable victory
We with our stately presence glorify,
Like captives bound to a triumphant car.
What! shall we curse the planets of mishap,
That plotted thus our glory's overthrow ?
Or shall we think the subtle-witted French
Conjurers and sorcerers, that, afraid of him,
By magic verses have contriv'd his end ??
Win. He was a king bless'd of the King of
kings.

Unto the French the dreadful judgment-day
So dreadful will not be as was his sight.
The battles of the Lord of hosts he fought :
The Church's prayers made him so prosperous.
The Church where is it? Had not
Churchmen pray'd,

Glo.

His thread of life had not so soon decay'd:
None do you like but an effeminate prince,
Whom, like a school-boy, you may over-awe.
Win. Gloster, whate'er we like, thou art pro-

tector,

And lookest to command the prince and realm. Thy wife is proud; she holdeth thee in awe, More than God or religious Churchmen may.

or three passages in blank verse even from Shakespeare's earliest dramas, as Love's Labour's Lost,' or 'Romeo and Juliet,' and then read in the same way this speech, with especial attention to the metre, and if you do not feel the impossibility of the latter having been written by Shakespeare, all I dare suggest is, that you may have ears-for so has another animal-but an ear you cannot have, me judice."

5. He ne'er lift up his hand. "Lift" is here used for 'lifted;' as elsewhere, quit" for quitted,' and "heat" for 'heated.' See Note 30, Act i., "Tempest," and Note 10, Act iv., "King John."

6. What! shall we curse the planets of mishap? A line terribly in mine Ancient Pistol's vein; and it is worth remarking that the style of question used in this scene is strikingly unShakespearian.

7. By magic verses have contriv'd his end. There was an a cient superstitious belief that death could be caused by certain mledictory and magical verses. Sir Philip Sydney, in his "Defence of Poesie," says, "I will not wish you to be rimed to death, as is said to be done in Ireland:" and Reginald Scot, in his "Discoverie of Witchcraft," observes, "The Irishmen will not sticke to affirme that they can rime man or beast to death." See Note 40, Act iii., "As You Like It."

8. A nourish of salt tears. Pope altered "nourish" here to marish: but "nourish" and 'nourice' were old forms of

Glo. Name not religion, for thou lov'st the flesh;

And ne'er throughout the year to church thou go'st,

Except it be to pray against thy foes.
Bed.

Cease, cease these jars, and rest your minds in peace!

Let's to the altar: -heralds, wait on us :-
Instead of gold, we'll offer up our arms;

Since arms avail not, now that Henry's dead.—
Posterity, await for wretched years,

When at their mothers' moist eyes babes shall suck;

Our isle be made a nourish of salt tears,8
And none but women left to wail the dead. —
Henry the Fifth thy ghost I invocate;
Prosper this realm, keep it from civil broils!
Combat with adverse planets in the heavens!
A far more glorious star thy soul will make,
Than Julius Cæsar or bright

'nurse' and 'nurse' was used figuratively for a fosterer and supplier. Lydgate thus uses the word :

"Athenes, whan it was in his floures,
Was called nourish of philosophers wise."

9. Julius Cæsar or bright — On the assumption that this line was left incomplete, from a transcriber's or printer's omission, in consequence of being unable to make out the word in the original manuscript, various attempts have been made to supply the blank; Pope suggesting 'Francis Drake,' Johnson 'Berenice,' Theobald 'Cassiopeia,' Capell 'Alexander,' Mitford 'Orion,' and Keightley 'Cepheus.' But from the circumstance of the line being printed in the Folio with a dash, thus, “bright ," just as two other passages of this play (see Note 70, Act i., and Note 28, Act v.) are printed' whiles" and "my-,” where an interrupted speech is indicated, we believe that here it was intended to mark that Bedford's speech is broken off by the entrance of the messenger. Instances of these broken-off speeches, indicated by a dash, occur elsewhere in Shakespeare: sometimes from one speaker interrupting another, sometimes from the speaker interrupting himself, and sometimes-as in the present case-from the abrupt entrance of an additional person. 10. Sad tidings bring 1 to you, &c. We find instances of transposed construction in Shakespeare; but not of this kindmere vulgar awkwardnesses of style.