Edward II (pièce, 1592), texte orignal acte 5 : Différence entre versions
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Aller à l'[[Edward II (pièce, 1592), texte orignal acte 3|acte III]] - Retour à la pièce ''[[Edward II (pièce, 1592)|Edward II]]'' | Aller à l'[[Edward II (pièce, 1592), texte orignal acte 3|acte III]] - Retour à la pièce ''[[Edward II (pièce, 1592)|Edward II]]'' | ||
− | Texte original en anglais du quatrième acte de la pièce ''[[Edward II (pièce, | + | Texte original en anglais du quatrième acte de la pièce ''[[Edward II (pièce, 1592)|Edward II]]'' de [[Christopher Marlowe]], 1592, tiré de [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Edward_II Wikisource]. |
==Scene 1== | ==Scene 1== |
Version du 24 mai 2011 à 17:15
Aller à l'acte III - Retour à la pièce Edward II
Texte original en anglais du quatrième acte de la pièce Edward II de Christopher Marlowe, 1592, tiré de Wikisource.
Scene 1
A room in Kenilworth Castle
Enter KING EDWARD, LEICESTER, the BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, and TRUSSEL.
LEICESTER
- Be patient, good my lord, cease to lament.
- Imagine Killingworth Castle were your court,
- And that you lay for pleasure here a space,
- Not of compulsion or necessity. 4
KING EDWARD
- Leicester, if gentle words might comfort me,
- Thy speeches long ago had eas’d my sorrows;
- For kind and loving hast thou always been.
- The griefs of private men are soon allay’d, 8
- But not of kings. The forest deer, being struck,
- Runs to an herb that closeth up the wounds;
- But, when the imperial lion’s flesh is gored,
- He rends and tears it with his wrathful paw, 12
- And highly scorning that the lowly earth
- Should drink his blood, mounts up into the air.
- And so it fares with me, whose dauntless mind
- The ambitious Mortimer would seek to curb, 16
- And that unnatural queen, false Isabel,
- That thus hath pent and mew’d me in a prison;
- For such outrageous passions cloy my soul,
- As with the wings of rancour and disdain, 20
- Full often am I soaring up to Heaven,
- To plain me to the gods against them both.
- But when I call to mind I am a king,
- Methinks I should revenge me of my wrongs, 24
- That Mortimer and Isabel have done.
- But what are kings, when regiment 1 is gone,
- But perfect shadows in a sunshine day?
- My nobles rule, I bear the name of king; 28
- I wear the crown, but am controll’d by them,
- By Mortimer, and my unconstant queen,
- Who spots my nuptial bed with infamy;
- Whilst I am lodg’d within this cave of care, 32
- Where sorrow at my elbow still attends,
- To company my heart with sad laments,
- That bleeds within me for this strange exchange.
- But tell me, must I now resign my crown, 36
- To make usurping Mortimer a king?
BISHOP OF WINCHESTER
- Your grace mistakes; it is for England’s good,
- And princely Edward’s right we crave the crown.
KING EDWARD
- No, ’tis for Mortimer, not Edward’s head; 40
- For he’s a lamb, encompassed by wolves,
- Which in a moment will abridge his life.
- But if proud Mortimer do wear this crown,
- Heavens turn it to a blaze of quenchless fire! 44
- Or like the snaky wreath of Tisiphon,
- Engirt the temples of his hateful head;
- So shall not England’s vine be perished,
- But Edward’s name survives, though Edward dies. 48
LEICESTER
- My lord, why waste you thus the time away?
- They stay your answer; will you yield your crown?
KING EDWARD
- Ah, Leicester, weigh how hardly I can brook
- To lose my crown and kingdom without cause; 52
- To give ambitious Mortimer my right,
- That like a mountain overwhelms my bliss,
- In which extreme my mind here murdered is.
- But what the heavens appoint, I must obey! 56
- Here, take my crown; the life of Edward too; Taking off the crown.
- Two kings in England cannot reign at once.
- But stay awhile, let me be king till night,
- That I may gaze upon this glittering crown; 60
- So shall my eyes receive their last content,
- My head, the latest honour due to it,
- And jointly both yield up their wished right.
- Continue ever thou celestial sun; 64
- Let never silent night possess this clime:
- Stand still you watches of the element;
- All times and seasons, rest you at a stay,
- That Edward may be still fair England’s king! 68
- But day’s bright beam doth vanish fast away,
- And needs I must resign my wished crown.
- Inhuman creatures! nurs’d with tiger’s milk!
- Why gape you for your sovereign’s overthrow! 72
- My diadem I mean, and guiltless life.
- See, monsters, see, I’ll wear my crown again! He puts on the crown.
- What, fear you not the fury of your king?
- But, hapless Edward, thou art fondly 2 led; 76
- They pass 3 not for thy frowns as late they did,
- But seek to make a new-elected king;
- Which fills my mind with strange despairing thoughts,
- Which thoughts are martyred with endless torments, 80
- And in this torment comfort find I none,
- But that I feel the crown upon my head;
- And therefore let me wear it yet awhile.
TRUSSEL
- My lord, the parliament must have present news, 84
- And therefore say, will you resign or no?
The KING rageth. KING EDWARD
- I’ll not resign, but whilst I live be king.
- Traitors, be gone and join with Mortimer!
- Elect, conspire, install, do what you will:— 88
- Their blood and yours shall seal these treacheries!
BISHOP OF WINCHESTER
- This answer we’ll return, and so farewell.
Going with TRUSSEL. LEICESTER
- Call them again, my lord, and speak them fair;
- For if they go, the prince shall lose his right. 92
KING EDWARD
- Call thou them back, I have no power to speak.
LEICESTER
- My lord, the king is willing to resign.
BISHOP OF WINCHESTER
- If he be not, let him choose.
KING EDWARD
- O would I might, but heavens and earth conspire 96
- To make me miserable! Here receive my crown;
- Receive it? No, these innocent hands of mine
- Shall not be guilty of so foul a crime.
- He of you all that most desires my blood, 100
- And will be called the murderer of a king,
- Take it. What, are you moved? Pity you me?
- Then send for unrelenting Mortimer,
- And Isabel, whose eyes, being turned to steel, 104
- Will sooner sparkle fire than shed a tear.
- Yet stay, for rather than I’ll look on them,
- Here, here! Gives the crown.
- Now, sweet God of Heaven, 108
- Make me despise this transitory pomp,
- And sit for aye enthronized in Heaven!
- Come, death, and with thy fingers close my eyes,
- Or if I live, let me forget myself. 112
BISHOP OF WINCHESTER
- My lord—
KING EDWARD
- Call me not lord; away—out of my sight!
- Ah, pardon me: grief makes me lunatic!
- Let not that Mortimer protect my son; 116
- More safety is there in a tiger’s jaws,
- Than his embracements. Bear this to the queen,
- Wet with my tears, and dried again with sighs; Gives a handkerchief.
- If with the sight thereof she be not mov’d, 120
- Return it back and dip it in my blood.
- Commend me to my son, and bid him rule
- Better than I. Yet how have I transgress’d,
- Unless it be with too much clemency? 124
TRUSSEL
- And thus most humbly do we take our leave.
KING EDWARD
- Farewell;
Exeunt the BISHOP OF WINCHESTER and TRUSSEL.
- I know the next news that they bring
- Will be my death; and welcome shall it be; 128
- To wretched men, death is felicity.
Enter BERKELEY, (who gives a paper to LEICESTER)
LEICESTER
- Another post! what news brings he?
KING EDWARD
- Such news as I expect—come, Berkeley, come,
- And tell thy message to my naked breast. 132
BERKELEY
- My lord, think not a thought so villainous
- Can harbour in a man of noble birth.
- To do your highness service and devoir,
- And save you from your foes, Berkeley would die. 136
LEICESTER
- My lord, the council of the queen commands
- That I resign my charge.
KING EDWARD
- And who must keep me now? Must you, my lord?
BERKELEY
- Ay, my most gracious lord; so ’tis decreed. 140
KING EDWARDtaking the paper.
- By Mortimer, whose name is written here!
- Well may I rend his name that rends my heart! Tears it.
- This poor revenge has something eas’d my mind.
- So may his limbs be torn, as is this paper! 144
- Hear me, immortal Jove, and grant it too!
BERKELEY
- Your grace must hence with me to Berkeley straight.
KING EDWARD
- Whither you will; all places are alike,
- And every earth is fit for burial. 148
LEICESTER
- Favour him, my lord, as much as lieth in you.
BERKELEY
- Even so betide my soul as I use him.
KING EDWARD
- Mine enemy hath pitied my estate,
- And that’s the cause that I am now remov’d. 152
BERKELEY
- And thinks your grace that Berkeley will be cruel?
KING EDWARD
- I know not; but of this am I assured,
- That death ends all, and I can die but once.
- Leicester, farewell! 156
LEICESTER
- Not yet, my lord; I’ll bear you on your way.
Exeunt.
Scene 2
The royal palace
Enter QUEEN ISABELLA and Young MORTIMER
YOUNG MORTIMER
- Fair Isabel, now have we our desire;
- The proud corrupters of the light-brain’d king
- Have done their homage to the lofty gallows,
- And he himself lies in captivity. 4
- Be rul’d by me, and we will rule the realm.
- In any case take heed of childish fear,
- For now we hold an old wolf by the ears,
- That, if he slip, will seize upon us both, 8
- And gripe the sorer, being grip’d himself.
- Think therefore, madam, that imports us much
- To erect your son with all the speed we may,
- And that I be protector over him; 12
- For our behoof will bear the greater sway
- Whenas a king’s name shall be under writ.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Sweet Mortimer, the life of Isabel,
- Be thou persuaded that I love thee well, 16
- And therefore, so the prince my son be safe,
- Whom I esteem as dear as these mine eyes,
- Conclude against his father what thou wilt,
- And I myself will willingly subscribe. 20
YOUNG MORTIMER
- First would I hear news that he were depos’d,
- And then let me alone to handle him.
Enter MESSENGER
- Letters! from whence?
MESSENGER
- From Killingworth, my lord. 24
QUEEN ISABELLA
- How fares my lord the king?
MESSENGER
- In health, madam, but full of pensiveness.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Alas, poor soul, would I could ease his grief!
Enter the BISHOP OF WINCHESTER with the crown.
- Thanks, gentle Winchester.
To the Messenger.
- Sirrah, be gone.
Exit Messenger. 28 BISHOP OF WINCHESTER
- The king hath willingly resign’d his crown.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- O happy news! send for the prince, my son.
BISHOP OF WINCHESTER
- Further, or this letter was seal’d, Lord Berkeley came,
- So that he now is gone from Killingworth; 32
- And we have heard that Edmund laid a plot
- To set his brother free; no more but so.
- The lord of Berkeley is as pitiful
- As Leicester that had charge of him before. 36
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Then let some other be his guardian.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- Let me alone, here is the privy seal.
Exit the BISHOP OF WINCHESTER.
- Who’s there?—Call hither Gurney and Matrevis.
To Attendants within.
- To dash the heavy-headed Edmund’s drift, 40
- Berkeley shall be discharg’d, the king remov’d,
- And none but we shall know where he lieth.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- But, Mortimer, as long as he survives,
- What safety rests for us, or for my son? 44
YOUNG MORTIMER
- Speak, shall he presently be despatch’d and die?
QUEEN ISABELLA
- I would he were, so ’twere not by my means.
Enter MATREVIS and GURNEY
YOUNG MORTIMER
- Enough.—
- Matrevis, write a letter presently 48
- Unto the lord of Berkeley from ourself
- That he resign the king to thee and Gurney;
- And when ’tis done, we will subscribe our name.
MATREVIS
- It shall be done, my lord. Writes. 52
YOUNG MORTIMER
- Gurney.
GURNEY
- My lord.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- As thou intend’st to rise by Mortimer,
- Who now makes Fortune’s wheel turn as he please, 56
- Seek all the means thou canst to make him droop,
- And neither give him kind word nor good look.
GURNEY
- I warrant you, my lord.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- And this above the rest: because we hear 60
- That Edmund casts to work his liberty,
- Remove him still from thence place to place by night,
- Till at the last he come to Killingworth,
- And then from thence to Berkeley back again; 64
- And by the way, to make him fret the more,
- Speak curstly to him, and in any case
- Let no man comfort him; if he chance to weep,
- But amplify his grief with bitter words. 68
MATREVIS
- Fear not, my lord, we’ll do as you command.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- So now away; post thitherwards amain.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Whither goes this letter? To my lord the king?
- Commend me humbly to his majesty, 72
- And tell him that I labour all in vain
- To ease his grief, and work his liberty;
- And bear him this as witness of my love. Gives a ring.
MATREVIS
- I will, madam. Exit with GURNEY. 76
Enter PRINCE EDWARD, and KENT talking with him
YOUNG MORTIMER
- Finely dissembled. Do so still, sweet queen.
- Here comes the young prince with the Earl of Kent.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Something he whispers in his childish ears.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- If he have such access unto the prince, 80
- Our plots and stratagems will soon be dash’d.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Use Edmund friendly, as if all were well.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- How fares my honourable lord of Kent?
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- In health, sweet Mortimer. How fares your grace? 84
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Well, if my lord your brother were enlarg’d.
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- I hear of late he hath depos’d himself.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- The more my grief.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- And mine. 88
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- Ah, they do dissemble! Aside.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Sweet son, come hither, I must talk with thee.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- You being his uncle, and the next of blood,
- Do look to be protector o’er the prince. 92
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- Not I, my lord; who should protect the son,
- But she that gave him life? I mean the queen.
PRINCE EDWARD
- Mother, persuade me not to wear the crown:
- Let him be king—I am too young to reign. 96
QUEEN ISABELLA
- But be content, seeing ’tis his highness’ pleasure.
PRINCE EDWARD
- Let me but see him first, and then I will.
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- Ay, do, sweet nephew.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Brother, you know it is impossible. 100
PRINCE EDWARD
- Why, is he dead?
QUEEN ISABELLA
- No, God forbid!
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- I would those words proceeded from your heart.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- Inconstant Edmund, dost thou favour him, 104
- That wast the cause of his imprisonment?
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- The more cause have I now to make amends.
YOUNG MORTIMERAside to Q. ISAB.
- I tell thee, ’tis not meet that one so false
- Should come about the person of a prince.— 108
- My lord, he hath betray’d the king his brother,
- And therefore trust him not.
PRINCE EDWARD
- But he repents, and sorrows for it now.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Come, son, and go with this gentle lord and me. 112
PRINCE EDWARD
- With you I will, but not with Mortimer.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- Why, youngling, ’sdain’st thou so of Mortimer?
- Then I will carry thee by force away.
PRINCE EDWARD
- Help, uncle Kent! Mortimer will wrong me. 116
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Brother Edmund, strive not; we are his friends;
- Isabel is nearer than the Earl of Kent.
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- Sister, Edward is my charge, redeem him.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Edward is my son, and I will keep him. 120
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- Mortimer shall know that he hath wrong’d me!—
- Hence will I haste to Killingworth Castle,
- And rescue aged Edward from his foes,
- To be reveng’d on Mortimer and thee. Aside.
Exeunt (on one side QUEEN ISABELLA, PRINCE EDWARD, and Young MORTIMER; on the other KENT.)
Scene 3
Kenilworth Castle
Enter MATREVIS and GURNEY (and Soldiers,) with KING EDWARD
MATREVIS
- My lord, be not pensive, we are your friends;
- Men are ordain’d to live in misery,
- Therefore come,—dalliance dangereth our lives.
KING EDWARD
- Friends, whither must unhappy Edward go? 4
- Will hateful Mortimer appoint no rest?
- Must I be vexed like the nightly bird,
- Whose sight is loathsome to all winged fowls?
- When will the fury of his mind assuage? 8
- When will his heart be satisfied with blood?
- If mine will serve, unbowel straight this breast,
- And give my heart to Isabel and him;
- It is the chiefest mark they level at. 12
GURNEY
- Not so my liege, the queen hath given this charge
- To keep your grace in safety;
- Your passions make your dolours to increase.
KING EDWARD
- This usage makes my misery to increase. 16
- But can my air of life continue long
- When all my senses are annoy’d with stench?
- Within a dungeon England’s king is kept,
- Where I am starv’d for want of sustenance. 20
- My daily diet is heart-breaking sobs,
- That almost rents the closet of my heart.
- Thus lives old Edward not reliev’d by any,
- And so must die, though pitied by many. 24
- O, water, gentle friends, to cool my thirst,
- And clear my body from foul excrements!
MATREVIS
- Here’s channel water, as our charge is given.
- Sit down, for we’ll be barbers to your grace. 28
KING EDWARD
- Traitors, away! What, will you murder me,
- Or choke your sovereign with puddle water?
GURNEY
- No; but wash your face, and shave away your beard,
- Lest you be known and so be rescued. 32
MATREVIS
- Why strive you thus? Your labour is in vain!
KING EDWARD
- The wren may strive against the lion’s strength,
- But all in vain: so vainly do I strive
- To seek for mercy at a tyrant’s hand. They wash him with puddle water, and shave his beard away. 36
- Immortal powers! that knows the painful cares
- That wait upon my poor distressed soul,
- O level all your looks upon these daring men,
- That wrongs their liege and sovereign, England’s king! 40
- O Gaveston, ’tis for thee that I am wrong’d,
- For me, both thou and both the Spencers died!
- And for your sakes a thousand wrongs I’ll take.
- The Spencers’ ghosts, wherever they remain, 44
- Wish well to mine; then tush, for them I’ll die.
MATREVIS
- ’Twixt theirs and yours shall be no enmity.
- Come, come away; now put the torches out,
- We’ll enter in by darkness to Killingworth. 48
Enter KENT
GURNEY
- How now, who comes there?
MATREVIS
- Guard the king sure: it is the Earl of Kent.
KING EDWARD
- O gentle brother, help to rescue me!
MATREVIS
- Keep them asunder; thrust in the king. 52
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- Soldiers, let me but talk to him one word.
GURNEY
- Lay hands upon the earl for his assault.
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- Lay down your weapons, traitors! Yield the king!
MATREVIS
- Edmund, yield thou thyself, or thou shalt die. 56
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- Base villains, wherefore do you gripe me thus?
GURNEY
- Bind him and so convey him to the court.
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- Where is the court but here? Here is the king;
- And I will visit him; why stay you me? 60
MATREVIS
- The court is where Lord Mortimer remains;
- Thither shall your honour go; and so farewell.
Exeunt MATREVIS and GURNEY, with KING EDWARD.
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- O miserable is that commonweal,
- Where lords keep courts, and kings are locked in prison! 64
SOLDIER
- Wherefore stay we? On, sirs, to the court!
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- Ay, lead me whither you will, even to my death,
- Seeing that my brother cannot be releas’d. Exeunt.
Scene 4
The royal palace
Enter Young MORTIMER
YOUNG MORTIMER
- The king must die, or Mortimer goes down;
- The commons now begin to pity him.
- Yet he that is the cause of Edward’s death,
- Is sure to pay for it when his son’s of age; 4
- And therefore will I do it cunningly.
- This letter, written by a friend of ours,
- Contains his death, yet bids them save his life. Reads.
- “Edwardum occidere nolite timere, bonum est 8
- Fear not to kill the king, ’tis good he die.”
- But read it thus, and that’s another sense:
- “Edwardum occidere nolite, timere bonum est
- Kill not the king, ’tis good to fear the worst.” 12
- Unpointed as it is, thus shall it go,
- That, being dead, if it chance to be found,
- Matrevis and the rest may bear the blame,
- And we be quit that caus’d it to be done. 16
- Within this room is lock’d the messenger
- That shall convey it, and perform the rest;
- And by a secret token that he bears,
- Shall he be murdered when the deed is done.— 20
- Lightborn, come forth!
Enter LIGHTBORN
- Art thou as resolute as thou wast?
LIGHTBORN
- What else, my lord? And far more resolute.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- And hast thou cast how to accomplish it? 24
LIGHTBORN
- Ay, ay, and none shall know which way he died.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- But at his looks, Lightborn, thou wilt relent.
LIGHTBORN
- Relent! ha, ha! I use much to relent.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- Well, do it bravely, and be secret. 28
LIGHTBORN
- You shall not need to give instructions;
- ’Tis not the first time I have kill’d a man.
- I learn’d in Naples how to poison flowers;
- To strangle with a lawn thrust through the throat; 32
- To pierce the windpipe with a needle’s point;
- Or whilst one is asleep, to take a quill
- And blow a little powder in his ears;
- Or open his mouth and pour quicksilver down. 36
- And yet I have a braver way than these.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- What’s that?
LIGHTBORN
- Nay, you shall pardon me; none shall know my tricks.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- I care not how it is, so it be not spied. Gives letter. 40
- Deliver this to Gurney and Matrevis.
- At every ten mile end thou hast a horse.
- Take this; Gives money away! and never see me more.
LIGHTBORN
- No! 44
YOUNG MORTIMER
- No;
- Unless thou bring me news of Edward’s death.
LIGHTBORN
- That will I quickly do. Farewell, my lord.
Exit. YOUNG MORTIMER
- The prince I rule, the queen do I command, 48
- And with a lowly conge to the ground,
- The proudest lords salute me as I pass;
- I seal, I cancel, I do what I will.
- Fear’d am I more than lov’d;—let me be fear’d, 52
- And when I frown, make all the court look pale.
- I view the prince with Aristarchus’ eyes,
- Whose looks were as a breeching to a boy.
- They thrust upon me the protectorship, 56
- And sue to me for that that I desire.
- While at the council-table, grave enough,
- And not unlike a bashful puritan,
- First I complain of imbecility, 60
- Saying it is onus quam gravissimum, 2
- Till being interrupted by my friends,
- Suscepi that provinciam as they term it;
- And to conclude, I am Protector now. 64
- Now is all sure: the queen and Mortimer
- Shall rule the realm, the king; and none rule us.
- Mine enemies will I plague, my friends advance;
- And what I list command who dare control? 68
- Major sum quam cui possit fortuna nocere.
- And that this be the coronation-day,
- It pleaseth me, and Isabel the queen. Trumpets within.
- The trumpets sound, I must go take my place. 72
Enter the Young KING, QUEEN ISABELLA, the ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, Champion and Nobles
ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
- Long live King Edward, by the grace of God
- King of England and Lord of Ireland!
CHAMPION
- If any Christian, Heathen, Turk, or Jew,
- Dares but affirm that Edward’s not true king, 76
- And will avouch his saying with the sword,
- I am the champion that will combat him.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- None comes, sound trumpets. Trumpets sound.
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- Champion, here’s to thee. Gives a purse. 80
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Lord Mortimer, now take him to your charge.
Enter Soldiers, with KENT prisoner
YOUNG MORTIMER
- What traitor have we there with blades and bills?
SOLDIER
- Edmund, the Earl of Kent.
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- What hath he done? 84
SOLDIER
- A would have taken the king away perforce,
- As we were bringing him to Killingworth.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- Did you attempt this rescue, Edmund? Speak.
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- Mortimer, I did; he is our king, 88
- And thou compell’st this prince to wear the crown.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- Strike off his head! he shall have martial law.
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- Strike off my head! Base traitor, I defy thee!
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- My lord, he is my uncle, and shall live. 92
YOUNG MORTIMER
- My lord, he is your enemy, and shall die.
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- Stay, villains!
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- Sweet mother, if I cannot pardon him,
- Entreat my Lord Protector for his life. 96
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Son, be content; I dare not speak a word.
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- Nor I, and yet methinks I should command;
- But, seeing I cannot, I’ll entreat for him—
- My lord, if you will let my uncle live, 100
- I will requite it when I come to age.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- ’Tis for your highness’ good, and for the realm’s.—
- How often shall I bid you bear him hence?
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- Art thou king? Must I die at thy command? 104
YOUNG MORTIMER
- At our command—Once more away with him.
EDMUND, EARL of KENT
- Let me but stay and speak; I will not go.
- Either my brother or his son is king,
- And none of both them thirst for Edmund’s blood: 108
- And therefore, soldiers, whither will you hale me?
Soldiers hale KENT away, to be beheaded.
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- What safety may I look for at his hands,
- If that my uncle shall be murdered thus?
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Fear not, sweet boy, I’ll guard thee from thy foes; 112
- Had Edmund lived, he would have sought thy death.
- Come, son, we’ll ride a-hunting in the park.
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- And shall my uncle Edmund ride with us?
QUEEN ISABELLA
- He is a traitor; think not on him; come.
Exeunt. 116
Scene 5
Berkeley Castle
Enter MATREVIS and GURNEY
MATREVIS
- Gurney, I wonder the king dies not,
- Being in a vault up to the knees in water,
- To which the channels of the castle run,
- From whence a damp continually ariseth, 4
- That were enough to poison any man,
- Much more a king brought up so tenderly.
GURNEY
- And so do I, Matrevis: yesternight
- I opened but the door to throw him meat, 8
- And I was almost stifled with the savour.
MATREVIS
- He hath a body able to endure
- More than we can inflict: and therefore now
- Let us assail his mind another while. 12
GURNEY
- Send for him out thence, and I will anger him.
MATREVIS
- But stay, who’s this?
Enter LIGHTBORN
LIGHTBORN
- My Lord Protector greets you. Gives letter.
GURNEY
- What’s here? I know not how to construe it. 16
MATREVIS
- Gurney, it was left unpointed for the nonce;
- “Edwardum occidere nolite timere,”
- That’s his meaning.
LIGHTBORN
- Know ye this token? I must have the king. Gives token. 20
MATREVIS
- Ay, stay awhile, thou shalt have answer straight.
- This villain’s sent to make away the king. Aside.
GURNEY
- I thought as much. Aside.
MATREVIS
- And when the murder’s done, 24
- See how he must be handled for his labour.
- Pereat iste! Let him have the king. Aside.
- What else? Here is the key, this is the lake,
- Do as you are commanded by my lord. 28
LIGHTBORN
- I Know what I must do. Get you away.
- Yet be not far off, I shall need your help;
- See that in the next room I have a fire,
- And get me a spit, and let it be red-hot. 32
MATREVIS
- Very well.
GURNEY
- Need you anything besides?
LIGHTBORN
- What else? A table and a feather-bed.
GURNEY
- That’s all? 36
LIGHTBORN
- Ay, ay; so, when I call you, bring it in.
MATREVIS
- Fear not thou that.
GURNEY
- Here’s a light, to go into the dungeon. Gives a light, and then exit with MATREVIS.
LIGHTBORN
- So now 40
- Must I about this gear; ne’er was there any
- So finely handled as this king shall be.
- For, here’s a place indeed, with all my heart!
KING EDWARD
- Who’s there? What light is that? wherefore com’st thou? 44
LIGHTBORN
- To comfort you, and bring you joyful news.
KING EDWARD
- Small comfort finds poor Edward in thy looks.
- Villain, I know thou com’st to murder me.
LIGHTBORN
- To murder you, my most gracious lord! 48
- Far is it from my heart to do you harm.
- The queen sent me to see how you were used,
- For she relents at this your misery:
- And what eyes can refrain from shedding tears, 52
- To see a king in this most piteous state?
KING EDWARD
- Weep’st thou already? List awhile to me
- And then thy heart, were it as Gurney’s is,
- Or as Matrevis’, hewn from the Caucasus, 56
- Yet will it melt, ere I have done my tale.
- This dungeon where they keep me is the sink
- Wherein the filth of all the castle falls.
LIGHTBORN
- O villains! 60
KING EDWARD
- And there in mire and puddle have I stood
- This ten days’ space; and, lest that I should sleep,
- One plays continually upon a drum.
- They give me bread and water, being a king; 64
- So that, for want of sleep and sustenance,
- My mind’s distempered, and my body’s numb’d,
- And whether I have limbs or no I know not.
- O, would my blood dropp’d out from every vein, 68
- As doth this water from my tattered robes.
- Tell Isabel, the queen, I look’d not thus,
- When for her sake I ran at tilt in France,
- And there unhors’d the Duke of Cleremont. 72
LIGHTBORN
- O speak no more, my lord! this breaks my heart.
- Lie on this bed, and rest yourself awhile.
KING EDWARD
- These looks of thine can harbour nought but death:
- I see my tragedy written in thy brows. 76
- Yet stay a while; forbear thy bloody hand,
- And let me see the stroke before it comes,
- That even then when I shall lose my life,
- My mind may be more steadfast on my God. 80
LIGHTBORN
- What means your highness to mistrust me thus?
KING EDWARD
- What mean’st thou to dissemble with me thus?
LIGHTBORN
- These hands were never stain’d with innocent blood,
- Nor shall they now be tainted with a king’s. 84
KING EDWARD
- Forgive my thought for having such a thought.
- One jewel have I left; receive thou this. Giving jewel.
- Still fear I, and I know not what’s the cause,
- But every joint shakes as I give it thee. 88
- O, if thou harbour’st murder in thy heart,
- Let this gift change thy mind, and save thy soul!
- Know that I am a king: O, at that name
- I feel a hell of grief! Where is my crown? 92
- Gone, gone! and do I still remain alive?
LIGHTBORN
- You’re overwatch’d, my lord; lie down and rest.
KING EDWARD
- But that grief keeps me waking, I should sleep;
- For not these ten days have these eye-lids clos’d. 96
- Now as I speak they fall, and yet with fear
- Open again. O wherefore sitt’st thou here?
LIGHTBORN
- If you mistrust me, I’ll begone, my lord.
KING EDWARD
- No, no, for if thou mean’st to murder me, 100
- Thou wilt return again, and therefore stay. Sleeps.
LIGHTBORN
- He sleeps.
KING EDWARDwaking.
- O let me not die yet! O stay a while!
LIGHTBORN
- How now, my lord? 104
KING EDWARD
- Something still buzzeth in mine ears,
- And tells me if I sleep I never wake;
- This fear is that which makes me tremble thus.
- And therefore tell me, wherefore art thou come? 108
LIGHTBORN
- To rid thee of thy life.—Matrevis, come!
Enter MATREVIS and GURNEY
KING EDWARD
- I am too weak and feeble to resist:—
- Assist me, sweet God, and receive my soul!
LIGHTBORN
- Run for the table. 112
KING EDWARD
- O spare me, or despatch me in a trice. MATREVIS brings in a table.
LIGHTBORN
- So, lay the table down, and stamp on it,
- But not too hard, lest that you bruise his body.
KING EDWARD is murdered. MATREVIS
- I fear me that this cry will raise the town, 116
- And therefore, let us take horse and away.
LIGHTBORN
- Tell me, sirs, was it not bravely done?
GURNEY
- Excellent well: take this for thy reward. GURNEY stabs LIGHTBORN (who dies.}
- Come, let us cast the body in the moat, 120
- And bear the king’s to Mortimer our lord:
- Away!
Exeunt (with the bodies.)
Scene 6
The royal palace, London
Enter Young MORTIMER and MATREVIS
YOUNG MORTIMER
- Is’t done, Matrevis, and the murderer dead?
MATREVIS
- Ay, my good lord; I would it were undone!
YOUNG MORTIMER
- Matrevis, if thou now growest penitent
- I’ll be thy ghostly father; therefore choose, 4
- Whether thou wilt be secret in this,
- Or else die by the hand of Mortimer.
MATREVIS
- Gurney, my lord, is fled, and will, I fear
- Betray us both, therefore let me fly. 8
YOUNG MORTIMER
- Fly to the savages!
MATREVIS
- I humbly thank your honour. Exit.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- As for myself, I stand as Jove’s huge tree,
- And others are but shrubs compar’d to me. 12
- All tremble at my name, and I fear none;
- Let’s see who dare impeach me for his death!
Enter QUEEN ISABELLA
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Ah, Mortimer, the king my son hath news
- His father’s dead, and we have murdered him! 16
YOUNG MORTIMER
- What if he have? The king is yet a child.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Ay, but he tears his hair, and wrings his hands,
- And vows to be reveng’d upon us both.
- Into the council-chamber he is gone, 20
- To crave the aid and succour of his peers.
- Ay me! see here he comes, and they with him.
- Now, Mortimer, begins our tragedy.
Enter KING EDWARD THE THIRD, LORDS, and Attendants.
1ST LORD
- Fear not, my lord, know that you are a king. 24
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- Villain!—
YOUNG MORTIMER
- How now, my lord!
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- Think not that I am frighted with thy words!
- My father’s murdered through thy treachery; 28
- And thou shalt die, and on his mournful hearse
- Thy hateful and accursed head shall lie,
- To witness to the world, that by thy means
- His kingly body was too soon interr’d. 32
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Weep not, sweet son!
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- Forbid me not to weep; he was my father;
- And, had you lov’d him half so well as I,
- You could not bear his death thus patiently. 36
- But you, I fear, conspir’d with Mortimer.
1ST LORD
- Why speak you not unto my lord the king?
YOUNG MORTIMER
- Because I think scorn to be accus’d.
- Who is the man dares say I murdered him? 40
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- Traitor! in me my loving father speaks,
- And plainly saith, ’twas thou that murd’redst him.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- But has your grace no other proof than this?
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- Yes, if this be the hand of Mortimer. Shewing letter. 44
YOUNG MORTIMER
- False Gurney hath betray’d me and himself. Aside.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- I fear’d as much; murder cannot be hid. Aside.
YOUNG MORTIMER
- It is my hand; what gather you by this?
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- That thither thou didst send a murderer. 48
YOUNG MORTIMER
- What murderer? Bring forth the man I sent.
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- Ah, Mortimer, thou knowest that he is slain;
- And so shalt thou be too.—Why stays he here
- Bring him unto a hurdle, drag him forth; 52
- Hang him, I say, and set his quarters up;
- But bring his head back presently to me.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- For my sake, sweet son, pity Mortimer!
YOUNG MORTIMER
- Madam, entreat not, I will rather die, 56
- Than sue for life unto a paltry boy.
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- Hence with the traitor! with the murderer!
YOUNG MORTIMER
- Base Fortune, now I see, that in thy wheel
- There is a point, to which when men aspire, 60
- They tumble headlong down: that point I touch’d,
- And, seeing there was no place to mount up higher,
- Why should I grieve at my declining fall?—
- Farewell, fair queen; weep not for Mortimer, 64
- That scorns the world, and, as a traveller,
- Goes to discover countries yet unknown.
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- What! suffer you the traitor to delay?
Young MORTIMER is taken away by First Lord and Attendants. QUEEN ISABELLA
- As thou receivedest thy life from me, 68
- Spill not the blood of gentle Mortimer!
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- This argues that you spilt my father’s blood,
- Else would you not entreat for Mortimer.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- I spill his blood? No. 72
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- Ay, madam, you; for so the rumour runs.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- That rumour is untrue; for loving thee,
- Is this report rais’d on poor Isabel.
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- I do not think her so unnatural. 76
2ND LORD
- My lord, I fear me it will prove too true.
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- Mother, you are suspected for his death
- And therefore we commit you to the Tower
- Till farther trial may be made thereof; 80
- If you be guilty, though I be your son,
- Think not to find me slack or pitiful.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Nay, to my death, for too long have I liv’d
- Whenas my son thinks to abridge my days. 84
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- Away with her, her words enforce these tears,
- And I shall pity her if she speak again.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Shall I not mourn for my beloved lord,
- And with the rest accompany him to his grave? 88
2ND LORD
- Thus, madam, ’tis the king’s will you shall hence.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- He hath forgotten me; stay, I am his mother.
2ND LORD
- That boots not; therefore, gentle madam, go.
QUEEN ISABELLA
- Then come, sweet death, and rid me of this grief. Exit. 92
Re-enter 1st Lord, with the head of Young MORTIMER
1ST LORD
- My lord, here is the head of Mortimer.
KING EDWARD THE THIRD
- Go fetch my father’s hearse, where it shall lie;
- And bring my funeral robes. Exeunt Attendants.
- Accursed head, 96
- Could I have rul’d thee then, as I do now,
- Thou had’st not hatch’d this monstrous treachery!—
- Here comes the hearse; help me to mourn, my lords.
Re-enter Attendants with the hearse and funeral robes
- Sweet father, here unto thy murdered ghost 100
- I offer up this wicked traitor’s head;
- And let these tears, distilling from mine eyes,
- Be witness of my grief and innocency.
Exeunt.