Command the conquest, Charles, it shall be thine:
Let Henry fret and all the world repine20.
CHARLES Then on, my lords, and France be fortunate!
Exeunt
[Act 5 Scene 3]
running scene 19 continues
Alarum. Excursions. Enter Joan la Pucelle
PUCELLE The regent conquers, and the Frenchmen fly.
Now help, ye charming spells and periapts2,
And ye choice spirits that admonish3 me,
And give me signs of future accidents4.
Thunder
You speedy helpers, that are substitutes5
Under the lordly monarch of the north6,
Appear, and aid me in this enterprise.
Enter Fiends
This speedy and quick8 appearance argues proof
Of your accustomed diligence to me.
Now, ye familiar spirits10 that are culled
Out of the powerful regions under earth,
Help me this once, that France may get the field12.
They walk, and speak not
O hold me not with silence over-long:
Where I was wont14 to feed you with my blood,
I'll lop a member15 off and give it you
In earnest16 of a further benefit,
So you do condescend to help me now.
They hang their heads
No hope to have redress? My body shall
Pay recompense19, if you will grant my suit.
They shake their heads
Cannot my body nor blood-sacrifice
Entreat you to your wonted furtherance21?
Then take my soul -- my body, soul and all --
Before that England give the French the foil23.
They depart
See, they forsake me! Now the time is come
That France must vail her lofty-plumed crest25
And let her head fall into England's lap.
My ancient27 incantations are too weak,
And hell too strong for me to buckle28 with:
Now, France, thy glory droopeth to the dust.
Exit
Excursions. Burgundy and York fight hand to hand. [The] French fly [leaving Joan la Pucelle in York's power]
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Damsel of France, I think I have you fast30:
Unchain your spirits now with spelling31 charms
And try if they can gain your liberty.
A goodly prize, fit for the devil's grace33!
See how the ugly witch doth bend her brows34,
As if with Circe35 she would change my shape!
PUCELLE Changed to a worser shape thou canst not be.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK O, Charles the Dauphin is a proper37 man:
No shape but his can please your dainty38 eye.
PUCELLE A plaguing mischief39 light on Charles and thee,
And may ye both be suddenly surprised
By bloody hands, in41 sleeping on your beds!
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Fell banning hag42, enchantress, hold thy tongue.
PUCELLE I prithee, give me leave to curse awhile.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Curse, miscreant44, when thou com'st to the stake.
Exeunt
Alarum. Enter Suffolk with Margaret in his hand
SUFFOLK Be what thou wilt, thou art my prisoner.
Gazes on her
O fairest beauty, do not fear nor fly:
For I will touch thee but with reverent hands:
I kiss these fingers for48 eternal peace,
And lay them gently on thy tender side49.
Who art thou? Say, that I may honour thee.
MARGARET Margaret my name, and daughter to a king,
The King of Naples, whosoe'er thou art.
SUFFOLK An earl I am, and Suffolk am I called.
Be not offended, nature's miracle,
Thou art allotted55 to be ta'en by me:
So doth the swan her downy cygnets save56,
Keeping them prisoner underneath her wings:
Yet if this servile usage58 once offend,
Go, and be free again, as Suffolk's friend.
She is going
Aside
O stay!-- I have no power to let her pass;
My hand would free her, but my heart says no.
As plays the sun upon the glassy62 streams,
Twinkling another counterfeited63 beam,
So seems this gorgeous beauty to mine eyes.
Fain would I woo her, yet I dare not speak:
I'll call for pen and ink, and write my mind:
Fie, de la Pole, disable67 not thyself!
Hast not a tongue? Is she not here?
Wilt thou be daunted at a woman's sight69?
Ay, beauty's princely majesty is such
Confounds the tongue and makes the senses rough71.
MARGARET Say, Earl of Suffolk -- if thy name be so --
What ransom must I pay before I pass?
For I perceive I am thy prisoner.
Aside
SUFFOLK How canst thou tell she will deny thy suit,
Before thou make a trial of her love?
MARGARET Why speak'st thou not? What ransom must I pay?
Aside
SUFFOLK She's beautiful, and therefore to be wooed:
She is a woman, therefore to be won.
MARGARET Wilt thou accept of ransom, yea or no?
Aside
SUFFOLK Fond81 man, remember that thou hast a wife:
Then how can Margaret be thy paramour?
Aside
MARGARET I were best to leave him, for he will not hear.
Aside
SUFFOLK There all is marred: there lies a cooling card84.
Aside
MARGARET He talks at random: sure, the man is mad.
Aside
SUFFOLK And yet a dispensation86 may be had.
MARGARET And yet I would that you would answer me.
Aside
SUFFOLK I'll win this Lady Margaret. For whom?
Why, for my king: tush, that's a wooden thing89.
Aside
MARGARET He talks of wood: it is some carpenter.
Aside
SUFFOLK Yet so my fancy91 may be satisfied,
And peace established between these realms.
But there remains a scruple93 in that too:
For though her father be the King of Naples,
Duke of Anjou and Maine, yet is he poor,
And our nobility will scorn the match.
MARGARET Hear ye, captain? Are you not at leisure?
Aside
SUFFOLK It shall be so, disdain they ne'er so much98.
Henry is youthful and will quickly yield.--
To Margaret
Madam, I have a secret to reveal.
Aside
MARGARET What though I be enthralled101, he seems a knight,
And will not any way dishonour me.
SUFFOLK Lady, vouchsafe to listen what I say.
Aside
MARGARET Perhaps I shall be rescued by the French,
And then I need not crave his courtesy.
SUFFOLK Sweet madam, give me a hearing in a cause.
Aside
MARGARET Tush, women have been captivate107 ere now.
SUFFOLK Lady, wherefore talk you so?
MARGARET I cry you mercy, 'tis but. quid109 for quo.
SUFFOLK Say, gentle princess, would you not suppose
Your bondage happy111 to be made a queen?
MARGARET To be a queen in bondage is more vile112
Than is a slave in base servility113,
For princes should be free.
SUFFOLK And so shall you,
If happy England's royal king be free.
MARGARET Why, what concerns his freedom unto me?
SUFFOLK I'll undertake to make thee Henry's queen,
To put a golden sceptre in thy hand
And set a precious crown upon thy head,
; If thou wilt condescend to be my--
MARGARET What?
SUFFOLK His love.
MARGARET I am unworthy to be Henry's wife.
SUFFOLK No, gentle madam, I unworthy am
To woo so fair a dame to be his wife,
And have no portion in the choice127 myself.
How say you, madam, are ye so content?
MARGARET An if129 my father please, I am content.
SUFFOLK Then call our captains and our colours130 forth,
And, madam, at your father's castle walls
We'll crave a parley132, to confer with him.
[Enter Captains, Colours and Trumpeters] Sound [a parley]. Enter Reignier on the walls
See, Reignier, see, thy daughter prisoner.
REIGNIER To whom?
SUFFOLK To me.
REIGNIER Suffolk, what remedy136?
I am a soldier, and unapt to weep,
Or to exclaim on138 fortune's fickleness.
SUFFOLK Yes, there is remedy enough, my lord:
Consent, and for thy honour give consent,
Thy daughter shall be wedded to my king,
Whom142 I with pain have wooed and won thereto:
And this her easy-held143 imprisonment
Hath gained thy daughter princely liberty.
REIGNIER Speaks Suffolk as he thinks?
SUFFOLK Fair Margaret knows
That Suffolk doth not flatter, face147, or feign.
REIGNIER Upon thy princely warrant148, I descend
To give thee answer of thy just149 demand.
[Exit from the walls]
SUFFOLK And here I will expect150 thy coming.
Trumpets sound. Enter Reignier [below]
REIGNIER Welcome, brave earl, into our territories:
Command in Anjou what your honour pleases.
SUFFOLK Thanks, Reignier, happy for153 so sweet a child,
Fit to be made companion with a king:
What answer makes your grace unto my suit?
REIGNIER Since thou dost deign to woo her little worth156
To be the princely bride of such a lord,
Upon condition I may quietly158
Enjoy mine own, the country Maine and Anjou,
Free from oppression or the stroke of war,
My daughter shall be Henry's, if he please.
SUFFOLK That is her ransom: I deliver her,
And those two counties163 I will undertake
Your grace shall well and quietly enjoy.
REIGNIER And I again165 in Henry's royal name,
As deputy166 unto that gracious king,
Give thee her hand for sign of plighted167 faith.
SUFFOLK Reignier of France, I give thee kingly thanks,
Because this is in traffic169 of a king.--
Aside
And yet, methinks, I could be well content
To be mine own attorney171 in this case.--
To Reignier
I'll over then to England with this news,
And make this marriage to be solemnized173:
So farewell, Reignier: set this diamond safe
In golden palaces, as it becomes175.
REIGNIER I do embrace thee, as I would embrace
The Christian prince King Henry, were he here.
MARGARET Farewell, my lord: good wishes, praise and prayers
Shall Suffolk ever have of Margaret.
She is going
SUFFOLK Farewell, sweet madam: but hark you, Margaret:
No princely commendations181 to my king?
MARGARET Such commendations as becomes a maid,
A virgin and his servant, say to him.
SUFFOLK Words sweetly placed184 and modestly directed.
But madam, I must trouble you again;
No loving token to his majesty?
MARGARET Yes, my good lord, a pure unspotted heart,
Never yet taint188 with love, I send the king.
SUFFOLK And this withal189.
Kisses her
MARGARET That for thyself: I will not so presume
To send such peevish191 tokens to a king.
[Exeunt Reignier and Margaret]
SUFFOLK O, wert thou for myself! But, Suffolk, stay192:
Thou mayst not wander in that labyrinth:
There Minotaurs194 and ugly treasons lurk.
Solicit Henry with her wondrous praise195.
Bethink thee on her virtues that surmount196,
Mad natural graces that extinguish art197,
Repeat their semblance198 often on the seas,
That when thou com'st to kneel at Henry's feet,
Thou mayst bereave200 him of his wits with wonder.
Exit
[Act 5 Scene 4]
running scene 20
Enter York, Warwick, [a] Shepherd [and Joan la] Pucelle [guarded]
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Bring forth that sorceress condemned to burn.
SHEPHERD Ah, Joan, this kills thy father's heart outright.
Have I sought every country3 far and near,
And now it is my chance4 to find thee out,
Must I behold thy timeless5 cruel death?
Ah, Joan, sweet daughter Joan, I'll die with thee.
PUCELLE Decrepit miser7, base ignoble wretch,
I am descended of a gentler8 blood.
Thou art no father, nor no friend9 of mine.
SHEPHERD Out, out!-- My lords, an't10 please you, 'tis not so:
I did beget11 her, all the parish knows:
Her mother liveth yet, can testify
She was the first fruit of my bach'lorship13.
WARWICK Graceless, wilt thou deny thy parentage?
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK This argues15 what her kind of life hath been:
Wicked and vile, and so her death concludes16.
SHEPHERD Fie, Joan, that thou wilt be so obstacle17:
God knows thou art a collop18 of my flesh,
And for thy sake have I shed many a tear:
Deny me not, I prithee, gentle Joan.
To the English
PUCELLE Peasant, avaunt!--You have suborned21 this man,
Of22 purpose to obscure my noble birth.
SHEPHERD 'Tis true, I gave a noble23 to the priest
The morn that I was wedded to her mother.
Kneel down and take my blessing, good my girl.
Wilt thou not stoop? Now cursed be the time
Of thy nativity27: I would the milk
Thy mother gave thee when thou sucked'st her breast,
Had been a little ratsbane29 for thy sake.
Or else, when thou didst keep my lambs afield30,
I wish some ravenous wolf had eaten thee.
Dost thou deny thy father, cursed drab32?--
O burn her, burn her: hanging is too good.
Exit
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Take her away; for she hath lived too long,
To fill the world with vicious qualities.
PUCELLE First let me tell you whom you have condemned:
Not one begotten of a shepherd swain37,
But issued from the progeny38 of kings:
Virtuous and holy, chosen from above,
By inspiration of celestial grace,
To work exceeding41 miracles on earth.
I never had to do42 with wicked spirits:
But you that are polluted with your lusts,
Stained with the guiltless blood of innocents,
Corrupt and tainted with a thousand vices:
Because you want46 the grace that others have,
You judge it straight47 a thing impossible
To compass48 wonders but by help of devils.
No misconceived49, Joan of Arc hath been
A virgin from her tender50 infancy,
Chaste and immaculate in very thought,
Whose maiden blood thus rigorously effused52
Will cry for vengeance at the gates of heaven.
To Guards
RICHARD DU
KE OF YORK Ay, ay.-- Away with her to execution.
WARWICK And hark ye, sirs: because she is a maid,
Spare for no faggots56: let there be enough:
Place barrels of pitch57 upon the fatal stake,
That so her torture may be shortened.
PUCELLE Will nothing turn your unrelenting hearts?
Then, Joan, discover thine infirmity60,
That warranteth by law to be thy privilege61.
I am with child, ye bloody homicides:
Murder not then the fruit within my womb,
Although ye hale64 me to a violent death.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Now heaven forfend65, the holy maid with child?
WARWICK The greatest miracle that e'er ye wrought.
Is all your strict preciseness67 come to this?
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK She and the dauphin have been juggling68.
I did imagine what would be her refuge69.
WARWICK Well, go to: we'll have no bastards live,
Especially since Charles must father it.
PUCELLE You are deceived: my child is none of his:
It was Alencon that enjoyed my love.
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Alencon, that notorious machiavel74?
It dies, an if75 it had a thousand lives.
PUCELLE O give me leave, I have deluded you:
'Twas neither Charles nor yet the duke I named,
But Reignier, King of Naples, that prevailed78.
WARWICK A married man: that's most intolerable!
RICHARD DUKE OF YORK Why, here's a girl! I think she knows not well,
There were so many, whom she may accuse.
WARWICK It's sign she hath been liberal and free82.