1 HENRY IV

THE PERSONS OF THE PLAY

KING HENRY IV
PRINCE HARRY, Prince of Wales,
	familiarly known as Hal				}
Lord JOHN OF LANCASTER				} King Henry's sons
Earl of WESTMORLAND
Sir Walter BLUNT

Earl of WORCESTER						}
Percy, Earl of NORTHUMBERLAND, his brother		}
Henry Percy, known as HOTSPUR, Northumberland's son}
Kate, LADY PERCY, Hotspur's wife				}
Lord Edmund MORTIMER, called Earl of March,		}
	Lady Percy's brother					} rebels against
LADY MORTIMER, his wife					}     King Henry
Owain GLYNDWR, Lady Mortimer's father			}
Earl of DOUGLAS							}
Sir Richard VERNON						}
Scrope, ARCHBISHOPof York					}
SIR MICHAEL, a member of the Archbishop's household	}

SIR JOHNOldcastle				}
Edward (Ned) POINS				}
RUSSELL						}
HARVEY						} associates of Prince Harry
Mistress Quickly, HOSTESSof a tavern	}
in Eastcheap
FRANCIS, a drawer				}
VINTNER						}

GADSHILL
CARRIERS
CHAMBERLAIN
OSTLER

TRAVELLERS
SHERIFF
MESSENGERS
SERVANT

Lords, soldiers

HENRY THE FOURTH PART 1

Act 1 Scene 1

(Enter King Henry, Lord John of Lancaster, and the Earl of Westmorland, with other lords)
l1l	King Henry	So shaken as we are, so wan with care,
l2l		Find we a time for frighted peace to pant
l3l		And breathe short-winded accents of new broils
l4l		To be commenced in strands afar remote.
l5l		No more the thirsty entrance of this soil
l6l		Shall daub her lips with her own children’s blood.
l7l		No more shall trenching war channel her fields,
l8l		Nor bruise her flow’rets with the armèd hoofs
l9l		Of hostile paces. Those opposèd eyes,
l10l		Which, like the meteors of a troubled heaven,
l11l		All of one nature, of one substance bred,
l12l		Did lately meet in the intestine shock
l13l		And furious close of civil butchery,
l14l		Shall now in mutual well-beseeming ranks
l15l		March all one way, and be no more opposed
l16l		Against acquaintance, kindred, and allies.
l17l		The edge of war, like an ill-sheathèd knife,
l18l		No more shall cut his master. Therefore, friends,
l19l		As far as to the sepulchre of Christ—
l20l		Whose soldier now, under whose blessèd cross
l21l		We are impressèd and engaged to fight—
l22l		Forthwith a power of English shall we levy,
l23l		Whose arms were moulded in their mothers’ womb
l24l		To chase these pagans in those holy fields
l25l		Over whose acres walked those blessèd feet
l26l		Which fourteen hundred years ago were nailed,
l27l		For our advantage, on the bitter cross.
l28l		But this our purpose now is twelve month old,
l29l		And bootless ’tis to tell you we will go.
l30l		Therefor we meet not now. Then let me hear
l31l		Of you, my gentle cousin Westmorland,
l32l		What yesternight our Council did decree
l33l		In forwarding this dear expedience.
l34l	Westmorland	My liege, this haste was hot in question,
l35l		And many limits of the charge set down
l36l		But yesternight, when all athwart there came
l37l		A post from Wales, loaden with heavy news,
l38l		Whose worst was that the noble Mortimer,
l39l		Leading the men of Herefordshire to fight
l40l		Against the irregular and wild Glyndwr,
l41l		Was by the rude hands of that Welshman taken,
l42l		A thousand of his people butcherèd,
l43l		Upon whose dead corpse’ there was such misuse,
l44l		Such beastly shameless transformation,
l45l		By those Welshwomen done as may not be
l46l		Without much shame retold or spoken of.
l47l	King Henry	It seems then that the tidings of this broil
l48l		Brake off our business for the Holy Land.
l49l	Westmorland	This matched with other did, my gracious lord,
l50l		For more uneven and unwelcome news
l51l		Came from the north, and thus it did import:
l52l		On Holy-rood day the gallant Hotspur there—
l53l		Young Harry Percy—and brave Archibald,
l54l		That ever valiant and approvèd Scot,
l55l		At Holmedon met,
l56l		Where they did spend a sad and bloody hour,
l57l		As by discharge of their artillery
l58l		And shape of likelihood the news was told;
l59l		For he that brought them in the very heat
l60l		And pride of their contention did take horse,
l61l		Uncertain of the issue any way.
l62l	King Henry	Here is a dear, a true industrious friend,
l63l		Sir Walter Blunt, new lighted from his horse,
l64l		Stained with the variation of each soil
l65l		Betwixt that Holmedon and this seat of ours;
l66l		And he hath brought us smooth and welcome news.
l67l		The Earl of Douglas is discomfited.
l68l		Ten thousand bold Scots, two-and-twenty knights,
l69l		Balked in their own blood did Sir Walter see
l70l		On Holmedon’s plains. Of prisoners Hotspur took
l71l		Mordake the Earl of Fife and eldest son
l72l		To beaten Douglas, and the Earl of Athol,
l73l		Of Moray, Angus, and Menteith;
l74l		And is not this an honourable spoil,
l75l		A gallant prize? Ha, cousin, is it not?
l76l	Westmorland	In faith, it is a conquest for a prince to boast of.
l77l	King Henry	Yea, there thou mak’st me sad, and mak’st me sin
l78l		In envy that my lord Northumberland
l79l		Should be the father to so blest a son—
l80l		A son who is the theme of honour’s tongue,
l81l		Amongst a grove the very straightest plant,
l82l		Who is sweet Fortune’s minion and her pride—
l83l		Whilst I by looking on the praise of him
l84l		See riot and dishonour stain the brow
l85l		Of my young Harry. O, that it could be proved
l86l		That some night-tripping fairy had exchanged
l87l		In cradle clothes our children where they lay,
l88l		And called mine Percy, his Plantagenet!
l89l		Then would I have his Harry, and he mine.
l90l		But let him from my thoughts. What think you, coz,
l91l		Of this young Percy’s pride? The prisoners
l92l		Which he in this adventure hath surprised
l93l		To his own use he keeps, and sends me word
l94l		I shall have none but Mordake Earl of Fife.
l95l	Westmorland	This is his uncle’s teaching. This is Worcester,
l96l		Malevolent to you in all aspects,
l97l		Which makes him prune himself, and bristle up
l98l		The crest of youth against your dignity.
l99l	King Henry	But I have sent for him to answer this;
l100l		And for this cause awhile we must neglect
l101l		Our holy purpose to Jerusalem.
l102l		Cousin, on Wednesday next our Council we
l103l		Will hold at Windsor. So inform the lords.
l104l		But come yourself with speed to us again,
l105l		For more is to be said and to be done
l106l		Than out of anger can be utterèd.
l107l	Westmorland	I will, my liege.
		(Exeunt King Henry, Lancaster, and other lords at one 		door; Westmorland at another door)