KING RICHARD THE THIRD

Act 1 Scene 1

(Enter Richard Duke of Gloucester)
l1l	Richard Gloucester	 Now is the winter of our discontent
l2l		Made glorious summer by this son of York#
l3l		And all the clouds that loured upon our house
l4l		In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.
l5l		Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths,
l6l		Our bruisèd arms hung up for monuments,
l7l		Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings,
l8l		Our dreadful marches to delightful measures.
l9l		Grim-visaged war hath smoothed his wrinkled front,
l10l		And now—instead of mounting barbèd steeds
l11l		To fright the souls of fearful adversaries—
l12l		He capers nimbly in a lady’s chamber
l13l		To the lascivious pleasing of a lute.
l14l		But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks
l15l		Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass,
l16l		I that am rudely stamped and want love’s majesty
l17l		To strut before a wanton ambling nymph,
l18l		I that am curtailed of this fair proportion,
l19l		Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,
l20l		Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time
l21l		Into this breathing world scarce half made up—
l22l		And that so lamely and unfashionable
l23l		That dogs bark at me as I halt by them—
l24l		Why, I in this weak piping time of peace
l25l		Have no delight to pass away the time,
l26l		Unless to spy my shadow in the sun
l27l		And descant on mine own deformity.
l28l		And therefore since I cannot prove a lover
l29l		To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
l30l		I am determinèd to prove a villain
l31l		And hate the idle pleasures of these days.
l32l		Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous,
l33l		By drunken prophecies, libels and dreams
l34l		To set my brother Clarence and the King
l35l		In deadly hate the one against the other.
l36l		And if King Edward be as true and just
l37l		As I am subtle false and treacherous,
l38l		This day should Clarence closely be mewed up
l39l		About a prophecy which says that “G”
l40l		Of Edward’s heirs the murderer shall be.
		(Enter George Duke of Clarence, guarded, and Sir Robert Brackenbury)
l41l		Dive, thoughts, down to my soul: here Clarence comes.
l42l		Brother, good day. What means this armèd guard
l43l		That waits upon your grace?
	Clarence	His majesty,
l44l		Tend’ring my person’s safety, hath appointed
l45l		This conduct to convey me to the Tower.
l46l	Richard Gloucester	Upon what cause?
	Clarence	Because my name is George.
l47l	Richard Gloucester	Alack, my lord, that fault is none of yours.
l48l		He should for that commit your godfathers.
l49l		Belike his majesty hath some intent
l50l		That you should be new-christened in the Tower.
l51l		But what’s the matter, Clarence? May I know?
l52l	Clarence	Yea, Richard, when I know—for I protest
l53l		As yet I do not. But as I can learn
l54l		He hearkens after prophecies and dreams,
l55l		And from the cross-row plucks the letter “G”
l56l		And says a wizard told him that by “G”
l57l		His issue disinherited should be.
l58l		And for my name of George begins with “G”,
l59l		It follows in his thought that I am he.
l60l		These, as I learn, and suchlike toys as these,
l61l		Hath moved his highness to commit me now.
l62l	Richard Gloucester	Why, this it is when men are ruled by women.
l63l		’Tis not the King that sends you to the Tower#
l64l		My Lady Gray, his wife—Clarence, ’tis she
l65l		That tempts him to this harsh extremity.
l66l		Was it not she, and that good man of worship
l67l		Anthony Woodeville her brother there,
l68l		That made him send Lord Hastings to the Tower,
l69l		From whence this present day he is delivered?
l70l		We are not safe, Clarence# we are not safe.
l71l	Clarence	By heaven, I think there is no man secure
l72l		But the Queen’s kindred, and night-walking heralds
l73l		That trudge betwixt the King and Mrs Shore.
l74l		Heard ye not what an humble suppliant
l75l		Lord Hastings was for his delivery?
l76l	Richard Gloucester	Humbly complaining to her deity
l77l		Got my Lord Chamberlain his liberty.
l78l		I’ll tell you what: I think it is our way,
l79l		If we will keep in favour with the King,
l80l		To be her men and wear her livery.
l81l		The jealous, o’erworn widow and herself,
l82l		Since that our brother dubbed them gentlewomen,
l83l		Are mighty gossips in our monarchy.
l84l	Brackenbury	I beseech your graces both to pardon me.
l85l		His majesty hath straitly given in charge
l86l		That no man shall have private conference,
l87l		Of what degree soever, with your brother.
l88l	Richard Gloucester	Even so. An ’t please your worship, Brackenbury,
l89l		You may partake of anything we say.
l90l		We speak no treason, man. We say the King
l91l		Is wise and virtuous, and his noble Queen
l92l		Well struck in years, fair, and not jealous.
l93l		We say that Shore’s wife hath a pretty foot,
l94l		A cherry lip,
l95l		A bonny eye, a passing pleasing tongue,
l96l		And that the Queen’s kin are made gentlefolks.
l97l		How say you, sir? Can you deny all this?
l98l	Brackenbury	With this, my lord, myself have naught to do.
l99l	Richard Gloucester	Naught to do with Mrs Shore? I tell thee, fellow:
l100l		He that doth naught with her—excepting one—
l101l		Were best to do it secretly alone.
l102l	Brackenbury	What one, my lord?
l103l	Richard Gloucester	Her husband, knave. Wouldst thou betray me?
l104l	Brackenbury	I beseech your grace to pardon me, and do withal
l105l		Forbear your conference with the noble Duke.
l106l	Clarence	We know thy charge, Brackenbury, and will obey.
l107l	Richard Gloucester	We are the Queen’s abjects, and must obey.
l108l		Brother, farewell. I will unto the King,
l109l		And whatsoe’er you will employ me in—
l110l		Were it to call King Edward’s widow “sister”—
l111l		I will perform it to enfranchise you.
l112l		Meantime, this deep disgrace in brotherhood
l113l		Touches me dearer than you can imagine.
l114l	Clarence	I know it pleaseth neither of us well.
l115l	Richard Gloucester	Well, your imprisonment shall not be long.
l116l		I will deliver you or lie for you.
l117l		Meantime, have patience.
	Clarence	I must perforce. Farewell.
		( 117B Exeunt Clarence, Brackenbury, and guard, to the Tower)
l118l	Richard Gloucester	 Go tread the path that thou shalt ne’er return.
l119l		Simple plain Clarence, I do love thee so
l120l		That I will shortly send thy soul to heaven,
l121l		If heaven will take the present at our hands.
l122l		But who comes here? The new-delivered Hastings?
		(Enter Lord Hastings from the Tower)
l123l	Lord Hastings	 Good time of day unto my gracious lord.
l124l	Richard Gloucester	As much unto my good Lord Chamberlain.
l125l		Well are you welcome to the open air.
l126l		How hath your lordship brooked imprisonment?
l127l	Lord Hastings	With patience, noble lord, as prisoners must.
l128l		But I shall live, my lord, to give them thanks
l129l		That were the cause of my imprisonment.
l130l	Richard Gloucester	No doubt, no doubt—and so shall Clarence too,
l131l		For they that were your enemies are his,
l132l		And have prevailed as much on him as you.
l133l	Lord Hastings	More pity that the eagles should be mewed
l134l		While kites and buzzards prey at liberty.
l135l	Richard Gloucester	What news abroad?
l136l	Lord Hastings	No news so bad abroad as this at home:
l137l		The King is sickly, weak, and melancholy,
l138l		And his physicians fear him mightily.
l139l	Richard Gloucester	Now by Saint Paul, that news is bad indeed.
l140l		O he hath kept an evil diet long,
l141l		And overmuch consumed his royal person.
l142l		’Tis very grievous to be thought upon.
l143l		Where is he? In his bed?
	Lord Hastings	He is.
l144l	Richard Gloucester	Go you before and I will follow you.
		( 144 Exit Hastings)
l145l		He cannot live, I hope, and must not die
l146l		Till George be packed with post-haste up to heaven.
l147l		I’ll in to urge his hatred more to Clarence,
l148l		With lies well steeled with weighty arguments.
l149l		And if I fail not in my deep intent,
l150l		Clarence hath not another day to live—
l151l		Which done, God take King Edward to his mercy
l152l		And leave the world for me to bustle in.
l153l		For then I’ll marry Warwick’s youngest daughter.
l154l		What though I killed her husband and her father?
l155l		The readiest way to make the wench amends
l156l		Is to become her husband and her father,
l157l		The which will I: not all so much for love,
l158l		As for another secret close intent,
l159l		By marrying her, which I must reach unto.
l160l		But yet I run before my horse to market.
l161l		Clarence still breathes, Edward still lives and reigns#
l162l		When they are gone, then must I count my gains.
		(Exit)