Previous
Act 2, Scene 2
Henry V Translation Act 2, Scene 3
Enter PISTOL, HOSTESS, NYM, BARDOLPH, and BOY
HOSTESS
Prithee, honey-sweet husband, let me bring thee to Staines.
HOSTESS
Please, sweet husband, let me accompany you to Staines.
PISTOL
No; for my manly heart doth earn.—Bardolph, be blithe.— Nym, rouse thy vaunting veins.—Boy, bristle thy courageup . For Falstaff, he is dead, and we must earn therefore.
PISTOL
No, because my manly heart is sad. Bardolph, cheer up. Nym, get your bragging blood flowing. Boy, get up your courage. Falstaff is dead, so we must be sad.
BARDOLPH
Would I were with him, wheresome'er he is, either in heaven or in hell.
BARDOLPH
I wish I were with him, wherever he is, either in heaven or in hell.
Ask LitCharts AI:
The answer to your questions
Get instant explanations to your questions about anything we cover.
Powered by LitCharts content and AI.
Learn More
Powered by LitCharts content and AI.
Ask LitCharts AI:
The answer to your questions
Ask LitCharts AI:
The answer to your questions
Learn More
HOSTESS
Nay, sure, he’s not in hell! He’s in Arthur’s bosom, ifever man went to Arthur’s bosom. He made a finer end, and went away an it had been any christom child. He parted ev'n just between twelve and one, ev'n at the turning o' th' tide; for after I saw him fumble with thesheets and play with flowers and smile upon his finger’s end, I knew there was but one way, for his nosewas as sharp as a pen, and he told of green fields. “How now, Sir John?” quoth I. “What, man, be o' good cheer!” So he cried out “God, God, God!” three or four times. Now I, to comfort him, bid him he should not think of God. I hoped there was no need to trouble himself with any such thoughts yet. So he bade me lay more clothes on his feet. I put my hand into the bed andfelt them, and they were as cold as any stone. Then I felt to his knees, and so upward and upward, and all wasas cold as any stone.
HOSTESS
No, he's surely not in hell! He's in Arthur's bosom, if any man ever went to Arthur's bosom. He had as good a death as any Christian child. He died between twelve and one, just as the tide was turning. I saw him fumble with the sheets as though he was playing with flowers, and smile at his fingers. I knew how it would go, because his nose was as sharp as the tip of a pen, and was talking about green fields. "What's wrong, Sir John?", I said. "Come on, man, cheer up!" So he called out "God, God, God!" three or four times. To comfort him, I told him not to think about God. I hoped there was need for him to worry about such things yet. So he asked me to put more blankets on his feet. I put my hand in the bed and felt them, and they were as cold as a stone. Then I felt up to his knees, and higher and higher, and it was all as cold as stone.
NYM
They say he cried out of sack.
NYM
They say he complained about wine.
HOSTESS
Ay, that he did.
HOSTESS
Yes, he did.
BARDOLPH
And of women.
BARDOLPH
And about women.
HOSTESS
Nay, that he did not.
HOSTESS
No, he didn't do that.
BOY
Yes, that he did, and said they were devils incarnate.
BOY
Yes, he did, and said they were devils incarnate.
HOSTESS
'A could never abide carnation. 'Twas a color he never liked.
HOSTESS
He could never stand carnation. It was a color he never liked.
BOY
He said once the devil would have him about women.
BOY
He said once the devil would get him because of women.
HOSTESS
He did in some sort, indeed, handle women, but then he was rheumatic, and talked of the Whore of Babylon.
HOSTESS
He did, in a way, indeed, touch on women, but then he got watery eyes and talked about the Whore of Babylon.
BOY
Do you not remember he saw a flea stick upon Bardolph’snose, and he said it was a black soul burning in hell?
BOY
Do you remember he saw a flea sticking on Bardolph's nose and said it was a black soul burning in hell?
BARDOLPH
Well, the fuel is gone that maintained that fire. That’s all the riches I got in his service.
BARDOLPH
Well, the wood that kept that fire burning is gone now he's dead. That's all the wealth I ever got from serving him.
NYM
Shall we shog? The King will be gone from Southampton.
NYM
Shall we set off? The King will be gone from Southampton soon.
PISTOL
Come, let’s away. —My love, give me thy lips. Look to my chattels and my movables. Let senses rule. The word is “Pitch and pay.” Trust none, for oaths are straws, men’s faiths are wafer-cakes, And Holdfast is the only dog, my duck. Therefore, caveto be thy counselor. Go, clear thy crystals .—Yoke-fellows in arms, Let us to France, like horse-leeches, my boys, To suck, to suck, the very blood to suck.
PISTOL
Come, let's go.
[To Hostess] My love, kiss me. Watch over my movable property. Let your senses guide you. The word is, "pay cash down." Don't trust anyone, because oaths are thin and bendable as straws, men's honesty is a wafer, and the only thing to do is hold tight to what you have, my duck. So, let "beware" be your adviser. Go, clear the tears from your clear eyes.
[To others] Fellow fighters, let's go to France, my boys, like leeches on horses, to suck, to suck, to suck blood.
BOY
And that’s but unwholesome food, they say.
BOY
And they say that's not very healthy food.
PISTOL
Touch her soft mouth, and march.
PISTOL
Kiss her soft mouth, and march.
BARDOLPH
Farewell, hostess. [kissing her]
Bardolph
Goodbye, Hostess. [Kissing her]
NYM
I cannot kiss, that is the humor of it. But adieu.
NYM
I can't kiss, that's the way it is. But goodbye.
PISTOL
Let housewifery appear. Keep close, I thee command.
PISTOL
Be a housewife. Keep inside, I command you.
HOSTESS
Farewell. Adieu.
HOSTESS
Farewell. Goodbye.
Exeunt
Flourish. Enter the KING OF FRANCE, the DAUPHIN, the Dukes of Berri and Brittany, the CONSTABLE, and others
KING OF FRANCE
Thus comes the English with full power upon us, And more than carefully it us concerns To answer royally in our defenses. Therefore the Dukes of Berri and of Brittany, Of Brabant and of Orléans, shall make forth, And you, Prince Dauphin, with all swift dispatch, To line and new-repair our towns of war With men of courage and with means defendant. For England his approaches makes as fierce As waters to the sucking of a gulf. It fits us then to be as provident As fear may teach us out of late examples Left by the fatal and neglected English Upon our fields.
KING OF FRANCE
So the English are coming with a large army to fight us, and it's right for us to defend ourselves royally, rather than cautiously. So the Dukes of Berri and of Britanny, of Brabant and of Orléans, will head out, and you, Prince Dauphin, as quickly as possible, to fortify our towns for war and fill them with brave men and with means to defend themselves. The king of England's approach is as fierce as a whirlpool sucking down water. It's right for us to be careful, because fear shows us recent examples of what happened on our battlefields when we underestimated the English.
DAUPHIN
To view the sick and feeble parts of France. And let us do it with no show of fear, No, with no more than if we heard that England Were busied with a Whitsun morris-dance. For, my good liege, she is so idly kinged, Her scepter so fantastically borne By a vain, giddy, shallow, humorous youth, That fear attends her not. My most redoubted father, It is most meet we arm us 'gainst the foe, For peace itself should not so dull a kingdom, Though war nor no known quarrel were in question, But that defenses, musters, preparations, Should be maintained, assembled, and collected, As were a war in expectation. Therefore I say ’tis meet we all go forth.
DAUPHIN
Let's go see the sick and weak parts of France. And let's do it without seeming afraid—no, more as if we heard that England were busy dancing. Because, my good king, England has such a lazy king, a vain, unpredictable, shallow, moody young man who uses his power so irrationally that there's no reason to fear England. My respected father, it's right for us to prepare to fight the enemy, because peace shouldn't be allowed to make a kingdom weak, even if there were no war or conflict that might bring one about. Defenses, militias, and preparations should be maintained, assembled, and collected as if a war were expected. So I say it's right for us all to head out.
CONSTABLE
Oh peace, Prince Dauphin! You are too much mistaken in this king. Question your Grace the late ambassadors With what great state he heard their embassy, How well supplied with noble counselors, How modest in exception, and withal How terrible in constant resolution, And you shall find his vanities forespent Were but the outside of the Roman Brutus, Covering discretion with a coat of folly, As gardeners do with ordure hide those roots That shall first spring and be most delicate.
CONSTABLE
Be quiet, Prince Dauphin! You're wrong about this king. Ask the last ambassadors with what dignity he heard their message, how well supplied he is with noble advisers, how modest when disagreeing, but still how determined he is when he's made his mind up, and you will find that the foolish things he used to do were just a disguise for a Roman hero, covering wisdom with a layer of folly, the way gardeners cover with manure the shoots that will grow first and be most beautiful.
DAUPHIN
Well, ’tis not so, my Lord High Constable. But though we think it so, it is no matter. In cases of defense ’tis best to weigh The enemy more mighty than he seems. So the proportions of defense are filled, Which of a weak or niggardly projection Doth, like a miser, spoil his coat with scanting A little cloth.
DAUPHIN
It's not true, my Lord High Constable. But though you think it is, it doesn't make a difference. In cases of self-defense it's best to consider the enemy to be stronger than he seems. So you're able to make an adequate defense. Assuming your enemy is weak and trying to save resources means being like a greedy man who spoils a coat by trying to save a little cloth when it's being made.
KING OF FRANCE
Think we King Harry strong, And, princes, look you strongly arm to meet him. The kindred of him hath been fleshed upon us, And he is bred out of that bloody strain That haunted us in our familiar paths. Witness our too-much-memorable shame When Cressy battle fatally was struck And all our princes captived by the hand Of that black name, Edward, Black Prince of Wales, Whiles that his mountain sire, on mountain standing Up in the air, crowned with the golden sun, Saw his heroical seed and smiled to see him Mangle the work of nature and deface The patterns that by God and by French fathers Had twenty years been made. This is a stem Of that victorious stock, and let us fear The native mightiness and fate of him.
KING OF FRANCE
Let's assume King Harry is strong, and princes, make yourselves strong to meet him. His relative drew our blood, and he comes from that bloody family that has already haunted us in our own country. Remember our too-easily-remembered shame at the fatal battle of Cressy when all our princes were captured by the terrible Edward, Black Prince of Wales, himself, while his mountain-dwelling father standing on a mountain up in the air, haloed by the golden sun, saw his heroic son and smiled to see him kill the men who had been made by God and by French fathers twenty years before. This is a relative of that conquering family, and we should fear his inherited strength and luck.
Enter a MESSENGER
MESSENGER
Ambassadors from Harry King of EnglandDo crave admittance to your Majesty.
MESSENGER
Ambassadors from Harry King of England ask to be brought to see you, your Majesty.
KING OF FRANCE
We’ll give them present audience. Go, and bring them.
KING OF FRANCE
I'll hear them now. Go and bring them.
Exit MESSENGER
You see this chase is hotly followed, friends.
You see they've already started hunting us.
DAUPHIN
Turn head and stop pursuit, for coward dogs Most spend their mouths when what they seem to threaten Runs far before them. Good my sovereign, Take up the English short, and let them know Of what a monarchy you are the head. Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin As self-neglecting.
DAUPHIN
Then turn and stop them following, because cowardly dogs bark loudest when what they're trying to attack runs far ahead of them. Dear king, stop the English short and let them see what kingdom you're the king of. Self-respect, my king, is not as bad a sin as being insecure.
Enter EXETER and train, and lords
KING OF FRANCE
From our brother England?
KING OF FRANCE
You come from my brother the King of England?
EXETER
From him, and thus he greets your Majesty: He wills you, in the name of God Almighty, That you divest yourself and lay apart The borrowed glories that, by gift of heaven, By law of nature and of nations, 'longs To him and to his heirs —namely, the crown And all wide-stretchèd honors that pertain By custom and the ordinance of times Unto the crown of France. That you may know 'Tis no sinister nor no awkward claim Picked from the wormholes of long-vanished days, Nor from the dust of old oblivion raked, He sends you this most memorable line, In every branch truly demonstrative, Willing you overlook this pedigree, And when you find him evenly derived From his most famed of famous ancestors, Edward the Third, he bids you then resign Your crown and kingdom, indirectly held From him, the native and true challenger.
EXETER
Yes, and he greets you in this way: he asks you, in the name of God Almighty, to give up the borrowed riches that belong to him and his heirs by the gift of heaven and laws of countries. That is, the crown and all the honors that go along, by custom and ancient laws, with the crown of France. So that you know this isn't a trumped-up or weak claim made out of loopholes of ancient laws, or based on something that happened a long time ago, he sends you this interesting family tree, showing every branch of his family, and asks you to look it over. And when you find he's honestly descended from his most famous of famous ancestors, Edward the Third, he asks you to then give up your crown and kingdom, which you're keep unfairly from him, the natural and true ruler.
KING OF FRANCE
Or else what follows?
KING OF FRANCE
Or what will happen?
EXETER
Bloody constraint, for if you hide the crown Even in your hearts, there will he rake for it. Therefore in fierce tempest is he coming, In thunder and in earthquake like a Jove, That, if requiring fail, he will compel, And bids you, in the bowels of the Lord, Deliver up the crown and to take mercy On the poor souls for whom this hungry war Opens his vasty jaws, and on your head Turning the widows' tears, the orphans' cries, The dead men’s blood, the pining maidens' groans, For husbands, fathers, and betrothèd lovers, That shall be swallowed in this controversy. This is his claim, his threat'ning, and my message— Unless the Dauphin be in presence here, To whom expressly I bring greeting too.
EXETER
Bloody violence, because even if you hide the crown in your hearts, he'll cut them open to find it. So he's coming in a fierce storm, in thunder and earthquakes like God. If asking doesn't work, he'll use force. He asks you, by the body of God, to give him the crown and to save all the poor people that this hungry war is opening its huge jaws to eats. You'll be to blame for the widows' tears, the orphans' cries, the dead men's blood, the sad women's moans for husbands, fathers, and fiancés who will be swallowed by this war. That is his claim, his threat, and my message—unless the Dauphin is here too, because I have a message specifically for him.
KING OF FRANCE
For us, we will consider of this further.Tomorrow shall you bear our full intentBack to our brother England.
KING OF FRANCE
As for me, I will think more about this. Tomorrow you'll bring my complete response to my brother England.
DAUPHIN
For the Dauphin,I stand here for him. What to him from England?
DAUPHIN
As for the Dauphin, I'm speaking for him. What does the king of England send him?
EXETER
Scorn and defiance, slight regard, contempt, And anything that may not misbecome The mighty sender, doth he prize you at. Thus says my king: an if your father’s Highness Do not, in grant of all demands at large, Sweeten the bitter mock you sent his Majesty, He’ll call you to so hot an answer of it That caves and womby vaultages of France Shall chide your trespass and return your mock In second accent of his ordinance.
EXETER
Scorn and hostility, a low opinion, disrespect, and anything that doesn't make the powerful sender look bad. That's what he thinks of you. The king says this: if your father doesn't, by granting all the demands he's made, make up for your nasty joke about his Majesty, he'll make you answer for it so violently that hollow caves in France will scold you for your mistake and repeat the echoes of your joke as it's expressed by his cannons.
DAUPHIN
Say, if my father render fair return, It is against my will, for I desire Nothing but odds with England. To that end, As matching to his youth and vanity, I did present him with the Paris balls.
DAUPHIN
Tell him, if my father agrees to his terms, it's against my will, because I want nothing more than war with England. It was for that, and because they matched his youth and silliness, that I sent him the Paris tennis balls.
EXETER
He’ll make your Paris Louvre shake for it, Were it the mistress court of mighty Europe. And be assured you’ll find a difference, As we his subjects have in wonder found, Between the promise of his greener days And these he masters now. Now he weighs time Even to the utmost grain. That you shall read In your own losses, if he stay in France.
EXETER
He would make your Louvre in Paris shake for that even if it were the capital of all of Europe. Be sure you'll see a difference, as we his subjects were amazed to see, between what he seemed to be like in his younger days and now. Now he spends time carefully even to the second. You will find that out by all your losses if he stays in France.
KING OF FRANCE
Tomorrow shall you know our mind at full.
KING OF FRANCE
Tomorrow you will know everything I have to say.
Flourish
EXETER
Dispatch us with all speed, lest that our king Come here himself to question our delay, For he is footed in this land already.
EXETER
Send us back soon, or our king will come here himself to ask what's delaying us, since he's already landed in this country.
KING OF FRANCE
You shall be soon dispatched with fair conditions. A night is but small breath and little pauseTo answer matters of this consequence.
KING OF FRANCE
You will soon be sent back with a fair answer. A night is not a long time to consider something this important.
Flourish
Exeunt
