K. John. My life as soon: I do defy thee,
France.

Arthur of Bretagne, yield thee to my hand;

And out of my dear love I'll give thee more
Than e'er the coward hand of France can win :
Submit thee, boy.

Eli.

Come to thy grandam, child. Const. Do, child, go to it grandam, child; Give grandam kingdom, and it grandam will Give it a plum, a cherry, and a fig:

There's a good grandam.

Arth.

Good my mother, peace!

I would that I were low laid in my grave:

I am not worth this coil that 's made for me. Eli. His mother shames him so, poor boy, he weeps.

Const. Now shame upon you, whether she does or no!

His grandam's wrongs, and not his mother's shames, Draws those heaven-moving pearls from his poor

eyes,

Which heaven shall take in nature of a fee;

Ay, with these crystal beads heaven shall be bribed
To do him justice and revenge on you.

Eli. Thou monstrous slanderer of heaven and
earth!

160

170

time. 'It' probably acquired its possessive meaning on the analogy of 'her' (possessive and objective) or 'itself' by myself,' ' herself.'

165. coil, ado.

167. whether (monosyllabic). 168. wrongs, the wrongs done by her.

171. beads (playing on the original sense, 'prayer ').

D

Const. Thou monstrous injurer of heaven and

earth!

Call not me slanderer; thou and thine usurp

The dominations, royalties and rights

Of this oppressed boy: this is thy eld'st son's son,
Infortunate in nothing but in thee:

Thy sins are visited in this poor child;
The canon of the law is laid on him,
Being but the second generation
Removed from thy sin-conceiving womb.
K. John. Bedlam, have done.

Const.

I have but this to say,

That he is not only plagued for her sin,
But God hath made her sin and her the plague
On this removed issue, plagued for her

And with her plague; her sin his injury,

Her injury the beadle to her sin,

All punish'd in the person of this child,
And all for her; a plague upon her!.

Eli. Thou unadvised scold, I can produce

A will that bars the title of thy son.

Const. Ay, who doubts that? a will! a wicked will;

A woman's will; a canker'd grandam's will!

180. The canon of the law, the declaration made in the Jewish law (Exod. xx. 5) that the sins of the fathers would be visited upon their children.

186. plagued for her and with her plague, etc. Punished for her and with a punishment which she inflicts; her sin bringing injury upon Arthur, and her injurious deed executing (upon him) the punishment incurred by her sin;-all which (viz. both her sin and her present injurious deeds) are

180

190

K. Phi. Peace, lady! pause, or be more tem

perate :

It ill beseems this presence to cry aim

To these ill-tuned repetitions.

Some trumpet summon hither to the walls

These men of Angiers: let us hear them speak
Whose title they admit, Arthur's or John's.

Trumpet sounds.

Enter certain Citizens

upon the walls.

First Cit. Who is it that hath warn'd us to the walls?

K. Phi. 'Tis France, for England.

K. John.
England, for itself.
You men of Angiers, and my loving subjects,—
K. Phi. You loving men of Angiers, Arthur's
subjects,

Our trumpet call'd you to this gentle parle

K. John. For our advantage; therefore hear us
first.

These flags of France, that are advanced here
Before the eye and prospect of your town,
Have hither march'd to your endamagement:
The cannons have their bowels full of wrath,
And ready mounted are they to spit forth
Their iron indignation 'gainst your walls:
All preparation for a bloody siege

And merciless proceeding by these French
Confronts your city's eyes, your winking gates;
And but for our approach those sleeping stones,

196. cry aim, give encouragement (used, in archery, of those who stood by the archer as he prepared to shoot).

201. warn'd, summoned. 206. For our advantage, on our behalf. The French trum

200

210

pet, blown on English territory,
is admittedly sounded for Eng-
land'; John turns to account
Philip's ambiguous expression.

207. advanced, lifted.
215. winking, closed.

That as a waist doth girdle you about,
By the compulsion of their ordinance
By this time from their fixed beds of lime
Had been dishabited, and wide havoc made
For bloody power to rush upon your peace.
But on the sight of us your lawful king,
Who painfully with much expedient march
Have brought a countercheck before your gates,
To save unscratch'd your city's threatened cheeks,
Behold, the French amazed vouchsafe a parle ;
And now, instead of bullets wrapp'd in fire,
To make a shaking fever in your walls,
They shoot but calm words folded up in smoke,
To make a faithless error in your ears:
Which trust accordingly kind citizens,

And let us in, your king, whose labour'd spirits,
Forwearied in this action of swift speed,

Crave harbourage within your city walls.

K. Phi. When I have said, make answer to us
both.

Lo, in this right hand, whose protection
Is most divinely vow'd upon the right
Of him it holds, stands young Plantagenet,
Son to the elder brother of this man,
And king o'er him and all that he enjoys:
For this down-trodden equity, we tread

In warlike march these greens before your town,
Being no further enemy to you

Than the constraint of hospitable zeal
In the relief of this oppressed child
Religiously provokes. Be pleased then
To pay that duty which you truly owe

To him that owes it, namely this young prince:

220. dishabited, displaced. 230. To make a faithless error in your ears, to seduce

you to a breach of faith.

220

230

240

233. Forwearied, wearied out, 242. greens, meads.

And then our arms, like to a muzzled bear,
Save in aspéct, hath all offence seal'd up;
Our cannons' malice vainly shall be spent
Against the invulnerable clouds of heaven;
And with a blessed and unvex'd retire,

With unhack'd swords and helmets all unbruised,
We will bear home that lusty blood again

Which here we came to spout against your town,
And leave your children, wives and you in peace.
But if you fondly pass our proffer'd offer,
'Tis not the roundure of your old-faced walls
Can hide you from our messengers of war,
Though all these English and their discipline
Were harbour'd in their rude circumference.
Then tell us, shall your city call us lord,
In that behalf which we have challenged it?
Or shall we give the signal to our rage
And stalk in blood to our possession ?

First Cit. In brief, we are the king of Eng-
land's subjects:

For him, and in his right, we hold this town.
K. John. Acknowledge then the king, and let
me in.

First Cit. That can we not; but he that proves
the king,

To him will we prove loyal: till that time
Have we ramm'd up our gates against the world.
K. John. Doth not the crown of England
prove the king?

And if not that, I bring you witnesses,

Twice fifteen thousand hearts of England's breed,

Bast. Bastards, and else.

K. John. To verify our title with their lives.

258. pass, neglect.

259. roundure, compass. 'rounder.'

Capell's correction

250

260

270