|
| The First part of King Henry the Sixth |
|
Shakespeare homepage
| Henry VI, part 1
| Act 4, Scene 5
Previous scene | Next scene |
|
Enter TALBOT and JOHN his sonTALBOT
O young John Talbot! I did send for theeJOHN TALBOT
To tutor thee in stratagems of war,
That Talbot's name might be in thee revived
When sapless age and weak unable limbs
Should bring thy father to his drooping chair.
But, O malignant and ill-boding stars!
Now thou art come unto a feast of death,
A terrible and unavoided danger:
Therefore, dear boy, mount on my swiftest horse;
And I'll direct thee how thou shalt escape
By sudden flight: come, dally not, be gone.
Is my name Talbot? and am I your son?TALBOT
And shall I fly? O if you love my mother,
Dishonour not her honourable name,
To make a bastard and a slave of me!
The world will say, he is not Talbot's blood,
That basely fled when noble Talbot stood.
Fly, to revenge my death, if I be slain.JOHN TALBOT
He that flies so will ne'er return again.TALBOT
If we both stay, we both are sure to die.JOHN TALBOT
Then let me stay; and, father, do you fly:TALBOT
Your loss is great, so your regard should be;
My worth unknown, no loss is known in me.
Upon my death the French can little boast;
In yours they will, in you all hopes are lost.
Flight cannot stain the honour you have won;
But mine it will, that no exploit have done:
You fled for vantage, everyone will swear;
But, if I bow, they'll say it was for fear.
There is no hope that ever I will stay,
If the first hour I shrink and run away.
Here on my knee I beg mortality,
Rather than life preserved with infamy.
Shall all thy mother's hopes lie in one tomb?JOHN TALBOT
Ay, rather than I'll shame my mother's womb.TALBOT
Upon my blessing, I command thee go.JOHN TALBOT
To fight I will, but not to fly the foe.TALBOT
Part of thy father may be saved in thee.JOHN TALBOT
No part of him but will be shame in me.TALBOT
Thou never hadst renown, nor canst not lose it.JOHN TALBOT
Yes, your renowned name: shall flight abuse it?TALBOT
Thy father's charge shall clear thee from that stain.JOHN TALBOT
You cannot witness for me, being slain.TALBOT
If death be so apparent, then both fly.
And leave my followers here to fight and die?JOHN TALBOT
My age was never tainted with such shame.
And shall my youth be guilty of such blame?TALBOT
No more can I be sever'd from your side,
Than can yourself yourself in twain divide:
Stay, go, do what you will, the like do I;
For live I will not, if my father die.
Then here I take my leave of thee, fair son,
Born to eclipse thy life this afternoon.
Come, side by side together live and die.
And soul with soul from France to heaven fly.
Exeunt
|
Shakespeare homepage
| Henry VI, part 1
| Act 4, Scene 5
Previous scene | Next scene |
 | Ahoy Mates! We're happy to announce that 2006 is the year of Moby Dick. Join us before the mast! For more information, please check out Moby Dick or email Drake. Free downloadable copies are available at Moby Dick, and we hope that ye join us in discussing the novel at the Moby Dick Campfire. Invite yer friends! We would like to unite the world in reading what is perhaps the greatest work of fiction ever penned on the American shores. Written in the rich context of Shakespeare and the Bible, Moby Dick was Herman Melville's definitive masterpiece. If you've already read the epic, we invite you to read it again. And be sure to pick up Hamlet and the Bible throughout November, as the novel shall only be enhanced by the deeper context. The White Whale, symbolic of the truth and freedom which the greatest spirits in Western Civilization have ever pursued, yet swims free. Concerning Moby Dick, Melville wrote, "It ... is of the horrible texture of a fabric that should be woven of ships' cables and hausers. A Polar wind blows through it, & birds of prey hover over it. Warn all gentle fastidious people from so much as peeping into the book..." Moby Dick was the first "Great Book" posted at jollyroger.com, over six years ago, and Melville's masterpiece has inspired a lot of our poetry and prose. Check out Drake's new film at Moby Dick Film and Moby Dick.  Amazon Computers | |