Henry IV, Part II

Henry IV, Part II

By William Shakespeare.

Table of Contents

1. Titlepage
2. Imprint
3. Dramatis Personae
4. Henry IV, Part II
   1. Induction
   2. Act I
      1. Scene I
      2. Scene II
      3. Scene III
   3. Act II
      1. Scene I
      2. Scene II
      3. Scene III
      4. Scene IV
   4. Act III
      1. Scene I
      2. Scene II
   5. Act IV
      1. Scene I
      2. Scene II
      3. Scene III
      4. Scene IV
      5. Scene V
   6. Act V
      1. Scene I
      2. Scene II
      3. Scene III
      4. Scene IV
      5. Scene V
   7. Epilogue
5. Colophon
6. Uncopyright

Imprint

This ebook is the product of many hours of hard work by volunteers for Standard Ebooks, and builds on the hard work of other literature lovers made possible by the public domain.

This particular ebook is based on a transcription produced for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and on digital scans available at the HathiTrust Digital Library.

The writing and artwork within are believed to be in the U.S. public domain, and Standard Ebooks releases this ebook edition under the terms in the CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. For full license information, see the Uncopyright at the end of this ebook.

Standard Ebooks is a volunteer-driven project that produces ebook editions of public domain literature using modern typography, technology, and editorial standards, and distributes them free of cost. You can download this and other ebooks carefully produced for true book lovers at standardebooks.org.

Dramatis Personae

• Rumour, the Presenter

• King Henry the Fourth

• Henry, Prince of Wales, afterwards King Henry V, his son

• Thomas, Duke of Clarence, his son

• Prince John of Lancaster, his son

• Prince Humphrey of Gloucester, his son

• Earl of Warwick

• Earl of Westmoreland

• Earl of Surrey

• Gower

• Harcourt

• Blunt

• Lord Chief Justice of the King’s Bench

• A servant of the Chief Justice

• Earl of Northumberland

• Scroop, Archbishop of York

• Lord Mowbray

• Lord Hastings

• Lord Bardolph

• Sir John Colevile

• Travers and Morton, retainers of Northumberland

• Sir John Falstaff

• His page

• Bardolph

• Pistol

• Poins

• Peto

• Shallow, country justice

• Silence, country justice

• Davy, servant to Shallow

• Mouldy, Shadow, Wart, Feeble, and Bullcalf, recruits

• Fang and Snare, sheriff’s officers

• Lady Northumberland

• Lady Percy

• Mistress Quickly, hostess of a tavern in Eastcheap

• Doll Tearsheet

• Lords and attendants; porter, drawers, beadles, grooms, etc.

• A dancer, speaker of the epilogue

Scene: England.

Henry IV, Part II

Induction

Warkworth. Before the castle.

Enter Rumour, painted full of tongues.

Rumour

Open your ears; for which of you will stop The vent of hearing when loud Rumour speaks? I, from the orient to the drooping west, Making the wind my post-horse, still unfold The acts commenced on this ball of earth: Upon my tongues continual slanders ride, The which in every language I pronounce, Stuffing the ears of men with false reports. I speak of peace, while covert enmity Under the smile of safety wounds the world: And who but Rumour, who but only I, Make fearful musters and prepared defence, Whiles the big year, swoln with some other grief, Is thought with child by the stern tyrant war, And no such matter? Rumour is a pipe Blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures, And of so easy and so plain a stop That the blunt monster with uncounted heads, The still-discordant wavering multitude, Can play upon it. But what need I thus My well-known body to anatomize Among my household? Why is Rumour here? I run before King Harry’s victory; Who in a bloody field by Shrewsbury Hath beaten down young Hotspur and his troops, Quenching the flame of bold rebellion Even with the rebels’ blood. But what mean I To speak so true at first? my office is To noise abroad that Harry Monmouth fell Under the wrath of noble Hotspur’s sword, And that the king before the Douglas’ rage Stoop’d his anointed head as low as death. This have I rumour’d through the peasant towns Between that royal field of Shrewsbury And this worm-eaten hold of ragged stone, Where Hotspur’s father, old Northumberland, Lies crafty-sick: the posts come tiring on, And not a man of them brings other news Than they have learn’d of me: from Rumour’s tongues They bring smooth comforts false, worse than true wrongs. Exit.

Act I

Scene I

The same.

	Enter Lord Bardolph.
Lord Bardolph	Who keeps the gate here, ho?
	The Porter opens the gate.
	Where is the earl?
Porter	What shall I say you are?
Lord Bardolph	Tell thou the earl That the Lord Bardolph doth attend him here.
Porter	His lordship is walk’d forth into the orchard: Please it your honour, knock but at the gate, And he himself wilt answer.
	Enter Northumberland.
Lord Bardolph	Here comes the earl. Exit Porter.
Northumberland	What news, Lord Bardolph? every minute now Should be the father of some stratagem: The times are wild; contention, like a horse Full of high feeding, madly hath broke loose And bears down all before him.
Lord Bardolph	Noble earl, I bring you certain news from Shrewsbury.
Northumberland	Good, an God will!
Lord Bardolph	As good as heart can wish: The king is almost wounded to the death; And, in the fortune of my lord your son, Prince Harry slain outright; and both the Blunts Kill’d by the hand of Douglas; young Prince John And Westmoreland and Stafford fled the field; And Harry Monmouth’s brawn, the hulk Sir John, Is prisoner to your son: O, such a day, So fought, so follow’d and so fairly won, Came not till now to dignify the times, Since Caesar’s fortunes!
Northumberland	How is this derived? Saw you the field? came you from Shrewsbury?
Lord Bardolph	I spake with one, my lord, that came from thence, A gentleman well bred and of good name, That freely render’d me these news for true.
Northumberland	Here comes my servant Travers, whom I sent On Tuesday last to listen after news.
	Enter Travers.
Lord Bardolph	My lord, I over-rode him on the way; And he is furnish’d with no certainties More than he haply may retail from me.
Northumberland	Now, Travers, what good tidings comes with you?
Travers	My lord, Sir John Umfrevile turn’d me back With joyful tidings; and, being better horsed, Out-rode me. After him came spurring hard A gentleman, almost forspent with speed, That stopp’d by me to breathe his bloodied horse. He ask’d the way to Chester; and of him I