Charles Lamb Suggests To-day's Reading
February 06, 2020Christopher Marlowe |
Christopher
Marlowe (1564–1593). Edward the Second.
"The reluctant
pangs of abdicating royalty in 'Edward' furnished hints which
Shakespeare scarcely improved in his 'Richard the Second,' and the
death scene of Marlowe's King moves to pity and terror."
-CHARLES LAMB.
Vol. 46, pp. 73-89 of
The Harvard Classics
Act the
Fifth
Scene III
[Kenilworth
Castle]
Enter MATREVIS and GURNEY [and Soldiers,] with KING EDWARD
Mat. My
lord, be not pensive, we are your friends;
Men are ordain’d to
live in misery,
Therefore
come,—dalliance dangereth our lives.
K.
Edw. Friends, whither must unhappy Edward go?
Will hateful Mortimer
appoint no rest?
Must I be vexed like
the nightly bird,
Whose sight is
loathsome to all winged fowls?
When will the fury of
his mind assuage?
When will his heart be
satisfied with blood?
If mine will serve,
unbowel straight this breast,
And give my heart to
Isabel and him;
It is the chiefest mark
they level at.
Gur. Not
so my liege, the queen hath given this charge
To keep your grace in
safety;
Your passions make your
dolours to increase.
K.
Edw. This usage makes my misery to increase.
But can my air of life
continue long
When all my senses are
annoy’d with stench?
Within a dungeon
England’s king is kept,
Where I am starv’d
for want of sustenance.
My daily diet is
heart-breaking sobs,
That almost rents the
closet of my heart.
Thus lives old Edward
not reliev’d by any,
And so must die, though
pitied by many.
O, water, gentle
friends, to cool my thirst,
And clear my body from
foul excrements!
Mat. Here’s
channel 1 water, as our charge is given.
Sit down, for we’ll
be barbers to your grace.
K.
Edw. Traitors, away! What, will you murder me,
Or choke your sovereign
with puddle water?
Gur. No;
but wash your face, and shave away your beard,
Lest you be known and
so be rescued.
Mat. Why
strive you thus? Your labour is in vain!
K.
Edw. The wren may strive against the lion’s strength,
But all in vain: so
vainly do I strive
To seek for mercy at a
tyrant’s hand. They wash him with puddle water, and
shave his beard away.
Immortal powers! that
knows the painful cares
That wait upon my poor
distressed soul,
O level all your looks
upon these daring men,
That wrongs their liege
and sovereign, England’s king!
O Gaveston, ’tis for
thee that I am wrong’d,
For me, both thou and
both the Spencers died!
And for your sakes a
thousand wrongs I’ll take.
The Spencers’ ghosts,
wherever they remain,
Wish well to mine; then
tush, for them I’ll die.
Mat. ’Twixt
theirs and yours shall be no enmity.
Come, come away; now
put the torches out,
We’ll enter in by
darkness to Killingworth.
Enter KENT
Gur. How
now, who comes there?
Mat. Guard
the king sure: it is the Earl of Kent.
K. Edw. O
gentle brother, help to rescue me!
Mat. Keep
them asunder; thrust in the king.
Kent. Soldiers,
let me but talk to him one word.
Gur. Lay
hands upon the earl for his assault.
Kent. Lay
down your weapons, traitors! Yield the king!
Mat. Edmund,
yield thou thyself, or thou shalt die.
Kent. Base
villains, wherefore do you gripe me thus?
Gur. Bind
him and so convey him to the court.
Kent. Where
is the court but here? Here is the king;
And I will visit him;
why stay you me?
Mat. The
court is where Lord Mortimer remains;
Thither shall your
honour go; and so
farewell. Exeunt MATREVIS and GURNEY, withKING EDWARD.
Kent. O
miserable is that commonweal,
Where lords keep
courts, and kings are locked in prison!
Sol. Wherefore
stay we? On, sirs, to the court!
Kent. Ay,
lead me whither you will, even to my death,
Seeing that my brother
cannot be releas’d. Exeunt.
Note
1. Gutter.
Scene IV
[The royal palace]
Enter Young
MORTIMER
Y.
Mor. The king must die, or Mortimer goes down;
The commons now begin
to pity him.
Yet he that is the
cause of Edward’s death,
Is sure to pay for it
when his son’s of age;
And therefore will I do
it cunningly.
This letter, written by
a friend of ours,
Contains his death, yet
bids them save his life. [Reads.]
“Edwardum occidere
nolite timere, bonum est
Fear not to kill the
king, ’tis good he die.”
But read it thus, and
that’s another sense:
“Edwardum occidere
nolite, timere bonum est
Kill not the king, ’tis
good to fear the worst.”
Unpointed as it is,
thus shall it go,
That, being dead, if it
chance to be found,
Matrevis and the rest
may bear the blame,
And we be quit that
caus’d it to be done.
Within this room is
lock’d the messenger
That shall convey it,
and perform the rest;
And by a secret token
that he bears,
Shall he be murdered
when the deed is done.—
Lightborn, come forth!
Enter LIGHTBORN
Art thou as resolute as
thou wast?
Light. What
else, my lord? And far more resolute.
Y.
Mor. And hast thou cast 1 how to
accomplish it?
Light. Ay,
ay, and none shall know which way he died.
Y.
Mor. But at his looks, Lightborn, thou wilt relent.
Light. Relent!
ha, ha! I use much to relent.
Y.
Mor. Well, do it bravely, and be secret.
Light. You
shall not need to give instructions;
’Tis not the first
time I have kill’d a man.
I learn’d in Naples
how to poison flowers;
To strangle with a lawn
thrust through the throat;
To pierce the windpipe
with a needle’s point;
Or whilst one is
asleep, to take a quill
And blow a little
powder in his ears;
Or open his mouth and
pour quicksilver down.
And yet I have a braver
way than these.
Y.
Mor. What’s that?
Light. Nay,
you shall pardon me; none shall know my tricks.
Y. Mor. I
care not how it is, so it be not spied. [Gives letter.]
Deliver this to Gurney
and Matrevis.
At every ten mile end
thou hast a horse.
Take this; [Gives
money] away! and never see me more.
Light. No!
Y.
Mor. No;
Unless thou bring me
news of Edward’s death.
Light. That
will I quickly do. Farewell, my lord. [Exit.]
Y.
Mor. The prince I rule, the queen do I command,
And with a lowly conge
to the ground,
The proudest lords
salute me as I pass;
I seal, I cancel, I do
what I will.
Fear’d am I more than
lov’d;—let me be fear’d,
And when I frown, make
all the court look pale.
I view the prince with
Aristarchus’ eyes,
Whose looks were as a
breeching to a boy.
They thrust upon me the
protectorship,
And sue to me for that
that I desire.
While at the
council-table, grave enough,
And not unlike a
bashful puritan,
First I complain of
imbecility,
Saying it is onus
quam gravissimum, 2
Till being interrupted
by my friends,
Suscepi that provinciam 3 as
they term it;
And to conclude, I am
Protector now.
Now is all sure: the
queen and Mortimer
Shall rule the realm,
the king; and none rule us.
Mine enemies will I
plague, my friends advance;
And what I list command
who dare control?
Major sum quam cui
possit fortuna nocere. 4
And that this be the
coronation-day,
It pleaseth me, and
Isabel the queen. [Trumpets within.]
The trumpets sound, I
must go take my place.
Enter the Young
KING, QUEEN ISABELLA, the ARCHBISHOP
OF CANTERBURY,Champion and Nobles
A. of
Cant. Long live King Edward, by the grace of God
King of England and
Lord of Ireland!
Cham. If
any Christian, Heathen, Turk, or Jew,
Dares but affirm that
Edward’s not true king,
And will avouch his
saying with the sword,
I am the champion that
will combat him.
Y.
Mor. None comes, sound trumpets. [Trumpets
sound.]
K. Edw.
Third. Champion, here’s to thee. [Gives a
purse.]
Q.
Isab. Lord Mortimer, now take him to your charge.
Enter Soldiers, with KENT prisoner
Y.
Mor. What traitor have we there with blades and bills?
Sol. Edmund,
the Earl of Kent.
K. Edw.
Third. What hath he
done?
Sol. A
would have taken the king away perforce,
As we were bringing him
to Killingworth.
Y.
Mor. Did you attempt this rescue, Edmund? Speak.
Kent. Mortimer,
I did; he is our king,
And thou compell’st
this prince to wear the crown.
Y.
Mor. Strike off his head! he shall have martial law.
Kent. Strike
off my head! Base traitor, I defy thee!
K. Edw.
Third. My lord, he is my uncle, and shall live.
Y. Mor. My
lord, he is your enemy, and shall die.
Kent. Stay,
villains!
K. Edw.
Third. Sweet mother, if I cannot pardon him,
Entreat my Lord
Protector for his life.
Q.
Isab. Son, be content; I dare not speak a word.
K. Edw.
Third. Nor I, and yet methinks I should command;
But, seeing I cannot,
I’ll entreat for him—
My lord, if you will
let my uncle live,
I will requite it when
I come to age.
Y.
Mor. ’Tis for your highness’ good, and for the
realm’s.—
How often shall I bid
you bear him hence?
Kent. Art
thou king? Must I die at thy command?
Y. Mor. At
our command—Once more away with him.
Kent. Let
me but stay and speak; I will not go.
Either my brother or
his son is king,
And none of both them
thirst for Edmund’s blood:
And therefore,
soldiers, whither will you hale me? Soldiers hale KENT away,
to be beheaded.
K. Edw.
Third. What safety may I look for at his hands,
If that my uncle shall
be murdered thus?
Q.
Isab. Fear not, sweet boy, I’ll guard thee from thy
foes;
Had Edmund lived, he
would have sought thy death.
Come, son, we’ll ride
a-hunting in the park.
K. Edw.
Third. And shall my uncle Edmund ride with us?
Q.
Isab. He is a traitor; think not on him; come. Exeunt.
Note
1. Planned.
Note
2. A very heavy burden.
Note
3. I have undertaken that office.
Note
4. I am too great for fortune to injure. Ovid, Metam. VI. 195.
Scene V
[Berkeley
Castle]
Enter MATREVIS and GURNEY
Mat. Gurney,
I wonder the king dies not,
Being in a vault up to
the knees in water,
To which the channels
of the castle run,
From whence a damp
continually ariseth,
That were enough to
poison any man,
Much more a king
brought up so tenderly.
Gur. And
so do I, Matrevis: yesternight
I opened but the door
to throw him meat,
And I was almost
stifled with the savour.
Mat. He
hath a body able to endure
More than we can
inflict: and therefore now
Let us assail his mind
another while.
Gur. Send
for him out thence, and I will anger him.
Mat. But
stay, who’s this?
Enter LIGHTBORN
Light. My
Lord Protector greets you. [Gives letter.]
Gur. What’s
here? I know not how to construe it.
Mat. Gurney,
it was left unpointed for the nonce;
“Edwardum occidere
nolite timere,”
That’s his meaning.
Light. Know
ye this token? I must have the king. [Gives token.]
Mat. Ay,
stay awhile, thou shalt have answer straight.
This villain’s sent
to make away the king. [Aside.]
Gur. I
thought as much. [Aside.]
Mat. And
when the murder’s done,
See how he must be
handled for his labour.
Pereat iste! 1 Let
him have the king. [Aside.]
What else? Here is the
key, this is the lake, 2
Do as you are commanded
by my lord.
Light. I
Know what I must do. Get you away.
Yet be not far off, I
shall need your help;
See that in the next
room I have a fire,
And get me a spit, and
let it be red-hot.
Mat. Very
well.
Gur. Need
you anything besides?
Light. What
else? A table and a feather-bed.
Gur. That’s
all?
Light. Ay,
ay; so, when I call you, bring it in.
Mat. Fear
not thou that.
Gur. Here’s
a light, to go into the dungeon. [Gives a light, and then
exit withMATREVIS.]
Light. So
now
Must I about this
gear; 3 ne’er was there any
So finely handled as
this king shall be.
For, here’s a place
indeed, with all my heart!
K.
Edw. Who’s there? What light is that? wherefore com’st
thou?
Light. To
comfort you, and bring you joyful news.
K.
Edw. Small comfort finds poor Edward in thy looks.
Villain, I know thou
com’st to murder me.
Light. To
murder you, my most gracious lord!
Far is it from my heart
to do you harm.
The queen sent me to
see how you were used,
For she relents at this
your misery:
And what eyes can
refrain from shedding tears,
To see a king in this
most piteous state?
K.
Edw. Weep’st thou already? List awhile to me
And then thy heart,
were it as Gurney’s is,
Or as Matrevis’, hewn
from the Caucasus,
Yet will it melt, ere I
have done my tale.
This dungeon where they
keep me is the sink
Wherein the filth of
all the castle falls.
Light. O
villains!
K.
Edw. And there in mire and puddle have I stood
This ten days’ space;
and, lest that I should sleep,
One plays continually
upon a drum.
They give me bread and
water, being a king;
So that, for want of
sleep and sustenance,
My mind’s
distempered, and my body’s numb’d,
And whether I have
limbs or no I know not.
O, would my blood
dropp’d out from every vein,
As doth this water from
my tattered robes.
Tell Isabel, the queen,
I look’d not thus,
When for her sake I ran
at tilt in France,
And there unhors’d
the Duke of Cleremont.
Light. O
speak no more, my lord! this breaks my heart.
Lie on this bed, and
rest yourself awhile.
K.
Edw. These looks of thine can harbour nought but death:
I see my tragedy
written in thy brows.
Yet stay a while;
forbear thy bloody hand,
And let me see the
stroke before it comes,
That even then when I
shall lose my life,
My mind may be more
steadfast on my God.
Light. What
means your highness to mistrust me thus?
K.
Edw. What mean’st thou to dissemble with me thus?
Light. These
hands were never stain’d with innocent blood,
Nor shall they now be
tainted with a king’s.
K.
Edw. Forgive my thought for having such a thought.
One jewel have I left;
receive thou this. [Giving jewel.]
Still fear I, and I
know not what’s the cause,
But every joint shakes
as I give it thee.
O, if thou harbour’st
murder in thy heart,
Let this gift change
thy mind, and save thy soul!
Know that I am a king:
O, at that name
I feel a hell of grief!
Where is my crown?
Gone, gone! and do I
still remain alive?
Light. You’re
overwatch’d, my lord; lie down and rest.
K.
Edw. But that grief keeps me waking, I should sleep;
For not these ten days
have these eye-lids clos’d.
Now as I speak they
fall, and yet with fear
Open again. O wherefore
sitt’st thou here?
Light. If
you mistrust me, I’ll begone, my lord.
K.
Edw. No, no, for if thou mean’st to murder me,
Thou wilt return again,
and therefore stay. [Sleeps.]
Light. He
sleeps.
K.
Edw. [waking]. O let me not die yet! O stay a while!
Light. How
now, my lord?
K.
Edw. Something still buzzeth in mine ears,
And tells me if I sleep
I never wake;
This fear is that which
makes me tremble thus.
And therefore tell me,
wherefore art thou come?
Light. To
rid thee of thy life.—Matrevis, come!
Enter MATREVIS and GURNEY
K. Edw. I
am too weak and feeble to resist:—
Assist me, sweet God,
and receive my soul!
Light. Run
for the table.
K. Edw. O
spare me, or despatch me in a trice. [MATREVIS brings
in a table.]
Light. So,
lay the table down, and stamp on it,
But not too hard, lest
that you bruise his body. [KING EDWARD is
murdered.]
Mat. I
fear me that this cry will raise the town,
And therefore, let us
take horse and away.
Light. Tell
me, sirs, was it not bravely done?
Gur. Excellent
well: take this for thy reward. GURNEY stabs LIGHTBORN [who
dies.]
Come, let us cast the
body in the moat,
And bear the king’s
to Mortimer our lord:
Away! Exeunt [with
the bodies.]
Note
1. Let this man die.
Note
2. Perhaps for “lock.”
Note
3. Business.
Scene VI
[The royal palace,
London]
Enter Young
MORTIMER and MATREVIS
Y.
Mor. Is’t done, Matrevis, and the murderer dead?
Mat. Ay,
my good lord; I would it were undone!
Y.
Mor. Matrevis, if thou now growest penitent
I’ll be thy ghostly
father; therefore choose,
Whether thou wilt be
secret in this,
Or else die by the hand
of Mortimer.
Mat. Gurney,
my lord, is fled, and will, I fear
Betray us both,
therefore let me fly.
Y.
Mor. Fly to the savages!
Mat. I
humbly thank your honour. [Exit.]
Y. Mor. As
for myself, I stand as Jove’s huge tree,
And others are but
shrubs compar’d to me.
All tremble at my name,
and I fear none;
Let’s see who dare
impeach me for his death!
Enter QUEEN ISABELLA
Q.
Isab. Ah, Mortimer, the king my son hath news
His father’s dead,
and we have murdered him!
Y.
Mor. What if he have? The king is yet a child.
Q.
Isab. Ay, but he tears his hair, and wrings his hands,
And vows to be reveng’d
upon us both.
Into the
council-chamber he is gone,
To crave the aid and
succour of his peers.
Ay me! see here he
comes, and they with him.
Now, Mortimer, begins
our tragedy.
Enter KING EDWARD
THE THIRD, LORDS, and Attendants.
1st
Lord. Fear not, my lord, know that you are a king.
K. Edw.
Third. Villain!—
Y.
Mor. How now, my lord!
K. Edw.
Third. Think not that I am frighted with thy words!
My father’s murdered
through thy treachery;
And thou shalt die, and
on his mournful hearse
Thy hateful and
accursed head shall lie,
To witness to the
world, that by thy means
His kingly body was too
soon interr’d.
Q.
Isab. Weep not, sweet son!
K. Edw.
Third. Forbid me not to weep; he was my father;
And, had you lov’d
him half so well as I,
You could not bear his
death thus patiently.
But you, I fear,
conspir’d with Mortimer.
1st
Lord. Why speak you not unto my lord the king?
Y.
Mor. Because I think scorn to be accus’d.
Who is the man dares
say I murdered him?
K. Edw.
Third. Traitor! in me my loving father speaks,
And plainly saith,
’twas thou that murd’redst him.
Y.
Mor. But has your grace no other proof than this?
K. Edw.
Third. Yes, if this be the hand of Mortimer. [Shewing
letter.]
Y.
Mor. False Gurney hath betray’d me and
himself. [Aside.]
Q. Isab. I
fear’d as much; murder cannot be hid. [Aside.]
Y. Mor. It
is my hand; what gather you by this?
K. Edw.
Third. That thither thou didst send a murderer.
Y.
Mor. What murderer? Bring forth the man I sent.
K. Edw.
Third. Ah, Mortimer, thou knowest that he is slain;
And so shalt thou be
too.—Why stays he here
Bring him unto a
hurdle, drag him forth;
Hang him, I say, and
set his quarters up;
But bring his head back
presently to me.
Q.
Isab. For my sake, sweet son, pity Mortimer!
Y.
Mor. Madam, entreat not, I will rather die,
Than sue for life unto
a paltry boy.
K. Edw.
Third Hence with the traitor! with the murderer!
Y.
Mor. Base Fortune, now I see, that in thy wheel
There is a point, to
which when men aspire,
They tumble headlong
down: that point I touch’d,
And, seeing there was
no place to mount up higher,
Why should I grieve at
my declining fall?—
Farewell, fair queen;
weep not for Mortimer,
That scorns the world,
and, as a traveller,
Goes to discover
countries yet unknown.
K. Edw.
Third. What! suffer you the traitor to delay? [Young
MORTIMER is taken away by First Lord and Attendants.]
Q.
Isab. As thou receivedest thy life from me,
Spill not the blood of
gentle Mortimer!
K. Edw.
Third. This argues that you spilt my father’s blood,
Else would you not
entreat for Mortimer.
Q. Isab. I
spill his blood? No.
K. Edw.
Third. Ay, madam, you; for so the rumour runs.
Q.
Isab. That rumour is untrue; for loving thee,
Is this report rais’d
on poor Isabel.
K. Edw.
Third. I do not think her so unnatural.
2nd
Lord. My lord, I fear me it will prove too true.
K. Edw.
Third. Mother, you are suspected for his death
And therefore we commit
you to the Tower
Till farther trial may
be made thereof;
If you be guilty,
though I be your son,
Think not to find me
slack or pitiful.
Q.
Isab. Nay, to my death, for too long have I liv’d
Whenas my son thinks to
abridge my days.
K. Edw.
Third. Away with her, her words enforce these tears,
And I shall pity her if
she speak again.
Q.
Isab. Shall I not mourn for my beloved lord,
And with the rest
accompany him to his grave?
2nd
Lord. Thus, madam, ’tis the king’s will you shall
hence.
Q.
Isab. He hath forgotten me; stay, I am his mother.
2nd
Lord. That boots not; therefore, gentle madam, go.
Q.
Isab. Then come, sweet death, and rid me of this
grief. [Exit.]
[Re-enter 1st
Lord, with the head of Young MORTIMER]
1st
Lord. My lord, here is the head of Mortimer.
K. Edw.
Third. Go fetch my father’s hearse, where it shall lie;
And bring my funeral
robes. [Exeunt Attendants.]
Accursed
head,
Could I have rul’d
thee then, as I do now,
Thou had’st not
hatch’d this monstrous treachery!—
Here comes the hearse;
help me to mourn, my lords.
[Re-enter Attendants with
the hearse and funeral robes]
Sweet father, here unto
thy murdered ghost
I offer up this wicked
traitor’s head;
And let these tears,
distilling from mine eyes,
Be witness of my grief
and innocency. [Exeunt.]
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