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Hath made the wizard famous in his death.

Sword, hold thy temper; heart, be wrathful still;

Priests pray for enemies, but princes kill.

[Exit.]

[Fight: excursions. Enter KING, QUEEN, and others.]

QUEEN.

Away, my lord! you are slow; for shame, away!

KING HENRY.

Can we outrun the heavens? good Margaret, stay.

QUEEN.

What are you made of? you'll nor fight nor fly;

Now is it manhood, wisdom, and defence,

To give the enemy way, and to secure us

By what we can, which can no more but fly.

[Alarum afar off.]

If you be ta'en, we then should see the bottom

Of all our fortunes; but if we haply scape,

As well we may, if not through your neglect,

We shall to London get, where you are lov'd,

And where this breach now in our fortunes made

May readily be stopp'd.

[Enter young CLIFFORD.]

YOUNG CLIFFORD.

But that my heart's on future mischief set,

I would speak blasphemy ere bid you fly.

But fly you must; uncurable discomfit

Reigns in the hearts of all our present parts.

Away, for your relief! and we will live

To see their day and them our fortune give.

Away, my lord, away!

[Exeunt.]

SCENE III. Fields near Saint Alban's.

[Alarum. Retreat. Enter YORK, RICHARD, WARWICK, and Soldiers, with drum and colours.]

YORK.

Of Salisbury, who can report of him,

That winter lion, who in rage forgets

Aged contusions and all brush of time

And, like a gallant in the brow of youth,

Repairs him with occasion? This happy day

Is not itself, nor have we won one foot,

If Salisbury be lost.

RICHARD.

My noble father,

Three times to-day I holp him to his horse,

Three times bestrid him; thrice I led him off,

Persuaded him from any further act;

But still, where danger was, still there I met him;

And like rich hangings in a homely house,

So was his will in his old feeble body.

But, noble as he is, look where he comes.

[Enter SALISBURY.]

SALISBURY.

Now, by my sword, well hast thou fought to-day;

By the mass, so did we all.—I thank you, Richard;

God knows how long it is I have to live,

And it hath pleas'd him that three times to-day

You have defended me from imminent death.—

Well, lords, we have not got that which we have;

'T is not enough our foes are this time fled,

Being opposites of such repairing nature.

YORK.

I know our safety is to follow them;

For, as I hear, the king is fled to London,

To call a present court of parliament.

Let us pursue him ere the writs go forth.—

What says Lord Warwick? shall we after them?

WARWICK.

After them! nay, before them, if we can.

Now, by my hand, lords, 'twas a glorious day;

Saint Alban's battle won by famous York

Shall be eterniz'd in all age to come.—

Sound drums and trumpets!—and to London all;

And more such days as these to us befall!

[Exeunt.]

HENRY VI, PART 3

Believed to have been written in 1591, this history play deals with the horrors of the War of the Roses, as the once ordered nation is thrown into chaos and barbarism, with the breakdown of families and their moral codes in the pursuit of revenge and power.

The play features the longest soliloquy in all of Shakespeare’s works (see Act Three, Scene II), and it has more battle scenes than any of the other plays.

Shakespeare's main source text for this play is available via this link.

The First Folio printing of the play

An artist’s impression of The Rose – the theatre on Bankside where this play was first performed

The Rose, during its excavation, 400 years later

CONTENTS

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

ACT I. SCENE I. London. The Parliament House

SCENE I. London. The Parliament House

SCENE II. Sandal Castle, near Wakefield, in Yorkshire

SCENE III. Field of battle between Sandal Castle and Wakefield

SCENE IV. Another part of the field

ACT II. SCENE I. A plain near Mortimer's Cross in Herefordshire

SCENE I. A plain near Mortimer's Cross in Herefordshire

SCENE II. Before York

SCENE III. A field of battle between Towton and Saxton, in Yorkshire

SCENE IV. Another part of the field

SCENE V. Another part of the field

SCENE VI. Another