The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (85 page)

And when thou wed'st, let sorrow haunt thy bed;

And be thy wife, if any be so mad,

More miserable by the life of thee

Than thou hast made me by my dear lord's death.'

Lo, ere I can repeat this curse again,

Within so small a time, my woman's heart

Grossly grew captive to his honey words

And prov'd the subject of mine own soul's curse,

Which hitherto hath held my eyes from rest;

For never yet one hour in his bed

Did I enjoy the golden dew of sleep,

But with his timorous dreams was still awak'd.

Besides, he hates me for my father Warwick;

And will, no doubt, shortly be rid of me.

Why not? When the one who is now my husband

came to me as I followed Henry's body,

when the blood has hardly been washed from his hands

which came from my other angelic husband,

that dear saint whom I was following, weeping;

when, I tell you, I looked on Richard's face

this is what I wished: ‘May you’, I said, ‘be cursed

for making me, so young, such an old widow;

and when you marry, may sorrow attend your bed;

and may your wife–if anyone is mad enough to marry you–

be made more miserable by you

then you have made me through killing my dear Lord.’

Then in the time it took me to say this curse,

such a short time, my woman's heart

was disgracefully taken in by his sweet words,

and made myself the subject of my own soul's curse,

and I have never had a moment's sleep since then;

for there hasn't been a single hour in his bed

when I was enjoying the golden blessing of sleep

that I have been awoken by his evil dreams.

Besides, he hates me because my father was Warwick,

and he will no doubt shortly rid himself of me.

QUEEN ELIZABETH.

Poor heart, adieu! I pity thy complaining.

Poor dear, goodbye! I sympathise with your sorrow.

ANNE.

No more than with my soul I mourn for yours.

No more than I mourn for your soul with mine.

DORSET.

Farewell, thou woeful welcomer of glory!

Farewell, you sad recipient of glory!

ANNE.

Adieu, poor soul, that tak'st thy leave of it!

Goodbye, poor soul, who is leaving it!

DUCHESS.

[To DORSET]Go thou to Richmond, and good

fortune guide thee!

[To ANNE]Go thou to Richard, and good angels tend

thee![To QUEEN ELIZABETH]Go thou to sanctuary, and good

thoughts possess thee!

I to my grave, where peace and rest lie with me!

Eighty odd years of sorrow have I seen,

And each hour's joy wreck'd with a week of teen.

[To Dorset] Go to Richmond, and may good fortune guide you!

[To Anne] You go to Richard, and may good angels watch over you!

[To Queen Elizabeth] You seek sanctuary, and may you be

full of good thoughts!

I am going to my grave, and let peace and rest find me there!

I have seen eighty odd years of sorrow,

and every hour of joy has been matched by a week of misery.

QUEEN ELIZABETH.

Stay, yet look back with me unto the

Tower.

Pity, you ancient stones, those tender babes

Whom envy hath immur'd within your walls,

Rough cradle for such little pretty ones.

Rude ragged nurse, old sullen playfellow

For tender princes, use my babies well.

So foolish sorrows bids your stones farewell.

Wait, look back at the Tower with me.

You ancient stones, pity those tender children

whom envy has imprisoned within your walls,

a rough cradle for such pretty little ones.

Rough and rugged nurse, sullen old play fellow

for tender Princes, treat my babies well.

And so foolish sorrow says farewell to your stones.

Exeunt

London. The palace

Sound a sennet. Enter RICHARD, in pomp, as KING; BUCKINGHAM,

CATESBY,

RATCLIFF, LOVEL, a PAGE, and others

KING RICHARD.

Stand all apart. Cousin of Buckingham!

Everyone stand aside. Cousin Buckingham!

BUCKINGHAM.

My gracious sovereign?

My sweet King?

KING RICHARD.

Give me thy hand.

[Here he ascendeth the throne. Sound]

Thus high, by thy advice

And thy assistance, is King Richard seated.

But shall we wear these glories for a day;

Or shall they last, and we rejoice in them?

Give me your hand.

[He climbs onto the throne. Trumpets.]

So King Richard is seated on high

on your advice and with your help.

But shall I have this glory for a day,

or will it last for me to enjoy it?

BUCKINGHAM.

Still live they, and for ever let them last!

They are still living, and let them live forever!

KING RICHARD.

Ah, Buckingham, now do I play the touch,

To try if thou be current gold indeed.

Young Edward lives-think now what I would speak.

Ah, Buckingham, now I'm going to test

you to see if you are really true.

Young Edward is alive–what do you think I'm going to say?

BUCKINGHAM.

Say on, my loving lord.

Keep talking, my dear lord.

KING RICHARD.

Why, Buckingham, I say I would be King.

Why, Buckingham, I say I want to be king.

BUCKINGHAM.

Why, so you are, my thrice-renowned lord.

Well, you are, my triply famous lord.

KING RICHARD.

Ha! am I King? 'Tis so; but Edward lives.

Ha! Am I king? I am; but Edward is alive.

BUCKINGHAM.

True, noble Prince.

True, noble Prince.

KING RICHARD.

O bitter consequence:

That Edward still should live-true noble Prince!

Cousin, thou wast not wont to be so dull.

Shall I be plain? I wish the bastards dead,

And I would have it suddenly perform'd.

What say'st thou now? Speak suddenly, be brief.

This is what I find so horrible:

that Edward should still be alive, a true noble Prince!

Cousin, you're not usually so dull-witted.

Shall I be clear? I want the bastards dead,

and I want it done quickly.

Now what you say? Speak quickly, be brief.

BUCKINGHAM.

Your Grace may do your pleasure.

Your grace may do as he wishes.

KING RICHARD.

Tut, tut, thou art all ice; thy kindness freezes.

Say, have I thy consent that they shall die?

Tut tut, you are like ice; your kindness is freezing.

Tell me if you agree that they shall die?

BUCKINGHAM.

Give me some little breath, some pause,

dear Lord,

Before I positively speak in this.

I will resolve you herein presently.

Give me a little breathing space, a pause, dear lord,

before I give you a definitive answer.

I shall do that shortly.

Exit

CATESBY.

[Aside to another]The King is angry; see, he

gnaws his lip.

The King is angry; look, he's chewing his lip.

KING RICHARD.

I will converse with iron-witted fools

[Descends from the throne]

And unrespective boys; none are for me

That look into me with considerate eyes.

High-reaching Buckingham grows circumspect.

Boy!

I have to talk to stupid fools

and disrespectful boys; there's nobody on my side

who looks at me with prudent eyes.

Haughty Buckingham is becoming cautious.

Boy!

PAGE.

My lord?

My lord?

KING RICHARD.

Know'st thou not any whom corrupting

gold

Will tempt unto a close exploit of death?

Don't you know anyone who can be bribed with gold

to commit murder?

PAGE.

I know a discontented gentleman

Whose humble means match not his haughty spirit.

Gold were as good as twenty orators,

And will, no doubt, tempt him to anything.

I know a discontented gentleman

who does not have the money to match his arrogant spirit.

To him gold is as persuasive as

twenty orators, and I've nodoubt he'll do anything for it.

KING RICHARD.

What is his name?

What is his name?

PAGE.

His name, my lord, is Tyrrel.

His name, my lord, is Tyrrel.

KING RICHARD.

I partly know the man. Go, call him hither,

boy. Exit PAGE

The deep-revolving witty Buckingham

No more shall be the neighbour to my counsels.

Hath he so long held out with me, untir'd,

And stops he now for breath? Well, be it so.

Enter STANLEY

How now, Lord Stanley! What's the news?

I know something of the man. Go and summon him here, boy.

The plotting and clever Buckingham

shall no longer be my confidant.

How has he kept up with me for so long, without tiring,

that now he wants to pause for breath? Well, so be it.

Hello there, Lord Stanley! What's the news?

STANLEY.

Know, my loving lord,

The Marquis Dorset, as I hear, is fled

To Richmond, in the parts where he abides.

You should know, my dear lord,

that the Marquis Dorset, so I hear, has run

to Richmond, in the country where he lives.