Mitarai Digital Folio

Henry VI, part 3, Act 5 Scene 7

45Lines 4Speakers

Henry VI, part 3, Act 5 Scene 7 runs 45 lines of dialogue, spoken by 4 speakers. That is shorter than the play’s average scene length of about 105 lines. This scene is part of Act 5 of Henry VI, part 3.


Full Dialogue
King Edward Iv
Once more we sit in England's royal throne,
Re-purchased with the blood of enemies.
What valiant foemen, like to autumn's corn,
Have we mow'd down, in tops of all their pride!
Three Dukes of Somerset, threefold renown'd
For hardy and undoubted champions;
Two Cliffords, as the father and the son,
And two Northumberlands; two braver men
Ne'er spurr'd their coursers at the trumpet's sound;
With them, the two brave bears, Warwick and Montague,
That in their chains fetter'd the kingly lion
And made the forest tremble when they roar'd.
Thus have we swept suspicion from our seat
And made our footstool of security.
Come hither, Bess, and let me kiss my boy.
Young Ned, for thee, thine uncles and myself
Have in our armours watch'd the winter's night,
Went all afoot in summer's scalding heat,
That thou mightst repossess the crown in peace;
And of our labours thou shalt reap the gain.
Gloucester
[Aside] I'll blast his harvest, if your head were laid;
For yet I am not look'd on in the world.
This shoulder was ordain'd so thick to heave;
And heave it shall some weight, or break my back:
Work thou the way,–and thou shalt execute.
King Edward Iv
Clarence and Gloucester, love my lovely queen;
And kiss your princely nephew, brothers both.
Clarence
The duty that I owe unto your majesty
I seal upon the lips of this sweet babe.
Queen Elizabeth
Thanks, noble Clarence; worthy brother, thanks.
Gloucester
And, that I love the tree from whence thou sprang'st,
Witness the loving kiss I give the fruit.
And cried 'all hail!' when as he meant all harm.
King Edward Iv
Now am I seated as my soul delights,
Having my country's peace and brothers' loves.
Clarence
What will your grace have done with Margaret?
Reignier, her father, to the king of France
Hath pawn'd the Sicils and Jerusalem,
And hither have they sent it for her ransom.
King Edward Iv
Away with her, and waft her hence to France.
And now what rests but that we spend the time
With stately triumphs, mirthful comic shows,
Such as befits the pleasure of the court?
Sound drums and trumpets! farewell sour annoy!
For here, I hope, begins our lasting joy.
45 lines rendered verbatim from the dialogue corpus.

Who’s On Stage

Speaking characters in this scene

Character Lines Share
King Edward Iv 30 66.7%
Gloucester 8 17.8%
Clarence 6 13.3%
Queen Elizabeth 1 2.2%

Line distribution

The top speaker in this scene delivers 30 lines, while the scene’s average per speaker is about 11 lines.

Total speakers on stage

4 named characters speak in this scene.

Scene in Context

Position within Act 5

This is Scene 7 of 7 in Act 5 of Henry VI, part 3.

Scene length vs. play average

At 45 lines, this scene is shorter than the Henry VI, part 3 average scene in Henry VI, part 3 (~105 lines).

Adjacent scenes

Previous: Act 5 Scene 6