King John, Act 5 Scene 5 runs 23 lines of dialogue, spoken by 2 speakers. That is shorter than the play’s average scene length of about 166 lines. This scene is part of Act 5 of King John.
Full Dialogue
Lewis ♂
The sun of heaven methought was loath to set,
But stay'd and made the western welkin blush,
When English measure backward their own ground
In faint retire. O, bravely came we off,
When with a volley of our needless shot,
After such bloody toil, we bid good night;
And wound our tattering colours clearly up,
Last in the field, and almost lords of it!
But stay'd and made the western welkin blush,
When English measure backward their own ground
In faint retire. O, bravely came we off,
When with a volley of our needless shot,
After such bloody toil, we bid good night;
And wound our tattering colours clearly up,
Last in the field, and almost lords of it!
Messenger ♂
Where is my prince, the Dauphin?
Lewis ♂
Here: what news?
Messenger ♂
The Count Melun is slain; the English lords
By his persuasion are again fall'n off,
And your supply, which you have wish'd so long,
Are cast away and sunk on Goodwin Sands.
By his persuasion are again fall'n off,
And your supply, which you have wish'd so long,
Are cast away and sunk on Goodwin Sands.
Lewis ♂
Ah, foul shrewd news! beshrew thy very heart!
I did not think to be so sad to-night
As this hath made me. Who was he that said
King John did fly an hour or two before
The stumbling night did part our weary powers?
I did not think to be so sad to-night
As this hath made me. Who was he that said
King John did fly an hour or two before
The stumbling night did part our weary powers?
Messenger ♂
Whoever spoke it, it is true, my lord.
Lewis ♂
Well; keep good quarter and good care to-night:
The day shall not be up so soon as I,
To try the fair adventure of to-morrow.
The day shall not be up so soon as I,
To try the fair adventure of to-morrow.
23 lines rendered verbatim from the dialogue corpus.
Who’s On Stage
Speaking characters in this scene
| Character | Lines | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis | 17 | 73.9% |
| Messenger | 6 | 26.1% |
Line distribution
The top speaker in this scene delivers 17 lines, while the scene’s average per speaker is about 12 lines.
Total speakers on stage
2 named characters speak in this scene.
Scene in Context
Position within Act 5
This is Scene 5 of 7 in Act 5 of King John.
Scene length vs. play average
At 23 lines, this scene is shorter than the King John average scene in King John (~166 lines).
Adjacent scenes
Previous: Act 5 Scene 4 · Next: Act 5 Scene 6