Henry V by William Shakespeare
Act 3 - Scene 5
The same.
King of France : 'Tis certain he hath pass'd the river Somme.
Constable of France : And if he be not fought withal, my lord,
[p]Let us not live in France;
let us quit all
[p]And give our vineyards to a barbarous people.
Lewis the Dauphin : O Dieu vivant! shall a few sprays of us,
[p]The emptying of our
fathers' luxury,
[p]Our scions, put in wild and savage stock,
[p]Spirt
up so suddenly into the clouds,
[p]And overlook their grafters?
Duke of Bourbon : Normans, but bastard Normans, Norman bastards!
[p]Mort de ma vie! if
they march along
[p]Unfought withal, but I will sell my dukedom,
[p]To
buy a slobbery and a dirty farm
[p]In that nook-shotten isle of
Albion.
Constable of France : Dieu de batailles! where have they this mettle?
[p]Is not their
climate foggy, raw and dull,
[p]On whom, as in despite, the sun looks
pale,
[p]Killing their fruit with frowns? Can sodden water,
[p]A
drench for sur-rein'd jades, their barley-broth,
[p]Decoct their cold
blood to such valiant heat?
[p]And shall our quick blood, spirited
with wine,
[p]Seem frosty? O, for honour of our land,
[p]Let us not
hang like roping icicles
[p]Upon our houses' thatch, whiles a more
frosty people
[p]Sweat drops of gallant youth in our rich
fields!
[p]Poor we may call them in their native lords.
Lewis the Dauphin : By faith and honour,
[p]Our madams mock at us, and plainly say
[p]Our
mettle is bred out and they will give
[p]Their bodies to the lust of
English youth
[p]To new-store France with bastard warriors.
Duke of Bourbon : They bid us to the English dancing-schools,
[p]And teach lavoltas high
and swift corantos;
[p]Saying our grace is only in our heels,
[p]And
that we are most lofty runaways.
King of France : Where is Montjoy the herald? speed him hence:
[p]Let him greet England
with our sharp defiance.
[p]Up, princes! and, with spirit of honour
edged
[p]More sharper than your swords, hie to the field:
[p]Charles
Delabreth, high constable of France;
[p]You Dukes of Orleans, Bourbon,
and of Berri,
[p]Alencon, Brabant, Bar, and Burgundy;
[p]Jaques
Chatillon, Rambures, Vaudemont,
[p]Beaumont, Grandpre, Roussi, and
Fauconberg,
[p]Foix, Lestrale, Bouciqualt, and Charolois;
[p]High
dukes, great princes, barons, lords and knights,
[p]For your great
seats now quit you of great shames.
[p]Bar Harry England, that sweeps
through our land
[p]With pennons painted in the blood of
Harfleur:
[p]Rush on his host, as doth the melted snow
[p]Upon the
valleys, whose low vassal seat
[p]The Alps doth spit and void his
rheum upon:
[p]Go down upon him, you have power enough,
[p]And in a
captive chariot into Rouen
[p]Bring him our prisoner.
Constable of France : This becomes the great.
[p]Sorry am I his numbers are so few,
[p]His
soldiers sick and famish'd in their march,
[p]For I am sure, when he
shall see our army,
[p]He'll drop his heart into the sink of
fear
[p]And for achievement offer us his ransom.
King of France : Therefore, lord constable, haste on Montjoy.
[p]And let him say to
England that we send
[p]To know what willing ransom he will
give.
[p]Prince Dauphin, you shall stay with us in Rouen.
Lewis the Dauphin : Not so, I do beseech your majesty.
King of France : Be patient, for you shall remain with us.
[p]Now forth, lord constable
and princes all,
[p]And quickly bring us word of England's fall.
Previous: Act 3 - Scene 4
Next: Act 3 - Scene 6
