Henry VI, Part I by William Shakespeare
Act 3 - Scene 3
The plains near Rouen.
Joan la Pucelle : Dismay not, princes, at this accident,
[p]Nor grieve that Rouen is so
recovered:
[p]Care is no cure, but rather corrosive,
[p]For things
that are not to be remedied.
[p]Let frantic Talbot triumph for a
while
[p]And like a peacock sweep along his tail;
[p]We'll pull his
plumes and take away his train,
[p]If Dauphin and the rest will be but
ruled.
Charles, King of France : We have been guided by thee hitherto,
[p]And of thy cunning had no
diffidence:
[p]One sudden foil shall never breed distrust.
Bastard of Orleans : Search out thy wit for secret policies,
[p]And we will make thee
famous through the world.
Duke of Alencon : We'll set thy statue in some holy place,
[p]And have thee reverenced
like a blessed saint:
[p]Employ thee then, sweet virgin, for our
good.
Joan la Pucelle : Then thus it must be; this doth Joan devise:
[p]By fair persuasions
mix'd with sugar'd words
[p]We will entice the Duke of Burgundy
[p]To
leave the Talbot and to follow us.
Charles, King of France : Ay, marry, sweeting, if we could do that,
[p]France were no place for
Henry's warriors;
[p]Nor should that nation boast it so with
us,
[p]But be extirped from our provinces.
Duke of Alencon : For ever should they be expulsed from France
[p]And not have title of
an earldom here.
Joan la Pucelle : Your honours shall perceive how I will work
[p]To bring this matter to
the wished end.
[p][Drum sounds afar off]
[p]Hark! by the sound of
drum you may perceive
[p]Their powers are marching unto
Paris-ward.
[p][Here sound an English march. Enter, and pass
over]
[p]at a distance, TALBOT and his forces]
[p]There goes the
Talbot, with his colours spread,
[p]And all the troops of English
after him.
[p][French march. Enter BURGUNDY and forces]
[p]Now in the
rearward comes the duke and his:
[p]Fortune in favour makes him lag
behind.
[p]Summon a parley; we will talk with him.
Charles, King of France : A parley with the Duke of Burgundy!
Joan la Pucelle : The princely Charles of France, thy countryman.
Charles, King of France : Speak, Pucelle, and enchant him with thy words.
Joan la Pucelle : Brave Burgundy, undoubted hope of France!
[p]Stay, let thy humble
handmaid speak to thee.
Joan la Pucelle : Look on thy country, look on fertile France,
[p]And see the cities and
the towns defaced
[p]By wasting ruin of the cruel foe.
[p]As looks the
mother on her lowly babe
[p]When death doth close his tender dying
eyes,
[p]See, see the pining malady of France;
[p]Behold the wounds,
the most unnatural wounds,
[p]Which thou thyself hast given her woful
breast.
[p]O, turn thy edged sword another way;
[p]Strike those that
hurt, and hurt not those that help.
[p]One drop of blood drawn from
thy country's bosom
[p]Should grieve thee more than streams of foreign
gore:
[p]Return thee therefore with a flood of tears,
[p]And wash away
thy country's stained spots.
Joan la Pucelle : Besides, all French and France exclaims on thee,
[p]Doubting thy birth
and lawful progeny.
[p]Who joint'st thou with but with a lordly
nation
[p]That will not trust thee but for profit's sake?
[p]When
Talbot hath set footing once in France
[p]And fashion'd thee that
instrument of ill,
[p]Who then but English Henry will be lord
[p]And
thou be thrust out like a fugitive?
[p]Call we to mind, and mark but
this for proof,
[p]Was not the Duke of Orleans thy foe?
[p]And was he
not in England prisoner?
[p]But when they heard he was thine
enemy,
[p]They set him free without his ransom paid,
[p]In spite of
Burgundy and all his friends.
[p]See, then, thou fight'st against thy
countrymen
[p]And joint'st with them will be thy
slaughtermen.
[p]Come, come, return; return, thou wandering
lord:
[p]Charles and the rest will take thee in their arms.
Joan la Pucelle : [Aside] Done like a Frenchman: turn, and turn again!
Charles, King of France : Welcome, brave duke! thy friendship makes us fresh.
Bastard of Orleans : And doth beget new courage in our breasts.
Duke of Alencon : Pucelle hath bravely play'd her part in this,
[p]And doth deserve a
coronet of gold.
Charles, King of France : Now let us on, my lords, and join our powers,
[p]And seek how we may
prejudice the foe.
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Next: Act 3 - Scene 4
