Richard II by William Shakespeare
Act 2 - Scene 4
A camp in Wales.
Captain : My lord of Salisbury, we have stay'd ten days,
[p]And hardly kept our
countrymen together,
[p]And yet we hear no tidings from the
king;
[p]Therefore we will disperse ourselves: farewell.
Earl of Salisbury : Stay yet another day, thou trusty Welshman:
[p]The king reposeth all
his confidence in thee.
Captain : 'Tis thought the king is dead; we will not stay.
[p]The bay-trees in
our country are all wither'd
[p]And meteors fright the fixed stars of
heaven;
[p]The pale-faced moon looks bloody on the earth
[p]And
lean-look'd prophets whisper fearful change;
[p]Rich men look sad and
ruffians dance and leap,
[p]The one in fear to lose what they
enjoy,
[p]The other to enjoy by rage and war:
[p]These signs forerun
the death or fall of kings.
[p]Farewell: our countrymen are gone and
fled,
[p]As well assured Richard their king is dead.
Earl of Salisbury : Ah, Richard, with the eyes of heavy mind
[p]I see thy glory like a
shooting star
[p]Fall to the base earth from the firmament.
[p]Thy sun
sets weeping in the lowly west,
[p]Witnessing storms to come, woe and
unrest:
[p]Thy friends are fled to wait upon thy foes,
[p]And crossly
to thy good all fortune goes.
Previous: Act 2 - Scene 3
Next: Act 3 - Scene 1



