ACT 4
Henry V Act 4, Scene 5: Retold in Modern English Verse
The French chivalry broken and shamed
The French nobles reel from the field in disorder: their ranks are broken, and all is confounded. Shame overwhelms them – the Dauphin would stab himself, and Bourbon leads back into the press, for now life is only shame worth dying to escape. Rather die in arms, the Constable resolves, than live in dishonour.
Characters appearing: Constable | Orleans | Dauphin | Bourbon
Key themes: War and Violence | Appearance vs Reality
ANOTHER PART OF THE FIELD.
[ENTER CONSTABLE, ORLEANS, BOURBON, DAUPHIN, AND RAMBURES]
CONSTABLE
O diable!
Oh, the devil!
ORLEANS
O seigneur! Le jour est perdu, tout est perdu!
Oh lord! The day is lost, everything is lost!
DAUPHIN
Mort de ma vie! All is confounded, all!
My life has died! And everything is ruined!
Reproach and everlasting shame
Disgrace and shame forever
Sits mocking in our plumes. O merchante fortune!
Will mock our helmets’ feathers. Wretched luck!
Do not run away.
Don’t run away.
[A SHORT ALARUM]
CONSTABLE
Why, all our ranks are broke.
Our soldiers have all broken rank.
DAUPHIN
O perdurable shame! Let's stab ourselves.
Such everlasting shame! Let’s kill ourselves.
Be these the wretches that we played at dice for?
Are these the lousy men we gambled on?
ORLEANS
Is this the king we sent to for his ransom?
And we demanded ransom from this king?
BOURBON
Shame and eternal shame, nothing but shame!
We’ve nothing left except eternal shame!
Let us die in honour: once more back again;
Let’s die in honour, with one more attack;
And he that will not follow Bourbon now,
And any man that will not follow me,
Let him go hence, and with his cap in hand,
Let him depart, to stand, collecting money,
Like a base pander, hold the chamber-door
Just like a pimp who holds the bedroom door
Whilst by a slave, no gentler than my dog,
For some disgusting man, worse than my dog,
His fairest daughter is contaminated.
To violate his most beautiful daughter.
CONSTABLE
Disorder, that hath spoiled us, friend us now!
Confusion that has ruined us, now help us!
Let us on heaps go offer up our lives.
Let’s go en masse and risk our lives together.
ORLEANS
We are enow yet living in the field
There are enough of us within the field
To smother up the English in our throngs,
To overwhelm the English by our numbers,
If any order might be thought upon.
If only we could summon up a plan.
BOURBON
The devil take order now! I'll to the throng:
To hell with plans! I’ll fight in this endeavour:
Let life be short; else shame will be too long.
Let life be short, else shame will last forever.
[EXEUNT]
