Richard III – Act 2 Scene 2

EDWARD PLANTAGENET

Good grandam, tell us, is our father dead?

Dear Grandma, tell us, is our father dead?

DUCHESS OF YORK

No, boy.

No, boy.

MARGARET PLANTAGENET

Why do you weep so oft, and beat your breast,

Why do you cry so much and beat your breast

And cry, “O Clarence, my unhappy son!”?

And wail, ‘Oh Clarence, my unlucky son!’?

EDWARD PLANTAGENET

Why do you look on us, and shake your head,

Why do you look at us and shake your head,

And call us orphans, wretches, castaways,

And call us orphans, wretches, castaways,

If that our noble father were alive?

If our dear father is alive today?

DUCHESS OF YORK

My pretty cousins, you mistake me both:

My dear grandchildren, you’ve misunderstood:

I do lament the sickness of the King,

I’m sad because the King is sick and I’m

As loath to lose him, not your father’s death;

Afraid he’ll die, not for your father’s death;

It were lost sorrow to wail one that’s lost.

It’s pointless crying for someone who’s dead.

EDWARD PLANTAGENET

Then you conclude, my grandam, he is dead.

Then, Grandma, you confirm that he is dead.

The King mine uncle is to blame for it.

The King, my uncle, is to blame for this.

God will revenge it, whom I will importune

God will revenge him, and I will insist

With earnest prayers all to that effect.

He does so when I pray to him in earnest.

MARGARET PLANTAGENET

And so will I.

And so will I.

DUCHESS OF YORK

Peace, children, peace, the King doth love you well.

Don’t say that, children, for the King does love you.

Incapable and shallow innocents,

You’re young and innocent, incapable

You cannot guess who caused your father’s death.

To guess at who had caused your father’s death.

EDWARD PLANTAGENET

Grandam, we can; for my good uncle Gloucester

Grandma, we can; for my good uncle Richard

Told me the King, provoked to it by the Queen,

Told me the King, encouraged by the Queen,

Devised impeachments to imprison him;

Invented reasons to imprison him;

And when my uncle told me so, he wept,

And when my uncle told me this, he cried,

And pitied me, and kindly kissed my cheek;

And, feeling sorry for me, kissed my cheek,

Bade me rely on him as on my father,

And said that I could trust him like a father

And he would love me dearly as a child.

And that he’d treat me kindly like his own child.

DUCHESS OF YORK

Ah! That deceit should steal such gentle shape,

It’s awful that a liar may seem kind,

And with a virtuous visor hide deep vice!

Disguising evil with an honest face!

He is my son – ay, and therein my shame,

He is my son, and I’m ashamed of that,

Yet from my dugs he drew not this deceit.

Although it’s not my genes that made him wicked.

EDWARD PLANTAGENET

Think you my uncle did dissemble, grandam?

Do you believe my uncle is a liar?

DUCHESS OF YORK

Ay, boy.

Yes, boy.

EDWARD PLANTAGENET

I cannot think it. Hark, what noise is this?

I can’t believe that. Listen, what’s that noise?

QUEEN ELIZABETH

Ah! Who shall hinder me to wail and weep,

Oh, who on earth can stop my yells and tears,

To chide my fortune, and torment myself?

My curses at my fate, and my self-torment?

I’ll join with black despair against my soul,

I will align with darkness and despair,

And to myself become an enemy.

And thus become my own worst enemy.

DUCHESS OF YORK

What means this scene of rude impatience?

Why make a scene of such ungoverned grief?

QUEEN ELIZABETH

To make an act of tragic violence.

To show the tragic violence of my life.

Edward, my lord, thy son, our king, is dead!

Edward, my lord, your son, our king, is dead!

Why grow the branches when the root is gone?

Why bother growing branches when the root’s gone?

Why wither not the leaves that want their sap?

Why don’t leaves wither when they’re starved of water?

If you will live, lament; if die, be brief,

If you live, live in grief; if not, die quickly

That our swift-winged souls may catch the King’s,

So that our souls may swiftly catch the King’s,

Or like obedient subjects follow him

Or like some loyal servants, follow him

To his new kingdom of ne’er-changing night.

To his new world of never-ending darkness.

DUCHESS OF YORK

Ah, so much interest have I in thy sorrow

I’m equally invested in your sorrow

As I had title in thy noble husband!

For I was mother to your noble husband!

I have bewept a worthy husband’s death,

I’ve wept the death of my own worthy husband,

And lived with looking on his images;

Surviving seeing him in both our sons;

But now two mirrors of his princely semblance

But now those two reflections of my husband

Are cracked in pieces by malignant death,

Lie shattered by the hand of spiteful death,

And I for comfort have but one false glass,

And all that’s left is Richard’s buckled image

That grieves me when I see my shame in him.

That pains me when I see that man I’ve made.

Thou art a widow; yet thou art a mother,

You are a widow, but you’re still a mother

And hast the comfort of thy children left;

And you’ll be comforted by your own children;

But death hath snatched my husband from mine arms,

But death has snatched my husband from my arms,

And plucked two crutches from my feeble hands,

And robbed me of the two sons who would help me,

Clarence and Edward. O, what cause have I

Clarence and Edward. I have many reasons –

(Thine being but a moi’ty of my moan)

For you have only half the pain of me –

To overgo thy woes and drown thy cries!

To grieve so much, my cries will drown yours out!

EDWARD PLANTAGENET

Ah, aunt! You wept not for our father’s death;

Oh, Aunt! You didn’t cry when our dad died;

How can we aid you with our kindred tears?

So how can we cry in support of you?

MARGARET PLANTAGENET

Our fatherless distress was left unmoaned,

You failed to cry for us when Father died,

Your widow-dolour likewise be unwept!

So we won’t cry at your pain now you’re widowed.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

Give me no help in lamentation,

I don’t need any help from you to mourn;

I am not barren to bring forth complaints.

I’m not devoid of sources for my sorrow.

All springs reduce their currents to mine eyes,

All streams should route their water to my eyes,

That I being governed by the watery moon,

So, like the tide that’s governed by the moon,

May send forth plenteous tears to drown the world!

I’ll shed my endless tears to drown the world!

Ah for my husband, for my dear Lord Edward!

All for my husband, for my dear Lord Edward!

CHILDREN

Ah for our father, for our dear Lord Clarence!

All for our father, for our dear Lord Clarence!

DUCHESS OF YORK

Alas for both, both mine, Edward and Clarence!

It’s sad for both of mine, Edward and Clarence!

QUEEN ELIZABETH

What stay had I but Edward? And he’s gone.

Who’d help me out but Edward? Now he’s dead.

CHILDREN

What stay had we but Clarence? And he’s gone.

Who’d help us out but Clarence? Now he’s dead.

DUCHESS OF YORK

What stays had I but they? And they are gone.

Who’d help me out but them? And now they’re dead.

QUEEN ELIZABETH

Was never widow had so dear a loss.

A widow never suffered so much loss.

CHILDREN

Were never orphans had so dear a loss.

And orphans never suffered so much loss.

DUCHESS OF YORK

Was never mother had so dear a loss.

A mother never suffered so much loss.

Alas! I am the mother of these griefs:

I am the mother of all of your griefs:

Their woes are parcelled, mine is general.

Your grief is narrow, mine is widely spread.

She for an Edward weeps, and so do I;

She weeps for losing Edward, just as I do;

I for a Clarence weep, so doth not she;

I weep for Clarence too, but she does not;

These babes for Clarence weep, and so do I;

These children weep for Clarence, just as I do;

I for an Edward weep, so do not they.

I weep for Edward too, but they do not.

Alas! You three on me, threefold distressed,

So you three, all distressed, stand over me

Pour all your tears. I am your sorrow’s nurse,

And cover me in tears. I’ll nurse your sorrow

And I will pamper it with lamentation.

By adding all my tears and pain to yours.

MARQUESS OF DORSET

Comfort, dear mother, God is much displeased

Calm down, dear Mother! You’re upsetting God

That you take with unthankfulness his doing.

By taking what he’s done without your thanks.

In common worldly things ’tis called ungrateful

In normal life, someone is called ungrateful

With dull unwillingness to repay a debt,

When they’re unwilling to repay a debt

Which with a bounteous hand was kindly lent;

That had been kindly lent by someone wealthy;

Much more to be thus opposite with heaven,

But it’s much worse when heaven is your lender,

For it requires the royal debt it lent you.

For it’s essential you must pay your debt back.

EARL RIVERS

Madam, bethink you like a careful mother

Madam, start thinking like a careful mother

Of the young Prince your son. Send straight for him,

To the young Prince, your son. Have him sent straight here,

Let him be crowned, in him your comfort lives.

And have him crowned as King, so you’ll be happy.

Drown desperate sorrow in dead Edward’s grave,

Drown sorrows in your husband Edward’s grave,

And plant your joys in living Edward’s throne.

And start enjoying your son Edward’s reign.

RICHARD, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER

Sister, have comfort. All of us have cause

Calm down now, Sister. All of us have reasons

To wail the dimming of our shining star;

To cry about our shining star, the king;

But none can help our harms by wailing them.

But we won’t solve our problems just by crying.

Madam, my mother, I do cry you mercy,

Madam, Mother, I beg for your forgiveness,

I did not see your Grace. Humbly on my knee

I didn’t see you there, your Grace. On one knee,

I crave your blessing.

I ask you for your blessing.

DUCHESS OF YORK

God bless thee, and put meekness in thy breast,

God bless you, and adopt the humble traits of

Love, charity, obedience, and true duty!

Love, charity, obedience and duty!

RICHARD, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER

Amen! –

Amen!

[Aside.]

And make me die a good old man!

And let me live to be an old man!

That is the butt-end of a mother’s blessing.

That should be how my mother ends her blessing.

I marvel that her Grace did leave it out.

I am surprised the lady left it out.

DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM

You cloudy princes and heart-sorrowing peers

You grieving princes and heartbroken friends

That bear this heavy mutual load of moan,

That share the sorrow of this tragic time,

Now cheer each other in each other’s love.

Now cheer each other up by sharing love.

Though we have spent our harvest of this king,

Though nothing’s left of everything he gave us,

We are to reap the harvest of his son.

We’ll now enjoy the bounty of his son.

The broken rancour of your high-swoll’n hates,

The former bitterness caused by your hatred,

But lately splintered, knit, and joined together,

That recently has been resolved and fixed,

Must gently be preserved, cherished, and kept.

Must be protected, cherished and unbroken.

Me seemeth good that, with some little train,

It seems to me a good idea some folk

Forthwith from Ludlow the young Prince be fet

Should swiftly bring the young Prince back from Ludlow,

Hither to London, to be crowned our king.

Returning him to London to be crowned king.

EARL RIVERS

Why with some little train, my Lord of Buckingham?

Why just ‘some folk’, my Lord of Buckingham?

DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM

Marry, my lord, lest by a multitude

Because, my lord, in case a larger group

The new-healed wound of malice should break out,

Should cause our recent friendship pact to break,

Which would be so much the more dangerous,

Which would be highly dangerous right now

By how much the estate is green and yet ungoverned.

For we’re new rulers, lacking in a king.

Where every horse bears his commanding rein

When every leader has ability

And may direct his course as please himself,

To act alone for his self-benefit,

As well the fear of harm, as harm apparent,

And there’s a fear that danger’s imminent,

In my opinion, ought to be prevented.

Which should, in my opinion, be prevented.

RICHARD, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER

I hope the King made peace with all of us,

The King made all of us agree to peace,

And the compact is firm and true in me.

And for my part, I plan to keep my word.

EARL RIVERS

And so in me, and so (I think) in all.

And so will I, as I believe we all will.

Yet since it is but green, it should be put

But since our peace is new, we shouldn’t test it

To no apparent likelihood of breach,

By placing undue pressure on our pact,

Which haply by much company might be urged;

Which might occur if many of us went;

Therefore I say with noble Buckingham,

So I agree with noble Buckingham

That it is meet so few should fetch the Prince.

That just a few should go and fetch the Prince.

LORD HASTINGS

And so say I.

And I agree.

RICHARD, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER

Then be it so, and go we to determine

Then so be it, and let us now agree

Who they shall be that straight shall post to Ludlow.

Which ones of us will leave right now for Ludlow.

Madam, and you, my sister, will you go

Will you go, Mother, and my sister-in-law,

To give your censures in this business?

To bring your balanced judgement in this matter?

QUEEN ELIZABETH & DUCHESS OF YORK

With all our hearts.

With all our heart, we shall.

DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM

My lord, whoever journeys to the Prince,

My lord, whoever goes to get the Prince,

For God sake let not us two stay at home;

For God’s sake, let’s not both of us stay home;

For by the way, I’ll sort occasion,

For on the way, I’ll find a decent time,

As index to the story we late talked of,

As per the plan we spoke of recently,

To part the Queen’s proud kindred from the Prince.

To separate the Prince from his proud family.

RICHARD, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER

My other self, my counsel’s consistory,

You are the other part of me, my guardian,

My oracle, my prophet, my dear cousin,

My priest and prophet, and my dearest cousin,

I, as a child, will go by thy direction.

Who, like a child, I’ll follow where you lead me.

Toward Ludlow then, for we’ll not stay behind.

Let’s head to Ludlow then, and not stay here.