ACT 5
Richard III Act 5, Scene 5: Retold in Modern English Verse
The bloody dog is dead
Richard and Richmond fight, and Richard is killed. Stanley brings Richmond the crown taken from the dead usurper, and Richmond asks first after young George Stanley, who is safe. The dead on both sides are named, pardon is proclaimed for soldiers who submit, and Richmond announces his marriage to Elizabeth of York, uniting the white rose and the red and ending the long madness of England’s civil wars.
Characters appearing: King Richard III | Henry, Earl of Richmond | Stanley
Key themes: Fate vs Free Will | Power and Ambition | Prophecy and Curses
ANOTHER PART OF BOSWORTH FIELD.
[ALARUM. ENTER KING RICHARD AND RICHMOND; THEY FIGHT; RICHARD IS SLAIN.]
[THEN, RETREAT BEING SOUNDED, FLOURISH, AND ENTER RICHMOND, STANLEY THE EARL OF DERBY, BEARING THE CROWN, WITH OTHER LORDS, ETC.]
HENRY, EARL OF RICHMOND
God and your arms be praised, victorious friends,
Praise God and praise your swords; we are victorious,
The day is ours, the bloody dog is dead.
This day belongs to us, the dog is dead.
LORD STANLEY
Courageous Richmond, well hast thou acquit thee.
Courageous Richmond, you’ve performed superbly.
Lo here this long-usurped royalty
Look here, I took this stolen royal crown
From the dead temples of this bloody wretch
From off the bleeding head of lifeless Richard
Have I plucked off to grace thy brows withal.
To claim it from him to bestow on you.
Wear it, enjoy it, and make much of it.
Wear it, enjoy it, and appreciate it.
HENRY, EARL OF RICHMOND
Great God of heaven, say amen to all!
Great God in heaven, say ‘amen’ to that!
But tell me, is young George Stanley living?
But tell me, is young George Stanley still alive?
LORD STANLEY
He is, my lord, and safe in Leicester town,
He is, my lord, and safe in Leicester town,
Whither, if it please you, we may now withdraw us.
Where, if you so desire, we can go now.
HENRY, EARL OF RICHMOND
What men of name are slain on either side?
What noblemen have died on either side?
LORD STANLEY
John Duke of Norfolk, Walter Lord Ferrers,
John Duke of Norfolk, Walter Lord Ferrers,
Sir Robert Brakenbury, and Sir William Brandon.
Sir Robert Brakenbury, and Sir William Brandon.
HENRY, EARL OF RICHMOND
Inter their bodies as become their births.
Then have them buried as befits their rank.
Proclaim a pardon to the soldiers fled
Announce a pardon to opposing soldiers
That in submission will return to us,
Who fled, if they agree to honour me,
And then as we have ta’en the sacrament,
And then, as we have sworn a holy oath,
We will unite the White Rose and the Red.
We will unite the Lancasters and Yorks.
Smile heaven upon this fair conjunction,
And may God smile upon this happy union,
That long have frowned upon their enmity!
Who long has frowned on how both sides have fought!
What traitor hears me, and says not amen?
What traitor hears me, but does not agree?
England hath long been mad and scarred herself:
England has long been crazy with self-harm:
The brother blindly shed the brother’s blood,
For brothers blindly murdered their own brothers,
The father rashly slaughtered his own son,
And fathers rashly slaughtered their own sons,
The son, compelled, been butcher to the sire.
And sons have been compelled to kill their fathers.
All this divided York and Lancaster,
All this split up the Yorks and Lancasters,
Divided in their dire division,
Who were already terribly divided,
O now let Richmond and Elizabeth,
But now let Richmond and Elizabeth,
The true succeeders of each royal house,
The rightful heirs of Lancaster and York,
By God’s fair ordinance conjoin together!
Be married with the blessings of our God!
And let their heirs (God, if thy will be so)
And let their children – if God gives them some –
Enrich the time to come with smooth-faced peace,
Enrich the future with a gentle peace,
With smiling plenty, and fair prosperous days!
With happiness, and much prosperity!
Abate the edge of traitors, gracious Lord,
Make edges of our traitors’ swords go blunt, Lord,
That would reduce these bloody days again,
To thus reduce the chance of future battles
And make poor England weep in streams of blood!
That would make England cry again in blood!
Let them not live to taste this land’s increase
Don’t let those traitors live to see us grow
That would with treason wound this fair land’s peace!
Who’d rather kill the peace we’ve come to know!
Now civil wounds are stopped, peace lives again;
Now civil war is done, there’s peace again;
That she may long live here, God say amen!
And may that peace endure; God say ‘amen’!
[EXEUNT.]
