Speeches (Lines) for Earl of Northumberland
in "Henry VI, Part III"
Total: 15

1

I,1,63

Henry VI. My lords, look where the sturdy rebel sits,
Even in the chair of state: belike he means,
Back'd by the power of Warwick, that false peer,
To aspire unto the crown and reign as king.
Earl of Northumberland, he slew thy father.
And thine, Lord Clifford; and you both have vow'd revenge
On him, his sons, his favourites and his friends.

Earl of Northumberland. If I be not, heavens be revenged on me!

2

I,1,72

Lord Clifford. Patience is for poltroons, such as he:
He durst not sit there, had your father lived.
My gracious lord, here in the parliament
Let us assail the family of York.

Earl of Northumberland. Well hast thou spoken, cousin: be it so.

3

I,1,100

Earl of Warwick. And Warwick shall disprove it. You forget
That we are those which chased you from the field
And slew your fathers, and with colours spread
March'd through the city to the palace gates.

Earl of Northumberland. Yes, Warwick, I remember it to my grief;
And, by his soul, thou and thy house shall rue it.

4

I,1,159

Henry VI. [Aside] All will revolt from me, and turn to him.

Earl of Northumberland. Plantagenet, for all the claim thou lay'st,
Think not that Henry shall be so deposed.

5

I,1,162

Earl of Warwick. Deposed he shall be, in despite of all.

Earl of Northumberland. Thou art deceived: 'tis not thy southern power,
Of Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, nor of Kent,
Which makes thee thus presumptuous and proud,
Can set the duke up in despite of me.

6

I,1,190

Earl of Westmoreland. I cannot stay to hear these articles.

Earl of Northumberland. Nor I.

7

I,1,194

Earl of Westmoreland. Farewell, faint-hearted and degenerate king,
In whose cold blood no spark of honour bides.

Earl of Northumberland. Be thou a prey unto the house of York,
And die in bands for this unmanly deed!

8

I,4,468

Richard Plantagenet (Duke of Gloucester). The army of the queen hath got the field:
My uncles both are slain in rescuing me;
And all my followers to the eager foe
Turn back and fly, like ships before the wind
Or lambs pursued by hunger-starved wolves.
My sons, God knows what hath bechanced them:
But this I know, they have demean'd themselves
Like men born to renown by life or death.
Three times did Richard make a lane to me.
And thrice cried 'Courage, father! fight it out!'
And full as oft came Edward to my side,
With purple falchion, painted to the hilt
In blood of those that had encounter'd him:
And when the hardiest warriors did retire,
Richard cried 'Charge! and give no foot of ground!'
And cried 'A crown, or else a glorious tomb!
A sceptre, or an earthly sepulchre!'
With this, we charged again: but, out, alas!
We bodged again; as I have seen a swan
With bootless labour swim against the tide
And spend her strength with over-matching waves.
[A short alarum within]
Ah, hark! the fatal followers do pursue;
And I am faint and cannot fly their fury:
And were I strong, I would not shun their fury:
The sands are number'd that make up my life;
Here must I stay, and here my life must end.
[Enter QUEEN MARGARET, CLIFFORD, NORTHUMBERLAND,]
PRINCE EDWARD, and Soldiers]
Come, bloody Clifford, rough Northumberland,
I dare your quenchless fury to more rage:
I am your butt, and I abide your shot.

Earl of Northumberland. Yield to our mercy, proud Plantagenet.

9

I,4,492

Queen Margaret. Hold, valiant Clifford! for a thousand causes
I would prolong awhile the traitor's life.
Wrath makes him deaf: speak thou, Northumberland.

Earl of Northumberland. Hold, Clifford! do not honour him so much
To prick thy finger, though to wound his heart:
What valour were it, when a cur doth grin,
For one to thrust his hand between his teeth,
When he might spurn him with his foot away?
It is war's prize to take all vantages;
And ten to one is no impeach of valour.

10

I,4,501

Lord Clifford. Ay, ay, so strives the woodcock with the gin.

Earl of Northumberland. So doth the cony struggle in the net.

11

I,4,504

Richard Plantagenet (Duke of Gloucester). So triumph thieves upon their conquer'd booty;
So true men yield, with robbers so o'ermatch'd.

Earl of Northumberland. What would your grace have done unto him now?

12

I,4,591

Richard Plantagenet (Duke of Gloucester). She-wolf of France, but worse than wolves of France,
Whose tongue more poisons than the adder's tooth!
How ill-beseeming is it in thy sex
To triumph, like an Amazonian trull,
Upon their woes whom fortune captivates!
But that thy face is, vizard-like, unchanging,
Made impudent with use of evil deeds,
I would assay, proud queen, to make thee blush.
To tell thee whence thou camest, of whom derived,
Were shame enough to shame thee, wert thou not shameless.
Thy father bears the type of King of Naples,
Of both the Sicils and Jerusalem,
Yet not so wealthy as an English yeoman.
Hath that poor monarch taught thee to insult?
It needs not, nor it boots thee not, proud queen,
Unless the adage must be verified,
That beggars mounted run their horse to death.
'Tis beauty that doth oft make women proud;
But, God he knows, thy share thereof is small:
'Tis virtue that doth make them most admired;
The contrary doth make thee wonder'd at:
'Tis government that makes them seem divine;
The want thereof makes thee abominable:
Thou art as opposite to every good
As the Antipodes are unto us,
Or as the south to the septentrion.
O tiger's heart wrapt in a woman's hide!
How couldst thou drain the life-blood of the child,
To bid the father wipe his eyes withal,
And yet be seen to bear a woman's face?
Women are soft, mild, pitiful and flexible;
Thou stern, obdurate, flinty, rough, remorseless.
Bids't thou me rage? why, now thou hast thy wish:
Wouldst have me weep? why, now thou hast thy will:
For raging wind blows up incessant showers,
And when the rage allays, the rain begins.
These tears are my sweet Rutland's obsequies:
And every drop cries vengeance for his death,
'Gainst thee, fell Clifford, and thee, false
Frenchwoman.

Earl of Northumberland. Beshrew me, but his passion moves me so
That hardly can I cheque my eyes from tears.

13

I,4,610

Richard Plantagenet (Duke of Gloucester). That face of his the hungry cannibals
Would not have touch'd, would not have stain'd with blood:
But you are more inhuman, more inexorable,
O, ten times more, than tigers of Hyrcania.
See, ruthless queen, a hapless father's tears:
This cloth thou dip'dst in blood of my sweet boy,
And I with tears do wash the blood away.
Keep thou the napkin, and go boast of this:
And if thou tell'st the heavy story right,
Upon my soul, the hearers will shed tears;
Yea even my foes will shed fast-falling tears,
And say 'Alas, it was a piteous deed!'
There, take the crown, and, with the crown, my curse;
And in thy need such comfort come to thee
As now I reap at thy too cruel hand!
Hard-hearted Clifford, take me from the world:
My soul to heaven, my blood upon your heads!

Earl of Northumberland. Had he been slaughter-man to all my kin,
I should not for my life but weep with him.
To see how inly sorrow gripes his soul.

14

II,2,920

Henry VI. Why, that's my fortune too; therefore I'll stay.

Earl of Northumberland. Be it with resolution then to fight.

15

II,2,953

Earl of Warwick. 'Twas not your valour, Clifford, drove me thence.

Earl of Northumberland. No, nor your manhood that durst make you stay.