Speeches (Lines) for Richard III (Duke of Gloucester)
in "Henry VI, Part III"
Total: 108

1

I,1,18

Speak thou for me and tell them what I did.

2

I,1,23

Thus do I hope to shake King Henry's head.

3

I,1,42

Arm'd as we are, let's stay within this house.

4

I,1,120

You are old enough now, and yet, methinks, you lose.
Father, tear the crown from the usurper's head.

5

I,1,125

Sound drums and trumpets, and the king will fly.

6

I,2,294

Brother, though I be youngest, give me leave.

7

I,2,302

About that which concerns your grace and us;
The crown of England, father, which is yours.

8

I,2,305

Your right depends not on his life or death.

9

I,2,312

No; God forbid your grace should be forsworn.

10

I,2,314

I'll prove the contrary, if you'll hear me speak.

11

I,2,316

An oath is of no moment, being not took
Before a true and lawful magistrate,
That hath authority over him that swears:
Henry had none, but did usurp the place;
Then, seeing 'twas he that made you to depose,
Your oath, my lord, is vain and frivolous.
Therefore, to arms! And, father, do but think
How sweet a thing it is to wear a crown;
Within whose circuit is Elysium
And all that poets feign of bliss and joy.
Why do we finger thus? I cannot rest
Until the white rose that I wear be dyed
Even in the lukewarm blood of Henry's heart.

12

I,2,364

Ay, with five hundred, father, for a need:
A woman's general; what should we fear?

13

II,1,635

I cannot joy, until I be resolved
Where our right valiant father is become.
I saw him in the battle range about;
And watch'd him how he singled Clifford forth.
Methought he bore him in the thickest troop
As doth a lion in a herd of neat;
Or as a bear, encompass'd round with dogs,
Who having pinch'd a few and made them cry,
The rest stand all aloof, and bark at him.
So fared our father with his enemies;
So fled his enemies my warlike father:
Methinks, 'tis prize enough to be his son.
See how the morning opes her golden gates,
And takes her farewell of the glorious sun!
How well resembles it the prime of youth,
Trimm'd like a younker prancing to his love!

14

II,1,652

Three glorious suns, each one a perfect sun;
Not separated with the racking clouds,
But sever'd in a pale clear-shining sky.
See, see! they join, embrace, and seem to kiss,
As if they vow'd some league inviolable:
Now are they but one lamp, one light, one sun.
In this the heaven figures some event.

15

II,1,667

Nay, bear three daughters: by your leave I speak it,
You love the breeder better than the male.
[Enter a Messenger]
But what art thou, whose heavy looks foretell
Some dreadful story hanging on thy tongue?

16

II,1,676

Say how he died, for I will hear it all.

17

II,1,706

I cannot weep; for all my body's moisture
Scarce serves to quench my furnace-burning heart:
Nor can my tongue unload my heart's great burthen;
For selfsame wind that I should speak withal
Is kindling coals that fires all my breast,
And burns me up with flames that tears would quench.
To weep is to make less the depth of grief:
Tears then for babes; blows and revenge for me
Richard, I bear thy name; I'll venge thy death,
Or die renowned by attempting it.

18

II,1,718

Nay, if thou be that princely eagle's bird,
Show thy descent by gazing 'gainst the sun:
For chair and dukedom, throne and kingdom say;
Either that is thine, or else thou wert not his.

19

II,1,724

Great Lord of Warwick, if we should recount
Our baleful news, and at each word's deliverance
Stab poniards in our flesh till all were told,
The words would add more anguish than the wounds.
O valiant lord, the Duke of York is slain!

20

II,1,776

'Twas odds, belike, when valiant Warwick fled:
Oft have I heard his praises in pursuit,
But ne'er till now his scandal of retire.

21

II,1,785

I know it well, Lord Warwick; blame me not:
'Tis love I bear thy glories makes me speak.
But in this troublous time what's to be done?
Shall we go throw away our coats of steel,
And wrap our bodies in black mourning gowns,
Numbering our Ave-Maries with our beads?
Or shall we on the helmets of our foes
Tell our devotion with revengeful arms?
If for the last, say ay, and to it, lords.

22

II,1,814

Ay, now methinks I hear great Warwick speak:
Ne'er may he live to see a sunshine day,
That cries 'Retire,' if Warwick bid him stay.

23

II,1,829

Then, Clifford, were thy heart as hard as steel,
As thou hast shown it flinty by thy deeds,
I come to pierce it, or to give thee mine.

24

II,2,940

Are you there, butcher? O, I cannot speak!

25

II,2,943

'Twas you that kill'd young Rutland, was it not?

26

II,2,945

For God's sake, lords, give signal to the fight.

27

II,2,954

Northumberland, I hold thee reverently.
Break off the parley; for scarce I can refrain
The execution of my big-swoln heart
Upon that Clifford, that cruel child-killer.

28

II,2,959

Ay, like a dastard and a treacherous coward,
As thou didst kill our tender brother Rutland;
But ere sunset I'll make thee curse the deed.

29

II,2,968

Then, executioner, unsheathe thy sword:
By him that made us all, I am resolved
that Clifford's manhood lies upon his tongue.

30

II,2,978

Whoever got thee, there thy mother stands;
For, well I wot, thou hast thy mother's tongue.

31

II,2,984

Iron of Naples hid with English gilt,
Whose father bears the title of a king,—
As if a channel should be call'd the sea,—
Shamest thou not, knowing whence thou art extraught,
To let thy tongue detect thy base-born heart?

32

II,3,1042

Ah, Warwick, why hast thou withdrawn thyself?
Thy brother's blood the thirsty earth hath drunk,
Broach'd with the steely point of Clifford's lance;
And in the very pangs of death he cried,
Like to a dismal clangour heard from far,
'Warwick, revenge! brother, revenge my death!'
So, underneath the belly of their steeds,
That stain'd their fetlocks in his smoking blood,
The noble gentleman gave up the ghost.

33

II,3,1072

Brother, give me thy hand; and, gentle Warwick,
Let me embrace thee in my weary arms:
I, that did never weep, now melt with woe
That winter should cut off our spring-time so.

34

II,4,1087

Now, Clifford, I have singled thee alone:
Suppose this arm is for the Duke of York,
And this for Rutland; both bound to revenge,
Wert thou environ'd with a brazen wall.

35

II,4,1099

Nay Warwick, single out some other chase;
For I myself will hunt this wolf to death.

36

II,6,1296

A deadly groan, like life and death's departing.

37

II,6,1299

Revoke that doom of mercy, for 'tis Clifford;
Who not contented that he lopp'd the branch
In hewing Rutland when his leaves put forth,
But set his murdering knife unto the root
From whence that tender spray did sweetly spring,
I mean our princely father, Duke of York.

38

II,6,1317

O, would he did! and so perhaps he doth:
'Tis but his policy to counterfeit,
Because he would avoid such bitter taunts
Which in the time of death he gave our father.

39

II,6,1322

Clifford, ask mercy and obtain no grace.

40

II,6,1326

Thou didst love York, and I am son to York.

41

II,6,1330

What, not an oath? nay, then the world goes hard
When Clifford cannot spare his friends an oath.
I know by that he's dead; and, by my soul,
If this right hand would buy two hour's life,
That I in all despite might rail at him,
This hand should chop it off, and with the
issuing blood
Stifle the villain whose unstanched thirst
York and young Rutland could not satisfy.

42

II,6,1360

Let me be Duke of Clarence, George of Gloucester;
For Gloucester's dukedom is too ominous.

43

III,2,1478

Your highness shall do well to grant her suit;
It were dishonour to deny it her.

44

III,2,1481

[Aside to CLARENCE] Yea, is it so?
I see the lady hath a thing to grant,
Before the king will grant her humble suit.

45

III,2,1486

[Aside to CLARENCE] Silence!

46

III,2,1492

[Aside to CLARENCE] Ay, widow? then I'll warrant
you all your lands,
An if what pleases him shall pleasure you.
Fight closer, or, good faith, you'll catch a blow.

47

III,2,1498

[Aside to CLARENCE] God forbid that! for he'll
take vantages.

48

III,2,1503

[Aside to CLARENCE] Nay, whip me then: he'll rather
give her two.

49

III,2,1506

[Aside to CLARENCE] You shall have four, if you'll
be ruled by him.

50

III,2,1511

[Aside to CLARENCE] Ay, good leave have you; for
you will have leave,
Till youth take leave and leave you to the crutch.

51

III,2,1529

[Aside to CLARENCE] He plies her hard; and much rain
wears the marble.

52

III,2,1538

[Aside to CLARENCE] The match is made; she seals it
with a curtsy.

53

III,2,1564

[Aside to CLARENCE] The widow likes him not, she
knits her brows.

54

III,2,1591

[Aside to CLARENCE] The ghostly father now hath done
his shrift.

55

III,2,1596

The widow likes it not, for she looks very sad.

56

III,2,1600

That would be ten days' wonder at the least.

57

III,2,1602

By so much is the wonder in extremes.

58

III,2,1613

Ay, Edward will use women honourably.
Would he were wasted, marrow, bones and all,
That from his loins no hopeful branch may spring,
To cross me from the golden time I look for!
And yet, between my soul's desire and me—
The lustful Edward's title buried—
Is Clarence, Henry, and his son young Edward,
And all the unlook'd for issue of their bodies,
To take their rooms, ere I can place myself:
A cold premeditation for my purpose!
Why, then, I do but dream on sovereignty;
Like one that stands upon a promontory,
And spies a far-off shore where he would tread,
Wishing his foot were equal with his eye,
And chides the sea that sunders him from thence,
Saying, he'll lade it dry to have his way:
So do I wish the crown, being so far off;
And so I chide the means that keeps me from it;
And so I say, I'll cut the causes off,
Flattering me with impossibilities.
My eye's too quick, my heart o'erweens too much,
Unless my hand and strength could equal them.
Well, say there is no kingdom then for Richard;
What other pleasure can the world afford?
I'll make my heaven in a lady's lap,
And deck my body in gay ornaments,
And witch sweet ladies with my words and looks.
O miserable thought! and more unlikely
Than to accomplish twenty golden crowns!
Why, love forswore me in my mother's womb:
And, for I should not deal in her soft laws,
She did corrupt frail nature with some bribe,
To shrink mine arm up like a wither'd shrub;
To make an envious mountain on my back,
Where sits deformity to mock my body;
To shape my legs of an unequal size;
To disproportion me in every part,
Like to a chaos, or an unlick'd bear-whelp
That carries no impression like the dam.
And am I then a man to be beloved?
O monstrous fault, to harbour such a thought!
Then, since this earth affords no joy to me,
But to command, to cheque, to o'erbear such
As are of better person than myself,
I'll make my heaven to dream upon the crown,
And, whiles I live, to account this world but hell,
Until my mis-shaped trunk that bears this head
Be round impaled with a glorious crown.
And yet I know not how to get the crown,
For many lives stand between me and home:
And I,—like one lost in a thorny wood,
That rends the thorns and is rent with the thorns,
Seeking a way and straying from the way;
Not knowing how to find the open air,
But toiling desperately to find it out,—
Torment myself to catch the English crown:
And from that torment I will free myself,
Or hew my way out with a bloody axe.
Why, I can smile, and murder whiles I smile,
And cry 'Content' to that which grieves my heart,
And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,
And frame my face to all occasions.
I'll drown more sailors than the mermaid shall;
I'll slay more gazers than the basilisk;
I'll play the orator as well as Nestor,
Deceive more slily than Ulysses could,
And, like a Sinon, take another Troy.
I can add colours to the chameleon,
Change shapes with Proteus for advantages,
And set the murderous Machiavel to school.
Can I do this, and cannot get a crown?
Tut, were it farther off, I'll pluck it down.

59

IV,1,1974

Now tell me, brother Clarence, what think you
Of this new marriage with the Lady Grey?
Hath not our brother made a worthy choice?

60

IV,1,1980

And his well-chosen bride.

61

IV,1,1992

And shall have your will, because our king:
Yet hasty marriage seldom proveth well.

62

IV,1,1995

Not I:
No, God forbid that I should wish them sever'd
Whom God hath join'd together; ay, and 'twere pity
To sunder them that yoke so well together.

63

IV,1,2007

And Warwick, doing what you gave in charge,
Is now dishonoured by this new marriage.

64

IV,1,2026

And yet methinks your grace hath not done well,
To give the heir and daughter of Lord Scales
Unto the brother of your loving bride;
She better would have fitted me or Clarence:
But in your bride you bury brotherhood.

65

IV,1,2058

[Aside] I hear, yet say not much, but think the more.

66

IV,1,2102

[Aside] Not I:
My thoughts aim at a further matter; I
Stay not for the love of Edward, but the crown.

67

IV,1,2125

Ay, in despite of all that shall withstand you.

68

IV,5,2280

Now, my Lord Hastings and Sir William Stanley,
Leave off to wonder why I drew you hither,
Into this chiefest thicket of the park.
Thus stands the case: you know our king, my brother,
Is prisoner to the bishop here, at whose hands
He hath good usage and great liberty,
And, often but attended with weak guard,
Comes hunting this way to disport himself.
I have advertised him by secret means
That if about this hour he make his way
Under the colour of his usual game,
He shall here find his friends with horse and men
To set him free from his captivity.

69

IV,5,2298

Brother, the time and case requireth haste:
Your horse stands ready at the park-corner.

70

IV,5,2303

Well guess'd, believe me; for that was my meaning.

71

IV,5,2305

But wherefore stay we? 'tis no time to talk.

72

IV,5,2308

Come then, away; let's ha' no more ado.

73

IV,7,2433

The gates made fast! Brother, I like not this;
For many men that stumble at the threshold
Are well foretold that danger lurks within.

74

IV,7,2449

[Aside] But when the fox hath once got in his nose,
He'll soon find means to make the body follow.

75

IV,7,2455

A wise stout captain, and soon persuaded!

76

IV,7,2468

Brother, this is Sir John Montgomery,
Our trusty friend, unless I be deceived.

77

IV,7,2487

Why, brother, wherefore stand you on nice points?

78

IV,7,2491

And fearless minds climb soonest unto crowns.
Brother, we will proclaim you out of hand:
The bruit thereof will bring you many friends.

79

IV,8,2587

Away betimes, before his forces join,
And take the great-grown traitor unawares:
Brave warriors, march amain towards Coventry.

80

V,1,2613

See how the surly Warwick mans the wall!

81

V,1,2625

I thought, at least, he would have said the king;
Or did he make the jest against his will?

82

V,1,2628

Ay, by my faith, for a poor earl to give:
I'll do thee service for so good a gift.

83

V,1,2638

Alas, that Warwick had no more forecast,
But, whiles he thought to steal the single ten,
The king was slily finger'd from the deck!
You left poor Henry at the Bishop's palace,
And, ten to one, you'll meet him in the Tower.

84

V,1,2644

Come, Warwick, take the time; kneel down, kneel down:
Nay, when? strike now, or else the iron cools.

85

V,1,2658

The gates are open, let us enter too.

86

V,1,2668

Thou and thy brother both shall buy this treason
Even with the dearest blood your bodies bear.

87

V,1,2675

Two of thy name, both Dukes of Somerset,
Have sold their lives unto the house of York;
And thou shalt be the third if this sword hold.

88

V,1,2709

Welcome, good Clarence; this is brotherlike.

89

V,3,2791

The queen is valued thirty thousand strong,
And Somerset, with Oxford fled to her:
If she have time to breathe be well assured
Her faction will be full as strong as ours.

90

V,5,2905

It is: and lo, where youthful Edward comes!

91

V,5,2918

That you might still have worn the petticoat,
And ne'er have stol'n the breech from Lancaster.

92

V,5,2922

By heaven, brat, I'll plague ye for that word.

93

V,5,2924

For God's sake, take away this captive scold.

94

V,5,2935

Sprawl'st thou? take that, to end thy agony.

95

V,5,2940

Marry, and shall.

96

V,5,2943

Why should she live, to fill the world with words?

97

V,5,2945

Clarence, excuse me to the king my brother;
I'll hence to London on a serious matter:
Ere ye come there, be sure to hear some news.

98

V,5,2949

The Tower, the Tower.

99

V,6,2995

Good day, my lord. What, at your book so hard?

100

V,6,3000

Sirrah, leave us to ourselves: we must confer.

101

V,6,3006

Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind;
The thief doth fear each bush an officer.

102

V,6,3013

Why, what a peevish fool was that of Crete,
That taught his son the office of a fowl!
An yet, for all his wings, the fool was drown'd.

103

V,6,3025

Think'st thou I am an executioner?

104

V,6,3029

Thy son I kill'd for his presumption.

105

V,6,3052

I'll hear no more: die, prophet in thy speech:
[Stabs him]
For this amongst the rest, was I ordain'd.

106

V,6,3058

What, will the aspiring blood of Lancaster
Sink in the ground? I thought it would have mounted.
See how my sword weeps for the poor king's death!
O, may such purple tears be alway shed
From those that wish the downfall of our house!
If any spark of life be yet remaining,
Down, down to hell; and say I sent thee thither:
[Stabs him again]
I, that have neither pity, love, nor fear.
Indeed, 'tis true that Henry told me of;
For I have often heard my mother say
I came into the world with my legs forward:
Had I not reason, think ye, to make haste,
And seek their ruin that usurp'd our right?
The midwife wonder'd and the women cried
'O, Jesus bless us, he is born with teeth!'
And so I was; which plainly signified
That I should snarl and bite and play the dog.
Then, since the heavens have shaped my body so,
Let hell make crook'd my mind to answer it.
I have no brother, I am like no brother;
And this word 'love,' which graybeards call divine,
Be resident in men like one another
And not in me: I am myself alone.
Clarence, beware; thou keep'st me from the light:
But I will sort a pitchy day for thee;
For I will buz abroad such prophecies
That Edward shall be fearful of his life,
And then, to purge his fear, I'll be thy death.
King Henry and the prince his son are gone:
Clarence, thy turn is next, and then the rest,
Counting myself but bad till I be best.
I'll throw thy body in another room
And triumph, Henry, in thy day of doom.

107

V,7,3116

[Aside] I'll blast his harvest, if your head were laid;
For yet I am not look'd on in the world.
This shoulder was ordain'd so thick to heave;
And heave it shall some weight, or break my back:
Work thou the way,—and thou shalt execute.

108

V,7,3126

And, that I love the tree from whence thou sprang'st,
Witness the loving kiss I give the fruit.
[Aside] To say the truth, so Judas kiss'd his master,]
And cried 'all hail!' when as he meant all harm.