That shakes the rotten carcass of old Death

Out of his rags! Here's a large mouth, indeed,

That spits forth death and mountains, rocks and seas,
Talks as familiarly of roaring lions

As maids of thirteen do of puppy-dogs!

What cannoneer begot this lusty blood?

460

He speaks plain cannon fire, and smoke and bounce;

He gives the bastinado with his tongue:

Our ears are cudgell'd; not a word of his

But buffets better than a fist of France:

465

Zounds! I was never so bethump'd with words
Since I first call'd my brother's father dad.

Eli. Son, list to this conjunction, make this match;
Give with our niece a dowry large enough:,

For by this knot thou shalt so surely tie
Thy now unsured assurance to the crown,

470

That yon green boy shall have no sun to ripe
The bloom that promiseth a mighty fruit.
I see a yielding in the looks of France;

Mark, how they whisper: urge them while their
souls

Are capable of this ambition, "bray," Vaughan "style," Herr "sway," Gould "slave." None of these are satisfactory. We must assume that "stay" or the word it represents means a sudden check or hindrance. In Cheshire there is a dialectical term "staw'd" applied to a horse who is checked by a difficulty in climbing a hill (Cheshire FolkSpeech, Dialect Society).

462. bounce] The onomatopeic word for the report of a gun, common in Elizabethan plays. Compare Peele's Old Wives' Tale (1595), ed.

666

475

Gayley, line 609: "Dub dub a dub,
bounce quoth the guns with a sulpher-
ous huffe snuffe"; and 2 Henry IV.
III. ii. 304: "Bounce' would 'a say"
and Knight of the Burning Pestle, v.
i. 94:
Sa, Sa, Sa, bounce!' quoth
the guns." Its modern meaning of
bombast does not seem to have de-
veloped in Shakespeare's time.
467. Since dad] An inimitable
turn of a common saying to suit the
Bastard's own case.

468. list to this conjunction] list to the suggestion of this conjunction.

Lest zeal, now melted by the windy breath
Of soft petitions, pity and remorse,

Cool and congeal again to what it was.

First Cit. Why answer not the double majesties

This friendly treaty of our threaten'd town?

480

K. Phi. Speak England first, that hath been forward first To speak unto this city: what say you?

K. John. If that the Dauphin there, thy princely son,

Can in this book of beauty read “I love,”

485

Her dowry shall weigh equal with a queen:

For Anjou, and fair Touraine, Maine, Poictiers,

And all that we upon this side the sea,

Except this city now by us besieged,

Find liable to our crown and dignity,

490

Shall gild her bridal bed, and make her rich

In titles, honours and promotions,

As she in beauty, education, blood,

Holds hand with any princess of the world.

494

K. Phi. What say'st thou, boy? look in the lady's face.

Lew. I do, my lord; and in her eye I find

A wonder, or a wondrous miracle,

The shadow of myself form'd in her eye;

477. Lest] F4; Least Ff 1, 2, 3. 487. Anjou] So Pope; Angiers Ff.

486. a queen] Ff1, 2; the queen Ff 3, 4. 494. hand] F 1; hands Ff 2, 3, 4. breath, etc., should cool and freeze into its previous form if advantage be not now taken."

480. the] Lettsom suggests "ye"; but Shakespeare's usage would then require two "ye's' "Why answer ye not, ye double majesties.'

494. Holds hand] Compare the modern phrase "to touch elbows with," i.e. to be the equal of.

Which, being but the shadow of your son,

Becomes a sun and makes your son a shadow : 500

I do protest I never loved myself

Till now infixed I beheld myself

Drawn in the flattering table of her eye.

[Whispers with Blanch.

Bast. Drawn in the flattering table of her eye!

Hang'd in the frowning wrinkle of her brow! 505 And quarter'd in her heart! he doth espy

Himself love's traitor: this is pity now,

That, hang'd and drawn and quarter'd, there should be
In such a love so vile a lout as he.

Blanch. My uncle's will in this respect is mine:

If he see aught in you that makes him like,
That any thing he sees, which moves his liking,
I can with ease translate it to my will;
Or if you will, to speak more properly,
I will enforce it easily to my love.
Further I will not flatter you, my lord,
That all I see in you is worthy love,
515. easily] Ff 3, 4; easlie Ff 1, 2.

503. table]" the surface on which a picture is painted" (Dyce-Littledale). Fr. tableau (?). Coles, Table of Appelles." Compare Sonnet xxiv. 2:

66

"Mine eye hath play'd the painter, and hath stell'd

Thy beauty's form in table of my heart";

and Friar Bacon (1595), ed. Gayley,
1. i. 56 :——

"Her form is Beauty's table, where
she paints
The glories of her gorgious ex-
cellence."

510

515

504-509. Drawn in as he] Mr. Worrall suggests that Shakespeare is here mocking at the love conceits of contemporary sonneteers. The sonnet quoted to illustrate the last note is quite in the vein which Shakespeare is here caricaturing.

512, 513. That any thing. my will] that which he sees and likes I can easily bring myself to like too. The "it" in line 513 summing up "That anything he sees" is pleonastic.

517. all . . . worthy love] all I see in you is worthy of love.

Than this; that nothing do I see in you,

Though churlish thoughts themselves should be your judge,

That I can find should merit any hate.

K. John. What say these young ones?

my niece?

520

What say you,

Blanch. That she is bound in honour still to do

What you in wisdom still vouchsafe to say.

K. John. Speak then, prince Dauphin; can you love this

lady?

Lew. Nay, ask me if I can refrain from love;

For I do love her most unfeignedly.

525

K. John. Then do I give Volquessen, Touraine, Maine,
Poictiers, and Anjou, these five provinces,
With her to thee; and this addition more,
Full thirty thousand marks of English coin.
Philip of France, if thou be pleased withal,
Command thy son and daughter to join hands.
K. Phi. It likes us well; young princes, close your

hands.

530

523. still will Pope; shall Steevens (1785) (Capell conj.). 533. It hands] Rowe; It likes us well young princes: close your

likes hands Ff.

Aust. And your lips too; for I am well assured
That I did so when I was first assured.
K. Phi. Now, citizens of Angiers, ope your gates,
Let in that amity which you have made;
For at Saint Mary's chapel presently
The rites of marriage shall be solemnized.
Is not the Lady Constance in this troop?

I know she is not, for this match made up
Her presence would have interrupted much:

535

540

Where is she and her son? tell me, who knows. Lew. She is sad and passionate at your highness' tent. K. Phi. And, by my faith, this league that we have

made

Will give her sadness very little cure.

Brother of England, how may we content
This widow lady? In her right we came;
Which we, God knows, have turn'd another way,
To our own vantage.

K. John.

We will heal up all;

For we'll create young Arthur Duke of Bretagne
And Earl of Richmond; and this rich fair town

539. rites] F 4; rights Ff 1, 2, 3.
535. assured] betrothed.
538. presently] immediately. Com-
pare The Tempest, IV. i. 42: "Pre-
sently? Ay, with a twink."

543. Where knows] The punctuation here is that of Steevens (1793). The Folios have "sonne, knowes?" Steevens evidently takes it to mean "Let him who

knows tell me!"

544. passionate] Vaughan suspected "passionate" owing to the extra foot in the line, but has withdrawn his suggested alterations. It may, he says,

545

550

have been pronounced "pashnate."
The word denotes violence of feeling,
probably of grief in the case of Con-
stance, not as would suit the case of
Elinor "in a passion." Compare
Arden of Feversham, III. v. 45:
"How
now, Alice? what, sad and passion-
ate?" and Middleton, A Trick, IV. ii.
(Mermaid ed. p. 53), where Witgood
is lamenting and the "2nd Gent."
says to him: "Fie! you a firm
scholar, and an understanding gentle-
man, and give your best parts to
passion."