Act 4, Scene 4 — Henry IV, Part 2

The argument The Jerusalem Chamber at Westminster. King Henry IV, ill, is receiving reports from advisors. He speaks to his son Clarence about Hal's temperament, urging Clarence to be a moderating influence on the new king after his own death. Good news arrives: the rebellion is crushed. More good news: Northumberland has been defeated by the Sheriff of Yorkshire. Henry collapses. His sons and lords talk about the signs of his dying. He asks to be carried to another room.

Enter the King, Warwick, Thomas Duke of Clarence and Humphrey Duke of

Gloucester and others.

KING ≋ verse dialogue

Now, lords, if God doth give successful end

To this debate that bleedeth at our doors,

We will our youth lead on to higher fields

And draw no swords but what are sanctified.

Our navy is address’d, our power collected,

Our substitutes in absence well invested,

And everything lies level to our wish.

Only we want a little personal strength;

And pause us till these rebels now afoot

Come underneath the yoke of government.

Now, lords, if God does give successful end To this debate that bleedeth at our doors, We will our youth lead on to higher fields And draw no swords but what are sanctified. Our navy is address’d, our power collected, Our substitutes in absence well invested, And everything lies level to our wish. Only we want a little personal strength; And pause us till these rebels now afoot Come underneath the yoke of government.

Now, lords, if God does give successful end To this debate that bleedeth at our doors, We will our youth lead on to higher fields And draw n...

now, lords, god doth

"draw no swords but what are sanctified" The Jerusalem Crusade — Henry's lifelong penance-voyage — surfaces here again. He's still planning it. He never gets there. The room where he dies in 4-5 is called the Jerusalem Chamber. The play has been building to this irony since the beginning.

WARWICK ≋ verse dialogue

Both which we doubt not but your Majesty

Shall soon enjoy.

Both which we doubt not but your Majesty Shall soon enjoy.

both which doubt not

KING ≋ verse dialogue

Humphrey, my son of Gloucester,

Where is the Prince your brother?

Humphrey, my son of Gloucester, Where is the Prince your brother?

humphrey, son gloucester,

GLOUCESTER dialogue

I think he’s gone to hunt, my lord, at Windsor.

think he’s gone

KING dialogue

And how accompanied?

and how accompanied?

GLOUCESTER dialogue

I do not know, my lord.

not know,

KING dialogue

Is not his brother Thomas of Clarence with him?

not his brother thomas

GLOUCESTER dialogue

No, my good lord, he is in presence here.

no, good lord,

CLARENCE dialogue

What would my lord and father?

what would lord and

KING ≋ verse dialogue

Nothing but well to thee, Thomas of Clarence.

How chance thou art not with the Prince thy brother?

He loves thee, and thou dost neglect him, Thomas.

Thou hast a better place in his affection

Than all thy brothers. Cherish it, my boy,

And noble offices thou mayst effect

Of mediation, after I am dead,

Between his greatness and thy other brethren.

Therefore omit him not, blunt not his love,

Nor lose the good advantage of his grace

By seeming cold or careless of his will;

For he is gracious, if he be observed,

He hath a tear for pity, and a hand

Open as day for melting charity:

Yet notwithstanding, being incensed, he’s flint,

As humorous as winter, and as sudden

As flaws congealed in the spring of day.

His temper therefore must be well observed.

Chide him for faults, and do it reverently,

When you perceive his blood inclined to mirth;

But, being moody, give him time and scope,

Till that his passions, like a whale on ground,

Confound themselves with working. Learn this, Thomas,

And thou shalt prove a shelter to thy friends,

A hoop of gold to bind thy brothers in,

That the united vessel of their blood,

Mingled with venom of suggestion—

As, force perforce, the age will pour it in—

Shall never leak, though it do work as strong

As aconitum or rash gunpowder.

Nothing but well to you, Thomas of Clarence. How chance you Are not with the Prince your brother? He loves you, and you do neglect him, Thomas. you have a better place in his affection Than all your brothers. Cherish it, my boy, And noble offices you mayst effect Of mediation, after I am dead, Between his greatness and your other brethren. Therefore omit him not, blunt not his love, Nor lose the good advantage of his grace By seeming cold or careless of his will; For he is gracious, if he be observed, He has a tear for pity, and a hand Open as day for melting charity: Yet notwithstanding, being incensed, he’s flint, As humorous as winter, and as sudden As flaws congealed in the spring of day. His temper therefore must be well observed. Chide him for faults, and do it reverently, When you perceive his blood inclined to mirth; But, being moody, give him time and scope, Till that his passions, like a whale on ground, Confound themselves with working. Learn this, Thomas, And you shall prove a shelter to your friends, A hoop of gold to bind your brothers in, That the united vessel of their blood, Mingled with venom of suggestion— As, force perforce, the age will pour it in— Shall never leak, though it do work as strong As aconitum or rash gunpowder.

Nothing but well to you, Thomas of Clarence. How chance you Are not with the Prince your brother? He loves you, and you do neglect him, Thom...

nothing but well thee,

"he is gracious, if he be observed, / He hath a tear for pity, and a hand / Open as day for melting charity: / Yet notwithstanding, being incensed, he's flint" Henry's portrait of Hal — compassionate, open-handed, prone to sudden violent anger — is the most accurate description of the future Henry V in these plays. The compassion and the flint-hardness are both there in 5-2 when Hal becomes king.

"passions, like a whale on ground, / Confound themselves with working" A beached whale was a common spectacle in Elizabethan England — a massive, thrashing creature that exhausted itself faster than it would in water because there was nothing to push against. Henry is telling Clarence: Hal's anger burns itself out if left alone.

Why it matters Henry's speech to Clarence is the most intimate portrait of Hal from someone who knows him. A father who has spent the whole play worrying about his son's fitness for the crown — and finding him absent, dissolute, unreachable — gives his other son the precise tools to manage what he cannot. The tenderness is real. The political anxiety is real. Both coexist in a dying man giving final instructions.

CLARENCE dialogue

I shall observe him with all care and love.

shall observe him with

KING dialogue

Why art thou not at Windsor with him, Thomas?

Why Are you not at Windsor with him, Thomas?

why art thou not

CLARENCE dialogue

He is not there today; he dines in London.

not there today;

KING dialogue

And how accompanied? Canst thou tell that?

And how accompanied? Canst you tell that?

and how accompanied? canst thou

CLARENCE dialogue

With Poins, and other his continual followers.

with poins, and other his

KING ≋ verse dialogue

Most subject is the fattest soil to weeds,

And he, the noble image of my youth,

Is overspread with them; therefore my grief

Stretches itself beyond the hour of death.

The blood weeps from my heart when I do shape

In forms imaginary th’ unguided days

And rotten times that you shall look upon

When I am sleeping with my ancestors.

For when his headstrong riot hath no curb,

When rage and hot blood are his counsellors,

When means and lavish manners meet together,

O, with what wings shall his affections fly

Towards fronting peril and opposed decay!

Most subject is the fattest soil to weeds, And he, the noble image of my youth, Is overspread with them; therefore my grief Stretches itself beyond the hour of death. The blood weeps from my heart when I do shape In forms imaginary th’ unguided days And rotten times that you shall look upon When I am sleeping with my ancestors. For when his headstrong riot has no curb, When rage and hot blood are his counsellors, When means and lavish manners meet together, O, with what wings shall his affections fly Towards fronting peril and opposed decay!

Most subject is the fattest soil to weeds, And he, the noble image of my youth, Is overspread with them; therefore my grief Stretches itself...

most subject the fattest

Why it matters Henry's grief about Hal is the play's central emotional thread, and this speech is its most explicit statement. He doesn't believe the Prince will reform. He grieves for a future he expects to be 'rotten.' He is wrong about Hal — but he doesn't know that, and it doesn't lessen the grief.

🎭 Dramatic irony Henry predicts that Hal, without restraint, will rush toward 'fronting peril and opposed decay.' The audience knows Hal better than Henry does — and knows that Henry is both right about the energy and wrong about where it will lead. Hal channels it toward glory, not ruin.

WARWICK ≋ verse dialogue

My gracious lord, you look beyond him quite.

The prince but studies his companions

Like a strange tongue, wherein, to gain the language,

’Tis needful that the most immodest word

Be looked upon and learned; which once attained,

Your Highness knows, comes to no further use

But to be known and hated. So, like gross terms,

The Prince will, in the perfectness of time,

Cast off his followers, and their memory

Shall as a pattern or a measure live,

By which his Grace must mete the lives of other,

Turning past evils to advantages.

My gracious lord, you look beyond him quite. The prince but studies his companions Like a strange tongue, wherein, to gain the language, ’Tis needful that the most immodest word Be looked upon and learned; which once attained, Your Highness knows, comes to no further use But to be known and hated. So, like gross terms, The Prince will, in the perfectness of time, Cast off his followers, and their memory Shall as a pattern or a measure live, By which his Grace must mete the lives of other, Turning past evils to advantages.

My gracious lord, you look beyond him quite. The prince but studies his companions Like a strange tongue, wherein, to gain the language, ’Ti...

gracious lord, you look

Why it matters Warwick's defense of Hal — that the Prince is studying his companions like a language, planning to discard them once learned — is the most charitable reading of the Prince's behavior. Warwick turns out to be right. But Henry can't quite believe it, and his inability to trust his own son is one of the play's deepest sadnesses.

KING ≋ verse dialogue

’Tis seldom when the bee doth leave her comb

In the dead carrion.

’Tis seldom when the bee does leave her comb In the dead carrion.

’tis seldom when the bee

Enter Westmoreland.

Who’s here? Westmoreland?

WESTMORELAND ≋ verse dialogue

Health to my sovereign, and new happiness

Added to that that I am to deliver!

Prince John your son doth kiss your Grace’s hand.

Mowbray, the Bishop Scroop, Hastings and all

Are brought to the correction of your law.

There is not now a rebel’s sword unsheathed,

But Peace puts forth her olive everywhere.

The manner how this action hath been borne

Here at more leisure may your Highness read,

With every course in his particular.

Health to my sovereign, and new happiness Added to that that I am to deliver! Prince John your son does kiss your Grace’s hand. Mowbray, the Bishop Scroop, Hastings and all Are brought to the correction of your law. There is not now a rebel’s sword unsheathed, But Peace puts forth her olive everywhere. The manner how this action has been borne Here at more leisure may your Highness read, With every course in his particular.

Health to my sovereign, and new happiness Added to that that I am to deliver! Prince John your son does kiss your Grace’s hand. Mowbray, the...

health sovereign, and

KING ≋ verse dialogue

O Westmoreland, thou art a summer bird,

Which ever in the haunch of winter sings

The lifting up of day.

O Westmoreland, you Are a summer bird, Which ever in the haunch of winter sings The lifting up of day.

westmoreland, thou art

Enter Harcourt.

Look, here’s more news.

HARCOURT ≋ verse dialogue

From enemies heaven keep your Majesty;

And when they stand against you, may they fall

As those that I am come to tell you of!

The Earl Northumberland and the Lord Bardolph,

With a great power of English and of Scots,

Are by the shrieve of Yorkshire overthrown.

The manner and true order of the fight

This packet, please it you, contains at large.

From enemies heaven keep your Majesty; And when they stand against you, may they fall As those that I am come to tell you of! The Earl Northumberland and the Lord Bardolph, With a great power of English and of Scots, Are by the shrieve of Yorkshire overthrown. The manner and true order of the fight This packet, please it you, contains at large.

From enemies heaven keep your Majesty; And when they stand against you, may they fall As those that I am come to tell you of! The Earl North...

from enemies heaven keep your

Why it matters Northumberland's final defeat arrives here — offstage, in a message. He retreated to Scotland in 2-3, betrayed the rebellion in 4-1, and has now been killed. His end is appropriately undramatic: a report, not a death scene. He was the play's greatest example of a man who talked about honor and kept none.

↩ Callback to 2-3 Northumberland's defeat here is the fulfillment of what Lady Percy predicted in 2-3: his cowardice at Shrewsbury and his flight to Scotland were not strategies but failures that would ultimately destroy him. He is reported defeated, not shown dying. His end is appropriately quiet.

KING ≋ verse dialogue

And wherefore should these good news make me sick?

Will Fortune never come with both hands full,

But write her fair words still in foulest letters?

She either gives a stomach and no food—

Such are the poor, in health; or else a feast

And takes away the stomach—such are the rich,

That have abundance and enjoy it not.

I should rejoice now at this happy news,

And now my sight fails, and my brain is giddy.

O me! Come near me, now I am much ill.

And wherefore should these good news make me sick? Will Fortune never come with both hands full, But write her fair words still in foulest letters? She either gives a stomach and no food— Such are the poor, in health; or else a feast And takes away the stomach—such are the rich, That have abundance and enjoy it not. I should rejoice now at this happy news, And now my sight fails, and my brain is giddy. O me! Come near me, now I am much ill.

And wherefore should these good news make me sick? Will Fortune never come with both hands full, But write her fair words still in foulest l...

and wherefore should these good

"Will Fortune never come with both hands full, / But write her fair words still in foulest letters?" Henry's image of Fortune writing good news in bad handwriting is a precise metaphor for his own situation: the victory is real, the words are good, but the medium — his failing body — corrupts the reception.

Why it matters Henry's collapse at the moment of victory is the play's most devastating structural irony. He spent his entire reign fighting to secure England. The moment it is finally secured — the rebellion crushed, Northumberland dead — he falls. Fortune comes with both hands full and he cannot hold it. This is the play's answer to the 'book of fate' speech in 3-1: he saw the pattern of reversal; now he's living it.

🎭 Dramatic irony The two pieces of good news that topple Henry — rebellion crushed, Northumberland defeated — are the victories he has sacrificed his health and his reputation to achieve. He never gets to rejoice in them. Fortune comes with both hands full at the exact moment he loses the ability to hold anything.

GLOUCESTER dialogue

Comfort, your Majesty!

comfort, your majesty!

CLARENCE dialogue

O my royal father!

royal father!

WESTMORELAND dialogue

My sovereign lord, cheer up yourself, look up.

sovereign lord, cheer

WARWICK ≋ verse dialogue

Be patient, princes; you do know these fits

Are with his Highness very ordinary.

Stand from him, give him air; he’ll straight be well.

Be patient, princes; you do know these fits Are with his Highness very ordinary. Stand from him, give him air; he’ll straight be well.

patient, princes; you

CLARENCE ≋ verse dialogue

No, no, he cannot long hold out these pangs.

Th’ incessant care and labour of his mind

Hath wrought the mure that should confine it in

So thin that life looks through and will break out.

No, no, he cannot long hold out these pangs. Th’ incessant care and labour of his mind has wrought the mure that should confine it in So thin that life looks through and will break out.

No, no, he cannot long hold out these pangs. Th’ incessant care and labour of his mind has wrought the mure that should confine it in So thi...

no, no, cannot long

GLOUCESTER ≋ verse dialogue

The people fear me, for they do observe

Unfather’d heirs and loathly births of nature.

The seasons change their manners, as the year

Had found some months asleep and leap’d them over.

The people fear me, for they do observe Unfather’d heirs and loathly births of nature. The seasons change their manners, as the year Had found some months asleep and leap’d them over.

The people fear me, for they do observe Unfather’d heirs and loathly births of nature. The seasons change their manners, as the year Had fou...

the people fear me, for

CLARENCE ≋ verse dialogue

The river hath thrice flow’d, no ebb between,

And the old folk, time’s doting chronicles,

Say it did so a little time before

That our great-grandsire, Edward, sick’d and died.

The river has thrice flow’d, no ebb between, And the old folk, time’s doting chronicles, Say it did so a little time before That our great-grandsire, Edward, sick’d and died.

The river has thrice flow’d, no ebb between, And the old folk, time’s doting chronicles, Say it did so a little time before That our great-g...

the river hath thrice flow’d,

WARWICK dialogue

Speak lower, princes, for the King recovers.

speak lower, princes, for the

GLOUCESTER dialogue

This apoplexy will certain be his end.

this apoplexy will certain

KING ≋ verse dialogue

I pray you take me up, and bear me hence

Into some other chamber: softly, pray.

I pray you take me up, and bear me hence Into some other chamber: softly, pray.

pray you take

Why it matters Henry's last words in this scene — 'softly, pray' — are among the most affecting in the play. The man who began as a usurper, a political schemer, a wartime king, ends here being carried from one room to another, asking to be handled gently. The next room he wakes in will be called the Jerusalem Chamber.

[_Exeunt._]

The Reckoning

This is the scene where Henry IV crosses the threshold from the ill man we've been watching to the dying man we're about to watch. The speech to Clarence is among the most moving things he says — a father who loves his sons trying to equip the one nearest Hal with tools to survive the coming reign. The two arrivals of good news — the rebellion crushed, Northumberland defeated — which should be the greatest victories of his reign, land on a man who is too sick to rejoice. Fortune comes with both hands full and he cannot hold it.

If this happened today…

A CEO who has been fighting a hostile takeover for years receives word that both threats have been neutralized. He collapses at his desk. His team gathers: 'He always had these episodes, he'll be fine.' 'He won't be fine.' 'They say the Thames flooded three times without ebbing — his grandfather had a seizure the last time that happened.' Earlier, before the good news arrived, he'd been giving his middle son advice about managing the oldest: 'He loves you most. Use that. Calm him when he's moody. He'll be the hoop that holds the family together — unless he's poisoned against you.'

Continue to 4.5 →