Act 4, Scene 5 — Henry IV, Part 2

The argument The Jerusalem Chamber. King Henry IV lies asleep with the crown on the pillow. Prince Hal, watching alone, believes his father has died — and takes the crown, carrying it to another room. The King wakes and discovers the crown gone. Warwick finds Hal weeping in the next room. Hal returns, the King delivers his most bitter speech about being betrayed. Hal explains himself — he was upbraiding the crown for devouring his father. Reconciliation. The King gives his last counsel: how he took the crown, what Hal now inherits, and the famous advice to 'busy giddy minds with foreign quarrels.' He learns he is in the Jerusalem Chamber — the prophecy fulfilled. He asks to be carried there to die.

The King lying on a bed. Clarence, Gloucester, Warwick and others in

attendance.

KING ≋ verse dialogue

Let there be no noise made, my gentle friends,

Unless some dull and favourable hand

Will whisper music to my weary spirit.

Let there be no noise made, my gentle friends, Unless some dull and favourable hand Will whisper music to my weary spirit.

let there noise

WARWICK dialogue

Call for the music in the other room.

call for the music

KING dialogue

Set me the crown upon my pillow here.

set the crown upon

Why it matters The crown on the pillow is the scene's central image. Henry cannot wear it — he's too weak. He places it beside him. When Hal takes it, believing his father dead, he's taking it from the deathbed. This is both touching and, in Henry's reading, a betrayal.

CLARENCE dialogue

His eye is hollow, and he changes much.

his eye hollow, and

WARWICK dialogue

Less noise, less noise!

less noise, less noise!

Enter Prince Henry.

PRINCE dialogue

Who saw the Duke of Clarence?

who saw the duke

CLARENCE dialogue

I am here, brother, full of heaviness.

here, brother, full

PRINCE ≋ verse dialogue

How now, rain within doors, and none abroad?

How doth the King?

How now, rain within doors, and none abroad? How does the King?

how now, rain within doors,

GLOUCESTER dialogue

Exceeding ill.

exceeding ill.

PRINCE dialogue

Heard he the good news yet? Tell it him.

heard the good news

GLOUCESTER dialogue

He alt’red much upon the hearing it.

alt’red much upon the

PRINCE dialogue

If he be sick with joy, he’ll recover without physic.

sick with

WARWICK ≋ verse dialogue

Not so much noise, my lords. Sweet prince, speak low;

The King your father is disposed to sleep.

Not so much noise, my lords. Sweet prince, speak low; The King your father is disposed to sleep.

not much noise,

CLARENCE dialogue

Let us withdraw into the other room.

let withdraw into the

WARWICK dialogue

Will’t please your Grace to go along with us?

will’t please your grace

PRINCE dialogue

No, I will sit and watch here by the King.

no, will sit and

[_Exeunt all but the Prince._]

Why doth the crown lie there upon his pillow,

Being so troublesome a bedfellow?

O polish’d perturbation! golden care!

That keep’st the ports of slumber open wide

To many a watchful night! Sleep with it now;

Yet not so sound and half so deeply sweet

As he whose brow with homely biggen bound

Snores out the watch of night. O majesty!

When thou dost pinch thy bearer, thou dost sit

Like a rich armour worn in heat of day,

That scald’st with safety. By his gates of breath

There lies a downy feather which stirs not:

Did he suspire, that light and weightless down

Perforce must move. My gracious lord, my father!

This sleep is sound indeed; this is a sleep

That from this golden rigol hath divorced

So many English kings. Thy due from me

Is tears and heavy sorrows of the blood,

Which nature, love, and filial tenderness,

Shall, O dear father, pay thee plenteously.

My due from thee is this imperial crown,

Which, as immediate from thy place and blood,

Derives itself to me. Lo, where it sits,

Which God shall guard; and put the world’s whole strength

Into one giant arm, it shall not force

This lineal honour from me. This from thee

Will I to mine leave, as ’tis left to me.

[_Exit._]

KING dialogue

Warwick! Gloucester! Clarence!

warwick! gloucester! clarence!

Enter Warwick, Gloucester, Clarence and the rest.

CLARENCE dialogue

Doth the King call?

does the King call?

doth the king call?

WARWICK dialogue

What would your Majesty? How fares your Grace?

what would your majesty? how

KING dialogue

Why did you leave me here alone, my lords?

why did you leave

CLARENCE ≋ verse dialogue

We left the Prince my brother here, my liege,

Who undertook to sit and watch by you.

We left the Prince my brother here, my liege, Who undertook to sit and watch by you.

left the prince

KING ≋ verse dialogue

The Prince of Wales! Where is he? Let me see him.

He is not here.

The Prince of Wales! Where is he? Let me see him. He is not here.

the prince wales! where

WARWICK dialogue

This door is open, he is gone this way.

this door open,

GLOUCESTER dialogue

He came not through the chamber where we stay’d.

came not through the

KING dialogue

Where is the crown? Who took it from my pillow?

where the crown? who

WARWICK dialogue

When we withdrew, my liege, we left it here.

when withdrew, liege,

KING ≋ verse dialogue

The Prince hath ta’en it hence. Go seek him out.

Is he so hasty that he doth suppose

My sleep my death?

Find him, my Lord of Warwick, chide him hither.

The Prince has ta’en it hence. Go seek him out. Is he so hasty that he does suppose My sleep my death? Find him, my Lord of Warwick, chide him hither.

the prince hath ta’en

[_Exit Warwick._]

This part of his conjoins with my disease,

And helps to end me. See, sons, what things you are,

How quickly nature falls into revolt

When gold becomes her object!

For this the foolish over-careful fathers

Have broke their sleep with thoughts,

Their brains with care, their bones with industry;

For this they have engrossed and piled up

The canker’d heaps of strange-achieved gold;

For this they have been thoughtful to invest

Their sons with arts and martial exercises;

When, like the bee, tolling from every flower

The virtuous sweets,

Our thighs pack’d with wax, our mouths with honey,

We bring it to the hive; and like the bees,

Are murdered for our pains. This bitter taste

Yields his engrossments to the ending father.

Enter Warwick.

Now where is he that will not stay so long

Till his friend sickness hath determin’d me?

WARWICK ≋ verse dialogue

My lord, I found the Prince in the next room,

Washing with kindly tears his gentle cheeks,

With such a deep demeanour in great sorrow

That tyranny, which never quaff’d but blood,

Would, by beholding him, have wash’d his knife

With gentle eye-drops. He is coming hither.

My lord, I found the Prince in the next room, Washing with kindly tears his gentle cheeks, With such a deep demeanour in great sorrow That tyranny, which never quaff’d but blood, Would, by beholding him, have wash’d his knife With gentle eye-drops. He is coming hither.

My lord, I found the Prince in the next room, Washing with kindly tears his gentle cheeks, With such a deep demeanour in great sorrow That t...

lord, found the

Why it matters Warwick's report of Hal's tears is crucial to the scene's moral logic. It proves — to the audience, and almost to Henry — that the taking of the crown was not a gesture of eagerness. The tears were there before the rebuke.

KING dialogue

But wherefore did he take away the crown?

but wherefore did take

Enter Prince Henry.

Lo where he comes. Come hither to me, Harry.

Depart the chamber, leave us here alone.

[_Exeunt Warwick and the rest._]

PRINCE dialogue

I never thought to hear you speak again.

never thought hear

Why it matters Hal's first words are the most important in the scene: they confirm he genuinely thought the King was dead. He's not saying 'I'm sorry' or performing grief — he's simply reporting the truth of what he believed. The simplicity is devastating.

KING ≋ verse dialogue

Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought.

I stay too long by thee, I weary thee.

Dost thou so hunger for mine empty chair

That thou wilt needs invest thee with my honours

Before thy hour be ripe? O foolish youth!

Thou seek’st the greatness that will overwhelm thee.

Stay but a little, for my cloud of dignity

Is held from falling with so weak a wind

That it will quickly drop. My day is dim.

Thou hast stolen that which after some few hours

Were thine without offence, and at my death

Thou hast seal’d up my expectation.

Thy life did manifest thou loved’st me not,

And thou wilt have me die assured of it.

Thou hid’st a thousand daggers in thy thoughts

Which thou hast whetted on thy stony heart,

To stab at half an hour of my life.

What, canst thou not forbear me half an hour?

Then get thee gone, and dig my grave thyself,

And bid the merry bells ring to thine ear

That thou art crowned, not that I am dead.

Let all the tears that should bedew my hearse

Be drops of balm to sanctify thy head,

Only compound me with forgotten dust.

Give that which gave thee life unto the worms.

Pluck down my officers, break my decrees;

For now a time is come to mock at form.

Harry the Fifth is crown’d. Up, vanity!

Down, royal state! All you sage counsellors, hence!

And to the English court assemble now,

From every region, apes of idleness!

Now, neighbour confines, purge you of your scum.

Have you a ruffian that will swear, drink, dance,

Revel the night, rob, murder, and commit

The oldest sins the newest kind of ways?

Be happy, he will trouble you no more.

England shall double gild his treble guilt,

England shall give him office, honour, might,

For the fifth Harry from curb’d license plucks

The muzzle of restraint, and the wild dog

Shall flesh his tooth on every innocent.

O my poor kingdom, sick with civil blows!

When that my care could not withhold thy riots,

What wilt thou do when riot is thy care?

O, thou wilt be a wilderness again,

Peopled with wolves, thy old inhabitants!

your wish was father, Harry, to that thought. I stay too long by you, I weary you. do you so hunger for mine empty chair That you will needs invest you with my honours Before your hour be ripe? O foolish youth! you seek’st the greatness that will overwhelm you. Stay but a little, for my cloud of dignity Is held from falling with so weak a wind That it will quickly drop. My day is dim. you have stolen that which after some few hours Were yours without offence, and at my death you have seal’d up my expectation. your life did manifest you loved’st me not, And you will have me die assured of it. you hid’st a thousand daggers in your thoughts Which you have whetted on your stony heart, To stab at half an hour of my life. What, canst you not forbear me half an hour? Then get you gone, and dig my grave thyself, And bid the merry bells ring to yours ear That you Are crowned, not that I am dead. Let all the tears that should bedew my hearse Be drops of balm to sanctify your head, Only compound me with forgotten dust. Give that which gave you life unto the worms. Pluck down my officers, break my decrees; For now a time is come to mock at form. Harry the Fifth is crown’d. Up, vanity! Down, royal state! All you sage counsellors, hence! And to the English court assemble now, From every region, apes of idleness! Now, neighbour confines, purge you of your scum. Have you a ruffian that will swear, drink, dance, Revel the night, rob, murder, and commit The oldest sins the newest kind of ways? Be happy, he will trouble you no more. England shall double gild his treble guilt, England shall give him office, honour, might, For the fifth Harry from curb’d license plucks The muzzle of restraint, and the wild dog Shall flesh his tooth on every innocent. O my poor kingdom, sick with civil blows! When that my care could not withhold your riots, What will you do when riot is your care? O, you will be a wilderness again, Peopled with wolves, your old inhabitants!

your wish was father, Harry, to that thought. I stay too long by you, I weary you. do you so hunger for mine empty chair That you will needs...

thy wish was father, harry,

"Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought." One of the most psychologically acute lines in Shakespeare. The idea that 'the wish is father to the thought' — that we believe what we want to believe — became proverbial. Henry is accusing Hal of manufacturing a belief that Henry was dead because he wanted it to be true.

"For the fifth Harry from curb'd license plucks / The muzzle of restraint, and the wild dog / Shall flesh his tooth on every innocent." Henry's vision of a Hal unleashed on England — tearing off all restraint, savaging the innocent — is the darkest prophecy any parent delivers about their child in Shakespeare. It is also almost exactly wrong. But Henry doesn't know that.

Why it matters Henry's speech is the most bitter and most wrong thing he ever says — and the most understandable. He has been waiting for Hal to prove him right about the worst fears, and now he thinks the evidence has arrived. The speech is a father's love expressed entirely as terror and accusation. Every line is precisely wrong about Hal's character. That's what makes it devastating.

🎭 Dramatic irony Henry's vision of Hal's reign as a time of riot and savagery — 'the wild dog shall flesh his tooth on every innocent' — is the opposite of what happens in Henry V. The audience who has watched both plays knows Henry is wrong. Henry doesn't know that. The tragedy is that he dies without that knowledge.

PRINCE ≋ verse dialogue

O, pardon me, my liege! But for my tears,

The moist impediments unto my speech,

I had forestall’d this dear and deep rebuke

Ere you with grief had spoke and I had heard

The course of it so far. There is your crown;

And He that wears the crown immortally

Long guard it yours! If I affect it more

Than as your honour and as your renown,

Let me no more from this obedience rise,

Which my most inward true and duteous spirit

Teacheth this prostrate and exterior bending.

God witness with me, when I here came in,

And found no course of breath within your Majesty,

How cold it struck my heart! If I do feign,

O, let me in my present wildness die

And never live to show th’ incredulous world

The noble change that I have purposed!

Coming to look on you, thinking you dead,

And dead almost, my liege, to think you were,

I spake unto this crown as having sense,

And thus upbraided it: “The care on thee depending

Hath fed upon the body of my father;

Therefore thou best of gold art worst of gold.

Other, less fine in carat, is more precious,

Preserving life in med’cine potable;

But thou, most fine, most honour’d, most renown’d,

Hast eat thy bearer up.” Thus, my most royal liege,

Accusing it, I put it on my head,

To try with it, as with an enemy

That had before my face murder’d my father,

The quarrel of a true inheritor.

But if it did infect my blood with joy,

Or swell my thoughts to any strain of pride,

If any rebel or vain spirit of mine

Did with the least affection of a welcome

Give entertainment to the might of it,

Let God for ever keep it from my head

And make me as the poorest vassal is

That doth with awe and terror kneel to it!

O, pardon me, my liege! But for my tears, The moist impediments unto my speech, I had forestall’d this dear and deep rebuke Ere you with grief had spoke and I had heard The course of it so far. There is your crown; And He that wears the crown immortally Long guard it yours! If I affect it more Than as your honour and as your renown, Let me no more from this obedience rise, Which my most inward true and duteous spirit Teacheth this prostrate and exterior bending. God witness with me, when I here came in, And found no course of breath within your Majesty, How cold it struck my heart! If I do feign, O, let me in my present wildness die And never live to show th’ incredulous world The noble change that I have purposed! Coming to look on you, thinking you dead, And dead almost, my liege, to think you were, I spake unto this crown as having sense, And thus upbraided it: “The care on you depending has fed upon the body of my father; Therefore you best of gold Are worst of gold. Other, less fine in carat, is more precious, Preserving life in med’cine potable; But you, most fine, most honour’d, most renown’d, have eat your bearer up.” Thus, my most royal liege, Accusing it, I put it on my head, To try with it, as with an enemy That had before my face murder’d my father, The quarrel of a true inheritor. But if it did infect my blood with joy, Or swell my thoughts to any strain of pride, If any rebel or vain spirit of mine Did with the least affection of a welcome Give entertainment to the might of it, Let God for ever keep it from my head And make me as the poorest vassal is That does with awe and terror kneel to it!

O, pardon me, my liege! But for my tears, The moist impediments unto my speech, I had forestall’d this dear and deep rebuke Ere you with gri...

pardon me, liege!

"The care on thee depending / Hath fed upon the body of my father; / Therefore thou best of gold art worst of gold." Hal's address to the crown is one of the finest speeches in the play. He argues that the crown is the worst gold because unlike medicinal gold (which preserves life), it devours its wearer. The paradox — most precious = most destructive — will define his own reign.

Why it matters Hal's defense is the scene's moral turning point. He doesn't just deny eagerness — he articulates exactly what the crown means to him and what it does to those who wear it. 'The best of gold art worst of gold' is the play's most concentrated statement of the crown's curse. He put it on his head not in triumph but in accusation.

KING ≋ verse dialogue

O my son,

God put it in thy mind to take it hence,

That thou mightst win the more thy father’s love,

Pleading so wisely in excuse of it!

Come hither, Harry, sit thou by my bed,

And hear, I think, the very latest counsel

That ever I shall breathe. God knows, my son,

By what by-paths and indirect crook’d ways

I met this crown, and I myself know well

How troublesome it sat upon my head.

To thee it shall descend with better quiet,

Better opinion, better confirmation,

For all the soil of the achievement goes

With me into the earth. It seem’d in me

But as an honour snatch’d with boisterous hand,

And I had many living to upbraid

My gain of it by their assistances,

Which daily grew to quarrel and to bloodshed,

Wounding supposed peace. All these bold fears

Thou seest with peril I have answered;

For all my reign hath been but as a scene

Acting that argument. And now my death

Changes the mood, for what in me was purchased,

Falls upon thee in a more fairer sort;

So thou the garland wear’st successively.

Yet though thou stand’st more sure than I could do,

Thou art not firm enough, since griefs are green;

And all my friends, which thou must make thy friends,

Have but their stings and teeth newly ta’en out;

By whose fell working I was first advanced

And by whose power I well might lodge a fear

To be again displaced; which to avoid,

I cut them off, and had a purpose now

To lead out many to the Holy Land,

Lest rest and lying still might make them look

Too near unto my state. Therefore, my Harry,

Be it thy course to busy giddy minds

With foreign quarrels, that action, hence borne out,

May waste the memory of the former days.

More would I, but my lungs are wasted so

That strength of speech is utterly denied me.

How I came by the crown, O God, forgive,

And grant it may with thee in true peace live!

O my son, God put it in your mind to take it hence, That you mightst win the more your father’s love, Pleading so wisely in excuse of it! Come hither, Harry, sit you by my bed, And hear, I think, the very latest counsel That ever I shall breathe. God knows, my son, By what by-paths and indirect crook’d ways I met this crown, and I myself know well How troublesome it sat upon my head. To you it shall descend with better quiet, Better opinion, better confirmation, For all the soil of the achievement goes With me into the earth. It seem’d in me But as an honour snatch’d with boisterous hand, And I had many living to upbraid My gain of it by their assistances, Which daily grew to quarrel and to bloodshed, Wounding supposed peace. All these bold fears you seest with peril I have answered; For all my reign has been but as a scene Acting that argument. And now my death Changes the mood, for what in me was purchased, Falls upon you in a more fairer sort; So you the garland wear’st successively. Yet though you stand’st more sure than I could do, you Are not firm enough, since griefs are green; And all my friends, which you must make your friends, Have but their stings and teeth newly ta’en out; By whose fell working I was first advanced And by whose power I well might lodge a fear To be again displaced; which to avoid, I cut them off, and had a purpose now To lead out many to the Holy Land, Lest rest and lying still might make them look Too near unto my state. Therefore, my Harry, Be it your course to busy giddy minds With foreign quarrels, that action, hence borne out, May waste the memory of the former days. More would I, but my lungs are wasted so That strength of speech is utterly denied me. How I came by the crown, O God, forgive, And grant it may with you in true peace live!

O my son, God put it in your mind to take it hence, That you mightst win the more your father’s love, Pleading so wisely in excuse of it! Co...

son, god put

"Be it thy course to busy giddy minds / With foreign quarrels" This is the most famous piece of political advice in the play — and the most honest. Henry is telling Hal to wage foreign war specifically to distract his restless lords from the original sin of the Lancastrian dynasty. It is the cynical heart of the speech. Hal acts on this advice in Henry V.

"By what by-paths and indirect crook'd ways / I met this crown" Henry finally says it plainly: he took the crown 'indirectly' and by 'crooked paths.' This is the closest he comes to a direct admission of usurpation. He doesn't say Richard was wrongly deposed — he says the taking was not clean.

Why it matters Henry's last speech is the most important speech in the play. It is simultaneously a reconciliation, a confession, a political tutorial, and a death. He admits he took the crown by crooked paths. He explains the entire arc of his troubled reign as the consequence of that act. And he gives Hal the advice that will shape Henry V: start foreign wars to keep the barons occupied. This is cynical, honest, and completely true to the world these plays inhabit.

PRINCE ≋ verse dialogue

My gracious liege,

You won it, wore it, kept it, gave it me;

Then plain and right must my possession be,

Which I with more than with a common pain

’Gainst all the world will rightfully maintain.

My gracious liege, You won it, wore it, kept it, gave it me; Then plain and right must my possession be, Which I with more than with a common pain ’Gainst all the world will rightfully maintain.

My gracious liege, You won it, wore it, kept it, gave it me; Then plain and right must my possession be, Which I with more than with a commo...

gracious liege, you won

Enter Lord John of Lancaster and others.

KING dialogue

Look, look, here comes my John of Lancaster.

look, look, here comes

LANCASTER dialogue

Health, peace, and happiness to my royal father!

health, peace, and happiness

KING ≋ verse dialogue

Thou bring’st me happiness and peace, son John,

But health, alack, with youthful wings is flown

From this bare wither’d trunk. Upon thy sight

My worldly business makes a period.

Where is my Lord of Warwick?

you bring’st me happiness and peace, son John, But health, alack, with youthful wings is flown From this bare wither’d trunk. Upon your sight My worldly business makes a period. Where is my Lord of Warwick?

you bring’st me happiness and peace, son John, But health, alack, with youthful wings is flown From this bare wither’d trunk. Upon your sigh...

thou bring’st happiness and

PRINCE dialogue

My Lord of Warwick!

lord warwick!

Enter Warwick and others.

KING ≋ verse dialogue

Doth any name particular belong

Unto the lodging where I first did swoon?

does any name particular belong Unto the lodging where I first did swoon?

doth any name particular belong

WARWICK dialogue

’Tis call’d Jerusalem, my noble lord.

’tis call’d jerusalem, noble

KING ≋ verse dialogue

Laud be to God! Even there my life must end.

It hath been prophesied to me many years,

I should not die but in Jerusalem,

Which vainly I supposed the Holy Land.

But bear me to that chamber; there I’ll lie;

In that Jerusalem shall Harry die.

Laud be to God! Even there my life must end. It has been prophesied to me many years, I should not die but in Jerusalem, Which vainly I supposed the Holy Land. But bear me to that chamber; there I’ll lie; In that Jerusalem shall Harry die.

Laud be to God! Even there my life must end. It has been prophesied to me many years, I should not die but in Jerusalem, Which vainly I supp...

laud god! even

"It hath been prophesied to me many years, / I should not die but in Jerusalem, / Which vainly I supposed the Holy Land." The Jerusalem prophecy is the play's final irony, carefully prepared throughout both Henry IV plays. Henry spent his reign planning a Crusade to Jerusalem as penance for deposing Richard. The prophecy said he would die in Jerusalem. He died in a room called the Jerusalem Chamber, never having left England. The penance voyage is fulfilled in name — as bitterly ironic a fulfillment as the Archbishop's 'broken limb will grow stronger.'

Why it matters The last lines of the scene are among the most perfect in Shakespeare. The Jerusalem prophecy resolves everything: the Crusade he planned as penance, the guilt he carried for deposing Richard, the name he sought. He dies in Jerusalem — just not the Jerusalem he was looking for. The irony is not cruel but complete: his whole reign was a quest for a penance he never quite paid, and the prophecy was always true, just not in the way he imagined.

↩ Callback to 4-4 Henry's Jerusalem Chamber death fulfills what he planned in 4-4 — the Crusade to Jerusalem he promised himself as penance for Richard's deposition. He dies in the room named for it, having never left England.

[_Exeunt._]

The Reckoning

The central scene of the play and one of the most emotionally complex scenes in Shakespeare. It has everything: a dying king who wakes to find his son has taken the crown, and goes immediately to the worst possible interpretation; a prince who genuinely grieved and genuinely misread the situation; a reconciliation that is real but not simple. Then the King's great final speech — brutal in its honesty about how he took the crown, frank about the advice to wage war to distract from old guilt. And then the Jerusalem Chamber: the play's greatest irony, a prophesied death that comes not in the Holy Land but in a room with the same name.

If this happened today…

A dying CEO is in the hospital. His eldest son — who everyone has written off as a playboy — sits by the bed. He thinks his father has died. He picks up the company key card from the bedside table. The father wakes, finds the key card gone, and delivers a devastating speech about how his own son couldn't wait even an hour. The son returns, explains through tears that he was grieving, was about to confront the instrument of the company that destroyed his father's health. Father hears this, believes him — and then says: 'Here's how I built this company through fraud. Here's what you inherit. And here's my advice: find a foreign acquisition to keep everyone occupied so nobody looks too closely at the old books.' Then: 'What's this room called?' 'The Jerusalem Conference Room.' 'I was told I would die in Jerusalem.'

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