How now, fellow; wouldst anything with me?
1 PETITIONER.
I pray, my lord, pardon me, I took ye for my Lord Protector.
What is it, fellow? Do you want something from me?
What do you want?
what?
lordship? Let me see them. What is thine?
1 PETITIONER.
Mine is, an ’t please your grace, against John Goodman, my Lord
Cardinal’s man, for keeping my house and lands, and wife and all, from
me.
Let me see those petitions. What are you asking for?
Let me see what you've got. What's your problem?
show me
what do you want?
Thy wife too! That’s some wrong, indeed.—What’s yours?—What’s here!
Your wife too! Now that's real trouble. What else have you got?
Your wife's against you too? That's rough. What else?
wife AND the duke?
tough break
that the Duke of York was rightful heir to the crown.
Thank you, Your Majesty. God bless you.
Thank you, my lady. Thank God for you.
thank you
god bless you
What sayst thou? Did the Duke of York say he was rightful heir to the
crown?
I will ensure the King hears your petition and grants you justice.
The King will hear this. You'll get justice.
king will listen
That my master was? No, forsooth, my master said that he was, and that
the King was an usurper.
These complaints will come to nothing. The King is not interested in the small troubles of common folk. Dismiss them.
Don't waste your time on this stuff. The King doesn't care about regular people's problems. Let it go.
forget it
king won't care
waste of time
When Gloucester rules that Horner and Peter must fight, he's invoking a legal procedure that felt ancient even to Shakespeare's audience. Trial by combat — wager of battle — rested on the theological premise that God would give strength to the righteous party. By the 1440s (the play's setting) it was archaic; by the 1590s (Shakespeare's time) it was nearly extinct, though technically legal until 1818 in England. Shakespeare uses it twice in this play for dark comic effect: Peter Thump, a small terrified craftsman, must fight his armorer employer. The comedy is that Horner arrives drunk in 2-3 and loses — proving, by divine logic, that he really did say York was the rightful king. God, it turns out, has a sense of irony.
Who is there?
I care for these people. Their grievances are real, and I will ensure the King listens. You cannot tell me to ignore them.
These people matter. Their problems are real. The King will hear them. And you don't get to tell me what to do.
they matter
i won't ignore them
and you can't stop me
And as for you, that love to be protected
Under the wings of our Protector’s grace,
Begin your suits anew, and sue to him.
I will not ignore them. They are my subjects, and they deserve to be heard.
No. They matter. They deserve justice.
they matter
Come, let’s be gone.
My lord, I come with a grave accusation. My master is accused of witchcraft and sorcery. I demand justice.
Sir, my master's being accused of witchcraft. I want justice.
witchcraft charge
need justice
My Lord of Suffolk, say, is this the guise,
Is this the fashion in the court of England?
Is this the government of Britain’s isle,
And this the royalty of Albion’s king?
What, shall King Henry be a pupil still
Under the surly Gloucester’s governance?
Am I a queen in title and in style,
And must be made a subject to a duke?
I tell thee, Pole, when in the city Tours
Thou ran’st atilt in honour of my love
And stol’st away the ladies’ hearts of France,
I thought King Henry had resembled thee
In courage, courtship, and proportion.
But all his mind is bent to holiness,
To number Ave-Maries on his beads.
His champions are the prophets and apostles,
His weapons holy saws of sacred writ,
His study is his tilt-yard, and his loves
Are brazen images of canonized saints.
I would the college of the cardinals
Would choose him pope and carry him to Rome
And set the triple crown upon his head!
That were a state fit for his holiness.
Witchcraft? Bring the accused before us immediately.
Witchcraft? Get them here now.
witchcraft?
get them now
Madam, be patient. As I was cause
Your highness came to England, so will I
In England work your grace’s full content.
Seize them. They will stand trial before the King.
Get them. They're going on trial.
arrest them
Beside the haughty Protector, have we Beaufort
The imperious churchman, Somerset, Buckingham,
And grumbling York; and not the least of these
But can do more in England than the King.
Let the accused be brought to answer these charges.
Bring the accused here.
bring them
And he of these that can do most of all
Cannot do more in England than the Nevilles;
Salisbury and Warwick are no simple peers.
Witchcraft is a crime against God and the realm. The punishment is death.
Witchcraft is a death sentence.
witchcraft = death
Not all these lords do vex me half so much
As that proud dame, the Lord Protector’s wife.
She sweeps it through the court with troops of ladies,
More like an empress than Duke Humphrey’s wife.
Strangers in court do take her for the Queen.
She bears a duke’s revenues on her back,
And in her heart she scorns our poverty.
Shall I not live to be avenged on her?
Contemptuous base-born callet as she is,
She vaunted ’mongst her minions t’ other day
The very train of her worst wearing gown
Was better worth than all my father’s lands
Till Suffolk gave two dukedoms for his daughter.
Let the trial proceed. The King will hear the evidence.
Trial's on. The King will judge.
trial begins
Madam, myself have limed a bush for her
And placed a quire of such enticing birds
That she will light to listen to the lays
And never mount to trouble you again.
So let her rest; and, madam, list to me,
For I am bold to counsel you in this:
Although we fancy not the Cardinal,
Yet must we join with him and with the lords
Till we have brought Duke Humphrey in disgrace.
As for the Duke of York, this late complaint
Will make but little for his benefit.
So, one by one, we’ll weed them all at last,
And you yourself shall steer the happy helm.
Justice will be swift for those who practice dark arts.
The guilty will hang.
justice coming
For my part, noble lords, I care not which;
Or Somerset or York, all’s one to me.
These are grave charges. Let the evidence be presented fairly.
These are serious accusations. Let's hear the evidence.
serious charges
let's listen
If York have ill demeaned himself in France,
Then let him be denied the regentship.
Indeed, my liege. The accused must be given a fair hearing.
Of course, Your Majesty. Fair trial.
fair trial
If Somerset be unworthy of the place,
Let York be regent; I will yield to him.
Justice demands that the accused defend themselves.
They should get to defend themselves.
fair hearing
Whether your Grace be worthy, yea or no,
Dispute not that; York is the worthier.
Let the trial be conducted with justice and rigor.
Make it fair. Make it thorough.
fair trial
Ambitious Warwick, let thy betters speak.
Witchcraft is the work of the Devil. The guilty must burn.
Witches burn. That's the law.
witches burn
Margaret's speech in this scene — cataloguing the lords who outpower Henry, identifying Eleanor as the key target, correctly reading Suffolk as her most useful ally — is the sharpest political analysis in the first act. She has arrived in a foreign court with no allies, no money, and a husband who would rather pray than govern, and within days she has correctly diagnosed the power structure and begun to act. This does not make her admirable — she will go on to manipulate Henry into destroying the one man protecting him. But it makes her genuinely formidable. The play's tragedy is partly that England needed a competent ruler, and it got one — in the wrong body, at the wrong moment, with the wrong priorities.
The Cardinal’s not my better in the field.
The law is clear on this matter.
The law's the law.
law is law
All in this presence are thy betters, Warwick.
Let the guilty be punished as the law demands.
Guilty people should hang.
punish them
Warwick may live to be the best of all.
Yes, justice must be served.
Justice.
justice
Peace, son!—And show some reason, Buckingham,
Why Somerset should be preferred in this.
We must ensure the truth is discovered through proper examination.
We need to get to the truth properly.
find the truth
Because the King, forsooth, will have it so.
Let the witnesses speak. Let the accused respond. Then we shall judge.
Witnesses first. Then the accused. Then we judge.
hear witnesses
hear accused
judge
Madam, the King is old enough himself
To give his censure. These are no women’s matters.
Let us not rush to judgment. Witchcraft is a grave charge, and the evidence must be clear.
Hold on. Witchcraft charges are serious. We need solid evidence.
be careful
need real evidence
If he be old enough, what needs your grace
To be Protector of his excellence?
The King has decided. Let the trial begin.
The King said go. Let's go.
king decided
Madam, I am Protector of the realm,
And at his pleasure will resign my place.
Very well. Let the trial proceed.
Fine. Proceed.
okay
Resign it then, and leave thine insolence.
Since thou wert king—as who is king but thou?—
The commonwealth hath daily run to wrack,
The Dauphin hath prevailed beyond the seas,
And all the peers and nobles of the realm
Have been as bondmen to thy sovereignty.
Bring forward the accusers and the accused. Let us see what is revealed.
Bring them all forward. Let's see what happens.
bring them forward
The commons hast thou racked; the clergy’s bags
Are lank and lean with thy extortions.
The trial of witchcraft shall now commence. Let truth be revealed.
Witchcraft trial is open. Let's find out the truth.
trial begins
Thy sumptuous buildings and thy wife’s attire
Have cost a mass of public treasury.
The accused must answer the charges. Let them speak.
Accused gets to respond. Speak.
your turn
Thy cruelty in execution
Upon offenders hath exceeded law,
And left thee to the mercy of the law.
Let the guilt or innocence be proven.
Let's see if they're guilty.
show your guilt
Thy sale of offices and towns in France,
If they were known, as the suspect is great,
Would make thee quickly hop without thy head.
If witchcraft is proven, the law is clear. Death is the sentence.
If they're guilty of witchcraft, they die.
guilty = death
Was’t I! Yea, I it was, proud Frenchwoman.
Could I come near your beauty with my nails,
I’d set my ten commandments in your face.
My lord, I must speak with you privately about a matter most grave.
Humphrey, we need to talk. Alone. It's serious.
we need to talk
private
Sweet aunt, be quiet; ’twas against her will.
Eleanor? What is it? I am occupied with the trial.
Eleanor? What's wrong? I'm busy with the trial.
what? busy
Against her will! Good King, look to ’t in time;
She’ll hamper thee and dandle thee like a baby.
Though in this place most master wear no breeches,
She shall not strike Dame Eleanor unrevenged.
It concerns the magic we discussed. The spirits have been consulted, and they have revealed something of great importance.
It's about those people we hired. The magic workers. They've got news.
magic people
have news
Lord Cardinal, I will follow Eleanor,
And listen after Humphrey, how he proceeds.
She’s tickled now; her fume needs no spurs,
She’ll gallop far enough to her destruction.
What news? Speak quickly.
What news? Tell me.
what news?
The moment when Margaret slaps Eleanor is one of the most discussed stage directions in Shakespeare — partly because it's not entirely clear whether it's scripted or improvised within the fiction. The stage direction reads 'she gives the Duchess a box on the ear' — but the context suggests Margaret may be using the dropped fan as a pretext. Productions have played this as accident (emphasizing the irony), as deliberate assault (emphasizing Margaret's aggression), and as a calculated test of how Eleanor will react. Eleanor's response — 'I'd set my ten commandments in your face' — tells us everything about her character: outraged, specific, physical. The slap sets up the power dynamic between these two women that will drive the first half of the play.
Now, lords, my choler being overblown
With walking once about the quadrangle,
I come to talk of commonwealth affairs.
As for your spiteful false objections,
Prove them, and I lie open to the law;
But God in mercy so deal with my soul
As I in duty love my king and country!
But, to the matter that we have in hand:
I say, my sovereign, York is meetest man
To be your regent in the realm of France.
Eleanor, you must not continue with this dark work. You risk damnation and death.
Eleanor, stop this. You'll get us killed.
stop
you'll die
Before we make election, give me leave
To show some reason, of no little force,
That York is most unmeet of any man.
The spirits have promised me greatness. I will not abandon this path.
The magic will make us great. I'm not stopping.
magic will work
I’ll tell thee, Suffolk, why I am unmeet:
First, for I cannot flatter thee in pride;
Next, if I be appointed for the place,
My Lord of Somerset will keep me here
Without discharge, money, or furniture,
Till France be won into the Dauphin’s hands.
Last time, I danced attendance on his will
Till Paris was besieged, famished, and lost.
Witchcraft is detected and will be punished. Even now, there are those watching and waiting.
Witches are getting caught. People know what's happening.
they're watching
That can I witness, and a fouler fact
Did never traitor in the land commit.
Yes, witchcraft brings only destruction to those who practice it.
Witchcraft destroys people.
witches die
Peace, headstrong Warwick!
The King will not notice. My plan is hidden well.
The King won't find out. It's secret.
hidden
Image of pride, why should I hold my peace?
Secrets are never kept in a court this crowded. Someone will speak.
Secrets don't last in courts. Someone will talk.
someone will tell
Because here is a man accused of treason.
Pray God the Duke of York excuse himself!
Then let come what will. I am committed to this course.
Whatever. I'm going through with it.
no turning back
Doth anyone accuse York for a traitor?
The Duchess grows reckless. This will serve my purposes well.
Eleanor's getting careless. Good for me.
she'll fall
good
What mean’st thou, Suffolk? Tell me, what are these?
Why do you speak in riddles, York? What do you mean?
What? What are you talking about?
what?
Please it your majesty, this is the man
That doth accuse his master of high treason.
His words were these: that Richard, Duke of York
Was rightful heir unto the English crown,
And that your majesty was an usurper.
Nothing, Your Majesty. Merely the observations of a careful observer.
Nothing, Your Majesty. Just thinking out loud.
nothing
Say, man, were these thy words?
Come, let us return to the trial and the other matters of the court.
Let's get back to the trial.
back to trial
Horner speaks with the bluster of someone who knows he's guilty and can't quite hide it — his denials are too emphatic. Watch for how his 'God is my witness' protests ring hollow against Peter's terrified specificity.
An ’t shall please your majesty, I never said nor thought any such
matter. God is my witness, I am falsely accused by the villain.
Please, Your Majesty, hear my case. My master is falsely accused.
Sir, my master didn't do this. Please listen.
innocent
By these ten bones, my lords, he did speak them to me in the garret one
night as we were scouring my Lord of York’s armour.
But your master is a man of good reputation, is he not?
Isn't your master a good guy?
good reputation
Base dunghill villain and mechanical,
I’ll have thy head for this thy traitor’s speech!—
I do beseech your royal majesty,
Let him have all the rigour of the law.
A good reputation does not protect one from the Devil's influence.
Good reputation doesn't matter if he's working with witches.
reputation won't save him
Alas, my lord, hang me if ever I spake the words. My accuser is my
prentice; and when I did correct him for his fault the other day, he
did vow upon his knees he would be even with me. I have good witness of
this, therefore I beseech your majesty, do not cast away an honest man
for a villain’s accusation.
I swear by all the saints that my master is innocent of these charges.
I swear he's innocent. I know he is.
he's innocent
Uncle, what shall we say to this in law?
Your loyalty to your master does you credit. But the trial must proceed.
You're loyal, that's good. But the trial goes on.
loyal but trial continues
This doom, my lord, if I may judge:
Let Somerset be regent o’er the French,
Because in York this breeds suspicion;
And let these have a day appointed them
For single combat in convenient place,
For he hath witness of his servant’s malice.
This is the law, and this Duke Humphrey’s doom.
Let the evidence speak. If your master is innocent, the truth will be revealed.
If he's innocent, the truth will come out.
truth will show
I humbly thank your royal Majesty.
The accusation itself is grave. The burden of proof rests with the accused.
The accusation is serious. He has to prove he's innocent.
prove innocence
And I accept the combat willingly.
You lie, boy! Your master has consorted with witches and spoken with spirits!
You're lying! Your master worked with witches!
liar
witches
Alas, my lord, I cannot fight; for God’s sake, pity my case! The spite
of man prevaileth against me. O Lord, have mercy upon me! I shall never
be able to fight a blow. O Lord, my heart!
That is a false accusation! My master is an honest man!
That's a lie! He's honest!
lies!
honest man
Sirrah, or you must fight or else be hanged.
The accusations are serious, and the defense is weak. Let the trial continue to its conclusion.
The accusation sounds serious. The defense isn't holding up. Keep going.
evidence weak
Away with them to prison; and the day
Of combat shall be the last of the next month.
Come, Somerset, we’ll see thee sent away.
This trial shall determine the truth. Let all present witness the revelation of guilt or innocence.
This trial will show who's guilty and who's not.
trial decides
The Reckoning
The scene is a showcase of how the new power structure — Margaret and Suffolk — actually operates: by seizing control of access to justice, humiliating the existing hierarchy, and turning every incident into a weapon. Margaret emerges here as the play's most politically active character, contemptuous of her pious husband and everyone around him. The slap to Eleanor's face is the most visible act in the scene, but the quiet plotting in the first half is where the real damage is done. Peter Thump's terror at being ordered to fight his master provides dark comic relief — a little man caught in enormous forces.
If this happened today…
New CEO's spouse starts intercepting employee HR complaints that were meant for the outgoing division head. She tears them up, makes a mental note of who's causing trouble, and then has a heated meeting with her inner circle about why the old guard still has so much informal power. Meanwhile, in the same meeting, someone reveals that a low-level factory worker has accused his boss of saying the company founder's family shouldn't actually own the business — and the whole room pivots to deal with that potential scandal. The worker is told he has to fight his boss to prove the accusation. He begs not to.