payment page
’Tis thine they give away, and not their own!
Pirates may make cheap pennyworths of their pillage,
And purchase friends, and give to courtesans,
Still reveling like lords till all be gone,
Whileas the seely owner of the goods
Weeps over them, and wrings his hapless hands,
And shakes his head, and, trembling, stands aloof,
While all is shared and all is borne away,
Ready to starve, and dare not touch his own.
So York must sit and fret and bite his tongue
While his own lands are bargained for and sold. (1.1.221–31)
These lines come from a speech York delivers at the end of the play’s opening scene. It is here that he first announces his plan to pursue the Crown. However, before he comes out and explicitly states his aim, he reflects on his anger about Henry’s marriage to Margaret, which required the king to relinquish control of Anjou and Maine. Because he sees himself as the rightful king, York sees this loss of French territory as a pilfering of his personal inheritance. In these lines, he not only expresses his anger at the king, but he also introduces the key image of the pirate. Whereas York sees Henry and his consort as pirates looting England’s treasure, Henry will later liken York to a pirate who has boarded the ship of state.
Faster than springtime showers comes thought on thought,
And not a thought but thinks on dignity.
My brain, more busy than the laboring spider,
Weaves tedious snares to trap mine enemies.
Well, nobles, well: ’tis politicly done
To send me packing with an host of men.
I fear me you but warm the starvèd snake,
Who, cherished in your breasts, will sting your hearts.
’Twas men I lacked, and you will give them me;
I take it kindly. Yet be well assured
You put sharp weapons in a madman’s hands. (3.1.337–47)
The opening scene of act 3 is structured in a way very similar to the opening scene of act 1. Each begins with a large cast that is gradually reduced until only York is onstage, speaking openly about his plan to usurp the throne. These lines are part of the speech that closes act 3, scene 1, where York reflects on the development of his scheming. He’s just had a breakthrough in that he’s been given an army and dispatched to quell an uprising in Ireland. Although he’s been “more busy than a laboring spider” in “weav[ing] tedious snares to trap [his] enemies,” York has lacked “an host of men” that would guarantee his authority. But now that he’ll have an army at his command, he realizes that his opportunity to move against Henry has come—and, canny schemer that he is, he won’t waste it. Likening himself to “the starvèd snake,” he’s now poised to fatally “sting” his foes.
Scarce can I speak, my choler is so great.
O, I could hew up rocks and fight with flint,
I am so angry at these abject terms;
And now, like Ajax Telamonius,
On sheep or oxen could I spend my fury.
I am far better born than is the king,
More like a king, more kingly in my thoughts;
But I must make fair weather yet a while,
Till Henry be more weak and I more strong. (5.1.23–31)
In the opening scene of act 5, York makes his triumphant return to England after putting down an Irish rebellion. He’s come with his army, and he’s ready to make his move against Henry. Yet upon landing on English soil, he’s confronted by Buckingham, who interrogates him about why he’s backed by an army. York speaks these lines to himself before answering Buckingham, showing that he’s smart enough to know he must continue to conceal his true purpose. He appeals to his belief in his “kingly” nature to cool his boiling rage, which he likens to that of the legendary Greek fighter Ajax, who once grew so mad with anger that he slaughtered a flock of sheep. Clearly, York is fighting against his better self, and he will soon lose control and openly declare his claim to the throne.
