William Shakespeare - KING RICHARD III

Ere I let fall the windows of mine eyes:

Sleeping and waking, O, defend me still!

[Sleeps.]

[The Ghost of PRINCE EDWARD, son to HENRY THE SIXTH, rises between the two tents.]

GHOST

[To KING RICHARD.] Let me sit heavy on thy soul tomorrow!

Think how thou stabb’dst me in my prime of youth

At Tewksbury: despair, therefore, and die!—

[To RICHMOND.] Be cheerful, Richmond; for the wrongèd souls

Of butcher’d princes fight in thy behalf:

King Henry’s issue, Richmond, comforts thee.

[The Ghost of HENRY THE SIXTH rises.]

GHOST

[To KING RICHARD.] When I was mortal, my anointed body

By thee was punchèd full of deadly holes:

Think on the Tower and me: despair, and die,—

Harry the Sixth bids thee despair and die.—

[To RICHMOND.] Virtuous and holy, be thou conqueror!

Harry, that prophesied thou shouldst be king,

Doth comfort thee in thy sleep: live, and flourish!

[The Ghost of CLARENCE rises.]

GHOST

[To KING RICHARD.] Let me sit heavy in thy soul tomorrow!

I that was wash’d to death with fulsome wine,

Poor Clarence, by thy guile betray’d to death!

Tomorrow in the battle think on me,

And fall thy edgeless sword: despair, and die!—

[To RICHMOND.] Thou offspring of the house of Lancaster,

The wrongèd heirs of York do pray for thee:

Good angels guard thy battle! live, and flourish!

[The Ghosts of RIVERS, GREY, and VAUGHAN rise.]

GHOST OF RIVERS

[To KING RICHARD.] Let me sit heavy in thy soul tomorrow,

Rivers that died at Pomfret! despair and die!

GHOST OF GREY

[To KING RICHARD.] Think upon Grey, and let thy soul despair!

GHOST OF VAUGHAN

[To KING RICHARD.] Think upon Vaughan, and, with guilty fear,

Let fall thy lance: despair and die!—

ALL THREE

[To RICHMOND.] Awake, and think our wrongs in Richard’s bosom

Will conquer him!—awake, and win the day!

[The GHOST of HASTINGS rises.]

GHOST

[To KING RICHARD.] Bloody and guilty, guiltily awake,

And in a bloody battle end thy days!

Think on Lord Hastings: despair and die!—

[To RICHMOND.] Quiet untroubled soul, awake, awake!

Arm, fight, and conquer, for fair England’s sake!

[The Ghosts of the two young PRINCES rise.]

GHOSTS

[To KING RICHARD.] Dream on thy cousins smothered in the Tower:

Let us be lead within thy bosom, Richard,

And weigh thee down to ruin, shame, and death!

Thy nephews’ souls bid thee despair and die!—

[To RICHMOND.] Sleep, Richmond, sleep in peace, and wake in joy;

Good angels guard thee from the boar’s annoy!

Live, and beget a happy race of kings!

Edward’s unhappy sons do bid thee flourish.

[The GHOST of QUEEN ANNE rises.]

GHOST

[To KING RICHARD.] Richard, thy wife, that wretched Anne thy wife,

That never slept a quiet hour with thee,

Now fills thy sleep with perturbations:

Tomorrow in the battle think on me,

And fall thy edgeless sword: despair and die!—

[To RICHMOND.] Thou quiet soul, sleep thou a quiet sleep;

Dream of success and happy victory:

Thy adversary’s wife doth pray for thee.

[The Ghost of BUCKINGHAM rises.]

GHOST

[To KING RICHARD.] The first was I that help’d thee to the crown;

The last was I that felt thy tyranny:

O, in the battle think on Buckingham,

And die in terror of thy guiltiness!

Dream on, dream on of bloody deeds and death:

Fainting, despair; despairing, yield thy breath!—

[To RICHMOND.] I died for hope ere I could lend thee aid:

But cheer thy heart and be thou not dismay’d:

God and good angels fight on Richmond’s side;

And Richard falls in height of all his pride.

[The GHOSTS vanish. KING RICHARD starts out of his dream.]

KING RICHARD

Give me another horse,—bind up my wounds,—

Have mercy, Jesu!—Soft! I did but dream.—

O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!—

The lights burn blue.—It is now dead midnight.

Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.

What, do I fear myself? there’s none else by:

Richard loves Richard; that is, I am I.

Is there a murderer here? No;—yes, I am:

Then fly. What, from myself? Great reason why,—

Lest I revenge. What,—myself upon myself!

Alack, I love myself. Wherefore? for any good

That I myself have done unto myself?

O, no! alas, I rather hate myself

For hateful deeds committed by myself!

I am a villain: yet I lie, I am not.

Fool, of thyself speak well:—fool, do not flatter.

My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,

And every tongue brings in a several tale,

And every tale condemns me for a villain.

Perjury, perjury, in the high’st degree;

Murder, stern murder, in the dir’st degree;

All several sins, all us’d in each degree,

Throng to the bar, crying all “Guilty! Guilty!”

I shall despair. There is no creature loves me;

And if I die no soul will pity me:

And wherefore should they,—since that I myself

Find in myself no pity to myself?

Methought the souls of all that I had murder’d

Came to my tent; and every one did threat

Tomorrow’s vengeance on the head of Richard.

[Enter RATCLIFF.]

RATCLIFF

My lord,— KING RICHARD

Who’s there?

RATCLIFF

Ratcliff, my lord; ‘tis I. The early village-cock

Hath twice done salutation to the morn;

Your friends are up, and buckle on their armour.

KING RICHARD

O Ratcliff, I have dream’d a fearful dream!—

What think’st thou,—will our friends prove all true?

RATCLIFF

No doubt, my lord.

KING RICHARD

O Ratcliff, I fear, I fear,—

RATCLIFF

Nay, good my lord, be not afraid of shadows.

KING RICHARD

By the apostle Paul, shadows tonight

Have stuck more terror to the soul of Richard

Than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers

Armèd in proof and led by shallow Richmond.

It is not yet near day. Come, go with me;

Under our tents I’ll play the eaves-dropper,

To see if any mean to shrink from me.

[Exeunt KING RICHARD and RATCLIFF.]

[RICHMOND wakes. Enter OXFORD and others.]

LORDS

Good morrow, Richmond!

RICHMOND

Cry mercy, lords and watchful gentlemen,

That you have ta’en a tardy sluggard here.

LORDS

How have you slept, my lord?

RICHMOND

The sweetest sleep and fairest-boding dreams

That ever enter’d in a drowsy head

Have I since your departure had, my lords.

Methought their souls whose bodies Richard murder’d

Came to my tent and cried on victory:

I promise you, my heart is very jocund

In the remembrance of so fair a dream.

How far into the morning is it, lords?

LORDS

Upon the stroke of four.

RICHMOND

Why, then ‘tis time to arm and give direction.—

[He advances to the Troops.]

More than I have said, loving countrymen,

The leisure and enforcement of the time

Forbids to dwell on: yet remember this,—

God and our good cause fight upon our side;

The prayers of holy saints and wrongèd souls,

Like high-rear’d bulwarks, stand before our faces;

Richard except, those whom we fight against

Had rather have us win than him they follow:

For what is he they follow? truly, gentlemen,

A bloody tyrant and a homicide;

One rais’d in blood, and one in blood establish’d;

One that made means to come by what he hath,

And slaughter’d those that were the means to help him;

A base foul stone, made precious by the foil