Gen. Thou ominous and fearful owl of death,

Our nation's terror, and their 3 bloody scourge,
The period of thy tyranny approacheth.

On us thou canst not enter but by death;
For, I protest, we are well fortified,

And strong enough to issue out and fight:
If thou retire, the Dauphin, well appointed,
Stands with the snares of war to tangle thee.
On either hand thee there are squadrons pitch'd,
To wall thee from the liberty of flight,

And no way canst thou turn thee for redress,
But death doth front thee with apparent spoil,
And pale destruction meets thee in the face.
Ten thousand French have ta'en the sacrament,
To rive their dangerous artillery

Upon no Christian soul but English Talbot.

Lo! there thou stand'st, a breathing valiant man,
Of an invincible unconquer'd spirit:

6

This is the latest glory of thy praise,

That I, thy enemy, 'due 7 thee withal;
For ere the glass, that now begins to run,
Finish the process of his sandy hour, 8

9

These eyes, that see thee now well coloured,
Shall see thee wither'd, bloody, pale, and dead.
Hark! hark! the Dauphin's drum, a warning bell,
Sings heavy music 10 to thy timorous soul,

[Drum afar off.

And mine shall ring thy dire departure out. [Exeunt General &c., from the walls.

Tal. He fables not, I hear the enemy.

Out, some light horsemen, and peruse their wings.

3) their geht auf nation. Vgl. A. 2, Sc. 3, Anm. 3.

4) Der Tod tritt dir entgegen, dem Du unzweifelhaft als Beute anheimfällst.

5) to rive eigentlich

= bersten, hier vom Geschütz = losplatzen lassen.

6) Da Sh. auch sonst die Adjectiva auf -ble für Adverbia auf -bly gebraucht, so lässt sich hier invincible als invincibly fassen und mit unconquered verbinden, als eine Potenzirung desselben Begriffs.

7) Die Fol. liest dew, was Steevens im Sinne von bedew = bethauen, rechtfertigen wollte. Eher ist wohl 'due zu lesen, abgekürzt für endue, = to deck, to invest.

6) sandy gehört eigentlich zu glass, mit dem es durch das Pronomen his verbunden ist, wie in Merchant of Venice (A. 1, Sc. 1) das Stundenglas the sandy hour-glass heisst.

9) well coloured, der eigentliche Gegensatz von discoloured, tritt hier dem bloody, pale gegenüber.

10) heavy music Trauermusik. Die Trommel des herannahenden Dauphin ist gleichsam die Sterbeglocke, welche Talbot's Seele auf ihr Hinscheiden vorbereiten soll, und die Trommel des französischen Feldherrn soll das Hinscheiden Talbot's, wenn es wirklich erfolgt, begleiten.

And they shall find dear deer 15 of us, my friends.
God, and Saint George, Talbot, and England's right,
Prosper our colours in this dangerous fight!

SCENE III.

Plains in Gascony.

Enter YORK, with Forces; to him, a Messenger.

York. Are not the speedy scouts return'd again,

That dogg'd the mighty army of the Dauphin ?

Mess. They are return'd, my lord; and give it out, That he is march'd to Bourdeaux with his power,

To fight with Talbot. As he march'd along,

By your espials were discovered

Two mightier troops than that the Dauphin led,

Which join'd with him, and made their march for Bourdeaux.
York. A plague upon that villain Somerset,

That thus delays my promised supply

Of horsemen, that were levied for this siege!

Renowned Talbot doth expect my aid,

And I am lowted 2 by a traitor villain,

1

[Exeunt.

11) discipline ist jede überlegte Kriegsthätigkeit, die in diesem Falle sorglos und nachlässig das Herannahen des Feindes nicht gehindert hat.

14) Die stählernen Helmspitzen der Soldaten werden mit dem Geweih der Hirsche verglichen. Auch noch im folgenden stand at bay wird das Bild von der Jagd fortgesetzt. So in Taming of the Shrew (A. 5, Sc. 2) 't is thought your deer does hold you at bay.

15) Das Wortspiel von dear und deer kehrt wieder in Merry Wives of Windsor (A. 5, Sc. 5) art thou there, my dear, my male deer, und in K. Henry IV. First Part (A. 5, Sc. 4) death hath not struck so fat a deer to-day || Though many a dearer etc. 1) Vgl. A. 4, Sc. 1, wo Heinrich sagt And good my lord of Somerset, unite || Your troops of horsemen with his bands of foot.

2) to lowt erklären einige Commentatoren mit to depress, to dishonour; Andre mit to baffle. Letztere Bedeutung scheint hier die angemessenere.

And cannot help the noble chevalier.

God comfort him in this necessity!

If he miscarry, farewell wars in France.

Enter Sir WILLIAM LUCY. 3

Lucy. Thou princely leader of our English strength,
Never so needful on the earth of France,

Spur to the rescue of the noble Talbot,
Who now is girdled with a waist of iron,
And hemm'd about with grim destruction.

To Bourdeaux, warlike duke! to Bourdeaux, York!
Else, farewell Talbot, France, and England's honour.
York. O God! that Somerset, who in proud heart
Doth stop my cornets, were in Talbot's place!

So should we save a valiant gentleman,

By forfeiting a traitor and a coward.

Mad ire, and wrathful fury, make me weep,
That thus we die, while remiss traitors sleep.

Lucy. O, send some succour to the distress'd lord!
York. He dies, we lose; I break my warlike word:
We mourn, France smiles; we lose, they daily get;
All 'long of this vile traitor Somerset.

Lucy. Then, God take mercy on brave Talbot's soul!
And on his son, young John; whom two hours since
I met in travel toward his warlike father.

This seven years did not Talbot see his son,
And now they meet where both their lives are done.
York. Alas! what joy shall noble Talbot have,
To bid his young son welcome to his grave?
Away! vexation almost stops my breath,
That sunder'd friends greet in the hour of death.
Lucy, farewell: no more my fortune can,

But curse the cause I cannot aid the man.

Maine, Blois, Poictiers, and Tours, are won away, 'Long all of Somerset, and his delay.

Lucy. Thus, while the vulture of sedition 5

Feeds in the bosom of such great commanders,
Sleeping neglection doth betray to loss

The conquest of our scarce-cold conqueror,

[Exit YORK with his Forces.

3) Die Fol. hat Enter another Messenger. Dass dieser zweite Bote Sir W. Lucy war, ergiebt sich aus dem Folgenden.

Lucy versteht darunter die Zwietracht zwischen York und Somerset.

That ever-living man of memory,

Henry the fifth. Whiles they each other cross,

Lives, honours, lands, and all, hurry to loss.

SCENE IV.

Other Plains of Gascony.

[Exit.

Enter SOMERSET, with his Army; an Officer of TALBOT's with him.

Som. It is too late; I cannot send them now.

This expedition was by York and Talbot
Too rashly plotted: all our general force
Might with a sally of the very town.
Be buckled with. The over-daring Talbot
Hath sullied all his gloss of former honour
By this unheedful, desperate, wild adventure. 1
York set him on to fight and die in shame,

That, Talbot dead, great York might bear the name.
Off. Here is Sir William Lucy, who with me

Set from our o'er-match'd forces forth for aid.

Enter Sir WILLIAM LUCY.

Som. How now, Sir William? whither were you sent?
Lucy. Whither, my lord? from bought and sold 2 lord Talbot;

Who, ring'd about with bold adversity,

Cries out for noble York and Somerset,

To beat assailing death from his weak legions. 3

And whiles the honourable captain there

4

Drops bloody sweat from his war-wearied limbs,
And, in advantage lingering, looks for rescue,
You, his false hopes, the trust of England's honour
Keep off aloof with worthless emulation. 5

Let not your private discord keep away

The levied succours that should lend him aid,
While he, renowned noble gentleman,
Yields 6 up his life unto a world of odds.

1) adventure Wagniss.

2) bought and sold = verrathen und verkauft.
als adjectivisches Compositum zu fassen ist,
Fly, noble English, you are bought and sold.
3) legions verbesserte Rowe das regions der Fol.

Derselbe sprüchwörtliche Ausdruck, der findet sich in K. John (A. 5, Sc. 4)

*) lingering in advantage erklärt Johnson: protracting his resistance by the advantage of a strong post; Malone: endeavouring by every means that he can with advantage to himself to linger out the action. Es ist vielleicht einfach: sich hinhaltend in günstiger Gelegenheit, d. h. in Erwartung günstiger Gelegenheit.

5) emulation = Nebenbuhlerschaft, Eifersucht. Vgl. A. 4, Sc. 1, Anm. 13. 6) yields verbessert die zweite Fol. das yield der ersten.

Orleans the Bastard, Charles, and Burgundy,

Alençon, Reignier, compass him about,

And Talbot perisheth by your default.

Som. York set him on, York should have sent him aid. Lucy. And York as fast upon your grace exclaims; Swearing that you withhold his levied host,

Collected for this expedition.

Som. York lies: he might have sent and had the horse.

I owe him little duty, and less love,

And take foul scorn to fawn on him by sending.

Lucy. The fraud of England, not the force of France, Hath now entrapp'd the noble-minded Talbot.

Never to England shall he bear his life,

But dies, betray'd to fortune by your strife.

Som. Come, go; I will despatch the horsemen straight: Within six hours they will be at his aid.

Lucy. Too late comes rescue: he is ta'en, or slain; For fly he could not, if he would have fled:

And fly would Talbot never, though he might.

Som. If he be dead, brave Talbot, then adieu!

Lucy. His fame lives in the world, his shame in you.

SCENE V.

The English Camp near Bourdeaux.

Enter TALBOT and JOHN his Son.

Tal. O young John Talbot! I did send for thee,

To tutor thee in stratagems 1 of war,

That Talbot's name might be in thee reviv'd,
When sapless age, and weak unable limbs,
Should bring thy father to his drooping - chair.
But, O, malignant and ill-boding stars!
Now thou art come unto a feast of death,

A terrible and unavoided 2 danger:

Therefore, dear boy, mount on my swiftest horse,

And I'll direct thee how thou shalt escape

By sudden flight: come, dally not, begone.

7) and ist aus der zweiten Fol.

[Exeunt.

8) Ich verschmähe es als schimpflich, ihm zu schmeicheln, indem ich ihm die begehrten Hülfstruppen sende.

1) stratagem ist jede Kriegsthat, jeder Coup, nicht bloss eine Kriegslist. ser Scene und zu den beiden folgenden Einleitung pag. V. u. VI.

-

Vgl. zu die

2) unavoided = unvermeidlich. So in K. Richard III. (A. 4, Sc. 4) all unavoided is the doom of destiny.