No Fear Shakespeare
Henry V
Get this No Fear to go!
Act 2, Scene 3, Page 7
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The borrowed glories that, by gift of heaven,
By law of nature and of nations, 'longs
To him and to his heirs—namely, the crown
And all wide-stretchèd honors that pertain
By custom and the ordinance of times
Unto the crown of France. That you may know
'Tis no sinister nor no awkward claim
Picked from the wormholes of long-vanished days,
Nor from the dust of old oblivion raked,
He sends you this most memorable line,
In every branch truly demonstrative,
Willing you overlook this pedigree,
And when you find him evenly derived
From his most famed of famous ancestors,
Edward the Third, he bids you then resign
Your crown and kingdom, indirectly held
From him, the native and true challenger.
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of nature and of nations, belong to him and his heirs. That is, give up the crown and all the extensive titles that go with it, according to custom and long use. So that you’ll know this is no dubious or farfetched claim, he sends you his family tree, every line of which supports the claim. Look over this document, and when you see that he is directly descended from his most famous of famous ancestors, Edward the Third, he demands that you resign your crown and kingdom, which you wrongfully hold at the expense of himself, the true and natural owner.
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KING OF FRANCE
Or else what follows?
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KING OF FRANCE
And what will happen if I don’t?
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EXETER
Bloody constraint, for if you hide the crown
Even in your hearts, there will he rake for it.
Therefore in fierce tempest is he coming,
In thunder and in earthquake like a Jove,
That, if requiring fail, he will compel,
And bids you, in the bowels of the Lord,
Deliver up the crown and to take mercy
On the poor souls for whom this hungry war
Opens his vasty jaws, and on your head
Turning the widows' tears, the orphans' cries,
The dead men’s blood, the pining maidens' groans,
For husbands, fathers, and betrothèd lovers,
That shall be swallowed in this controversy.
This is his claim, his threat'ning, and my message—
Unless the Dauphin be in presence here,
To whom expressly I bring greeting too.
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EXETER
Bloodshed will force you to. No matter how deeply you hid the crown, even if you hid it in your own hearts, he’d dig it up. That’s why he’s coming after you like a fierce storm, with thunder and earthquakes like Jove could stir up. So, if asking you for the crown doesn’t work, he will force you to give it to him. In the name of God, then, he asks that you deliver up the crown. He says to take pity on the poor souls whom this ravenous war will swallow up. The widows' tears, the orphans' cries, the dead men’s blood, the girls mourning for their husbands, the fathers and the men they might have married will all be your fault. This is his claim, his threat, and my message. If the Dauphin is here, I have a message for him, too.
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