Rehearsal 5

Act IV, Scene vi
Question- Is Warwick genuinely trying to be good when he joins up with Henry? Does he really not want to be protector?

There is a line where John Montgomery refers to Edward’s titles, calling him “King of England, etc.” I was asked to lookup if there is other text of Edward’s title in other editions, and how does Edward sign himself in Royal proclamations. Every other edition I have read cuts it off with “etc,” which leads me to believe that Shakespeare intended the actor to make up titles as a joke. I went through two chronicles of Edward’s life and found that he is referred to as:
➢ King of England and France,
➢ Earl of March
➢ Duke of York
➢ Lord of Ireland, Scotland and Wales

Lies and Perjury- Clarence’s defection in IV, and later in V, i.
FMI, Arden edition of 3H6, pp. 53-60
As I discuss in my dramaturgy packet, many scholars have chosen to look at this play as a series of immoral acts, most notably, the breaking of holy oaths. Samuel Johnson noted how often people in this play are punished for perjury:
I know not whether the author intended any moral instruction, but he that reads this has a striking admonition against the preciptancy by which men often use unlawful men’s to do that which a little delay would put honestly in their power. Had York staid but a few moments, he had saved his cause from the stain of perjury (Arden 55).
Perjury is a strain that runs through the entire play. Characters like Edward and Richard have no respect for oaths, while other characters try to keep them.
Other oaths in the play-
Richard swears an oath to Henry not to claim the throne, then historically he went to the Pope to have himself absolved.
Notice, Clarence isn’t there in the scene where Edward talks York out of it. I believe Clarence is the moral center of play, even though he is called “perjured and unjust.” Clarence and Warwick are idealists, this is why in Act IV, Scene v we see Warwick and Clarence selflessly giving the protectorate to each other, while in the next scene, the Yorkists deceive the Mayor of London and commit high treason.

Clarence is caught between two oaths- the oath he swore to Warwick, and King Henry, and Clarence’s natural oath of brotherhood to Edward, Richard, and his father York. Breaking either oath could lead to damnation, yet keeping his oath to Warwick means destroying loyalty to his family. Thus Shakespeare has given us in the sons of York and Henry, the full compass of moral beliefs. Richard and Henry are unprincipled opportunists, who believe in power rather than right or wrong. King Henry on the other hand is unwilling to compromise his principles and kill the men who are threatening his kingdom, which is why Henry is thought by some as a child and a madman, and as a saint by others. Clarence on the other hand is more like the audience’s avatar, a person who tries to be good, but must compromise in order to stay alive. He doesn’t want his family to be destroyed, which will happen if he stays with Warwick. In the meantime, Edward is getting more and more powerful and has captured King Henry, which might be another reason that he re-joins Edward.
IV. viii
John Harrell as Edward asked about the line: “Hoped for hay” which concludes the scene. He noted that the line is a little peculiar, so I started wondering if the word “hay” was a misprint for the word “day” that doesn’t appear in other editions. I discovered that the line is only in the Folio, so there is no other edition that says “day”
V.i I feel that the urgency comes from Warwick wondering how Edward got from Coventry to Barnet so fast.
➢ Edward’s plan was to continue going through all England, gathering troops in every town before attacking at London. Warwick
o In 4.7, He’s in York!
o In 4.8, He’s in London to capture King Henry.
o But by 5.1 he reaches Coventry, where Warwick is at the wall, 100 miles away!
http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=London&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Westminster,+London,+UK&gl=us&ei=d8laTcOnH4WclgfBxd2ADQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCMQ8gEwAA

V. ii
“Who durst smile, when Warwick bent his brows” was changed to “ Who durst mine” in the Folio.