Duke of Exeter, Archbishop of Canterbury.d Earl of Cambridge, Sir Thomas Grey, } Confpirators against the King. Sir Thomas Erpingham, Gower, Fluellen, Mackmorris, Jamy, Officers in King Henry's Army. Nym, Bardolph, Piftol, Boy, formerly Servants to Falftaff, now Soldiers in the King's Army. Bates, Court, Williams, Soldiers. Charles, King of France. The Dauphin. Duke of Burgundy. Conftable, Orleans, Rambures, Bourbon, Grandpree, French Lords. Governor of Harfleura quid Mountjoy, a Herald. won Ifabel, Queen of France.bid gn {p31) Catharine, Daughter to the King of France. Alice, a Lady attending on the Princess Catharine. Ik CHORUS. Lords, Mellengers, French and English Soldiers, with other Attendants, The Scene, at the beginning of the Play, lies in England; but afterwards, wholly in France. Of this play the editions are, III. 1623, &c. Follo. I. 16co, The. Crede for Tho. Milleston, 419. II. 1608, for 7. P. 4to. I have the fecond quarto and folio. The folio edition is much enlarged. す D PROLOGUE. Ό For a Mufe of fire, that would afcend A kingdom for a stage, 2 Princes to act, And Monarchs to behold the fwelling scene oulez to b On this ea pirit, that hath dar'd," On this unworthy Scaffold, to bring forth 3 Within this roooden O.] Nothing fhews more evidently ther power of cuftom over language, than that the frequent ufe of cal ling a circle an O could fo much hide the meanness of the meta phor from Shakespeare, that he has ufed it many times where her makes his moft eager attempts at dignity of file. 4 The very cakes.] The hel mets. 5 Imaginary forces.] Imaginary for imaginative, or your powers of fancy. Active and paffive words are by this author frequently confounded. Are Are now confin'd two mighty monarchies Think, when we talk of horses, that you fee them Turning th' accompliment of many years Into an hour-glafs; for the which supply, Who, prologue-like, your humble patience pray, 6 Whofe high up-reared, and THE PERILLOUS narrow ocean parts afunder. Without doubt the author wrote, Whofe high up-reared, and abut, Speare was fully fenfible of the abfurdity of fhewing battles on the theatre, which indeed is never done but tragedy becomes farce. Nothing can be reprefented to the eye but by fome Sing fronts 0 12 Mathing like it, and within a wooden PERILLOUS, THE narrow acean O nothing very like a battle can parts afunder ;] be exhibited. for his purpofe is to fhew, that the higheft danger arifes from the fhock of their meetings and that it is but a little thing which keeps them afunder. This fenfe my emendation gives us, as the common reading gives us a con trary; for those whom a perilleus ocean parts funder, are in no danger of meeting. WARB. 7 And make imaginary puiffance.] This paffage fhews that Shakeidow. Or le fruit, odt bo ta hiq sure not num 8. For 'tis your thoughts that now must deck our Kings,wa Carry them here and th there] We should read king for kings. The prologue relates only to this fingle play. The mistake was made by referring them to kings which belongs to thoughts. The fenfe is, your thoughts must give the king his proper greatness, carry therefore your thoughts bere and there. yann Ing. As ( The King HENRY V ACT I. SCENE 1, 2133 An Antechamber in the English Court, at Kenilworth. Enter the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Bishop of Ely. Archbishop of CANTERBURY Ava Y lord, I'll tell you That felf bill is urg'd, M reign, Y Was like, and had, indeed against us paft, 2 The Life of Henry V.] This play was writ (as appears from a paffage in the chorus to the fifth act) at the time of the Earl of Ellex's commanding the forces in Ireland in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and not till after Henry the VIth had been played, as may be seen by the conclufion of this play, POPE. The Life of K. Henry.] The Tranfactions compriz'd in this Hiftorical Play, commence about the latter end of the firft, and |