Page:Henry VI Part 3 (1923) Yale.djvu/130

118 If the absence of such notable lines from all editions previous to the Shakespeare Folio indicates that they are additions by Shakespeare, they show how capable he was of reproducing the veritable tone of Marlowe.

 In them I trust; for they are soldiers, Witty, courteous, liberal, full of spirit. These lines also, which so praise the men of Marlowe's native Kent, first appear in the Folio. For Shakespeare's apparent interest in Kent compare notes on IV. i. 9 and IV. vii. 65, 66 of the Second Part.

 Enter Gabriel. The name of the actor who represented the messenger has here been preserved. The same thing happens in the stage direction at the opening of Act III. This is good evidence that the Folio text was based on the players' copy used by the prompter. Gabriel is probably Gabriel Spencer, the actor, who was slain by Ben Jonson in a duel, September 22, 1598.

 But 'twas ere I was born. The author has altered the relative ages of the Duke of York's sons. Edmund, Earl of Rutland, was next to Edward the heir. He was twelve years old at the time of his death and seven when the elder Clifford was killed at St. Albans. Richard of Gloucester, on the other hand, who is represented in the play as a mature warrior, was not born till 1452, and was but eight years old at the battle of Wakefield. Compare note on I. i. 17.

 The sands are number'd that makes up my life. Modern editors usually print 'make,' but the other is a genuine plural form, characteristic of the northern English dialect. It is frequently employed by Shakespeare and other standard Elizabethan writers. For other examples in this play compare line 150 of the present scene and also II. i. 55, II. i. 83, II. v. 87, II. vi. 6, III. ii. 141, IV. ii. 3, V. v. 26, V. vii. 44.

 Phaethon. The son of Apollo, who (ac-