So, sirs. Now go some and pull down the Savoy; others to th’ Inns of
Court; down with them all.
So, sirs. Now go some and pull down the Savoy; others to th’ Inns of Court; down with them all....
So, sirs. Now go some and pull down the Savoy; others to th’ Inns of Court; down with them all....
[core emotion]
I have a suit unto your lordship.
I have a suit unto your lordship....
I have a suit unto your lordship....
[core emotion]
Be it a lordship, thou shalt have it for that word.
Be it a lordship, thou shalt have it for that word....
Be it a lordship, thou shalt have it for that word....
[core emotion]
Only that the laws of England may come out of your mouth.
Only that the laws of England may come out of your mouth....
Only that the laws of England may come out of your mouth....
[core emotion]
mouth with a spear, and ’tis not whole yet.
mouth with a spear, and ’tis not whole yet....
mouth with a spear, and ’tis not whole yet....
[core emotion]
with eating toasted cheese.
with eating toasted cheese....
with eating toasted cheese....
[core emotion]
Lord Saye's speech in this scene is one of the most sustained arguments for humanist values in the whole Shakespeare canon — and it comes from a character about to be murdered by a mob. 'Ignorance is the curse of God, knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to heaven' is as good a statement of Renaissance educational philosophy as exists. Saye argues that he built grammar schools because learning led him to success, and he wanted to share that path. He cites Julius Caesar's praise of Kent. He appeals to mercy, to gratitude, to God. None of it works. The dramatic power comes from the complete asymmetry: the best argument in the play is addressed to the least arguable audience, and Shakespeare gives both sides their due. Cade's remorse (his aside) confirms that the argument landed. The execution that follows is not the triumph of ignorance but of will — which is worse.
I have thought upon it, it shall be so. Away, burn all the records of
the realm. My mouth shall be the parliament of England.
I have thought upon it, it shall be so. Away, burn all the records of the realm. My mouth shall be t...
I have thought upon it, it shall be so. Away, burn all the records of the realm. My mouth shall be t...
[core emotion]
be pulled out.
be pulled out....
be pulled out....
[core emotion]
And henceforward all things shall be in common.
And henceforward all things shall be in common....
And henceforward all things shall be in common....
[core emotion]
My lord, a prize, a prize! Here’s the Lord Saye, which sold the towns
in France; he that made us pay one-and-twenty fifteens, and one
shilling to the pound, the last subsidy.
My lord, a prize, a prize! Here’s the Lord Saye, which sold the towns in France; he that made us pay...
My lord, a prize, a prize! Here’s the Lord Saye, which sold the towns in France; he that made us pay...
[core emotion]
Well, he shall be beheaded for it ten times. Ah, thou say, thou serge,
nay, thou buckram lord! Now art thou within point-blank of our
jurisdiction regal. What canst thou answer to my majesty for giving up
of Normandy unto Mounsieur Basimecu, the Dauphin of France? Be it known
unto thee by these presence, even the presence of Lord Mortimer, that I
am the besom that must sweep the court clean of such filth as thou art.
Thou hast most traitorously corrupted the youth of the realm in
erecting a grammar school; and whereas, before, our forefathers had no
other books but the score and the tally, thou hast caused printing to
be used, and, contrary to the King, his crown, and dignity, thou hast
built a paper-mill. It will be proved to thy face that thou hast men
about thee that usually talk of a noun and a verb, and such abominable
words as no Christian ear can endure to hear. Thou hast appointed
justices of peace, to call poor men before them about matters they were
not able to answer. Moreover, thou hast put them in prison, and because
they could not read, thou hast hanged them, when indeed only for that
cause they have been most worthy to live. Thou dost ride on a
foot-cloth, dost thou not?
Well, he shall be beheaded for it ten times. Ah, thou say, thou serge, nay, thou buckram lord! Now a...
Well, he shall be beheaded for it ten times. Ah, thou say, thou serge, nay, thou buckram lord! Now a...
[core emotion]
What of that?
What of that?...
What of that?...
[core emotion]
Marry, thou ought’st not to let thy horse wear a cloak when honester
men than thou go in their hose and doublets.
Marry, thou ought’st not to let thy horse wear a cloak when honester men than thou go in their hose ...
Marry, thou ought’st not to let thy horse wear a cloak when honester men than thou go in their hose ...
[core emotion]
Cade's command to 'burn all the records of the realm' is the political act that most clearly reveals what his revolution is actually about. Legal records — court rolls, deeds, tax assessments, parliamentary acts — are the material memory of the state. They record who owns what, what has been decided, what obligations exist. Burning them doesn't just damage the state; it returns power relations to the state of nature, where whoever is strongest in the moment prevails. Cade knows this: 'My mouth shall be the parliament of England' is a precise description of what happens when records disappear — personal authority replaces institutional authority. This was not unprecedented: in the 1381 Peasants' Revolt, rebels destroyed legal documents specifically to erase records of serfdom and debt. The difference is that Cade proposes to replace the destroyed system with himself, not with freedom.
And work in their shirt too; as myself, for example, that am a butcher.
And work in their shirt too; as myself, for example, that am a butcher....
And work in their shirt too; as myself, for example, that am a butcher....
[core emotion]
You men of Kent—
You men of Kent—...
You men of Kent—...
[core emotion]
What say you of Kent?
What say you of Kent?...
What say you of Kent?...
[core emotion]
Nothing but this; ’tis _bona terra, mala gens_.
Nothing but this; ’tis _bona terra, mala gens_....
Nothing but this; ’tis _bona terra, mala gens_....
[core emotion]
Away with him, away with him! He speaks Latin.
Away with him, away with him! He speaks Latin....
Away with him, away with him! He speaks Latin....
[core emotion]
Hear me but speak, and bear me where you will.
Kent, in the Commentaries Caesar writ,
Is termed the civil’st place of all this isle.
Sweet is the country, because full of riches;
The people liberal, valiant, active, wealthy;
Which makes me hope you are not void of pity.
I sold not Maine, I lost not Normandy,
Yet to recover them would lose my life.
Justice with favour have I always done;
Prayers and tears have moved me, gifts could never.
When have I aught exacted at your hands
Kent to maintain the King, the realm, and you?
Large gifts have I bestowed on learned clerks,
Because my book preferred me to the King.
And seeing ignorance is the curse of God,
Knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to heaven,
Unless you be possessed with devilish spirits,
You cannot but forbear to murder me.
This tongue hath parleyed unto foreign kings
For your behoof—
Hear me but speak, and bear me where you will. Kent, in the Commentaries Caesar writ, Is termed the ...
Hear me but speak, and bear me where you will. Kent, in the Commentaries Caesar writ, Is termed the ...
[core emotion]
Tut, when struck’st thou one blow in the field?
Tut, when struck’st thou one blow in the field?...
Tut, when struck’st thou one blow in the field?...
[core emotion]
Great men have reaching hands; oft have I struck
Those that I never saw, and struck them dead.
Great men have reaching hands; oft have I struck Those that I never saw, and struck them dead....
Great men have reaching hands; oft have I struck Those that I never saw, and struck them dead....
[core emotion]
O monstrous coward! What, to come behind folks?
O monstrous coward! What, to come behind folks?...
O monstrous coward! What, to come behind folks?...
[core emotion]
These cheeks are pale for watching for your good.
These cheeks are pale for watching for your good....
These cheeks are pale for watching for your good....
[core emotion]
Cade's order to pull down the Savoy Palace would have landed with particular force on Shakespeare's audience, because the Savoy had been destroyed in exactly this way — by Wat Tyler's rebels in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. The historical echo is deliberate: Shakespeare is placing Cade in a tradition of popular revolt that Elizabethan audiences knew well and feared. The 1381 revolt is the play's unspoken companion text — similar grievances (lost French lands, corrupt ministers, heavy taxation), similar geography (Kent, London), similar pattern (early success, then collapse). By having Cade target the Savoy, Shakespeare is invoking that memory and asking his audience to think about what popular rebellion ultimately produces. The Savoy, rebuilt after 1381, would presumably be rebuilt again. The cycle doesn't end.
Give him a box o’ th’ ear, and that will make ’em red again.
Give him a box o’ th’ ear, and that will make ’em red again....
Give him a box o’ th’ ear, and that will make ’em red again....
[core emotion]
Long sitting to determine poor men’s causes
Hath made me full of sickness and diseases.
Long sitting to determine poor men’s causes Hath made me full of sickness and diseases....
Long sitting to determine poor men’s causes Hath made me full of sickness and diseases....
[core emotion]
Ye shall have a hempen caudle then, and the help of hatchet.
Ye shall have a hempen caudle then, and the help of hatchet....
Ye shall have a hempen caudle then, and the help of hatchet....
[core emotion]
Why dost thou quiver, man?
Why dost thou quiver, man?...
Why dost thou quiver, man?...
[core emotion]
The palsy, and not fear, provokes me.
The palsy, and not fear, provokes me....
The palsy, and not fear, provokes me....
[core emotion]
Nay, he nods at us, as who should say, “I’ll be even with you.” I’ll
see if his head will stand steadier on a pole or no. Take him away, and
behead him.
Nay, he nods at us, as who should say, “I’ll be even with you.” I’ll see if his head will stand stea...
Nay, he nods at us, as who should say, “I’ll be even with you.” I’ll see if his head will stand stea...
[core emotion]
Tell me, wherein have I offended most?
Have I affected wealth or honour? Speak.
Are my chests filled up with extorted gold?
Is my apparel sumptuous to behold?
Whom have I injured, that ye seek my death?
These hands are free from guiltless bloodshedding,
This breast from harbouring foul deceitful thoughts.
O, let me live!
Tell me, wherein have I offended most? Have I affected wealth or honour? Speak. Are my chests filled...
Tell me, wherein have I offended most? Have I affected wealth or honour? Speak. Are my chests filled...
[core emotion]
He shall die, an it be but for pleading so well for his life. Away with
him! He has a familiar under his tongue; he speaks not i’ God’s name.
Go, take him away, I say, and strike off his head presently; and then
break into his son-in-law’s house, Sir James Cromer, and strike off his
head, and bring them both upon two poles hither.
He shall die, an it be but for pleading so well for his life. Away with him! He has a familiar under...
He shall die, an it be but for pleading so well for his life. Away with him! He has a familiar under...
[core emotion]
It shall be done.
It shall be done....
It shall be done....
[core emotion]
The Cade scenes have been consistently funny — the asides, the absurd genealogy, the self-knighting. In this scene, Shakespeare pushes the comedy-horror dial further than anywhere else. Cade's indictment of Saye is genuinely comic in its logic (grammar schools are treasonous, Latin is diabolism) but the man he indicts is genuinely innocent and genuinely eloquent. The asides about Cade's stabbed mouth and cheese breath continue even as Saye makes his plea. Then Cade admits remorse and proceeds anyway. And the scene ends with the kissing heads. Shakespeare refuses to separate the funny from the horrifying — they occupy the same register, which is the more disturbing choice. Pure horror would be easier to process. The comedy that doesn't stop is what lingers.
Ah, countrymen, if when you make your prayers,
God should be so obdurate as yourselves,
How would it fare with your departed souls?
And therefore yet relent, and save my life.
Ah, countrymen, if when you make your prayers, God should be so obdurate as yourselves, How would it...
Ah, countrymen, if when you make your prayers, God should be so obdurate as yourselves, How would it...
[core emotion]
Away with him! And do as I command ye.
Away with him! And do as I command ye....
Away with him! And do as I command ye....
[core emotion]
My lord, when shall we go to Cheapside and take up commodities upon our
bills?
My lord, when shall we go to Cheapside and take up commodities upon our bills?...
My lord, when shall we go to Cheapside and take up commodities upon our bills?...
[core emotion]
Marry, presently.
Marry, presently....
Marry, presently....
[core emotion]
O, brave!
O, brave!...
O, brave!...
[core emotion]
But is not this braver? Let them kiss one another, for they loved well
when they were alive. Now part them again, lest they consult about the
giving up of some more towns in France. Soldiers, defer the spoil of
the city until night; for with these borne before us instead of maces
will we ride through the streets, and at every corner have them kiss.
Away!
But is not this braver? Let them kiss one another, for they loved well when they were alive. Now par...
But is not this braver? Let them kiss one another, for they loved well when they were alive. Now par...
[core emotion]
The Reckoning
This is the Cade sequence's darkest scene — and the one where the comedy stops protecting the audience. Lord Saye's defense of education and governance is genuinely eloquent, and Cade feels remorse (he says so, in an aside) before ordering the execution anyway. The scene ends with Cade making the severed heads kiss each other on poles. The grotesque theater of his rule is in full display, and the laughter has curdled into something else.
If this happened today…
The strongman who seized the capital is on live TV ordering the national archives burned, declaring his mouth the new parliament. A respected minister is dragged in — he's been building schools and running courts for thirty years. He speaks well. The strongman briefly feels it, then has him killed for speaking too well. The execution clip goes viral with the faces blurred, but the bodies are real.