Dramatic Works of Shakespeare Author:William Shakespeare Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: The Tragedy of Richard the Third: with the Landing of Earle Richmond, and the Battell of Bosworth Field. , AElus Primus. Sccena Prima. Enter Richar... more »d Duke of Gloster, solus. ' Ow is the Winter of our Discontent, Made glorious Summer by this Son of Yorke : And all the clouds that lowr'd upon our house In the deepe bosome of the Ocean buried. Now are our browes bound with Victorious Wreathes, Our bruised armes hung up for Monuments ; Our sterne Alarums chang'd to merry Meetings ; Our dreadfull Marches to delightful! Measures. Grim-visag'd Warre, hath smooth'd his wrinkled Front: And now, in stead of mounting Barbed Steeds, To fright the Soules of fearfull Adversaries, He capers nimbly in a Ladies Chamber, To the lascivious pleasing of a Lute. But I, that am not shap'd for sportive trickes, Nor made to court an amorous Looking-glasse: I, that am Rudely stampt, and want loves Majesty, To strut before a wanton ambling Nymph : I, that am curtail'd of this faire Proportion, Cheated of Feature by dissembling Nature, Deform'd, un-finish'd, sent before my time Into this breathing World, scarse halfe made up, And that so lamely and unfashionable, That dogges barke at me, as I halt by them. Why I (in this weake piping time of Peace) Have no delight to passe away the time, Unlesse to see my Shadow in the Sunne, And descant on mine owne Deformity. And therefore, since I cannot prove a Lover, To entertaine these faire well spoken dayes, I am determined to prove a Villaine, And hate the idle pleasures of these dayes. Plots have I laide, Inductions dangerous, By drunken Prophesies, Libels, and Dreames, To set my Brother Clarence and the King In deadly hate, the one against the other: ...« less