Act 5, Scene 2

France. Plains in Anjou.

[Enter Charles, Burgundy, Alencon, Bastard, Reignier, La Pucelle, and forces.]
Charles, the Dauphin
2209 These news, my lords, may cheer our drooping spirits:
2210 'Tis said the stout Parisians do revolt
2211 And turn again unto the warlike French.
Duke of Alencon
2212 Then march to Paris, royal Charles of France,
2213 And keep not back your powers in dalliance.
Joan la Pucelle
2214 Peace be amongst them, if they turn to us;
2215 Else, ruin combat with their palaces!
[Enter Scout.]
Scout
2216 Success unto our valiant general,
2217 And happiness to his accomplices!
Charles, the Dauphin
2218 What tidings send our scouts? I prithee, speak.
Scout
2219 The English army, that divided was
2220 Into two parties, is now conjoin'd in one,
2221 And means to give you battle presently.
Charles, the Dauphin
2222 Somewhat too sudden, sirs, the warning is;
2223 But we will presently provide for them.
Duke of Burgundy
2224 I trust the ghost of Talbot is not there:
2225 Now he is gone, my lord, you need not fear.
Joan la Pucelle
2226 Of all base passions, fear is most accursed.
2227 Command the conquest, Charles, it shall be thine,
2228 Let Henry fret and all the world repine.
Charles, the Dauphin
2229 Then on, my lords; and France be fortunate!
[Exeunt.]

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Notes

TLN 2210historical topical
“stout Parisians do revolt And turn again”
'Stout' here means brave or resolute, not physically large — the Parisians are showing fighting spirit by defecting back to the French side. The news refers to the historical fall of Paris to the French in April 1436, when the city opened its gates to Richemont and the Burgundians changed sides, ending fifteen years of English occupation.
historical Holinshed's Chronicles
TLN 2213archaic vocab
“keep not back your powers in dalliance”
'Dalliance' means idle delay or leisurely loitering — Alencon is urging Charles not to waste the moment by dawdling. The word came to Shakespeare's audience with a tinge of pleasurable time-wasting (flirting, playing), sharpening the reproach: do not fritter away this opportunity.
TLN 2224historical topical
“ghost of Talbot is not there: Now he is gone”
Burgundy reassures Charles that Talbot, who died surrounded at Bordeaux earlier in the play (4.7), is no longer a threat. The joke in calling him a 'ghost' is that Talbot was so terrifying during his life — Shakespeare earlier shows French soldiers fleeing at the mere sound of his name — that even his absence needs spelling out before the French dare feel safe.
historical John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury
TLN 2226rhetorical device
“Of all base passions, fear is most accursed”
This line is a sententia — a standalone moral maxim delivered as a proverb or general truth, a device taught in Elizabethan rhetoric schools as a way to clinch an argument. Joan uses it to rebuke the very idea of fearing the now-dead Talbot, turning an abstract moral principle into a practical battle command: if fear is the worst of the base passions, then showing fear here is the worst thing the French could do.
TLN 2227archaic vocab
“Command the conquest, Charles, it shall be thine, Let Henry fret and all the world repine”
'Repine' means to be discontented or to complain fretfully — to chafe against one's situation without power to change it. Joan's couplet pairs 'fret' (to chafe, gnaw with anxiety) and 'repine' for emphasis: Henry and the whole world can grumble helplessly while Charles takes the victory. The rhyming couplet itself signals Joan's confident flourish as she closes the scene.