Play of the Month: Henry VI, Part 2

I just finished studying my eighteenth Shakespeare play, Henry VI, Part 2, the second work of the Henry VI trilogy, which is believed to have been written in 1591. Against the backdrop of King Henry VI’s marriage to Margaret of Anjou, and the impending loss of lands won by England in France during Henry V’s campaign, the play showcases King Henry VI's inability to quell the bickering of his noblemen, the death of his trusted advisor Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and the political rise of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York. 

Apart from enjoying its fascinating stories and plot development, I also explored interesting aspects of medieval English history, culture and customs through the play. The first thing I learned was about St Albans, the scene of Act 2, Scene 1 where King Henry VI and his courtiers go hunting. A town about 35 kilometers north of London, St Albans was also the historical site of the First Battle of St Albans that took place on 22 May 1455, marking the beginning of the Wars of the Roses in England.

The second thing I learned was Jack Cade's Rebellion -- a popular revolt in 1450 against the government of England, which took place in the south-east of the country between the months of April and July. It stemmed from local grievances regarding the corruption, maladministration, and abuse of power of the king's closest advisors and local officials, as well as recent military losses in France during the Hundred Years' War. Leading an army of men from south-eastern England, the rebellion's leader Jack Cade marched on London in order to force the government to reform the administration and remove from power the "traitors" deemed responsible for bad governance. Alongside the Cornish rebellion of 1497, it was the largest popular uprising to take place in England during the 15th century.

The third thing I learned was the terms  "gallowglasses and kerns." gallowglasses were elite mercenary warriors and were principally members of the Norse-Gaelic clans of Ireland and Scotland between the mid 13th century and late 16th century, whereas kerns referred to Gaelic warriors, specifically light infantrymen, in Ireland in the Middle Ages.

The next thing I learned was about the weapons used by commoners during a trial by combat: instead of the stereotypical swords or other lethal arms used by their nobler counterparts, commoner combatants normally fought with either a staff (a long wooden pole) or with a sandbag tied to the end of one, functioning like a bludgeon. These were considered low-status, non-military weapons meant for commoners. They could still be deadly, but they were less formal and less dignified than knightly arms.

Last but not least, I learned about the fascinating stories behind Kenilworth Castle, a castle in the town of Kenilworth in Warwickshire, England. The castle was founded after the Norman Conquest of 1066, and has played an important historical role. It was traditionally associated with the story of the French Dauphin insulting Henry V with a gift of tennis balls, an event that helped spark the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Later, it became a base for Lancastrian operations in the Wars of the Roses.

Here are some of the passages and soliloquies that impressed me most, presented in modern English translation.

Act 1, Scene 1

DUKE OF YORK:

Anjou and Maine are given to the French; Paris is lost; we're barely hanging on to Normandy. Now that they're all gone, Suffolk decided the terms and conditions, everyone agreed, and Henry was happy enough to exchange two dukedoms for a beautiful daughter of the duke. I can't blame them all, for what's it to them? It's your inheritance that they give away and not their own. Pirates may exchange what they stole for virtually nothing and so buy friends and give to prostitutes, enjoying their ill-gotten gains like lords until it's all gone. Meanwhile the helpless owner of the stolen stuff cries over it, and wrings his poor hands, and shakes his head, but stands aside and does nothing while the pirates take his property. He is about to starve and doesn't dare to touch what's his own. In the same way, York has to sit and fret and stay silent, while his own lands are exchanged and sold. I think that the countries of England, France and Ireland are as part of my flesh and blood as was the deadly branding iron Althea burned on the prince of Calydon's heart. Anjou and Maine are both surrendered to the French! This is sad news for me, because I had as much hope to rule France as I do to rule fertile England. A day will come when York will claim what belongs to him; and so I'll support Salisbury and Warwick and pretend to be loyal to the proud Duke Humphrey. But when I find a way, I'll claim the crown, since that's the golden target I'm aiming for. The proud Lancaster won't take my throne, or hold the scepter in his childish hand, or wear the crown on his head. He's too simple and religious to make a good king.Then, York, be patient for a while, until the right opportunity arises. Be on your guard and awake when others are asleep, to find out the secrets of the government—until Henry enjoys the love of his new bride and England's expensively-purchased queen too much, and until Humphrey falls out with his friends. Then I will raise high the milk-white rose, whose sweet smell will perfume the air. With the banner of the house of York, I'll challenge the house of Lancaster and make the king give up his crown, with force if necessary—since his silly bookishness and bad government has dragged our beautiful England down.

Act 1, Scene 4

MARGARET JOURDAIN:

Satan, answer what I ask by the eternal God, whose name and power makes you tremble. Until you speak, you won't leave this place. 

SPIRIT:

Ask whatever you want. I wish that I had answered it and could be done with this!

BOLINGBROKE:

[Reads out from a paper] "At first, about the king: what will happen to him?"

SPIRIT:

Although the duke that Henry shall depose still lives, Henry will outlive him and he will die a violent death.

BOLINGBROKE:

"What will happen to the Duke of Suffolk?"

SPIRIT:

He will die by water.

BOLINGBROKE:

"What will happen to the Duke of Somerset?"

SPIRIT:

He should avoid castles. He'll be safer on the sandy lands than where castles stand on a hill. That's all. I can't take any more. 

Act 2, Scene 2

DUKE OF YORK:

His oldest sister, Anne—my mother—is an heir to the crown and she married Richard Earl of Cambridge, who was son to Edmund Langley, Edward the Third's fifth son. I claim the kingdom by her right. She was heir to Roger Earl of March, who was the son of Edmund Mortimer, who married Philippe, the only daughter of Lionel Duke of Clarence. So, if the child of the elder son succeeds before the younger, I am king.

EARL OF WARWICK:

What plain line of descent is simpler than this?  Henry claims the crown from John of Gaunt, the fourth son. York claims it from the third son. Until Lionel's child dies, he should not rule. The line isn't dead, but lives in you and in your sons, fair cuttings of such a tree. Then, father Salisbury, let's kneel together. And on this secret ground, let us be the first to acknowledge our rightful king with the title he deserves by his birthright.

Act 2, Scene 3

KING HENRY VI:

Stand forward, Dame Eleanor Cobham, Gloucester's wife. In sight of God and us, your guilt is great. Accept the sentence of the law for sins that the Bible punishes with death. You four will be sent back to prison again and from there to the place of execution. The witch will be burned to ashes in Smithfield,and you three will be hanged on the gallows.[To DUCHESS] Madam, because you are more nobly born, will be stripped of your honor in your life. After three days of public suffering is done, you'll live in your country here in banishment in the custody of Sir John Stanley, in the Isle of Man.

DUCHESS OF GLOUCESTER:

My banishment is welcome; I wish I were dead.

DUKE OF GLOUCESTER:

Eleanor, you see that it was the law that has judged you. I cannot excuse someone condemned by the law.

Act 3, Scene 1

KING HENRY VI:

My lord Gloucester, I do hope that you will clear yourself from all this suspicion. My conscience tells me you are innocent. B

DUKE OF GLOUCESTER:

Ah, gracious lord, these are dangerous days. Virtue is choked by evil ambition and charity is pursued by jealousy. Filthy bribery is common practice and justice is exiled from your highness' land. I know their plot is to take my life, and if my death can make this island happy, and mean the end of their tyranny, I would pay the price of my death willingly. But my death would only be a prologue to their play, since thousands more, that don't expect it yet, won't put an end to this tragedy. Beaufort's red sparkling eyes reveal the evil of his heart, and Suffolk's frowns show his hate; merciless Buckingham reveals the malice he feels in his heart with his sharp words; and stubborn York, that reaches for the moon, whose overreaching arm I have pulled back, wants to kill me with these false accusations. And you, my queen, have joined with them to accuse me of dishonorable behavior for no reason, and have done your best to turn my dearest king against me. And all of you have put your heads together—I have noticed your secret meetings—to end my guiltless life. I know I won't lack false witnesses to condemn me, nor an abundance of supposed "treasons" to make me look guilty. The ancient proverb fits well here: "It is easy to find a stick to beat a dog."

Act 3, Scene 2

EARL OF SUFFOLK:

That was a dreadful oath sworn in a serious tone. What evidence does Lord Warwick give for his vow?

EARL OF WARWICK:

See how the blood is not flowing in his face? I've seen a corpse of a person who died naturally and it had an ashy, emaciated, pale and bloodless look, because all the blood had gone to the heart.The heart, threatened by death, attracts all the blood in the body to fight its enemy, and the blood never returns to the cheeks again. But you can see that his face is black and full of blood, his eyeballs are further out than they were when he lived and he's staring alarmingly like a strangled man. His hair is standing on end, his nostrils are stretched as if he were struggling to breathe, and his hands are spread out widely, suggesting that he grasped and fought for his life and was overpowered by force. Look, you can see that his hair is sticking on the sheets; his well-shaped beard is made rough and shaggy, like the summer's corn when it's flattened by a storm. Murder must have happened here. Even the smallest of these signs is sufficient evidence. 

Act 4, Scene 2

JACK CADE:

Be brave, then, because your captain is brave and he promises you major changes. There will be seven halfpenny loaves of bread sold for a penny in England; the three-hooped pot shall have ten hoops; and I will make it a crime to drink weak beer. Everything in the country will be a common resource. My riding horse will go to graze on Cheapside. And when I am king, because I will be king—

ALL:

God save your majesty!

JACK CADE:

I thank you, good people. There will be no money. Everyone will eat and drink on me, and I will dress them all in one uniform, so that they may get on like brothers and worship me, their lord.

Act 4, Scene 9

MESSENGER:

Your grace should know that the Duke of York has just come from Ireland with a powerful and strong army of Irish soldiers. They are marching this way, ready for a fight. He continually proclaims as he goes that his weapons are only there to remove you, the Duke of Somerset, whom he calls a traitor.

KING HENRY VI:

And here is my kingship—it is afflicted between Cade and York. It is like a ship that, having just escaped a tempest, is steadied and attacked by a pirate straight away. But now Cade is driven back, his men are scattered and York is now armed to support him. Buckingham, please go and meet him and ask him why is he bringing this army. Tell him I'll send Duke Edmund to the Tower. Somerset, we're sending you there until his army is gotten rid of.

DUKECOF SOMERSET: My lord, I surrender to go to prison willingly. Or go to my death, to do some good for my country.

Act 5, Scene 1

DUKE OF YORK:

What's this? Is Somerset free? Then, York will release the thoughts he has kept for so long and let his tongue speak what his heart feels. Shall I endure to look at Somerset? You are a false king! Why have you deceived me, knowing with what difficulty can I tolerate deception? Did I call you king? No, you are not a king, nor are you capable of  ruling the crowds. A traitor doesn't dare and cannot rule. Your head does is not fit for a crown, your hand is made to grasp a pilgrim's staff and not to hold an awe-inspiring princely scepter. That gold must encircle my head. My smile and frown, like Achilles' spear is able to change from killing to healing in a moment. Here is a hand that is made for holding a scepter and also bring about effective laws. By heaven, you shall not rule any more over him whom heaven created to be your ruler.

DUKE OF SOMERSET 

Oh, monstrous traitor! I arrest you, York, of capital treason against the king and the crown. Obey, audacious traitor. Kneel in front of your king.

Act 5, Scene 3

EARL OF SALISBURY:

Now, by my sword, you have fought well today. And so did we all! Thank you, Richard. God knows how long I have to live, and he saved me from sudden death three times today. Well, lords, we haven't won yet. It's not enough that our enemies have run away this time, since they are enemies who can recover swiftly. 

DUKE OF YORK:

I know the best way to keep ourselves safe is to follow them. I hear that the king has run away to London to call an immediate court of parliament. Let's follow him before he can send the summons. What do you think, Lord Warwick? Should we go after them?

EARL OF WARWICK:

After them? No, before them if we can! Now, this truly was a glorious day, lords. Saint Alban's battle was won by famous York, and it will be famous for all ages to come. Sound the drums and trumpets, and let's all go to London. And let's hope we see many more days like this!