A Tale of Two Soldiers

Act Two, Scene Five of The Third Part of Henry the Sixth puts Henry on the battlefields near York, watching the battle and pondering (and bemoaning) his place as king.  From this vantage point, he sees, separately, two soldiers, each carrying a victim he has slain–in both cases, a victim with familial ties.  One soldier carries his father, the other his son.

This should not surprise anyone who’s read more than a play or two of Shakespeare.  They guy just LOVES parallel, complementary, and (at times) oppositional structure.

But there is something else going on here, in both the stage directions and the dialogue, that is of interest, both to the director and the student of the play.
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Henry the Sixth–Episode 3: A New Hope

Like its two predecessors, The Third Part of Henry the Sixth is a tale of a country in turmoil, a political and military tempest brought forth by an irresolute leader.  The next play will bring forth a blood-thirsty tyrant; in this part’s Richard the crookback, we get a nice little preview of the bloodbath to come.  What can bring this all to an end?

A leader to bring together both families.  A leader to reconcile England.

And we get a glimpse at him in this play, when Henry VI–upon his retaking of the crown–notices a young boy in the care of Somerset.  Henry sees something in the boy, prophesying that the boy will become “England’s hope… our country’s bliss” (IV.vii.68-70).

So who is this boy, this Henry Earl of Richmond?
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Women in History (the history of Henry the Sixth, that is)

Last month, I did a short entry on Shakespeare’s treatment of women in the two Henry VI plays we had read thus far.  The treatment was pretty unflattering (and not just in the “Do these pants make me look fat?” context, either).  No, it’s been pretty abysmal:
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Podcast 23: The Third Part of Henry the Sixth Plot Synopsis, Part Two

This week’s podcast includes a continuation to our discussion of The Third Part of Henry the Sixth, including a plot overview of the second half of the play
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Patience: NOT the Guns N Roses song

One of my dad’s proverbs is “patience is a virtue.”  I’ve tried to teach that to my sons as well; but it’s hard when one is (I am) impatient by nature.

Why do I mention this?

In The Third Part of Henry the Sixth, there are a number of occasions when characters call for patience.  Let’s take a look at these snapshots from within the play, and try to see if we can uncover some kind of patient philosophy (in this play at least).
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Act Five: “Here, I hope, begins our lasting joy” … uh, right….

Act Five of The Third Part of Henry the Sixth begins near Coventry, where Warwick is with the Mayor of Coventry, awaiting news of the Lancastrian armies which are supposed to meet there.  Messengers arrive telling Warwick that the separate troops are nearby, so when a flourish is sounded, he believes it’s George Duke of Clarence’s army.  He is none too pleased to find that it is King Edward, Richard Duke of Gloucester and their army.  Edward demands that Warwick call him king, which Warwick refuses.  What follows is some righteous smack-talk going both ways, which ends with Edward threatening to cut off Warwick’s head himself… and more:
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Act Four, Scenes Seven through Ten

When we left Act Four of The Third Part of Henry the Sixth yesterday, Warwick had turned against Edward in an attempt to reseat Henry.  Edward’s brother George had also turned against the new king; and they and their army were successful in capturing Edward, though Richard and Hastings escaped capture.  Warwick left Edward in the Archbishop of York’s care, while he and George left to London to free Henry.  Richard and Hastings were able to free Edward, who–when we left off–was hoping to take back the throne before Margaret could return from France with an army.
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Act Four, Scenes One through Six: Big Wheel Keeps on Turnin’ (or: Meet Edward IV, the Repo Man)

At the end of Act Three of The Third Part of Henry the Sixth, Warwick vows revenge for the wrongs he perceives King Edward has done to him (primarily through the marriage of Lady Grey, and not Lady Bonne, as Warwick had travelled to France to negotiate).  In Act Four, we see the fallout.
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