Henry VI part III: A play by the English Bard William Shakespeare

Henry VI

1. H
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BY:
MARY JOY C. CABILES
REPORTER

2. TITLES OF THE PLAY
1. The True Tragedy of
Richard
2. Duke of York and the Good
King Henry VI
3. 3 Henry VI

4. SETTING
•Henry 6, Part 3 was first published in 1595 in an octavo volume
under the title The True Tragedy of Richard Duke of York and the
Good King Henry the Sixth. In 1623, a play longer by a thousand lines
appeared in Shakespeare's First Folio under the title, The Third Part
of Henry the Sixth. Some scholars believe that the first version was
an early draft of the later folio edition, while other editors believe
that the octavo version was reconstructed by memorization of
actors and audience members, thus, explaining its shorter length.
•3 Henry VI is a continuation of the depiction of the War of the Roses,
begun in 1 Henry VI and 2 Henry VI. These plays follow the struggles
between the Lancastrian descendants of Edward III, represented by
the red rose, and his Yorkist descendants, who wore the white rose.
This third instalment ambitiously depicts many significant battles
fought during that civil war, stretching between the Battle of
Wakefield in 1460, when the Duke of York was killed, to the Battle of
Tewkesbury in 1471, when Edward, York's eldest son, defeated the
Lancasters.
•Set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England
•England and France

5. CHARACTERS
Henry -  King of England
at the beginning of the
play, Henry is not a
strong king; his nobles
and his wife, Margaret,
take advantage of him.
Unable to live up to the
legacy of his legendary
father, Henry V, Henry
loses all the English
territories in France and
cannot seem to control
his warring nobles.
DESCENDED FROM RICHARD’S II
YOUNGEST BROTHER

6. MARGARET
•Henry's French wife,
Margaret was wooed in I
Henry VI by Suffolk, who
later became her lover.
Alarmed that her husband is
such a weak man, Margaret
begins taking over for him.
She scolds him for having
given in to York's pressure in
agreeing to pass the throne
to York after his death. Then,
she raises an army to fight
with York; later, she stabs
York to death.

7. PRINCE EDWARD
•Son of Margaret and
Henry, Prince Edward
delights Henry's
supporters in his show
of strength and
courage; they hope he
is another Henry V. Yet
finally he is captured in
battle and killed by
York's sons.
DESCENDED FROM RICHARD’S II
YOUNGEST BROTHER

8. YORK
•Richard, the Duke of York, believes that he is
the true king of England. Since King Henry's
grandfather seized the throne illegally from
Richard II, then the real legal heir should have
been the offspring of the younger brothers of
Richard II. Richard is descended from Richard
II's eldest brother, whereas Henry VI is
descended from Richard II's younger brother.
DESCENDED FROM RICHARD’S II
ELDEST BROTHER

9. EDWARD
•York's eldest son, Edward
inherits York's struggle for
the throne, and seizes it
soon after his father is
killed in battle. But the
new power soon blinds
him to the need to listen to
his advisors and brothers,
and he marries Lady Gray,
thus, alienating Warwick
and the king of France,
who had negotiated for a
wedding to the French
king's sister.
DESCENDED FROM RICHARD’S II
ELDEST BROTHER

10. RICHARD•A younger brother of
Edward and George,
Richard is a fierce
supporter of the Yorks'
claim to the throne. Most
noted for his physical
deformities, including a
hump back, lame leg, and
shrivelled arm, Richard
takes his physical
deformity as proof that he
will not succeed with
women or in the world of
the court. Therefore, he
decides that the only thing
for him is to gain the
throne.
DESCENDED FROM RICHARD’S II
ELDEST BROTHER

11. GEORGE
•Edward's younger
brother, George was
in France at the
beginning of the
play, returning with
reinforcements after
his father's death.
DESCENDED FROM RICHARD’S II
ELDEST BROTHER

12. WARWICK
•Long one of York's
allies, Warwick was
a pivotal force in
bringing Edward to
the throne. Later, he
is sent to France to
negotiate for
marriage between
Edward and Lady
Bona, sister of the
king of France.

13. RUTLAND
•York's youngest son,
killed by Clifford.
Margaret dips a
handkerchief in his
blood to taunt York
with after she
captures him.

14. CLIFFORD
•Clifford's father was killed
by York at the end of 2
Henry VI, so Clifford begins
this play with blood lust.
He kills York's young son
Rutland, then York himself.
He and Richard become
enemies, and Richard tries
to kill him on the
battlefield, but Clifford dies
from an arrow wound
before Richard can find
him.

15. LADY GRAY
•Lady Gray comes to
Edward to ask him to
restore her lands to
her, as they were taken
when her husband
died. He proposes that
she become his lover
but she refuses. Then,
he asks her to marry
him, and she agrees,
becoming the queen.

16. ANALYSIS OF THE STORY
•Family bonds in the earlier Henry VI plays
were the strongest ties between nobles,
and they delineated the lines down which
factions were formed. But in 3 Henry VI,
family ties become fragile and threatened.
•The first breach of familial bonds comes
when Henry agrees to pass the crown to
York after his death. This act negates his
son's right to the throne and makes the
crown a piece of property, rather than a
symbol of lineal succession.

17. ANALYSIS OF THE STORY
•Later, Edward interprets a vision of three suns
rising into one as proof that he, Richard, and
George will succeed together; in fact, it seems to
mean that, without their father to unite them,
each will break out on his own until only one
remains standing. George breaks with Edward to
join Warwick, then rejoins his brothers, while
Richard remains loyal only because he hopes to
jockey Edward out of the throne eventually.
•As family bonds weaken, the social identities
provided by networks of kinship and feudal
loyalty disappear, giving birth to a kind of
monstrous individualism.

18. THEME
•Revenge is very eminent in
the story since it all started
with vengeance from
another family to the other.
•Greed for power

19. R
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L
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C
T
I O
N
 Regardless of what race, century or
time you belong the history tends to
repeat itself.
 That Greed for power is as old as the
ancient century that’s why we
shouldn’t be surprised of our current
political situation right now.
 Holding too tightly to something that
you really wanted is like wringing your
own neck.

20. KING HENRY VI
“ My crown is in my heart, not on my
head;
Not decked with diamonds and Indian
stones,
Nor to be seen: my crown is called
content:
A crown it is that seldom kings enjoy.”

21. THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING;-)
GODBLESS US ALL
MARY JOY C. CABILES
REPORTER