Henry VI plays Henry VI Part 3 - “O tiger's heart wrapp'd in a woman's hide!”
Henry VI Part 3 - “O tiger's heart wrapp'd in a woman's hide!”
Shakespeare had had a busy year in 1591. Following the success of the History play that became known as Henry VI Part 2, Shakespeare probably performed in 8 to ten plays and wrote two more Henry VI plays Henry VI Part 3 then Henry VI Part 1.
The winter at the beginning 1591 was very cold and grain was in short supply. With the profit from his Henry VI Part 2 play, Shakespeare had probably sent money through a middleman back to Henley Street in Stratford for his wife to invest in grain storage back in October 1590 and they were probably starting to reap the rewards. Grain hoarding was highly illegal but widespread in England at this time and Shakespeare’s wife Anne was starting to probably prove a shrewd and wise investor. So as winter set in in London, Shakespeare felt secure in his choice to come to London and he knew that writing plays could support him in London and his family back in Stratford.
So, Shakespeare knew that he had to write the Henry VI sequel and prequel. He probably had noted the success of Spenser’s narrative poem ‘The Faerie Queene’ and he knew that he could write narrative poetry as good as Spenser but he knew that that sort of writing would have to wait. He knew playwriting was competitive and dangerous. How could he ever match the verse of Marlowe whose Tamburlaine had been revived even in winter?
Shakespeare would have poured over Hall’s ‘Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancaster and York’ and Holingshed’s ‘Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland’ and he knew that the next challenge was how to stage the battles and horrors of the ‘War of the Roses’ on the stage. He knew he also had to be careful since many of the horrors of this war had been committed by Queen Margaret, a woman and a monarch.
How could he avoid the fate of a trip to The Tower that had befallen some playwrights and even some of his Catholic relatives? Shakespeare knew that he needed to tread a thin line. He knew he needed to also dramatically do more than to just display the horror and disunity of the times. He pillages from a number of sources including the enigmatic character of Joan of Arc (probably as tribute to Elizabeth I and her defeat of the Spanish Armada back in 1588. He moved quickly between real historical events and events which he invented to evoke a chivalry and patriotism which made the play popular in its time.
In late April, when the plays were performed probably at polygon-shaped building called The Theatre.
The Theatre was located in the disreputable Shoreditch and had a thrust stage which extended from one side of the polygon shaped building. The two plays were a success and were perhaps performed with Henry VI Part 2 as a trilogy over three afternoons. The audience in the open yard stood for the play and had paid a penny. The people in the galleries probably paid two pennies except for those who sat on a stool who paid three pennies for the privilege. The Theatre could probably hold 1500 people at a time, so you can imagine the resentment which the success of Shakespeare’s plays caused more seasoned playwrights like Greene.
Henry VI Part 3 Act One – “O tiger's heart wrapp'd in a woman's hide!”
You can imagine it. It’s the beginning of 1591. Shakespeare had a great success with Henry VI Part 2. He could either go back and tell the lead up to the story as a teaser, or he can continue with Henry VI’s story. It had been a dry summer that seemed to go all the way through until October and then the Winter came colder than he remembered from his first years in London. Grain was in shortage. He had spoken to the merchant down from his lodgings who seemed to be making a fortune now and had no shortage of grain. Grain hoarding was, of course, illegal but the merchants got away with it and even middlemen in Stratford seemed to be doing it. He made a note of that in case times became harder or he came into some extra cash. Anyway, the merchants seemed to be flavour of the month ever since the Queen herself had granted them a charter to trade in the East Indies. The Dutch seemed to be making a killing and it only made sense to cash in on some of the trade.
What to do? Spenser had done a cracking job with a poem called ‘The Faerie Queene’ and he knew that he could write narrative poetry as good as Spenser but that would have to wait. Besides, without a sponsor, he wouldn’t even make as much as he made as an actor and he did have a wife and family to support back in Stratford. And then there was Marlowe. What a writer, what a playwright! His ‘Tamburlaine’ had been revived again and he was working on a new play about a Jew in Malta. If only, he could find a way to combine high verse and blank verse the way Marlowe did. That would be something else. Besides, he was making twice as much as he did as an actor and much of the money he could get in advance and even earn money in Winter, if the action hit the parchment more quickly than the ink had dried. Yes, “the play’s the thing”.
Besides, history plays were proving popular. The facts could be changed, as long as the Tudors are shown to be virtuous and deserving. Trouble is, both Hall’s ‘Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancaster and York’ (1548) and the recently purchased copy of Holingshed’s ‘Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland’ (1587), probably picked up by Shakespeare in the markets about 1589, are filled with battles and horrors. Don’t get me wrong, Shakespeare knew that horror would work on stage but even he must have thought 'How do I stage so many battles and justify them or at least make palatable since so much violence in the wars seems to have been committed by Queen Margaret (a woman and a monarch) herself?' How could he put all this on stage and maintain the dramatic impact? Make a start.
‘Henry VI Part 3 – Richard Duke of York’ Let’s see. Have York arrive in London before Henry and have him try out the throne. Nothing like a taste of power at the beginning. Dramatic and it gives a sense of temptation and power and hints at a weakness in York. Enter King Henry. One has the thrown and the other has the crown. Henry would rather fight with words than blades. Have some civil conversation reminding the audience of the claims both have for the throne. Then show that both are on thin ice like the streets outside. Slippery business. This works and it is great for stage tension having the two meet so early around the throne and crown they both want. Have Warwick pressure Henry and then Henry, true to character, offers a compromise. Henry proposes he will keep the thrown until his death and then York will take over and be “father to a line of kings”. Of course this disinherits Henry’s own son, but that provides opportunities later and this strengthens Margaret’s resolve and drive her from Henry’s bed towards the battlefield. York and Henry can seem happy but all the others can be confused and upset.
Then to the battlefield. It's only Scene 3. Is this too early? No, Margaret’s forces have to be shown winning early on. A bloody ruthless army. Kill a child, Rutland York’s youngest song, early to show that Margaret’s forces will stop at nothing. Show York captured in the very next scene. Have Margaret mock him, put a paper crown on his head, offer him a handkerchief covered in his youngest son’s blood to wipe his tears. Make a note to self, that violence or torture when instigated by a woman is so much more violent and terrifying on stage. I must follow through on this again in a later play. York must react and call her inhuman and evil. Have both Margaret and Clifford stab York but have Margaret orders York’s head be placed on top of the gates of York. Perhaps I will have to drop the ‘Richard Duke of York’ from the title since I have killed off York in the first act. Never mind. Now York’s sons will have to take up the battle.
Henry VI Part 3 Act 2
Perhaps Shakespeare took a breath and had a contemplative moment in the middle of writing about the War of the Roses battles. There is a moment when Edward and Richard meet on the field of battle, wondering about their father’s fate. They reflect on the symbolic meaning of the light on the horizon, one the optimist, and the other, the pessimist. A messenger comes to tell them of their father’s death. Edward mourns his father, wishing that he were dead instead of his father:
"Now my soul's palace is become a prison
Ah, would she break from hence that this my body
Might in the ground be close up in rest.
For never henceforth shall I joy again"
But Richard cannot cry and is filled with rage and desire for revenge:
“I cannot weep; for all my body's moisture
Scarce serves to quench my furnace-burning heart…
Richard, I bear thy name; I'll venge thy death,
Or die renowned by attempting it.”
So begins Act 2.
All seems lost for the Yorks. Queen Margaret’s army advances.
Clifford's speaks to Henry about nature, families and the responsibilities of fathers. He advocates that Henry show no mercy.
“To whom do lions cast their gentle looks?
Not to the beast that would usurp their den.”
Henry is not convinced. Edward and his men enter to negotiate. But negotiations don’t work and even Margaret shuts King Henry up. Edward blames Margaret for all the kingdom’s troubles. Everyone resolves to work things out on the battlefield.
The turning point of the battle is when Richard fights Clifford and the tide turns for Richard and Edward. Henry, of course, is standing on the battlefield watching a parade of soldiers with the dead, and he laments his lot. Clifford enters with an arrow in his neck and death at his back. Richard is thus denied revenge for his father’s death. Even Clifford now blames Henry’s weakness as a king for the country’s woes. Henry laments that he has not been a stronger king. A bit late, mate. Everyone urges Henry to leave the battlefield to save himself.
Edward and his forces seem to be winning and know that if they can ally with France, they will be able to subdue Margaret’s armies once and for all. Edward makes Richard the Duke of Gloucester and George the Duke of Clarence. Richard thinks that the title of Duke of Gloucester is unlucky and asks for a redraw (perhaps he has visited some witches or read an advanced copy of ‘Richard III). Edward is emphatic (something Henry never was) and they head off to London to see the London Eye, catch a show and claim the throne.
Henry VI Part 3 Acts 3 and 4 – "What fates impose, that men must needs abide; it boots not to resist both wind and tide."
Richard is an interesting character even in the Henry VI plays. Deformed by birth and by his ambitious desires, one wonders whether his outward appearance is a marker of his corrupt ugly inner being or whether his physical appearance is the reason for him taking on an ugly and tyrannical attitude. In Act 3 of Henry VI Part 3, Richard thinks about his brother Edward’s decision to marry Lady Gray even though Edward has sent Warwick to France to negotiate for Edward to marry the King of France’s daughter. Richard, like Macbeth in Shakespeare’s later play, laments that he himself loves and desires the crown but that he seems too far away from ever inheriting it. He tells us that he still sets his sights on the crown since his appearance means that he will never enjoy the love of court life or the love of women. He decides he will try to appear charming while he plots and schemes the downfall and death of others.
King Louis of France seems to approve of the marriage of his daughter to Edward and then he finds out that Edward has already married Lady Gray and he is mad to say the least. Warwick feels cheesed-off that Edward has used him and he joins Margaret and Henry’s side to oust Edward. Warwick asks King Louis for troops to help him and King Louis offers his help to them. Poor Warwick feels like a turncoat since he came to France as Edward’s ambassador and returns to England as the spearhead of an attack on Edward.
Of course, Edward is captured by Warwick and his men and the crown is once again returned to Henry VI. But not for long, since this is the historical soap opera of its day. Henry returns to the throne but Richard is able to secure the escape of Edward back to York for the next Act which could be subtitled either ‘The Yorks Strike Back’ or ‘The Return of the Yorks’. There is a lovely moment (‘A New Hope’) in Act IV when Henry meets a young Richmond who will be the future King Henry VII who later becomes founder of the Tudor dynasty, defeater of Richard III, the person who bring peace after the War of the Roses and the ancestor of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.
Henry VI Part 3 Act V - "Down, down to hell, and say I sent thee hither!"
The imagery and metaphors flow as freely as the killings. Warwick is wounded and laments that, of all his lands, this patch of earth on which he is dying is all he now possesses. Warwick dies just as Margaret arrives with troops from France (French unions seeking better pay conditions for the military on overseas service, and customs’ checks delayed them. Margaret spurs her troops on with more nautical and sailing metaphors but alas metaphors, without the generous hyperboles of Henry V, are not enough. Henry VI watches on and laments, much as Hamlet does in that later play as he sees the approach of Fortinbras’ troops. Deep contemplation, like extended metaphors, apparently doesn’t win battles.
King Edward wins on the battlefield. Margaret, Oxford and Somerset are captured. Margaret and Henry VI’s son, Prince Edward, is captured and he refuses to give up his right to the throne and he is brutally stabbed to death by (King) Edward, Richard, and George. Margaret faints - her first sign of weakness. Richard quietly slips off to the Tower. Margaret recovers but is in anguish over her son’s brutal death and asks to also be killed. They refuse and she is lead away (besides she is contracted to play a cameo in Season 4 – ‘Richard III’).
Where did Richard go? Of course, Richard, unlike his brothers has only just started. He arrives at Henry's prison cell in the Tower. Henry has heard of his son’s death and tries to smother Richard in metaphoric comparisons to Daedalus and his son Icarus and even curses Richard:
“(They) Shall rue the hour that ever thou wast born.
The owl shrieked at thy birth--an evil sign...
Teeth hadst thou in thy head when thou wast born,
To signify thou cam'st to bite the world"
Richard cuts Henry VI’s speech short and stabs Henry to death. Richard does not like long metaphoric comparisons or anyone commenting on his premature dental endowments.
Richard thinks over his unusual birth and believes that he was born feet first and with teeth for a reason and continues:
"Then, since the heavens have shaped my body so,
Let hell make crooked my mind to answer it.”
With Henry and his son dead, Edward enters the throne room with Lady Gray, George, Richard, Hastings, and his infant son, Prince Edward. He decides to send Margaret back to France and starts his reign of bread and circuses. But we know that Richard feels no ties to honour or family and that soon he will upset King Edward’s party in his own quest for power…
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