Henry VI Part 2 abbreviated

Synopsis


William de la Pole, known here as Suffolk, was the Englishman who at the end of Part 1 successfully negotiated the marriage of Margaret of Anjou to Henry VI; she the daughter of Reignier, a well-connected, but relatively poor, French nobleman. This play begins when Suffolk presents England’s new queen to the English nobility. Suffolk and Margaret have been infatuated with each other, dating to the time they first met in France. Shortly after they met, the married Suffolk came to believe that if he could persuade the king to marry Margaret he could effectively influence Henry VI; she mistakenly believing that the English king would be as charming as Suffolk.

Early on, Gloucester, the only living uncle to the king, an uncle through John of Gaunt’s Legitimate line, having been designated the young king’s Protector by the king’s father, the late Henry V, having served the king as his Protector since the king was eight months old, offers a stinging rebuke of the marriage “arranged” for the young king, a rebuke supported by Salisbury, Warwick and York, all major players in this play. Gloucester is in particular upset with the Duke of Suffolk whom he says “hath given the Duchy of Anjou and Maine unto the poor King Reignier.” (Pride, Act 1, Scene 1) The intrigue in this play begins early. The young king is pious and naïve. He has dismissed Richard Plantagenet, the Duke of York, as Regent of France, York being the leader of the white rose contingent. He replaces him with Somerset, one of the young king’s uncles through John of Gaunt’s Beaufort line and the leader of the red rose contingent. York and Somerset were at each other’s throat in the last play.

Gloucester’s wife is the Duchess. She, the Queen, Suffolk, Winchester (the Cardinal), York and Somerset are talented and ambitious people, and each has an agenda. Gloucester (Humphrey) being, as we say, the king’s only living uncle in the Legitimate line, is next in line to be king, and to-be-kings are always easy targets. Major camps develop; the king, Gloucester and Somerset are one; Suffolk, the queen and the Cardinal are another. As an illustration of the in-fighting, Salisbury famously says to his son Warwick and to York as Buckingham and Somerset exit, “Pride went before, ambition follows him.” York soon recruits the Nevilles to his cause, the Nevilles being major players in the Beaufort line, York’s cause being that he should be king. Salisbury and Warwick are the two Nevilles York recruits; both in the words of Suffolk being “no simple peers.” (Statesmanship, Act 1, Scene 1) Warwick cries “Unto the main! O father, Maine is lost,” and the two of them exit. Correctly figuring that he has the support of these two Nevilles, York begins developing a strategy to gain the crown, saying to himself “A day will come when York shall claim his own.” (Resentment, Act 1, Scene 1) The queen and the Duchess are ferociously competitive. This is a tough crowd. The War of the Roses, the conflict that began in a quiet London garden in Part 1 between Somerset and York, continues to grow.

Meanwhile, John Hume, a priest, in the “employ” of Suffolk and the Cardinal, arranges for Margery Jourdain, a witch, and Bolingbroke, a conjurer, to visit the Duchess in her garden with the rationale that they can help her gain insight into the future. The two of them cause a “Spirit” to rise from the earth and the Spirit then offers prophecies about the king, and about Suffolk and Somerset. She pays Hume, saying “Here, Hume, take this reward: make merry, man.” (Deviousness, Act 1, Scene 2) York and Buckingham enter and have them arrested. Buckingham then fatefully tells the king, queen and Cardinal about the Duchess and her indiscretions with conjurers and the like. As with soothsayers and witches in other plays, Shakespeare has the Spirit accurately and mysteriously foretell happenings. The Duchess will find herself in big trouble. Part of the problem for the Duchess is Queen Margaret, who shares with Suffolk her general disappointment with her husband, the king, and with some of those around him. Suffolk tries to comfort her when she says “Not all these lords do vex me half so much as that proud dame the Lord Protector’s wife (the Duchess).” (Disillusionment, Act 1, Scene 3)

The wily York invites Salisbury and his son Warwick to dinner where he provides them with a powerful refresher course in family history, convincing them that through his mother’s line he should be king. York’s wife is Cicely, Salisbury’s sister and Warwick’s aunt. (History, Act 2, Scene 2) These two Nevilles agree with York and pledge their allegiance to him. (Legitimacy, Act 2, Scene 2) Meanwhile, for consorting with witches and the like, the king banishes the Duchess of Gloucester to the Isle of Man. In protest, Gloucester resigns his role as the king’s Protector, the king now becoming his own Protector. Shamefully, the Duchess is led through the streets. She prophetically warns her husband of the dangerous-for-him motives of some members of the King’s Council, a threat he naively dismisses. (Resignation, Act 2, Scene 4) Gloucester is like his grandfather’s brother York, back in the times of Richard II, in that he goes by the books and supports his country’s monarch, regardless of political intrigues. He disappointingly puts up little fight to protest his wife’s banishment.

Meanwhile the King’s Council convenes at the Parliament building, and Gloucester arrives late. Before Gloucester’s arrival, Suffolk, Winchester and York claim among other accusations that Gloucester has unjustly profiteered as the king’s Protector. The queen suggests to the king that Gloucester represents a threat, being next in line to be king. (Wife to Husband, Act 3, Scene 1) When Gloucester does arrive, Suffolk says “I do arrest thee of high treason here.” The often weak king offers Gloucester surprisingly little support, saying “‘tis my special hope that you will clear yourself,” Gloucester having been his Protector and being his only living uncle in the Legitimate line. Gloucester gallantly lashes out at the council and at Winchester, Suffolk, Buckingham, and York in particular, telling the king “I know their conspiracy is to have my life.” (Disillusionment, Act 3, Scene 1) Gloucester is taken away and soon murdered. (Grief, Act 3, Scene 1) The Duchess was on target with her warnings. But the queen cries out at the king, “Is all thy comfort shut in Gloucester’s tomb.” (Resentment, Act 3, Scene 2) Warwick then verbally attacks Suffolk, Warwick having seen the strangled Gloucester on his death bed; Warwick becoming a major player in the future histories. The “common people,” those in the streets, led by Salisbury and Warwick, claim mightily that Suffolk and the Cardinal (Winchester) are guilty of Gloucester’s murder. The king banishes Suffolk. Suffolk and the queen, long having had an intimate relationship, have a tender moment before he has to leave the country. (Love, Act 3, Scene 2.1) (Love, Act 3, Scene 2.2) Winchester soon dies, acknowledging his guilt, sort of. Suffolk is killed at sea. (Resentment, Act 4, Scene 1)

Meanwhile, the king learns that the Irish are rebelling and asks York to lead an effort to quell them. York accepts the assignment, forming a plan to advance his personal objectives, a plan that includes leading the king’s forces in Ireland. (Deviousness, Act 3, Scene 1) While in Ireland, York engineers a plan to have one Jack Cade create some mischief in London. Cade’s “rebellion” becomes a class issue; the lettered versus the craftsmen. It’s here where Dick the butcher famously says, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” It’s here where Shakespeare adds a little lightness, offsetting the deaths of Gloucester, Suffolk and the Cardinal.

Meanwhile, Lord Say, a noble, loyal to the king, enters. He unrealistically believes that he himself can quell the rebellion. Jack Cade captures him and has him taken away. (Pleading, Act 4, Scene 7) Later, Buckingham and Clifford offer Cade a pardon if he’ll stop his rebellion, a pardon he rejects. Cade flees. A little later a starving Cade enters Iden’s garden looking for something to eat. Not knowing who he is, Alexander Iden challenges him; they fight; a weak and famished Cade loses quickly and dies. Meanwhile York returns from Ireland with his army and with plans to challenge the king. He confronts the king directly, suggesting he replace him. (Proposal, Act 5, Scene 1) Somerset enters at St. Albans and attempts to arrest York. The action is quick here. Old Clifford enters, Old Clifford being a nobleman very loyal to the king. Salisbury and Warwick let the king know that they support York’s cause, infuriating the king. Old Clifford and York fight; Old Clifford falls and dies. Richard, one of York’s sons, fights with Somerset, York’s long time red-rose-bearing nemesis. Somerset is killed. These two deaths, Old Clifford and Somerset, set the stage, so to speak, for furious action between Young Clifford and Richard, York’s fourth son, in the next play. Young Clifford pledges that he will avenge his father’s death by getting even when “I meet an infant of the house of York.” (Revenge, Act 5, Scene 2) The king, queen and Young Clifford, having lost at St. Albans, head for London. The play ends with Warwick, Salisbury, York and his son Richard planning to intercept the king and others on their way to London, a plan that doesn’t materialize.


Principal Characters


Cardinal
The Cardinal is Winchester, the Cardinal of Winchester, also known as Cardinal Beaufort or just as Beaufort. He is one of the king’s great uncles in the Beaufort line, ambitious for a higher role in the scheme of things. He is never very loyal to the king, acknowledging on his deathbed of his sins against the state.

Duchess
The Duchess is Eleanor, the ambitious wife of the Duke of Gloucester, the king’s only living uncle in the Legitimate line. He is Humphrey, and to him, she is Nell. She is advised (misled) by Margery Jourdain, a witch, Roger Bolingbroke, a conjurer, and Hume, a priest. Hume introduces her to Bolingbroke, who introduces her to a “Spirit,” who offers prophecies; prophecies which end up being true. She is exiled to the Isle of Man.

Gloucester
Gloucester is the king’s uncle Humphrey, named Protector of the realm by the King’s father, Henry V. As Protector, he acts on behalf of the King, protecting the young King and the state. He is competent, loyal and honorable, but being first in line to succeed the king is a political problem for him.

Henry VI
Henry VI is king. His father was Henry V; his grandfather, Henry IV and his great-grandfather, John of Gaunt, King Edward III’s fourth son. They are of the House of Lancaster, the Legitimate line. Their followers wear red roses. He was named king at age eight months, certainly never seeking the title.

Queen
The king calls her Meg. She is Margaret, daughter of Reignier, the French King of Naples. Reignier retained all rights to the French counties Anjou and Maine, a condition granted to him by Suffolk when Reignier offered his daughter to be the English king’s bride, an issue that haunts many in England throughout the play. She is loyal to the state, but her heart remains with Suffolk Late in the play York questions the Queen’s parentage.

Salisbury
Salisbury is Richard Neville, the Earl of Salisbury, John of Gaunt’s daughter’s grandson-in-law. Warwick (The Kingmaker) is Salisbury’s son. John of Gaunt’s daughter, Joan Beaufort, had married Ralph Neville, known in earlier plays as Westmorland, the “first” of the Nevilles. Salisbury’s father, Thomas, also the Earl of Salisbury, had died at Orleans in Henry VI Part 1. A point here is that Salisbury and his son Warwick are important figures in the Neville’s line, a family that plays a big role in these histories.

Somerset
He is Edmund Beaufort, one of John of Gaunt’s great-grandsons in the Beaufort line, and loyal to the Lancaster side of this powerful family. He and Richard Plantagenet (York) began the War of the Roses in the London garden in Part 1. He is the Second Duke of Somerset and one of the king’s uncles, but not the close uncle Gloucester is. He dies late in the play in a duel with York’s physically impaired son Richard, a key to events in the next history.

Suffolk
Suffolk is William de la Pole who entered the scene late in Part 1 with a major role, somehow meeting in France the beautiful Margaret, the daughter of Reignier. He successfully persuaded the youthful Henry VI and Gloucester, the King’s Protector, that she should be the young king’s wife. Suffolk and Queen Margaret had a continuing romantic affair from the time they met right up and through the murder of Gloucester.

Warwick
Warwick is Salisbury’s talented and outspoken son. He is, as is his father, a Richard Neville; he later becomes known as “The Kingmaker.” He’s a heavyweight. He has some of the characteristics of Hotspur and the French Dauphin featured in earlier plays.

York
York is Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, husband to Cecily Neville, Salisbury’s sister and Warwick’s aunt. He is the only grandson of Edmund Langley, Edward III’s fifth son. His father, the Earl of Cambridge, had married Anne Mortimer, the great-granddaughter of Lionel, Edward III’s third son. Lionel was John of Gaunt’s older brother; Edmund Langley, John of Gaunt’s younger brother. York is quite a talent and certainly royalty. He claims his right to be king through his mother’s line, his connection to Edward III’s third son, but he is also a direct descendent through his father to Edward III’s fifth son. He is the father of four sons and a daughter; two of the sons becoming England’s kings. The queen claims that York’s wife is not the mother of his sons. His followers wear white roses.

 A portrait of William Shakespeare