Henry VI Pt 2
Written: c. 1591; Texts: First Folio 1623 (History), quarto editions 1594, 1619, 1620
Source: Hall, Edward (1498-1547). The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancaster and York (3rd. ed., 1550); Holinshed, Raphael (c. 1528-c. 1580). The Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland. (2nd ed., 1587)
Characters: King Henry VI, Duke of Gloucester, Cardinal Beauford, Richard Plantagenet Duke of York, Richard Plantagenet (his third son), Duke of Somerset, Edward Earl of March, Duke of Suffolk, Duke of Buckingham, Lord Clifford, Earl of Warwick, Earl of Salisbury, Jack Cade, Sir Humphrey Stafford
Setting: London and France
Time: c. AD 1431-40
The 1594 quarto edition of what we now call Henry VI Part 2, was originally titled The First Part of the Contention of the Two Famous Houses of Lancaster and York, with the Death of the Good Duke Humphrey. This title anticipates a second part that would, in the First Folio, be titled Henry VI Part 3. Henry VI Part 2 and Henry VI Part 3 are the second and third plays in the First Tetralogy. The First Tetralogy, which was written between 1591 and 1595, comprises, in historical, not authorship order, Henry VI Part 1, Henry VI Part 2, Henry VI Part 3, and Richard III.
Quotes from Henry VI Pt 2
As by your high imperial Majesty
Read the QuoteSuffolk
As by your high imperial Majesty
I had in charge at my depart for France,
As procurator to your Excellence,
To marry Princess Margaret for your Grace,
So, in the famous ancient city Tours,
In presence of the Kings of France and Sicil,
The Dukes of Orleance, Calaber, Britaigne, and Alanson,
Seven earls, twelve barons,
… continue reading this quote
And humbly now upon my bended knee
Read the QuoteAnd humbly now upon my bended knee,
In sight of England and her lordly peers,
Deliver up my title in the Queen
To your most gracious hands, that are the substance
Of that great shadow I did represent:
The happiest gift that ever marquess gave,
The fairest queen that ever king received.
… continue reading this quote
Comfort, my sovereign! Gracious Henry, comfort!
Read the QuoteSuffolk
Comfort, my sovereign! Gracious Henry, comfort!
King Henry
What, doth my lord of Suffolk comfort me?
Came he right now to sing a raven’s note,
Whose dismal tune bereft my vital powers,
And thinks he that the chirping of a wren,
By crying comfort from a hollow breast,
Can chase away the first-conceivèd sound?
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Mischance and sorrow go along with you!
Read the QuoteQueen Margaret, calling after King Henry and
Warwick
Mischance and sorrow go along with you!
Heart’s discontent and sour affliction
Be playfellows to keep you company!
There’s two of you; the devil make a third,
And threefold vengeance tend upon your steps!
Suffolk
Cease, gentle queen, these execrations,
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My lord, a prize, a prize!
Read the QuoteMessenger
My lord, a prize, a prize! Here’s the Lord
Saye, which sold the towns in France, he that
made us pay one-and-twenty fifteens, and one
shilling to the pound, the last subsidy.
Enter George with the Lord Saye.
Thou hast most traitorously corrupted
the youth of the realm in erecting
a grammar school
Cade
Well,
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