Henry VI, Part III · Chapter
Scene VI explained
In the Tower of London, King Henry VI is confronted by Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
What happens
In the Tower of London, King Henry VI is confronted by Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Henry prophesies Richard's monstrous nature and future atrocities before Richard stabs him to death. Richard then reflects on his own deformity and ambition, vowing to eliminate all obstacles to the throne, including his brother Clarence.
Themes in this chapter
Power and Ambition
Richard's soliloquy reveals his unbridled ambition to seize the throne, eliminating anyone in his path.
Fate and Providence
Henry's prophecy and Richard's reflection on his own birth portents highlight the theme of predestined evil and divine judgment.
Kingship and Leadership
Henry's pious and resigned demeanor contrasts with Richard's ruthless drive, illustrating the decline of legitimate kingship.
Characters to notice
- King Henry VI
Confronts Richard in the Tower, delivers a prophetic condemnation, and is murdered.
- Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Kills King Henry VI and reveals his ruthless ambition and self-justification.
Key passages
“The bird that hath been limed in a bush, With trembling wings misdoubteth every bush; And I, the hapless male to one sweet bird, Have now the fatal object in my eye Where my poor young was limed, was caught and kill'd.”
A bird once caught in birdlime fears every bush; similarly, I, the unfortunate father of a sweet child, now see the very place where my son was trapped and killed.
Henry compares his own fear and grief to a bird that has been trapped, lamenting the murder of his son Prince Edward.
“I, Daedalus; my poor boy, Icarus; Thy father, Minos, that denied our course; The sun that sear'd the wings of my sweet boy Thy brother Edward, and thyself the sea Whose envious gulf did swallow up his life.”
I am Daedalus, my son is Icarus; you, Richard, are like King Minos who blocked our escape; your brother Edward is the sun that melted my son's wings, and you are the sea that drowned him.
Henry uses the myth of Daedalus and Icarus to allegorize his own loss and blame Richard and Edward for his son's death.
“I have no brother, I am like no brother; And this word 'love,' which greybeards call divine, Be resident in men like one another And not in me: I am myself alone.”
I have no brotherly feeling; I am unlike any brother. The divine concept of love belongs to ordinary men, not to me—I stand entirely alone.
Richard declares his complete isolation and rejection of familial bonds, embracing his solitary and ruthless nature.