# Scene II explained — Henry VIII > Chapter companion for Henry VIII by William Shakespeare. ## What happens Katherine, now ill and near death, is attended by Griffith and Patience. She asks Griffith about Cardinal Wolsey's death, and he recounts Wolsey's downfall, repentance, and peaceful end. Katherine offers a critical yet charitable assessment of Wolsey, and Griffith defends his virtues. Katherine then experiences a vision of spirits promising eternal happiness. She receives Capucius, the emperor's ambassador, and gives him a letter for the king, pleading for her daughter, her servants, and her women. She dies with dignity, requesting to be buried as a queen. ## Themes in this chapter ### Fall of the Mighty Wolsey's downfall and death are recounted, illustrating the transient nature of power and the humility of his end. ### Religion and Conscience Katherine's spiritual vision, her prayers, and her concern for Christian peace reflect deep religious faith and moral reflection. ### Loyalty and Betrayal Katherine's loyalty to her servants and her daughter, contrasted with her sense of betrayal by the king and the court. ## Character check-ins ### Queen Katherine Ill and dying, she reflects on Wolsey's death, experiences a prophetic vision, and dictates her final requests to the king. ### Griffith Katherine's gentleman usher, who recounts Wolsey's death and defends his virtues, and attends her in her final moments. ### Patience Katherine's woman, who helps care for her and notes the sudden change in her condition. ### Cardinal Wolsey Discussed posthumously; his death, repentance, and legacy are recounted by Griffith and critiqued by Katherine. ### Capucius The emperor's ambassador, sent by the king to visit Katherine, who delivers her final letter to Henry. ### King Henry VIII Mentioned as the sender of Capucius and the recipient of Katherine's letter; his conscience and grief are referenced. ## Key lines > O Griffith, sick to death! My legs, like loaden branches, bow to the earth, Willing to leave their burthen. Katherine says she is deathly ill, her legs weak and ready to give way, as if eager to release the weight of life. _Katherine's physical decline is vividly expressed._ > An old man, broken with the storms of state, Is come to lay his weary bones among ye; Give him a little earth for charity! Wolsey, worn out by political turmoil, asks the abbot for a humble burial place. _Wolsey's final words, as reported by Griffith, highlight his humility in death._ > He was a man Of an unbounded stomach, ever ranking Himself with princes; one that, by suggestion, Tied all the kingdom: simony was fair-play; His own opinion was his law. Katherine criticizes Wolsey as arrogant, power-hungry, and corrupt, treating bribery as acceptable and his own judgment as absolute. _Katherine's harsh assessment of Wolsey's character._ > Men’s evil manners live in brass; their virtues We write in water. People remember faults permanently, but good deeds are easily forgotten. _Griffith's proverb about the fleeting nature of virtuous memory._ > After my death I wish no other herald, No other speaker of my living actions, To keep mine honour from corruption, But such an honest chronicler as Griffith. Katherine says she wants only a truthful historian like Griffith to preserve her reputation after she dies. _Katherine's trust in Griffith's integrity._ > Spirits of peace, where are ye? are ye all gone, And leave me here in wretchedness behind ye? Katherine, waking from her vision, asks where the heavenly spirits have gone, feeling abandoned in her suffering. _Katherine's longing for the spiritual comfort she experienced in her dream._ > O my good lord, that comfort comes too late; ’Tis like a pardon after execution. Katherine tells Capucius that the king's kind words arrive too late to help her, like a pardon given after a prisoner is already dead. _Katherine's bitter acknowledgment of her impending death._ > Let me be used with honour: strew me over With maiden flowers, that all the world may know I was a chaste wife to my grave: embalm me, Then lay me forth: although unqueen’d, yet like A queen, and daughter to a king, inter me. Katherine asks to be treated with dignity, covered with flowers as a symbol of her chastity, and buried as a queen despite being stripped of her title. _Katherine's final request for a honorable burial befitting her royal birth._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/henry_viii_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-ii - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/henry_viii_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/henry_viii_se/chapters