 Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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Table of Contents Act V, Scene I Summary The King accepts the offer to marry the Earl of Armagnac’s daughter to establish peace between France and England. The Earl is a close relative of the Dauphin. The King requests Winchester, who is now a Cardinal to draw the conditions of peace. He sends his future bride a token of his affection through Gloucester. Winchester is bent on destroying Gloucester at all cost. Notes The war between the two nations has brought misery to both sides. Its continuation means losses to both sides irrespective of who wins. Peace is the only way to settle the matter. The perfect way of attaining this peace is through a politically engineered marriage between Henry VI and the daughter of the Earl of Armagnac, who is a close relative of the Dauphin. The focus of the whole play is on the war between the two countries and the acceptance of Henry VI to this political marriage points the way towards the end of this war. Although the young King has certain misgivings about being married so young he is willing to play his part if it benefits his nation. Winchester has finally succeeded in becoming a cardinal and Exeter fears the consequence of the former gaining such power. His fears are well founded as is revealed in Winchester’s soliloquy at the end of the scene. His foremost concern is his self-glorification and the destruction of his personal enemy Gloucester. So much so that he is even ready to destroy the stability of the nation to achieve his purpose. His words, "sack this country with a mutiny" are grimly prophetic. Table of Contents | |
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