 Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
|
Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
Table of Contents Themes Major Theme The play offers a descriptive account of aristocratic internecine fighting over which family is to rule the crown. The tribalism that occurs in these plays results in a social disorder that results in civil war. The basic bonds of society and families are disrupted and individual morality, custom, trust, duty and self-control disappear while suffering and bloodshed are rampant. It is an unstable and constantly shifting world that Shakespeare evokes in his trilogy and this last part of the trilogy is the most ferocious and bloody resulting in the rise of Richard III's rule. Irrational fury, anger, hate, pride, ambition and lust for gold and power flourish amidst the horrors of a civil war. Minor Theme The Wheel of Fortune is an appropriate symbol of Henry VI Part 3. Fate or Fortune is linked with individual passions that tilt society out of balance because of their furious nature. Since the crown was bestowed on Henry IV, grandfather of Henry VI, by unscrupulous means, the fate of England is to be malignant until the crown's rightful heir is on the throne. Due to this injustice, all of Britain's noble families are indiscreet, ruled by lust, ambition, revenge and anger and they become victims of their own injustices. No side is the better in this play and each side bears the costs of violence and moral degradation. No one is exonerated for the acts they partake in and each is vulnerable to the cruel hand of Fate. Subterfuge and treachery beget a society that is in chaos and out of balance. Table of Contents Mood Nihilistic prophecies of civil war and its consequences continue throughout the play. An atmosphere of blood and revenge prevails throughout the play. Threats, wishes, fears and intentions constantly fulfill the same function. Lust, ambition, revenge, anger and false hopes rule all the main characters. The imagery creates an atmosphere of chaos, grief, and bloodshed. Table of Contents | |
|
|
|||||||
