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Summary
Buckingham and Suffolk enter a parliament hall at Bury St. Edmunds, followed by York and Winchester, then Henry and Margaret, then Salisbury and Warwick. They are waiting for Gloucester to appear, and Henry says it’s unusual for him to be late. Margaret tells him he should take note of how the man has changed: he’s become insolent, and he always seems angry, never greeting anyone. She insists that he poses a threat. Not only is he next in line for the throne, but he has also won the support of the common people through flattery and could lead them to revolt. It is time to weed the garden, she insists, and she asks Suffolk, Buckingham, and York to back up her female intuition about Gloucester. Buckingham agrees that the actions of the Duchess show Gloucester harbored thoughts of treason. For his part, Winchester accuses Gloucester of excessively punishing minor crimes during his time as Protector, and York says Gloucester levied significant taxes during the French wars, though the money never arrived at its destination as pay for English soldiers. These accusations upset Henry, who insists on Gloucester’s innocence. Margaret retorts that he’s even more dangerous since he seems so harmless: he is a wolf dressed as a lamb.
Just then, Somerset enters to report that all the English lands in France have been lost. Gloucester enters next, and Suffolk immediately calls for his arrest on charges of treason. Unflustered, Gloucester says he’s done nothing wrong, and he proceeds to deflect each of the accusations the lords had discussed prior to his arrival. Suffolk insists there are still worse crimes of which to accuse him, and he reiterates his arrest charges.
Gloucester, now increasingly deflated and realizing the strength of the forces against him, addresses Henry and warns the king against Winchester’s malice, Buckingham’s envy, York’s ambition, and Margaret’s scheming. He declares that all the lords have plotted against him, and he won’t be able to prove his innocence because they will pack the court with false witnesses. As he is taken away, Gloucester says that the king has thrown away his crutch before he has yet learned to walk on his own. Henry, who continues to believe in Gloucester’s innocence, is distraught by his inability to protect him from his courtiers. Crying “sad unhelpful tears” (3.1.218), he withdraws, implicitly yielding his authority to his lords.
Now alone with Winchester, Suffolk, and York, Margaret says the pitiful king is easily beguiled by Gloucester. Winchester thinks it best for Gloucester to die, but he wonders what excuse they can make for his death. Suffolk suggests that it doesn’t matter if he is accused of anything, he simply needs to be killed. They all agree.
Just then a messenger arrives from Ireland, telling of a rebel uprising there. York sarcastically suggests they send Somerset as regent since he had such good fortune in France. Winchester tells York to lead soldiers to Ireland and restore peace. York agrees to go, and he asks for an army to be readied soon. Everyone else departs.
Now alone, York says it is time to be resolved in his future course. His mind has been too busy imagining ways to bring down his enemies, but now he has an opportunity to act. What he lacked was an army, but now he has been given one. He describes his plan to employ someone in England to stir up trouble while he’s gone. To this end he has employed Jack Cade, a fierce rebel who will pretend to be the late John Mortimer and declare his claim to the throne. With Cade’s help, York will discover what the common people think of the Yorkist claim to the throne. If Cade is captured and tortured, he won’t reveal his link to York. However, if Cade thrives, then he will come back from Ireland with his army and seize the throne.
Analysis
More than any other scene thus far in the play, the opening of act 3 demonstrates just how weak Henry is as a king. Margaret has previously complained that he is too concerned with his religious life to be an effective ruler. Now we see just how meek he is; his sentimentality easily gets the best of him, and he shows no ability to keep his lords—or his wife—in line. Indeed, if Henry were a stronger leader, he wouldn’t allow himself to be pushed around by his nobles, nor would he consent to the imprisonment of a man he believes to be innocent. Yet Henry can’t seem to deflect the accusations of his nobles and his wife, and though he is distraught at Gloucester’s imminent downfall, he allows his uncle to be led off to prison. In perhaps the clearest sign of his weakness, Henry chooses to resign altogether, withdrawing in sadness at having betrayed a beloved friend by failing to protect him.
Significantly, the structure of act 3, scene 1, closely parallels that of act 1, scene 1. Recall how that scene worked through a logic of reduction, starting with a large group of characters who exit the stage one by one, leaving behind groups who would gossip and conspire against the recently departed. This pattern continued until only York was the only person left onstage, at which point he delivered his first long speech, where he announced his plan to pursue the throne. Here we find an almost identical pattern. The court has convened and waits for Gloucester to appear. Soon after he does, the departures begin. Gloucester is escorted away, under arrest. Then the grief-stricken king leaves, accompanied by Salisbury and Warwick. Margaret remains behind with Winchester, Suffolk, and York to complain about the king and plan Gloucester’s death. Then, after the news of the Irish rebellion, everyone leaves York alone, and he makes a long speech with an updated plan for how he’ll seize Henry’s throne. At this point in the play, with so many plots and subplots in motion, the structure of this scene feels almost like a clock counting down: with every departure, we get closer to disaster.
Also significant is York’s introduction of the figure Jack Cade, whom he has employed to assist him in his bid for the throne. Cade’s physical appearance closely resembles that of York’s late uncle Mortimer, and he’ll use this resemblance to assume the dead man’s identity—a plot that is symbolically potent in this scene, where Margaret has previously accused Gloucester of being a wolf in lamb’s clothing. York plans to use the disguised Cade as something of a canary in a coal mine. That is, he wants to see how the common people will respond to a man from the house of York coming forward as a claimant to the throne. Rather than risk his own skin, he’s engaged the help of a man who has a proven track record. Cade’s ferocity as a warrior makes him trustworthy, and York believes he won’t give him up. It’s a clever plan, as it means that York’s claim to the throne will not be suspected, even as the common people organize in the name of Yorkist claimant.
