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Summary
Two murderers smother Gloucester in his bed. Suffolk enters and asks if they are done. He sends them to his house to be paid. Henry, Margaret, Winchester, and Somerset enter the adjoining room. Henry tells Suffolk to summon Gloucester for his trial, and when Suffolk returns from the next room, he announces that Gloucester is dead. Henry faints. Suffolk tries to help him up, but the king curses him, accusing Suffolk of murderous tyranny. Margaret asks Henry why he is so cruel to Suffolk, who didn’t like Gloucester but now weeps at his death. She, too, sheds tears, and she expresses her worry that people will suspect her of playing a role in this tragedy. When Henry continues to grieve for Gloucester, Margaret laments that she made the difficult crossing to England to be treated so badly. She was bewitched, she declares, by Suffolk’s tales about Henry’s greatness, but Henry isn’t nearly so wonderful as Suffolk promised.
Warwick and Salisbury enter and relay reports from commoners that Gloucester was murdered by Winchester and Suffolk. Henry says Gloucester is dead, but no one knows how. Warwick examines the body and affirms that Gloucester was killed. Suffolk asks who could have killed him when he was under the protection of himself and Winchester, but Warwick points out that Gloucester was the sworn enemy of both men. Suffolk dares Warwick to accuse him, and they draw swords to fight. Meanwhile, Winchester falls ill and is led out with Somerset’s assistance. Warwick accuses Suffolk of murder; the two argue and depart.
Salisbury then reenters to report the commoners’ demand that Suffolk be killed or banished. They believe he killed Gloucester and fear for the king’s well-being, for Suffolk is a sly serpent who intends to harm the king. As the increasingly enraged commoners threaten mutiny, Henry sends Salisbury to communicate that he will banish Suffolk. Ignoring Margaret’s pleas, Henry orders Suffolk to leave England within three days, then he departs with Warwick.
Margaret and Suffolk remain. Margaret bemoans their misfortune, and Suffolk curses his enemies. A messenger then passes through with news that Winchester is terribly ill, talking madly as if he were addressing Gloucester’s ghost. Margaret and Suffolk profess their love for each other one last time before she sends him away to France, promising to be in touch.
Meanwhile, Henry goes to Winchester’s chamber along with Salisbury and Warwick. Winchester raves about the ravaged form of Gloucester, saying he will confess. Warwick observes that Winchester’s death pangs are not peaceful, betraying a troubled and guilty soul. He dies without receiving absolution, and Henry says they are not to judge him, for they are all sinners.
Analysis
The duke of Gloucester’s death marks a turning point in the play. Not only is it the first material result of the plotting first set into motion in the opening scene, but it’s also the first time in the play that Henry firmly asserts himself. Initially, it seems that Henry will grow even weaker in the face of his beloved uncle’s untimely death. His fainting spell seems to confirm his lack of authority, echoing his earlier decision to withdraw from the conversation about Gloucester’s trial. However, once he revives, it’s as if Henry has been reset. No longer does he bend to Margaret’s will. In fact, he seems actively to ignore her plaintive words, in which she defends Suffolk and expresses the disappointment she’s felt in England. Heeding the call of the people and the evidence drawn out from Warwick’s examination of Gloucester’s body, Henry firmly condemns Suffolk to banishment. Margaret, still believing she has power over her husband, tries again to “[plea] for gentle Suffolk” (3.2.295), but Henry remains absolutely committed to his judgment: “Had I but said, I would have kept my word; / But when I swear, it is irrevocable” (299–300).
In addition to Henry’s decisiveness, the second scene of act 3 also marks the ascendent power of the common people. York foreshadowed this turn in his speech at the end of act 2, where he envisioned using Jack Cade to stir up the people’s passions and test the proverbial waters to see if they’d support a Yorkist overthrow. Although York’s plan has yet to unfold onstage, it’s notable that the people are already asserting their influence. Shakespeare dramatizes this influence powerfully by having a crowd of impassioned commoners stand outside the royal estate at Bury St. Edmunds, essentially banging down the door and demanding Suffolk’s punishment. With the threat of mutiny hanging over the scene, Henry has little choice but to give the people what they want. But while that may sound like Henry has traded one type of influence for another, it’s important that, in the context of the play, the commoners are justified in their condemnation of Suffolk. Whereas Suffolk rejects the mob as “rude unpolished hinds” (3.2.276) and “a sort of tinkers” (282), Henry affirms the fairness of the commoners’ judgment.
Taken together, the events of act 3 prepare the way for the advancement of York’s plan. With the plot against Gloucester now complete, and with Suffolk now banished and Winchester dead, the conditions are set for York to make his move against the newly vulnerable king. Henry may have started asserting his authority as king and disempowering his scheming wife, but in an important sense he is already too late. The deeper machinery against the state is already in motion.
