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Summary
Lady Grey and her brother Rivers enter the palace. Lady Grey reveals that Edward has been taken prisoner. Rivers hopes that Warwick may yet lose, and Lady Grey tries not to mourn, deciding to be strong now that she is pregnant. She urges Rivers and Edward’s other supporters to flee while she seeks sanctuary to protect the new heir gestating in her womb.
Richard and Hastings arrive near the archbishop of York’s property. Richard says he knows where Edward is imprisoned and that he is allowed out to hunt. He has gotten word to Edward, directing him to hunt in a particular place so they can rescue him. Edward arrives, greets his brothers, and they set off.
Warwick and George enter the Tower with the crown. Henry enters with Oxford, Somerset, Montague, and the young Henry, earl of Richmond. Henry speaks well of the man who guarded him in prison and thanks Warwick for setting him free. Henry expresses his wish to live away from the public eye. He will continue to wear the crown, but he resigns the government to Warwick. Warwick says George should receive this honor, so Henry pronounces them joint Protectors of England. George and Warwick agree to work together to fill Henry’s place and secure the succession of Prince Edward. Henry sees Somerset with a young man, his nephew, the earl of Richmond. Impressed by the boy, Henry prophesies that the boy will provide peace for England; he seems built to be a king. A messenger then arrives with news that Edward has escaped and fled across the Channel to Burgundy. Oxford and Somerset comment that Burgundy will probably aid Edward and that there will soon be more war. Somerset plans to send Richmond to Brittany for safety in the meantime.
Edward, Richard, and Hastings return to England with troops provided by Burgundy. They knock at the doors of the town of York. The Mayor is reluctant to let him in, since he has again sworn allegiance to Henry, but when Edward insists that he is content with his role as the duke of York, the Mayor opens the gates. Montgomery then arrives, offering himself as an ally to King Edward. Edward says he only wants his title as duke for the moment. Montgomery says he’ll take his troops away, then, for he wants to serve a king, not a duke. Edward wants to wait until his position is stronger, but Hastings urges him to strike immediately. The swell of support convinces Edward to make another bid for the Crown.
Henry enters with Warwick, Montague, Clarence, and Oxford. Warwick reports that Edward has returned from Burgundy with an army. He urges his lords to raise up armies, then dismisses them to the task.
Later, Henry and Exeter talk. Henry has faith that Warwick will beat Edward’s army. Yet he also says he’s perplexed as to why Edward seems more widely beloved than him, since he is neither greedy nor oppressive. Just then, Edward and Richard enter with soldiers, and they capture Henry. Edward proclaims himself the king before sending Henry back to the Tower and dispatching his troops to meet Warwick in the field.
Analysis
The second half of act 4 consists of a series of brief scenes that efficiently cover a lot of action. As the events unfold with quickening speed, England’s political situation can be seen to tremble in the balance. After Edward’s capture, Henry is freed and declared king. But almost as soon as he’s been put away, Edward finds a way to escape and makes a new plan to retake the Crown. He and his supporters go to London, where they storm in on Henry, capture him, and send him to the Tower. Once again, Henry is stripped of his power and Edward is king. As Henry and Edward compete for sovereignty, England seems at once to have two kings and yet also to be kingless. The rapid oscillation of power maintains dramatic tension while also preparing the audience to expect some final event that will decisively turn the tides of this political war.
Interestingly, the two men at the heart of this war—Henry and Edward—both seem to have conflicting views on their status. Throughout the play, Henry has bemoaned the burden of Crown, wishing to live a private life free of the treacherous ambition of those at court. And here again, as soon as the role of king is restored to him, he wishes to give his power away. He’ll agree to be king in name, but he wants Warwick and George to rule—just as his uncle, the former duke of Gloucester, used to do. Henry clearly doesn’t want to be king. And yet, curiously, after everything he’s been through, he still wants to feel loved as sovereign. He indicates as much when he asks Exeter why the people love Edward more than him. For his part, Edward, who had previously enjoyed the privilege of being able to do anything he wanted, initially seems content to have been demoted back to a duke. One wonders if he would have pursued the Crown again if it hadn’t been for his lords coercing him into taking action. Of course, he does take action, and he does win the kingdom back from Henry. But a subtle ambiguity remains.
This subtle ambiguity that both men show in relation to their political status may be interpreted as an ominous indication that, in the end, neither will hold on to power for long. As Shakespeare himself will explore in Richard III, the follow-up to the Henry VI plays, it is Richard who will eventually take the Crown. Richard appears frequently in these scenes, helping to facilitate Edward’s escape and Henry’s recapture. Although he doesn’t speak much, we in the audience are familiar with his motives, and we must assume that his work is less about aiding his brother and more fundamentally about securing a York in the seat of power. Thus, as he scurries about the stage, we feel the implicit threat he poses. Yet Richard isn’t the only figure whose presence stands in symbolic counterpoint to Henry and Edward. The earl of Richmond is another such figure. In a prophetic moment, Henry is mysteriously drawn to this young man and declares that he seems fit to wear a kingly crown. As it turns out, this boy is destined to become King Henry VII—that is, the founder of the Tudor dynasty, who will defeat Richard III on the field of battle and bring an end to the Wars of the Roses.
