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Summary
Warwick receives news from messengers about the arrival of Montague and George’s troops. Then, Edward and Richard arrive with their troops. Edward asks Warwick if he will support him as king, but Warwick says he should remain the duke of York. Warwick says his efforts got Edward the kingdom in the first place, but his preferred king is now Henry. Richard then reveals that Henry has been imprisoned. Oxford arrives with troops to aid Warwick, followed by Montague, Somerset, and George. Edward asks George if even he will fight against his brother. Richard then takes George aside confer, after which George announces he will break with Warwick. He asks his brothers to forgive him, and they do. Edward asks Warwick if his troops will come out and fight, and Warwick agrees to battle.
During battle, Edward drags in a wounded Warwick and leaves him. Warwick likens himself to a giant tree that has long shaded the monarchy, but which now has been felled. Of all his lands, he thinks, nothing remains but that bit of earth on which he lies. Somerset and Oxford enter to tell Warwick that Margaret has arrived from France with a powerful army. Somerset reports the death of Montague, and Warwick dies.
Edward enters triumphantly with his brothers Richard and George. They have beaten Warwick’s forces, but Margaret’s troops approach. They discuss the strength of their remaining forces and speculate about Margaret’s army before setting out for battle.
Margaret enters with Prince Edward, Somerset, and Oxford. She urges her troops on, comparing their efforts to that of an imperiled ship’s crew. With their captain gone, many sailors flung overboard, and the ship’s masts damaged, they bravely sail on. She claims that they must forge ahead regardless of the danger, since their enemies will show them no mercy regardless. Prince Edward thinks even a coward hearing these words would become brave. He urges any who are frightened to leave. Oxford marvels that a woman and a young man can be so much more courageous than the soldiers they command. A messenger enters to announce the approach of Edward’s army. Edward enters and urges his followers to help him burn out the enemies. Margaret reminds her followers that their sovereign is a prisoner and that they must free him. They prepare for battle.
Analysis
Act 5 opens on the precipice of a final showdown. As Warwick gathers his forces to fend off an attack by King Edward, Margaret’s army also approaches in the distance. But before the battle can commence, there is one last transfer of allegiance. As we have seen many times already in this play, loyalties can change at any moment. Thus, it is no great surprise when, after arriving to show his support for Warwick, George suddenly changes his mind and re-pledges himself to his brother’s cause. It isn’t entirely clear why George makes this decision. Upon his arrival, Richard calls him aside, and the two men engage in a hushed conversation. It’s immediately after this chat that George announces his commitment to Edward. The most likely conclusion is simply that Richard, who is more motivated than anyone to ensure the success of the Yorkist claim, uses his trademark wit to convince his brother to denounce Warwick. Judging from the speech George delivers, it seems that Richard may have appealed to their father’s honor and asserted the importance of fraternal unity. Refusing to “ruinate my father’s house” (5.1.86), George breaks his oath to Warwick and recommits to Edward.
As the action hastens toward the last battle, key figures on the Lancastrian side, including Warwick, succumb to death. Margaret symbolically takes Warwick’s place as the leader of the Lancastrian army, and she prepares her army—and herself—to go up against King Edward’s troops. In a stirring scene, Shakespeare shows each of these leaders stepping up their rhetorical game to inspire their respective soldiers. Edward knows that Margaret’s army is formidable, but he excites his army’s zeal with an optimistic message of galvanizing forces. As they march toward Margaret’s forces, they will add to their number with each town they pass, surely growing to an unbeatable size. Whereas Edward builds courage through optimism, Margaret takes a different approach. For her army, courage must come from recognizing that the only way they will survive is to win. Even if they were to surrender, they would undoubtedly be put to death. Therefore, despite the major setbacks they have suffered, they must persist even against seemingly impossible odds. Of the two leaders, Margaret is clearly the more impressive in her rhetorical ingenuity. But in a play that has frequently underscored the limited efficacy of words, it’s clear that the physical clash of forces will be the deciding factor.
