Henry VI, Part 2 Famous Quotes

The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.

Dick the Butcher to Jack Cade in Act 4, Scene 2 — the line gets quoted as a joke about lawyers, but its context is a populist rebellion. Dick's suggestion is that law itself, not just lawyers, is the obstacle to Cade's promised utopia.

Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep.

York aside in Act 3, Scene 1, watching Henry VI's simple piety — the proverb equates quietness with depth. York is the one speaking, which makes it a note of threat as much as observation.

What stronger breastplate than a heart untainted! Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just.

Henry VI in Act 3, Scene 2, describing the armour that comes from a clear conscience — the line is sincere and useless; Henry's quarrel may be just, but his kingdom is collapsing anyway.

Could I come near your beauty with my nails, I'd set my ten commandments in your face.

The Duchess of Gloucester to Queen Margaret in Act 1, Scene 3 — 'ten commandments' was slang for fingernails, deployed here in a threat as vivid as it is precise.

Now 'tis the spring, and weeds are shallow-rooted; Suffer them now, and they'll o'ergrow the garden.

Margaret urging the king's councillors to act against Gloucester in Act 3, Scene 1 — the weeds she wants pulled are her enemies. The gardening metaphor frames political murder as basic maintenance.

The commons, like an angry hive of bees That want their leader, scatter up and down.

Warwick in Act 3, Scene 2, after Gloucester's death — the people of England are the bees, unpredictable without direction. The image recurs across all three Henry VI plays as an image of political instability.

What! art thou, like the adder, waxen deaf?

Margaret to Henry VI in Act 3, Scene 2, furious that he will not respond to her grief over Gloucester's death — the adder was believed to stop its ears with its tail to avoid the charmer. She is accusing Henry of deliberate inaction.

Ay me, I can no more! die, Margaret! For Henry weeps that thou dost live so long.

Margaret in Act 3, Scene 2, addressing herself after Suffolk's death — the collapse of her self-possession is brief and vivid. She recovers quickly, but the line catches the moment of genuine grief.

The gaudy, blabbing and remorseful day Is crept into the bosom of the sea.

A pirate captain in Act 4, Scene 1, just before dawn — dawn is remorseful because it will expose his crimes. The personification of day as a gossip is one of the play's finest pieces of incidental poetry.

Small things make base men proud.

A sea captain to Suffolk in Act 4, Scene 1, just before having him executed — a contemptuous dismissal of the pride of a great lord brought low. Suffolk's arrogance has not survived the sea voyage.

The duke yet lives that Henry shall depose; But him outlive, and die a violent death.

An evil spirit summoned by the Duchess of Gloucester in Act 1, Scene 4, giving prophecies — the oracle's ambiguity is its cruelty. 'The duke that Henry shall depose' could mean York, and 'outlive' could be read two ways.

My lord protector's hawks do tower so well; They know their master loves to be aloft.

Henry VI commenting admiringly on Gloucester's hunting hawks in Act 2, Scene 1 — a line of pure innocence, describing the excellence of the hawks owned by the man who is already being plotted against at court.

Thus sometimes hath the brightest day a cloud; And after summer evermore succeeds Barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold.

Gloucester in Act 2, Scene 4, on his way into exile after his wife's public penance — the seasonal metaphor is not self-pity but observation. His own fall will be followed by a harsher winter than he anticipates.

Let them obey that know not how to rule; This hand was made to handle naught but gold.

York in Act 5, Scene 1, returning from Ireland to claim the crown — his argument is that some men are constitutionally made to rule and others to obey, and he has decided which category he occupies.

Fie on ambition! fie on myself, that have a sword, and yet am ready to famish!

Jack Cade alone and hungry in Act 4, Scene 10, hiding in a garden — the rebel leader who promised his followers free food and drink has spent five days starving in hiding. His self-criticism is brief and followed immediately by eating stolen fruit.