Henry VI: The King Who Wished He Were a Shepherd
First appears: Act 1, Scene 1
Henry VI reaches his lowest point in Part III. He agrees to a deal in Act 1 that disinherits his own son in favour of York's line after his death, a betrayal of his family that Margaret never forgives him for.
At the Battle of Towton he sits on a molehill while the battle rages, delivers a long speech about how much better it would be to be a simple shepherd, and watches a son bring in his dead father and a father bring in his dead son. It is Shakespeare's most explicit image of civil war's cost.
He is murdered in the Tower in Act 5, where he recognises Richard's purpose and prophesies the future.
Key Scenes
Famous Quotes
“O God! methinks it were a happy life, To be no better than a homely swain; To sit upon a hill, as I do now,”
King Henry VI — Act 2, Scene 5
Themes
Other Characters in Henry VI, Part III
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