Henry VI Part 3

Roles

• Queen Margaret - Young Adult (20-35), Adult (36-50), Female

About this piece

Margaret urges her troops to fight

Summary

In the first scene of the play the Duke of York organizes a revolt against King Henry VI and wins. However, he promises King Henry VI that he will let him rule England until his death. The Duke of York will be his successor. York's sons, Edward and Richard, persuade their father to break his promise and seize the crown before Henry's death. York is persuaded to fight against Henry's army. The two opposing sides fight and York is killed. York's army, however, prevails and the king flees with his army. King Henry flees to Scotland but is captured. Edward becomes king and proposes to Lady Gray to his brothers' surprise. Queen Margaret, Henry's wife, goes to France to beg for help. Warwick as well goes to France to ask the King of France to give his sister in marriage to King Edward. A messenger arrives with news that King Edward has married Lady Gray. Warwick feels betrayed and vows vengeance. He decides to support the deposed King Henry and Queen Margaret, gathers an army with the support of the King of France and goes to England. Warwick's troops manage to capture Edward but he manages to escape with the help of Richard and Hastings. Edward gathers an army with all his supporters and faces Warwick. Warwick is killed in the battle. In this scene Queen Margaret is getting ready to face Edward and urges her troops to fight. She knows Warwick's army has been defeated and compares the situation to that of a crew on a ship whose captain is gone and has lost many sailors. Edward and the house of York are the rough seas and the sharp rocks.

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