Character Clues

Character Analysis

Actions

Those who can, do. And in Henry VI, Part 3, those who can't… get killed off.

The characters in this play are defined by what they are doing or what they have done in the past. Margaret attacks York; Edward marries Lady Grey; Warwick goes to France to seek help; Richard kills Henry. Nobody gets a crown by just sitting around, so these characters sure know how to hustle.

The reason Henry seems so out of place in his world is that he doesn't really want to do anything. He'd rather sit around reading or chatting than rule with an iron fist. That's why, rightly or wrongly, he's considered so weak by everyone around him.

Family Life

If you thought your family had problems, check out the family drama in this play. Right from the get-go, Clifford and Margaret berate Henry for how he treats his son. When Henry makes the deal to give York the crown after he's dead, Clifford says, "What wrong is this unto the prince your son!" (1.1.180). And Margaret calls Henry "so unnatural a father" for cutting his son out of his inheritance like that (1.1.225).

We're aware throughout the entire play that the war is between two families. Father is fighting for his son's future, and son is fighting for his father's legacy. Sometimes father and son kill each other (as Henry witnesses). It's safe to say that it's family issues that drive a ton of the play's action.

Speech and Dialogue

The way Shakespeare's characters speak tells us a whole lot about who they are. Richard, for example, is manipulative and cunning with his words. When George and Edward part ways, everyone has to decide whose side to choose. Edward asks Richard what he will do, and Richard says, "Ay, in despite of all that shall withstand you" (4.1.149).

Now, what Richard means is that he will withstand (translation: put up with) his brother as long as he has to until he can get the crown. What Edward actually hears is that his brother will stand with him and support him. See what Richard did there? That's just one of his clever little plays on words, and these give us hints about what he's really thinking.

People use words in a lot of ways in the play. Sometimes it's not what you say, but what you mean that counts.