Henry VI Part 3 Analysis

Literary Devices in Henry VI Part 3

Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

Setting

Henry VI, Part 3 is set toward the end of the English Wars of the Roses. The play ends with Henry dying and Edward securing his seat on the throne, with an heir to boot. But even Edward's days on t...

Genre

Most literary critics refer to Henry VI, Part 3 as a history play. In fact, it's the third installment in a series of Shakespearean history plays known as the "first tetralogy," which also includes...

Tone

We'll tell it to you straight: there's not a whole lot of humor in this one. The tone is pretty somber all the way through, and that makes sense, given what goes down in this play: children are kil...

Writing Style

Henry VI, Part 3 is kind of an anomaly for Shakespeare. Most of his plays are written in a combination of verse (poetry) and prose (how we talk every day). The nobility tend to speak in "blank vers...

What's Up With the Title?

The title seems pretty straightforward. Henry VI, Part 3? Yeah, we know what we're getting into: this is the third installment in a series of plays that cover the reign of King Henry VI.The titles...

What's Up With the Ending?

Look out, folks, because we're gonna spoil the English crown off this baby.The end of Henry VI, Part 3 is a major bummer. Pretty much everyone who's anyone dies or gets shipped off to prison—exce...

Tough-o-Meter

If you're reading Henry VI Part 3, then you've probably already read Henry VI, Part 1, or Henry VI, Part 2, so Shakespeare's Elizabethan language might be getting a little easier to manage by now....

Plot Analysis

Even though York has just declared victory after a big battle with Henry, he shouldn't go crown-fitting just yet. He sits on the throne, but Henry and his gang tell York to scram. Beat it. No, seri...

Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis

When Henry and York reach an agreement in London, it seems, for a brief moment, like everything might turn out all right. These dudes have just come from a battle, and they've decided that it's t...

Three-Act Plot Analysis

York has won a crucial battle against Henry, and he tries to take the crown. After an agreement is struck up and destroyed, Margaret storms York's castle with her troops. Both sides fight to the de...

Trivia

Think everybody loved Shakespeare back in the day? Guess again. Some people totally made fun of him. Take Robert Greene, for example, who got up in Shakespeare's grill for writing all that blank ve...

Steaminess Rating

There's not much steam coming from the pages of Henry VI, Part 3. As far as Shakespeare goes, the play is pretty tame. People do go around calling each other nasty things, and sometimes it's about...

Allusions

Henry VI, Part 2: "Clifford slain" refers to 5.2, when (the elder) Clifford is killed by York (1.1)Henry VI, Part 2: Lord Protector is Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, whose downfall in shown in Shake...