Henry VI Part 3 Acts 3 and 4 – "What fates impose, that men must needs abide; it boots not to resist both wind and tide."

Henry VI Part 3 Acts 3 and 4 – "What fates impose, that men must needs abide; it boots not to resist both wind and tide."

Richard is an interesting character even in the Henry VI plays. Deformed by birth and by his ambitious desires, one wonders whether his outward appearance is a marker of his corrupt ugly inner being or whether his physical appearance is the reason for him taking on an ugly and tyrannical attitude. In Act 3 of Henry VI Part 3, Richard thinks about his brother Edward’s decision to marry Lady Gray even though Edward has sent Warwick to France to negotiate for Edward to marry the King of France’s daughter. Richard, like Macbeth in Shakespeare’s later play, laments that he himself loves and desires the crown but that he seems too far away from ever inheriting it. He tells us that he still sets his sights on the crown since his appearance means that he will never enjoy the love of court life or the love of women. He decides he will try to appear charming while he plots and schemes the downfall and death of others.

King Louis of France seems to approve of the marriage of his daughter to Edward and then he finds out that Edward has already married Lady Gray and he is mad to say the least. Warwick feels cheesed-off that Edward has used him and he joins Margaret and Henry’s side to oust Edward. Warwick asks King Louis for troops to help him and King Louis offers his help to them. Poor Warwick feels like a turncoat since he came to France as Edward’s ambassador and returns to England as the spearhead of an attack on Edward.

Of course, Edward is captured by Warwick and his men and the crown is once again returned to Henry VI. But not for long, since this is the historical soap opera of its day. Henry returns to the throne but Richard is able to secure the escape of Edward back to York for the next Act which could be subtitled either ‘The Yorks Strike Back’ or ‘The Return of the Yorks’. There is a lovely moment (‘A New Hope’) in Act IV when Henry meets a young Richmond who will be the future King Henry VII who later becomes founder of the Tudor dynasty, defeater of Richard III, the person who bring peace after the War of the Roses and the ancestor of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.