 Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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Table of Contents Act II, Scene III Summary The countess is ready to trap Talbot when he arrives. But she is so surprised at his diminutive size that she has difficulty believing that he is the same man who is the terror of France. When she declares him her prisoner, Talbot summons his soldiers and announces that they are the real forces behind his power. The countess is overcome and repentant at having misjudged the true nature of Talbot’s success. Talbot forgives her and only asks her to serve them with wine and food, of which his soldiers are in need. The countess declares herself honored to serve such a great warrior in her house. Notes The incident of the countess is of an anecdotal kind of drama in which incidents are presented for the sake of immediate dramatic effect rather than for their contribution to the total patter. The incident in this scene has no effect on later action: it is a mere anecdote of the war. It does have great dramatic appeal for the audience: Talbot’s outwitting the wily countess is sure to break the monotony of the preceding scenes. Through this scene Talbot is able to pay tribute to his soldiers, who play a large if invisible part in his success. As the countess is surprised into exclaiming, Talbot is a "weak and writhed shrimp" yet he strikes terror in the heart of his enemies. And when she claims she has captured the man who has proved so ruinous for France, Talbot tells her she is making a mistake. For it his soldiers might that has bought his name glory. This scene serves to show that a general is only as good as the man he commands. And anonymous soldiers who are the real weapons of a general earn the real credit for any success. Table of Contents | |
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