 Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
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Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
Table of Contents Act V, Scene 5 Somerset and Oxford are captured and Edward orders them to take Oxford to Hames Castle and behead Somerset. The queen bids them farewell and says that they shall meet with joy in sweet Jerusalem. Prince Edward is also captured and King Edward mocks him for being so impudent. The Prince condemns Edward and says he is a traitor when Edward threatens to harm his tongue. He continues to insult the Yorkist leaders and eventually Edward, Richard and George stab him and he dies. The desperate Queen laments the death of her son and calls them traitors and murders. She condemns them for being so cruel. Edward orders her to be taken away and George says that Richard has gone to London to make a bloody supper in the Tower. Edward decides to go and see his queen hoping that by this time she will have a baby for him. Notes: The scene marks the defeat of the Queen and her army as well as the death of Prince Edward. Oxford is ordered to be executed and Somerset to be beheaded. At the time of parting the Queen bids them a sad farewell. Her words are significant because the sentiment seems out of character for Margaret. She finds this world full of troubles and she appears to be torn by civil wars and conflicts going on around her. She wishes for death because she hopes to find joy in sweet Jerusalem or heaven. This shows how tired and mentally exhausted she is. Prince Edward is portrayed as a brave and chivalrous youth resembling his grandfather. He boldly calls Edward and his brothers traitors and Richard a crouchback. His mother congratulates him on his insouciance but unfortunately the York brothers are insulted and angered enough to kill him for his acerbic comments. This scene reveals the brutality that reigns within the York family. Margaret becomes a sympathetic figure as she condemns them for killing a child. She remarks astutely that if they had children they would never take the life of one. Here she reflects on the innocent children who have suffered because of the family fighting. Meanwhile, unaffected by her pleas, Gloucester leaves to finish off the king at the Tower while Edward sees to his wife and upcoming child. The irony in Margaret's speech is that both Edward and George's children will die by their brother's hand in the sequel to this play, Richard III. Table of Contents | |
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