Henry Viii's Solliloquy In Henry Viii By William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was a playwright and author in the 16th and 17th centuries, with at least 37 plays and 154 sonnets to his name. His many works span in genre and form, from the tragedy of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to the poem of a father’s unconditional love and eventual acceptance of a loved one’s death. Through a vast variety of linguistic and structural techniques, he is able to promote, develop and explain his personal ideology of love. Evidence of this is seen through the character of ‘Romeo’ in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and the narrative voice in a selection of sonnets.

Shakespeare’s use of imagery, diction, and syntax within Henry IV, Part II aids in portraying King Henry’s state of mind due to his inability to sleep. By personifying sleep within the soliloquy, a great impact is created which creates the illusion that sleep is purposely ignoring King Henry while bestowing its gift on his subjects.

To establish the sinister intentions of Richard the actor, Shakespeare makes reference to his moral and physical impediments that leave him cursing “I that am not shaped for sportive tricks…I that am curtailed…”. Through the subtle use of anaphora and repetition of ‘I that am’, which is fleshed out by a definitive tone, the audience is made aware of how Richard is led ostensibly “to prove a villain” and thus, adopt a disguise. Moreover, Richard’s theatricality is stressed as he embarks as a ‘master’ of his own fate, for he perceives himself as “subtle, false, and treacherous”. His sinister intentions are exemplified by the use of tricolon, evocative word choice and short sentence patterning that create a sharp staccato effect. These intentions allow Shakespeare to subtly resonate Richard with the Vice from the medieval morality plays as well as the Renaissance Machiavelli who actively sought power, caused mischief, practised deceit and cynically gloats over his success. Moreover, Richard’s acting allows him to confide in his audience as he is paradoxically honest about his dishonesty, whilst also encouraging his audience not to detest him, but rather, take delight in his cleverness as the ‘director’ of the play. Thus, the opening soliloquy of Richard III offers an insight into how Richard manipulates the

In William Shakespeare’s historical play, Henry VIII, a scene takes place in Act 3 Scene 2 where Cardinal Wolsey, loses his position as the King of England’s former advisor. His soliloquy shows Wolsey’s emotions and thoughts about how the king treated and dismissed him, as well as all of the treasures that Wolsey has lost. The declaration sets up Wolsey’s conclusion by using impactful diction to express Wolsey’s resentfulness towards a selfish king and his allusion to Lucifer emphasizes his emotional expression. In this soliloquy, Wolsey declares his bitter thoughts upon the king expressed through Shakespeare’s choice of words and emphasized by an allusion to Lucifer from the Bible.

To examine Shakespeare’s exploration of identity as a means of control, it is important to understand what all constitutes each character’s identity. In the case of Henry, for one, it is apparent that the actions of his past alter his perceived identity throughout the play. Before Henry speaks his first lines in the play, the Bishop of Ely calls Henry a “true lover of the holy Church,” to which the Archbishop of Canterbury replies, “The courses of [Henry’s] youth promised it not” (1.1.23-24). This reckless reputation follows Henry further into the play when an ambassador from France delivers a message to Henry from the Dauphin: “…the prince our master says that you savor too much of your youth and bids you to be advised there’s naught in France that can be with a nimble galliard won: you cannot revel into dukedoms there” (1.2.250-254). Along with this message, the Dauphin included a gift of tennis balls meant to further insult Henry. Even later in the play, after the English won the battle at Harfleur, the noble Frenchmen continue to underestimate Henry’s ability as a leader: “What a wretched and peevish fellow is this King of England, to mope with his fat-brained followers so far out of his knowledge” (3.8.120-122).

Great writers such as Shakespeare use a variety of rhetorical devices to convey the emotions he wants the characters to express in his works. In Henry VIII, Shakespeare had to infer and make an account of what he thought went through Cardinal Wolsey’s mind when he got stripped of his position as advisor to the king. There was no historical account of Cardinal Wolsey’s perspective and life at the time, as there is still none today. The Cardinal’s slow downfall is parallel to his speech due to the pattern of gradual negativeness, exemplifying the impact Wolsey’s removal of office had on his life. The use of devices like diction, tone and figurative language foreshadows Cardinal Wolsey’s nadire, the exact reason why Shakespeare included these

A writer must employ a multitude of rhetorical devices to effectively portray a characters emotion. Shakespeare does just that when conveying the emotions of the character Cardinal Wolsey when he hears of his dismissal from the king's court in Henry VIII. Through a shift in tone and figurative language, Shakespeare shows the wave of anger and despair felt by Wolsey as he tries to come to terms with his predicament. Using figurative language, Shakespeare creates a vivid depiction of Wolsey's despair and fury. This is first seen with Wolsey's comparison to blossoms. Wolsey explains that like the flower, Wolsey is innocent, but despite this, he is cast aside like the frost indiscriminately destroying the blossom. It also shows his anger at being

In Ben Johnson’s “To the Memory of My Beloved, The Author, Mr. William Shakespeare, and What He Hath Left Us”, Johnson dictates a dramatically sycophantic poem in honor of the late William Shakespeare. With his superficial, dramatic style, Johnson unveils his own envious attitude within the unbegotten admiration he appoints throughout the poem. By complimenting Shakespeare through this ironic voice, Johnson insincerely praises Shakespeare’s legacy in a clever attempt to highlight Shakespeare’s minute but mentionable flaws. Throughout the commemorational poem, Johnson cleverly praises Shakespeare’s seemingly incomparable success as a poet by incorporating other famous poets as a belittling contrast. While meant as a friendly coup de grâce, Johnson’s assessment of Shakespeare is Johnson’s ultimate attempt to align himself with Shakespeare, bearing praise unto himself as well. In a poem meant to highlight and enunciate Shakespeare’s unparalleled skill and talent, Johnson instead attempts to expose his faults in hopes of bringing Shakespeare closer to himself.

Thus, Wolsey shows his complexity by showing how he first regretted his dismissal from his position and shows the sorrow he feels, but changes to being angry due to his dismissal from the court. Thus, Shakespeare shows the complexity of Wolsey’s response by describing his change of tone and attitude on his dismissal from the

The particular words Shakespeare employs reflect Wolsey’s complex and heartbreaking reaction because they contain powerful connotations and emotions. Wolsey describes himself as “weary and old,” implying that he has lived his life for his position of service, leaving his spirit depleted and exhausted. This represents his aging, as he has spent an extensive amount of time in his devotion to his work. He says for “many summers” he swam in the “sea of glory” that radiates from his former position, furthering his dismay after being released from his service, as he has centred his life around it. Previously, he calls his dismissal a “long farewell,” which contains a remorseful and shattering tone. This reflects Wolsey’s dispirited view of his sentencing

(Shakespeare 1.4.40). In this exchange,

In the play, Henry VIII, written by William Shakespeare does an exceptional job in conveying the agony one faces after a loss of a job and stature. Shakespeare does this through the character Cardinal Wolsey who has been the King’s adviser for many years and has just been dismissed. This is accomplished through the utilization of literary devices such as biblical allusion, bitter tone, metaphor, and imagery. By employing these literary devices, Shakespeare develops a better connection with the readers and exemplifies the meaning of his work.

William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, composed during the last years of the 16th century, is as much as character study as it is a retelling of a moment in history. Though the play is titled for one king, it truly seems to revolve around the actions of the titular character's successor. Indeed, Henry IV is a story of the coming-of-age of Prince Hal and of the opposition that he must face in this evolution. This process gives narrative velocity to what is essentially a conflagration between two personality types. In Prince Hal, the audience is given a flawed but thoughtful individual. Equally flawed but more given over to action than thought is his former ally and now-nemesis, Hotspur. In the latter, Shakespeare offers a warrior and a man of action and in the former, the playwright shows a politician in his nascent stages of development. The contrast between them will drive the play's action.

Shakespeare’s employment of dramatic struggle and disillusionment through his character Hamlet, contributes to the continued engagement of modern audiences. The employment of the soliloquy demonstrates Shakespeare’s approach to the dramatic treatment of these emotions. The soliloquy brings a compensating intimacy, and becomes the means by which Shakespeare brings the audience not only to a knowledge of secret thoughts of characters, but into the closest emotional touch with them too. Through this, the audiences therefore gain a closer relationship with Hamlet, and are absorbed by him because they are able to resonate with his circumstances, as he is faced with enduring truths of the human condition. Through these, the struggle and

This analyzes Shakespeare's ability to focus on technical logistics of his tales as some trace back all the way to forensic structure of Latin intrigue comedy. Also, this shows that Shakespeare's characters come from the neoclassical rules of dramatic probability. I agree with the author that Shakespeare did try to break the “social norms” of love stories, and use his many techniques to show his ability to create a wonderful piece of art. This article helps me to understand the underlying thoughts of Shakespeare; in other words, a glimpse into his