They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but the characters in Henry VI, Part 3 serve it all kinds of ways.
Everyone seems to be in on the game of vowing to get revenge or actually getting it for a previous grievance: Clifford takes revenge on York for his dad's death; Margaret takes revenge on York for trying to steal the throne from her son; Warwick swears he'll get revenge for his brother's death; and Richard has a bone to pick with the universe itself for making him deformed.
Are these characters as invested in revenge as they seem, or do they just trot it out as an excuse whenever they want to take action? Does the cycle of revenge ever stop? Does an eye for an eye leave the world blind in this play? Or is it more complicated than that?
Questions About Revenge
- How does Henry VI, Part 3's treatment of revenge change throughout the play? How do the characters' actions line up with what they say about revenge?
- What leads characters to seek revenge? Are they at all to blame for what has happened to them?
- How does Clifford's attitude toward revenge contrast with Richard's? Do they both have just cause for revenge?
Chew on This
While a lot of characters seek revenge, they are just using it as an excuse for their own bloodthirstiness.
Revenge for a family member's death is what drives the action in the play. Without it, nothing would happen in Henry VI, Part 3.