Queen Katherine

Play

Henry VIII

Summary

Katherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife and Queen of England for twenty years, is portrayed with great dignity and sympathy. She refuses to accept the legitimacy of the divorce proceedings, confronts Henry and the cardinals with fierce eloquence, and — banished to Kimbolton — dies in spiritual peace, attended by a vision of heavenly figures crowning her with garlands. She is the play's most morally unambiguous figure, a wronged queen whose steadfastness is never broken.

Notable Quotations

"Sir, I desire you do me right and justice; / And to bestow your pity on me: for / I am a most poor woman, and a stranger, / Born out of your dominions; having here / No judge indifferent, nor no more assurance / Of equal friendship and proceeding." *(2.4)*

"I have been to you a true and humble wife, / At all times to your will conformable; / Ever in fear to kindle your dislike, / Yea, subject to your countenance, glad or sorry / As I saw it inclin'd." *(2.4)*

"Spirits of peace, where are ye? are ye all gone, / And leave me here in wretchedness behind ye?" *(4.2)*

Cross-references