Suffolk (2 Henry VI)

Play

Henry VI, Part 2

Summary

William de la Pole, now Duke of Suffolk and Queen Margaret's lover, is the most powerful nobleman in England and the architect of the unpopular marriage between Henry and Margaret. His enemies, led by the commons and the Yorkists, engineer his banishment, and he is intercepted at sea and beheaded by the captain of a ship — his severed head delivered to the grieving queen in one of the play's most harrowing scenes.

Notable Quotations

"A wilderness is populous enough, / So Suffolk had thy heavenly company; / For where thou art, there is the world itself, / With every several pleasure in the world; / And where thou art not, desolation." *(3.2)*

"Come, soldiers, show what cruelty ye can, / That this my death may never be forgot! / Great men oft die by vile Bezonians: / A Roman sworder and banditto slave / Murder'd sweet Tully; Brutus' bastard hand / Stabb'd Julius Caesar." *(4.1)*

Cross-references

• Henry VI, Part 2 — the play
• Suffolk (1 Henry VI) — earlier appearance
• Queen Margaret — his beloved
• Gloucester (2 Henry VI) — his political victim
• Histories