Shakespeare’s play Henry VIII Essay Example

Shakespeare uses illuminates the extremity of Wolsey’s emotional state. [Good paragraph conclusion]

Through figurative language, Shakespeare evokes powerful images that show Wolsey’s anger as well as despair. [Good topic sentence] He uses the metaphor of a delicate flower to represent Wolsey’s spirit, first optimistically putting out “the tender leaves of hopes,” (line 4) then blooming, only to be struck by a “killing frost.” (line 6) This image conveys Wolsey’s vulnerability and innocence. The frost, which symbolizes the King’s brash dismissal of Wolsey, is cruel and undeserved. By placing the sprouting, blooming, and death of the flower within a three-day span, Shakespeare reflects Wolsey’s anger at how suddenly he fell from favor. Shakespeare also [Good coherence] uses figurative language to show Wolsey’s hopelessness, Using simile, he likens Wolsey to Satan, the angel who fell out of God’s favor and was banished to hell, never to return again. This comparison reflects Wolsey’s conviction that he has no reason for hope and must instead expect misery for the rest of his life. These two powerful uses of imagery [= metaphor & simile] portray the two emotions between which Wolsey vacillates. [Good paragraph conclusion]

Shakespeare also employs a change in tone to convey the complexity of Wolsey’s emotions. At first, [Good coherence] the tone is bitter. Wolsey scoffs at the idea of losing “the little good” (line 1) he gains from the King. He describes the world as “vain,” (line 16) superficially focused on status, and declares: “I hate ye!” (line 16) This tone reveals Wolsey’s hostility, his first reaction. Immediately afterwards [Good coherence] his speech shifts to a tone of hopelessness and despair. He laments the

life he has led as a “wretched” man beholden to the ruler, expressing self-pity through his characterization of himself as a “poor man.” (line 18) Wolsey concludes by asserting that he will never have any hope for the future. The change in tone between bitterness and hopelessness reflects the emotions between which Wolsey is struggling: his initial anger gives way to sadness and self-pity. Through this change Shakespeare reflects that emotional reactions are often multi-faceted. [Good paragraph conclusion]

Using powerful diction, evocative figurative language, and a change in tone, Shakespeare portrays Wolsey’s response to his dismissal as both hostile and despairing. The words Wolsey uses reflect the strength of his emotions, the images he creates fortify this description, and the shift in tone emphasizes the split between his emotions. By employing those three tactics, Shakespeare reflects the powerful complexity of Wolsey’s reaction in particular and of human emotions as a whole. [Good overall conclusion]

In this speech from Shakespeare’s Henry VIII, Cardinal Wolsey responds to his dismissal from court with a philosophical, eloquent despair. He blames (1) human nature, (2) his own pride and (3) the dangers of ambition for his fall, realizing all too late the darkness in himself and the outside world. [Good introductory paragraph and clear mental outline of 3 major points to be developed in the 3 paragraphs that follow] Beginning with a somber, sober realization, the speech builds in drama and magnificence, until, at its end, Wolsey compares himself to a fallen angel.

The Cardinal reacts to his dismissal initially [Good coherence] with a solemn philosophical realization about the nature of human life: hope and hard work,

compared to “tender leaves” and “blossoms” in line four, fall to “a killing frost” (line 6) without fail. This extended metaphor comparing the fruits of human labor to an actual harvest, begins the speech with a delicate, beautiful sadness. Wolsey sees first the universal implications of his situation and at first blames no one for it, excepting existence.

As the speech progresses, [Good coherence] Wolsey realizes his own part in his downfall and blames his own pride. He calls his behavior like that of “little wanton boys that swim… in a sea of glory” (lines 10-11). Probing deeper, the Cardinal looks upon himself as a child, as the simile illustrates, who has swum out “far beyond [his] depth” (line 12). He transfers responsibility to his “high-blown pride” (line 12), realizing that he has brought his downfall upon himself.

With this [Good transition] cathartic realization comes a storm of anger at himself and the world. Wolsey curses the “vain pomp and glory of the world” in an apostrophe in line 16. He lashes out at the world of court he has been forced to leave behind, calling “that poor man that hangs on princes’ favors,” (line 19) “wretched” (line17). In the rise and fall of men at court there are “more pangs and fears than wars or women have” (line 27); the alliteration of “wars or women” adds a woebegone mood to the line. Wolsey’s soliloquy ends with the cardinal comparing his fall to that of Lucifer (line 22). In doing so, he both acknowledges his own inner failings and lashes out at the overwhelming circumstances that have led him to fall, “never to

hope again” (line 23).

Overview of the Prompt:

This question asked students to read carefully a passage from Shakespeare’s play Henry VIII and to write a well-organized essay analyzing Shakespeare’s use of literary techniques to convey Cardinal Wolsey’s complex response to his dismissal from court. Although the passage is not technically a poem but rather a poetic passage from a play, it contains poetic language and techniques; these include allusion, figurative language, and tone, which the prompt invited students to consider as examples.

In its phrasing, the question asked students to analyze Wolsey’s complex response to his sudden downfall from his position as advisor to the king. With the word “complex,” the question encouraged students to see more than one dimension of thought and feeling in the speech, including potentially contradictory or conflicting responses. It asked students to connect content and technique: not only what Wolsey thinks and feels, but also how the playwright represents those complex responses through the use of literary elements.

The student perceptively develops the premise that Shakespeare employs poetic devices to authentically portray the range of emotions Wolsey feels when he learns of his dismissal. The essay persuasively catalogs Wolsey’s many spontaneous emotions, citing, for instance, Shakespeare’s use of metaphor to convey Wolsey’s anger (“He uses the metaphor of a delicate flower to represent Wolsey’s spirit . . . putting out ‘the tender leaves of hopes,’ then blooming, only to be struck by a ‘killing frost.’ . . . By placing the sprouting, blooming, and death of the flower within a three-day span, Shakespeare reflect’s [sic] Wolsey’s anger at how suddenly he fell from favor”) and

Shakespeare’s manipulation of tone to convey the complexity of Wolsey’s reaction (“This tone reveals Wolsey’s hostility, his first reaction. . . . [A]fterwards his speech shifts to a tone of hopelessness and despair. . . . [H]is initial anger gives way to sadness and self-pity. Through this change, Shakespeare reflects that emotional reactions are often multi-faceted.”). Overall, the essay provides convincing support for the claim that Wolsey’s speech realistically portrays “the range of feelings people often undergo when reeling from an unexpected disappointment.” The thin development of the simile referencing Satan in the third paragraph and minor lapses in phrasing (“hostility and despair of Wolsey’s reaction”; “shock of his dismissal as the king’s advisor”) are evidence that essays that received a score of 9 did not have to be flawless.

The introduction — compelling in its claim that Wolsey’s speech amounts to a “philosophical, eloquent despair” — holds much promise; yet supportive evidence — which becomes thinner and thinner as the essay progresses — renders the effort overall only marginally convincing. The second paragraph contains perceptive analysis (“The Cardinal reacts to his dismissal initially with a solemn philosophical realization about the nature of human life: hope and hard work, compared to ‘tender leaves’ and ‘blossoms’ in line 4, fall to “a killing frost’ [line 6] without fail. This extended metaphor comparing the fruits of human labor to an actual harvest, begins the speech with a delicate, beautiful sadness”), but the next paragraph only vaguely develops Shakespeare’s intent in using the simile referencing water (“the Cardinal looks upon himself as a child . . . who has swum out ‘far beyond [his] depth’ [line 12].

He transfers responsibility to his ‘high-blown pride’ (line 12), realizing that he has brought his downfall upon himself.”). The final paragraph is a mere paraphrase of the latter half of the speech. Despite the strong start and relative fluency in the use of language, inconsistent development called for the essay to be awarded a score of 6.